The New View of Hell/Chapter 12
XII.
PRACTICAL BEARINGS OF THE QUESTION.
BESIDES this outer world of matter, there is another realm of being;—a world of spirits, both good and evil;—a heaven of angels and a hell of devils. Nor is this realm remote from the world in which we are now living and acting, but intimately present with it, interpenetrating every part of it, as the soul of man pervades and animates every part of his body.
In the midst of this viewless host our own souls live and breathe and act. With one or another class of spirits we internally hold close companionship; and are powerfully influenced by them for good or for evil. Neither heaven nor hell are far-away, but present and potential realities—none the less so because their denizens are invisible to the natural eye. And the moment this fact is recognized, the important practical bearings of the subject discussed in these pages, becomes apparent. For if hell be a present reality, or if it can come near to men and exert upon them a potent influence, it is important that we understand its nature.
And all who accept the Sacred Scripture as a revelation from God, must recognize this fact. For on almost every page of the Bible, the existence of a realm above nature—of a world peopled by spirits, good and evil—is clearly implied if not distinctly asserted. Angels and devils are spoken of as often, and with as much familiarity, as are any other objects whose reality no one ever dreamed of questioning. Their existence is everywhere assumed. There is never an attempt to prove it, any more than there is to prove the existence of the sun, moon or stars.
Angels are spoken of as often seen by persons in the flesh; as conversing with and sustaining an intimate relation to them; as feeling a lively interest in humanity, and exerting an influence upon the condition of mortals. They were seen, for example, by Jacob, Gideon, Manoah, Zacharias, the shepherds of Bethlehem, and the women "who were early at the sepulchre." Myriads of them were beheld, and their voices heard, by John when he was in the spirit. And as evidence of their interest in and their sympathy with people here on earth, we are told in the gospel of Luke that "there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth."
Equally explicit, too, is the Scripture in its teaching respecting evil spirits or devils, and their malign influence upon the inhabitants of this world. When our Saviour was on earth, multitudes were possessed by them; and we are told that "He cast out the devils with his word." He also gave his disciples "power over unclean spirits to cast them out." And when He sent them forth to preach the gospel of the Kingdom, He gave them a commission to "heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and cast out devils." When the evil spirits saw Him, they (or the persons possessed by them) cried out for fear, fell down before Him, or quickly fled away as from one whose sphere was insufferably painful. And "with authority," it is said, "He commandeth the unclean spirits, and they obey Him." And on one occasion when He was met by a poor demoniac who had his dwelling among the tombs, "He said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit." And when he was asked "What is thy name?" he answered "My name is Legion; for we are many."
Then look at the character of the Devil as portrayed in the Bible;—and this term, as shown in the previous chapter, is applied to the congregated hosts of hell, or all evil spirits viewed collectively. His character is clearly indicated by the several names applied to him. For he is called a liar, a destroyer, the accurser of the brethren, the adversary, the deceiver, a murderer, the old serpent, the tempter, the wicked one, the spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience. He is represented, moreover, as the enemy of God and the human race; as opposed to the establishment of the Redeemer's kingdom, or to the reign of justice, liberty and love in human hearts; as earnestly bent on man's destruction; as the inspirer of all wicked thoughts, and malign purposes; as putting it into the heart of Judas Iscariot to betray the blessed Saviour; as corrupting and misleading men by craft and subtlety; as "going about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."
The Scripture testimony on this subject is abundant and conclusive. We see not how it could be more explicit. If the existence of an innumerable company of angels and devils, their close proximity to man, and their intense desire and earnest effort, the one class to do him good and the other to do him harm, be not plainly taught in the Bible, then it would be difficult, I think, to say what is plainly taught there.
And yet the explicit teaching of Scripture on this momentous theme, has come to be quite overlooked or ignored by many Christians; and so explained by others as to cast doubt on the very existence of spirits, good or evil. These facts go to show how important it was that some one should be intromitted into the spiritual world in the manner that Swedenborg was (or, if you please, claimed to be), that he might thereby be enabled to make a truthful revelation concerning that world.
That the practical bearings of the question discussed in these pages, may be more distinctly seen, I will give a brief outline of the spiritual world, even at the risk of treading upon some ground that has already been traveled over.
I observe, then, that the spiritual world is one of substantial realities—more real, indeed, than the one in which we are now living. It is not remote from this world as to space, but is intimately present with it as the soul is with the body. It is peopled by a countless multitude of beings, all of whom are in the human form and were once inhabitants of the natural world. These are organized in general into two grand divisions,—a heaven of angels and a hell of devils. The angels are distributed into innumerable societies, corresponding, in their mutual relations and in the functions they respectively perform, to the different members and organs of the human body; so that together they constitute one Grand Man or Angel. And to the Lord they actually appear as one, and constitute his heavenly kingdom. These are spoken of in the Bible as "the angel of the Lord" and "the host of heaven."
And the angels are all good and wise, although there is a wide diversity of character among them. Some are in a high and others in a comparatively low degree of wisdom; some in one kind of good, others in another. But love to the Lord and the neighbor is the chief inspiration—yea, the very life-blood of all their hearts. They are all, to some extent, images and likenesses of the Lord. They have been with Him and learned of Him;—learned to be meek and lowly in heart, forgetful of themselves and thoughtful only of the good of others;—learned to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with their God. These constitute that bright angelic throng, of whom it is said that they "came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." They are all of them children of the Heavenly Father, having their hearts stamped indelibly with the impress of his spirit—which is what is meant by their having "his name written in their foreheads." Their love is like God's, pure and unselfish. They love each other even better than themselves, and find their chief delight in doing good and communicating happiness to others. Having in their hearts the very spirit of the Lord, they love only what He loves, and delight to do only those things that He delights to have them do. Their ruling desire and purpose are the same as his; their ends and aims the same. For they desire above all else to impart unto others the delights of heavenly life. They desire to dissipate the spiritual darkness, to heal the spiritual sickness, to restore the spiritual health and renew the spiritual strength of the world. Swedenborg's writings are full of the most beautiful and inspiring pictures of angelic life, from which people here on earth may learn lessons of the highest practical wisdom. Thus he says:
"The angelic life consists in the performance of uses, or in the goods of charity. For to the angels nothing is more delightful than to instruct spirits coming from the world;—to serve mankind by inspiring them with what is good, and by restraining the evil spirits attendant on them from passing their proper bounds;—to raise up the dead to eternal life, and afterwards, if their souls be of such a character as to render it possible, to introduce them into heaven. In the performance of these offices they experience an unspeakable delight. Thus they are images of the Lord, for they love their neighbor more than themselves; and where this feeling exists, there is heaven. Angelic happiness, therefore, is in use, from use, and according to use; or in other words, it is according to the goods of love and charity. . . .
"Some of the best educated [who were met with in the other world], declared heavenly joy to consist in a life separated from the good offices of charity and in merely praising and worshiping the Lord,—calling this an active life. They were told, however, that praising and worshiping the Lord, is not such an active life, but the effect of such life; for the Lord has no need of men's praises, but desires that they perform the good works of charity. According as they do these, they receive happiness from the Lord. Yet these most learned spirits could have no idea of delight, but of servitude, in these good works of charity; but the angels testified that such good offices are compatible with the most perfect freedom, and attended with inexpressible felicity."—Arcana Cœlestia 454, 456.
Again he says:
"Charity is nothing unless it manifests itself in works of charity. It exists only in exercise, or in the performance of uses. He who loves his neighbor as himself, never perceives the delight of charity except in its exercise, or in use; the life of charity, therefore, is a life of uses. Such is the life of the whole heaven; for the Lord's kingdom is a kingdom of uses, because a kingdom of mutual love. Therefore every pleasure derived from charity, has its delight from use; and the more exalted the use, so much the greater its delight. Hence the angels have happiness from the Lord according to the nature and quality of the uses they perform."—Ibid. 997.
Such is the nature of angelic life—the life which we are all made capable of attaining, and which the Lord is forever seeking to develop or build up within us. Such is the character of that heavenly kingdom whereof the Bible so often speaks—a kingdom of righteousness, joy and peace—a kingdom of pure and loving hearts—the very kingdom for which we pray when we breathe that inspired petition, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven."
And people are continually passing into that kingdom—passing from earth to heaven. What class of people? The Bible tells us. All those righteous ones who walked, while here below, in the law of the Lord;—those lowly ones who, through repentance and regeneration, have become as little children;—the meek, the merciful, the poor in spirit, the pure in heart, those who have practiced self-denial, and earnestly sought to do the will of the Father which is in the heavens.
We thus see what the kingdom of heaven is and that all who enter that kingdom after death, must have heaven within themselves. That is, they must carry the loves and purposes that rule in heaven, and be able to find delight in such works as are delightful to the angels.
But there is another kingdom in the spiritual realm of which the Bible tells us—a hell of devils. These, too, are arranged, in like manner as the angels, into many different societies according to the kinds and degrees of evil in which they are. Nor is there anything arbitrary or compulsory in this arrangement. They come into it in perfect freedom. Each one goes into the society for which he has an affinity—into the one whose general character is nearest like his own. And these societies of evil spirits, like those in heaven, are all so united, that together they constitute one huge monster, called in Scripture "the Devil."
The character of these evil spirits is quite the opposite of that of the angels. They have no love of the Lord or the neighbor; and therefore know nothing of the heavenly delight resulting from the exercise of this love. The love of self is the supreme and ruling love of them all; and this is real hatred toward those who refuse to minister to its gratification.
And as self-love is the source of all other evil loves when it reigns supreme, therefore the devils are thoroughly immersed in evil. They are full of hatred, malice, craft and subtlety;—full of falsehood, tyranny, cunning and cruelty. Their life is one of unmitigated selfishness. It is their delight to do all manner of mischief;—to foment hatreds, strifes and divisions;—to stir up envies, jealousies and revenges—to intensify all the worst passions of the human heart;—to blind, and mislead, and if possible make slaves of, all who come within the sphere of their influence.
Such, briefly, is the character of that legion of infernals in the spiritual world, who, taken collectively, are called the Devil. What a contrast to the character of those shining ones in the realms above!
Consider, now, that as to our spirits we are always living in the spiritual world, even while clothed with material flesh and blood; and are actually associated with one or the other class of spirits above described. We may flee the society of persons in the flesh; but we can never be alone. We can never rid ourselves of the society of spirits. Wherever we are, an invisible company attends us—in solitude no less than in society. We do not see them, nor sensibly perceive their influence. Yet their presence is none the less real on that account, nor their influence less positive. We do not hear their voices—certainly not with our outward ears; yet they converse with us during all our waking hours. Through the intricate and mysterious galleries of the soul they whisper to us a blessed gospel of peace and good will—thoughts of kindness, usefulness, justice, mercy, forbearance, benevolence, and willing self-sacrifice for the good of others; or they suggest ways and means whereby our pride, vanity, ambition, lust of dominion, love of ease or pleasure, or selfish greed of gain, may most surely be gratified.
Yes: one or the other of these two classes of spirits,—according as we are more willing to listen to the soft pleadings of the angels, or to be beguiled by the glazing flattery of devils,—one or the other of these classes are our intimate associates, our bosom companions. Of one or the other we take counsel day by day, however unconscious we may be of the fact. To one or the other we listen from hour to hour. With one or the other we think and feel and act in the ordinary intercourse of our every-day life. There is no escape from this. The laws of our spiritual being, and the arrangements and constitution of the moral universe, render it a necessity. Our spirits breathe, and must breathe, the atmosphere of heaven or of hell. They may—oftentimes they do—breathe that of each by turns.
But the Lord vouchsafes to every one the liberty of choice. We are as free to choose our invisible as we are our visible associates. Nay, we do choose them, whether we think of it or not. We have actually chosen them, though it may not be for eternity; for we have the power to change our invisible as well as our visible companions. Indeed, the whole work of regeneration—every inward change we experience—involves a change in our spiritual associates, or the passing out of one spiritual society and the entering into another.
And now comes the momentous question: Is there any way of ascertaining the character of our invisible associates? Is there any test whereby we may know with certainty whether our spirits consort with angels or devils?—whether we inhale from day to day the balmy air of heaven, or the noxious and soul-disordering exhalations of hell?
Most undoubtedly. There is a universal law that governs all associations in the spiritual world—those in hell as well as those in heaven. It is the law of spiritual affinity which has been repeatedly spoken of in the foregoing pages. This law forever impels spirits to seek the companionship of those most like themselves. Under its operation, therefore, kindred spirits are drawn together and held together in the same society. Those in a similar kind and degree of good, or in a similar kind and degree of evil, have an affinity for each other. They love to be together. Their sphere is mutually agreeable. Therefore they gravitate toward each other by force of mutual attraction.
And it is this same law which determines the character of our invisible companions. Through its operation, spirits are attracted to us who are similar in character to ourselves. The prevailing tenor of our thoughts and affections—the nature of the love that rules in our hearts—the kind of motives from which we generally act— the principles which govern us in our ordinary intercourse with men—these are the indices which reveal the character of our spiritual associates. If our prevailing desire and effort be to know and do the will of the Lord, then angels are our companions; our spirits consort with the white-robed throng we breathe the atmosphere of heaven.
But if our ends be mean and selfish; if we are heedless of the Divine commands, or deaf to the still small voice of duty; if our prevailing purpose be to do our own will- rather than the will of God; then, our spiritual associates belong to the realms below; we are in fellowship with devils; we breathe the polluting air of hell.
We have but to look, therefore, at our governing principles of action—at our dominant feelings, dispositions and motives—at our chief end and aim in life, in order to learn the character of our invisible associates. Accordingly Swedenborg says:—
"All spirits are distinguished in the other life by this: They who intend evil to others, are infernal or diabolical spirits; but they who intend good to others, are good and angelic spirits. A man may know which class he is among, whether angelic or infernal spirits. If he intends evil to his neighbor, thinking nothing but evil concerning him, and actually doing him evil whenever it is in his power, and finding delight in doing it, then he is among the infernals, and also becomes an infernal himself in the other life. But if he intends good to his neighbor, and thinks nothing but good respecting him, and actually does him good when it is in his power, then he is among angelic spirits, and also becomes an angel himself in the other life.
"This is the criterion. Let every one examine himself by it. It matters not that a person does not do evil when he either cannot or dare not, nor that he does good from some selfish consideration; such abstinence from the one and performance of the other, have their origin only in the man's externals; and these are removed in the other life, where he is such as his thoughts and intentions make him."—Arcana Cœlestia n. 1680.
Again he says:
"A man's end is his very life; for that which belongs to his life, or what is the same thing, to his love, he regards as an end. When the good of the neighbor, the general good, the good of the church and of the Lord's kingdom is the end regarded, then the man as to his soul is in the Lord's kingdom; for His kingdom is none other than a kingdom of ends and uses having respect to the good of the human race. The angels themselves attendant on man, are in nothing else [or have regard to nothing else] but his ends. As far as a man's end is the same as that aimed at by the Lord's kingdom, so far the angels are delighted with him and unite themselves to him as to a brother; but in proportion as he is actuated by a selfish end, the angels recede, and evil spirits from hell draw near; for no other than a selfish end rules in hell.
"From these considerations it is evident how important it is for a man to examine and know the origin of his affections; and this can only be known from the end at which he aims."—Ibid. 3796.
In view of what has now been said, the practical bearings of this question are sufficiently obvious. When these great truths are recognized, that man is essentially a spiritual being; that, within our outer material vesture, is a spiritual and substantial body which continues to live after the material body perishes; that, as to our spirits we are now and always living in the spiritual world, in close companionship with an invisible company whose character is determined by our own governing motives and cherished purposes; that the character we form while here on earth will go with us into the other world, and continue essentially the same forever; that the spiritual associates we now choose and bind to us by an unfailing law, are the very ones whose companionship we shall prefer and seek in the life beyond the grave; that we are already in hell, however unconscious we may be of the fact, if our ends and aims be similar to those that rule in the realms below; and that our only hope of deliverance is in looking to the Lord in humble acknowledgment of our dependence on Him, and religiously obeying the laws of life that He has revealed;—when these truths, which are all involved in the New view of hell, are seen and acknowledged, the practical value of this view will then be perceived and confessed.
For all who desire to rid themselves of the society of evil spirits, and to come internally into fellowship with the angels, will see the absolute necessity, not only of a good outward or moral life, but of cleansing "the inside of the cup and of the platter"—of acting from right motives—of making the love of use, or the desire to serve others from love to the Lord and the neighbor, their ruling principle of action. To this exalted state, therefore, will they aspire. For this they will long; for this they will labor: for this they will pray.
And fully conscious that they cannot attain to this state of right desire and feeling, as well as of right living, by their own unaided strength, they will be led to look beseechingly to, and humbly to acknowledge their dependence upon Him who hath all power in heaven and on earth; and who has said, "Without me, ye can do nothing."