known to history, that had lived seventeen centuries
ago, others that had lived four centuries ago, and
three, and so on, with whom I was permitted to talk;
and I found that the same affection still ruled in
them, with no other difference than that the delights
of their love were turned into such things as correspond.
The angels declare that the life of the ruling love
is never changed in any one even to eternity, since
everyone is his love; consequently to change that
love in a spirit is to take away or extinguish his
life; and for the reason that man after death is no
longer capable of being reformed by instruction, as
in the world, because the outmost plane, which consists
of natural knowledges and affections, is then quiescent
and not being spiritual cannot be opened (see above,
n. 464); and upon that plane the interiors pertaining
to the mind and disposition rest as a house rests
on its foundation; and on this account such as the
life of one’s love had been in the world such
he continues to be to eternity. The angels are
greatly surprised that man does not know that everyone
is such as his ruling love is, and that many believe
that they may be saved by mercy apart from means,
or by faith alone, whatever their life may be; also
that they do not know that Divine mercy works by means,
and that it consists in man’s being led by the
Lord, both in the world and afterwards to eternity,
and that those who do not live in evils are led by
the Divine mercy; and finally that faith is affection
for truth going forth from heavenly love, which is
from the Lord.
481. (iii) The man who has heavenly and spiritual
love goes to heaven; while the man who has corporeal
and worldly love and no heavenly and spiritual love
goes to hell. This has been made evident to me
from all whom I have seen taken up into heaven or cast
into hell. The life of those taken up into heaven
had been derived from a heavenly and spiritual love,
while the life of those cast into hell had been derived
from a corporeal and worldly love. Heavenly love
consists in loving what is good, honest, and just,
because it is good, honest and just, and in doing
this from love; and those that have this love have
a life of goodness, honesty, and justice, which is
the heavenly life. Those that love what is good,
honest, and just, for its own sake, and who do this
or live it, love the Lord above all things, because
this is from Him; they also love the neighbor, because
this is the neighbor who is to be loved.{1} But corporeal
love is loving what is good, honest, and just, not
for its own sake but for the sake of self, because
reputation, honor, and gain can thus be acquired.
Such, in what is good, honest, and just, do not look
to the Lord and to the neighbor, but to self and the
world, and find delight in fraud; and the goodness,
honesty and justice that spring forth from fraud are
evil, dishonesty, and injustice, and these are what
are loved by such in their practice of goodness, honesty,