498. This first state after death lasts a few days for some people, months for some, and a year for some, but rarely more than a year for anyone. The difference for particular individuals depends on the harmony or discord between their inner and outer natures. These inner and outer natures must act as one and correspond for everyone. No one is allowed to think and intend one way and speak and act another way in the spiritual world. Everyone must be an image of his or her affection or love, which means we must be outwardly what we are inwardly. This is why the outer concerns of a spirit are first stripped off and brought into order: so that they may serve as a plane responsive to the inner ones.

57. It is owing to this that angels are not angels of themselves, but are angels in consequence of their conjunction with the human God; and that conjunction depends on their reception of Divine good and Divine truth, which are God, and which appear to emanate from Him, even though they are in Him. Moreover, their reception depends on their application of the laws of order - which Divine truths are - to themselves, because of their freedom to think and will in accordance with reason, faculties that they have from the Lord as though they were theirs. The result is their reception of Divine good and Divine truth as though of themselves, and this makes possible a reciprocation of love; for as we said above, ¹ love does not exist unless it is reciprocal.

The same is the case with people on earth.

From these observations it can now for the first time be seen that every constituent of the created universe is a recipient of the Divine love and wisdom of the human God.

Bilješke: