El Cielo y sus maravillas y el Infierno de cosas oídas y vistas

ÍNDICE GENERAL DEL CONTENIDO

Parte I — El Cielo

§1 [Prólogo del Autor]

Capítulo 1, (2-6), El Dios del Cielo es el Señor

Capítulo 2, (7-12), La Divinidad del Señor hace el Cielo

Capítulo 3, (13-19), En el Cielo la Divinidad del Señor es el amor a Él y la caridad hacia el prójimo

Capítulo 4, (20-28), El Cielo está dividido en dos reinos

Capítulo 5, (29-40), Hay tres cielos

Capítulo 6, (41-50), Los cielos se componen de innumerables sociedades

Capítulo 7, (51-58), Cada sociedad es un Cielo en la más pequeña forma, y cada ángel en la más pequeña forma, constituye un Cielo

Capítulo 8, (59-67), Todo Cielo en su conjunto, refleja a un sólo hombre

Capítulo 9, (68-72), Cada sociedad en el Cielo refleja a un sólo hombre

Capítulo 10, (73-77), Todo Ángel está en el Cielo en forma completamente humana

Capítulo 11, (78-86), De la Divina Humanidad del Señor es de donde el Cielo, como un todo y una parte, se refleja en el hombre

Capítulo 12, (87-102), Hay una correspondencia de todas las cosas del Cielo con todas las cosas del hombre

Capítulo 13, (103-115), Hay una correspondencia del Cielo con todas las cosas de la Tierra

Capítulo 14, (116-125), El sol en el Cielo

Capítulo 15, (126-140), La luz y el calor en el Cielo

Capítulo 16, (141-153), Las cuatro partes del Cielo o los cuatro puntos cardinales

Capítulo 17, (154-161), Cambios de estado de los ángeles en el Cielo

Capítulo 18, (162-169), El tiempo en el Cielo

Capítulo 19, (170-176), Las representaciones y las apariencias en el Cielo

Capítulo 20, (177-182), Los vestidos con que los ángeles aparecen ataviados

Capítulo 21, (183-190), Las moradas de los ángeles

Capítulo 22, (191-199), El espacio en el Cielo

Capítulo 23, (200-212), La Forma del Cielo y de cómo ésta determina las afiliaciones y las comunicaciones allá

Capítulo 24, (213-220), Los gobiernos en el Cielo

Capítulo 25, (221-227), El culto Divino en el Cielo

Capítulo 26, (228-233), El poder de los ángeles en el Cielo

Capítulo 27, (234-245), El habla de los ángeles

Capítulo 28, (246-257), El habla de los ángeles con el hombre

Capítulo 29, (258-264), La escritura en el Cielo

Capítulo 30, (265-275), La sabiduría de los ángeles del Cielo

Capítulo 31, (276-283), El estado de inocencia de los ángeles en el Cielo

Capítulo 32, (284-290), El estado de paz en el Cielo

Capítulo 33, (291-302), La unión del Cielo con la especie humana

Capítulo 34, (303-310), La unión del Cielo con el hombre a través de la palabra

Capítulo 35, (311-317), El Cielo y el Infierno son propios de la especie humana

Capítulo 36, (318-328), Situación de los no cristianos o de los que están fuera de la Iglesia, en el Cielo

Capítulo 37, (329-345), Los niños en el Cielo

Capítulo 38, (346-356), Los sabios y los sencillos en el Cielo

Capítulo 39, (357-365), Los ricos y los pobres en el Cielo

Capítulo 40, (366-386), Los matrimonios en el Cielo

Capítulo 41, (387-394), Los empleos de los ángeles en el Cielo

Capítulo 42, (395-414), La alegría y la felicidad en el Cielo

Capítulo 43, (415-420), La inmensidad del Cielo

Parte II - El mundo de los espíritus y el estado del hombre después de la muerte.

Capítulo 44, (421-431), De lo que es el mundo de los espíritus

Capítulo 45, (432-444), Con respecto a su interioridad, todo hombre es un espíritu

Capítulo 46, (445-452), La resurrección y la entrada a la vida eterna

Capítulo 47, (453-460), El hombre después de la muerte está en completa forma humana

Capítulo 48, (461-469), Después de la muerte el hombre posee todos los sentidos, toda la memoria, pensamiento y afección que tuvo en el mundo, no dejando nada tras de si, sino su cuerpo terrenal

Capítulo 49, (470-484), El hombre después de la muerte es tal como lo fue en su vida en el mundo

Capítulo 50, (485-490), Las delicias de la vida de cada cual, se transforman, después de la muerte, en las delicias correspondientes

Capítulo 51, (491-498), El primer estado del hombre después de la muerte

Capítulo 52, (499-511), El segundo estado del hombre después de la muerte

Capítulo 53, (512-520), El tercer estado del hombre después de la muerte: estado de instrucción para aquellos que entran al Cielo

Capítulo 54, (521-527), Nadie entra al Cielo por mera misericordia sin los medios necesarios para ello

Capítulo 55, (528-535), No es tan difícil vivir la vida que conduce al Cielo como muchos creen

Parte III - El Infierno

Capítulo 56, (536-544), El Señor gobierna los infiernos

Capítulo 57, (545-550), Ninguno es arrojado al Infierno por el Señor, esto lo hace el espíritu de cada cual

Capítulo 58, (551-565), Todos los que están en los infiernos están en los males y en los errores que hay en ellos, derivados del amor al yo (egoísmo) y al mundo

Capítulo 59, (566-575), Lo que es el fuego del Infierno y el crujir de dientes

Capítulo 60, (576-581), La malicia y los artificios de los espíritus infernales

Capítulo 61, (582-588), La aparente situación y número de los infiernos

Capítulo 62, (589-596), El equilibrio entre el Cielo y el Infierno

Capítulo 63, (597-603), Por medio del equilibrio entre el Cielo y el Infierno, el hombre tiene libertad

625. Over peoples, and nations, and tongues, and many kings.- That this signifies with all those who are in truths and goods as to life, and at the same time in goods and truths as to doctrine according to every one's religion, consequently that the Word may be taught as to goods of life and as to truths of doctrine, is evident from the signification of peoples and nations, as denoting those who are of the spiritual church, and those who are of the celestial church. Those who are of the spiritual church are called in the Word peoples, but those who are of the celestial church are called nations. Those who are of the spiritual church, and are called peoples, are in truths as to doctrine and life; and those who are of the celestial church, and are called nations, are in the good of love to the Lord, and thence in good as to life (concerning this signification of people and nations in the Word, see above, n. 175, 331); and from the signification of tongues, and many kings, as denoting those who are in goods and truths as to life and doctrine, but according to each one's religion. For tongues signify the goods of truth, and confession thereof according to each one's religion (see above, n. 330, 455); and kings signify truths which are from good, and many kings, various truths which are from good, but according to each one's religion (concerning this signification of kings, see above, n. 31, 553).

[2] Various truths from good are signified by "many kings," because the peoples and nations out of the church were for the most part in falsities as to doctrine, but still, because they lived a life of love to God and of charity towards the neighbour, the falsities of their religion were accepted by the Lord as truths, because the good of love was interiorly in their falsities, and the good of love qualifies all truth, and in such case qualifies the falsity that is believed by such to be truth; the good also, which lies concealed within, causes such, when they come into the other life, to perceive genuine truths, and receive them. Moreover there are truths that are only appearances of truth, such as are those contained in the sense of the letter of the Word; these appearances of truth are also accepted by the Lord as genuine truths when the good of love to the Lord, and the good of charity towards the neighbour are in them; in the other life also the good that lies hidden within dissipates appearances, and lays bare spiritual truths, that are genuine truths. From these things the meaning of "many kings" is evident. But concerning falsities with the Gentiles in which there is good, see the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 21).

[3] From what has been said and shown in this and the preceding article, it is plain, that the command to John that he must prophesy again over peoples, and nations, and tongues, and many kings, signifies that the Word must as yet be taught to those who are in goods and truths as to doctrine, and thence as to life. But because it is said, "over peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings," also these words signify, that the Word must be taught as to goods of life and as to truths of doctrine, for the Word in its whole extent contains these two.

[4] This is the sense of those words apart from persons, which is the truly spiritual sense. The sense of the letter in most places is concerned with persons, and it also names them, but the truly spiritual sense is entirely apart from persons. For the angels, who are in the spiritual sense of the Word, in everything which they think and speak, have no idea of person or place, because the idea of person and place limits and confines the thoughts, and consequently renders them natural. But it is different when the idea is abstracted from persons and places; and this is the reason why they have intelligence and wisdom, and why angelic intelligence and wisdom are inexpressible. For while man lives in the world, he is in natural thought; and natural thought derives its ideas from persons, places, and times, and from material things, and, if these were taken away from man, his thought which comes to perception would perish, for he comprehends nothing without such things. But angelic thought is without ideas derived from persons, places, times, and material things; for this reason angelic thought and speech therefrom are inexpressible, and are also incomprehensible to man.

[5] The man, however, who has in the world lived a life of love to the Lord and of charity towards his neighbour, comes into that inexpressible intelligence and wisdom after his departure out of the world; for his interior mind, which is the very mind of his spirit, is then opened, and the man, when he becomes an angel, then thinks and speaks from it, and therefore thinks and speaks such things as he could neither utter nor comprehend in the world. Every man possesses such a spiritual mind, which is like the angelic mind; but because, in the world, he speaks, sees, hears, and feels, by means of the material body, it lies hid within the natural mind, or lives above it, and he is then altogether ignorant of what he is thinking in the spiritual mind; for the thought of that mind then flows into the natural mind, and is there limited, bounded, and so presented as to be seen and perceived. A man does not know so long as he lives in the body in the world that he interiorly possesses such a mind, and therein angelic wisdom and intelligence, because, as stated, all things that concern that mind flow into the natural mind, and thus become natural according to correspondences. These things are said in order that the quality of the Word in the spiritual sense may be known, when that sense is regarded altogether apart from persons and places, that is apart from those things that take their quality from the material things pertaining to the body and the world.