Heaven and its Wonders and Hell. Emanuel Swedenborg

and the "stars" knowledges of good and truth.{1} These are said to be darkened, to lose their light, and to fall from heaven, when they are no more. That the Lord is seen as a sun in heaven is evident also from His appearance when transfigured before Peter, James, and John,

      That His face did shine as the sun (Matt. 17:2).

      These disciples thus saw the Lord when they were withdrawn from the body, and were in the light of heaven. It was because of this correspondence that the ancient people, with whom was a representative church, turned the face to the sun in the east when they were in Divine worship; and for the same reason they gave to their temples an eastern aspect.

      {Footnote 1} "Stars" and "constellations" in the Word signify knowledges of good and truth (n. 2495, 2849, 4697).

      120. How great the Divine love is and what it is can be seen by comparison with the sun of the world, that it is most ardent, if you will believe it, much more ardent than that sun. For this reason the Lord as a sun does not flow without mediums into the heavens, but the ardor of His love is gradually tempered on the way. These temperings appear as radiant belts about the sun; furthermore, the angels are veiled with a thin adapting cloud to prevent their being harmed by the influx.{1} For this reason the heavens are more or less near in accordance with reception. As the higher heavens are in good of love they are nearest to the Lord as the sun; and as the lower heavens are in good of faith they are farther away from Him. But those that are in no good, like those in hell, are farthest away, at different distances in accordance with their opposition to good.{2}

      {Footnote 1} What the Lord's Divine love is, and how great it is, illustrated by comparison with the fire of this world's sun (n. 6834, 6849, 8644). The Lord's Divine love is love toward the whole human race to save it (n. 1820, 1865, 2253, 6872). The love that first goes forth from the fire of the Lord's love does not enter heaven, but is seen as radiant belts about the sun (n. 7270). The angels are veiled with a corresponding thin cloud, to prevent their being harmed by the glow of burning love (n. 6849).

      {Footnote 2} The Lord's presence with the angels is in proportion to their reception of good of love and faith from Him (n. 904, 4198, 4320, 6280, 6832, 7042, 8819, 9680, 9682, 9683, 10106, 10811). The Lord appears to each one in accordance with what he is (n. 1861, 3235, 4198, 4206). The hells are at a distance from the heavens because they cannot bear the presence of Divine love from the Lord (n. 4299, 7519, 7738, 7989, 8137, 8265, 9327). For this reason the hells are very far away from the heavens, and this is the "great gulf" (n. 9346, 10187).

      121. When, however, the Lord appears in heaven, which often occurs, He does not appear encompassed with a sun, but in the form of an angel, yet distinguished from angels by the Divine shining through from His face, since He is not there in person, for in person the Lord is constantly encompassed by the sun, but He is present by look. For it is a common occurrence in heaven for persons to appear to be present in a place where their look is fixed or is terminated, even when this place is far away from where they really are. This presence is called the presence of internal sight, which will be treated of further on. I have also seen the Lord out of the sun in an angelic form, at a height a little below the sun; also near by in a like form, with shining face, and once in the midst of angels as a flame-like radiance.

      122. To the angels the sun of the world appears like a dense darkness opposite to the sun of heaven, and the moon like a darkness opposite to the moon of heaven, and this constantly; and for the reason that the world's fieriness corresponds to the love of self, and the light from it corresponds to what is false from that love; and the love of self is the direct opposite of the Divine love; and what is false from that love is the direct opposite of the Divine truth; and the opposite of the Divine love and the Divine truth is to the angels thick darkness. Therefore, in the Word, to worship the sun and moon of this world and bow down to them, signifies to love self and the falsities that spring from the love of self, and it is said that such would be cut off. (Deut. 4:19; 16:3–5; Jer. 8:1, 2; Ezek. 8:15, 16, 18; Apoc. 16:8; Matt. 13:6).{1}

      {Footnote 1} The sun of the world is not seen by the angels, but in its place something dark behind, opposite to the sun of heaven or the Lord (n. 7078, 9755). In the opposite sense the sun signifies the love of self (n. 2441); and in this sense "to worship the sun" signifies to worship what is contrary to heavenly love or to the Lord (n. 2441, 10584). To those in the hells the sun of heaven is thick darkness (n. 2441).

      123. As it is from the Divine love that is in and from Him that the Lord appears in heaven like a sun, so all in the heavens are turned constantly to Him those in the celestial kingdom to Him as a sun and those in the spiritual kingdom to Him as a moon. But those that are in hell turn themselves to an opposite darkness and dense darkness, that is, they turn backwards, away from the Lord; and for the reason that all in the hells are in love of self and the world, thus antagonistic to the Lord. Those who turn themselves to the dense darkness that is in the place where this world's sun is are in the hells behind, and are called genii; while those that turn themselves to the darkness that is in the place of the moon are in the hells more in front, and are called spirits. This is why those in the hells are said to be in darkness, and those in the heavens in light, "darkness" signifying falsity from evil, and "light" truth from good. They so turn themselves because all in the other life look towards what rules in their interiors, thus to their loves; and with angels and spirits the interiors determine the face; and in the spiritual world quarters are not fixed, as in the natural world, but are determined by the face. In respect to his spirit man turns himself in like manner as a spirit does, backwards from the Lord if he is in love of self and the world, and towards the Lord if he is in love to the Lord and the neighbor. But of this man is ignorant, because he is in the natural world where quarters are determined by the rising and setting of the sun. But as this cannot be easily comprehended by men it will be elucidated hereafter when Quarters, Space, and Time in Heaven are treated of.

      124. Because the Lord is the sun of heaven and everything that is from Him looks to Him, He is also the common center, the source of all direction and determination.{1} So, too, all things beneath are in His presence and under His auspices, both in the heavens and on the earths.

      {Footnote 1} The Lord is the common center to which all things

       of heaven turn (n. 3633, 3641).

      125. From all this what has been said and shown in previous chapters about the Lord may now be seen in clearer light, namely:

      That He is the God of heaven (n. 2–6).

      That it is His Divine that makes heaven (n. 7–12).

      That the Lord's Divine in heaven is love to Him and

       charity towards the neighbor (n. 13–19).

      That there is a correspondence of all things of the world

       with heaven, and through heaven with the Lord (n. 87–115).

      Also that the sun and moon of the world are

       correspondences (n. 105).

126. XV. LIGHT AND HEAT IN HEAVEN.

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      That there is light in the heavens those who think from nature alone cannot comprehend; and yet such is the light in the heavens that it exceeds by many degrees the noon-day light of the world. That light I have often seen, even during the evening and night. At first I wondered when I heard the angels say that the light of this world is little more than a shadow in comparison with the light of heaven; but having seen it I can testify that it is so. The brightness and splendor of the light of heaven are such as cannot be described. All things that I have seen in the heavens have been seen in that light, thus more clearly and distinctly than things in this world.

      127. The light of heaven is not a natural light, like the light of the world, but a spiritual light, because it is from the Lord as a sun, and that sun is the Divine love (as has been shown in the foregoing chapter). That which goes forth from the Lord as a sun is called in the heavens Divine truth, but in its essence it is Divine good united to Divine truth. From this the angels have light and heat, light from Divine