792. SUPPLEMENT ¹ I wrote a special book about the spiritual world called HEAVEN AND HELL, containing descriptions of many things in that world. Since every human being after death comes into that world, I also described the condition of people there. Everyone knows, or can know, that a person goes on living after death, because he is born a man, created an image of God, and because the Lord teaches this in His Word. But up to now no one has known what that life is like.

It has been believed that a person would then be a soul; and the idea held about this has been no different from that of ether or air, that is to say, that it is breath like that a person breathes out on dying, but still retaining its vitality, though devoid of the kind of sight the eye has, of the kind of hearing the ear has, or of the kind of speech the mouth has. Yet after death a person is just as much a person, and indeed so much so that he is unaware that he is no longer in his previous world. He can see, hear and speak, as in his previous world. He can walk, run and sit down, as in his previous world. He can lie down sleep and wake up, as in his previous world. He can eat and drink, as in his previous world. He can enjoy the delights of married life, as in his previous world. In short, he is in every single respect a person. It is obvious from this that death is not an extinction but a continuation of life, and it is merely a passing over.

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32. IV. CONTINUATION ON THE SPIRITUAL WORLD

The spiritual world was described in a special book called HEAVEN AND HELL; this contains numerous descriptions of that world, and, since everyone after death comes into it, of what his state will be then. Is there anyone who does not know that he is going to live after death, seeing that he was born a human being and created to be an image of God, and that this is the Lord's teaching in His Word? But no one up to now has known what kind of life awaits him.

People have believed that they would then be a soul, and they formed no idea of a soul except as air or ether, having some residual power of thought, but deprived of the sight the eye has, the hearing the ear has, and the speech the mouth has. Yet a person is just as much a person after death, to such a point indeed that he is unaware that he is not still in the former world. He can see, hear and speak as in the former world. He can walk, run and sit as in the former world. He can eat and drink as in the former world. He can sleep and wake up as in the former world. He can enjoy the delights of marriage as in the former world. In short, he is a person down to the last detail. This makes it plain that death is no more than a continuation of life, being merely a passing over.