302. I have talked with angels about the conjunction of heaven with the human race, and I said that, while the man of the Church declares that all good is from God, and that angels are with man, yet few believe that angels are conjoined to man, still less that they are in his thought and affection. To this the angels replied that they know that there is such a belief and even such a mode of speaking in the world, and especially, to their surprise, within the Church, where yet there is the Word to teach men about heaven and its conjunction with man. Nevertheless, there is such a conjunction that man is unable to think the least thing apart from the spirits adjoined to him, and on this his spiritual life depends. They said that the cause of ignorance of this matter is man's belief that he lives from himself, without a connection with the First Being (Esse) of life; and that he does not know that this connection exists by means of the heavens; and yet if that connection were broken man would instantly fall down dead. If man believed, as is really true, that all good is from the Lord and all evil from hell, he would not make the good in him a matter of merit nor would evil be imputed to him; for he would then look to the Lord in all the good he thinks and does, and all the evil that inflows would be cast down to hell whence it comes. But because man does not believe that there is any influx into him either from heaven or from hell, and so supposes that all the things that he thinks and wills are in himself, and therefore from himself, he appropriates the evil to himself, and the inflowing good he defiles with merit.

92. APOCALYPSE. CHAPTER 2.

1. To the angel of the Ephesian Church write: These things saith He that holdeth the seven stars in His right hand; He that walketh in the midst of the seven golden lampstands;

2. I know thy works, and thy toil, and thy endurance, and that thou canst not bear the evil, and hast tried them that say that they are apostles, and they are not, and hast found them liars;

3. And hast borne and hast endurance, and for My name's sake hast toiled, and hast not failed.

4. But I have against thee, that thou hast left thy first charity.

5. Be mindful, therefore, of whence thou hast fallen, and repent, and do the first works; but if not, I will come unto thee quickly, and will move thy lampstand out of its place, except thou repent.

6. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

7. He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

8. And to the angel of the church of the Smyrneans write: These things saith the First and the Last, who was dead and is alive:

9. I know thy works, and affliction, and poverty, but thou art rich; ¹ and the blasphemy of them who say that they are Jews, and they are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

10. Fear not the things which thou art to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have affliction ten days: be thou faithful even till death, and I will give thee the crown of life.

11. He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. He that overcometh shall not be hurt by the second death.

12. And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These things saith He that hath the sharp two-edged sword,

13. I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, where Satan's throne is; and thou holdest My name, and didst not deny My faith, even in the days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.

14. But I have against thee a few things: that thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling-block before the sons of Israel, to eat idol-sacrifices, and to commit whoredom.

15. So thou also hast then that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.

16. Repent; or else I will come to thee quickly, and will fight against thee with the sword or My mouth.

17. He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. To him that overcometh, to him will I give to eat of the hidden manna; and will give him a white stone, and upon the stone a new name written, which no one knoweth except he that receiveth.

18. And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These things saith the Son of God, that hath His eyes as a flame of fire, and His feet like burnished brass.

19. I know thy works and charity, and ministry and faith, and thine endurance, and thy works, and the last to be more than the first.

20. But I have against thee a few things; that thou, sufferest the woman Jezebel, that calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce My servants to commit whoredom, and to eat idol-sacrifices.

21. And I gave her time that she might repent of her whoredom; and she repented not.

22. Behold, I cast her into a bed, and those that commit adultery with her into great affliction, except they repent of their works.

23. And her sons I will kill with death; and all the churches shall know that I am He that searcheth the reins and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your works.

24. But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say; I put upon you no other burden.

25. Nevertheless, that which ye have, hold fast till I come.

26. And he that overcometh and keepeth My works unto the end, I will give him power over the nations.

27. And he shall rule them with an iron rod; as earthen vessels shall they be shivered, as I also have received from My Father.

28. And I will give him the morning star.

29. He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

In the preceding pages it has been told what is meant by the "seven churches" and by the "angels" thereof; namely, by the "seven churches" all who are in truths from good, and by the "seven angels" all in heaven that correspond to them (See n. 20, 90); and since heaven and the church make one by correspondence, it is said in what follows, "To the angel of the church, write," and not, Write to the church. It is so said for this reason also, that there must be correspondence in order that the church may be a church with man; if there were no correspondence, there would be no communication of heaven, thus no heaven, with man; and if heaven were not with him neither would the church be with him. (See The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 241-248. What the correspondence of the man of the church with heaven is, cannot be told in a few words, but whoever desires may be taught what it is in what is said and shown in the work on Heaven and Hell 87-115 291-310.) In a word, there is correspondence when man has become spiritual, and man becomes spiritual when he acknowledges the Divine and especially the Lord, and loves to live according to the precepts in the Word, for when he does this he is conjoined with heaven; and then the spiritual corresponds with the natural which is with him. I am aware that to many these things may seem to exceed their comprehension; but the reason is that it is not the delight of their love to know them; if it were the delight of their love, not only would they perceive them clearly, but they would also be eager to know much more of such things; for a man desires what he loves, and what he loves is his delight; moreover, whatever is loved enters both with joy and with light into the idea of the mind.

Footnotes:

149. Freedom originates from the equilibrium between heaven and hell, and man, without freedom, cannot be reformed, is shown in the work on Heaven an Hell, in the articles concerning that equilibrium (n. 589-596), and concerning freedom (n. 597 to the end); but for the sake of instruction respecting what freedom is, and to show that man is reformed by means of it, I will here quote the following extracts from that work.

"It has been shown, that the equilibrium between heaven and hell is an equilibrium between the good which is from heaven and the evil which is from hell; and thus it is a spiritual equilibrium, which in its essence is freedom. The reason that spiritual equilibrium is, in its essence, freedom, is, because it is an equilibrium between good and evil, and between truth and falsity, which are spiritual things; wherefore, the power of willing either good or evil, and of thinking either truth or falsity, and of choosing the one in preference to the other, is freedom. This freedom is given to everyone by the Lord, nor is it ever taken away from him. In its origin, indeed, it does not belong to man, but to the Lord, because it is from the Lord; but, nevertheless, it is given to man, together with life, as his own: and it is given him to this end, that he may be reformed and saved; for without freedom there can be no reformation and salvation. Everyone who takes any rational view of things may see, that man has freedom to think either ill or well, sincerely or insincerely, justly or unjustly; and also, that he is at liberty to speak and to act well, sincerely, and justly, but is withheld from speaking and acting ill, insincerely, and unjustly, by spiritual, moral, and civil laws, by which his external is kept in bonds. From these things it is evident, that the spirit of man, which is that which thinks and wills: is in freedom. Not so the external of man, which speaks and acts, except in conformity with the above-mentioned laws. The reason that man cannot be reformed, unless he is in freedom, is because he is born into evils of all kinds. These must be removed, in order that he may be saved; and they cannot be removed, unless he sees them in himself, and acknowledges them; and afterwards ceases to will them, and at length holds them in aversion. It is then that they are first removed. This could not be done, unless man possessed in him good as well as evil; for he is capable, from good, of seeing evils, but not, from evil, of seeing goods. The spiritual goods which man can think, he learns from infancy by reading the Word and hearing sermons; and he learns moral and civil goods from life in the world. This is the first reason why man ought to be in freedom. Another is, that nothing is appropriated to man, but what he does from an affection that is of his love; other things may indeed enter his mind, but no further than into his thought; and not into his will; and what does not enter into the will does not become his own, for the thought draws its ideas from the memory, but the will from the life itself. Nothing that man ever does or thinks is free, but what proceeds from this will, or, what is the same thing, from an affection belonging to his love. Whatever a man wills or loves, he does freely; in consequence of which, a man's freedom, and the affection which is that of his love or of his will, are one: on which account, therefore, man must have freedom, in order that he may be affected by truth and good, or love them, and that they may become as it were his own. In a word, whatever does not enter man in freedom, does not remain, because it is not of his love or will; and whatever is not of a man's love or will is not of his spirit: for the esse of the spirit of man is his love or will.

" (Heaven and Hell 598) That man may be in freedom, as necessary to his being reformed, he is conjoined, as to his spirit, with heaven and with hell; for spirits from hell, and angels from heaven, are with every man. By the spirits from hell, man is held in his evil; but by the angels from heaven, he is held in good by the Lord. Thus he is in spiritual equilibrium, that is, in freedom. That angels from heaven, and spirits from hell, are adjoined to every man, may be seen in the Section on the Conjunction of Heaven with the Human Race" (n. 291-302).