8858. A person's whole character is determined by the nature of whatever dominates his life; this is what marks him off from others. His heaven is formed in accordance with it if he is good, or his hell if he is bad. For it constitutes his true will and so the true being of his life, which is unchangeable after death. From all this one may see what the life is like in a person who has been regenerated, and what it is like in one who has not been regenerated.
Arcana Coelestia＃9286
9286. 'Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year' means enduring worship of the Lord and thanksgiving on account of deliverance from damnation. This is clear from the meaning of 'keeping a feast' or 'holding a feast' as worshipping the Lord with gladness of mind on account of deliverance from damnation, dealt with in 7093; and from the meaning of 'three times in the year' as a state complete right to its end, for 'three' means complete from the beginning to the end, 2788, 4495, 7715, 9198, and 'year' a whole period, 2906, 7839, 8070. At this point therefore complete and whole deliverance is meant; for 'the feast of unleavened bread' means purification from falsities, 'the feast of harvest' means the planting of truth in good, and 'the feast of ingathering' means the implanting of good from there. Thus complete deliverance from damnation is meant by these feasts; for when a person has been purified from falsities, and after this has been brought by means of truths into good, and is at length governed by good, he is in heaven with the Lord and has accordingly undergone complete deliverance.
[2] The consecutive stages of deliverance from damnation are like the consecutive stages of regeneration; for regeneration is deliverance by the Lord from hell and being led by Him into heaven. For a person who is being regenerated is first purified from falsities, after that the truths of faith he knows are planted in the good of charity, and finally that good itself is implanted in him. When all this has been done the person has been regenerated and he is then in heaven with the Lord. Therefore the three feasts in the year also meant worship of the Lord and thanksgiving on account of regeneration. Because these feasts were established on account of the everlasting remembrance of those things, the worship and thanksgiving are called enduring; for the most important things in worship should endure forever. The things which should endure forever are those which have been inscribed not only on the memory but also on the actual life that is led. When this is so they are said to reign universally with a person, see 5949, 6159, 6571, 8853-8858, 8865.
The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Teachings＃59
59. There are two kinds of love that generate all that is good and true, and two kinds of love that generate all that is evil and false. The two kinds of love that are the source of everything good and true are love for the Lord and love for our neighbor; the two kinds of love that are the source of everything evil and false are love for ourselves and love for this world.
The latter two kinds of love are the exact opposites of the former two kinds of love. 1
脚注:
1. This principle-that love for oneself and the world are the opposite of love for the Lord and one's neighbor-will be qualified in New Jerusalem 97-99, where the point is made that we do need to take care of ourselves first if we are to be of any use to others. Compare the discussion in note 1 in New Jerusalem 21, and see also Secrets of Heaven 7819: "People with a goodness born of charity and faith also love themselves and worldly advantages, but only the way one loves the means to an end. " As mentioned in New Jerusalem 61, and expanded upon in True Christianity 403-405, it is when the love for oneself and the world are in control rather than serving the other two loves that they are their opposites, and become the source of everything evil and false. [GFD, LSW]
