461# 第三则灵界见闻如下：
有一次，我在灵中被带往灵界南方，进入那里一座乐园；我见此园胜过此前所游览的一切乐园。其所以然在于，园囿象征理智；凡较他人更具理智者，皆被迁往南方。亚当与其妻所在的伊甸园，亦无非象征此义；因此，他们被逐出伊甸园，所含之义乃是：他们被逐离理智，并由此也被逐离生命的纯全。
我在这南方乐园中行走时，看见几个人坐在一棵月桂树下吃无花果。我便走近，向他们讨些无花果；他们给了我。旋即，无花果在我手中化为葡萄。我正惊异，侍立于旁的一位天使灵对我说：“你手中的无花果化为葡萄，是因为按对应而言，无花果象征属世人或外在人中仁义之善以及由此而来的信仰之善；葡萄则象征属灵人或内在人中仁义之善以及由此而来的信仰之善。又因你爱属灵之事，所以此事就在你这里发生；因为在我们这个世界里，万物皆按对应而成、而存，也按对应而变化。”
【2】于是，我立刻生出一种强烈愿望，想知道：人如何能从上帝行善，而同时又全然仿佛出于自己行善。因此，我问那些吃无花果的人，他们如何理解此事。
他们说，他们只能这样理解：上帝在人里面运行此善，并在人不知觉时借人行出此善；因为人若知觉此事，并且如此而行，所行就不是真善，只是表面之善，其内里乃是恶。
他们说：“凡从人发出的，皆从人的自我发出；而人的自我自出生以来就是恶。那么，来自上帝的善，怎能与来自人的恶结合，并如此结合地发出于行为呢？况且，人的自我在救恩之事上，常常呼吸着求功之气；它越如此行，就越夺取主自己的功劳，而主的功劳不可侵犯。如此行，乃至大的不义与不虔。
总之，若上帝在人里面所运行的善，流入人的意愿，并由此流入人的实行，那么这善必被完全玷污，甚至被亵渎；然而上帝绝不容许这种事。人固然可以思想自己所行的善来自上帝，并称之为上帝借人而行的善；但它实际上如何能够如此，我们仍不能理解。”
【3】于是我开启心意，对他们说：“你们不能理解，是因为你们从表象思考；而由被确认的表象所形成的思考，正是谬误。你们的表象以及由此而来的谬误在于：你们相信，人所意愿、所思考，并由此所行、所说的一切，都在他自己里面，因而也都出于他自己。然而实际上，这些并无一样在他里面；在他里面的，只有接受流入之物的状态。
人不是在自己里面的生命，而是领受生命的器官。主才是在自己里面的生命，正如祂在约翰福音中所说：‘父怎样在自己里面有生命，也照样赐给子在自己里面有生命。’（约5:26；11:25；14:6，19）。
【4】构成生命的有两样：爱与智慧；或同义而言，爱之善与智慧之真。这二者从上帝流入，并被人接受，仿佛属于人自己；又因人如此感觉，它们也就从人发出，仿佛出于人自己。主赐人有此感觉，是为使流入之物能感动他，从而被接受并存留。
但由于一切恶也在流入，虽非来自上帝，而是来自地狱；并且人因生来就是这样的器官，便以快乐接受它；所以，人从上帝接受善的程度，只与他仿佛由自己除去恶的程度相等。而除去恶，乃是借悔改，并同时借信主而成。
【5】爱与智慧、仁义与信仰，或更广泛地说，爱与仁义之善、智慧与信仰之真，都是流入的；凡流入之物，在人里面显得全然如同属于人自己，并由此发出，仿佛出于人自己。此事可由视觉、听觉、嗅觉、味觉和触觉明白看出：凡在这些感官器官中被感觉到的，皆从外面流入，却在这些器官中被感觉。内在感官的器官亦是如此；唯一区别在于，流入内在感官的是属灵之物，不显现；流入外在感官的是属世之物，显现。
总而言之，人乃是从上帝领受生命的器官；因此，人接受善的程度，正与他离弃恶的程度相等。主赐每一个人都能离弃恶，因为祂赐人能够意愿，也能够理解；凡人出于意志、照着理智而行的一切，或同义而言，凡人出于意志的自由、照着理智的理性而行的一切，都会存留。主借此把人引入与祂结合的状态，并在此状态中改造人、重生人、拯救人。
【6】所流入的生命，是从主发出的生命；这生命也称为上帝的灵，在圣言中称为圣灵。关于圣灵，圣言也说祂光照人、使人有生命，甚至在人里面运行。然而，这生命会按由爱所形成的组织结构而变化并受规定。
你们也可由此知道，爱与仁义的一切善，以及智慧与信仰的一切真，都是流入的，并非在人里面本有。因为人若以为这些东西自创造以来就在人体内，最终便不能不这样思想：上帝已将自己注入人里面，因而人就在某种部分上成了神。然而，凡从信念上如此思想的人，都会成为魔鬼；在我们这里，他们散发如尸体一般的恶臭。
【7】此外，人的行为若非行动着的心智，又是什么？因为心智所意愿、所思想的，便借自己的器官——身体——而行、而说。因此，当心智由主引导时，行为与言语也同样被引导；而当人信主时，行为与言语便由主引导。
若非如此，请你们说说看：为什么主在祂的圣言中千百次命令人要爱邻舍，要行仁义之善，要像树一样结出果子，要实行诫命，要做这事、那事，为要得救？又为什么祂说，人要按自己的行为或作为受审判：行善的进入天堂与生命，作恶的进入地狱与死亡？
若凡从人发出的都是求功的，因而都是恶的，主怎能说这些话呢？所以你们当知道：若心智是仁义，行为也是仁义；但若心智只是信仰，也就是与属灵仁义分离的信仰，那么行为也只是这种信仰。”
【8】坐在月桂树下的人听完这些，便说：“我们明白你所说的是公义的，但我们仍不能理解。”
我回答他们说：“你们明白我所说的是公义的，是出于共同知觉；这种知觉乃是人在听见真理时，由天上之光流入而有的。但你们不能理解，则是出于你们自己的知觉；这种知觉乃是人由世界之光流入而有的。智慧人里面，这两种知觉，即内在与外在的知觉，或属灵与属世的知觉，合而为一。你们若仰望主，并除去恶，也能使二者合一。”
他们既明白这些话，我便从一棵葡萄树上摘下枝条递给他们，说：“你们相信这是出于我，还是出于主？”
他们说：“是从主而出、借你而来。”
随即，那些枝条在他们手中发出了葡萄。
我离开时，看见一张香柏木桌子，桌上有一本书；桌子置于一棵青翠的橄榄树下，橄榄树的树干被葡萄藤缠绕。我注目观看，原来那正是我所写的书，名为《天堂的奥秘》。我于是说：此书已充分表明，人乃是领受生命的器官，并非生命本身；生命不能被创造，因而也不能作为受造物内在于人，正如光不能被创造而内在于眼睛一样。
461# 记事三：
我曾在灵里被带到灵界的南部地区，进入那里的一个乐园；我发现该乐园远超我此前所见的一切园子。这是因为花园表示聪明，所有具有超凡聪明的人都搬到了南方。亚当及其妻子被安置的伊甸园没有其它含义；因此，他们被逐出伊甸园意味着失去了聪明，因而也失去了生命的完整性。我在这个南方乐园漫步的时候，发现有几个人正坐在月桂树下吃无花果。我走到他们跟前，向他们要了一些无花果，他们给了我；看哪，那些无花果在我手里变成了葡萄。当我对此感到惊讶时，站在旁边的一位天使灵说：“无花果在你手里变成了葡萄，是因为无花果因对应关系而表示属世人或外在人的仁爱和源于仁爱的信仰之良善，而葡萄表示属灵人或内在人的仁爱和源于仁爱的信仰之良善；这种变化发生在你身上，是因为你喜欢属灵事物；在我们的世界，一切事物都照着对应关系而发生、出现或存在和变化。”
就在那一刻，我感受到一种强烈的渴望，想知道人如何能从神那里行善，却又完全貌似凭自己行善。因此，我问那些正在吃无花果的人，他们是怎么理解这个问题的。他们回答说，他们只能以这种方式来理解：神在人里面，并通过人这个工具实现了它，而人却不知道祂的活动。因为如果人意识到这一点，并在这种状态下行善，他只会行表面的良善，而表面的良善内在是邪恶。他们说：“因为从人发出的一切都是从他的自我发出的，而这自我生来就是邪恶。来自神的良善和来自人的邪恶怎么能结合在一起，并且如此结合后进入行为呢？此外，在与救赎有关的事上，人的自我总是充满功德的观念，或说不断散发功德感；人的自我越寻求功德，就越从主那里夺走祂自己的功德；这是极度的不公义和不敬。总之，如果神在人身上所行的良善流入人的意愿，并因此流入他的行为，那么这良善定会被完全玷污和亵渎；但神从不允许这样的事发生。人的确可以认为他所行的良善来自神，还可以说它本质上属于神，或神的良善是藉着他来行的；不过，我们还是不明白事实是这样。”
然后我打开心智说：“你们不明白，是因为你们基于表象来思考，基于表象的思考当被确认时，就是谬误。对你们来说，这是一种表象，因而是一种谬误，因为你们相信，一个人所意愿和思考，并由此所行和所说的一切都在他自己里面，因而来自他自己；而事实上，除了接受流入之物的状态外，它们无一在他自己里面。人本身不是生命，只是接受生命的器官。主本身是生命，如祂在约翰福音中所说的：
父怎样在自己有生命，就赐给儿子也照样在自己有生命。（约翰福音5:26; 11:25; 14:6，19）
“有两样事物构成生命，即爱和智慧，或也可说，爱之良善和智慧之真理。这两者从神那里流入，并被人接受，就好像它们是人自己的一样；它们因被感觉为人自己的，所以从人发出，就好像它们是他自己的一样。它们被人如此感觉是主的恩赐，以便流入的东西可以影响人，或给他留下深刻印象，从而被接受和保留。但由于一切邪恶同样会流入，不是从神那里流入，而是从地狱那里流入，并被人快乐地接受（因为人天生就是这样的器官），所以人从神那里所接受的良善的量不会超过他貌似凭自己所移除的邪恶的量；这是通过悔改，同时通过对主的信仰实现的。
“爱和智慧，仁爱和信仰，或更笼统地说，爱和仁爱之良善，并智慧和信仰之真理，都是流入的，凡流入的东西在人看来，完全就像是他自己的，因而从他发出，就像是他自己的一样。这一切可从视觉、听觉、嗅觉、味觉和触觉清楚看出来。在这些感觉器官中感觉到的一切都是从外面流入这些器官，并在它们里面被感觉到的。内在感觉器官也是如此，唯一的区别是，流入它们的属灵事物不像流入外在感觉器官的属世事物那样明显。总之，人就是从神那里接受生命的器官；因此，人停止作恶到何等程度，就在何等程度上接受良善。主将停止作恶的能力赐给了每个人，因为主赐给他意愿和理解的能力；凡人出于意愿照着理解力所行的，或也可说，凡他出于意愿的自由照着理解力的理性所行的，都成为永久性的。主利用这种能力把人引入与祂自己结合的状态，然后在这种状态下改造、重生和拯救他。
“流入人的生命是从主发出的生命，这生命也被称为神的灵，在圣言中被称为圣灵，经上说这生命光照人，使他复活或给他带来生命，甚至在他里面作工或运作。但这生命会照着他的爱所引起，或说他的爱在他里面所创造的心理结构而变化和调整。你们也可能知道，一切爱和仁爱之良善，并一切智慧和信仰之真理都流入人，最初并不在人里面。这一点可从以下事实得知：人若认为这些事物通过创造被植入人，最终必得出这样的结论：神将祂自己注入人，因此人在某种程度上成了神。然而，那些出于信仰如此认为的人都变成了魔鬼，在我们中间闻起来就像尸体。
“此外，人的行为不就是心智在行动吗？因为心智意愿和思考什么，它就通过它的器官，即身体做出来、说出来。因此，当心智被主引导时，行为和言语也被祂引导；当人信靠主时，行为和言语就被主引导。如果不是这样，若可以就请解释一下为什么主在祂圣言中的上千个地方吩咐人要爱邻舍，履行仁爱的善行，像树一样结出果子，遵守诫命，去做这一切好叫他可以得救呢？又为什么祂说，人要照着他的行为，也就是他的作为受审判，行善的上天堂、得生命，作恶的下地狱、得死亡呢？如果从人发出的一切都是追求功德的，因而是邪恶的，那么祂怎么能说这些话呢？因此，要知道，如果心智是仁爱，那么行为也是仁爱；但如果心智是唯信，就是与属灵仁爱分离的信仰，那么行为也是唯信。”
听到这些话，那些坐在月桂树下的人说：“我们理解你说得对，但又不理解。”我回答说：“你们理解我说得对，凭的是普遍感知；每个人在听到任何真理时，都会从来自天堂的光之流注中获得这种普遍感知。而你们不理解是因为自我感知，人从来自世界的光之流注中获得这种自我感知。在智者里面，这两种感知，即内在和外在的感知，或属灵和属世的感知，合而为一。你们若仰望主，除去邪恶，也可以使它们合而为一。”由于他们明白了这一点，所以我就从葡萄树上拧下几根枝条递给他们，说：“你们认为这是从我来的，还是从主来的？”他们回答说，这是从主那里通过我来的。看哪，他们手里的枝条结出了葡萄。离别之际，我看到在一棵缠绕着葡萄藤蔓的绿色橄榄树下有一张香柏木桌子，桌子上放着一本书。我看了看，这是我写的一本书，书名是《属天的奥秘》。我告诉他们说，这本书充分说明，人不是生命本身，而是接受生命的器官；生命不能被创造，也不能通过被创造而在人里面，就像光不能在眼睛里面一样。
461. The third memorable occurrence. Once I was carried in spirit to a paradise in the southern part of the spiritual world. I observed that this paradise was more magnificent than all the rest I had seen up to that point. The reason for its magnificence was that a garden means intelligence, and all the people who are exceptionally intelligent are moved to the south.
The Garden of Eden of Adam and his wife has exactly this meaning. Their expulsion from the garden means being taken away from intelligence and therefore from wholeness of life as well.
As I was walking around in this southern paradise I noticed some people sitting under a laurel tree eating figs. I went over to them and asked if I could have some figs. They gave me some. In my hand, however, the figs turned into grapes! Since I was astounded by this, an angelic spirit who was standing next to me told me, "The figs became grapes in your hand because figs correspondentially mean good actions related to goodwill, and therefore to faith, in our earthly or outer self. Grapes, however, mean good qualities related to goodwill, and therefore to faith, in our spiritual or inner self. This happened to you because you love spiritual things. In our world everything happens, takes shape, and also changes according to correspondences. "
[2] At that point an avid desire suddenly came over me to know how people can do what is good from God and yet do it completely as if they were on their own, so I asked the people eating figs how they understood this. They said, "We have no other way to understand this except to think that God produces this effect inside us and through us when we are unaware of it; because if we knew about it and did it, the good we did would be only something seemingly good that was actually evil inwardly. Everything that comes from ourselves comes from our self-interest, which is evil from the day we are born. How could goodness from God and evil from ourselves become united and move together into action? When it comes to salvation, our self-interest is constantly seeking to earn merit. The more merit our self-interest seeks, the more merit it takes away from the Lord; this theft is the ultimate injustice and ungodliness. Briefly put, if the goodness that God produces in us were to flow into something we wanted and did, we would pollute and desecrate that goodness in every way, which God would never allow. We can of course think that the goodness we do comes from God and call it God's goodness acting through us, but we don't actually understand that. "
[3] Then I opened my mind and said, "You don't understand it, because your thinking is based on the way things appear, and thinking that is based on an appearance is mistaken. You have this mistaken view because you believe that everything we intend and think, and everything we do and say, is inside us and therefore comes from us, when in fact none of it is inside us except a condition that enables us to receive what flows in. We are not life in itself; we are just organs that receive life. The Lord is life in itself, as in fact he says in John: 'As the Father has life in himself, so he has also given the Son to have life in himself' (John 5:26; ; , ).
[4] "There are two things that constitute life: love and wisdom, or what is the same thing, goodness related to love and truth related to wisdom. These two qualities flow in from God. We receive them as if they were ours. In fact, because we feel them that way, they emanate from us as if they really were our own. The Lord grants us this feeling so that what flows in will have an effect on us, and be accepted and stay with us. All that is evil also flows in, not from God but from hell. We feel pleasure as we take evil in, because we were born that way. Therefore we receive no greater amount of goodness from the Lord than the amount of evil we have removed as if we were removing it on our own. It is our repentance and our faith in the Lord that does this removing.
[5] "Love and wisdom, and goodwill and faith, or (to put it even more generally) the goodness of love and goodwill and the truth of wisdom and faith, flow in. Things that flow in seem to us to be totally our own, and therefore they go out from us as if they were our own. The truth of this can be clearly seen by analogy with sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Everything that is perceived by the organs of these senses flows in from outside us but feels like it is inside us. The same is true for our organs of inner sensation, with just one difference: things that are spiritual and intangible flow into our organs of inner sensation, while things that are earthly and tangible flow into our organs of physical sensation.
"Briefly put, each of us is an organ that receives life from God. Therefore we become receptive to goodness depending on how thoroughly we stop doing evil. The power to stop doing evil is something the Lord grants to every one of us. He gives us the ability to intend and to understand. Whatever we do intentionally, based on our understanding (or to put it another way, using our free will and following the reasoning of our intellect) becomes a permanent part of us. The Lord uses these abilities to bring us to a state of partnership with him; in this state he then reforms us, regenerates us, and saves us.
[6] "The life that flows into us comes from the Lord. This life is also called the spirit of God. In the Word it is called the Holy Spirit. The Word says that the Holy Spirit enlightens us and brings us to life, and even that it works inside us. This life is varied and modified, however, by the structure that is created in us by what we love.
"nother way to tell that all the goodness of love and goodwill and all the truth of wisdom and faith flow in rather than coming from ourselves is this: People who think that goodness and truth have been in us since creation eventually cannot avoid thinking that God poured himself into us and therefore we are partly gods. Yet people who think this and believe it become devils. When they are among us, they reek like corpses.
[7] "Further, what else is human action except the mind acting? Whatever the mind intends and thinks, it does and says through its organ, the body. Therefore when our mind is led by the Lord, our words and actions are also led by the Lord; our words and actions are led by the Lord when we believe in him.
"If this is not true, tell me - if you can - why the Lord has commanded us in a thousand passages in his Word to love our neighbor, to perform acts of goodwill, to bear fruit like a tree, to obey what he commands, and to do all this so that we will be saved. For another thing, why did he say that we are judged by the actions and works we have done - people who do good things being judged to heaven and to life while people who do evil things are judged to hell and to death? The Lord would not say things like these if everything we accomplished was done to earn merit and was therefore evil. It is important for you to know, therefore, that if the mind is goodwill, then the action is goodwill; but if the mind is faith alone, which is also faith separated from spiritual goodwill, the action is also that same faith. "
[8] The people sitting under the laurel tree then said, "We understand that you have spoken the truth - we just don't understand what you said. "
"You understand that I spoke the truth," I replied, "because of the general awareness that people have from the light that flows in from heaven when they hear something true. You don't understand it because of your own awareness, which is something people have from the light that flows in from the world. These two kinds of awareness, an inner one and an outer one, or a spiritual one and an earthly one, become united in people who are wise. You too can unite them if you focus on the Lord and remove evils. "
Since they understood this point, I pulled some branches from a grapevine and held them out to these people. "Do you believe these are coming to you from me or from the Lord?" I said.
They said, "They are coming from the Lord by means of you. "
The branches in their hands suddenly grew grapes!
As I was leaving, I saw a cedar table that had a book on it. It was under a thriving olive tree that had vines wrapped around its trunk. I looked more closely, and the book turned out to be one written through me called Secrets of Heaven! I told the people that the fact that we are organs that receive life rather than life itself was fully demonstrated in that book; the book also shows that life itself cannot be fabricated, and thus cannot reside as a fabricated thing within a person, any more than light can in an eye.
461. The third experience 1 .
Once when I was in the spirit I travelled deep into the southern region in the spiritual world, and came into a park there; and I saw that this one was better than the others I had so far visited. The reason was that a garden means intelligence; and it is to the south that all are sent who are especially intelligent. It was this that was meant by the Garden of Eden, where Adam lived with his wife; so their being driven out implies that they were deprived of intelligence, and thus also of uprightness of life. As I was walking in this southern park I noticed some people sitting under a laurel-bush eating figs. I went up to them and asked them to give me some figs. They did so, and at once the figs in my hand turned into grapes. I was surprised by this, but an angelic spirit standing next to me said: 'The figs in your hand turned into grapes, because the meaning of figs by their correspondence is the kinds of good of charity and hence of faith in the natural or external man, and grape means the kinds of good of charity and hence of faith in the spiritual or internal man. As you love what is spiritual, so this happened to you. For in our world everything happens and comes into existence, and also undergoes change, in accordance with correspondences.'
[2] I was at once struck with a keen desire to know how a person can do good coming from God, and yet do it exactly as if of himself. So I asked those who were eating figs how they understood the point. They said that they could only understand this as meaning that God performs this inwardly in a person while he is unaware of it. For if he were conscious of it, and did it in that state, he would do only apparent good, which is inwardly evil. 'Everything,' they said, 'which comes from man comes from his self (proprium), and this is evil from birth. How then can good coming from God and evil coming from man be linked, and so jointly proceed to action? A person's self in matters of salvation is constantly seeking merit; and in so far as he does so, he takes away from the Lord His merit, which is the height of injustice and impiety. In short, if the good which God performs in a person were to flow into his willing and thence into his doing, that good would be utterly defiled and profaned, something God never permits. A person can of course think that the good he does comes from God, and call it God's good done by his means; still we do not understand that it is good.'
[3] Then I disclosed what I was thinking and said: 'You do not understand because your thinking is based upon appearances, and this sort of thinking if supported by argument is fallacy. The appearance and hence the fallacy you are involved in is because you believe that everything a person wills and thinks, and so does and says, is in him and consequently comes from him. Yet in fact nothing of this is in him, except the condition of receiving what flows in. Man is not life in himself, but he is an instrument for receiving life. The Lord is life in Himself, as He also says in John:
As the Father has life in Himself, so He granted to the Son to have life in Himself, John 5:26; and elsewhere, for instance John 11:25; 14:6, 19.
[4] 'There are two things which produce life, love and wisdom, or, what is the same, the good of love and the truth of wisdom. These flow in from God, and are received by a person as if they were his own; and because they are felt like this, they also come from a person as if they were his. The Lord grants that they are felt like this by a person, so that what flows in affects him, and so by being accepted remains with him. But because all evil also flows in, not from God, but from hell, and accepting this gives pleasure, man being by birth such an instrument, for this reason only so much good can be accepted from God as there is evil taken away by the person as if by himself, which is achieved by repentance together with faith in the Lord.
[5] 'It can be plainly seen from a consideration of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch that love and wisdom, charity and faith, or to use a more general expression, the good of love and charity, and the truth of wisdom and faith, flow into a person; and that what flows in appears in a person as if it were entirely his own, and it proceeds from him as if it were his own. All the sensations produced in the organs of those senses come from an external source and are felt in the organs concerned. It is the same with the organs of the internal senses, the only difference being that these are affected by spiritual things, which are undetectable, flowing in, whereas the external senses are affected by natural things, which are detectable. In short, man is an instrument for the reception of life from God; it follows that he receives good to the extent that he desists from evil. Everyone is granted by the Lord the potentiality of desisting from evil, because he is granted the power to will and to have understanding; and whatever a person does from his will in accordance with his understanding, or what is the same thing, from his freedom to will in accordance with the power of reason in his understanding, is permanent. By this means the Lord brings a person into a state of being linked with Himself, and in this state He reforms, regenerates and saves him.
[6] 'The life which flows in is life coming forth from the Lord; this life is also called the Spirit of God, and in the Word the Holy Spirit, and of this it is said that it enlightens and quickens, in fact that it works on him. But this life varies and is modified depending on the organisation brought about by love. You can also know that all the good of love and charity, and all the truth of wisdom and faith flow in and are not actually in the person, if you reflect that when anyone thinks that man has such a capability from creation, he must inevitably think that God poured Himself into man, so that people are partially gods. Yet those who think this as a result of firm belief become devils, and in our world stink like corpses.
[7] 'Moreover, what is human action but a mind acting? What the mind wills and thinks, it does and speaks by means of its instrument, the body. When therefore the mind is guided by the Lord, so is its action and speech. Action and speech are guided by the Lord, when He is believed in. If this were not so, tell me if you can, why did the Lord in thousands of places in His Word order man to love his neighbour, perform the good deeds of charity, to produce fruit like a tree and keep His commandments, and to do both one and the other in order to be saved? Again, why did He say that a person would be judged according to his deeds or what he had done, those whose deeds were good going to heaven and life, those whose deeds were wicked going to hell and death? How could the Lord have said such things, if everything coming from a person was done to acquire merit and therefore wicked? You ought therefore to know that if the mind is charity, so too is action; but if the mind is faith alone, and this too is faith separated from spiritual charity, action also is that faith.'
[8] On hearing this those who were sitting under the laurel said: 'We grasp that you have spoken fairly, but still we do not grasp the point.' 'You grasp,' I answered them, 'that I have spoken fairly by means of the general perception which all people enjoy as the result of the light which flows in from heaven when they hear something true. Your failure to grasp the point is due to your own personal perception, which everyone has as a result of light flowing in from the world. In the case of the wise those two kinds of perception, internal and external, or spiritual and natural, act as one. You too can make them act as one, if you look to the Lord and put away evils.' Since they understood this, I took some shoots off a vine and held them out to them saying, 'Do you think this is from me or from the Lord?' They said it was from the Lord through me; and at once the shoots in their hands put forth grapes.
When I left, I saw a table of cedar-wood, on which was a book, under a flourishing olive-tree with a vine wound about its trunk. When I looked, I saw to my surprise that the book was the one written through me called ARCANA CAELESTIA 2 . I said that that book contained a full demonstration that man is an instrument for the reception of life, and was not himself life; and that life could not be created and so by being created be in man, any more than light could be created in the eye.
Footnotes:
461. Third Memorable Relation
I was once carried away in spirit to the southern quarter of the spiritual world, and into a certain paradise there; and I saw that this paradise excelled all that I had before surveyed. This was because a garden signifies intelligence, and because all those who are pre-eminent in intelligence are conveyed to the south. The garden of Eden, in which were Adam and his wife, has no other significance; so their expulsion therefrom involved expulsion from intelligence, and thus also from integrity of life. While I was walking in this southern paradise, I noticed certain persons sitting under a laurel eating figs. I turned to them and asked them for some figs, which they gave me; and lo, in my hand the figs became grapes.
As I wondered at this, an angelic spirit who stood near me said, "The figs became grapes in your hand because figs by correspondence signify the goods of charity and of faith therefrom in the natural or external man, while grapes signify the goods of charity and of faith therefrom in the spiritual or internal man; and this has happened to you because you love spiritual things; for in our world all things occur and come forth, and are also changed, in accordance with correspondences."
[2] Then suddenly there came upon me a desire to know how man can do good from God, and yet do it altogether as if of himself. I therefore asked those who were eating the figs how they understood the matter.
They said that they could understand it only in this way, that God effects this inwardly in man and through man when he is ignorant of it; because if man were conscious of it, and in that state were to do good, he would do only apparent good, which inwardly is evil. "For all that goes forth from man goes forth from his own [proprium], and this is evil from birth; and how can good from God and evil from man be conjoined, and thus conjointly go forth into act? What is man's own in matters pertaining to salvation constantly breathes forth a sense of merit, and so far as it does this, it detracts from the Lord His own merit; and this is the height of injustice and impiety. In a word, if the good which God works in man, were to inflow into man's willing and thence into his doing, the good would assuredly be defiled and also profaned, and this God never permits. Man can think, indeed, that the good he does is from God, and can say that it is essentially God's; but still that it is so we do not comprehend."
[3] Then I opened my mind and said, "You do not comprehend this because you think from appearance, and thought confirmed from appearance is fallacy. To you there is such appearance and consequent fallacy because you believe everything that a man thinks and wills and does and says therefrom, is in himself, and consequently from himself, when in fact there is no part of them in him except the state to receive what inflows. Man is not life in himself, but an organ receptive of life. The Lord is life in Himself, as He says in John:
As the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself, John 5:26 here, as in John 11:25; 14:6, 19.
[4] "There are two things that constitute life, namely, love and wisdom, or what is the same thing, the good of love and the truth of wisdom. These flow in from God, and are received by man as if they were his; and because they are so felt by man they go forth from man as if they were his. Their being so felt by man is the Lord's gift, to the end that what flows in may affect man, and so be received and remain. But inasmuch as all evil likewise flows in, not from God but from hell, and is received with delight (because man is such an organ by birth), so good is received from God only in proportion as evil is removed by man as if of himself; and this is done by repentance coupled with faith in the Lord.
[5] That love and wisdom, charity and faith, or, more generally speaking, the good of love and charity, and the truth of wisdom and faith, flow in, and that what flows in appears in man to be wholly his own, and thus goes forth from his own, all this can clearly be seen from the sense of sight, of hearing, of smell, of taste, and of touch. All things that are felt in the organs of those senses flow into those organs from without and are felt within them. It is the same in the organs of the internal senses, with the sole difference that spiritual things, which are not manifest, flow into the former. In a word, man is an organ receptive of life from God; consequently, so far as he refrains from evil, he is a recipient of good.
"The power to refrain from evil the Lord gives to every man, because He gives him the power to will and to understand; and whatever man does from his will in accord with his understanding, or, what is the same, from freedom of will in accord with reason of the understanding, is permanent. It is by means of this that the Lord brings man into a state of conjunction with Himself, and in that state reforms, regenerates, and saves him.
[6] "The life that flows into man is life that goes forth from the Lord, which life is also called the Spirit of God, and in the Word the Holy Spirit, and this life is said to enlighten and vivify man, and even to work in him. But his life is varied and modified according to the organization induced by means of his love. You may also know that all the good of love and charity, and all the truth of wisdom and faith flow in, and are not in man [originally]. This may be known from the fact that he who thinks that there is anything of the kind in man by creation must needs conclude at last that God has infused Himself into man, and thus that men are partly gods; and yet those who so think from faith become devils, and with us smell like corpses.
[7] "Furthermore, what is man's action but the mind acting? For what the mind wills and thinks it does and says by means of its organ the body; so when the mind is led by the Lord, action and speech are also led by Him; and these are by Him when man believes in Him. If this were not so, explain, if you can, why the Lord, in thousands of places in His Word, has commanded man to love his neighbor, to perform the good works of charity, to bear fruit like a tree, and to keep the commandments, and all this that he may be saved. And again, why He has said that man shall be judged according to his deeds or works, those who do good to heaven and life, and those who do evil to hell and death. How could the Lord have said such things, if all that goes forth from man must need be a matter of merit, and therefore evil? Be it known to you, then, that if the mind is charity, the action is charity also; but if the mind is faith alone, which is faith separate from spiritual charity, the action also is that faith."
[8] Hearing this, those sitting under the laurel said, "That you have spoken rightly we comprehend, and yet do not comprehend."
I replied, "You comprehend that I have spoken rightly from the general perception that man has from the influx of light from heaven when he hears any truth; but your failure to comprehend is from the self-perception that man has from the influx of light from the world. In wise men these two kinds of perception, internal and external, or spiritual and natural, make one. You also can make them one if you look to the Lord and put away evils."
Because they understood this, I plucked some twigs from a vine and handed them to them, saying, "Do you believe that this is of me, or of the Lord?"
They said that it was from me, but of the Lord. And lo, the twigs put forth grapes in their hands.
But as I withdrew I saw under a green olive tree around which a vine had entwined itself, a cedar table on which there was a book. I looked and lo, it was a book written by me, entitled Arcana Coelestia and I said that it was fully shown in that book that man is not life but an organ receptive of life; also that life cannot be created and when so created be in man, any more than light in the eye.
461. The third experience. I was once carried away in the spirit to the southern region of the spiritual world to a garden which far excelled all that I had ever seen, for a garden signifies intelligence, and the south is the quarter where all are settled who surpass others in intelligence. This is the signification of the Garden of Eden in which Adam and his wife were placed; and consequently their expulsion from it implied that they had fallen from intelligence and integrity of life. As I was walking about in this garden of the south, I observed some persons sitting under a laurel eating figs. I went up to them, and asked them for some, which they gave me, and lo! in my hand they became grapes. When I expressed my surprise at this an angelic spirit who stood near said to me, "The figs became grapes in your hand because figs, from correspondence, signify the good of charity and of faith derived from charity in the natural or external man; whereas grapes signify the good of charity and of faith derived from charity in the spiritual or internal man; and because you love spiritual things this change took place for you. For in our world things become, exist and change according to correspondences."
[2] At that moment I felt a strong desire to know how a man can do good from God, and yet altogether as of himself; so I asked those who were eating figs how they understood this. They replied that they could understand it only in this way: "God brings it about within man and through his instrumentality, while man is unaware of His activity. For if man were conscious of it, and acted under this consciousness, what he did would only be apparent good, being interiorly evil; because what proceeds from a man proceeds from his proprium, which by birth is evil. How then, can good from God and evil from man be united, and having been thus united, proceed into act? Moreover, a man's proprium, in matters relating to salvation, is ever full of the idea of merit, and as far as this is so, it takes away His merit from the Lord; and this is the height of injustice and impiety. In a word, if the good which God works in a man were to enter by influx into his will and thence into his actions it would be utterly defiled and profaned; but this God never permits. A man may indeed think that the good he does is from God, and call it God's good performed through him; but still we do not understand that it is so."
[3] I then explained what was in my mind, and said: "You do not understand because you think from appearances, and such thought, when confirmed, is fallacy. To you it is an appearance, and consequently a fallacy, because you believe that all things that a man wills and thinks, and hence does and says, are in himself, and consequently from himself; whereas there is none of them in himself; there is only the disposition which renders possible the reception of what flows into him. Man is not life in himself, but is an organ receptive of life. The Lord is life in Himself, as He also says in John:
"As the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself" 5:26; and in other places, as John 11:25 and John 14:6, 19.
[4] "There are two things which constitute life, love and wisdom, or what is the same, the good of love and the truth of wisdom. These two flow in from God, and they are received by man as if they were his own; and because they are felt as his own, they proceed from him as if they were his own. The Lord has granted that man should have this feeling in order that what flows in should impress itself upon him, and so should be received and remain with him. On the other hand, all evil also flows in, not from God but from hell; and man receives it with delight; such is his nature by birth. He, therefore, receives good from God only in the measure that he removes evil as of himself; and this is effected by repentance and at the same time by faith in the Lord.
[5] "Love and wisdom, charity and faith, or, to speak in more general terms, the good of love and charity, and the truth of wisdom and faith, enter a man by influx; and whatever enters in this way appears in him entirely as if it were his own, and proceeds from him as his own. This is very evident from sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch; for everything that is perceived in the organs of these senses flows in from without, and is perceived in them. It is the same with the organs of the internal senses, with this difference only, that the spiritual things which flow into them are not apparent, like the natural things which flow into the organs of the external senses. In a word, a man is an organ receptive of life from God, and consequently he is receptive of good in proportion as he desists from evil. The Lord gives to every man the power to desist from evil, because He gives him will and understanding; and whatever a man does from his will according to his understanding, or, what is the same, from the freedom of his will according to the reason of his understanding, becomes permanent; and by it the Lord introduces the man into a state of conjunction with Himself, in which He reforms, regenerates and saves him.
[6] "The life which flows into man is life proceeding from the Lord, and is called the Spirit of God, and in the Word, the Holy Spirit; and it is also said that it enlightens, quickens and operates in him; but this life is varied and modified according to changes in the mental constitution induced by love. You may also know that all the good of love and charity, and all the truth of wisdom and faith, flow into, and are not in, a man from a consideration of the following. He who thinks that these things are implanted in man by creation must ultimately think that God infused Himself into men so that they were partly gods. But all who think and believe this become devils, and with us they emanate an odor of corpses.
[7] "Besides, what is human action but the mind acting? For what the mind wills and thinks, this it does and speaks by means of its organ the body. Therefore, when the mind is under the Lord's guidance, so also are action and speech; and action and speech are under the Lord's guidance when the man believes on Him. Unless this were so can you say why the Lord in a thousand places in His Word has commanded that a man should love the neighbor, perform the good works of charity, bring forth fruit like a tree, keep the commandments, and all that he may be saved? Why also did He say that a man would be judged according to his deeds, that is, his works, he who does good to heaven and life, but he who does evil to hell and death? How could the Lord have spoken thus if all that proceeds from man were merit-seeking and consequently evil? Know, therefore, that if the mind is charity so also is the action; but if the mind is faith alone, that is, faith separated from spiritual charity, so also is the action."
[8] On hearing these things, those who were sitting under the laurel said: "We comprehend that you have spoken justly, and yet we do not comprehend." I replied: "You comprehend that I have spoken justly by virtue of that universal perception which every man has from the influx of light from heaven when he hears any truth; but you do not comprehend because of the perception, proper to his nature, which man has from the influx of light from the world. These two perceptions, the internal and the external, or the spiritual and the natural, make one with the wise. You also may make them one, if you look to the Lord, and put away evils."
Seeing that they understood this, I plucked off some twigs from a vine, which I handed to them, saying, "Do you suppose that this is from me or from the Lord?" They answered that it was through me from the Lord; and lo! these twigs in their hands put forth grapes. As I withdrew, I saw a table of cedar wood on which lay a book, under a green olive-tree, whose trunk was entwined by a vine. I looked and saw it was a book written by me, 1 entitled Arcana Caelestia. I told them that in that book it was fully proved that a man is an organ recipient of life, and not life itself; and that life cannot be created and be in man any more than light can be in the eye.
Footnotes:
1. In the APOCALYPSE REVEALED 875, where this passage first appears, the title of the book is given as ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING THE DIVINE LOVE AND DIVINE WISDOM: and also CONCERNING THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE.
461. TERTIUM MEMORABILE: Quondam in spiritu provectus sum in Plagam meridionalem in Mundo spirituali, et in quendam Paradisum ibi, ac vidi quod hic excelleret reliquis, quos hactenus lustravi; causa erat, quia Hortus significat Intelligentiam, ac in Meridiem transferuntur omnes, qui prae aliis intelligentia pollent; Hortus Edenis, in quo Adam cum Uxore sua fuit, nec aliud significat, quare quod expulsi ab illo fuerint, involvit, quod ab intelligentia, at sic quoque ab integritate vitae. Dum in meridionali hoc Paradiso ambularem, animadverti aliquos sedentes sub quadam lauru comedentes ficus; ad illos secessi, et petivi ab illis ficus, et dederunt; et ecce Ficus in manu mea factae sunt Uvae, quod cum miratus sum, dixit mihi Spiritus angelicus, qui juxta me stetit, Ficus in manu tua factae sunt Uvae, quia Ficus ex correspondentia significant bona Charitatis et inde Fidei in naturali seu externo homine, ac Uvae bona Charitatis et inde Fidei in spirituali seu interno homine; et quia amas spiritualia, ideo ita factum est tibi; in nostro enim Mundo omnia fiunt et existunt, et quoque mutantur, secundum correspondentias.
[2] Illico tunc supervenit me avidum sciendi, quomodo homo potest facere bonum a Deo, et tamen prorsus ut a se; quare interrogavi comedentes ficus, quomodo illi id comprehendunt; hi dixerunt, quod non possint id aliter comprehendere, quam quod Deus operetur id intus in homine, ac per hominem quando ille id nescit, quoniam si homo id consciret, et sic faceret, non faceret bonum nisi modo apparens, quod intus est malum; omne enim quod ab homine procedit, procedit a proprio ejus, et hoc a nativitate malum est; quomodo potest tunc bonum a Deo, et malum ab homine conjungi, et sic conjunctim procedere in actum; ac proprium hominis in rebus salutis continue spirat meritum, 1 et quantum hoc facit, tantum derogat Domino Ipsius meritum, quod est summa injustitia et impietas: Verbo, si bonum, quod Deus in homine operatur, in hominis velle et inde facere influeret, id bonum omnino conspurcaretur, et quoque prophanaretur, quod tamen Deus nusquam permittit: potest quidem homo bonum quod facit, cogitare quod sit a Deo, et id vocare bonum Dei per se, at usque, quid 2 sit, non comprehendimus.
[3] Sed tunc aperui mentem, et dixi, non comprehenditis, quia cogitatis ex apparentia, et cogitatio ex apparentia confirmata est fallacia; apparentia et inde fallacia vobis est, quia creditis, quod omnia, quae homo vult et cogitat, et inde facit et loquitur, sint in ipso, et consequenter ex ipso, cum tamen nihil eorum est in illo, praeter statum recipiendi quod influit; homo non est vita in se, sed est organum recipiens vitae; Dominus est Vita in se, ut quoque dicit apud Johannem, Quemadmodum Pater habet Vitam in Seipso, ita quoque dedit Filio Vitam habere 3 in Seipso, Cap. 5:26, praeter alibi, ut Johannes 11:25; 14:6, 19. 4
[4] Sunt duo quae faciunt Vitam, Amor et Sapientia, seu quod idem, Bonum amoris et Verum sapientiae; haec influunt a Deo, et recipiuntur ab homine sicut forent ejus, et quia sentiuntur ita, etiam procedunt ab homine sicut ejus; quod ita sentiantur ab homine, datum est a Domino, ut id quod influit, afficiat illum, et sic recipiatur ac remaneat. Sed quia omne malum etiam influit, non a Deo, sed ab Inferno, et hoc recipitur cum jucunditate, quia homo tale Organum est natus, quare non plus boni recipitur a Deo, quam quantum mali removetur ab homine ut ab illo, quod fit per Poenitentiam, et simul per Fidem in Dominum.
[5] Quod Amor et Sapientia, Charitas et Fides, 5 seu communius loquendo, Bonum amoris et Charitatis, ac Verum sapientiae et fidei, influant, et quod quae influunt, appareant in homine prorsus sicut ejus, et inde procedant sicut ejus, manifeste videri potest ex visu, auditu, odoratu, gustu, et tactu; omnia quae in illorum sensuum Organis sentiuntur, influunt ab extra, et sentiuntur in illis; similiter in sensuum internorum Organis; cum sola differentia, quod in haec influant Spiritualia quae non apparent, in illa autem Naturalia quae apparent: verbo, homo est Organum recipiens vitae a Deo, consequenter est recipiens boni, quantum desistit a malo; posse desistere a malo, dat Dominus cuivis homini, quia dat velle et intelligere, et quicquid homo ex voluntate secundum intellectum, seu quod idem, quicquid ex libero voluntatis secundum rationem intellectus agit, hoc permanet; per id Dominus inducit homini statum conjunctionis Secum, et in hoc illum reformat, regenerat, et salvat.
[6] Vita, quae influit, est Vita procedens a Domino, quae Vita etiam vocatur Spiritus Dei, in Verbo Spiritus Sanctus, de quo etiam dicitur, quod illustret et vivificet, imo quod operetur in illo; sed Vita haec variatur et modificatur secundum Organizationem 6 inductam per amorem. Potestis etiam scire, quod omne bonum amoris et charitatis, et omne verum sapientiae et fidei influant, et non sint in homine, ex eo, quod qui cogitat quod tale homini insit a creatione, denique non possit aliter cogitare, quam quod Deus infuderit se homini, et sic quod homines quoad partem forent Dii, et tamen qui hoc ex fide cogitant, fiunt diaboli, et apud nos putent sicut cadavera.
[7] Praeterea quid actio hominis nisi Mens agens, quod enim Mens vult et cogitat, hoc agit et loquitur per Corpus suum organum, quare dum Mens ducitur a Domino, ducitur etiam Actio et Loquela, ac Actio et Loquela ducuntur a Domino, cum creditur in Ipsum. Nisi ita foret, dicite si potestis, cur Dominus in Verbo suo millenis in locis mandavit, ut homo amaturus sit proximum, operaturus sit bona charitatis 7 ac fructus sicut arbor, ac facturus praecepta, et hoc et illud, ut salvetur; tum cur dixit, quod homo secundum facta seu opera sua judicaretur, qui bona facit ad Coelum et Vitam, et qui mala ad Infernum et Mortem; 8 quomodo potuerat Dominus talia loqui, si omne, quod procedit ab homine, foret meritorium et inde malum. Sciatis itaque, quod si Mens est Charitas, etiam Actio sit Charitas, si autem Mens est sola Fides, quae etiam est Fides separata a Charitate spirituali, etiam Actio sit illa Fides.
[8] His auditis, dixerunt sedentes sub Lauru, comprehendimus quod juste loquutus sis, sed usque non comprehendimus; quibus respondi, comprehenditis quod juste loquutus sim ex communi perceptione, quae est homini ex influxu lucis e Coelo, cum aliquod verum audit; at non comprehenditis ex propria perceptione, quae est homini ex influxu lucis e Mundo; binae illae perceptiones, nempe interna et externa, seu spiritualis et naturalis, unum faciunt apud sapientes; vos quoque potestis illas unum facere, si spectatis ad Dominum, et removetis mala. Haec quia intellexerunt, desumsi termites ex quadam Vite, et porrexi illis, et dixi, Numeri creditis quod hoc a me sit, vel a Domino, et dixerunt, quod ex me a Domino; et ecce termites illi in manibus illorum extruserunt uvas. At cum recessi, vidi Mensam cedrinam, super qua erat Liber, sub Olea virente, cujus truncum circum ligabat Vitis; aspexi, et ecce erat Liber per me scriptus, vocatus ARCANA COELESTIA, et dixi, quod in illo Libro plene ostensum sit, quod Homo sit Organum recipiens vitae, et non vita; et quod haec non possit creari, et sic creata inesse homini, plus quam lux oculo.
Footnotes:
1. Sic Errores Typographici.
2. Prima editio: quod.
3. Prima editio: babere.
4. Prima editio: 6, 9.
5. Prima editio: Fdes.
6. Prima editio: Organitazionem.
7. Prima editio: charitatis.
8. Prima editio: Mottem.