THERE ARE THREE HEAVENS(29-40)

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29.   There are three heavens entirely different from each other; the inmost or third, the middle or second, and the lowest or first heaven.  They follow one another in order and are mutually related like the highest part of man, which is called the head, his middle part or the body, and the lowest or the feet; and like the upper, middle, and lower storeys of a house.  The Divine Sphere proceeds and descends from the Lord in the same order.  Consequently as a necessary result of order, heaven is threefold.

30.   The mind of man with its higher and lower regions is also like order.  It has an inmost, a middle and an outermost region; for when man was created all the components of Divine Order were concentrated in him, so that he was made Divine Order in form and consequently a heaven in miniature.  On this account man has communication with the heavens through the inner regions of his mind and comes among the angels after death, either among those of the inmost, the middle or the lowest heaven, according to his reception of Divine good and truth from the Lord during his life in the world.  

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31.   The Divine Sphere which flows from the Lord and is received in the third or inmost heaven is called celestial, and therefore the angels there are called celestial angels.  The Divine Sphere which flows from the Lord and received in the second or middle heaven is called spiritual, and therefore the angels there are called spiritual angels; but the Divine Sphere which flows from the Lord and is received in the lowest or first heaven is called natural.  As, however, the natural sphere of that heaven is not like that of the world, but has in itself what is spiritual and celestial, therefore that heaven is called spiritual-natural and celestial-natural, and therefore the angels there are called spiritual-natural and celestial-natural. Those are called spiritual-natural who receive the Divine influence through the middle or second heaven which is the spiritual heaven; and those are called celestial-natural who receive it through the third or inmost heaven which is the celestial heaven.  The spiritual-natural and the celestial-natural angels are distinct from each other, but still they constitute one heaven because they are of the same degree.

32.   In each heaven there is an internal region and external region.  Those who are in the internal region are there called internal angels; but those who are in the external region are called external angels.  The external and internal regions in the heavens, or in each heaven, are like the Will and the Understanding in man, the internal region corresponding to the will and the external region to the understanding.  All will-power is associated with intellectual activity, for one cannot exist without the other.  The will-power may be compared to a flame and the intellectual activity to the light thence derived.

33.   It should be clearly understood that it is the inner minds of the angels which determine the heaven in which they are; for the more open their minds are to the Lord, the more interior is the heaven in which they dwell.  There exist with every one, whether angel, spirit or man, three degrees of the inner mind.  Those with whom the third degree is opened are in the inmost heaven.  Those with whom the second degree is opened are in the middle heaven; and those with whom only the first degree is opened are in the lowest heaven.  The inner mind is opened by the reception of Divine Good and Divine Truth.  Those who are affected with Divine Truths and admit them directly into the life, that is, into the will and thence into act, are in the inmost or third heaven, occupying a position there according to their reception of good from affection for the truth.  Those, however, who do not admit Divine Truths directly into the will, but into the memory and the understanding and thence will and act upon them are in the middle or second heaven; whilst those who lead a moral life and believe in a Divine Being without carrying very much to be instructed are in the lowest or first heaven.  It is therefore evident, that states of mind are what constitute heaven and that heaven is within every one and not without him, as the Lord also teaches when He says, “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation; neither shall they say, Lo here! Lo there! For, behold, the kingdom of God ye have in you” (Luke 17: 20, 21).

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34.   All perfection also increases towards the centre, and decreases towards the circumference, because interior things are nearer to the Divine Nature and in themselves purer; but exterior things are more remote from the Divine Nature and in themselves grosser.  Angelic perfection consists in intelligence, wisdom, love and every other good, and in happiness thence derived, but not in happiness apart from these; for without them happiness is external and not internal.  Since the angels of the inmost heaven have their inner minds opened to the third degree, their perfection immensely exceeds that of the angels in the middle heaven whose inner minds are opened to the second degree.  So likewise the perfection of the angels of the middle heaven exceeds that of the angels of the lowest heaven.

35.   On account of this distinction an angel of one heaven cannot associate with angels of another heaven; that is, no one can ascend from a lower heaven nor descend from a higher heaven.  Whoever ascends from a lower to a higher heaven is seized with painful anxiety and cannot see those who are there, still less can he speak with them; while he who descends from a higher to a lower heaven is deprived of his wisdom, falters in his speech and is filled with despair.  

- falter: *to walk or move unsteadily through weakness, fear, etc. *to lose strength of purpose or action; hesitate.

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    There were certain angels from the lowest heaven who were not as yet instructed that heaven has its seat in the inner minds of the angels, believing that they should come into higher heavenly happiness could they but enter a heaven of higher angels.  They were therefore permitted to do so.  But when there, although they searched about and there was a great multitude present, they could see no one; for the inner minds of the strangers were not opened to the same degree as those of the angles there, and consequently neither was their sight.  In a short time they were seized with such anguish of heart that they scarcely knew whether they were alive or not; and therefore they speedily returned to the heaven from which they came, rejoicing to get back to their own companions and promising that they would no longer covet higher enjoyments than such as accord with their life.

- covet: to desire eagerly (esp. sth belonging to another person).

    I have also seen others who were permitted to descend from a higher heaven; and they were deprived of their wisdom to such an extent that they did not know the character of their own heaven.  It is otherwise when the Lord, as is the frequently the case, raises angels from a lower heaven into a higher one, that they may see its glory; for then they are previously prepared and are encompassed by intermediate angels through whom they have communication with those among whom they come.  From these facts it is evident that the three heavens are most distinct from one another.

36.   All those, however, who are in the same heaven can associate freely with one another, and the delight of their intercourse is according to the affinity of their goodness; but of this more will be said shortly.

37.   Although the heavens are so distinct that the angels of one heaven cannot associate with the angels of another, still the Lord unites all the heavens by the direct and indirect operation of His Divine influence; it operates directly from Himself into all the heavens and indirectly from one heaven into another; and thus He forms the three heavens into one united whole and keeps all things in connexion from the first to the last, so that there is nothing disconnected; for whatever is unconnected with the First Cause by intermediate links cannot subsist but is dissipated and falls to nothing. 

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38.   He who is unacquainted with the nature of Divine Order in respect to degrees cannot comprehend in what manner the heavens are distinct nor even what is meant by the internal and external man.  Most men in the world have no other idea concerning interior and exterior or higher and lower things, than as of something continuous or that which passes gradually from a purer state to a grosser.  But interior and exterior things are not continuous but distinct.

    Degrees are of two kinds—those that are continuous, and those that are not continuous.  Continuous degrees may be compared to the gradual fading of light proceeding form a flame until it is lost in obscurity; or to the gradual loss of clearness as the sight passes from things which are in the light to those which are in the shade; or to the increasing purity of the atmosphere from its lower regions upwards.  All these degrees are determined by distance.

    Degrees not continuous but distinct, differ from each other like what is prior and what is posterior or cause and effect or that which produces and that which is produced.  Whoever investigates the subject will see that in every single thing in the whole world both in general and in particular, there are such degrees of production and composition; so that from one thing, another is produced and from that, a third, and so on.

[p017-f4]    He who fails to comprehend these degrees cannot possibly understand the difference between the several heavens nor that between the interior and exterior faculties of man, nor the distinction between the spiritual world and the natural world, nor that between the spirit of man and his body.  Consequently he cannot understand the nature and origin of correspondences and representations nor the nature of the Divine influx. Sensuous men cannot understand these distinctions for they suppose all increase and decrease even with respect to these degrees to be continuous; and so they cannot form any other conception of what is spiritual than as of something more purely natural.  Thus they stand, as it were, without the gate and are far removed from intelligence.

- influx: the esp. sudden arrival of large numbers or quantities. *inflow

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39.   In conclusion, a certain mystery may be related about the angels of the three heavens which has never before entered the mind of any one because no one has hitherto understood the nature of degrees.  There is in every angel and also in every man an inmost or supreme degree or region of the mind into which the Divine Sphere of the Lord first or most directly flows and from which it regulates the other regions of the mind which follow in succession according to Divine Order.  This inmost or highest degree may be called the Lord’s entrance to angels and men and His especial dwelling place in them.  It is by virtue of this inmost or highest degree that man is a man and is distinguished from the animals which have it not.  This is why, unlike the animals, man with respect to the higher faculties of his whole mind can be raised by the Lord to Himself, can believe in Him, love Him and thus see Him; and can receive intelligence and wisdom and speak from reason: hence also he lives to eternity.  But the arrangements and provisions which are made by the Lord in this inmost region of the mind cannot be clearly understood by any angel because they are above his (angel’s) sphere of thought and transcend his wisdom. 

40.   These are the general facts about the three heavens, but in what follows we shall speak of each heaven in particular.