490.神造的万物都是好的，这一点从《创世记》第一章（10，12，18，21，25节）明显可知，此处经文说，“神看着是好的”，最后（31节），“神看一切所造的都甚好”；也可从人在乐园的最初状态看出来。但恶起源于人，这一点从亚当逐渐堕落或堕落后的状态明显可知，他因此被逐出乐园。由此清楚看出，除非在属灵事物上的选择自由已被赋予人，否则，就不是人，而是神成为恶的起因，因而神既创造善又创造恶。但是，认为神创造恶是可憎的想法。因为神已赋予人在属灵事物上的选择自由，所以祂过去不曾创造过恶，也永远不会将任何恶启示给人，原因在于，祂是善本身，并且完全在善中，祂不断敦促并要求被接受，即使不被接受，祂也不会离去。祂若离去，人会瞬间死亡，或化为乌有，因为人的生命，以及构成他的一切成分的存活，都源自神。神并没有创造恶，恶是人自己造成的，因为人将从神不断流入的善转变成了恶，从而将自己转离神，朝向他自己。当如此行后，存留善中的快乐就变成了恶的快乐；除非表面看似相同的快乐保留下来，否则人无法继续存活，因为快乐构成人的爱之生命。不过，这两种快乐彼此截然对立；但只要人尚在尘世，就察觉不到这一点。死后，他就会知道，并且清楚地感受到，因为那时善爱的快乐会转为天堂的祝福，而恶爱的快乐则转为地狱的恐怖。由此明显可知，每个人预定上天堂，无人注定下地狱。但人由于滥用属灵事物的选择自由而把自己交给地狱，从而欣然接受地狱发出的事物。因为如前所述，每个人都被保守在天堂与地狱的中间，以便他处于善与恶之间的平衡状态，随之处于属灵事物的选择自由。
490. 神造的万物都是好的, 这一点从《创世记》第一章 (创世记1:10, 12, 18, 21, 25节) 明显可知, 此处经文说, “神看着是好的”, 最后 (创世记1:31节), “神看一切所造的都甚好”; 也可从人在乐园的最初状态看出来。 但恶起源于人, 这一点从亚当逐渐堕落或堕落后的状态明显可知, 他因此被逐出乐园。 由此清楚看出, 除非在属灵事物上的选择自由已被赋予人, 否则, 就不是人, 而是神成为恶的起因, 因而神既创造善又创造恶。 但是, 认为神创造恶是可憎的想法。 因为神已赋予人在属灵事物上的选择自由, 所以祂过去不曾创造过恶, 也永远不会将任何恶启示给人, 原因在于, 祂是善本身, 并且完全在善中, 祂不断敦促并要求被接受, 即使不被接受, 祂也不会离去。 祂若离去, 人会瞬间死亡, 或化为乌有, 因为人的生命, 以及构成他的一切成分的存活, 都源自神。 神并没有创造恶, 恶是人自己造成的, 因为人将从神不断流入的善转变成了恶, 从而将自己转离神, 朝向他自己。 当如此行后, 存留善中的快乐就变成了恶的快乐; 除非表面看似相同的快乐保留下来, 否则人无法继续存活, 因为快乐构成人的爱之生命。 不过, 这两种快乐彼此截然对立; 但只要人尚在尘世, 就察觉不到这一点。 死后, 他就会知道, 并且清楚地感受到, 因为那时善爱的快乐会转为天堂的祝福, 而恶爱的快乐则转为地狱的恐怖。 由此明显可知, 每个人预定上天堂, 无人注定下地狱。 但人由于滥用属灵事物的选择自由而把自己交给地狱, 从而欣然接受地狱发出的事物。 因为如前所述, 每个人都被保守在天堂与地狱的中间, 以便他处于善与恶之间的平衡状态, 随之处于属灵事物的选择自由。
490. Everything God created was good, as the first chapter in Genesis makes clear. As we read there in verses 10, 12, 18, 21, and 25, "God saw that it was good. " Then in verse 31 we read, "God saw all that he had made, and yes, it was very good. " This is also apparent from the fact that human beings were originally in paradise. Evil arose from humankind, as is evident from the state of Adam after or as the result of the Fall, namely, that he was expelled from paradise.
From these points it is clear that if we had not been given free choice in spiritual matters, God himself, not us, would have been the cause of evil, and therefore both good and evil would have been created by God. It is atrocious, though, to think that he created evil. God endowed us with free choice in spiritual matters, and therefore he was not the creator of evil. He never inspires anything evil within us. This is because he is goodness itself. God is omnipresent in goodness and constantly urges and demands that he be received. If he is not received, he still does not leave, because if he were to leave, we would instantly die; in fact, we would collapse into a nonentity. Our life and the subsistence of everything we are made of is from God.
[2] God did not create evil. It is something we ourselves introduced, because we turn what is good, which continually flows in from God, into what is evil, and by means of that evil we turn ourselves away from God and toward ourselves. When we do so, the delight connected with that goodness remains but becomes a delight in evil. (Without a seemingly similar delight remaining, we would no longer be alive, because delight produces the life of our love.) Nevertheless, these two kinds of delight are completely opposite to each other. We do not realize this as long as we are alive in this world, but after our death we will recognize it and sense it very clearly. There, the delight that accompanies a love for what is good turns into heavenly blessedness, but the delight that accompanies a love for what is evil turns into something horrible and hellish.
From all this it stands to reason that all of us are predestined to heaven and none of us is predestined to hell. We devote ourselves to hell by abusing our freedom in spiritual matters; then we embrace the types of things that emanate from hell. As was noted above [475-478], we are all kept in the central area between heaven and hell, so that we are in an equilibrium between good and evil and therefore have free choice in spiritual matters.
490. It is plain from the first chapter of Genesis that everything created by God was good. It says there that 'God saw that it was good' (verses 10, 12, 18, 21, 25), and at the end 'God saw everything that He made, and behold, it was very good' (verse 31). It is also plain from man's primeval state in paradise. Evil, however, arose from man, as is plain from Adam's second 1 state, that is, after the fall, by his being expelled from paradise. It is clear from these facts that if free will in spiritual matters had not been given to man, God Himself, and not man, would have been the cause of evil; in this case God would have created both good and evil, and it is wicked even to think that God created evil too. The reason why God did not create evil, since He bestowed on man free will in spiritual matters, and never puts any evil into his mind, is that He is good itself, and in good God is omnipresent, continually urging and demanding to be received. Even if He is not received, still He does not go away. For if He did, man would instantly die, or rather dissolve into non-existence, since man gets his life, and the continued existence of all he consists of, from God.
[2] Evil was not created by God but introduced by man, because man turns the good which continually flows in from God into evil, by turning away from God and turning towards himself. When this happens, the pleasure given by good remains, but it now becomes the pleasure given by evil; for without an apparently similar pleasure being left man would cease to live, since it is pleasure which makes up the vital principle of his love. These two pleasures are still diametrically opposed, though a person is unaware of this so long as he lives in the world. After death, however, he will know this and indeed feel it plainly, for then the pleasure given by the love of good is turned into heavenly blessedness, but the pleasure given by the love of evil into the torments of hell. These arguments prove that everyone is predestined to heaven, and no one to hell; but it is the person who commits himself to hell by misusing his free will in spiritual matters. As a result he embraces the ideas wafted from hell, since, as was said above, everyone is held mid-way between heaven and hell, so that he can be in equilibrium between good and evil, and consequently have free will in spiritual matters.
Footnotes:
1. Reading secundo for secundum.
490. That everything that God created was good, appears from the first chapter of Genesis where it is said (verses1:10, 1:12, 1:18, 1:21, 1:25), "God saw that it was good;" and finally (in verse 31), that "God saw everything that He had made, and behold it was very good;"1:31 also from man's primeval state in paradise. But that evil has its origin in man, is plain from Adam's state succeeding the fall, or after it, in that he was expelled from paradise. From this it is clear that unless freedom of choice in spiritual things had been given to man, not man, but God would have been the cause of evil, and thus God would have been the creator both of good and of evil. But to think that God created evil is abominable. Because God gave man freedom of choice in spiritual things He did not create evil, neither does He ever inspire any evil into man, for the reason that He is good itself, and in that good is omnipresent, continually urging and importuning to be received; and even when not received, He does not withdraw; for if He were to withdraw, man would instantly die, nay, would lapse into non-entity; for man's life, and the subsistence of all things of which he consists, are from God. God did not create evil, but evil was introduced by man himself, since man turns the good which is continually flowing in from God into evil, whereby he turns himself away from God and toward himself; and when this is done, delight in good remains, but then becomes delight in evil; for unless a delight seemingly similar remained, man could not continue to live; since delight constitutes the life of his love. Nevertheless these two kinds of delight are diametrically opposite to each other; but man does not know this so long as he lives in the world; but he will know it after death and will have a clear perception of it, for then delight of the love of good is turned into heavenly blessedness, while delight of the love of evil is turned into infernal horror.
From the foregoing it is evident that every man was predestined to heaven, and no one to hell; but that man gives himself over to hell by the abuse of his freedom of choice in spiritual things, whereby he embraces such things as exhale from hell. For, as before said, every man is kept midway between heaven and hell, that he may be in a state of equilibrium between good and evil, and consequently in freedom of choice in spiritual things.
490. Everything that God created was good, as is evident from the first Chapter of Genesis, where it is said, verses 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, "God saw that it was good;" and finally, verse 31, "God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good." The same is also evident from the primeval state of man in paradise; but evil originated with man, as is evident from the state of Adam after the Fall, in that he was driven out of paradise. Hence it is clear that unless man had been endowed with free will in spiritual things, God Himself and not man would have been the cause of evil. Consequently God must have created both good and evil; and it is dreadful to imagine that He created evil. God did not create evil, although He endowed man with free will in spiritual things, and He never inspires him with any evil, because He is Good itself. God is omnipresent in good, perpetually urging and entreating to be received; and if He is not received, still He does not withdraw. If He were to do so man would instantly perish; indeed he would be annihilated, for man's life, as well as the subsistence of all things of which it consists, is from God.
Evil, then, was not created by God, but was introduced by man; for man turns into evil the good which continually flows in from God, by turning away from God towards himself. When this happens, the delight of good remains, but is now changed into the delight of evil; for unless a delight apparently similar to the former remained with him, the man would cease to live, since delight constitutes the life of his love. These two delights are, nevertheless, diametrically opposed to each other, although man is not aware of this as long as he lives in the world. After death, however, he will enter into the knowledge and clear perception of it; for then the delight of the love of good is changed into heavenly blessedness, and the delight of the love of evil into infernal horror. From what has been said it is evident that every man is predestined to heaven, and none to hell but man consigns himself to hell by the abuse of his free will in spiritual things, whereby he delights in what emanates from hell. For, as was stated above, every man is held midway between heaven and hell, in order that he may be in equilibrium between good and evil, and hence enjoy free will in spiritual things.
490. Quod omne quod Deus creavit, fuerit bonum, patet a primo Capite Geneseos, ubi dicitur Vers. 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, vidit 1 Deus quod bonum esset, et tandem Vers. 31, vidit Deus omne quod fecit, et ecce bonum valde, et quoque a primaevo statu hominis in Paradiso: at quod malum ortum sit ab homine, patet a statu Adami secundum seu post lapsum, quod ex Paradiso expulsus sit. Ex his patet, quod nisi Liberum Arbitrium in spiritualibus homini datum fuisset, ipse Deus causa mali fuisset, et non homo, et sic quod Deus creavisset et bonum et malum; quod etiam malum, nefandum est cogitare. Quod Deus non creaverit malum, quia Liberum Arbitrium in spiritualibus homini indiderat, et quod nusquam inspiret ei aliquod malum, est quia est ipsum Bonum, et in hoc Deus omnipraesens est, ac continue impellit et flagitat ut recipiatur, et quod si non recipitur, usque 2 non recedat, nam si recederet, homo in instanti moreretur, imo dilaberetur in non ens, nam vita homini, ac subsistentia omnium ex quibus consistit, a Deo est.
[2] Quod Deus non creaverit malum, sed quod homo illud intulerit, est causa, quia homo vertit bonum, quod a Deo continue influit, in malum, per quod se avertat a Deo, et se convertat ad semet, quod cum fit, remanet jucundum boni, et hoc tunc fit jucundum mali, nam absque remanente jucundo tanquam simili, homo non viveret, nam jucundum facit vitam amoris ejus: sed usque jucunda illa sunt sibi e diametro opposita; verum hoc nescit homo, quamdiu in Mundo vivit, at post mortem id sciturus est, et quoque manifeste percepturus, nam tunc jucundum amoris boni, vertitur in beatum coeleste, at jucundum amoris mali in dirum infernale. Ex allatis constat, quod omnis homo praedestinatus sit ad Coelum, et nullus ad Infernum, sed quod homo se ipsum addicat Inferno per abusum Liberi sui 3 arbitrii in spiritualibus, ex quo amplectitur talia quae ex Inferno exhalant; nam, ut supra dictum est, omnis homo tenetur in meditullio inter Coelum et Infernum, ut sit in aequilibrio inter bonum et malum, et inde in Libero arbitrio in spiritualibus.
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