27
But the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heavens, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most high [places]. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
Daniel 7:27
Apocalypse Explained # 698
698. Verse 19. And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His Covenant; and there were lightnings and voices and thunders and an earthquake and great hail.
19. "And the temple of God was opened in heaven," signifies the appearing of the new heaven and the New Church where there is worship of the Lord. n. 699); "and there was seen in His temple the ark of His Covenant," signifies Divine truth, by which there is conjunction with the Lord. n. 700, 701); "and there were lightnings, voices, and thunders," signifies that then in the lower parts, where the evil are, there were conflicts and disturbances of the thoughts and reasonings from evil and falsity respecting good and truth n. 702; "and an earthquake," signifies a change of state in respect to the things of heaven and the church with them (n. 703); "and great hail," signifies infernal falsity destroying the truths and goods of the church (n. 704).
The Last Judgement # 14
14. 1 III. HEAVEN AND HELL ARE FROM THE HUMAN RACE.
No one in the Christian world is aware that heaven and hell are from the human race. It is believed that angels were created from the beginning, and so heaven was formed; and that the Devil or Satan was an angel of light, but becoming a rebel was cast down together with his crew, and so hell was formed. The angels are exceedingly surprised that such is the belief of the Christian world; and even more so by the fact that people know nothing at all about heaven, when this is a leading point in what the church teaches. Because such ignorance abounds the angels were delighted that it has now pleased the Lord to make further revelations to Christians about heaven, and also about hell; and so as far as possible to dispel the darkness that deepens day by day, because the church has reached its end. The angels therefore wish me to assert as their own statement that the whole of heaven does not contain one angel who was created from the beginning, nor does hell contain any devil who was created an angel of light and then cast down; but that all the inhabitants of both heaven and hell are from the human race. Heaven contains those who lived in the world in a state of heavenly love and faith, hell those who lived in a state of hellish love and faith. They said that it is the whole of hell taken together which is called the Devil and Satan; the rear hell, the home of those called wicked genii, is called Devil, the front hell, the home of those called wicked spirits, is called Satan. 2 On the nature of the two hells see the final part of my book HEAVEN AND HELL. The angels explained the reason for the Christian world's belief about the inhabitants of heaven and of hell as the result of a failure to understand certain passages in the Word as anything but literal accounts, instead of interpreting them and illustrating them in the light of the correct teaching from the Word. Yet the literal sense of the Word, unless previously illuminated by the church's correct teaching, causes people's minds to go astray in various directions; and this is the source of ignorance, heresy and error. 3
Poznámky pod čarou:
1. [14-16, 18, 20, 21 are repeated with minor changes from 311-316.]
2. The hells taken together, or their inhabitants taken together, are called the Devil and Satan (694) Those who were devils in the world become devils after death (968).
3. The church's teaching is to be drawn from the Word (3464, 5402, 6832, 10763, 10765). The Word cannot be understood without teaching (9025, 9409, 9424, 9430, 10324, 10431, 10582). True teaching is a lamp to readers of the Word (10400). Correct teaching must come from those who are enlightened by the Lord (2510, 2516, 2519, 9424, 10105). Those who without the benefit of teaching follow the literal sense of the Word cannot achieve any understanding of Divine truths (9409, 9410, 10582). They fall into many errors (10431). The nature of the difference between those whose teaching and learning is based on the church's teaching derived from the Word, and those who rely only on the literal sense of the Word (9025).
