Arcana Coelestia #1002
1002. 'Not eating' means not mixing together. This follows from what has been said above. Regarded in itself eating animal flesh is something profane, for in most ancient times people never ate the flesh of any beast or bird, but only different kinds of grain, especially wheaten bread, also the fruit of trees, vegetables, milk, and milk products such as butter. Slaughtering living creatures and eating their flesh was to them abominable, akin to the behaviour of wild animals. Service and use alone was demanded of those creatures, as is clear from Genesis 1:29-30. But in the process of time when mankind began to be as savage as wild animals, indeed more savage, they first began to slaughter living creatures and eat their flesh. And because man had become such, he was permitted to do so and is still permitted today. And insofar as he does so from conscience, it is quite legitimate, for his conscience is given form from all those things he presumes to be true and so legitimate. Consequently nobody nowadays stands in any sense condemned because he eats meat.
Heaven and Hell #20
20. HEAVEN IS DISTINGUISHED INTO TWO KINGDOMS
As there are infinite varieties in heaven, and no one society nor even any one angel is exactly like any other, 1 there are in heaven general, specific and particular divisions. The general division is into two kingdoms, the specific into three heavens and the particular into innumerable societies. The details will be treated of in what now follows. They are termed kingdoms because heaven is called the kingdom of God.
Note a piè di pagina:
1. [Swedenborg's footnote] There is infinite variety and nowhere anything the same as another (Arcana Coelestia 7236, 9002). Also, in the heavens there is infinite variety (Arcana Coelestia 684, 690, 3744, 5598, 7236); and those varieties are varieties of good (Arcana Coelestia 3744, 4005, 7236, 7833, 7836, 9002); and thus all the societies in the heavens and every angel in a society are distinguished from each other (Arcana Coelestia 690, 3245, 3519, 3804, 3986, 4067, 4149, 4263, 7236, 7833, 7836); but still all make one by love from the Lord (Arcana Coelestia 457, 3986).