35. Man has two inherent powers of will and understanding. When the understanding is governed by the will they then constitute one mind and so one life; for what a person in that case wills and does he also thinks and intends. But when the understanding is at variance with the will, as it is with people who claim to have faith and yet live otherwise, then a mind previously one is split in two. One half seeks to transport itself into heaven, while the other inclines towards hell. And because the will is what accomplishes everything, the whole man would rush straight into hell unless the Lord took pity on him.

6176. 'And Israel's days drew near when he must die' means the state immediately before regeneration. This is clear from the meaning of 'drawing near' as being near, thus immediately before; from the meaning of 'days as states, dealt with in 23, 487, 488, 493, 893, 2788, 7462, 3785, 4850; from the representation of 'Israel' as spiritual good, dealt with above in 6169; and from the meaning of 'dying' as rising again and being roused into spiritual life, dealt with in 3326, 3498, 3505, 4618, 4621, 6036, thus being regenerated. For one who is being regenerated rises from spiritual death and is roused into new life.