406. Hitherto it has been shown what mountain signifies; it now remains to be shown what island signifies, for it is said,

"Every mountain and island were moved out of their places."

And elsewhere:

"Every island fled away, and the mountains were not found" (Apoc. 16:20).

By islands in the Word are not meant islands, nor those who dwell upon islands, but the natural man is meant as to the truths which are in him, and hence, in the abstract, the truths of the natural man are signified. The truths of the natural man are truths scientific (vera scientifica), which are under the view of the rational man, and the knowledges (cognitions) of truth are what are under the view of the spiritual man; knowledges of truth are what the natural man knows from the Word, and truths scientific are what the natural man sees from the Rational, by which also he is accustomed to confirm the truths of the church.

There are in man two minds, the one higher or interior, called the spiritual mind, and the other lower or exterior, called the natural mind. The natural mind is first opened and cultivated in men because this is nearest the world; the spiritual mind, however, is opened and cultivated afterwards, but only in proportion as man by life receives the knowledges of truth from the Word, or from doctrine from the Word; therefore it is not opened with those who do not apply them to the life. And when the spiritual mind is opened, then the light of heaven flows in through that mind into the natural [mind], and enlightens it, and thus this mind becomes spiritual-natural; for the spiritual mind then sees in the Natural, nearly as a man sees his face in a mirror, and acknowledges those things which agree with itself; but when the spiritual mind is not opened, as is the case with those who do not apply to their life the knowledges of truth and good in the Word, then a mind is still formed with such a man inwardly in the Natural, but this mind consists of actual evils and falsities. The reason is, that the spiritual mind is not opened, by which the light of heaven can be let into the Natural by a direct way, but only through chinks round about, whence a man has the faculty to think, to reason, and speak, and also the power to understand truths; but still not that of loving them, or of doing them from affection. For the faculty of loving truths because they are truths, is only possible by the influx of the light of heaven through the spiritual mind; for the light of heaven [flowing in] through the spiritual mind is conjoined with the heat of heaven, which is love, such as the light of the world is comparatively in the time of spring; but the light of heaven flowing only through chinks into the Natural, is a light separated from the heat of heaven, which is love, such as the light of the world is comparatively in the time of winter.

Hence it may be evident, that the man with whom the spiritual mind is opened, is like a garden and a paradise; and that the man with whom the spiritual mind is not opened, is like a desert, and land covered with snow; because the mind makes the man, for the mind of man consists of understanding and will; hence it is the same whether you say the mind or the man, or whether you say the spiritual and natural mind, or you say the spiritual and natural man. The natural mind, or natural man, as to its truths and falsities, is signified by islands in the Word; as to truths, with those with whom the spiritual mind is opened, and as to falsities, with those with whom the spiritual mind is shut.

[2] That these are signified by islands, is evident from the following passages in the Word.

In Ezekiel:

"Thus said the Lord Jehovih to Tyre; Shall not the islands shake at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded cry, when the slaughter is accomplished in the midst of thee? And all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones. The isles shall tremble in the day of thy fall, and the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy departure. All the inhabitants of the isles were astonished at thee, and their kings were sore afraid, their faces were troubled" (26:15, 16, 18; 27:35).

In these two chapters the subject treated of is Tyre, by which is signified the church as to the knowledges (cognitions) of truth and good, and thence are signified in the abstract the knowledges of good and truth. The intelligence and wisdom of the men of the church, by the knowledges of truth and good from the Word, are here first treated of, and afterwards the church vastated as to these. The church vastated as to these, or where the knowledges of truth and good have perished, is described by what is said by the prophet in those verses; the vastation of the knowledges of truth and good by, "when the wounded cry, and when the slaughter is accomplished in the midst of thee," for by the wounded are meant those with whom truths are extinguished, and by the slaughter is meant the very extinction of truth and good. That then all the knowledges (cognitions) which man from his infancy has imbibed from the Word, and all the truths scientific by which he has confirmed them, are disturbed, moved out of their place, and recede, is signified by, "the islands shall shake, and all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones"; also by, "The isles shall tremble in the day of thy fall, and the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled"; the isles denoting such knowledges and scientifics as are in the natural man; the princes of the sea denoting primary things therein; the sea signifying the natural man and all things therein in general. That all the goods of truth of the natural man, from the knowledges of truth having been vastated, shall be changed as to their state, is signified by, "All the inhabitants of the isles were astonished at thee, and their kings were afraid, their faces were troubled." The inhabitants of the isles denote the goods of truth of the natural man; for by, to inhabit, in the Word, is signified to live, and by inhabitants, the goods of life; kings denote all truths from good; faces signify the interiors and the affections; to be astonished, afraid, and disturbed, signify to be altogether changed as to state. From these things it is evident what those things involve in the internal sense, namely, that all the knowledges of truth and good, and the confirming scientifics which a man from infancy has learnt from the Word, and from teachers, shall change their places and their state in the natural man, and are unseen, when falsities enter.

[3] In Isaiah:

"The king of Assyria shall lead the captivity of Egypt, and the crowd of Ethiopia [which is] to be carried away; then they shall be afraid and ashamed for Ethiopia their expectation, and for Egypt their glory; and the inhabitant of this isle shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we flee for help, that we may be delivered from before the king of Assyria; and how shall we be liberated?" (20:4-6).

From these words no one can perceive anything respecting the church, but only a something obscurely historical, the occurrence of which is not known, as that the king of Assyria shall lead away Egypt and Ethiopia into captivity, and that the dwellers of some isle would grieve in heart over it; but yet, here as elsewhere, the concerns of the church are treated of, which concerns are evident when it is known that the king of Assyria signifies the Rational perverted, and thence reasoning from false scientifics which favour the delight of the natural loves, over which the natural man grieves, because it is perverted thereby. For by, "the king of Assyria shall lead the captivity of Egypt, and the crowd of Ethiopia [which is] to be carried away," is signified, that the perverted Rational will claim to itself the scientifics of the natural man, and will confirm itself thereby, and also by its delights, which [such scientifics] favour. The king of Assyria denotes the perverted Rational; to lead captive, and carry away the crowd, denotes to apply them and to confirm them. Egypt denotes the scientific of the natural man, and Ethiopia denotes the delight which it favours. That the goods of truth of the natural man grieve on that account, or that the natural man, in which are the goods of truth, grieves, is signified by all those things that follow, namely, that "they shall be afraid and ashamed for Ethiopia their expectation, and for Egypt their glory; and the inhabitant of the isle shall say in that day"; with what follows. The inhabitant of the isle denotes the good of truth of the natural man, or the natural man in whom is the good of truth; the inhabitant signifying good, and an island truth, both in the natural man (as above). That there is such a sense in these words can hardly be believed, when yet it is therein.

[4] In the same:

"They shall lift up their voice, they shall shout; for the majesty of Jehovah they shall cry from the sea. Wherefore honour Jehovah in the fire (urim), the name of the God of Israel in the isles of the sea" (24:14, 15).

The vastation of the church is treated of in this chapter, and in these verses the establishment of a new church among the Gentiles; the joy of these is what is described by, "They shall lift up their voice, they shall shout; for the majesty of Jehovah they shall cry from the sea," or from the west. For by the sea, when the west is meant thereby, is signified the Natural. The reason is that those who dwell in the western quarter in the spiritual world are in natural good, but in the eastern quarter those who are in celestial good; and because the Gentiles, from whom the church [was formed], were in natural good, it is therefore said, honour ye Jehovah in the fire (urim), the name of the God of Israel in the isles of the sea. By this is signified that they would worship the Lord from the goods and truths of the natural man, for the term urim signifies fire, or a hearth, by which is denoted the good of love of the natural man. The isles of the sea signify the knowledges of truth and good, which are the truths of the natural man; and to honour signifies to worship and adore. By Jehovah and the God of Israel is meant the Lord, who is called Jehovah where the subject treated of is good, and the God of Israel where the subject is truth; it is therefore said, "honour ye Jehovah in the fire" (urim), that is, from good, and "the name of the God of Israel in the isles of the sea," that is, from truths. Hence also it is evident, that by the isles of the sea are signified the truths of the natural man.

[5] In the same:

"He shall not extinguish, neither break in pieces, till he have set judgment in the earth; and the isles shall hope in his law. Sing unto Jehovah a new song, his praise the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, its fulness; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof. Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit; let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory unto Jehovah, and declare his praise in the islands" (42:4, 10-12).

The Lord and the new church to be established by Him, are also here treated of, and by the isles are meant those who are only in truths from the natural man, and, consequently, who are as yet remote from true worship; hence by, "till he have set judgment in the earth, and the isles shall hope in his law," is signified, until He has given intelligence to those who belong to the church, and knowledges of truth to those who are more remote from the church. To set judgment denotes to give intelligence; to hope in the law denotes to give the knowledges of truth, for the earth signifies those who are of the church, and, in the abstract, the church itself as to intelligence from spiritual truths; and the isles, those who are remote from the church, and, in the abstract, the church as to the knowledges of truth and good, or the church as to the truths of the natural man corresponding to spiritual truths. By, "Sing unto Jehovah a new song, his praise the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and the fulness thereof," is signified the worship of the Lord by those who are remote from the church, and, in an abstract sense, the worship of the natural man from truths and goods. To sing a song, and to praise, signify worship from a glad mind; the end of the earth signifies those who are in the ultimates of the church, and, in an abstract sense, the ultimates of it. The sea and the fulness thereof, signify the natural man and all things therein. The isles and the inhabitants signify the truths and goods of the natural man; the isles the truths thereof, and the inhabitants the goods thereof, as said above. What is signified by, "Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, and the villages that Kedar doth inhabit; let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains," see above (n. 405), where they are explained. By, "Let them give glory unto Jehovah, and declare his praise in the islands," is signified worship from internals and externals. To give glory denotes worship from internals, and to declare praise denotes to worship from externals, for externals declare; and islands denote the truths of the natural man, from which worship [proceeds].

[6] In the same:

"Attend unto me, my people, and give ear unto me, O my nation; for a law shall proceed from me, and I will stir up my judgment for a light of the people. My justice is near, my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the peoples; the isles shall hope in me, and on mine arm shall they trust" (51:4, 5).

These things are said concerning the Lord; "Attend unto me, my people, and give ear unto me, O my nation," signifies all of the church who are in truths and goods; people denoting those who are in truths, and nation those who are in goods. It is said, attend and give ear, in the plural, because all are meant. "A law shall proceed from me, and I will stir up my judgment for a light of the people," signifies that from Him [are] Divine good and Divine truth, whence is enlightenment; law signifying the Divine good of the Word, and judgment the Divine truth of the Word. For a light of the people signifies enlightenment. "My justice is near, my salvation is gone forth," signifies judgment, when those are saved who are in the good of love and in the truths thence. Justice is said of the salvation of those who are in good at the day of judgment, and salvation of the salvation of those who are in truths. "Mine arms shall judge the people," signifies judgment upon those of the church who are in falsities, people here being taken in an opposite sense. "The isles shall hope in me, and on mine arm shall they trust," signifies the approach of those to the church who are remote from the truths of the church, and their trust in the Lord; isles signifying, those who are remote from the truths of the church, because they are in natural light, and not yet in spiritual light from the Word; and to trust on His arm, signifies confidence in the Lord who has all power; arm, when said of the Lord, denoting omnipotence.

[7] In the same:

"Listen, O isles, and hearken, ye people from afar" (49:1).

Isles [stand] for those who are in truths, and people from afar for those who are in goods, and, in the abstract, truths and goods, both in the natural man. From afar is said of the goods in the natural man, whereas near [is said] of the goods in the spiritual man. People here signify goods, because in the original tongue they are called by a different expression from the people by whom are signified truths; for by this expression they are also denominated nations, by whom are signified goods, as is evident from the same expression in Genesis (25:26).

[8] In Jeremiah:

"Hear the Word of Jehovah, ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off" (31:10).

Nations mean those who are in goods, and, in the abstract, goods; and islands mean those who are in truths, and, in the abstract, truths in the natural man. Afar off signifies remote from the truths of the church, which are spiritual (that afar off signifies this, may be seen, n. 8918); but those words, in the purely spiritual sense, signify that the internal man shall teach the external, or the spiritual the whole natural [man] the truths of the Word, for this it is that the nations declare in the islands afar off; but this pure sense, which the angels possess, can scarcely be perceived by men, because they are scarcely able to think apart from persons and places; because the thought of men is natural, and natural thought differs from spiritual thought in this, that it is tied down to places and persons, and is, consequently, more finite than the spiritual. This also is the reason why many things that have been explained, perhaps hardly fall into the ideas of the thought of those who keep the sight of the mind upon the meaning of the expressions.

[9] In David:

"The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring a present; the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer a gift" (Psalms 72:10).

These words relate to the Lord, and by to bring and offer a present is meant to worship. And by the kings of Tarshish and of the isles are meant the interior and exterior truths of the natural man; by the kings of Tarshish, the interior truths, and by the islands, the exterior truths thereof. By the kings of Sheba and Seba are meant the interior and exterior goods of the natural man; by Sheba, the interior goods thereof; and by Seba, the exterior goods thereof. By the truths of the natural man are meant the knowledges of truths, and by the goods of the natural man are meant the knowledges of goods. That these are meant by Sheba and Seba, may be seen, n. 1171, 3240; and that the former are meant by Tarshish, will be seen just below; and because those are meant, those also are meant who are in the knowledges of truth and good.

[10] In Isaiah:

"Who are these that fly as clouds, and as doves to their windows? Because the isles confide in me, and the ships of Tarshish in the beginning, to bring thy sons from far" (60:8, 9).

These things also are said concerning the Lord; and by them is signified that those who are in simple truth and good, who are such as perceive the truths of the Word in a natural manner, that is, according to the sense of the letter, and do them, would receive and acknowledge Him. The islands signify those who perceive the Word in a natural manner, that is, according to the sense of the letter; and "the ships of Tarshish in the beginning" denote the goods which they bear and do; for Tarshish signifies the natural man as to knowledges, and "Tarshish in the beginning" the natural man as to the knowledges of good, because there were gold and silver in Tarshish, and the ships carried these things thence (1 Kings 10:22), and gold in the beginning, by which is signified good; and because truths are from good, it is therefore said also, "to bring thy sons from far." And because by islands and the ships of Tarshish are signified the knowledges of truth and good pertaining to the natural man, it is therefore said, "Who are these that fly as clouds, and as doves to their windows?" clouds signifying the truths of the sense of the letter of the Word; doves, the goods therein; and windows, truths from good in light. (That ships signify the knowledges of truth and good from the Word, may be seen, n. 1977, 6385; and that windows signify truths in light, and thence the intellectual part, n. 655, 658, 3391.)

[11] In the same:

"Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for Tyre is laid waste, so that there is no house, nor doth any one enter; from the land of Chittim he shall plainly come to them. The inhabitants of the island are silent, the merchant of Zidon who passeth over the sea, they have replenished thee. Blush, O Zidon, for the sea saith, I have not travailed, neither brought forth the fortification of the sea. I have not brought up young men, I have not brought virgins to adult age. At the report from Egypt they shall be seized with grief, as at the report of Tyre. Pass over into Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle" (23:1, 2, 4-6).

The desolation of truth in the church is thus described; for by the ships of Tarshish are signified the knowledges of good from the Word, and by Tyre the knowledges of truth thence. That there is no longer good because there are no truths, is signified by, "Howl, ye ships of Tarshish, for Tyre is laid waste, so that there is no house, nor doth any one enter in." That falsities then enter until there are no longer any goods of truth and truths of good in the natural man, is signified by, "from the land of Chittim he shall plainly come to them." The inhabitants of the island are silent, the merchant of Zidon, who passeth over the sea, they have replenished thee. The land of Chittim signifies falsities; the inhabitants of the island signify the goods of truth in the natural man, as explained above; the merchant of Zidon signifies knowledges from the Word; who passeth over the sea, signifies, which are in the natural man; who have replenished thee, namely, the ships of Tarshish, signifies, who have enriched thee by them. The vastation of truth and good in the natural man is further described by, "Blush, O Zidon; for the sea saith, I have not travailed, neither brought forth the fortification of the sea. I have not brought up young men, I have not brought virgins to adult age." By Zidon, as well as by Tyre, are signified the knowledges of truth and good in the church. By, the sea, even the fortification of the sea, is signified the whole natural man; by, I have not travailed, neither brought forth, is signified that there is not anything of the church conceived or generated; by young men are signified the affections of truth, and by virgins the affections of good. That this was the case in consequence of knowledges from the Word and confirming scientifics being applied to falsities and evils, is signified by, "at the report from Egypt they shall be seized with grief, as at the report of Tyre." Egypt signifies scientifics; Tyre, knowledges (cognitions) from the Word; here those vastated by falsities and evils to which they are applied; and inasmuch as there is lamentation on this account, it is therefore said, they shall be seized with grief. That all good would thus perish in the natural man, and [all] truth therein, is signified by, pass over into Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle. Tarshish signifies the interior goods and truths in the natural [man]; the inhabitants of the isle signify the exterior goods and truths therein, as also above; to howl signifies grief on account of vastation.

[12] In Jeremiah:

"I took the cup out of Jehovah's hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom Jehovah sent me. All the kings of Tyre, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isle which is in the passage of the sea" (Jeremiah 25:17-22).

Many nations are enumerated there that are not here adduced; by all these are signified the goods and truths of the church in general and in particular, which are vastated. And by the kings of Tyre and Zidon are signified the knowledges of truth and good from the Word, in the natural man; for all knowledges of truth and good, so far as they are knowledges, are in the natural man. Such become truths and goods when there is a life according to them, because they are received in the spiritual man by life. By, "the kings of the isle which is in the passage of the sea," are signified the knowledges of truth in the ultimate of the natural man, which is called the Natural Sensual, because through this there is a passage into the interiors of the natural man, the sea signifying the natural man in general (as may be seen above, n. 275, 342). The vastation of these things is meant by the cup of Jehovah which he made the nations to drink.

[13] In the same:

"Because of the day that cometh to lay waste all the Philistines, and to cut off from Tyrus and Zidon every helper that remaineth; for Jehovah layeth waste the Philistines, the remnant of the island of Caphtor" (47:4).

By the Philistines are meant those who are in faith alone, or in faith separate from charity, therefore they are also called the uncircumcised, by which is signified that they have no charity (see n. 2049, 3412, 8093, 8313). By cutting off from Tyre and Zidon every helper that remaineth, is signified that they have no longer any knowledge of truth and good; the helper that remaineth signifies that they are no longer concordant; the same is also signified by the remnant of the island of Caphtor.

[14] In the same:

"Pass over into the isles of the Chittimites, and see; send into Arabia, and consider well, and see whether there be such a thing, whether a nation hath changed their gods" (2:10, 12).

That they would pass over and send into the isles of the Chittimites and into Arabia, does not signify that they would send thither, but to all who live naturally in truths and goods according to their religion. The isles of the Chittimites denote where those are who live naturally in truths, and Arabia where they are who live naturally in goods, namely, according to their religion. The Chittimites and Arabia signify such persons and such things; for all those who have not the Word, or any revelation from heaven, and live according to their religion, live naturally; for to live spiritually is to live only according to truths and goods from the Word, and from revelation out of heaven.

[15] In Zephaniah:

"Jehovah will be formidable upon them: for he will make lean all the gods of the nations, that they may worship him, every one from his place; all the isles of the nations, ye Ethiopians also, shall be slain by my sword" (2:11, 12).

By these words in the internal sense, is signified that the falsities of evil will be dissipated, and that truths and goods will be given to those who indeed are in falsities, but not in the falsities of evil. By the gods of the nations, which Jehovah will make lean, are signified the falsities of evil; by gods, falsities; by the nations, evils; and by making lean is signified the removal of evils from falsities. By the isles of the nations, and by the Ethiopians, are signified those who indeed are in falsities, but not in the falsities of evil, and abstractedly, falsities, but not the falsities of evil. And because falsities not of evil are in the natural man, therefore, by the isles of the nations is signified the natural man as to those, or as to those falsities in the natural man; these falsities are signified by, slain by my sword. (Concerning the falsities of evil, and the falsities not of evil, see the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 21.)

[16] In David:

"He shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. The islands shall bow themselves before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust" (Psalms 72:8, 9).

These things are said concerning the Lord; and by having dominion from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth, is meant His dominion over all things of heaven and the church; for in the spiritual world the boundaries are seas, and the intermediates are earths, where there are habitations for angels and spirits. Hence by, "from sea to sea," are signified all things of heaven, and because all things of heaven all things of the church are also signified; for the goods of love, and the truths thence, constitute heaven and also the church, therefore by, "from sea to sea," are signified also all things of the church. All things of heaven and of the church are signified by, "from the river unto the ends of the earth"; but by these words are signified all things of heaven and of the church as to truths, and by, from sea to sea, all things of heaven and of the church as to goods. For seas in the spiritual world are the boundaries of the earth east and west; and in the earths from the east towards the west dwell those who are in the good of love; but the river signifies the first boundary, and the ends of the earth [signify] the last [boundaries] from south to north, where those dwell who are in truths from good, which boundaries also the rivers Jordan and Euphrates respectively represented to the land of Canaan. The places that are about the ultimate boundaries, are meant by islands, by which, therefore, are signified truths in ultimates; these, although they are not truths are still accepted as truths. For genuine truths are diminished from the centre towards the boundaries, because those who are around the boundaries are in natural light, and thus not in spiritual light. By enemies are signified evils, concerning whom it is said that they shall lick the dust, that is, that they are accursed.

[17] In the same:

"Jehovah reigneth; the earth shall rejoice; many isles shall be glad" (Psalms 97:1).

By these words is signified that the church where the Word is and the church where the Word is not, consequently, those who are in spiritual truths and those who are not in spiritual truths, shall rejoice on account of the Lord's kingdom. By the earth is signified the church where the Word is, and by the islands [the church] where the Word is not, consequently, those who are remote from spiritual truths; for the truths of the Word are alone spiritual, whereas with those who are outside the church, because they have not the truths of the Word, there are only natural truths; hence it is that they are called islands.

[18] By islands in the Word are not meant some islands of the sea, but places in the spiritual world inhabited by those who are in a natural knowledge of cognitions (scientia cognitionum) in some degree harmonising with the knowledges of truth and good in the Word; these places sometimes appear there as islands in the sea; whence, in an abstract sense, by islands are signified the truths of the natural man. This denomination is from the sea, in which there are islands, for the sea signifies the generals of truth, or the truths of the natural man in general. These things are signified by islands in Genesis:

"The sons of Javan were Elishah and Tarshish, Kittim and Dodanim. From these were the isles of the nations dispersed in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations" (10:4, 5).

And in Isaiah:

"He shall come to gather all nations and tongues, that they may come and see my glory. And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the nations" (66:18, 19; likewise Isaiah 11:10-12).

[19] Because most things in the Word have also an opposite sense, so also have islands; in which sense islands signify the falsities opposed to the truths which are in the natural man. In this sense islands are mentioned in the following passages.

In Isaiah

"I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools" (42:15).

This may be seen explained in the preceding article.

In Ezekiel:

"I will send a fire on Magog, and among the careless inhabitants of the isles" (39:6).

In Isaiah:

"Anger to his adversaries, retribution to his enemies; to the islands he will retaliate retribution" (59:18).

In the same:

"Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as one of the least of things" (40:15).

The nations here mean evils, and the isles falsities.

In the same:

"Keep silence, O islands; let the people renew their strength; let them come near, then let them speak; let us come near together to judgment. The isles saw it, and feared; the ends of the earth trembled" (41:1, 5).

56. What the people from Babylon are like in the other life is something which can only be known to one who has been allowed by the Lord to mix with them in the spiritual world. Since this has been granted to me, I can speak from experience, having seen and heard them and talked with them. Each person has after death a life similar to that he had in the world. This can only be changed as regards the delights of his love, which are turned into corresponding forms; this can be seen in two chapters of HEAVEN AND HELL 470-484, 485-490.

The life led by the people now under discussion is likewise exactly as it was in the world, but with the difference that the secrets of their hearts are then disclosed. For they are then in the spirit, which is where the more inward levels, those of thoughts and intentions, reside; and these they kept hidden in the world, covering them over with an outward show of holiness.

[2] Since these then were revealed, one could perceive that more than half of them, those who had usurped the power of opening and closing heaven, are completely godless. But because their minds cling to the power they exercised in the world, and this is based upon the principle that the Lord had all power given to Him by the Father, and this was then handed on to Peter, and in due succession to the prelates of the church, they still keep alongside their ungodliness the practice of confessing the Lord with the lips. But this only lasts so long as they can keep some power by its means. The rest, however, who are not godless, are so vacuous that they know nothing whatever about people's spiritual life, the means of salvation, the Divine truths which point the way to heaven, nor anything about heavenly faith and love, believing that by the Pope's favour heaven can be granted to anyone, no matter what sort of person he is.

[3] Each person has the same sort of life in the spiritual world as he had in the natural world, with no difference so long as he is not in heaven or in hell; this may be seen in HEAVEN AND HELL 453-480. In external appearance the spiritual world is exactly like the natural world (170-176). As a result their moral and civil lives are similar, and in particular their worship is similar, since it is rooted and clings to the inmost levels of a person; and no one can be diverted from it after death, unless he has the good which comes from truths and the truths which come from good. It is, however, more difficult to divert the people under discussion than other peoples from their form of worship, because they lack the good which comes from truths, not to mention the truths which come from good. The truths they have do not come from the Word with few exceptions, and these they have falsified by employing them to establish their power. As a result they have no good either, except a spurious kind of good; for the nature of truths determines the nature of good. These remarks are intended to convey the idea that the worship this group practises in the spiritual world is exactly the same as it was in the natural world.

[4] After this introduction I should like to report something about their worship and their life in the spiritual world. They have a Council chamber to replace the Council chamber or Consistory in Rome, where their leaders meet to deliberate about various ecclesiastical matters, above all how to keep the common people subject to blind obedience, and how to enlarge their power over them. This Council chamber is situated in the southern quarter near the eastern border. But no one who had been Pope in the world, nor any who had been a cardinal, dares to enter it, because by claiming for themselves in the world the Lord's power they have implanted in their minds an image of Divine authority. So as soon as they present themselves there, they are taken away and cast out to join their peers in the desert. Those of them, however, who were of upright character and had not so convinced themselves of that belief as to usurp such power, are in a dimly-lit room behind the Council chamber.

[5] They have another meeting-place in the western quarter near the north, where their business is the admission of the credulous common people into heaven. There they arrange around them a number of communities devoted to various outward pleasures. In some they go in for gaming, in some for dancing, in some for all kinds of jokes and amusements to make people smile, in some for friendly conversation, in one place talking about politics, in another about religious affairs, in another about indecent subjects, and so on. They admit their clients to one of these communities in response to their desire, calling that heaven. But after a few hours spent there they all become bored and go away because these are merely outward, not inward pleasures. Many are also thus led away from believing their teaching about being admitted to heaven.

[6] In detail their worship is almost the same as in the world. It consists, as in the world, of masses, which are held not in the ordinary language used by spirits, but in a concoction of high-sounding phrases which strikes terror into them by its outward sanctity, but remains unintelligible. They adore saints in the same way and display their statues. But the Roman Catholic saints are themselves nowhere to be seen, for all of them whose ambition was to be worshipped as deities are in hell, and the rest who had no such ambition are among the spirits of the common people. Their dignitaries are aware of this, for they seek out the saints and find them, and therefore come to disparage them. But they conceal this from the people, so that the saints can go on being worshipped as guardian deities, and the prelates themselves, who are in charge of the people, as lords of heaven.

[7] As in the world they similarly build numbers of churches and monasteries. They similarly amass wealth, collecting heaps of precious objects and hiding them in cellars. The spiritual world has precious objects just as much as the natural world, but many more of them. Similarly there they send out monks to induce peoples to adopt their religion, and thus make them subject to their rule. It is a widespread practice to have look-out towers constructed in the middle of their group, so that they can watch all the surrounding areas. By various tricks and devices they get in touch with people both near and far, and bind them with treaties to get them on their side.

[8] That is their general condition. But in detail most of the prelates of that religion rob the Lord of all power and claim it for themselves; and because they do this, they do not acknowledge the Divine. In outward show they put on a counterfeit appearance of holiness, holiness which is essentially a profanity, because it contains no inward acknowledgment of the Divine. As a result their outward holiness allows them to make contact with some communities of the lowest heaven and their inward profanity to make contact with the hells, so that they are in both places at once. For this reason they attract simple good spirits, giving them dwellings close to their own, and groups of malicious spirits, whom they arrange around their own group. In this way they are linked through the simple good with heaven and through the malicious with hell. Thus they devise unspeakable crimes which they commit under guidance from hell. For the simple good in the lowest heavens do not see beyond their external holiness, and their most devout adoration of the Lord in outward show, and so they are favourably disposed to them because they fail to see their crimes. This is their best protection; but still they all in course of time drop their outward show of holiness, and are then cut off from heaven and cast into hell.

[9] This will give some idea of what the people from Babylon are like in the other life. I know people in the world will be surprised at such things happening there, since they have only a vague and vacuous idea of people's condition after death and of heaven and hell. But a person is just as much a person after death, he lives in society as in the world, dwells in houses, listens to sermons in churches, performs duties and sees sights in that world similar to those in the one he has just left. All this can be proved from the reports in HEAVEN AND HELL of things seen and heard.