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.

9832. 'And they shall take the gold' means the good reigning universally. This is clear from the meaning of 'gold' as the good of love, dealt with in 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 9490, 9510. Its reigning universally is meant by the fact that the gold was interwoven everywhere in the ephod, as is clear from what is stated later on in this book,

They beat out ¹ the plates of gold and cut them up into threads, to work in among the violet, and in among the purple, and in among the twice-dyed scarlet, and in among the fine linen. Exodus 39:3.

'Reigning universally' describes that which is dominant and so is present in each individual part, see 5949, 6159, 7648, 8067, 8853-8858, 8865. The reason why the gold was interwoven everywhere was that Aaron's garments represented the spiritual heaven, 9814, and in that heaven good holds sway, as it also does in the remaining heavens. In the inmost heaven it is the good of love to the Lord, in the middle one the good of charity towards the neighbour, and in the lowest the good of faith. The truth however which belongs to faith leads the way to good, and afterwards is brought forth from it. From this it is evident that a person is not in heaven until good is present within him. If merely the knowledge of truths, called the truths of faith, is present in a person he does no more than stand in front of the door; or if, knowing those truths, he is looking towards good he goes through into the porch. But if, in knowing those truths, he is not looking towards good he cannot see heaven, not even from a long way off. The reason for saying that a person is not in heaven until good is present within him is that a person must have heaven within him while in the world if he is to enter it after death. For heaven exists within people; and it is granted in mercy to those who during their life in the world allow themselves to be led by means of the truths of faith into charity towards the neighbour and into love to the Lord, that is, into good. People are not in heaven until they have come into that state in which the Lord leads them by means of good, see 8516, 8539, 8722, 8772, 9139. By good is meant the good of life; and the good of life consists in the performance of what is good because there is a will for what is good, and a will for what is good springs from love; for what a person loves, he wills.

V:

82. Of the proprium of man, spoken of above (n. 70), that it is the love of self and of the world.

The proprium of man is nothing but dense evil (n. 210, 215, 731, 874-876, 987, 1047, 2307-2308, 3518, 3701, 3812, 8480, 8550, 10283-10284, 10286, 10731). The proprium of man is his will (n. 4328). The proprium of man consists in loving himself more than God, and the world more than heaven, and in making his neighbor of no account respectively to himself, thus it is the love of self and of the world (n. 694, 731, 4317, 5660). Not only every evil, but also every falsity, springs from the proprium of man, and this falsity is the falsity of evil (n. 1047, 10283-10284, 10286). The proprium of man is hell with him (n. 694, 8480). Therefore he who is led by his proprium cannot be saved (n. 10731). The good which man does from the proprium is not good, but in itself is evil, because done for the sake of self and the world (n. 8478).

The proprium of man must be separated, in order that the Lord may be present with him (n. 1023, 1044). And it is actually separated when man is reformed (n. 9334-9336, 9452-9454, 9938). This is done by the Lord alone (n. 9445). Man by regeneration receives a heavenly proprium (n. 1937, 1947, 2881, 2883, 2891). This appears to man as his own proprium, but it is not his, but the Lord's with him (n. 8497). They who are in this proprium are in liberty itself, because liberty consists in being led by the Lord, and by His proprium (n. 892, 905, 2872, 2886, 2890-2892, 4096, 9586-9587, 9589-9591). All liberty is from the proprium, and its quality according thereto (n. 2880). What is the quality of the heavenly proprium (n. 164, 5660, 8480). How the heavenly proprium is implanted (n. 1712, 1937, 1947).