230. There are three infinite and uncreated vertical levels in the Lord, and three finite and created levels in us. The reason there are three infinite and uncreated vertical levels in the Lord is that the Lord is love itself and wisdom itself, as explained above [28-33]. Since the Lord is love itself and wisdom itself, he is also usefulness itself, since love has useful functions as its goal and puts them into effect by means of wisdom. Apart from usefulness, love and wisdom have no definition or boundary, no dwelling. This means that we cannot say they exist or are present unless there is a useful function in which they occur.

These three elements constitute three vertical levels in agents of life. These three are like the first end, the intermediate end that we refer to as the means, and the ultimate end that we refer to as the result. I have already [167-169, 184] explained and amply documented the fact that purpose, means, and result constitute three vertical levels.

493. Our first state after death is like our state in this world, since we are then similarly involved in outward concerns. We have similar faces, voices, and character; we lead similar moral and civil lives. This is why it still seems to us as though we were in this world unless we notice things that are out of the ordinary and remember that angels told us we were spirits when we were awakened (450). So the one life carries on into the other, and death is only a passage.