1093. Having great power.- That this signifies to whom belongs Omnipotence, both in the heavens and on earth, is evident from the signification of great power, when said of the Lord, as denoting Omnipotence. Omnipotence here signifies great power, because the term "great power," but not "Omnipotence," can be applied to an angel, which is according to the idea that man has of angels; but when by an angel is meant the Lord as to His proceeding Divine, then great power means Omnipotence. Omnipotence is also the Lord's because He is the God of heaven and of earth, and both heaven and earth were created by means of the Divine that proceeds from Him as a Sun, and by it also heaven and earth are maintained in existence and subsist. The proceeding Divine is what is called in John, "The Word, which was with God, and which was God," by which all things were made that were made, and by which also the world was made (chap. 1:1, 2, 10). The Omnipotence of the Lord both in the heavens and on earth is meant by the great power of the angel, because it is afterwards said that the earth was lightened with His glory; for when the Last Judgment was accomplished upon those who are meant by the harlot of Babylon, then the darkness was removed which had gathered between heaven and earth. But more will be said upon this subject below.

[2] Continuation concerning the Athanasian Creed.- It is evident from what has been said, that the thoughts of man are extensions into societies either heavenly or infernal, and that unless they were extensions they would have no existence. Man's thought is like the sight of his eyes, and, unless this had extension beyond itself, there would be either no sight, or blindness. But it is man's love that gives his thoughts their determination into societies, good love into heavenly societies, and evil love into infernal societies. For the whole heaven is arranged into societies, according to all the varieties of the affections that belong to love, generally, specifically, and in particular; while hell is arranged into societies according to the lusts (cupiditates) of the love of evil, opposite to the affections of the love of good.

[3] Man's love is comparatively like fire, and his thoughts are like the rays of light from it; if the love is good, then the thoughts, which are like rays, are truths; if the love is evil, the thoughts which go forth like rays are falsities. Thoughts from good love, which are truths, tend towards heaven; but thoughts from evil love which are falsities, tend towards hell, and are so completely conjoined with, and as it were ingrafted upon homogeneous societies, that is, such as are in similar love, that a man becomes entirely one with them.

[4] Man, by means of love to the Lord, is an image of Him. The Lord is Divine Love, and He appears as a Sun before the angels in heaven. Light and heat go forth from that Sun, light being the Divine Truth, and heat the Divine Good; the whole heaven, and all the societies of heaven, are from these. The Lord's love with a man who is an image of him, is as fire from that Sun, from which fire, light and heat similarly go forth; the light is the truth of faith, and the heat is the good of love, each of them being from the Lord, and each implanted in the societies with which such a man's love acts in unison. That man from creation is an image and likeness of God, is evident from Genesis (1:26); and He is an image and likeness of the Lord by means of love, because by means of love man is in the Lord and the Lord in him (John 14:20, 21). In a word, the very least thought that can exist is received in some society, not by the individuals or angels of the society, but by the affection of love from which and in which that society is; for this reason the angels are not conscious of the influx, neither does that influx disturb the society in any way.

[5] From these considerations the truth is evident that man is in conjunction with heaven while he lives in the world, and also in consociation with angels, although both men and angels are ignorant of it. They know nothing of this is because a man's thought is natural, and an angel's thought spiritual, and these make one only by correspondence. Since man by means of the thoughts of his love, is inaugurated into societies either of heaven or hell, therefore, on his entrance into the spiritual world, which takes place immediately after death, his character is known merely from the extension of his thoughts into societies, and in this way every one is explored. Man is also reformed by the admission of his thoughts into the societies of heaven, and he is condemned by the immersion of his thoughts in the societies of hell.

548. I have spoken several times to spirits recently arrived from the world about the state of eternal life, and have said that it was important for them to know who the Lord of that kingdom is, what is the system of government, and what form that government takes. It is the same in the world when people go to another kingdom; they wish to know beforehand who the king is and what he is like, what is the system of government, and many other facts concerning that kingdom. How much more does this apply in that kingdom where they are going to live for ever. I have told them that the Lord alone rules not only heaven but also the whole universe, for He who rules the one must rule the other, and also that the kingdom which they are now in is the Lord's kingdom, and that the laws of this kingdom are eternal truths, every one of which is based on the incomparable law that they are to love the Lord supremely and the neighbour as themselves. Indeed if they wished to be as the angels, they must now go beyond that and love the neighbour more than themselves.

[2] On hearing these things they have been speechless, for during their life-time they had heard something of the sort but had not believed it. Even though they had heard that they were to love the neighbour as themselves, they have been amazed that such love exists in heaven, and that it is possible for anyone to love the neighbour more than himself. They have been informed however that in the next life all goods increase without limit, whereas life in the body is such that they cannot progress beyond the point of loving their neighbour as themselves, because they are engrossed in bodily interests. Once the latter have been removed however, love becomes purer, and at length angelic. And this is loving the neighbour more than themselves.

[3] The possibility of such love has been made clear from the conjugial love of certain persons who would die rather than let their partner be harmed. It is also clear from the love of parents for their children; a mother would rather endure starvation than see her child go hungry, as is true even of birds and of animals. The possibility of that love is also apparent in real friendship in which people risk any danger for the sake of their friends. It is apparent even from that polite but counterfeit friendship which seeks to imitate real friendship by offering choicer things to those they wish well to, and by paying lip-service to good will even though it does not exist in their hearts. Finally, the possibility of loving the neighbour more than oneself is clear from the very nature of love whose joy resides in serving others for love's sake and not one's own. But people who loved themselves more than anybody else have not been able to grasp these things; nor have those who during their lifetime were eager for money, and least of all the avaricious.