Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 644

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644. 'Rooms' means the two parts of man, that of the will and that of the understanding. This is clear from what has been stated about those two parts, will and understanding, being quite distinct and separate from each other, and from the fact, as has been stated, that the human brain therefore is divided into two parts called hemispheres. To its left hemisphere belong the powers of the understanding, to the right those of the will. This is the most general difference. In addition both will and understanding are divided into countless parts, for the divisions of the things constituting man's understanding, and also of those constituting his will, are so many that not even the broad genera, still less the species, can possibly be described or counted up. Man is like some most miniature heaven. He corresponds to the world of spirits and to heaven, where all the groups and all the divisions of things constituting the understanding or the will are so distinct and separate, being so perfectly ordered by the Lord, that every smallest part is distinct and separate. These considerations in the Lord's Divine mercy will be dealt with later on. In heaven these divided parts are called communities, in the Word 'habitations', and by the Lord in John 14:2 'rooms'. Here however because they have reference to the ark, which means the member of the Church, they are called 'rooms'.


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