436. From this it can now be seen what the three tribes first named, "Judah, Reuben, and Gad," signify in particular, as also what the three signify in the complex; for the names of persons and places in the Word signify things, not only each by itself signifying its own thing, but in the complex they signify the thing in series. The thing in series that is signified by these three names, "Judah, Reuben, and Gad," is that all who are in love to the Lord, and from that in truths, and through truths in the good of life, are in the inmost or third heaven; for such have the three degrees of life opened; the inmost degree is where love to the Lord has its seat, the middle degree is where truths from that good have their seat, and the ultimate degree is where the good of life has its seat. In every man there are three degrees of life; in those who are in the third heaven the inmost degree is open, for this is opened immediately from the Lord with those who are in love to Him, for through love there is conjunction and thus reception; because of this they are in all truths, which they see in themselves, and by means of these they are in the good of life. (That there are three degrees of life in every angel may be seen in the work on Heaven and Hell 33, 34; that the third degree is opened with those who are in the third heaven, n. 208, 209; what the quality of the angels of the third heaven is, n. 24-26, 267, 270, 271.)

33. It needs to be quite clear that it is the inner nature of angels that determines which heaven they are in. The more the deeper levels have been opened, the more inward the heaven they are in. There are three inner levels of every angel and spirit, and of every person here as well. The people whose third level has been opened are in the central heaven, while the people whose second or first only has been opened are in the intermediate or the outmost heaven.

The deeper levels are opened by our acceptance of divine good and divine true gifts. People who are actually affected by divine true gifts and let them directly into their lives - into their intentions and therefore into act - are in the central or third heaven, located there according to their acceptance of what is good in response to truth. People who do not let such gifts directly into their intentions, but into their memory and from there into their discernment, intending and doing them as a result of this process, are in the intermediate or second heaven. People who live good moral lives, though, and believe in the Divine with no particular interest in learning, are in the outmost or first heaven. ¹ We may therefore conclude that the state of our inner natures is what constitutes heaven and that heaven is within each one of us, not outside us. This is what the Lord teaches in saying,

The kingdom of God does not arrive when we are looking for it, nor do they say, "Here it is," or "There it is." Behold, you have the kingdom of God within you. (Luke 17:20-21)

Fotnoter: