I have been given to speak with many in the spiritual world who believed they would shine like stars in heaven. They believed this, they said, because they held the Word holy, read it often, took many things from it, and defended the tenets of their faith by it. Consequently they were considered learned in the world, and they, with others, believed they would become Michaels or Raphaels.* A number of them were examined, however, to see what love prompted them to study the Word. And it was found that some did so out of self-love, in order to appear great in the world and to be worshiped as leaders of the church; others to gain a reputation for teaming and so be promoted to positions of honor; still others to acquire riches; and some to be able to preach in a learned fashion. Afterward they were examined to discover whether they had learned any genuine truth from the Word. And they were found to know only the obvious things which simply everyone sees in the literal meaning, but no genuine truth such as might serve them for doctrine on a deeper level. The reason for this was that their objectives were focused on themselves and the world, instead of on the Lord and heaven. And when anyone has self and the world as his focus, he then fastens his mind on them, and thinks continually in accord with his self-interest, which is in darkness regarding everything connected with heaven. For human self-interest is nothing but evil, with its resulting falsity. A person who regards himself in reading the Word, therefore-whether with an eye to honor or reputation, or to material gain-cannot be withdrawn by the Lord from his self-interest and so be raised into the light of heaven. Consequently, neither can he receive anything flowing in from the Lord through heaven.

[2] I have seen many spirits like this, and every one of them longed for heaven with all his might. They have also been let into heaven. But when they got there, they were examined to see whether they knew anything of the truth possessed by angels, and they knew no more than just the words of the literal text, without any idea at all of their deeper meaning. As a consequence, in the eyes of the angels they appeared stripped of their clothing and seemingly naked, and so were sent down below. Some of them in the light of heaven lost their intellectual sight, and then the sight of their eyes, and afterward were seized with intense pain of the heart, and thus were taken down below. Still, however, there remained in them the conceit that they were deserving.

This is the lot of those who study the Word with honor, reputation, or material gain as their objective. It is entirely different with those who study the Word out of an affection for truth, or who in reading the Word find delight in the truth because it is true. Such people have the love of God and love of the neighbor as their goal, and their focus is on life rather than on themselves. Because they love what is true, they all receive an influx from the Lord, and they see and discover genuine truths in the Word. For they are enlightened intellectually, and in their enlightenment they perceive these things as if of themselves, even though it is not of themselves. After death they are raised into heaven, where truth exists in its own light; and they become spiritual, and are angels. * i.e., archangels.