324、由此可见，圣治仅仅是上天堂的预定，不可能被改变为其它任何东西，所以我需要在此按刚才所提出的顺序说明，创世的目的是一个来自人类的天堂。
①每个人被造都是为了活到永远。在《圣爱与圣智》一书的第三和第五部分，我已说明，人里面有三个生命层级，被称为属世层、属灵层和属天层，这三个层级其实在每个人里面；而动物里面只有一个生命层级，该生命层级就像人里面被称为属世层的最低层级。由此可知，人通过其生命上升到主那里而在动物之上，以至于进入这种状态：他能理解来自神性智慧的事物，意愿来自神性之爱的事物，以这种方式接受神性。人若能接受神性，以至于在自己里面看见并感觉到它，必能与主结合，并因这结合而活到永远。
如果主不创造祂能与之分享祂神性的自己的形像和样式，那么祂与宇宙的整个创造有什么关系呢？否则，祂只会造某种东西，使它存在或不存在，或叫它出现或不出现，这样做只是为了祂能从远处单纯观察排列组合和不断的变化，就像舞台上所发生的事那样。如果所有这些变化不服务于将更亲密地接受神性，看见并感受到它的对象，那么神性在它们里面的目的是什么呢？既然神性享有无尽的荣耀，那么祂会把这荣耀只留给自己，或祂能这样做吗？因为爱渴望将自己的东西分享给其他人，甚至将它所能拥有的一切给予其他人。那么无限的神性之爱会怎样呢？它能给予又收回吗？这岂不是给予某种注定消亡的东西？这种东西本质上是虚无，因为当它消亡时，就会化为乌有。它里面没有真实的“存在”。但神性之爱给予的是真正的存在之物，或不会停止存在之物。这就是永恒之物。
为叫每个人都能活到永远，他里面终将死亡的东西会被拿走。这终将死亡的东西就是他的肉体，肉体通过死亡被拿走。于是，人里面的不朽之物，也就是他的心智，就被揭开；这时，他就变成人形式的一个灵；他的心智就是那灵。古代的圣贤和智者都知道，人的心智不可能死亡；因为他们说，灵或心智既然能变得智慧，怎会死亡呢？如今几乎没有人知道古人对这个问题的深层概念；但它却是从天堂降至他们大体感觉的一个概念，也就是说，他们大体感觉到神是智慧本身，人是这智慧的分享者，神是不朽或永恒的。
我因蒙允许与天使交谈，所以也能根据经历说一说。我曾与那些生活在许多世纪以前的人交谈过，其中有的生活在大洪水之前，有的生活在大洪水之后，有的生活在主的时代，有一个是主的使徒，许多生活在后来的时代。他们看上去都正当盛年，他们说，他们对死亡一无所知，只知道它是诅咒。当过着良善生活的人进入天堂时，他们都会进入他们在世上刚成年时的年龄，并永远保持，即便他们在世时已经年老衰弱。女人也是，即便老态龙钟，满面皱纹，同样会回到美丽的花样年华。
人死后会活到永远，这一点从圣言清楚看出来；在圣言中，天上的生命被称为“永生”（如马太福音19:29；25:46；马可福音10:17；路加福音10:25；18:30；约翰福音3:15-16，36；5:24-25，39；6:27，40，68；12:50）；也简单地被称为“生命”（马太福音18:8-9；约翰福音5:40；20:31）；主也对门徒说：
因为我活着，你们也要活着。（约翰福音14:19）
论到复活，祂说：
神不是死人的神，而是活人的神；他们不能再死。（路加福音20:36，38）
②每个人被造都是为了在幸福的状态下活到永远。这是必然的结果，因为想让人活到永远的那一位也想让人活在幸福的状态中。否则，永生算什么呢？爱总是渴望别人好。父母的爱渴望子女好，新郎和丈夫的爱渴望新娘和妻子好，朋友的爱渴望朋友好；那么，神性之爱为何不会这样呢？除了快乐还有什么是好呢？除了永恒的幸福之外，还有什么算得上是神的好呢？一切好，即良善都是因其快乐或幸福而被称为良善。诚然，所给予或占有的东西被称为良善，但这些东西若不令人快乐，就是无益的良善，这种良善本身并不是良善。由此清楚可知，永生也是永恒的幸福。人的这种状态就是创世的目的；如果仅有那些进入天堂的人处于这种状态，那么这不是主的过错，而是人的过错。稍后我们会看到，这是人自己的过错。
③这意味着每个人被造都是为了进入天堂。这是创世的目的。但之所以不是所有人都进入了天堂，是因为他们充满地狱的快乐，这种快乐与天堂的幸福是对立的。那些未享有天堂幸福的人不能进入天堂，因为他们无法承受它。凡进入灵界的人，都不会被禁止升入天堂；但当一个享受地狱快乐的人进入天堂时，他的心就会怦怦直跳，呼吸困难，他的生命开始衰退，他陷入痛苦和折磨之中，就像挨近火的蛇一样扭动翻滚。发生这种情形是因为对立双方彼此对抗。
然而，这些人不会真的死亡，因为他们生而为人，由此拥有思想和意愿，以及随之说话和行动的能力。但他们只能与那些享有类似生命快乐的人生活在一起，故被送到这些人那里。这意味着那些享有邪恶快乐的人被送到自己人那里，那些享有良善快乐的人也被送到自己人那里。事实上，每个人都被允许享有自己的邪恶快乐，只要他不去骚扰那些享有良善快乐的人。但由于邪恶天生憎恨良善，从而忍不住骚扰良善，所以为防止他们造成伤害，他们被带走并投入他们在地狱的自己的地方；在那里，他们的快乐转化为不快乐。
这一切不会否认这一事实：人自创造时，因而生来就有进入天堂的固有可能性。因为凡在婴孩时期死去的人都进入了天堂，在那里如世人那样被抚养长大，接受教导，并因着对良善和真理的情感而充满智慧，成为一位天使。这同样适用于被抚养长大并接受教导的世人，因为在小孩子里面的东西也在他们里面。关于灵界的小孩子，可参看1758年伦敦出版的《天堂与地狱》一书（329-345节）。
许多世人之所以没有为天堂做好准备，是因为他们热爱其被称为属世层的生命第一层级，不愿从中退出，变得属灵；生命的属世层就自身而言，只爱自己和世界，因为它粘贴于身体感官，身体感官伸向世界；而属灵层就自身而言，却爱主和天堂，也爱自己和世界；但神和天堂是第一位的，是更高的，主要的，并占主导地位，而自己和世界是其次的，更低的，如同工具或仆人。
④神性之爱必意愿这一切，神性智慧必为此作准备。《圣爱与圣智》一书已充分说明，神性本质是神性之爱和神性智慧。那里（358-370节）还说明，主在每个人类胚胎里面都形成了两个容器，一个为神性之爱，一个为神性智慧；神性之爱的容器是为了人将来的意愿，神性智慧的容器是为了人将来的理解力；这意味着主已将意愿良善和理解真理的官能赐予每个人。
既然人自出生就被主赐予这两种官能，主因此在人里面就住在这些官能中如同住在祂的礼物中，那么清楚可知，祂的神性之爱必想叫人进入天堂，在那里享受永恒的幸福；还清楚可知，神性智慧必为此准备。但由于主的神性之爱想叫人在自己里面感受天堂的幸福，如同是他自己的，并且这是不可能的，除非他被完全保持在这种表象中，即：他从自己思考、意愿、说话和行动，所以主只能照着祂的圣治律法引领人。
324. Since it can be seen from this that Divine providence is none other than a predestination for heaven, and cannot be changed into a different one, we will demonstrate here that the end in creation is a heaven from the human race, according to the proposed outline.
FIRST, that every person has been created to live to eternity: In our treatise Divine Love and Wisdom, Parts Three and Five, we showed that a person has in him three degrees of life, called natural, spiritual and celestial, and that these degrees exist actually in everyone, while animals have in them only one degree of life, which is like the lowest degree in mankind, called the natural.
It follows from this that by an elevation of his life to the Lord, a person in that state surpasses animals so as to be able to understand something having to do with Divine wisdom and to will something having to do with Divine love, and thus to receive something Divine. And someone who is able to receive something Divine, so as to see and perceive it in himself, cannot but be conjoined with the Lord, and as a result of that conjunction live to eternity.
[2] What connection would the Lord have with the whole creation of the universe if He had not also created images and likenesses of Himself to whom He could communicate His Divinity? What else would otherwise be the case than His causing something to exist or not exist, or something to occur or not occur, for no other reason than to be able to contemplate from afar mere happenings and continual developments as though on a kind of theatrical stage? What Divine element would be present in these if they did not exist in order to serve vessels that would receive the Divine more immediately and see and feel it?
Moreover, because the Divine is of inexhaustible glory, would He keep it just to Himself, and would He be able to? For love wills to communicate what it has to another, indeed to impart as much of what it has as it can. What would Divine love not do, which is infinite? Can it impart and take away again? Would this not be to impart something that will perish, which inwardly in itself is without reality, because when it perishes it becomes nothing, having in it no being? But the Divine imparts what has being, or something which does not cease to be, and this is eternal.
[3] In order for every person to live to eternity, that which is mortal in him is taken away. His mortal component is his material body, which is taken away by its death. His immortal component, namely his mind, is thus laid bare and He becomes then a spirit in human form. His mind is that spirit.
The fact that the human mind cannot die is something ancient sages or wise men saw. For they said, "How can the heart or mind die when it can become wise?" Few people today know the interior idea they had of this, but it was one that slipped into their common perception from heaven, that God is wisdom itself, of which man is a partaker. And God is immortal or eternal.
[4] Since I have been granted to speak with angels, I will say something also from my experience. I have spoken with people who lived many centuries ago - with people who lived before the Flood, with some who lived after the Flood, with people who lived at the time of the Lord's advent, with one of His Apostles, and with many who lived after that - all appearing as people of a middling age, and they have said that they do not know what death is; only that it is damnation.
When people who have lived rightly come into heaven, they all come also into the youthful age they had in the world and remain in it to eternity, even those who were old and decrepit in the world. And even if they were crones and hags in the world, women return into the bloom of their youthful beauty.
[5] That a person lives to eternity after death is apparent from the Word, where life in heaven is called eternal life (as in Matthew 19:29, 25:46; Mark 10:17; Luke 10:25, 18:30; John 3:15-16, 36, 5:24-25, 39, 6:27, 40, 68, 12:50), and also simply life (Matthew 18:8-9; John 5:40, 20:31).
Moreover the Lord said to His disciples, "Because I live, you will live also" (John 14:19). And regarding the resurrection He said that God is God of the living and not God of the dead, and that they could not die anymore (Luke 20:36, 38).
[6] SECOND, that every person has been created to live to eternity in a blessed state: This logically follows. For anyone who wills that a person live to eternity also wills that he live in a blessed state. What would eternal life be without that? All love wills the good of another. Parental love wills the good of the children. A bridegroom's or husband's love wills the good of his bride or wife. And a friend's love wills the good of his friends. What would Divine love not will?
Moreover, what else is good but delight, and what else is Divine good but eternal blessedness? Every good is called good because of the delight or blessedness accompanying it. Things that are given or owned are, indeed, called goods, but unless they are at the same time a source of delight, they are sterile goods which in themselves are not good.
It is apparent from this that eternal life is also eternal blessedness.
This state of a person is the end in creation. But the fact that only those people who enter heaven are in that state is not the Lord's fault, but the person's. That it is the person's fault will be seen later.
[7] THIRD, that every person has thus been created to enter into heaven: This is the end in creation. But not all people enter into heaven, because they soak up hellish delights that are opposed to the blessedness of heaven, and people not in the state of the blessedness of heaven cannot enter heaven, as they cannot bear it.
No one who enters the spiritual world is kept from ascending into heaven. But if he is gripped by hellish delight, when he arrives there his heart pounds, his breathing becomes labored, his life begins to ebb away, he is anguished, tormented, and writhes like a snake placed near a fire. This is the case, because opposite acts against opposite.
[8] Still, however, because people are born human and born therefore into the faculty of thinking and willing, and so into the faculty of speaking and acting, they cannot die. But because they can live only with others who share their life's delight, they are sent off to them; and consequently people caught up in the delights of evil are sent off to their like, and people impelled by the delights of good to their like.
Indeed, it is granted everyone to experience the delight of his evil, provided he does not molest people moved by a delight in good. Yet because evil cannot help but molest good, as evil has in it a hostility toward good, therefore to keep them from doing harm such people are removed and cast down into their places in hell, where their delight is turned into something undelightful.
[9] Nevertheless, this does not take away from the fact that from creation and thus by birth, a person is so formed as to be able to enter into heaven. For everyone who dies as a little child enters into heaven, is reared and educated there as a person is in the world, and through an affection for goodness and truth is infused with wisdom and becomes an angel. The same could be the case with a person reared and educated in the world, as he has in him the same capacity as a little child. (Regarding little children in the spiritual world, see the book Heaven and Hell, published in London in 1758, (Heaven and Hell 329-345).)
[10] Yet the same does not turn out to be the case with many in the world, because they love the first degree of their life, called the natural degree, and are unwilling to withdraw from it and become spiritual. Moreover, regarded in itself, the natural degree of life loves only self and the world, for it is bound up with the physical senses, which likewise exist for the world. On the other hand, regarded in itself, the spiritual degree of life loves the Lord and heaven - loving also self and the world, but God and heaven as the higher, principal and governing consideration, and self and the world as a lower, instrumental and subservient one.
[11] FOURTH, that Divine love cannot but will it, and Divine wisdom cannot but provide for it: We fully showed in our treatise Divine Love and Wisdom that the Divine essence is Divine love and wisdom. We also demonstrated there (in Divine Love and Wisdom 358-370) that in every human fetus the Lord forms two recipient vessels, one receptive of His Divine love and the other of His Divine wisdom - the vessel receptive of Divine love for the person's future will, and the vessel receptive of Divine wisdom for his future intellect. And we said, too, that the Lord has thus endowed every person with a faculty for willing good and with a faculty for understanding truth.
[12] Now because these two faculties that a person has from birth are bestowed by the Lord, and therefore the Lord is in them as in His own abodes in a person, it is apparent that His Divine love cannot but will that a person come into heaven and there enjoy eternal blessedness, and that His Divine wisdom also cannot but provide for it.
However, because it is of the Lord's Divine love that a person feel the heavenly blessedness in him as his own, and this cannot be the case unless the person is kept totally caught up in the appearance that he thinks, wills, speaks and acts of himself, therefore the Lord can lead a person only in accord with the laws of His Divine providence.
324. Since this also shows us that divine providence is a predestination only to heaven and that it cannot be changed into anything else, I need to show at this point that the ultimate purpose of creation is a heaven from the human race, and I need to do so in the order just proposed.
(a) Everyone is created to live forever. In parts 3 and 4 of Divine Love and Wisdom, I explained that we have three levels of life called earthly, spiritual, and heavenly, and that these levels are active in each one of us. I also noted that there is only one level of life in animals, a level like the lowest level in us, the one called earthly. It then follows that unlike animals, we can have our life so lifted toward the Lord that we enter a state in which we can discern things that come from divine wisdom and intend things that come from divine love, and in this way can accept something divine. If we can accept what is divine to the extent that we see and sense it within ourselves, then we must necessarily be able to be united to the Lord and to live forever because of this union.
[2] What would the Lord have been doing with all this creating of a universe if he had not made images and likenesses of himself with whom he could share his divine nature? Otherwise, it would only have been making something so that it existed and did not exist, or so that it happened and did not happen, and doing this only so that he could simply watch its permutations from far away, watch its ceaseless changes like something happening on a stage. What divine purpose would there be in all these changes unless they were serving subjects who would accept something divine more intimately, who would see and sense it? Since Divinity has inexhaustible splendor, would it simply keep it all to itself? Could it keep it all to itself? Love wants to share what it has with others, to give to others all that it can. What about divine love, then, which is infinite? Can it first give and then take back? Would this not be giving something that was bound to perish--that was intrinsically nothing, since it would become nothing when it perished? There is no real "is" involved in that. Divinity, though, gives what truly is, or what does not cease to be. This is what is eternal.
[3] To enable us to live forever, what is mortal is taken from us. That mortal part is our material body, which is taken from us by death. This lays bare what is immortal about us, which is our mind, and we then become spirits in human form. Our mind is that kind of spirit.
The sages and wise ones of old saw that our mind could not die. They asked how a spirit or a mind could die when it could be wise. Hardly anyone nowadays knows the ancients' deeper concept of the matter, but it was a concept from heaven that resulted in their general sense that God is wisdom itself, that we share in that wisdom, and that God is immortal or eternal.
[4] There is also something I can say from experience, because I have been allowed to talk with angels. I have talked with some who lived many centuries ago, with some from before the Flood and some from after it, with some from the time of the Lord, with one of his apostles, and with many who lived in subsequent centuries. They all looked like people in the prime of life and told me that the only thing they knew about death was that it was damnation.
When people who have lived good lives get to heaven, they all enter the young adulthood of their earthly lives and keep it forever, even though they had been old and debilitated in the world. Women, even women who had become old and frail in the world, return to the flower of youth and beauty.
[5] We can see from the Word that we live forever after death, in passages where life in heaven is called eternal life. See, for example, Matthew 19:29; Matthew 25:46; Mark 10:17; Luke 10:25; Luke 18:30; John 3:15-16, 36; John 5:24-25, 39; John 6:27, 40, 68; John 12:50. Or it is simply called "life," as in Matthew 18:8-9; John 5:40; John 20:31. The Lord told the disciples, "Because I am alive, you will also live" (John 14:19), and he said of the resurrection that God is God of the living and not God of the dead, and that they could no longer die (Luke 20:36, 38).
[6] (b) Everyone is created to live forever in a blessed state. This is a corollary, since the One who wants us to live forever wants us to live in a blessed state as well. Otherwise, what would eternal life be? Love always wants what is good for others. Parents' love wants what is good for their children; a groom's or husband's love wants what is good for his bride or wife; our love in friendship wants what is good for our friends; so why not divine love? Further, what is goodness if it is not pleasing, and as for divine good, what is it if it is not eternal bliss? We call things good because of the pleasure or blessedness they provide. We do refer to things that we are given or own as "good," but unless they give us pleasure, it is a barren kind of goodness that is not really good at all. We can see, then, that eternal life is eternal blessedness as well.
This state of humanity is the ultimate goal of creation, and the Lord is not to blame if only the people who get to heaven enjoy it. That is our own fault, as we shall shortly see.
[7] (c) This means that everyone is created to go to heaven. This is the ultimate goal of creation. The reason not everyone gets to heaven, though, is that people immerse themselves in pleasures of hell that are contrary to the blessedness of heaven. People who do not enjoy heaven's bliss cannot enter heaven because they cannot stand the place.
When we arrive in the spiritual world, no one is forbidden to come up to heaven, but if we enjoy the pleasures of hell, then as soon as we get to heaven our hearts pound, we struggle for breath, our life starts to ebb away, we are in pain, tortured, and we writhe like snakes next to a flame. This happens because opposites actively oppose each other.
[8] Even so, since we were born human, which provides us with the ability to think and intend and therefore to talk and act, we cannot actually die. Since we are unable to live with others unless their life pleasures are like ours, we are remanded to the company of such people. This means that if we have enjoyed the pleasures of evil, we are sent off to our own kind, as we are if we have enjoyed the pleasures of what is good. In fact, we are all allowed to enjoy the pleasure of our own evil, provided only that we do not make trouble for people who enjoy the pleasure of what is good. However, since evil cannot help but make trouble for the good because of its inherent hatred for everything good, we are sent away to keep us from doing actual harm and sent down to our places in hell, where our pleasure turns into displeasure.
[9] All this does not cancel the fact that by creation and therefore by birth we have the inherent possibility of getting to heaven. All the people who die in early childhood go to heaven. They are raised and taught there the way we are in this world. They absorb wisdom because of their desire for what is good and true, and they become angels. People who are raised and taught in this world could do the same, since what is in little children is also in them. On little children in the spiritual world, see Heaven and Hell 329-345 (published in London in 1758).
[10] The reason it is different for so many people in the world is that they love that first level of life called "earthly." They do not want to let go of it and become spiritual--left to itself, this earthly level of life has no love for anything but ourselves and the world. It stays glued to our physical senses, which take center stage in this world. In contrast, the spiritual level of life has an inherent love for the Lord and heaven and also for ourselves and the world. God and heaven come first, though, as primary and definitive, while our selves and the world come second, as tools or servants.
[11] (d) Divine love cannot do otherwise than intend this and divine wisdom cannot do otherwise than provide for this. In Divine Love and Wisdom, there is ample evidence that the divine essence is divine love and wisdom. I also explained in Divine Love and Wisdom 358-370 of that work that the Lord forms two vessels in every human embryo, one for divine love and one for divine wisdom. The vessel for divine love is for what will be our volition, and the vessel for divine wisdom is for what will be our discernment. This means that each of us has been given the inner ability to intend what is good and to discern what is true.
[12] Since the Lord has put these two human abilities in us at birth, and since the Lord is therefore within us in those abilities as his gifts, we can see that his divine love can intend only that we come into heaven and enjoy eternal blessedness there. We can also see that divine wisdom can provide only that this happen.
However, since the Lord's divine love wants us to feel that heaven's blessedness within us is our own, and since this cannot happen unless we feel absolutely as though we are doing our own thinking and intending, talking and acting, we can be led only in ways that follow the laws of the Lord's divine providence.
324. Since from these considerations it may also be seen that the Divine Providence is none other than predestination to heaven and cannot be changed into any other, it falls to be shown here in the order set forth that the end of creation is a heaven from the human race. First: Every man is created that he may live for ever. In the treatise THE DIVINE LOVE AND WISDOM, Parts Third and Fifth, it is shown that in man there are three degrees of life, called the natural, the spiritual and the celestial, and that these degrees are actually in every man; while in beasts there is only one degree of life, which is similar to the lowest degree in man called the natural. From this it follows that man by the elevation of his life to the Lord is in such a state above the beasts that he is able to understand what pertains to the Divine Wisdom and to will what pertains to the Divine Love, and in this way to receive the Divine; and he who can receive the Divine so as to see and perceive it in himself cannot be otherwise than conjoined to the Lord, and through this conjunction cannot but live for ever.
[2] Having surrounded Himself with the whole of the created universe, what would the Lord be had He not also created images and likenesses of Himself to whom He could impart His Divine? Otherwise what would He be but a Creator causing something to be and not to be, or to exist and not to exist, and this for no other purpose than that He might contemplate from afar a mere shifting of scenes and continual changes as in some theatre? Why should the Divine be in these images and likenesses were it not that they might be of service to subjects that would receive the Divine more intimately, and see and feel it? Further, as the Divine is a Being of inexhaustible glory, would He retain it to Himself alone, or indeed could He? For love desires to communicate its own to another, and even to give from its own as much as it can. What then would the Divine Love which is infinite not give? Can that give and take away again? Would not this be giving what is about to perish? Inwardly in itself this is nothing, as when anything perishes it comes to naught, that which IS not being in it. But the Divine Love gives what IS, that is, which does not cease to be, and this is eternal.
[3] In order that every man may live for ever, what is mortal with him is taken away. His mortal part is the material body which is taken away by his death. His immortal part, which is his mind, is thus unveiled and he then becomes a spirit in human form, his mind being that spirit. The sages or wise men of old perceived that the mind of man cannot die; for they said, How can spirit (animus) or mind die when it can exercise wisdom? Few men at the present day know what they interiorly understood by this: but there was an idea which descended from heaven into their general perception that God is Wisdom itself which man shares; and God is immortal or eternal.
[4] As it has been granted me to speak with angels I will also say something from my own experience. I have talked with some who lived many ages ago, with some who lived before the Flood and with some who lived after it, with some who lived in the time of the Lord, with one of His Apostles, and with many who lived in later times. They all appeared like men of middle age, and they said they did not know what death is, but only that there is condemnation. Moreover, all who have lived well, when they enter heaven, come into the state of early manhood they reached in the world and continue in it to eternity, even those who had been old and decrepit men in the world. Women, too, although they had been shrunken and aged, return to the flowering period of their age and beauty.
[5] That man after death lives for ever is manifest from the Word where life in heaven is called eternal life, as in Matthew xix. 29; xxv. 46; Mark 10:17; Luke x. 25; xviii. 30; John 3:15-16, 36; John 5:24-25, 39; John 6:27, 40, 68; John 12:50;
also simply life, Matthew 18:8-9; 40; 31.
The Lord also said to the disciples:
Because I live, ye shall live also. John 14:19;
and concerning the resurrection,
That God is a God of the living, and not a God of the dead, And that they cannot die any more. 38, 36.
[6] Second: Every man is created that he may live for ever in a state of happiness. This follows as a consequence; for He who wills that man should live for ever also wills that he should live in a state of happiness. What would eternal life be without that? All love desires the good of another. The love of parents desires the good of their children; the love of the bridegroom and of the husband desires the good of the bride and of the wife; and friendship's love desires the good of friends. What then does the Divine Love not desire? What is good but delight? And what is Divine Good but eternal happiness? All good is called good from its delight or happiness. That which is given and possessed is indeed called good, but unless it is also delightful it is a barren good, not good in itself. Hence it is clear that eternal life is also eternal happiness. This state of man is the end of creation; and it is not the Lord's fault but man's that only those who enter heaven are in that state. That man is in fault will be seen in what follows.
[7] Third: Thus every man is created that he may enter heaven. This is the end of creation; but all do not enter heaven because they become imbued with the delights of hell which are opposite to the happiness of heaven; and those who are not in the happiness of heaven cannot enter heaven, for they cannot endure it. To no one who enters the spiritual world is it denied to ascend to heaven; but when one who is in the delight of hell enters heaven his heart palpitates, his breathing is laboured, his life begins to fail, he is in anguish, distress and torment, and he writhes like a serpent placed close to a fire. This is so because opposites act against each other.
[8] Nevertheless, they cannot die, as they were born men and thereby with the faculty of thinking and willing, and consequently of speaking and acting. However, as they can live only with those who are in a similar delight of life they are sent to them; thus those who are in the delights of evil and those who are in the delights of good are sent to their own appropriate companions. It is indeed granted everyone to experience the delight of his own evil provided he does not molest any who are in the delight of good; but as evil cannot do otherwise than molest good, for there is inherent in evil hatred against good, therefore lest the wicked should inflict injury they are removed and cast down to their own place in hell, where their delight is turned to what is the reverse of delightful.
[9] But this does not alter the fact that man by creation is such, and consequently is born such, that he may enter heaven; for everyone who dies in infancy goes to heaven, and is there brought up and instructed as a person is in the world; and through his affection for good and truth he is imbued with wisdom and becomes an angel. Such also might the man become who is brought up and instructed in the world, for there is inherent in him the same as is in the infant. Concerning infants in the spiritual world see the work HEAVEN AND HELL, published in London in the year 1758 (n. 329-345).
[10] With many in the world this does not take place, because they love the first degree of their life, called the natural, and have no desire to withdraw from it and become spiritual. The natural degree of life regarded in itself loves only self and the world, for it clings to the bodily senses and these occupy a prominent place in the world; but the spiritual degree of life regarded in itself loves the Lord and heaven, and also itself and the world, but God and heaven as higher, principal and ruling, and itself and the world as lower, instrumental and serving.
[11] Fourth: The Divine Love cannot do otherwise than desire this, and the Divine Wisdom cannot do otherwise than provide for it. It is shown at length in the treatise, THE DIVINE LOVE AND WISDOM, that the Divine Essence is Divine Love and Divine Wisdom; and it is also demonstrated there (n. 358-370) that in every human embryo the Lord forms two receptacles, one for the Divine Love and the other for the Divine Wisdom, a receptacle of the Divine Love for the future will of the man, and a receptacle of the Divine Wisdom for his future understanding; and that in this way He has endowed every man with the faculty of willing good and the faculty of understanding truth.
[12] Now since man from his birth is endowed with these two faculties by the Lord, and consequently the Lord is in them as in His own with man, it is clear that His Divine Love cannot but will that man should go to heaven and there enjoy eternal happiness; and also that the Divine Wisdom cannot but provide for this. But since it is from the Lord's Divine Love that man should feel heavenly blessedness in himself as his own, and this is impossible unless he is kept completely in the appearance that he thinks, wills, speaks and acts of himself, therefore the Lord can lead man only according to the laws of His Divine Providence.
324. Since from all this it can be seen that the Divine providence is a predestination to heaven only, and cannot be changed into any other, it shall now be shown, in the proposed order, that the end of creation is a heaven from the human race. First: Every man was created to live forever. In the treatise on The Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom, Parts Third and Fifth, it has been shown that there are three degrees of life in man, called the natural, the spiritual, and the celestial, and that these degrees are actually in every man; while in beasts there is only one degree of life, which is like the lowest degree in man, which is called the natural. From this it follows that by the elevation of his life to the Lord man is above the beasts, in such a state as to be able to understand what pertains to the Divine wisdom, and to will what pertains to the Divine love, thus to receive the Divine; and a being that is capable of so receiving the Divine as to see and perceive it in himself cannot but be conjoined with the Lord, and by that conjunction live forever.
[2] What would the Lord be in relation to the entire creation of the universe, if He had not also created images and likenesses of Himself, to whom He could communicate His Divine? Otherwise, what would He be but a causing something to be or not to be, or to exist or not to exist, and this for no other purpose than that He might be able from afar to contemplate mere vicissitudes and continual changes as upon a stage? What of the Divine would there be in these things, unless they had as their end to be serviceable to subjects that could receive the Divine more nearly, and see and feel it? And as the Divine is of glory inexhaustible, would He keep this to Himself alone, or would it be possible for Him to do so? For love desires to communicate its own to another, and even to give from its own as much as it can. Must not the Divine love, then, which is infinite, do this? Can that give and take away again? Would not that be to give what must perish? and inwardly in itself this is nothing, because when it perishes it comes to naught. That which is is not in it. But the Divine love gives what is, or what does not cease to be; and that is eternal.
[3] In order that every man may live to eternity that which is mortal in him is taken away. The mortal in him is his material body, and this is taken away by its death. Thus what is immortal in man, which is his mind, is unveiled, and he then becomes a spirit in human form; his mind is that spirit. That man's mind cannot die the sages or wise men of old saw; for they said, How can the mind (animus seu mens) die, when it has the capacity to be wise? What their interior idea of this was few at this day know; but it was an idea that descended from heaven into their general perception, namely, that God is wisdom itself, and of this man is a partaker, and God is immortal or eternal.
[4] As it has been granted me to talk with angels I will also say something from experience. I have talked with those who lived many ages ago, with those who lived before the flood, and with some who lived after it, with those who lived in the time of the Lord, and with one of His apostles, and with many who lived in later ages, and they all appeared like men of middle age, and they said that they knew nothing about death except that it is damnation. All that have lived well, when they enter heaven come into an age like that of their early manhood in the world and continue in it to eternity, even those that had been old and decrepit in the world. Women also, although they had been old and wrinkled, return into the flower of their age and beauty.
[5] That man after death lives to eternity is clear from the Word, where life in heaven is called "eternal life" (as in Matthew 19:29; 25:46; Mark 10:17; Luke 10:25; 18:30; John 3:15-16, 36; 5:24-25, 39; 6:27, 40, 68; 12:50); also simply "life" (in Matthew 18:8-9; John 5:40; 20:31); also the Lord said to the disciples:-
Because I live ye shall live also (John 14:19);
and of the resurrection, that:
God is not a God of the dead but of the living; and that they cannot die any more (Luke 20:36, 38).
[6] Secondly: Every man was created to live to eternity in a state of blessedness. This follows as a consequence; for He who wills that man should live to eternity also wills that he should live in a state of blessedness. What would eternal life be without that? All love desires the good of another-the love of parents desires the good of their children; the love of bridegroom and husband desires the good of his bride and wife; and friendship's love desires the good of friends;-why not, then, the Divine love? And what else is this good but delight? And what is Divine good but eternal blessedness? Every good is called good from its delight or its blessedness. What is given or possessed is indeed called goods; but unless these are delightful they are barren goods that in themselves are not good. From all this it is clear that eternal life is also eternal blessedness. This state of man is the end of creation; and that only those who come into heaven are in that state is not the Lord's fault, but man's That it is man's fault will be seen in what follows.
[7] Thirdly: Thus every man was created to come into heaven. This is the end of creation. But the reason why all do not come into heaven is that they imbibe the delights of hell, which are opposite to the blessedness of heaven; and those that are not in the blessedness of heaven cannot enter heaven, for they cannot endure it. It is denied to no one who comes into the spiritual world to ascend into heaven; but when one who is in the delight of hell enters it he is seized with palpitation of the heart and labored breathing, his life begins to fail, he is in anguish, he is in torment, and he writhes like a serpent put near a fire; and this is so because opposite acts against opposite.
[8] And yet such cannot die, because they were born men and thereby have the capacity to think and will, and consequently to speak and do; but as they can live only with those who are in a like delight of life to such they are sent; consequently those who are in the delights of evil are sent to their own, and those who are in the delights of good to their own. Every one, in fact, is permitted to be in the delight of his evil provided he refrains from infesting those who are in the delight of good; but as evil cannot do otherwise than infest good-for there is in evil a hatred against good-to prevent their doing harm they are taken away and cast into their own places in hell, where their delight is turned into what is undelightful.
[9] But this does not gainsay the truth that man from creation is such, and therefore is born such, that he can enter heaven; for every one who dies in infancy enters heaven, is there brought up and instructed as a man is in the world, and through an affection for good and truth imbibes wisdom and becomes an angel. And the same might be true of the man who is brought up and instructed in the world; for there is the same in him as in the infant. Respecting infants in the spiritual world see the work on Heaven and Hell (published at London in the year 1758), Heaven and Hell 329-345.
[10] But the reason why many in the world are not prepared for heaven is that they love the first degree of their life, which is called the natural, and are unwilling to withdraw from it and become spiritual; and the natural degree of life viewed in itself loves nothing but self and the world, for it clings to the senses of the body, and these reach out towards the world; while the spiritual degree of life viewed in itself loves the Lord and heaven, and also self and the world, but God and heaven as higher, chief and dominant, and sell and the world as lower, instrumental, and subservient.
[11] Fourthly: The Divine love must needs will this, and the Divine wisdom must needs provide for it. That the Divine essence is Divine love and Divine wisdom has been fully shown in the work on The Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom. It is also shown there (Divine Love and Wisdom 358-370) that in every human embryo the Lord forms two receptacles, one for the Divine love and the other for the Divine wisdom, the receptacle of the Divine love for the future will of the man, and the receptacle of the Divine wisdom for his future understanding; and that thus the Lord has endowed every man with a capacity to will good and a capacity to understand truth.
[12] Since, then, man from his birth is endowed with these two capacities by the Lord, and consequently the Lord is in these capacities as in His own with man, it is clear that His Divine love must needs will that man should come into heaven, and there enjoy eternal blessedness; also that the Divine wisdom must needs provide for it. But since it is from the Lord's Divine love that man should feel heavenly blessedness in himself as his own, and this is impossible unless man is kept fully in the appearance that he thinks, wills, speaks and acts from himself, therefore the Lord can lead man only in accordance with the laws of His Divine providence.
324. Quoniam ex his quoque videri potest, quod Divina Providentia non sit alia praedestinatio quam ad Coelum, et quod nec in aliam mutari possit, demonstrandum hic est, quod finis creationis sit coelum ex Humano Genere, in proposito ordine. PRIMUM. Quod omnis homo creatus sit ut vivat in aeternum. In Transactione de DIVINO AMORE ET DIVINA SAPIENTIA, Parte Tertia et Quinta, ostensum est, quod apud hominem sint tres gradus vitae, qui vocantur Naturalis, Spiritualis, et Coelestis, et quod hi gradus actualiter apud unumquemvis sint; et quod apud Bestias non sit nisi quam unus gradus vitae, qui est similis ultimo gradui apud hominem, qui vocatur Naturalis: ex quo sequitur, quod homo per elevationem vitae suae ad Dominum sit prae bestiis in illo statu, ut possit intelligere tale quod Divinae Sapientiae, ac velle tale quod Divini Amoris est, ita Divinum recipere; et qui Divinum recipere potest, ita ut videat et percipiat illud in se, ille non potest aliter quam conjunctus Domino esse, et per conjunctionem illam vivere in aeternum.
[2] Quid Dominus cum omni creatione Universi, nisi etiam creavisset imagines et similitudines Sui, 1quibus communicare posset suum Divinum; alioquin quid foret aliud quam facere ut aliquid sit et non sit, seu ut aliquid existat et non existat, hoc non propter aliud, quam ut posset e longinquo contemplari meras vicissitudines, ac continuas variationes sicut super aliquo theatro; 2quid Divinum in illis, nisi forent propter finem, ut inservirent subjectis quae Divinum reciperent propius, ac viderent et sentirent id: et quia Divinum est inexhaustae gloriae, num eam 3apud se solum retineret, et num hoc posset; 4amor enim vult suum communicare alteri, imo dare ex suo quantum potest; quid non Divinus Amor, qui est Infinitus; num dare potest et rursus auferre; foretne hoc dare quod periturum est, quod intus in se non est aliquid, quia cum perit fit nihil; non est Est in illo; sed dat quod Est, seu quod non desinit esse, et hoc est aeternum.
[3] Ut omnis homo vivat in aeternum, aufertur id quod est mortale apud illum; mortale ejus est materiale corpus, quod aufertur per ejus mortem; sic nudatur immortale ejus, quod est mens ejus, et fit tunc spiritus in forma humana; mens ejus est ille spiritus. Quod Mens hominis non mori possit, viderunt Sophi seu sapientes antiqui; dixerunt enim, quomodo potest animus seu mens mori, cum potest sapere; interiorem eorum ideam de eo pauci hodie sciunt, sed fuit illa, quae in communem illorum perceptionem e coelo illapsa est, quod Deus sit ipsa Sapientia, cujus particeps est homo, et Deus immortalis seu aeternus est.
[4] Quoniam mihi datum est loqui cum Angelis, etiam aliquid ab experientia dicam; loquutus sum cum illis qui ante multa saecula vixerunt, cum illis qui ante diluvium, et cum quibusdam post diluvium, cumque illis qui tempore Domini vixerunt, et cum uno ex Apostolis Ipsius, et cum pluribus qui in saeculis postea, et omnes illi visi sunt sicut homines in media aetate, et dixerunt quod nesciant quid mors, solum quod sit damnatio. Omnes etiam qui bene vixerunt, dum in coelum veniunt, in aetatem suam in mundo juvenilem veniunt, et in illa manent in aeternum, etiam qui senes et decrepiti fuerunt in mundo; ac foeminae, tametsi fuerunt vetulae et anus, in florem suae aetatis et pulchritudinis redeunt.
[5] Quod homo post mortem vivat in aeternum, patet ex Verbo, ubi Vita in coelo vocatur vita aeterna, ut Matthaeus 19:29; 25:46, Marcus 10:17, Lucas 10:25; 18:30, Johannes 3:15-16, 36; 5:24-25, 39; 6:27, 40, 68; 12:50. Tum etiam simpliciter Vita, Matthaeus 18:8-9, Johannes 5:40; 20:31. Dominus etiam dixit ad Discipulos, "Quia Ego vivo, etiam vos vivetis," Johannes 14:19 : et de resurrectione, quod Deus sit Deus viventium, et non Deus mortuorum; tum quod non mori amplius possint, 5Lucas 20:36, 38.
[6] SECUNDUM. Quod omnis homo creatus sit ut vivat in aeternum in statu beato, est consequens; nam qui vult ut homo vivat in aeternum, vult etiam ut vivat in statu beato; quid vita aeterna absque illo; omnis amor vult alterius bonum; amor parentum vult bonum liberorum, amor sponsi et mariti vult bonum sponsae et uxoris; et amor amicitiae vult bonum amicorum; quid non Divinus Amor: et bonum quid aliud est quam jucundum, et Divinum Bonum quid aliud quam beatum aeternum; omne bonum ex jucundo seu beato sui dicitur bonum: bonum quidem vocatur id quod datur et possidetur, sed nisi etiam sit jucundum, est bonum sterile, quod in se non est bonum: ex his patet, quod vita aeterna etiam sit beatum aeternum. Hic status hominis est finis 6creationis; at quod solum illi qui in Coelum veniunt in illo statu sint, non est Dominus in culpa, sed est homo; quod homo sit in culpa, videbitur in sequentibus.
[7] TERTIUM. Quod sic omnis homo creatus sit, ut in coelum veniat: hoc finis creationis est: sed quod non omnes veniant in coelum, est quia imbuunt jucunda inferni opposita beato coeli, et qui non in beato coeli sunt, non possunt intrare coelum, non enim sustinent illud. Nemini, qui in Mundum spiritualem venit, negatur ascendere in coelum; sed qui in jucundo inferni est, dum illuc venit, palpitat corde, laborat respiratione, vita incipit perire, angitur, cruciatur, et se volvit sicut serpens admotus igni; hoc sic, quia oppositum agit in oppositum.
[8] Sed usque quia homines nati sunt, et per id in facultate cogitandi et volendi, et inde in facultate loquendi et agendi sunt, non possunt mori: at quia non cum aliis possunt vivere, quam cum illis qui in simili jucundo vitae sunt, ad illos remittuntur, consequenter qui in jucundis mali sunt, ad suos; et qui in jucundis boni sunt ad suos: imo datur cuivis in jucundo sui mali esse, modo non infestet illos qui in jucundo boni sunt, sed quia malum non potest aliter quam infestare bonum, inest enim malo odium contra bonum, quare ne damnum inferant, removentur, et in sua loca in inferno dejiciuntur, ubi jucun dum illorum vertitur in injucundum.
[9] Sed hoc non tollit, quin homo ex creatione sit et inde nascatur talis, ut in coelum possit venire; in coelum enim venit omnis qui infans moritur, educatur ac instruitur ibi, sicut homo in mundo, ac per affectionem boni et veri imbuitur sapientia, et fit angelus: similiter potuisset homo, qui educatur et instruitur in mundo, nam simile inest illi quod infanti; de Infantibus in Mundo spirituali, videatur in Opere de COELO ET INFERNO 329-345 Londini An. 1758 edito.
[10] Sed quod non simile fiat cum multis in Mundo, est quia amant primum gradum vitae suae, qui vocatur naturalis, et non volunt ab illo recedere, et fieri spirituales, et gradus vitae naturalis in se spectatus non amat nisi quam semet et mundum, cohaeret enim cum sensibus corporis, qui etiam exstant mundo; at gradus vitae spiritualis in se spectatus amat Dominum et coelum, et quoque semet et mundum, sed Deum et coelum ut superius, principale et dominans, ac semet et mundum ut inferius, instrumentale et famulans.
[11] QUARTUM. Quod Divinus Amor non possit aliter quam id velle, et quod Divina Sapientia non possit aliter quam id providere: quod Divina Essentia sit Divinus Amor et Divina Sapientia, in Transactione de DIVINO AMORE ET DIVINA SAPIENTIA, plene ostensum est; ibi etiam demonstratum est 358-370, quod Dominus in omni embryone humano formet duo receptacula, unum Divini Amoris et alterum Divinae Sapientiae, receptaculum Divini Amoris pro futura Voluntate hominis, 7et receptaculum Divinae Sapientiae pro futuro Intellectu ejus; et quod sic cuivis homini indiderit facultatem volendi bonum, et facultatem intelligendi verum.
[12] Nunc quia hae binae facultates hominis ex nativitate a Domino inditae sunt, et inde Dominus est in illis ut in suis apud hominem, patet quod Divinus Ipsius Amor non possit aliter velle, quam ut homo in coelum veniat, et ibi aeterna beatitudine fruatur; et quoque quod Divina Sapientia non possit aliter quam id providere. Sed quia ex Divino Ipsius Amore est, ut homo sentiat beatum coeleste in se sicut suum, et hoc non fieri potest, nisi homo in omni apparentia teneatur, quod a se cogitet, velit, loquatur et agat, ideo non potest hominem aliter ducere quam secundum leges Divinae suae Providentiae.
Footnotes:
1 Prima editio: sui,
2 Prima editio: theathro;
3 Prima editio: id
4 Prima editio: pofset;
5 Prima editio: possint"
6 Prima editio: flnis
7 Prima editio: hominis,