The Lord is the God of Heaven
2. It must first be known who the God of heaven is, since on this all depends. In the universal heaven none other is acknowledged as the God of heaven than the Lord alone. They say there, as He Himself taught, that He is one with the Father; that the Father is in Him, and He in the Father; that whosoever seeth Him seeth the Father; and that everything which is holy proceedeth from Him (John 10. 30, 38; 14. 10, 11; 16. 13-15). I have often talked with angels on this subject, and they have always said that they cannot in heaven distinguish the Divine Being into three, because they know and perceive that the Divine Being is one, and is one in the Lord. They said also that members of the church who come from the world entertaining an idea of three Divine Persons cannot be admitted into heaven, because their thought wanders from one Person to another; and that it is not allowable there to think of three and speak of one, because in heaven every one speaks from his thought; speech being there from thought itself or thought speaking. Therefore those who in the world have divided the Divine Being into three, and have entertained a separate idea of each, have not made that idea one and centered it in the Lord, cannot be accepted; for in heaven there is a general communication of thought, so that if any one should enter there thinking of three and speaking of one, he would be instantly discovered and rejected. It is however to be observed that all those who have not separated truth from good or faith from love, on being instructed in the other life, receive the heavenly idea of the Lord, that He is the God of the universe. It is otherwise with those who have separated faith from life—that is, who have not lived according to the precepts of a true faith.
2. It must first be known who the God of heaven is, since on this all depends. In the universal heaven none other is acknowledged as the God of heaven than the Lord alone. They say there, as He Himself taught, that He is one with the Father; that the Father is in Him, and He in the Father; that whosoever seeth Him seeth the Father; and that everything which is holy proceedeth from Him (John 10. 30, 38; 14. 10, 11; 16. 13-15). I have often talked with angels on this subject, and they have always said that they cannot in heaven distinguish the Divine Being into three, because they know and perceive that the Divine Being is one, and is one in the Lord. They said also that members of the church who come from the world entertaining an idea of three Divine Persons cannot be admitted into heaven, because their thought wanders from one Person to another; and that it is not allowable there to think of three and speak of one, because in heaven every one speaks from his thought; speech being there from thought itself or thought speaking. Therefore those who in the world have divided the Divine Being into three, and have entertained a separate idea of each, have not made that idea one and centered it in the Lord, cannot be accepted; for in heaven there is a general communication of thought, so that if any one should enter there thinking of three and speaking of one, he would be instantly discovered and rejected. It is however to be observed that all those who have not separated truth from good or faith from love, on being instructed in the other life, receive the heavenly idea of the Lord, that He is the God of the universe. It is otherwise with those who have separated faith from life—that is, who have not lived according to the precepts of a true faith.
3. Those within the church who have denied the Lord and acknowledged only the Father and have confirmed themselves in that faith are outside heaven; and since no influence from heaven, where the Lord alone in{is} worshipped, reaches them, they are gradually deprived of the faculty of thinking what is true on any subject whatever; at length they either become like dumb persons or talk foolishly, and wander about aimlessly with their aims dangling to and fro as if weak in the joints.
Those who, like the Socinians, deny the Divinity of the Lord and acknowledge only His Humanity, are also outside heaven. These are borne forward a little to the right, and let down to a greater depth, and are thus entirely separated from the rest of those who come from the Christian world. But those who profess to believe in an invisible Divinity, which they call the Being(Ens) of the universe, from which all things have derived their existence, and who reject all faith in the Lord, are taught by experience that they believe in no God.; for this invisible Divinity is according to them an attribute of nature in its first principles, which cannot be an object of faith and love, because no idea can be formed of it. These are sent away amongst those who are called believers in nature. It is otherwise with those who are born outside the church and are called Gentiles, of whom more will be said in the following pages.
4. All children, of whom a third part of heaven consists, are initiated into the acknowledgement and belief that the Lord is their Father, and are afterwards taught that He is the Lord of all and therefore the God of heaven and earth. That{Those} children grow up in the heavens and are perfected by means of knowledge until they acquire angelic intelligence and wisdom, will be seen in what follows.
5. Those who belong to the church cannot doubt that the Lord is the God of heaven, for He Himself taught that all things of the Father are His (Matt. 11. 27; John 16. 15; 17. 2); and that he hath all power in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28. 18). {He says “in heaven and on earth,” because He who rules heaven rules the earth also, for the one depends upon the other.} To rule heaven and earth, means to receive from Him all the good pertaining to love, all the truth pertaining to faith, and thus all intelligence, all wisdom and all happiness; in a word, eternal life. The Lord taught this also when He said, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life”(John 3. 36). Again: “I am the Resurrection and the Life. He that believeth in me though he were dead yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die”(John 11. 25, 26). And again: “I am the way, the truth and the life”(John 16. 6).
6. There were certain spirits who while they lived in the world acknowledged the Father but had the same idea of the Lord as of any other man, and so did not believe Him to be the God of Heaven. They were therefore permitted to wander about and enquire wherever they pleased whether there is any other heaven than that of the Lord. They sought for several days but found none. These were such as suppose heavenly happiness to consist in glory and domination, and because they could not obtain what they desired, and were told that heaven does not consist in such things, they became indignant, and wished to have a heaven where they could rule over others and surpass them in glory after the fashion of this world.
자료: HEAVEN and its Wonders, and HELL: From Things Heard & Seen by EMANUEL SWEDENBORG, 1909, PUBLISHED BY J.M. DENT & SONS Ltd. & IN NEW YORK BY E.P. DUTTON & CO.
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