Heaven and Hell/52
LII
The Second State of Man After Death
499. The second state of man after death is called the state of his interiors, because he is then let into the interiors of his mind, that is, of his will and thought; while his exteriors, which he has been in during his first state, are laid asleep. Whoever gives any thought to man's life and speech and action can see that everyone has exteriors and interiors, that is, exterior and interior thoughts and intentions. This is shown by the fact that in civil life one thinks about others in accordance with what he has heard and learned of them by report or conversation; but he does not talk with them in accordance with his thought; and if they are evil he nevertheless treats them with civility. That this is so is seen especially in the case of pretenders and flatterers, who speak and act in one way and think and will in a wholly different way; also in the case of hypocrites, who talk about God and heaven and the salvation of souls and the truths of the church and their country's good and their neighbor as if from faith and love, although in heart they believe otherwise and love themselves alone.
[2] All this makes clear that there are two kinds of thought, one exterior and the other interior; and that there are those who speak from exterior thought, while from their interior thought they have other sentiments, and that these two kinds of thought are kept separate, since the interior is carefully prevented from flowing into the exterior and becoming manifest in any way. By creation man is so formed as to have his interior and exterior thought make one by correspondence; and these do make one in those that are in good, for such both think and speak what is good only. But in those that are in evil interior and exterior thought do not make one, for such think what is evil and say what is good. With such there is an inversion of order, for good with them is on the outside and evil within; and in consequence evil has dominion over good, and subjects it to itself as a servant, that it may serve it as a means for gaining its ends, which are of the same nature as their love. With such an end contained in the good that they seek and do, their good is evidently not good, but is infected with evil, however good it may appear in outward form to those not acquainted with their interiors.
[3] It is not so with those that are in good. With such order is not inverted; but good from interior thought flows into exterior thought, and thus into word and act. Into this order man was created; and in heaven, and in the light of heaven, his interiors are in this order. And as the light of heaven is the Divine truth that goes forth from the Lord, and consequently is the Lord in heaven (n. 126-140), therefore such are led by the Lord. All this has been said to make known that every man has interior thought and exterior thought, and that these are distinct from each other. The term thought includes also the will, for thought is from the will, and thought apart from willing is impossible. All this makes clear what is meant by the state of man's exteriors and the state of his interiors.
500. When will and thought are mentioned will includes affection and
love, and all the delight and pleasure that spring from affection and
love, since all these relate to the will as to their subject; for
what a man wills he loves and feels to be delightful or pleasurable;
and on the other hand, what a man loves and feels to be delightful or
pleasurable, that he wills. But by thought is then meant everything
by which affection or love is confirmed, for thought is simply the
will's form, or that whereby what is willed may appear in light. This
form is made apparent through various rational analyses, which have
their origin in the spiritual world and belong properly to the spirit
of man.
501. Let it be understood that man is wholly such as his interiors
are, and not such as his exteriors are separate from his interiors.
This is because his interiors belong to his spirit, and the life of
his spirit is the life of man, for from it his body lives; and
because of this such as a man's interiors are such he continues to be
to eternity. But as the exteriors pertain to the body they are
separated after death, and those of them that adhere to the spirit
are laid asleep, and serve purely as a plane for the interiors, as
has been shown above in treating of the memory of man which continues
after death. This makes evident what is man's own and what is not his
own, namely, that with the evil man nothing that belongs to his
exterior thought from which he speaks, or to the exterior will from
which he acts, is his own, but only that which belongs to his
interior thought and will.
502. When the first state, which is the state of the exteriors
treated of in the preceding chapter, has been passed through, the
man-spirit is let into the state of his interiors, or into the state
of his interior will and its thought, in which he had been in the
world when left to himself to think freely and without restraint.
Into this state he unconsciously glides, just as when in the world he
withdraws the thought nearest to his speech, that is, from which he
speaks, towards his interior thought and abides in the latter.
Therefore in this state of his interiors the man-spirit is in
himself and in his very life; for to think freely from his own
affection is the very life of man, and is himself.
503. In this state the spirit thinks from his very will, thus from
his very affection, or from his very love; and thought and will then
make one, and one in such a manner that he seems scarcely to think
but only to will. It is nearly the same when he speaks, yet with the
difference that he speaks with a kind of fear that the thoughts of
the will may go forth naked, since by his social life in the world
this has come to be a part of his will.
504. All men without exception are let into this state after death,
because it is their spirit's own state. The former state is such as
the man was in regard to his spirit when in company; and that is not
his own state. That this state, namely, the state of the exteriors
into which man first comes after death (as shown in the preceding
chapter) is not his own state, many things show, for example, that
spirits not only think but also speak from their affection, since
their speech is from their affection (as has been said and shown in
the chapter on the speech of angels, n. 234-245). It was in this way
that man had thought while in the world when he was thinking within
himself, for at such times his thought was not from his bodily words,
but he [mentally] saw the things, and in a minute of time saw more
than he could afterwards utter in half an hour. Again that the state
of the exteriors is not man's own state or the state of his spirit is
evident from the fact that when he is in company in the world he
speaks in accord with the laws of moral and civil life, and at such
times interior thought rules the exterior thought, as one person
rules another, to keep him from transgressing the limits of decorum
and good manners. It is evident also from the fact that when a man
thinks within himself, he thinks how he must speak and act in order
to please and to secure friendship, good will, and favor, and this in
extraneous ways, that is, otherwise than he would do if he acted in
accordance with his own will. All this shows that the state of the
interiors that the spirit is let into is his own state, and was his
own state when he was living in the world as a man.
505. When the spirit is in the state of his interiors it becomes
clearly evident what the man was in himself when he was in the world,
for at such times he acts from what is his own. He that had been in
the world interiorly in good then acts rationally and wisely, and
even more wisely than in the world, because he is released from
connection with the body, and thus from those earthly things that
caused obscurity and interposed as it were a cloud. But he that was
in evil in the world then acts foolishly and insanely, and even more
insanely than in the world, because he is free and under no
restraint. For while he lived in the world he was sane in outward
appearance, since by means of externals he made himself appear to be
a rational man; but when he has been stripped of his externals his
insanities are revealed. An evil man who in externals takes on the
semblance of a good man may be likened to a vessel shining and
polished on the outside and covered with a lid, within which filth of
all kinds is hidden, in accordance with the Lord's saying:
Ye are like whited sepulchers, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness (Matt. 23:27).
506. All that have lived a good life in the world and have acted from conscience, who are such as have acknowledged the Divine and have loved Divine truths, especially such as have applied those truths to life, seem to themselves, when let into the state of their interiors, like one aroused from sleep into full wakefulness, or like one passing from darkness into light. They then think from the light of heaven, thus from an interior wisdom, and they act from good, thus from an interior affection. Heaven flows into their thoughts and affections with an interior blessedness and delight that they had previously had no knowledge of; for they have communication with the angels of heaven. They then acknowledge the Lord and worship Him from their very life, for being in the state of their interiors they are in their proper life (as has been said just above, n. 505); and as freedom pertains to interior affection they then acknowledge and worship the Lord from freedom. Thus, too, they withdraw from external sanctity and come into that internal sanctity in which worship itself truly consists. Such is the state of those that have lived a Christian life in accordance with the commandments in the Word.
[2] But the state of those that have lived an evil life in the world and who have had no conscience, and have in consequence denied the Divine, is the direct opposite of this. For everyone who lives an evil life, inwardly in himself denies the Divine, however much he may suppose when in external thought that he acknowledges the Lord and does not deny Him; for acknowledging the Divine and living an evil life are opposites. When such in the other life enter into the state of their interiors, and are heard speaking and seen acting, they appear foolish; for from their evil lusts they burst forth into all sorts of abominations, into contempt of others, ridicule and blasphemy, hatred and revenge; they plot intrigues, some with a cunning and malice that can scarcely be believed to be possible in any man. For they are then in a state of freedom to act in harmony with the thoughts of their will, since they are separated from the outward conditions that restrained and checked them in the world. In a word, they are deprived of their rationality, because their reason while they were in the world did not have its seat in their interiors, but in their exteriors; and yet they seemed to themselves to be wiser than others.
[3] This being their character, while in the second state they are let down by short intervals into the state of their exteriors, and into a recollection of their actions when they were in the state of their interiors; and some of them then feel ashamed, and confess that they have been insane; some do not feel ashamed; and some are angry because they are not permitted to remain permanently in the state of their exteriors. But these are shown what they would be if they were to continue in that state, namely, that they would attempt to accomplish in secret ways the same evil ends, and by semblances of goodness, honesty, and justice, would mislead the simple in heart and faith, and would utterly destroy themselves; for their exteriors would at length burn with the same fire as their interiors, and their whole life would be consumed.
507. When in this second state spirits become visibly just what they
had been in themselves while in the world, what they then did and
said secretly being now made manifest; for they are now restrained by
no outward considerations, and therefore what they have said and done
secretly they now say and endeavor to do openly, having no longer any
fear of loss of reputation, such as they had in the world. They are
also brought into many states of their evils, that what they are may
be evident to angels and good spirits. Thus are hidden things laid
open and secret things uncovered, in accordance with the Lord's
words:
There is nothing covered up that shall not be revealed, and hid that shall not be known. Whatsoever ye have said in the darkness shall be heard in the light, and what ye have spoken in the ear in the inner chambers shall be proclaimed on the housetops (Luke 12:2, 3).
And elsewhere:
I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment (Matt. 12:36).
508. The nature of the wicked in this state cannot be described in a few words, for each one is insane in accord with his own lusts, and these are various; therefore I will merely mention some special instances from which conclusions may be formed respecting the rest. Those that have loved themselves above everything, and in their occupations and employments have looked to their own honor, and have performed uses and found delight in them not for the use's sake but for the sake of reputation, that they might because of them be esteemed more worthy than others, and have thus been fascinated by their reputation for honor, are more stupid in this second state than others; for so far as one loves himself he is separated from heaven, and so far as he is separated from heaven he is separated from wisdom.
[2] But those that have not only been in self-love but have been crafty also, and have raised themselves to honors by means of crafty practices, affiliate themselves with the worst of spirits, and learn magic arts, which are abuses of Divine order, and by means of these they assail and infest all who do not honor them, laying snares, fomenting hatred, burning with revenge, and are eager to vent their rage on all who do not yield to them; and they rush into all these enormities so far as their fiendish companions favor them; and at length they meditate upon how they can climb up into heaven to destroy it, or be worshiped there as gods. To such length does their madness carry them.
[3] Papists of this character are more insane than the rest, for they cherish the notion that heaven and hell are subject to their power, and that they can remit sins at pleasure, claiming to themselves all that is Divine, and calling themselves Christ. This persuasion is such with them that wherever it flows in it disturbs the mind and induces darkness even to pain. Such are nearly the same in both the first and the second state; but in the second they are without rationality. Of their insanities and their lot after this state some particulars will be given in the treatise on The Last Judgement and the Destruction of Babylon.
[4] Those that have attributed creation to nature, and have therefore in heart if not with the lips denied the Divine, and thus all things of the church and of heaven, affiliate with their like in this second state, and call everyone a god who excels in craftiness, worshiping him even with Divine honors. I have seen such in an assembly adoring a magician, debating about nature, and behaving like fools, as if they were beasts under a human form, while among them there were some who in the world had been in stations of dignity, and some who had been esteemed learned and wise. So with others in other states.
[5] From these few instances it may be inferred what those are who have the interiors of their minds closed heaven-wards, as is the case with all who have received no influx out of heaven through acknowledgment of the Divine and a life of faith. Everyone can judge from himself how he would act if, being such, he were left free to act with no fear of the law and no fear in regard to his life, and with no outward restraints, such as fear of injury to one's reputation or of loss of honor and gain and consequent pleasures.
[6] Nevertheless, the insanity of such is restrained by the Lord that it may not rush beyond the limits of use; for even such spirits perform some use. In them good spirits see what evil is and its nature, and what man is when he is not led by the Lord. Another of their uses is their collecting together evil spirits like themselves and separating them from the good; and another, that the truths and goods that the evil had outwardly professed and feigned are taken away from them, and they are brought into the evils of their life and the falsities of their evil, and are thus prepared for hell.
[7] For no one enters hell until he is in his own evil and the falsities of evil, since no one is permitted there to have a divided mind, that is, to think and speak one thing and to will another. Every evil spirit there must think what is false from evil, and speak from the falsity of evil, in both respects from the will, thus from his own essential love and its delight and pleasure, in the same way that he thought while in the world when he was in his spirit, that is, in the same way as he thought in himself when he thought from interior affection. The reason is that the will is the man himself, and not the thought except so far as it partakes of the will, the will being the very nature itself or disposition of the man. Therefore man's being let into his will is being let into his nature or disposition, and likewise into his life; for by his life man puts on a nature; and after death he continues to be such as the nature is that he has acquired by his life in the world; and with the evil this nature can no longer be amended and changed by means of the thought or by the understanding of truth.
509. When evil spirits are in this second state, as they rush into
evils of every kind they are subjected to frequent and grievous
punishments. In the world of spirits there are many kinds of
punishment; and there is no regard for person, whether one had been
in the world a king or a servant. Every evil carries its punishment
with it, the two making one; therefore whoever is in evil is also in
the punishment of evil. And yet no one in the other world suffers
punishment on account of the evils that he had done in this world,
but only on account of the evils that he then does; although it
amounts to the same and is the same thing whether it be said that men
suffer punishment on account of their evils in the world or that they
suffer punishment on account of the evils they do in the other life,
since everyone after death returns into his own life and thus into
like evils; and the man continues the same as he had been in the life
of the body (n. 470-484). Men are punished for the reason that the
fear of punishment is the sole means of subduing evils in this state.
Exhortation is no longer of any avail, neither is instruction or fear
of the law and of the loss of reputation, since everyone then acts
from his nature; and that nature can be restrained and broken only by
punishments. But good spirits, although they had done evils in the
world, are never punished, because their evils do not return.
Moreover, I have learned that the evils they did were of a different
kind or nature, not being done purposely in opposition to the truth,
or from any other badness of heart than that which they received by
inheritance from their parents, and that they were borne into this by
a blind delight when they were in externals separate from internals.
510. Everyone goes to his own society in which his spirit had been in
the world; for every man, as regards his spirit, is conjoined to some
society, either infernal or heavenly, the evil man to an infernal
society and the good man to a heavenly society, and to that society
he is brought after death (see n. 438). The spirit is led to his
society gradually, and at length enters it. When an evil spirit is in
the state of his interiors he is turned by degrees toward his own
society, and at length, before that state is ended, directly to it;
and when that state is ended he himself casts himself into the hell
where those are who are like himself. This act of casting down
appears to the sight like one falling headlong with the head
downwards and the feet upwards. The cause of this appearance is that
the spirit himself is in an inverted order, having loved infernal
things and rejected heavenly things. In this second state some evil
spirits enter the hells and come out again by turns; but these do not
appear to fall headlong as those do that are fully vastated.
Moreover, the society itself in which they had been as regards their
spirit while in the world is shown to them when they are in the state
of their exteriors, that they may thus learn that even while in the
life of the body they were in hell, although not in the same state as
those that are in hell itself, but in the same state as those who are
in the world of spirits. Of this state, as compared with those that
are in hell, more will be said hereafter.
511. In this second state the separation of evil spirits from good
spirits takes place. For in the first state they are together, since
while a spirit is in his exteriors he is as he was in the world, thus
the evil with the good and the good with the evil; but it is
otherwise when he has been brought into his interiors and left to his
own nature or will. The separation of evil spirits from good spirits
is effected by various means; in general by their being taken about
to those societies with which in their first state they had
communication by means of their good thoughts and affections, thus to
those societies that they had induced to believe by outward
appearances that they were not evil. Usually they are led about
through a wide circle, and everywhere what they really are is made
manifest to good spirits. At the sight of them the good spirits turn
away; and at the same time the evil spirits who are being led about
turn their faces away from the good towards that quarter where their
infernal society is, into which they are about to come. Other methods
of separation, which are many, will not now be mentioned.