"Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matthew 3:3

Additional readings: Isaiah 1:1-20

In the childhood of the human race, before men had departed from right ways of life, heaven was near to them. They could be led directly by the Lord, for their hearts and minds were open to him. Of this Golden Age of the human race it is written, "Man walked with God." But we have all read in the history of the human race as revealed in the Scripture the account of how many departed from the way of life and, following the devices of his own heart, closed his mind to the direct reception of goodness and truth from the Lord, until finally he reached a state in which all true knowledge of God and heaven was lost.

Then the Lord came to bring salvation to mankind, and preparation for His reception was made through John the Baptist, the messenger sent in fulfillment of a prophecy given centuries before. John’s message is our text: "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." And when John was put to death, and the Lord began His active ministry in the world, the words of our text were also His first message. For He came to make clear the way of life, and wrong ideas held possession of the minds of men then, as they do of many minds today.

It is not by chance that this first message turns our thoughts to heaven. The purpose of our creation is that we may so live that we shall find our homes in heaven. Belief in heaven had been lost, along with the knowledge about it. And today belief in heaven is for the most part vague, and many think that eternal life does not mean personal existence in the spiritual world, but only the persistence of one’s influence in this world. Great men like Homer, Plato, Moses, Shakespeare, Gladstone, Lincoln, Pasteur, and many others perpetuate themselves in the influence they exert in the minds of living men. This, they say, is what is meant by immortality, by everlasting life. But we should realize that this type of everlasting life is open to the evil as well as to the good. A Diocletian may be remembered forever as well as the beloved Apostle. We need to know the truth that men and women, as individuals, live forever after death in the spiritual world.

But this is not the implication of the text which I have chosen for consideration this morning." The kingdom of heaven is at hand." We know that heaven is not in some remote part of the natural sky, that we cannot say, "Lo, here, or Lo, there" (Luke 17:21). But we are still apt to think of it as far away. We are also inclined to think of it as remote in time. We speak commonly of the "future" world. In the thought of some even, it lies at the indefinitely remote time, when they expect a general resurrection along with others; death is the gateway of heaven, but heaven still seems too distant to be of much practical and present interest.

But the truth is that heaven is far away neither in space nor in time. It is here, it is now, it is "at hand." We live in it now, or we may do so. It is a present reality, the most real and the most important element of the life we are now living. When we speak of heaven, and of living for heaven, we are not, as some charge, setting our hearts on something far away, and despising the real world in which we now are. If one lives for a far-off heaven — and no doubt some have lived so — he may be careless of this world’s joys and sorrows, of opportunities for usefulness, keeping his eyes fixed on some vision of the future. But we may live for heaven and still live thoroughly in the present. We ought to value heaven as the most real of present realities. The Gospel is true: "The kingdom of heaven is at hand."

We are taught in the New Church that heaven is essentially a state of human feeling, thought and life, a state in which love to the Lord and love to the neighbor are the ruling motives. We are taught that no outward paradise which could be made by human or by Divine skill would be a heaven if those affections were absent from the heart, that there is no real or lasting satisfaction except in the exercise of these affections. It follows that we can come into heaven in this world, and live in heaven while we live on earth, for we may learn here to love the Lord and one another, and to find our chief enjoyment in the exercise of these heavenly loves.

But this is an abstract way of speaking. Concretely, heaven is not merely a heavenly state in ourselves; it is the great world of human beings who are living in that state, those people in whose hearts are heavenly affections, whose minds are bright with spiritual light, and whose hands are busy with heavenly works. There are many such people in this world. There are countless more who have gone from the earth to the spiritual world, and are there living the same good life under freer and happier conditions. All these people are heaven.

When we have love to the Lord and the neighbor in ourselves, we are brought spiritually near to those in like affections, both of this world and of the spiritual world. It is not a figure of speech when we say that heaven is about us when we are in heavenly states. It is a literal and positive fact. Heaven is so really around us at such times that if it were granted to us, as it was to Elisha’s servant and to others in Bible days to have our spiritual eyes opened, we should see the angels who are our companions and the beautiful land in which they dwell. Among them we should see and recognize some who were dear to us on earth, who still love and help us, and there would be some whom we had not known before but who would from the first glance seem to us as old friends, because they have similar desires and thoughts. And we should recognize them as the source of our happiness.

The Lord created the world and all things in it. All things in the world were made for man to use and enjoy, from the very materials of the earth to all the myriad things of the vegetable and animal kingdoms, the beast of the field, the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea. For man’s needs of food, clothing, shelter, for gratification of his senses, and the improvement of his mind these things were made. All these were created and given to man for blessings. But they are subject to one important condition: man must indeed labor to make these things of service to himself, but he must also use them in the service of others. Only so can he have any security or peace. The world of nature and of human beings is not for one man, or a few men, or a nation to control or exploit. Indeed we cannot rightly claim sovereignty over ourselves. We need the guidance of the Lord. And whatever under the Divine Providence we have been able to acquire, whether of material wealth, or of skill, or of learning, we did not acquire it by our unaided efforts. Our daily knowledge of the happenings in the world, our libraries, our schools are made possible by the labor of mind and body of other men and women, great or humble, living or dead. We depend on others and they on us, and life and security today, as always, depend upon the honesty and good will of the community in which we live.

Yet we should also realize that behind the labors and sufferings and the honesty and good will of men stands the Lord. Through His power alone man achieves progress. It is a law of the Divine Providence that man must act in freedom according to reason. This applies to the life of nations as well as to the life of individuals. But the Lord is present and operative always.

For infinitely wise and good reasons, the Lord does not draw the veil aside for us and allow us to see the heavenly world. Some argue that if only they could see heaven, they would believe in it. But to see that world as an outward, objective reality would destroy our freedom. We should be lured by its outward attractiveness, and it would be less possible for us to come into its true spirit.

When we are living in selfish and evil affections, we are in hell. Not only is hell within us at such times but it is also about us, not by a figure of speech, but actually. We are breathing its poisoned atmosphere and, if our eyes were opened, we should see the forms and faces of those who find their life in evil and who exult in influencing others to evil. Why, at least then, does the Lord not draw the veil aside and show us the terribleness of evil? The sight might for the moment frighten us, but we should be less able to shun evil freely because it is evil, and our power to escape permanently from it would be greatly lessened.

If we are tempted to question the Lord’s Providence in not revealing to us more openly the conditions of the good and evil in the spiritual world, we do well to remember His words, "They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them….If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead" (Luke 16:29-31).

The Lord said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" (Matthew 6:33). We should seek those good things which endure forever, and should not sacrifice them for the sake of money or health or life itself. To acquire love to the Lord and to the neighbor is the only thing worth living for. Our business dealings should have as their motive the love of use, of service to others. The most necessary thing in making a home is having in it the sunshine of heaven. The only absolute requirement for our happiness as we go to and fro in the ways of the world is that heaven shall go with us. This is to live for heaven, and yet to live must fully in the present. This is the practical meaning of living for heaven.

It may be stated still more simply. Heaven is not heaven from locality, neither is it heaven from anything which belongs to the angels as their own. It is heaven from what is received from the Lord into the lives and hearts of the angels. To be near the Lord, not in place merely, but in heart, to feel the protection and peace of His presence is heaven. Heaven is being near to the Lord and keeping near to Him. There is no other heaven for men or angels.

"The kingdom of heaven is at hand." When John first spoke this message, the kingdom of heaven was in a special sense at hand, because the Lord had come to live with men and to make Himself accessible to them. A power to heal and bless went forth from the Lord during His life on earth. Men obsessed felt his saving power and sat at His feet clothed and in their right mind.

At the Transfiguration Peter said, "Lord, it is good for us to be here" (Matthew 17:4, Mark 9:5, Luke 9:33). In following the Lord, in hearing His Word and in doing His work, they were tasting of heaven. But we need to note that the mere physical nearness of the Lord did not make heaven. Some cried out with fear at His approach. It was not heaven to them. It was not heaven to those who followed Him to accuse and to betray Him. His presence was a blessing only to those who in some measure drew near to Him in spirit.

Even in the Lord’s coming on earth the kingdom of heaven was not forced on me. It was made accessible to them; it was brought within their reach.

It is brought within our reach. Just as there is no royal road to knowledge, there is no royal road to heaven. We must cease to do evil before we can learn to do well. Repentance, the willingness to recognize and acknowledge our faults and weaknesses and to struggle to overcome them opens the door. Heavenly life comes into the soul when selfish desires are replaced by kindly thoughts and the desire to serve. The Lord tell us to seek these heavenly virtues now, not for the sake of honor for ourselves, but that we may be really kind and helpful to others, that our lives may have something of the Lord’s love in them. Then we shall find that life here makes one with heavenly life, and that our Heavenly Father is the Source of happiness in both alike.

539. And there arose smoke out of the well, as the smoke of a great furnace.- That this signifies dense falsities thence from the evils of earthly and corporeal loves, is evident from the signification of smoke, which denotes the falsity of evil, of which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of the well of the abyss, which denotes the hell where those are who have falsified the Word (see above, n. 537); and from the signification of a great furnace, which denotes the evils of earthly and corporeal loves, from which such falsities break forth, of which we shall speak in the following article. Smoke signifies the falsity of evil, because it proceeds from fire, and fire signifies the loves of self and of the world, and all evils thence; therefore also the hells which are in falsities from the evils of those loves, and more so where those are who have falsified the Word by applying it to favour those loves, appear in a fire as of a great furnace, from which ascends a dense smoke mixed with fire. I have also seen them, and it was evident that the loves of those who were there caused the appearance of such fire, and that the falsities issuing therefrom presented the appearance of a fiery smoke. But such things do not appear to those who are there; for they are in those loves and in the falsities thence; in them is their life; they are tormented by these in various ways, and not by material fire and smoke, such as are in our natural world as may be better seen from the article in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 566-575), where what is meant by infernal fire and by gnashing of teeth is explained.

[2] That smoke signifies the dense falsity which goes forth from evil, is evident from the following passages.

Thus in Moses:

Abraham "looked toward the faces of Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the faces of the land of the plain, and he saw, and lo, the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace" (Genesis 19:28).

Sodom and Gomorrah, in the spiritual sense, mean those who are altogether in the loves of self, therefore the smoke seen by Abraham to rise out of the earth after the burning [of those cities], signifies the dense falsity pertaining to those who are entirely in that love. For those who love themselves above all things, are in the utmost darkness as to things spiritual and celestial, being merely natural and sensual, and altogether separated from heaven; and then they not only deny Divine things, but also contrive falsities, by which they destroy them. These falsities are signified by the smoke seen to arise from Sodom and Gomorrah.

[3] In the same:

"And the sun went down, and there was thick darkness, and behold a smoking furnace, and a torch of fire that passed between those pieces" (Genesis 15:17).

These things are said concerning the posterity of Abraham from Jacob, as is evident from the preceding parts of that chapter. The sun going down signifies the last time, when there is a consummation; and thick darkness arising signifies evil in the place of good, and falsity in the place of truth. "Behold a smoking furnace," signifies very dense falsity from evils; the torch of fire signifies the heat of disorderly desires, and that these separated them from the Lord is signified by its passing between the pieces. These things are more fully explained in the Arcana Coelestia 1858-1862).

[4] Again, in Moses:

"Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether parts of the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because Jehovah descended upon it in fire; and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly" (Exodus 19:17, 18).

And afterwards it is said:

"And all the people saw the voices and the torches and the voice of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and the people saw it, and they were moved and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die" (Exodus 20:18, 19).

These things represented the nature and quality of that people, for Jehovah, that is the Lord, appears to every one according to his quality. To those who are in truths from good, He appears as a serene light, but to those who are in falsities from evil, as smoke from fire; and because that people was in earthly and corporeal loves, and thence in the falsities of evil, therefore the Lord from mount Sinai appeared to them as a devouring fire, and as the smoke of a furnace. That the sons of Jacob were of such a character is shown in many places in the Arcana Coelestia, from which a number of passages are quoted in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 248); and that the Lord appears to every one according to his quality, as a vivifying and recreating fire to those who are in good, and as a consuming fire to those who are in evil, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 934, 1861, 6832, 8814, 8819, 9434, 10551). The signification of the remaining details in the passages above adduced, is also given in the Arcana Coelestia, where the book of Exodus is explained.

[5] The signification of smoke and fire in the following passages in David is similar:

"Because he was wroth, there went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and a fire out of his mouth devoured; coals were kindled by him. He bowed the heaven also, and came down; and thick darkness was under his feet" (Psalm 18:7-9; 2 Sam. 22:8, 9).

This does not mean that smoke and devouring fire ascended from Him, for there is no wrath in Him; but it is so said, because the Lord thus appears to those who are in falsities and evils, for they view Him from their own falsities and evils.

[6] Similar things are signified by the following in the same:

"He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth; he toucheth the mountains, and they smoke" (Psalm 104:32).

And again:

"Bow thy heavens, O Jehovah, and come down; touch the mountains, and they shall smoke" (Psalm 144:5).

And in Isaiah:

"Howl, O gate, cry, O city; thou whole Philistia, art dissolved; for there cometh a smoke from the north" (14:31).

By the gate is signified truth which introduces into the church; by city is signified doctrine. By Philistia is signified faith; hence by howl, O gate, cry, O city, thou whole Philistia, art dissolved, is signified the vastation of the church as to the truth of doctrine, and thence as to faith. The north signifies the hell where and whence are the falsities of doctrine and the falsities of faith, and the smoke those falsities themselves. Therefore by smoke coming from the north is signified falsity vastating from the hells.

[7] So in Nahum:

"Behold, I will burn her chariot in the smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young lions" (2:13).

The subject here treated of is the vastation of the church. By burning the chariot in the smoke is signified the perversion of all the truths of doctrine into falsities, smoke signifying falsity, and chariot denoting doctrine. By the sword shall devour the young lions, is signified that falsities will destroy the principal truths of the church, young lions denoting the principal and defensive truths of the church, and sword denoting falsity destroying truth.

[8] So in Joel:

"I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood and fire, and pillars of smoke" (2:30).

These things are said concerning the Last Judgment, and by blood, fire, and pillars of smoke, are signified the truth of the Word falsified, the good thereof adulterated, and absolute falsities therefrom. Blood denotes the truth of the Word falsified, fire, its good adulterated, and pillars of smoke denote the absolute and dense falsities thence.

[9] Again, in David:

"The wicked shall perish, and the enemies of Jehovah as the glory of lambs shall be consumed; in smoke shall they be consumed" (Psalm 37:20).

By the wicked perishing, and the enemies of Jehovah being consumed in smoke, is signified that they shall perish by means of the falsities of evil. Those who are in falsities are called wicked, and enemies those who are in evils, while smoke denotes the falsity of evil.

[10] Again:

"As smoke is driven away, so shalt thou drive them away; as wax melteth before the fire, so the wicked shall perish before God" (Psalm 68:2).

The destruction of the wicked is here compared to smoke driven away by the wind, and to wax which melts before the fire, because smoke signifies falsities, and fire, evils.

[11] So in Isaiah:

"The heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment" (51:6).

Here also smoke signifies falsity, in which they should perish who were in the former heaven; and by the garment waxing old is signified truth destroyed by the falsities of evil. Comparison is made with smoke vanishing away, and with a garment waxing old, because comparisons in the Word are also correspondences, and are equally significative.

[12] So in Hosea:

"They sin more and more, and make them a molten image of their silver, and idols in their intelligence, all of it the work of the craftsmen; therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the early falling dew that passeth away, as the [chaff] that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney" (13:2, 3).

By these words are described doctrinals which are from [man's] own intelligence in which are evils of falsity, and falsities of evil. Such doctrinals are signified by the molten images of silver, and by idols. Their silver signifies that which is from [man's] own intelligence, and the work of the craftsmen signifies that intelligence; therefore it is also said, that they have made them idols in their own intelligence, all of it the work of the craftsmen. That those doctrinals because they are falsities, would pass away, is signified by their passing away as smoke out of the chimney. The reason why they are said to be as the morning cloud, and as the early falling dew that passeth away, and as [the chaff] out of the floor, is, because the church in its beginning is as the morning cloud, as the early falling dew, and as corn on the threshing floor, by which are signified truths of good, and goods of truth, which yet successively pass away, and are changed into falsities of evil, and into evils of falsity.

[13] By smoke is also signified falsity in other passages in the Apocalypse; as in the following:

"Out of the horses' mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone" (9:17, 18).

Again:

"The smoke of their torment ascendeth up unto ages of ages" (14:11).

And again:

"The smoke of Babylon rose up unto ages of ages" (19:3).

[14] Because fire signifies love in both senses, both heavenly love and infernal love, and smoke signifies that which flows from love, both the falsity from infernal love, and the truth from heavenly love, therefore smoke also, in a good sense, signifies holy truth; this is what smoke from the fire of the incense offerings signifies, as may be seen above (n. 494), and also in the following passages:

"Jehovah shall create over every dwelling-place of mount Zion, and over her assemblies, a cloud by day and smoke, and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory a covering" (Isaiah 4:5).

This passage may be seen explained above (n. 294:10, 504:11).

Again, in the same prophet:

"The posts of the thresholds were moved at the voice of the seraphim that cried, and the house was filled with smoke" (6:4).

And in the Apocalypse it is written:

"The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power" (15:8).

And again:

"The smoke of the offerings of incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand" (8:4).