A Personal View On Swedenborg's Divine Love and Wisdom
Spiritual World Ascension
In understanding that there are three degrees of ascent in the natural world, we must understand that there are also three degrees of ascent in the spiritual world. Humans are the only ones of all living things to be the recipient of all three natural and spiritual degrees of ascent. Humans go through all three natural degrees as they develop; they evolve from the low degree of the natural world and then they elevate to the second degree with understanding and knowledge, then when humans become rational they are elevated to the third level. The three degrees of the spiritual world are in all humans but cannot be seen until they die. "Each spiritual degree in man is opened according to his reception of Divine Love and Divine Wisdom from the Lord." 67 The more one receives, the higher level in the spiritual degrees one goes. If one chooses not to receive Divine Love and Divine Wisdom that person will remain in the natural degrees and be able to think, speak, and act, "but not with intelligence." 67
Once again, we should feel special in that God chose humans to be at the highest degree in the natural world and that we also are able to rise in degrees in the spiritual world. If more people only understood the above, the world would not be in the shape it is in now. What I mean is that people would not be as selfish and think only of money/profits and hurting other people and the environment to get ahead personally.
SPACE AND TIME
Space and time are abstract ideas that are used to try and explain the source of humans' thoughts and ideas that they believe are from the natural world. What needs to be understood is that if one is unable to "perceive things spiritual and Divine" 69 then one is seeing/thinking only through natural light. If someone, seeing with natural light, tries to understand things of the spiritual and Divine, it is like looking in the dark; you cannot see. You are looking for something in the spiritual with the natural eye. 69
We all must open our eyes, our hearts, and our minds to really accept and understand what the Lord wants of us. All people limit themselves to just what they see in the natural world. This is because we are in a scientific age where everything must be able to be measured or observed in order for people to believe. Plus people today are very self-oriented, looking to better themselves so all can notice "them". People need to pull away from this train of thought and understand that God their source of all their talents and gifts. Then their hearts and minds will accept the truth.
RAISE ABOVE THE NATURAL
Those who are able to raise their minds above the natural world of space and time are able to see things of the spiritual and Divine. Those who understand that our thoughts and ideas are not drawn from the natural world but from the spiritual world, are able to see that space does not exist in the spiritual world. Space does not exist in the spiritual world because God does not exist in space. In the natural world space means nothingness, but if God is in every-thing then how can nothing exist? As you can see it cannot. And those who are unable to raise themselves above the natural world to believe in the spiritual and Divine are lost in their rationalizing. How can you get thoughts and ideas out of space if space means nothingness? You cannot get something out of nothing. 69
The Lord is everywhere, not just anywhere!
Spiritual Space and Time
In the spiritual world, if there is the appearance of a space it is known as states. In the natural world, space and time are fixed but in the spiritual world they are "changeable according to the states of their (angels) life." 70 These states are states of life. States of love are similar to space and states of wisdom are similar to time. Through these states angels derive their thoughts and feelings. This is why angels cannot see the natural world, because they see through a different light, a spiritual light; and vice versa for humans because they see through a natural light. 70
You can see anything if you only open your heart and believe and follow what the Lord says.
SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT
The two worlds, spiritual and natural, are very different, yet in some ways they are similar. By being similar I mean that the people (angels) in the spiritual world see and feel but in a different manner. The worlds survive via different medias. The natural world survives with the heat and light that is produced by the natural sun. The spiritual world survives via the spiritual sun which is from God. The heat given off from this sun is not heat but good of charity and not light but truth of faith in the spiritual world. Now, heat and good, and light and truth are not completely distinct, even though they are of different worlds because "when man reads, in the Word, of heat and light, the spirits and angels who are with the man perceive charity instead of heat, and faith instead of light." 83 So, even though they are different worlds, this correspondence is constantly going on between them. Humans does not know they, are affecting those in the spiritual world by reading the Word, but the angels and spirits know that the Word is being read. It is like the spiritual world looking down on the natural world and reacting with it through correspondences. 83
This is a little hard to grasp but I believe that if there is this correspondence that is unconscious then we must have an effect in the spiritual world and vice versa. This is because our minds are in the spiritual world.
HEAT AND LIGHT
Natural Heat and Light
The natural world survives because of the natural heat and light that supply the nutrients for natural survival. But the sun of the spiritual world supplies a different heat and light, which is as stated above, good and truth. As stated earlier, good and truth are Divine Love and Divine Wisdom. The spiritual sun, instead of heat and light, gives Love and Wisdom/good and truth. This sun gives life to all those in the spiritual world because they are in constant exposure to it. 84
This seems logical that in another world there be much of the same processes but through different media.
Spiritual Heat and Light
The sun in the spiritual world is from the Lord, it is not the Lord Himself. "It is the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom proceeding from Him that appear as a sun in that world." 86
Spiritual Internals and Externals
In the spiritual world, the angels also have internals and externals just as people on earth do. Their internal is that which thinks, is wise, wills and loves; and their external is that which perceives, sees, speaks, and acts. Their externals correspond to their internals, and this is all spiritual not natural. Now, from this sun, the angels see fire, but this is not fire that produces heat, it produces love. Because angels cannot see Divine Love, fire is what they see; " ' fire, ' when mentioned in the Word, signifies love ." 87 Divine Love is felt as fire by those in the spiritual world. 87
I guess this would be true especially if angels are people just like people in the physical world but they are of a spiritual world.
Different Heat and Light
The heat and light of the two worlds are very different. The spiritual heat and light are alive because they are pure, they are love which is alive; and God is love. But natural heat and light are dead because natural fire is dead. 89
This is exciting to learn that the sun of the spiritual world is alive and full of love.
SURVIVAL
The beings in each world can only survive in their world. "What is spiritual accords with what is spiritual, and what is natural with what is natural." 90 This is why humans cannot see the spiritual world, nor angels see the natural world. They see of different lights. The only way man can see the spiritual world is to leave his natural body and enter the spiritual world. There is no communication between the worlds except by correspondences. 90
I guess heaven is something that we all have to wait to really understand .
LOVE AND WISDOM ARE SAME
All the above shows that Divine Love and Divine Wisdom are one, and the same applies for spiritual heat and light. Spiritual heat proceeds from Divine Love and spiritual light from Divine Wisdom. "And as by that union Divine Love is of Divine Wisdom, and Divine Wisdom is of Divine Love, so spiritual heat is of spiritual light and spiritual light is of spiritual heat." 99 And as with Love and Wisdom, these proceed form the Lord. 99
RECEIVING LIGHT AND HEAT
In the natural world, the earth revolves around the sun creating days, months, years, and seasons, yet there is no appearance that heat and light are one. The seasons show that heat and light are not one. Winter has more light than heat and the summer has the same amount of light but more heat. The same is for the spiritual but there are no days or years there, or any indicator of time because the notion of time does not exist in the spiritual world. The similarity is that the angels also receive more or less light and heat according to how much they turn themselves toward or away from the Lord. Turning toward the Lord means how much one accepts the Lord. Those who turn toward the Lord accept Him and will receive the grace that is present for all; they will receive more love and less wisdom. Those who turn away do not accept Him as much, therefore they receive more wisdom and less love. "From this it is that the heavens, which consist of angels, are divided into two kingdoms, one called celestial, and the other spiritual." 100 Celestial angels perceive more heat and spiritual angels perceive more light. 100
This is a nice way to put our acceptance of the Lord. The more we accept Him the more heat (love) we receive.
Acceptance of God
The seasons in the spiritual world are within each angel. When spiritual heat and light make one, the angel feels as if it were spring, but if they are not one, then it is more like winter. So, angels reception of heat and light or Love and Wisdom is according to their acceptance of the two. "An angel is an angel of heaven according to the union in him of love and wisdom. It is the same with the man of the Church, when love and wisdom, that is, charity and faith, make one in him." 102
We all need to remember that faith alone is not enough, charity must be a part of your acceptance of God. This will bring us individual peace.