Spiritual Experiences (Buss) n. 5761

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5761. Afterwards, those were sent down, and not thus cast down, who were more in worldly things than in heavenly things, and in the world greatly regarded worldly things of various kinds, and consequently did not care for heavenly things; thus, with whom worldly and bodily things prevailed. For these are not able to be in the heights; for they cared for nothing else than to look down upon and communicate with the lower [places]. All who looked down were sent down, because they had care for earthly things; those, however, who did not look down, remained. There were various kinds of such ones and I heard their sending forth and casting down for a long time: thus, they amounted to countless myriads. They were let down into the plain, or the lower [places], where their eyes and their minds were; and those who were evil, into hells. All these were those who were of the second resurrection.* * i.e. "second death." - According to AE 899, "resurrection" and "death," in the present point of view, are interchangeable terms and in Spiritual Experiences they are frequently so used. See nos. 4891, 5203. In the place of the second sentence of the footnote to the latter number, the reader is requested to substitute the following: - "The apparent lapse in the text, here, is, however, explained, when we know that, spiritually viewed, `death' and `resurrection' are synonymous. That they are so in their use in the Apocalypse, is plainly stated in AE 899, in the following terms: `That natural death, which is the rejection of the unclean things of the body, and spiritual death, which is the removal of the unclean things of the spirit, signify resurrection, may also be evident from the things which follow in the Apocalypse, where the first death and the second death are treated of, which are also called the first resurrection and the second resurrection." - When penning the footnote to n. 5203, in Vol. IV., the Translator was not aware of this teaching of AE 899. This evidence has also led the Translator to revise the opinions, detracting from the authoritativeness of the contents of the Diary, expressed on pp. xvi-xvii, xx-xxi, and the second paragraph of p. xxiii of his "Preface" to that Volume. On this matter, the reader is referred to the Preface to the present Volume. -TR.


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