15. Er bestaan twee afzonderlijke liefdes in de hemel, de liefde tot de Heer en de liefde tot de naaste. In de binnenste of derde hemel is de liefde tot de Heer en in de tweede of middelste hemel is de liefde tot de naaste. Elk komt voort uit de Heer en beide maken de hemel. In het heldere licht van de hemel is duidelijk het verschil te zien tussen deze beide liefdes en hoe zij verbonden zijn, maar op aarde is dat moeilijk te zien. In de hemel wordt met liefhebben van de Heer, niet bedoeld Hem liefhebben ten aanzien van de persoon, maar het goede liefhebben dat uit Hem voortkomt, en het goede liefhebben bestaat uit het goede willen en doen vanuit de liefde; en met de naaste liefhebben wordt niet verstaan de medemens liefhebben ten aanzien van de persoon, maar het ware liefhebben dat vanuit het Woord komt, en het ware liefhebben bestaat uit het ware willen en doen. Hieruit blijkt duidelijk dat er verschil bestaat tussen beide liefdes zoals tussen het goede en het ware, en dat zij samengaan als het goede met het ware. Maar dit zal heel moeilijk in het denken passen van iemand die niet weet wat liefde, het goede, en de naaste is.
Apocalypse Explained #154
154. Verse 19. I know thy works and charity, signifies the internal of those who are of the church. This is evident from the signification of "works," as being the things that are of the will, or of celestial love (of which see above, n. 98, and from the signification of "charity," as being the things that are of spiritual love. "Works and charity" signifies the internal of the church, because its internal is made up of the things that are of the will or love, and its external of the things that are of the understanding and faith. There are two loves that constitute heaven or the church, love to the Lord and love towards the neighbor, or charity; love to the Lord is called celestial love, and love toward the neighbor, which is charity, is called spiritual love. They are so called for the reason that heaven is divided into two kingdoms, one called the celestial kingdom, the other the spiritual kingdom, consequently the loves that govern there are so called (See the work on Heaven and Hell 13-19, 20-28 also The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 54-62, 84-100, where also it is shown what celestial love is, and what spiritual love, namely, that celestial love is to do the commandments of the Lord from the affection of the will, and spiritual love is to do them from the affection of the understanding). There are two things that constitute heaven or the church with man, namely, love and faith. Love resides in man's will, for what man loves that he also wills; but faith resides in his understanding, for what a man believes that he also thinks, and thought is of the understanding.
[2] The internal of the celestial church, therefore, is to do the Lord's commandments from the affection of the will, consequently from the love of good; while the internal of the spiritual church is to do the Lord's commandments from the affection of the understanding, consequently from the love of truth. That doing the Lord's commandments is loving Him, He Himself teaches in John (John 14:21, 23). The internal of the celestial church is what is meant by "works," and the internal of the spiritual church is meant by "charity." (But as these things cannot be explained in a few words, so as to be clearly perceived, see what is said respecting them in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, on The Will and Understanding, n. 28-36; on The Internal and the External Man, n. 36-53; on Love in General, n. 54-64; on Love towards the Neighbor, or Charity, n. 84-107; on Faith, n. 108-122; and in the work on Heaven and Hell, where Celestial Love and Spiritual Love are treated of, n. 13-19)