4527.我曾与一些离世后几天的人交谈过，那时他们因初来乍到，故所在的光和尘世的光几乎没什么区别，这使他们怀疑他们是不是从其它源头获得这光。因此缘故，他们被带到天堂的入口，那里的光更明亮；他们便从那里与我交谈。他们说，他们从来没有见过这种光；然而，这光即便在我们的太阳落下后仍会出现。此时，令他们感到惊讶的是以下事实：灵人居然有用来看见的眼睛，因为他们活在肉身时，以为灵人的生命是纯粹的思维，完全脱离了任何主体。他如此认为的原因在于，他们不能思想任何思维的主体，因为他们没有看到它。既如此，他们就不可避免地认为，灵人因是纯粹的思维，故必与包含它的身体一道消散，犹如一阵风或一团火，除非主以奇迹般的方式把它凝聚起来，并使其保持存在。那些被带到天堂入口的灵人还发现，对于死后生命，有学问的人如何轻易陷入错误；除了亲眼所看到的外，他们比其他所有人都更不信任何事物。因此，他们惊奇地发现，他们不仅拥有思维，还拥有视觉和其它一切感觉。更令他们惊讶的是，他们觉得自己完全就像人，能看，能听，能彼此交谈，能触摸并感觉到自己的身体部位，并且这一切比活在肉身时更敏锐、更完美。对此，他们感到震惊的是，活在世上的人竟然对这一切一无所知，他们为人类因不信这类事而对它们的无知感到遗憾，尤其同情那些比其他人拥有更多光明的人，也就是那些身在教会并拥有圣言的人。
其中有些人认为人死后就像鬼魂，他们因自己所听说的鬼魂而确认这种观点是真的。但他们由此得出的结论是：鬼魂无非是某种粗俗的生命本能，先从身体生命散发出来，而后又沉入尸体，并在这个过程中熄灭了。然而，有人认为，他们不会复活，直到最后审判之时，就是这个世界被毁灭的时候；届时，他们将与身体一同复活，尽管这身体已化为灰尘，但那时仍能聚拢起来；他们便以这种方式与他们的骨肉一同复活。他们因对于最后的审判或世界的毁灭已徒劳等候了数个世纪，故陷入一种错误想法：他们根本不会复活；永远不会思想他们从圣言所学到，并且有时还会引用的东西；声称当人死亡时，他的灵魂就交在神的手里，至于是在幸福的人当中还是在不幸的人当中，则取决于他已经习惯的生活；他们也想不起主所说关于财主和拉撒路的话。但这些新来的灵人被告知，每个人死后即面临最后的审判；那时，他觉得自己被赋予一个身体，和在世时一样，并享有如此处那样的各种感觉，只是更加纯粹、敏锐和完美；因为肉体事物对它不再有任何限制，属尘世之光的事物也不再使属天堂之光的事物变暗。因此，他现在如同生活在一个被净化的身体中；在来世，他绝无可能携带一具诸如在世时所拥有的那种骨肉之躯，因为这会使他再度被地上的尘埃所包裹。
我曾与一些人谈论这个话题，就在他们的尸体被埋葬的当天；透过我的眼睛，他们看到自己的尸体，棺材和葬礼。然后，他们说，他们正在抛弃这具身体；这身体曾为他们在世时履行功用而服务于他们，而如今他们活在一具为在如今的世界履行功用而服务于他们的身体中。他们也很想让我把这些话告诉他们那正在哀悼的亲人；但我得到的答复是，如果我真这么做了，他们只会嘲笑，因为凡无法亲眼看到的东西，他们都认为不存在；因此，他们会把我说的话视为幻觉。事实上，人们无法被引领相信，正如世人用自己的眼睛看见彼此，灵人也是用自己的眼睛看见彼此；世人若不用自己的灵眼，就看不见灵人；当主打开他的内视时，他就会看到他们，如向先知们所行的，他们就看见了灵人和天使，还看到天上的众多事物。不过，值得怀疑的是，现在活着的人即便那时也看到它们，会不会相信呢？
Potts(1905-1910) 4527
4527. I have spoken with some a few days after their decease, and who being recently arrived were in a light which to them differed but little from the light of this world, which caused them to doubt whether they had the light from any other source. They were therefore taken up into the entrance of heaven, where there was a light still clearer; and speaking with me from there, they said that they had never seen such a light; and yet this occurred after our sunset. They then wondered that spirits have eyes wherewith to see, and yet during their bodily life they had believed that the life of spirits is mere thought, abstracted from any subject, for they had not been able to think of any subject of thought because they had not seen it. And this being the case, they had imagined that as the spirit is mere thought it must be dissipated, like some breath of air or some fire, together with the body that had contained it, unless it were miraculously held together and kept in existence by the Lord. And they then saw how easily the learned fall into error regarding the life after death, and that above all others they believe nothing but what they see. They wondered therefore, not merely that they can think, but also that they can see, and enjoy all the other senses, and still more that they appear to themselves exactly like men, and see, hear, and converse with one another, and feel their own members by touch, and this more exquisitely than in the life of the body. At this they fell into amazement, that men living in this world know nothing of this, and they pitied the human race for their ignorance of such things consequent on their unbelief in them, and especially did they pity those who have more light than others, namely, those who are within the church and have the Word. [2] Some of them had believed that after death men would be like ghosts, in which opinion they had confirmed themselves from the specters of which they had heard, but in regard to which they had imagined that such a specter must be some gross principle of life, which first exhales from the body's life, but afterwards sinks back again into the corpse, and is thus extinguished. Some however had believed that they would not rise again until the time of the last judgment when the world would be destroyed, and they would then rise again with the body, which, though fallen into dust, would then be gathered together, and they would thus rise again with their bones and flesh. And as that last judgment or destruction of the world had been waited for in vain for many centuries, they had fallen into the error that they would never rise again; never thinking of what they had learned from the Word, and from which they had also sometimes spoken, saying that when a man dies his soul is in the hand of God, among the happy or the unhappy according to the life which he had made habitual to himself; nor thinking of what the Lord said about the rich man and Lazarus. But they were instructed that the last judgment of everyone is when he dies; and that he then appears to himself endowed with a body as in the world, and enjoys as here every sense, only more pure and exquisite because bodily things no longer stand in the way, and the things of the light of the world no longer darken those of the light of heaven; thus that they are as it were in a purified body, and that in the other life one could not possibly carry about a body of bones and flesh such as he had in the world, because this would be to be again encompassed with the dust of the earth. [3] I have spoken on this subject with some on the very day their bodies were being entombed, who saw through my eyes their own corpse, the bier, and the funeral ceremony; and they said that they reject that body, which had served them for uses in the world in which they had been, and that they are now living in a body which serves them for uses in the world in which they are now. They also desired me to tell these things to their relatives who were mourning; but it was given me to reply, that if I should do so they would scoff, because that which they could not see with their own eyes they would believe to be nothing, and would set down as delusive visions. For men cannot be brought to believe that just as they see one another with their eyes, so spirits see one another with theirs; and that a man can only see spirits with the eyes of his own spirit, and that he sees them when the Lord opens his internal sight, as was done to the prophets, who saw spirits and angels, and also many things in heaven; and there is room for doubt whether those now living would have believed these things if they had lived at that time.
Elliott(1983-1999) 4527
4527. I have talked to some just a few days after their decease, and being at that time recent arrivals they dwelt in a light which to them was little different from the light of the world. Because that light seemed little different to them they doubted whether it came from any source other than that of the world's light. They were for that reason taken to where heaven begins, to where the light was brighter still, and from there they talked to me. They said that they had never seen light like that, and yet this was long after the sun had set. They now wondered at the fact that spirits had eyes to see with, since during their lifetime they had believed that the life spirits had was pure thought, entirely separated indeed from any subject. The reason they had believed this was that they had been unable to think about any subject of thought because they had not seen it. This being so, they inevitably supposed that, being thought alone, the soul would be dissipated together with the body in which it existed, just like a puff of wind or fire, if the Lord did not in a miraculous way hold it together and keep it in being. Those spirits taken to where heaven begins also saw how easily the learned may fall into error concerning the life after death and that they more than any others do not believe anything apart from what they actually see. They were amazed therefore at their possessing not only thought but also sight, as well as each of the other senses. They were even more amazed that they looked to themselves entirely like people, that they saw, heard, and conversed with one another, and that they could touch and feel their own bodily parts, doing so more perfectly than during their lifetime. Consequently they were astounded that when living in the world man is totally ignorant of all this, and they felt pity for the human race's complete lack of knowledge about such things because of their utter lack of belief, most of all among those who dwell in greater light than others, namely those who are within the Church and possess the Word.
[2] Some of them had not believed anything other than that after death human beings would be like ghosts, an idea which they had become convinced was true because of the apparitions they had heard about. But from this they concluded that a ghost was no more than some gross principle of life which is initially released from the life of the body but then returns again to the corpse, and in so doing is snuffed out. Others had believed however that they would not rise again until the time of the Last Judgement when the world would be destroyed, at which time they would rise again with the body which, though it had crumbled to dust, would be reassembled and in this way they would rise again with their bones and flesh. And because they had in vain been awaiting that Last Judgement or destruction of the world for many centuries they had sunk into the error of thinking that they would not rise again at all. They had not thought about what they had learned from the Word, and had sometimes even quoted that when a person dies his soul is in the hand of God,a and is among the happy or the unhappy depending on the life he had come to know; nor have they thought about what the Lord said concerning the rich man and Lazarus. But these recently arrived spirits were informed that everyone's last judgement takes place when he dies, at which time it seems to him that he is endowed with a body as when in the world, and has the use of every sense as he has done here, though that sense is now purer and more perfect because nothing bodily imposes any limitations on it, and things which belong to the light of the world no longer cloud over those that belong to the light of heaven. Thus he now lives in a body that so to speak has been purified. In that world he could not possibly carry around a body of bones and flesh like that he had in the world, for in this case he would once again be invested with earthly dust.
[3] I have talked on this subject to some on the very day that their bodies were being buried, and through my eyes they have seen their own dead body, bier, and interment. They then said that they were casting that body aside, and that it had served them for uses performed in the world in which they had been but that now they were living in a body which served them for the uses performed in that world in which they were now. They also wished me to tell these things to their mourning relatives, but I was led to reply that if I did they would laugh at it because they did not believe in the existence of anything which they were unable to see with their own eyes, and so they would include what I said among visions which were mere illusions. For people cannot be brought to believe that as men see one another with their eyes so spirits see one another with theirs, and that man is unable to see spirits except with the eyes of his spirit, and that he sees them when the Lord opens his sight, as happened to the prophets, who saw spirits and angels, and also many of the things in heaven. But whether people living today would have believed those things if they had seen them at that time is open to doubt.
Latin(1748-1756) 4527
4527. Locutus sum cum aliquibus post paucos dies postquam decesserunt, et quia tunc recentes, in aliqua luce ibi erant quae illis parum differebat a luce mundi, et quia lux illis talis apparuit, dubitabant an aliunde illis lux esset quapropter sublati sunt in primum caeli, ubi lux adhuc illustrior erat, et inde mecum locuti; dicebant quod nusquam talem lucem viderint; et hoc factum cum sol jamdudum occubuerat: mirati tunc quod spiritus oculos haberent per quos viderent, eum tamen crediderint in vita corporis quod spirituum vita modo esset cogitatio, et quidem abstracte absque {1} subjecto, ex causa quia de aliquo subjecto cogitationis non potuerant cogitare quia illud non viderant, et quia ita, non aliter tunc perceperant quam quia sola cogitatio, quod illa eum corpore in quo esset, dissiparetur, non secus ac aliqua aura, vel aliquis ignis, si non miraculose a Domino contineretur et subsisteret; et viderunt tunc quam facile eruditi in errorem de vita post mortem cadant, et quod illi prae aliis non credant nisi quae vident; mirati itaque tunc quod non modo cogitationem haberent sed etiam visum, et quoque reliquos sensus; et magis quod appareant sibi prorsus sicut homines, se mutuo videant, audiant, colloquantur, sua membra tactu sentiant, et hoc {2} exquisitius quam in vita corporis; inde obstupuerunt quod homo cum vivit in mundo, hoc prorsus ignoret; et miserti generis humani quod nihil sciat de talibus, quia nihil credunt, et prae reliquis illi qui in luce prae aliis sunt, nempe qui intra Ecclesiam sunt, et habent Verbum. [2] Quidam eorum non aliter crediderint quam quod homines post mortem forent sicut larvae, in qua opinione confirmarunt se ex spectris de quibus audiverunt; sed inde non aliud concluserunt quam quod fuerit aliquod crasse vitale, quod primum exhalatur a vita corporis, sed quod iterum recidit ad cadaver, et sic exstinguitur. Quidam autem crediderunt quod primum resurrecturi tempore ultimi judicii eum interiturus mundus, et tunc eum corpore, quod in pulverem dilapsum, tunc colligeretur et se resurgerent osse et carne; et quia ultimum illud judicium seu interitum mundi per plura saecula frustra exspectaverunt, lapsi sunt in errorem quod nusquam resurrecturi; nihil tunc cogitantes de eo quod ex Verbo didicerunt, et ex quo etiam quandoque ita locuti sunt, quod eum moritur homo, anima ejus sit in manu Dei, inter felices aut infelices secundum vitam quam sibi notam habuerunt, nec de illis quae Dominus dixit de divite et Lazaro; sed instructi sunt quod ultimum cujusvis judicium sit eum moritur {3}, et quod tunc appareat sibi corpore praeditus sicut in mundo, ac omni sensu pollere sicut ibi, sed puriore et exquisitiore quia corporea non obstant, et illa quae sunt lucis mundi, non obumbrant illa quae sunt lucis caeli; ita quod in corpore sit {4} quasi purificato; et quod ibi nusquam circumferre posset {5} corpus osseum et carneum quale in mundo, quia hoc foret pulvere terrestri rursus circumdari. [3] Cum quibusdam de hae re locutus sum eodem die eum tumularentur corpora eorum, qui viderunt per meos oculos cadaver suum, lecticam, et quod sepelirentur; et dicebant, quod rejiciant illud, et quod hoc inserviverat illis pro usibus in mundo in quo fuerunt, et quod vivant nunc in corpore quod inservit illis pro usibus in mundo in quo nunc {6} sunt: voluerunt etiam {7} ut dicerem illa ad propinquos eorum qui in luctu erant, sed respondere datum quod si dicerem, subsannarent, quia quae non ipsi oculis suis videre possunt, nihil esse credunt, et sic referrent inter visiones quae sunt illusiones; adduci enim nequeunt ad credendum quod sicut homines se mutuo vident suis oculis, spiritus se mutuo videant suis, et quod homo non videre possit spiritus nisi oculis sui spiritus, et quod tunc illos videat cum Dominus aperit visum internum, sicut factum prophetis, qui spiritus et angelos, et quoque plura caeli, viderunt; num illi qui hodie vivunt, illa credidissent, si eo tempore vixissent, dubitandi locus est. @1 a$ @2 haec$ @3 i homo$ @4 sint AI$ @5 possent$ @6 ubi$ @7 tunc$