135、我知道，人们会质疑人用灵眼看到如此遥远星球上的东西的可能性，所以请允许我解释一下这是怎么回事。来世的距离不同于尘世的，因为在来世，距离完全取决于一个人的内在状态。那些状态相似的人住在同一个社群、同一个地方。在那里，同在取决于状态的相似性，疏离取决于状态的不同性。正因如此，当主将我引入类似那星球的灵人和居民的状态时，我便在该星球附近，能在场与他们交谈。由此明显可知，星球在灵界不像在自然界那样有空间上的不同距离，只是照那里灵人和居民的生命状态而有如此表象。我所说的生命状态是指他们在爱与信上的情感状态，也请允许我解释一下一个灵，或也可说，在灵里的一个人如何看到一个星球上的事物。
无论灵人还是天使，都不能用自己的视觉看见世上的任何事物。因为对他们来说，尘世之光，也就是阳光就像黑暗。正如世人无法用肉眼看见来世的任何事物，因为对他们来说，天堂之光就像黑暗。但是，若主乐意，灵人和天使仍能通过一个人的眼睛看见世上的事物。然而，除了主允许其与灵人和天使交谈，并与他们同在之人外，主不会将这种能力赐给任何人。他们被允许通过我的眼睛看见世上的事物，和我看得一样清楚；还能听见世人与我的交谈。一些灵人通过我看见他们活在肉身时所认识的朋友，和以前一样生动，这种事时有发生，他们都感到十分震惊。他们甚至看见自己的丈夫或妻子和子女，并想告诉他们，自己就在场看着他们，还请求我将他们在来世的情况告诉他们。但我被禁止告诉他们这一切，也被禁止透露他们就这样被看见，因为他们会说我疯了，至少认为这些都是精神幻觉，或说我精神错乱。事实上，我很清楚，尽管他们口头上承认，但心里仍不相信灵人的存在，也不相信死人复活，就在灵人当中；并且这些灵人能通过一个人看见、听见。
当我的内视先被打开，那些在来世的人通过我的眼睛看见尘世和其中的事物时，他们如此震惊，以至于称这为奇迹中的奇迹，并感受到一种新的喜悦，因为地与天并天与地的交流得到恩准。这种喜悦持续了数月，后来就习以为常了，他们不再对此感到惊讶。我被指教，与其他人同在的灵人并天使根本看不见世上的任何事物，只能觉察到与他们同在之人的思维和情感。
由此明显可知，人如此被造，以致他活在世人当中的同时，也活在天堂的天使当中，反之亦然。他同样如此被造，以致天堂与尘世能同时与他同在，并行如一体，好叫人们能知道天上发生的事，天使也能知道世上发生的事。当人们死亡时，他们能由此从主在地上的国度进入祂在天上的国度，不是仿佛进入一个新的国度，而是进入他们活在肉身时所在的那个国度。但人们已变得如此肉体化，以至于向自己关闭天堂。
135. Since I know that some people are not going to believe that anyone could ever see anything on such a remote planet with the eyes of the spirit, let me explain how this works.
Distances in the other life are not like distances on earth. Distances in the other life depend entirely on the inner states of the people in question. The people who live together in a given community there and inhabit the same region are people whose states are similar. Presence there depends entirely on similarity of state, and distance is a function of dissimilarity. So when the Lord led me into a state like the state of that planet’s spirits and inhabitants, then I was near that planet, and once I was there I was able to talk with them. This shows that in the spiritual world planets are not distant from each other in the same way they are in the material world but only seem so because of the states of life of their inhabitants and spirits; and by “states of life” I mean the state of the love and the faith contained in their hearts.
Let me also explain how it is that a spirit-or what is the same thing, a person functioning in the spirit-can see things on another planet.
[2] With their own vision, neither spirits nor angels can see anything at all in the physical world. In fact, for them the light of our world, the light of its sun, is like thick darkness. 1By the same token, we cannot see anything at all in the other life with our physical vision. For us the light of heaven is like thick darkness.
When it pleases the Lord, though, a spirit or an angel can see things in the physical world through our eyes. However, this happens only if we are people allowed by the Lord to talk with spirits and angels and to associate with them. Through my eyes they have been permitted to see things in the world just as clearly as I do, and to hear the people who were talking with me as well. It has happened several times that they have seen through me some of the friends they had had in the world. Looking through my eyes they were stunned to be able to see their friends so close at hand. They have even seen their spouses and children and have wanted me to say that they were present and able to see them; they wanted me to tell their loved ones about their state in the other life. I have been strictly forbidden, however, to say this or to reveal that they were being seen. Among other considerations, the loved ones would have said I was insane or would have thought I was hallucinating. I am well aware that even though people say with their mouths that spirits are real, and that the dead have been raised and are with the spirits and can see and hear through us, in their hearts they do not believe it.
[3] When my inner sight was first opened, the people in the other life who saw the world and what was happening in it through my eyes were so stunned that they called it the miracle of miracles. They were moved by a new joy that this kind of communication of earth with heaven and of heaven with earth was being provided. This joy lasted for several months, but now that the phenomenon has become familiar they no longer marvel at it.
I have been told that the spirits and angels who are with other people see nothing whatever of what is happening in the world but are aware only of the thoughts and feelings of the people they are with.
[4] These experiences made it clear that we have been created in such a way that while we are living among others in this world we could also be living among angels in heaven and they could be living among us. In this way heaven and the world would coexist and work together in us. We would know what was happening in heaven and angels would know what was happening in the world; and when we died, we would cross over from the Lord’s kingdom on earth 2into the Lord’s kingdom in the heavens. This would not be like passing from one kingdom into another but like passing into the same one we already inhabited during our physical lives.
Instead we have become so focused on bodily things that we have shut heaven off from ourselves.
Footnotes:
1. According to Swedenborg, the spiritual world has its own sun, quite distinct from the sun of the material world. The sun of heaven, he says, is the Lord’s presence there. By contrast, the sun of the material world is a purely physical phenomenon. The two types of light emanating from these two suns are therefore distinctly different from each other. One is perceptible to our spiritual senses; the other is perceptible to our physical senses. For references on the sun of heaven, which also explain how that sun is different from the sun of our world, see note 1 in Other Planets 40. For an account of how the sun of heaven was experienced by certain spirits on one occasion, see Other Planets 40. On light and warmth in heaven, see Heaven and Hell 126-140. [LSW]
2. In Swedenborg’s theology, “the Lord’s kingdom on earth” is used as a synonym for “the church” (Secrets of Heaven 1607:1, 3451:2, 3705:2, 6637; Marriage Love 431). This term is defined broadly: “The Lord’s kingdom on earth consists of everyone with goodness. Even if these people are scattered over the whole globe, they are still one and, like a person’s limbs, make up a single body.” (Secrets of Heaven 2853:2). For more on the meaning of “the church,” see note 3 in New Jerusalem 4. “The Lord’s kingdom in the heavens” (or “the Lord’s heavenly kingdom”) is used as a synonym for “heaven” (Secrets of Heaven 1607:1, 2209:2, 3379). For more on the way in which Swedenborg sees these two kingdoms as being in connection and communication with one another under the auspices of the Lord, and through the Bible, see Secrets of Heaven 2899, 3379, 3451, 7396. [LSW]
135. Since I am aware that people will doubt the possibility of a person ever being able to see with the eyes of his spirit anything in a world so remote, I should like to explain how this can happen. Distance in the next life is unlike distance in this world, because in the next life it depends entirely on a person's inward state. Those who share a like state are together in one community and in one place. Presence there is always the result of likeness of state, distance the result of unlikeness of state. This is how it was that I was in the vicinity of that world, when the Lord brought me into a state resembling that of its spirits and inhabitants, so that I could then be present and talk with them. This shows plainly that in the spiritual world inhabited planets are not spatially remote as in the natural world, but only appear to be so, depending on the state of life of their spirits and inhabitants. By state of life I mean the state of their affections as regards love and faith. I should also like to explain how it is that a spirit, or what is the same, a person in his spirit, can see things on a planet.
[2] Neither spirits nor angels can see anything in the world by using their own sight; for to them the world's light, that is, sunlight, is like thick darkness. In the same way neither can a person with his bodily sight see anything in the next life, for to him the light of heaven is like thick darkness. But still spirits and angels can, at the Lord's good pleasure, see things in the world through a person's eyes. The Lord, however, only permits this in the case of those whom He allows to talk with spirits and angels and be present with them. They were allowed to see things in this world, and as clearly as I do, by using my eyes. They could also hear people talking with me. It has sometimes happened that spirits have through me seen friends, whom they had known while living in the body, as vividly present as previously, and have been astonished. They have even seen their husbands and children, and wanted to tell them they were there and could see them, asking me to tell them how they were in the next life. But I was forbidden to tell them this and to disclose that they had been seen, especially because they would have called me mad, or at least thought these were mental delusions, as I was well aware that despite their verbal professions they did not at heart believe in the existence of spirits, that the dead have risen again, and are present among spirits; nor in the possibility of their seeing and hearing by means of a person.
[3] When my inner sight was first opened and those in the next life saw the world and things in it through my eyes, they were so astonished that they called it the greatest of miracles, and felt a new joy at the possibility of earth communicating with heaven and heaven with earth. Although this joy lasted for months, it has now become so familiar to them that they are no longer surprised at it. I was informed that the spirits and angels with other people do not see anything at all in the world, but only perceive the thoughts and affections of those with whom they are.
[4] From these facts it can be established that man was so created that, while living among people in the world, he would at the same time live in heaven among angels, and conversely. He was likewise so created that heaven and the world could be simultaneously present with him and act together, and so that people should know what happens in heaven, and angels should know what happens in the world. When people die, they are thus able to pass from the Lord's kingdom on earth to His kingdom in the heavens, not as if entering a new one, but the same one that they lived in while in the body. But by becoming immersed in bodily matters man has shut himself off from heaven.
135. Since I know that it will be doubted whether it is in any way possible for a man to see with the eyes of his spirit anything on an earth so distant, it is allowed me to say how this thing is. Distances in the other life are not like distances on earth. In the other life distances are altogether according to the states of the interiors of any one. Those who are in a like state, are together in one society and in one place. Everything is present there according to similarity of state and everything is distant according to dissimilarity of state. Hence it was that I was near that earth when I was led by the Lord into a state similar to that of its spirits and inhabitants, and that being then present I spoke with them. From this it is plain that the earths in the spiritual world are not distant in the same way as in the natural world; but only apparently, according to the states of life of the inhabitants and spirits there. The state of life is the state of affections as to love and faith. In regard to a spirit being able to see the things which are on an earth, or what is the same, a man as to his spirit, it is allowed me to explain how this also is. Neither spirits nor angels can, by their own sight, see anything that is in the world; for to them the light of the world, or of the sun, is as dense thick darkness, just as man by his bodily sight cannot see anything that is in the other life; for to him the light of heaven is as dense thick darkness. But still, spirits and angels, when it is the Lord's good pleasure, can see the things that are in the world through the eyes of man. But this the Lord does not grant to any others than those whom He gives to speak with spirits and angels, and to be together with them. Through my eyes it has been given them to see the things which are in the world, and as plainly as I did; and also to hear men speaking with me. It has sometimes happened, that some through me have seen their friends whom they had in the life of the body, just at present as before, and they were astounded. They have also seen their husbands, or wives, and their children, and wished to tell them that they were present and saw them, and also wanted me to tell them about their state in the other life. But I was prohibited from telling them and revealing to them that they were thus seen, even for the reason that they would have called me insane, or would have thought that it was delirium of mind. For it was known to me, that although they acknowledged with the lips, still they did not believe in the heart, that there were spirits, and that the dead had risen and were among spirits, and that these could see and hear through a man. When my interior sight was first opened, and those who were in the other life saw through my eyes the world and the things that were in it, they were so astonished that they called this the miracle of miracles, and were affected with a new joy, that thus there was granted a communication of earth with heaven, and of heaven with earth. This joy lasted for months; but afterwards it became familiar. Now they have ceased to wonder. I have been instructed that the spirits and angels with other men, see nothing at all of what is in the world, but only perceive the thoughts and affections of those with whom they are. From this it may be evident that man was so created, that while living in the world among men, he might at the same time also live in heaven among angels, and the converse; thus that heaven and the world with a man might be together, and act as one; and that men might know what is in heaven, and angels what is in the world; and when men die, they might thus pass out of the Lord's kingdom on earth into the Lord's kingdom in heaven, not as into a different kingdom, but as into the same in which they also were when they lived in the body. But because man has become so corporeal, he has closed heaven to himself.
135. Quoniam scio, quod dubitaturi sint, num usquam possibile sit, quod homo oculis spiritus sui possit videre aliquid in tellure tantum distante, licet dicere quomodo res se habet. Distantiae in altera vita non sunt sicut distantiae in Tellure; distantiae in altera vita se habent prorsus secundum status interiorum cujusvis; qui in simili statu sunt, illi simul sunt in una societate et in uno loco; omne praesens ibi est ex similitudine status, et omne distans ex dissimilitudine ejus; inde erat, quod juxta illam tellurem essem, cum a Domino perductus sum in statum similem statui spirituum et incolarum ibi, et quod tunc praesens loquerer cum illis: inde patet, quod Tellures in mundo spirituali non distent sicut in mundo naturali, sed modo apparenter secundum status vitae incolarum et spirituum ibi: status vitae est status affectionum quoad amorem et fidem. Quod spiritus possit videre illa quae in Tellure sunt, seu quod idem, homo quoad spiritum, licet exponere, quomodo etiam haec res se habet. Spiritus non possunt, nec Angeli suo visu videre quicquam quod in mundo; illis enim lux mundi seu solaris est velut densa caligo; sicut homo visu sui corporis nec videre potest quicquam quod in altera vita, ei enim lux coeli est, velut densa caligo: sed usque Spiritus et Angeli, quando Domino beneplacet, possunt videre illa quae in mundo per oculos hominis; sed hoc non concedit Dominus apud alios, quam quibus dat Dominus loqui cum spiritibus et angelis, et esse simul cum illis: per meos oculos datum est illis videre illa quae in mundo, et tam manifeste sicut ego; tum etiam audire homines mecum loquentes: contigit aliquoties, quod aliqui amicos suos, quos habuerunt in vita corporis, per me viderint ita praesentes prorsus sicut prius, et obstupuerunt; viderunt etiam suos maritos et infantes, et voluerunt dicere quod adessent et viderent eos, utque referrem de suo statu in altera vita; sed dicere illis et revelare, quod sic visi, mihi interdictum erat, etiam ex ea causa, quod dixissent me insanire, aut cogitavissent deliria animi esse, quia notum mihi fuit quod, tametsi ore dicerent, usque corde non crederent dari spiritus, ac mortuos resurrexisse et esse inter spiritus, et hos videre et audire posse per hominem. Quando primum mihi apertus fuit visus interior, ac illi qui in altera vita per oculos meos viderunt mundum, et quae in mundo erant, ita obstupefacti sunt, ut dicerent hoc miraculum miraculorum esse, et affecti sunt novo gaudio, quod sic communicatio daretur terrae cum coelo, ac coeli cum terra; ast hoc gaudium persistebat per menses; sed postquam familiare factum est, nunc nihil mirantur. Instructus sum, quod Spiritus et Angeli apud alios homines ne hilum videant quae in mundo, sed modo percipiant cogitationes et affectiones eorum, apud quos sunt. Ex his constare potuit, quod homo ita creatus sit, ut cum vivit in mundo inter homines, simul etiam viveret in coelo inter angelos, et vicissim, sic ut Coelum et Mundus apud hominem simul essent et unum agerent, et scirent homines quid in Coelo, et Angeli quid in mundo; et cum homines decedunt, transirent sic e Regno Domini in Terris in Regnum Domini in Coelis, non sicut in aliud, sed sicut in idem, in quo etiam fuerunt cum vixerunt in corpore; sed quia homo ita corporeus factus est, sibi Coelum clausit.