{"id":11151,"date":"2016-04-15T10:12:46","date_gmt":"2016-04-15T14:12:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/?page_id=11151"},"modified":"2016-04-15T10:12:46","modified_gmt":"2016-04-15T14:12:46","slug":"heaven-and-hell","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/spiritual-glossary\/heaven-and-hell\/","title":{"rendered":"Heaven\/Hell"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pg-11151-0\"  class=\"panel-grid\" ><div class=\"panel-grid-core\"><div id=\"pgc-11151-0-0\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell \" ><div class=\"panel-widget-style\" ><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1170\" height=\"878\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/n2mIYIw4XdY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pgc-11151-0-1\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell \" ><div class=\"panel-widget-style\" ><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1170\" height=\"658\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/aIi1UUznNJo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pg-11151-1\"  class=\"panel-grid\" ><div class=\"panel-grid-core\"><div id=\"pgc-11151-1-0\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell \" ><div class=\"panel-widget-style\" ><div class=\"textwidget\"><h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #800000;\">People seem a bit unclear about heaven\u2019s landscape \u2013 is it a<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tropical garden with fruit for the picking, or is it a place of fluffy white clouds and harp music?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They are also divided on <a href=\"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/salvation\/\">how to get there<\/a>. Is it by accepting the forgiveness brought to mankind by <a href=\"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/jesus\/\">Jesus<\/a> on the cross (the Protestant version)? Or is it by doing the things God has told us to do through holy books and <a href=\"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/church\/\">churches<\/a> (the version for Catholics and most other monotheists)?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But this much seems to be agreed: It is a paradise and a reward, and anyone who gains entry will be happy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hell, meanwhile, is quite the opposite: It is a fearsome place where people are tortured. Some see it as cold and snowy; most think of it as hot and fiery, but either way it is torment for anyone who goes there. And who is that ends up there? Anyone who <a href=\"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/faith\/\">doesn\u2019t believe<\/a> the right things, which will vary depending on which version of the \u201cright things\u201d actually turns out to be right.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But does that all make sense? It seems someone could be a thoroughly nasty person, full of hatred for others and <a href=\"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/love-of-self\/\">love of himself<\/a>, and still go to heaven for saying or doing specific, sanctioned things. Someone else could be the nicest guy in the world, always <a href=\"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/charity\/\">ready to help<\/a> and with a genuine delight in the good fortune of others, but trot off to hell\u2019s torturers for believing in the wrong version of God.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The obvious question there is \u201cwhat kind of God would torture people just for believing the wrong thing?\u201d That\u2019s caused a lot of people to question whether hell exists.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A more intriguing question, though, involves that nasty, selfish, horrible person going to heaven. His whole life his delight has been fleecing people out of their money and laughing at them for their stupidity, and now he\u2019s supposed to hang out eating grapes with these same pathetic losers? Worse, he\u2019s not allowed to run any scams, trick them, laugh at them, nothing! This goody-two-shoes \u201clove and harmony\u201d garbage makes him gag. What kind of heaven is that?<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/spiritual-glossary\/swedenborg\/\">Swedenborg<\/a>\u2019s take on heaven and hell is quite different. It stems from the idea that we are what we <a href=\"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/love\/\">love<\/a>: that our deepest <a href=\"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/the-will\/\">affections and feelings<\/a> determine our true character, not what we\u2019ve done or even the <a href=\"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/the-understanding\/\">thoughts<\/a>\u00a0and ideas\u00a0we have. After we die, Swedenborg says, our affections come to the surface so that everyone can see them, and then we are in a sense free to associate with anyone we want to. So naturally we find people with similar <a href=\"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/spiritual-glossary\/affection\/\">affections<\/a> so we can live together and share the things we love.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Heaven, then becomes a <a href=\"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/spiritual-glossary\/state-spiritual-state\/\">state<\/a> where <a href=\"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/good\/\">good<\/a> people can share their lives with other good people. Even better, they share their lives with others who love the same specific good things, and can work on those good things together. This flows out as what Swedenborg calls <a href=\"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/uses-and-usefulness\/\">\"uses,\"<\/a> work that is important and that is a delight to everyone involved.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hell, on the flip side, is simply a place where nasty, selfish people congregate and filter into groups based on the specific lusts and desires they have. Since they\u2019re all evil, they all want to hurt and dominate each other, so it\u2019s a rather endless struggle. And since <a href=\"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/the-lord\/\">the Lord<\/a> prevents them from really hurting each other \u2013 and prevents them from attacking the good people \u2013 it\u2019s rather frustrating. But that torture from within is the only torture there is; the Lord has no desire to and no reason to punish them. In fact, he still loves them and wishes for them to be as happy as they can be, considering what they have chosen to become.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is much, much more that could be said; Swedenborg includes\u00a0an entire book on the subject. Here are a few key points:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"line-height: 1.5;\">People are married in heaven; in fact, the pure love of marriage is the central love of heaven. Those <a href=\"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/marriage\/\">marriages<\/a> are of husbands and wives who are perfectly matched, suited to each other uniquely because of what they love and how they think. In some cases those are marriages continued from this life; in other cases couples part mutually and are led to the right partners. Swedenborg calls the love of heavenly couples <a href=\"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/conjugial-love\/\">\u201cconjugial,\u201d<\/a> and says a husband and wife actually become one soul. And yes, those marriages are \u201ccomplete,\u201d with the addendum that the merging of external bodies we can experience in this life is but a faint reflection of the merging of internal bodies an angel couple experiences.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/angels\/\">Angels<\/a> are <a href=\"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/human\/\">human<\/a>, not some other higher form of life; they\u00a0are people who accepted the Lord\u2019s love in this life and went to heaven after they died.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Children who die go to heaven to be raised by angel parents. They are still human and still have <a href=\"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/free-will\/\">free will<\/a>, but growing up in heaven all but guarantees they will become angels as well.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People\u2019s surroundings \u2013 and even their outward appearance \u2013 are projections of what they are internally, so that both are of surpassing beauty and pleasantness, all perfectly suited to the people who are there.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Between heaven and hell is an area Swedenborg calls the World of Spirits. People go there when they first die, and while there learn the truth about the Lord and heaven. People\u2019s inner loves also slowly emerge while they are in the World of Spirits, so they recognize others with the same loves and begin their journeys toward heaven or hell.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Heaven itself is in three layers. The lowest is the <a href=\"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/natural\/\">natural<\/a> heaven, where people are in a love of following the Lord, being of service\u00a0and doing the right things. The middle is the <a href=\"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/spiritual\/\">spiritual<\/a> heaven, where people are in the <a href=\"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/mutual-love\/\">love of other people<\/a>, and from that in a love of <a href=\"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/truth\/\">what is true<\/a>. The highest is the <a href=\"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/celestial\/\">celestial<\/a> heaven, where people are in love to the Lord, and express their ideas with the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/wisdom\/\">wisdom<\/a> that flows from love. These layers are mirrored in hell, with those in pure love of self and hatred of the Lord in the deepest hells.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Swedenborg Foundation recently published a new translation of Swedenborg\u2019s \u201cHeaven and Hell,\u201d with modernized language for greater accessibility. You can order that here: <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/swedenborg.com\/book_detail.asp?pkproductid=82\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">http:\/\/swedenborg.com\/book_detail.asp?pkproductid=82<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can also download a free version of an older translation here: <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/swedenborg.com\/page.asp?page_name=complete_works\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">http:\/\/swedenborg.com\/page.asp?page_name=complete_works<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pgc-11151-1-1\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell \" ><div class=\"panel-widget-style\" ><p style=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2015\/04\/emanuel-swedenborg.jpg\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" \/><\/p><\/div><div class=\"panel-widget-style\" ><div class=\"textwidget\"><h4><span style=\"color: #003300;\">Who (or What) is Swedenborg?<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>The ideas on this site are based on the works of <a href=\"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/emanuel-swedenborg\/\">Emanuel Swedenborg<\/a>, an 18<sup>th<\/sup>-century Swedish scientist and theologian. Swedenborg claimed that his religious writings, the sole focus of the last three decades of his life, were done at the behest of <a href=\"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/the-lord\/\">the Lord<\/a> himself, and constituted a revelation for a successor to the <a href=\"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/christianity-and-swedenborg\/\">Christian<\/a> Church.<\/p>\n<p>In keeping with Swedenborg\u2019s own statements, modern believers downplay his role as author, attributing the ideas to the Lord instead. For this reason they generally refer to Swedenborg\u2019s theological works as \u201cthe Writings,\u201d and some resist the label \u201cSwedenborgian\u201d as placing emphasis on the man rather than the message.<\/p>\n<p>Since \u201cthe Writings\u201d would be an unfamiliar term to new readers, we have elected to use the name \u201cSwedenborg\u201d as a label for those theological works, much as we might use \u201cIsaiah\u201d or \u201cMatthew\u201d to refer to books of <a href=\"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/the-bible\/\">the Bible<\/a>. The intent, however, is not to attribute the ideas to Swedenborg, any more than we would attribute the divinity of the Bible to Isaiah the man or Matthew the man.<\/p>\n<p>So when you read \u201caccording to Swedenborg\u201d on this site, it\u2019s really shorthand for \u201caccording to the theological works from the Lord through Swedenborg.\u201d When you read \u201cSwedenborg says,\u201d it\u2019s really shorthand for \u201cthe theological works of Swedenborg say.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>People seem a bit unclear about heaven\u2019s landscape \u2013 is it a tropical garden with fruit for the picking, or is it a place of fluffy white clouds and harp music? They are also divided on how to get there. Is it by accepting the forgiveness brought to mankind by Jesus on the cross (the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/spiritual-glossary\/heaven-and-hell\/\"  class=\"more-link themebutton2\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"parent":10647,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-article.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11151","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","blog-style1"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11151\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}