Nature of Spirit,

&

jy[AN as a Spiritual deing.

Rev. CHAUNCEY GILES.

LECTURES

NATURE OF SPIRIT,

MAN AS A SPIRITUAL BEING

By CHAUNCEY GILES,
MINISTER OF THE NEW JERUSALEM CHURCH,

SIJTTH EDITION.

NEW ClIUBCH BOAKD OF PUBLICATION,
20 COOPER UNION, NEW YORK.
1886.

Entered according to Act of Congress, In the year 186T, by
ROBERT L. SMITH,
Treasurer of the General Convention of the New Jerusalem In the United
States of America,
In the Clerk's Omce o. the District Court of the United States for tha
Southern District of New York.

INDEX.

LECTUKE I.
J'iie Nature of Spirit and of the Spiritual World  G
LECTUKE II.
Man essentially a Spiritual Being  27
LECTURE III.
The Death of Man  52
LECTURE IV.
The Resurrection of Man  72
LECTURE V.
Man in the World of Spirits  91
LECTURE VI.
The Judgment of Man  Ill
LECTURE VII.
Man's Preparation for his Final Home  131
LECTURE VIII.
The State of Man in Hell  152
LECTURE IX.
Man in Heaven  17S

¦ ?«

APPENDIX — The Lord's Resurrection Body not Mate
rial  199

NOTE.
Bight of the following lectures were delivered in the house
uf worship of the New York New Church Society during the
winters of 1864-5, and 1865-6, and one, that on the Resurrec
tion, in the Hall of the Cooper Union, in November, 1865.
They have all been carefully revised, some portions of them
rewritten, and in some places new matter has been added, so
that the book, as a whole, may be considered a new one.
c. «.

. LECTURE I.
THE NATURE OF SFTRIT, AND OF THE SPIRITUAL WORID

I invite your attention to a subject which must
interest every one who believes in the possibility even
of a life after this, and of another world in which we
are to dwell for ever. Nothing can explain the indif
ference of those who have any belief in Christianity
to the great realities of the future, but the convic
tion that it is impossible to know anything concern
ing spiritual beings and a spiritual world beyond the
bare fact of their existence. How can an intelligent
being remain indifferent to a subject of such infinite
importance, if he believes in its reality? If any one
of you knew that you must sooner or later remove to
some remote country, to spend the remainder of your
life there, and that you might be called upon at any
moment to go, you could not remain indifferent to
the nature of the country, and to your own situation
when you arrived there. You would lose no oppor
tunity for personal inquiry ; you would read every

6 UNBELIEF OF CHRISTIANS.
book you could procure, that treated upon the sub
ject; you would exhaust all the means in your power
to learn where you were going, and what your condi
tion would be when you had reached your new home.
How, then, can any one who believes in the existence
of a spiritual world, and who sees one after another
of those whom he knows and loves — beings as dear
to him as his own life— daily passing away, and who
knows that he must soon follow them ; — how can a
rational being, with such a belief, be indifferent to the
nature of that world, and to the condition of its
inhabitants ? It is impossible to account for this
general unconcern upon any other supposition than
the prevalent opinion, that nothing definite and cer
tain can be known about it.
There is conclusive evidence that this has long been,
and is now, the state of the Christian world upon this
subject. We are even told that it is not best for
us to know any thing about the world that lies upon
the other side of the grave ; that the Lord did not
intend to have us know anything definite about it.
But all inquiries and all thoughts upon a subject so
vital to our eternal interests cannot be suppressed,
even by those whose doctrines teach them that such
knowledge is impossible. Accordingly we have many
theories and speculations ; but they are so vague, so
various and contradictory, that they keep the mind
in perpetual doubt, and finally defeat the end for
which they were instituted. They confirm the mind
still more strongly in the belief that nothing can be
known about the future life, beyond the bare fact of

a NEW DISPENSATION NECESSARY. 7
its existence; and multitudes go still further— ^hey
deny its existence, and they now live as though there
was no world and no life but this.
It was this general ignorance of the nature, and
this practical denial of the existence, of a real spiritual
world, and of a substantial conscious spiritual life foi
man, that rendered a New Dispensation of truth
necessary. All knowledge, and consequently all
practical belief in the immortality of man, and in the
existence of a spiritual world, had near]}7 died out
from the minds of men, and there were no means in
the church to reinstate it. It required light from
above. Open communication with that world, and
with those who had passed into it, was necessary
before the reality of its existence could be brought
home to the minds of men with convincing power.
This is one of the special uses which the New Church
will perform for humanity. It is one of the distin
guishing features of this Church that she has a clear
and logical doctrine upon this subject. She has
disclosures to make which are consistent with them
selves, with enlightened reason, and with the Sacred
Scriptures; disclosures which satisfy all the wants
of those who accept them, and which are generally
acknowledged to be beautiful and consolatory, even
by those who do not fully assent to their truth. It
is to these disclosures that I invite your attention at
present. I propose to give the answer of the New
Church to the following questions: I. What is spirit?
II. What is the Spiritual World? III. Where is h ?
IV. What are its relations to this world ?

8 SPIRIT IS A SUBSTANCE.
I, What is spirit? I use the term spirit iu the
same sense I would use the corresponding term matter,
in the question, What is matter? This is a primary
and most important question, and upon its correct
answer depends all distinct and true knowledge con
cerning the spiritual world.
Our doctrines teach us clearly and explicitly that
spirit is a substance, and must necessarily have a form.
There are material substances and spiritual substances,
entirely distinct from each other. Matter is not spirit,
and spirit is not matter ; but both are real substances.
As this is a most important point, and one that is
contrary to common opinion, it is worthy of as clear
statement and elucidation as possible.
And, first, let us get a clear idea of what we mean
by substance. I do not use the term in any metaphysi
cal sense. I use it in the common meaning as the
material out of which, or from which, any being,
existence, or entity is formed. Every material thing is
made out of some material substance. The potter
makes his vessels of the substance we call clay. The
carpenter builds houses, and forms various material
objects, out of the substance we call wood. Ice is
formed from the substance we call water, and water
from the substance we call gas. The earth itself is
probably formed of a gaseous substance. The mate
rial body is organized of material substances of vari
ous kinds.
In the same sense, we mean that spirit is a sub
stance, and that every spiritual existence is formed
from some spiritual substance. All Christians ac-

WHAT IS SPIRITUAL SUBSTANCE 7 9
knowledge that angels are spirits ; if they are, they are
formed of spiritual substances. Man is a spirit as to
one part of his nature, and that part is formed of
spiritual substances. If there is a spiritual world
distinct from the material world, that world and all
things in it must be formed of spiritual substances.
But if we are asked what a spiritual substance is in
itself, we cannot tell. It is just as impossible, however,
to form any idea of what a material substance is in
itself. Who can tell what clay, or wood, or iron, or
water, or gas, is in itself? Our knowledge of every
thing is limited by its relations to us ; by its effects upon
us. We are no more called upon to define what
spirit is in itself, than we are to define what matter is
in itself. It is impossible to do either. It is no objec
tion, therefore, to the doctrine that there are distinct
spiritual substances, that we cannot define what they
are in themselves. All that we can know of any
substance, material or spiritual, is the necessary condi
tions of existence, and the qualities that inhere in it
as their subject ; and we can learn these qualities only
from the relation of their subjects to us. The blind
man can form no true idea of the nature of light, for
it has no relation to him. He has no organism to be
affected by it ; but if you tell him that there is no lumi
nous body, and no substance which is the subject of
light, he can come to no other just conclusion than
that there is no such existence or entity as light. We
can say the same of spirit, though it is not appre
ciable by any of the senses.
We may now advance a step further, and say'that
1*

10 SPIRIT HAS FORM.
no existence is possible without a form. If there ia
any such existence, or being, or entity, as a spirit, it
must have substance and form ; for there can be no
substance without a form. It is impossible for the
mind to conceive of anything without form. Let any
one try to conceive of such a material thing, and he
will see how absurd it is. The very idea of conception
implies form. An idea is an image ; an idea, then, is
a form. Spirit as well as matter, therefore, must have
substance and form, for they are the two factors which
are essential to any existence, or to the conception of
any being or thing. Spirit is the correlative, not the
negation of matter.
Here is the point in which philosophers and Chris
tians have made the mistake, fatal not only to all true
knowledge, but to all knowledge of spirit. It has
generally been assumed that the only way to arrive at
a true idea of spirit, was to regard it as the opposite of
matter in every respect. They reason in this way.
Matter has form, therefore spirit has none. Matter
has substance, therefore spirit has none. In this way
they deny to spirit all possible modes of existence.
The Christian stops here, and ends by simply affirming
its existence, but denies that we can know anything
more about it. But many push this destructive logio
a step further, and deny the existence of spirit alto
gether. And this is the logical result, for denial can
never end in anything but negation and nothing.
This is inevitable; and the Christian escapes this con
clusion only by stopping before he reaches it. We
must admit that there is a spiritual substance, and

POPULAR ABSURDITIES. 11
that this substance has form, or we must deny the
existence of spirit altogether. No other conclusion is
possible. But to make the proof as strong and clear as pos
sible, let us assume that there is a spiritual world, and
that there are spiritual beings ; but deny that there is a
spiritual substance, and see to what absurdities it will
lead us. What is a world ? What is the meaning
of the word, world ? Has not the world form ? Is it
not made up of innumerable objects, all of which have
form: all of which are composed of material sub
stances? Suppose you take away from this world all
its forms and substances : would there be any world left?
There would be nothing left. Is it not just as absurd to
say that there is a spiritual world, while you deny to it
any substance or form? You would not hesitate a
moment to pronounce a man foolish, or insane, who
should deny that there could be any such material
substance or form as wood, and then begin to describe
a tree; or who should ridicule the possibility of the
existence of water, and then proceed to expatiate on
the nature and beauties of a river, or the grandeur of
the ocean. But are not all those guilty of this ab
surdity who talk of heaven as a real place ; who think
of the Lord as seated on a throne, surrounded by saints
and angels, dressed in white robes, wearing golden
crowns, and playing on golden harps, and making
" heaven's wide arches ring" with their hallelujahs; or
writhing in the torments of hell, and filling the dreary
aoodes of the lost with lamentation and woe ? Chris
tians delight to sing —

12 NO ABSTRACT QUALITIES.
" Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood
Stand drest in living green,"
and yet, according to the theory, they have no sul>-
stance and no form. What kind of a field would that
be which had no substance and no form ? How could
it be " drest in living green ? " Christians often talk
of meeting their friends and loved ones who have gone
before. But how can two beings without form or
substance, beings which are no beings, meet? How
could they recognise each other? What can be more
absurd than such an idea? Christians think of the
Lord as seated on a throne, with the Redeemer at his
right hand ; and yet they declare in doctrine that " He
is a being without body, parts, or passions," and think
it derogatory to His nature to attribute to Him any
form. But if He has no form and no substance, He
has no existence. Instead of gaining any worthy con
ception of Him by denying Him substance and form,
they, doctrinally, annihilate Him. Into such diffi
culties, contradictions, and absurdities, the mind is led
by trying to do that which is impossible. We con
clude, therefore, that if spirit has any existence, it must
be a substance and have a form.
The mind has the power of conceiving of qualities
without, or abstracted from their subjects. But those
qualities do not and cannot exist separate from their
subjects. We can conceive of sweetness ; but sweet
ness has no existence apart from some substance that
is sweet. We can conceive of strength; but strength
has no existence apart from some being or thing that

WHAT QUALITIES ARE. 13
exercises it. There is no abstract power. We can con
ceive of love, goodness, and truth, but they are not
abstractions ; they have no existence but in their
subjects. But, because we can conceive of them
without connecting them with any subject, men have
been insensibly led to regard them as distinct and in
dependent existences. In this way the mind and
spirit, and all our intellectual qualities, have come to
be regarded as abstractions- without form or sub
stance, and yet as real existences. But if we apply the
same process of reasoning to the body or to any ma
terial thing, we shall see its absurdity at once. Take
the power of steam, for example. We can conceive
of the power abstracted from the steam itself. The
engineer talks and reasons about its existence, nature,
quantity, and application, as though it was a distinct
existence; and if the steam itself was not appreciable
by any of the senses, we might come to regard it as a
distinct thing, without any substance or form. But
we know that it is impossible to abstract the power
from the steam, and say here is the power, and there
is the steam. The power is the force with which the
steam expands. Where there is no steam there is no
power. They cannot be separated in fact. The same
principle applies to all qualities, mental and spiritual.
There can be no thought, affection, goodness, or qua
lity of any kind, without some subject in which these
qualities reside ; and those qualities cannot exist
separate and distinct from their subjects. All quali
ties are essentially the forms, activities, and relations
of their subjects. If there is no spiritual substance

ii THE SPIRITUAL WORLD SUBSTANTIAL.
and form, there can, therefore, be no spiritual quali
ties. While, therefore, we can see how the mind is
led away to regard an abstraction as a reality, and to
conceive of it as existing without any form, we can
see, at the same time, the utter impossibility of such
an existence.
From whatever point of view we regard the sub
ject, therefore, we come back to the conclusion that
spirit must be a substance, and have a form. The
doctrines of the New Church are, therefore, in har
mony with analogy, necessity, and reason, in declar
ing that spirit is a substance, and has forms, qualities,
modes, and established laws of existence relatively
the same as matter.
II. Our second question is: What is the Spiritual
World? Having established the truth that there
must be a spiritual substance, if there is any distinct
spiritual existence, everything necessary to constitute
a distinct spiritual world and substantial spiritual
beings follows as a necessary consequence. For if a
material world can be formed out of material sub
stances, surely it is not illogical to infer that a spi
ritual world, composed of objects as numerous and
various in quality, can be formed out of spiritual sub
stances. Indeed, it would be quite absurd to infer
the contrary.
Consequent! y, our doctrines teach us that spiritual
substances bear the same relations to each other
that material substances do. They are solid, and fluid,
and aeriform. The solids exist in every possible

SPIRITUAL FORMS. 15
variety that material" solids do. There are spiritual
earths, rocks, and metals, as gold, silver, and iron, in
every variety of quality and form. Indeed, there is
a perfect mineral kingdom formed of spiritual sub
stances. These substances are also organized into
vegetable and animal forms. There is also, then, a
vegetable and an animal kingdom, based upon the
mineral kingdom, and bearing the same relations to
it that the same kingdoms do to the mineral kingdom
in this world. The spiritual earth is diversified with
mountains, hills, valleys, rivers, and smaller streams,
and out of this earth, grass, and flowers, shrubs and
trees of every kind, grow, relatively the same as in
this world. Birds fly in the air, and animals walk
upon the earth, and the spiritual beings who dwell
there have their habitations, and gardens, and fields.
They look out upon beautiful landscapes, and look
up to the heavens above them. The earth is as solid
and firm to their tread as this is to ours. And the
spiritual objects are, hard and soft, solid and fluid,
cold and hot, light and heavy, rough and smooth,
transparent and opaque, and of every conceivable
form and color and quality, that objects have in this
world. And there are many forms and qualities be
sides, that cannot exist in matter, because it is so
gross and dead compared with spiritual substances.
Now it may be, and sometimes is, objected to this
view of the spiritual world, that it is only materializ
ing it ; attributing to it those qualities which this
world possesses; and instead of a spiritual world, by
this process of reasoning, it is said, we only get an-

16 A WORLD WITHOUT OBJECTS NO WORLD.
other material world. This might be true, if spi
ritual substances and objects had no other qualities
than material objects. But, as we shall see hereaf
ter, they have many qualities, impossible to materia]
objects, and they are altogether superior, and pre
eminently excellent in every respect, in their forms,
origin, and relations to the inhabitants who dwell in
that world.
But let us suppose that there is a spiritual world,
which has nothing in common with this world, not even
substance and form, and see what will be the result.
We can do nothing more than affirm that there is
such a world ; we can have no idea of it. We can
not conceive it under any form, or mode, for by the
supposition it has none. It has no mountains, hills,
earth, rivers; no sun, no light, no atmosphere; no
thing in common with this world. What is it, then ?
Nothing. It is no world; for the very idea of a world
presupposes substance and form and objects. Thus
we cannot go beyond the simple affirmation of the
existence of such a world. We cannot form any idea
of it ; for by the supposition it has no form, it has
nothing in common with this world ; and we even
deny its existence by the very conditions of our
affirmation. It is this absurdity of denying to the
spiritual world every possible mode and form of ex
istence, and then trying to conceive it or think upon
it, that has resulted in such doubt and practical denial
of its reality, and of the possibility of spirits being
really human beings, having a complete human form.
There can be no middle ground between the practical

WHAT THE SPIRITUAL WORLD IS. 17
denial of any substantial spiritual world and the ac
knowledgment that it must be similar in general form
and relations to this world. If we take any step be
yond a simple affirmation of the existence of spirit
under conditions of which we can know nothing, we
must assert that it is a substance and form ; and all
that is necessary to constitute a world follows, by a
logical necessity.
In affirming, therefore, that there are spiritual sub
stances and forms, and a spiritual world similar to
this in general appearance, though superior to it in
every quality, we do no violence to any analogy, we
contravene no law of reason. We act also in perfect
accordance with revelation; for the whole Bible im
plies the reality and substantial nature of the spiritual
world ; and we come to a conclusion which we cannot
possibly avoid, without violating all known laws of
reason and existence.
Our answer to the Second Question, then, What is
the spiritual world ? is this. It is a real world, compos
ed of all the forms that are necessary to constitute a world.
It is objective to the senses of those who dwell in it,
and far more distinct, substantial, and real to them,
than this world is to us. And yet it is not material,
but is as distinct from every form of matter, as the
soul is from the body.
III. Having determined the possibility of a real
spiritual world, our next question is, Where is that
world? There is a common and very remarkable
absurdity frequently taught upon this subject. There

18 THE SPIRITUAL WORLD HERE.
ia the implied denial that there can be any real, spi
ritual world, and then an assertion that it is somewhere
above us in the stars ; or, it may be, in some central
sun. I presume most persons think of heaven as
above them, somewhere in the realms of space. But,
if we should visit every planet and sun in the mate
rial universe, we should not find the spiritual world.
We should be no nearer to it than we are now. If it
is some central sun, it is material and not spiritual.
If it is in any particular place in the realms of space, it
must be material and not spiritual. Where, then, is it?
It is here; and it is everywhere around and within
the material universe. We are in the spiritual world
. now, though we are not conscious of it. Our doc
trines affirm that there are as many spiritual worlds as
there are material worlds, and that the spiritual world
corresponding to each planet is around it. So that
every human being in any world can say, The spirit
ual world is here.
Why then, it may be asked, can we not see it? I
answer, we have the best of evidence that multitudes
have seen it. Many instances are given in the Bible
of persons who saw it while they were still in this
world, and they have told us what they saw. In
nearly all the instances recorded in the Bible, you
will find it is said, the persons were " in the spirit," or
had their " eyes opened." These could not have been
their natural eyes, for they were open before. They
must have been their spiritual eyes. For it requires
a spiritual eye to see a spiritual object.
In our ordinary state, the spiritual senses are closed,

WHY WE DO NOT SEE THE SPIRITUAL WORLD. 19
aud we have no consciousness from the senses of any
world but the material. And a little reflection will
show us, that it is wisely ordered that it is so. It
would be impossible for us to perform our duties in
this world, if we had constant, open vision of the
spiritual world. We should be distracted, and our
natural life destroyed by it.
But that it is possible for us to be in the spiritual
world, and yet not be conscious of it, is evident from
many analogous examples. Our unconsciousness of
anything is no proof of its non-existence. The man
who has become blind by the formation of a film
over his eyes, is in a world of light the same as before,
but he is not conscious of it, and he cannot be until
his blindness is cured. He does not need to go any
where to get into it. If he should visit every planet
and sun in the universe, he would be no nearer the
world of light. It is all around him, like the atmo
sphere, but he can only be introduced into it by the
removal of the veil which obstructs the light. Couch
his eyes, and he can see. The organism of the eye is
the divine method of introducing men into the world
of light. In the same way a man may be in the spi
ritual world and not see it. The spiritual eye is
veiled by the material. Its organization is too delicate
to be acted upon directly by the gross forms of matter.
It requires the delicate spiritual ethers to flow into its
forms, and the dark veil of matter to be removed, be
fore spiritual objects can be revealed to it.
It is the same with all the senses. In a perfectly
sound sleep a person is as truly in the material world

20 THE SPIRITUAL SENSES.
as he is in full wakefulness. But he has no conscious
ness of it. Change of place would give him no con
sciousness of the world. Place him under the open can
opy of heaven, beneath all the splendor of the sun, or
the magnificence and silent grandeur of the stars. Place
him on a precipice, where the slightest motion would
hurl him to destruction, and it is all the same. Wake
him, and he is in the world without rising from his
bed. Our spiritual senses are asleep, and we cannot
see the spiritual world about us until they are awa
kened. But it is not necessary for us to see it as it is in it
self, to gain a certain knowledge of its universal pre
sence. We never see any cause or power in its most
interior forms — in its source. Who ever saw attrac
tion except in the form of its effects? No person in
this world ever saw, with the natural eye, a human
being. No one but the materialist believes that the
material body is the man himself, yet that is all we
can see in this world. We see material features,
colors, motions, changes. But we do not see the real
human being. That dwells within, and can only
manifest itself through the veil of the body. All that
you see, or can see, is the material covering of the
spiritual being. You know that the man is there,
within. For the body cannot move itself. It is as
helpless as any other earthly object, when man leaves
it. Its wonderful organization does not give it life,
any more than the multiplication of wheels gives a
machine power. The organs of the body are nothing
but instruments constructed by Infinite Wisdom, to

WHENCE COME THE PROPERTIES OF MATTER? 21
enable the soul to accomplish its purposes in the ma
terial world.
But the man and his material body act together in
such perfect harmony, as one, that we say we see the
man himself, when we see the body. And it is proper
we should, for we do see where the man is and what
he is doing. We know that he is in the body, and
that it is he that hears, and sees, and feels, and speaks,
and acts, though we cannot see his real self.
In the same way the spiritual world is present in
the material world, maintains it in existence, and
operates all the changes in it. The planets ar© car
ried around in their orbits by a spiritual force. We
very properly call it attraction, but attraction is only
the name of the effect. The real force is spiritual.
Matter has no power in itself either to change its form
or to retain it. A piece of iron or stone is held to
gether by attraction, we say. Remove the attraction
and it becomes fluid. Remove it to a still greater
degree and it becomes aeriform, and we do not know
where the process would end. All the forces which
keep material bodies in their form are in their last
analysis spiritual and Divine.
Matter has no form of its own. Every material
form is cast into the mould of a spiritual form. There
is no power inherent in matter to form itself into dia
monds and granite; into grass, and blossoms, and fruit,
and the innumerable beautiful objects of the vegetable
kingdom. There is no quality in nitrogen, carbon,
and phosphorus, to combine and assume the form of
bones, muscles, and flesh. The whole animal king-

22 THE SUN.
dom is cast into the mould of the corresponding spi
ritual kingdom. And the spiritual forces which
create and sustain it are constantly present and ac
tive. Indeed, the material world is a perpetual
creation. Wherever you see action, change, or growth, you
may infer that spiritual forces are present, with just
the same certainty, that you infer that man is in a
material body, when you see it moving, and perform
ing all the functions of life in this world. It is said
that the changes and motions which are continually
taking place in matter, are caused by the light and
heat of the sun. This is true in one sense. Heat
acts on a certain plane and to some extent. But it is
a spiritual substance within the heat which causes the
heat, and gives it its power ; and while the heat, on
the material plane, softens and melts the hard forms
of matter, and makes them pliant to finer influences,
spiritual forces flow in and mould them into such
forms as they are capable of assuming. The sun itself
is created from the spiritual world, and its magnetic
forces and ever-radiating heat are perpetually fed from
it. The suns are the primary centres into which spiri
tual substances are gathered, and from which the
material universe is created, and those substances
continue to dwell within the magnetic auras and lumi
nous ethers. Light, and heat, and magnetism, are only
the finer material coverings of spiritual substances,
which give them all their force. They are the soft lin
ings of grosser forms. Wherever there is matter there
is spirit. Wherever there is a material world, there ia

MA1TER HAS NO POWER IN ITSELF. 23
a spiritual world. Wherever there is a germ, or plant,
a blossom, or fruit, or any living thing, there is a
rough cast of a spiritual form. It may be a very
rude and imperfect outline of it, comparing with it
only as the roughest sandstone with the fine organi
zation of the living body, or the coarsest clay with
the delicate petals of the blossom. But rough and
coarse as it is, it was fashioned after a spiritual proto
type, as the material body is moulded into the form
of the man who dwells within it. The elements of
the earth have no more power of themselves to
assume the forms of the mineral, vegetable, and ani
mal kingdoms, than the food we eat has to assume
the human form, or than the block of marble has to
roll itself from the quarry, and stand erect in the
graceful beauty of a Venus or Apollo.
This every one acknowledges ; but Christian and
natural philosophers carry the cause only a few steps
from the effect, and seem unwilling to admit that there
can be any substantial thing beyond the limits of
their own senses. But the doctrines of the New
Church, with an inflexible logic, follow all real causes
out of the material world, and in doing so, they look
in the direction, though far in advance, of all scientific
discovery. The logic is simple, and the steps plain.
One of the essential properties of matter is inertia;
its purest and most subtile forms have no more power,
of themselves to act, than the sod or rock. Nor can
these forces reside within, as original and self-sustain
ing causes in the form of laws. It is customary in
common speech to attribute the power, which moves

21 THE ORIGIN OF MATERIAL FORCES.
and moulds matter, to physical laws. But law has no
more power in itself than matter; it is merely the
order in which some real power acts. The planets
are not kept in their orbits by the law of gravitation,
but according to it. Strictly speaking, civil laws
have no power. They are only the rule and method
according to which men act. The preservation of the
material universe, and all the changes and activities
which take place in it, must be the effect of a cause .
which is not material, and that cause must be present
to all the forms of matter and in them, in every par
ticle ; for a cause cannot act where it is not present.
That cause cannot be material. It must of necessity,
therefore, be spiritual.
Here we get another proof that spirit is a substance.
It is evident that there can be no abstract power.
Power is the force with which something acts. That
which moves and moulds the material world must be
substantial. It must be able to grasp matter and
wield it at will. The inconceivable and awful forces
that sustain the material universe, and carry planets,
and suns, and systems in their vast orbits, in such
order and harmony, are spiritual, and are perpetually
operating. The same forces sketch ferns in crystals
of frost upon the window-pane, weave the green web
of the leaf, knit the tough fibre of the oak, and mould
the delicate and lovely forms of the lily and the rose.
Out of the dead earth and crumbling stone ; out of
dews and rain-drops, and vernal airs, and sunbeams,
they distil the delicious juices of innumerable delicate
savors, and exhilarating wines, and present them to

THE SPIRITUAL WORLD ALL AROUND US. 25
insect and worm ; to animal and man, in the beautiful
forms of the berry, the purple cups of the grape, and
the golden bowls of the pear and the apple. Turn
where you will, above, around, below, all the forms
you see are spiritual forms, veiled in the thin disguise
of matter; all sounds that fall upon the ear are
spiritual harmonies, muffled and made discordant
often by the imperfect material instruments through
which they are sent to us. We are in that world now.
It surrounds us, pervades us ; its pulses beat through
lis, and give to us and to all things, form, motion,
life. I ask every intelligent mind if this is not a rational,
and the only rational view of the subject? Does
not all scientific discovery point in this direction?
Science is resolving all physical force into heat. The
next step must be the one the New Church has
already taken — the acknowledgment that all force is
spiritual. Thus the two worlds are present to each
other, and are most intimately blended. Our answer
to the third question, therefore, is : The spiritual world
is here. IV. The last question, What is the relation of the
spiritual world to this world? has been substantially
answered already. In principle it is the relation of
cause to effect. The spiritual world is real and
substantial. It existed prior to this ; and if this world
should be destroyed, it would still exist. This world
was formed from it, and there is not a material object
that has not a spiritual prototype. 2

26 THE SPIRITUAL WORLD A REAL WORLD.
Such, briefly, are the doctrines of the New Church
upon this most interesting subject. In many respects
they reverse the opinions commonly entertained.
They give us a real spiritual world to think about,
and to look forward to as our eternal home. The
more they are examined the clearer their truth will
become. From whatever side they are regarded,
whether from science, from analogy, from reason or
revelation, from human or the Divine nature, they
will be found consistent with themselves, with the
Sacred Scriptures, and in harmony with all we know
of both worlds. They will satisfy the reason and
content the heart.

LECTURE LL

MAN ESSENTIALLY A SPIRITUAL BEING— THE YARIOUS
DEGREES OF HIS LIFE— REASONS FOR COMMENCING
HIS EXISTENCE IN THIS WORLD.

In discussing the great themes which I have se
lected for our consideration for a few evenings, it may
prevent disappointment, and assist us in coming to
just conclusions, to bear in mind that the proof of
the Doctrines which the New Church teaches upon
these subjects, cannot be of the same nature, though
it may be just as conclusive, as that which we accept
concerning natural things. We cannot demonstrate
the spiritual world and the spiritual body to the
natural senses; we cannot see and feel a spiritual
form. The senses take cognizance only of those
things to which they are specifically adapted. It
is as illogical and absurd to ask for a physical proof
of the existence of a spiritual truth, as it would be
for a man to demand that light should be demon
strated to the senses of hearing and touch, before he
would believe in its existence.

28 LIMITS OF HUMAN KNOWLEDGE.
We must not forget, also, that our minds are finite,
and there are some things which we cannot know ;
which no finite being can ever know. We can gain
no knowledge of anything as it is in itself, in its
inmost essence. The wisest man is just as unable as
the little child, to tell why certain effects should
follow certain causes. For example: No natural
philosopher can tell why the waves of ether flowing
into the eye cause the sensation of light. He will
tell you all about the coats and lenses of the eye, and
show how perfectly they are arranged to form an
image of the natural object upon its retina. But ask
him why those causes produce such an effect, rather
than another, and he cannot answer a word. It is
neither necessary nor useful to us to know the
essences of things, and the reasons why certain causes
will produce certain effects. It is enough to know
that those causes do exist, and to be able to trace
their connexion with their effects.
I hope, also, that I shall not convey to any one the
impression that I seek to prove a point by any trick
of logic, merely for the purpose of making out a case.
An enforced conviction is of no value. We are im
mortal — we are to live through unending years. You
and I, my friends, in a few days, are to push off, into
what to most persons " is an unknown dark." Can
we gain any clear, rational knowledge of what awaits
us? I believe, I know, we can. The writings of the
New Church contain disclosures upon this subject,
which must be satisfactory when understood, and
which can be found nowhere else. I desire only to

MAN ESSENTIALLY A SPIRIT. 29
tell you what those disclosures are, and to give you
such reasons and illustrations of their truth, as may
assist you in accepting them.
I am to speak of man as a Spiritual Being ; of the
various degrees of his life; and to give some reasons
why he commences his existence in this world.
1. Our Doctrines declare, and the whole force of
their teaching and logic goes to show, that man is
essentially a Spirit. Let us get the full force and
meaning of this proposition clearly before our minds.
We mean far more by this declaration than that
man has a spirit. We mean that he is a Spirit;
that every distinctly human quality he possesses is
spiritual. Or to reverse the proposition : a spirit is
a man — a human being; and there are no men, no
human beings, who are not spirits. You are spirits,
and all that distinguishes you from the plant and ani
mal, is spiritual. The substances out of which you
are made are spiritual, and the human form which
those substances have assumed, is a spiritual form.
Plants and animals aspire to the human form, but
they do not attain it, because they have no spiritual
nature in the human form, to mould the material into
its likeness.
It is the prevalent opinion that man is in the
human form only as to his material body ; and that
his spirit is some vital force, which gives him life
somewhat as steam gives motion to machinery ; and
it has been a disputed point with philosophers for
ages, in what particular part of man his soul or spirit

30 THE MATERIAL BODY.
dwelt. Some put it in the head, some in the heart,
and some in other parts of the body. When a man
dies it is common to say, " His spirit has left him," as
though some part of him, some formless essence, had
fled and left him behind, implying that the material
body is essentially the man himself.
But the Doctrines of the New Church take exactly
the opposite view. They declare that the spirit is in
the human form; that it dwells in every part of the
body, in the minutest microscopic cell and fibre. In
stead of saying, or admitting, or implying, that man
is a material being and has a spirit, we say he is a
spiritual being and has a material body ; and when he
dies, the man departs and leaves his material body
behind him. It is the spirit that gives form to the
body, casts it into its own image and likeness, and
constantly gives it the power to retain the human
form. Consequently, when man leaves his body, its
organization falls to pieces; the substances which
composed it are dissipated, and the whole form dis
appears. But the man himself is not touched by it.
He retains his distinct personality. His human form
is no more affected by the dissipation of the material
body, than that is by the wearing out of his clothes.
Now let us see what reasons we can find for this spi
ritual personality of man.
In my last lecture I showed that a spiritual sub
stance is as necessary to the existence of a spiritual
world and spiritual beings, as matter is to the exist
ence of a material world and a material body. Admit
ting, then, that there are spiritual substances, and that

THE SPIRITUAL BODY. 31
these substances can exist in various forms — as aeri
form, fluid, and solid — we have no difficulty in admit
ting that a complete spiritual body could be organized
out of them, having the same organs, within and
without, as the material. This spiritual body could
have a head, trunk, and limbs ; the spiritual senses
could be organized in the same manner as the natu
ral senses ; the head could have eyes, ears, and brains,
and all the features of the face ; a spiritual heart
could beat in the chest, and propel spiritual blood
through spiritual arteries : the lungs could breathe a
spiritual atmosphere, and perform the same office for
the blood, that the material lungs do for the material
blood. Indeed there could be a complete spiritual
body, in every particular, in the human form, com
petent to perform all the functions of a man relatively
the same as the material body.
2. Having shown the possibility, according to our
admitted premises, of a fully-organized spiritual man,
let us look at its probability.
A little observation will convince us that it is in
perfect harmony with all we know of the Lord's
methods of accomplishing his purposes, that man
should have this spiritual organization. If we go
back to the beginning of time, we find, according to
the testimony of the earth itself, as it is recorded in
the rocky pages of its own history, that it was then
a seething mass of inorganic elements. According
to general belief, it was a molten ball of fire, with no
ground, no rock, and no distinction of forms in its

32 DEGREES OF CREATION.
fiery mass. By cooling, rocks, and afterwar Is earths,
appeared. The perfection of mineral forms was
attained by crystallization, which seems to be a rude
effort and faint prophecy of organization.
The next step is the plant. The finer elements of
matter are organized into a new and higher creation.
A wonderful series of forms are combined, mutually
acting and reacting upon each other and working
together for a definite end. A germ unfolds into a
root for the earth, and a stalk for the air. Each goes
its own way, multiplies itself, and imbibes the mate
rials necessary for the growth of the whole plant.
The slender stalk becomes a trunk, which spreads out
into branch, and stem, and leaf; into stamen and
pistil, and blossom and fruit. The end is reached;
the circle of its life is complete. It is a wonderful
mystery. Its methods and order, the beauty and
variety of its forms, are past all human comprehen
sion. But the plant is unconscious of its own beauty
and glory. It stands immovably fixed in the earth.
It can do nothing but grow and bear leaves to fall, and
blossoms to fade, and fruit to perish or reproduce itself.
What, plan does Infinite Wisdom devise to take
another grand step ? Does he abandon the old method
by which he made the plant ? No ; he effects it by
a new series of finer and more delicate organic forms.
He uproots the plant from the earth, and gives it
sensation, by means of a new series of organic forms
— the nerves. And now you may begin with the
lowest zoophyte, and go all the way up, step by step,
through all the grades of animal life, until you reach

MAN THE CROWN OF CREATION. 33
the highest, and you will find that the Lord never
deviates from His first method. Every step consists
in a finer and more complicated organization. There
is no exception to this law. Man, viewed simply as
a material being, stands at the head of all animal
life ; and he surpasses all other creatures in the fine
ness and complexity of his organization.
Man is the crowning work of the Creator. We
cannot doubt that it was the Divine purpose to make
all things serve him, and to bring him into the most
intimate and various relations to all forms of matter
and all degrees of animated life. How has Infinite
Wisdom effected this end ? How has he given man
such power over the earth, that he can make every
element and every object serve him ? By his organi
zation. The eye brings home to his door the sun and
the planets, and remote constellations ; mountain and
valley, ocean and stream ; the specific forms of mine
ral, plant, and animal ; the grandeur and beauty of
the landscape ; the splendors of color ; the perpetual
play of light and shadow ; reveals them to his con
sciousness, and makes them the objects of his affec
tion and thought. Occupying but a few cubic feet
of space, and by his nature bound to the earth, and
limited to a few natural objects by personal contact,
he can yet, with one scope of vision, take in the
canopy of heaven, and the vast amphitheatre of earth.
But the eye reveals to him only one class of material
qualities, the forms, and motions, and changing hues
of earth and sky, and is affected by matter, only in
one of its distinct degrees, the ether.
2*

34 THE SENSES.
Another degree, the air, is filled with innumerable
harmonies, communicated to it by leaf, and tree, and
stream ; by mountain, and ocean, and storm ; by bird
and beast. The sounds of labor, the many-toned
voices of truth, of friendship, and love, and the in
spirations of the great masters of song — how can
they be made available for human use and happiness?
The Lord solved the problem by the formation of
another organ, the ear, adjusted to the activities of
this materia] plane. The ear gathers up all these
vibrations, and pours the riches of harmony, thought,
and affection, into the soul. By this simple but mi
raculous arrangement, the air is made the medium
of communication between man and man, and every
soul is brought into intimate contact with many
others. There are other qualities of things of which nei
ther eye nor ear can gain any knowledge ; the fra
grance that flows from all material objects; the savors
that make delicious the reception of the food neces
sary to our sustenance. The Lord organized senses
to perceive all these qualities and communicate to
man their delights. The sense of touch reveals to ua
still other qualities of material objects ; enables us
to handle them, and mould them into special forms
adapted to our use.
Thus we see that all man's knowledge of the
material world, and all his ability to use the various
objects which compose it, are given him by his organ
ization. This is the method of Infinite Wisdom, and,
so far as we know, there are no deviations from it

THE SOUL NOT A VAPOR. 35
Now, when He desires to take another distinct
step ; when He wishes to create a being of a higher
order than plant or animal ; to endow him with
thought and reason ; to give him the power to see
the order, beauty, harmony, and evidences of design
in the universe, and to love the Lord and his neigh
bor ; when He determines to communicate to him all
those qualities which are distinctly human, and
which make him the perfection and glory of the
creation, is it probable that He abandons the method
which He has hitherto uniformly pursued? Every
step in the progress from chaotic matter to the will
and the understanding — those qualities which con
join man more immediately with the Lord himself—
has been effected by a finer and more varied organ
ization ; and now he abandons this method I nay,
reverses it, and accomplishes his highest ends by a
thin, invisible vapor, a substanceless and formless
essence ! Can you conceive anything more im
probable and absurd than that ? It would seem
impossible for any rational mind to entertain the
idea for a moment. If there is any force in the law
of analogy, it cannot be. The whole creation, with
united voice, proclaims that, when the Lord would
create a being to think, to reason, and to love; to
exercise those faculties which we call spiritual ; he
would effect it by the organization of spiritual sub
stances. 3. We must guard against the opposite error,
however, of supposing that the perfection of man is

36 THE BODY ONLY AN INSTRUMENT.
due to organization and form alone. The nature of
the substance of which the organ is formed, is as
essential to its perfection as the form itself. And
here we find a most conclusive argument for the
truth, that man is essentially a spiritual being.
Matter cannot observe, reflect, remember, compare,
reason, understand, and love. It has no voluntary
power. Refine it and organize it to the utmost ex
tent of its possibilities, it is still passive, and in
itself dead. Consequently the human body cannot
perform one of its functions, after man has left it,
though its organization remains perfect. The eye
cannot see, the ear hear, the brain think. Matter
can perform material offices only. It follows, there
fore, of necessity, that it must be some other sub
stance that is the subject of mental and distinctly
human qualities, and that substance must be spiri
tual. If it is not, we have no knowledge whatever
concerning it. We are inevitably brought to the
conclusion, therefore, that all those qualities which
distinguish man from the plant and animal, and are
properly human, are due to his spiritual nature ; ot
in other words, they are activities of a spiritual
organization. 4. Still, some persons may distrust a course ol
reasoning against a generally accepted principle,
even though it may seem conclusive. They may
think there is some flaw or sophistry in it, though
they may not be able to detect it, and say, " It looks
plausible, perhaps it may be so, perhaps not." Let

HUMAN IDENTITY. 37
us suppose, then, that it is not; that man is not
essentially a spiritual being; that his human form
and organization are limited to the material body.
He has no spiritual eye, no ear, no brain, no face,
no head, no heart and lungs ; no hands, no feet, no
limbs, no veins, arteries, nerves. Is he not literally,
and emphatically, nobody f What is there in him, to
think, to feel, to know, to will, to act ? Nothing. By
that process of reasoning, if it is worthy of the name,
you annihilate him.
Some may say, there is a vital principle or an ab
stract spiritual power left after the dissolution of
the material body, But there can be no abstract
power. Power is the force with which some form
and substance acts. A principle is nothing but the
law or method according to which causes effect their
ends. We may affirm, and reaffirm, that the soul
exists; but if we deny to it all forms and modes ol
existence, our verbal affirmation will avail nothing
against our practical denial.
5. But we argue, further, that man cannot pre
serve his identity, and his consciousness of indivi
dual existence, if he has no spiritual or personal
form. When the material body is resolved into
nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon, and the various gases
and earths of which it is composed, it is no longer
a human body, and consequently there is no possi
bility of its identification, for all personality is lost.
We hope to meet our friends, when we pass into the
spiritual world, and to be reunited to those we love

38 NO FORMLESS GHOSTS.
But how shall we know them, if neither they nor we
have any form? Two — what shall I call them?
— two essences, without substance or form, two vital
principles meet. What a meeting I How could they
meet f What is there to meet or to be met ? How
could they recognise each other ? What would there
be to recognise ? What special characteristics would
there be to distinguish and individualize them?
None. Suppose some soul or vital principle did continue
to exist, as a breath or vapor, or formless and un
substantial ghost, it would not be ourselves, no
more than the ashes on the hearth, and the gases
and vapors dispersed in the atmosphere, are the
tree with its coronal of peculiar leaves, its glory of
blossom, and its wealth of fruit. Suppose there do
remain real essences, but diffused and unorganized,
as the carbon from a consumed diamond, or wine
from crushed grapes. The diamond could not iden
tify itself in the gas. Charcoal, and many other
substances, might claim with equal right the same
substances. No individual grape of any particular
cluster could discern and separate from the pipe the
fine globules of juice that filled its cells. No more
would a human essence find itself in a formless at
mosphere or cloud of diffused and interblending
essences. No one could say, " This is I." There is,
therefore, no hope for the continuance of your exist
ence, unless you can retain your human form.
Allowing that some residuum may remain from you,
it will not be you. You have become absorbed in

SPIRIT NOT REFINED MATTER. 39
the undistinguishable elements, your identity is lost,
and you are no more.
6. The force of this truth presses upon the under
standing so powerfully, that even those who deny
that man has a spiritual organization, are compelled
to admit its possibility, and to acknowledge that he
will have a spiritual form, and become somebody at
the resurrection. But if material substances are to
be transmuted into a spiritual body by the purifica
tion and exaltation of their elements, then there can
be spiritual substances and a spiritual form, and the
whole question of impossibility is given up. How
much more rational and in accordance with all we
know of the Divine methods, to admit that there are
spiritual substances distinct from matter, capable of
being moulded by the Divine wisdom into every
variety of organic form.
7. In my last lecture I gave some reasons for
believing that the spiritual world is a real world,
filled with innumerable forms objective to those who
dwell in it. But if that world is the abode of souls
that have no form and no substance, and, conse
quently, no senses, it is of no consequence whether
it is a world of surpassing beauty, or a dreary, un
changing void. It would be all the same to them ;
having no eye, they could see no beauty ; having no
ear, there could be no harmony for them. It would
be a land of unbroken silence, of eternal darkness
and hopeless death. Can the human mind conceive

40 TESTIMONY OF THE BIBLE.
a greater absurdity than such an idea ? As we rise
towards the All-perfect, do we come into the realms
of silence and nothingness ? As we are formed more
fully into the image and likeness of the Lord, do all
personal distinctions fade away? Do we lose our
identity, and become a nameless and formless es
sence? So far as our observation extends, distinct
ness and individuality of form, fineness and com
plexity of organization, increase with every step of
progress. But when man is to take the final step
which separates him from all other creatures, and
allies him to angels and the Lord, the whole process
is reversed, the universal method is abandoned, and
all things revert to emptiness and chaos I
No ; it cannot be. No difficulty is avoided by
this supposition ; nothing is gained by it but innu
merable contradictions, an insult to reason, the prac
tical annihilation of man, and the denial of a univer
sal method and infinite wisdom to the Lord.
But this question is one of such transcendent im
portance, and one about which there are so many
doubts and so much unbelief, that it is useful to get
all the testimony we can upon the subject. Let us
therefore see what the Lord teaches us in his holy
Word upon it.
1. The Bible in every part regards the spirit as the
man. Its whole scope, form, and purpose, are directed
to man as a spiritual being. It appeals to his fears
and hopes as a spiritual being. If it is anything more
than any other book, it is a revelation to man of his
spiritual nature, of a spiritual world, of a spiritual

THE LORD ADLRESSES MAN AS A SPIRIT. 41
destiny, of a substantial existence in a spiritual world
totally distinct from the material world. It comes to
man in his Egyptian darkness, and bondage to the flesh
and the world, to break off his material chains, to lift
him up into a light higher than his own. The Lord
appears to him, and rescues him from natural dangers
and death, when there was no possibility of any hu
man aid, that He might get recognition from men;
that they might know from actual experience that
there is another world, and other beings, and super
natural influences immanent in this. The Lord gives
man laws with supernatural sanctions; sends His
angels to warn, rescue, and guide ; sends His prophets
with His Word; works the most stupendous miracles,
and finally comes Himself, by assuming our nature,
to keep alive in man the idea of his spiritual being
and destiny. That is the whole scope and purpose of
the Lord's manifestations to men, and of His in
structions through prophets and apostles in His
Word. 2. Furthermore, the Lord everywhere recognises
man as a spiritual being. He addresses him as such.
His laws respect him as such ; they look to the
thoughts and intents of the heart. The outward
action, the merely bodily, physical deed, is not any
where recognised as the essential act. It is the mo
tive, the intention, the act of the spirit, that weighs.
" Circumcision is of the heart." " The sacrifices of
God are a broken heart." "I am come into the
world," says our Lord, " that men may have life, and
that they may have it more abundantly." Not physi-

42 THE LORD'S REPLY TO THE SADDUCEES.
cal life, but spiritual life. " The words that I speak
unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."
3. But let us look at some particular examples.
When the Lord speaks of those who have passed from
this life into the spiritual world, He speaks of them as
living and substantial men. In His reply to the Sad-
ducees, who did not believe in any life after this, He
says: "As touching the dead that they rise, have yc
not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God
spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob ? He is not
the God of the dead, but the God of the living." If
there is any force in this reasoning, Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob, are still living as real, substantial beings.
They preserve their personality and identity. Abra
ham is still Abraham, and Jacob is Jacob still. They
are not some unsubstantial, formless, shadowy essence,
or vapory ghost of what they once were. They are
not some abstract principle of thought and affection,
while all that constituted them distinctly human be
ings lies mouldering in the grave, or is dispersed
among the elements. But the men themselves. And
if they are alive as real human beings, so are all who
have passed into the spiritual world. If this is not so,
God is no longer their God, according to His own de
claration. They are dead in the sense the Sadducees
understood it. They have ceased to exist. The death
of the body is the extinction of their being. Our fa
thers, and our children, and our many loved ones
whose bodies we have committed to the earth, are no
longer ours. They have no God. They are nothing

THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS. 4b
They have been annihilated. And we shall soon fol
low into the abyss of nothingness.
At the transfiguration, also, Moses and Elias ap
peared unto the Lord, and Peter, James, and John
and talked with them. Is not this conclusive evidence
that Moses and Elias were still living as distinct hu
man beings ? If it was some formless essence, or ab
stract thinking principle, why was it designated as
Moses and Elias ? Why might it not have been any
thinking principle?
In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, also, we
have first an account of the rich man and Lazarus in
this world ; then the statement that they died ; then
we find them in the spiritual world, Lazarus in Abra
ham's bosom ; the rich man in hell. They recognise
each other; they speak to each other. How could
they if they were formless essences? They have or
ganized members of the human form. Lazarus has a
finger ; did he not also have a hand, an arm, and a
complete human form ? Dives had a tongue, and
could speak ; and so also could Abraham. Does not
this imply all the organs of the head, the brain, thorax7
lungs, and the whole human form ? Had they lost
anything of form, feature, organization, or personal
existence? Nothing. Yet they died and were buried.
They were dead in the sense commonly given to the
word. But to put the question beyond any doubt, John
says he saw in the spiritual world " a great multitude
which no man could number, of all nations, and kin
dreds, and people, and tongues, standing before the

44 THE GREAT MULTITUDE SEEN BY JOHN.
throne and before the' Lamb, clothed with white robes1,
and palms in their hands. And they cried with a
loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth
upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever." Now
here we have persons who have a voice, which implies
l he whole internal organization of a human being.
They had hands, and held palm branches in them.
They had feet, and stood upon them. They were
clothed with white robes. Were they merely vital prin
ciples or formless essences, belonging to organized bo
dies then lying in the sepulchre ; or which had become
incorporated into animals and plants or other human
bodies? One of the elders told John that these glori
fied and rejoicing were — what shall I call them? — vital
sparks, the mere adjuncts of a human being? No.
" They are they which came out of great tribulation."
They came from the earth, therefore. The}' were
men and women who had lived and labored and strug
gled and died upon this earth. They had been pro
phets, apostles, and martyrs. They constituted a part
of that cloud of witnesses of whom Paul says : " They
were stoned ; they were sawn asunder ; were tempted ;
were slain with the sword ; they wandered about in
sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tor
mented, not accepting deliverance, that they might
obtain a better resurrection." And they had attained
it. For the angel declared : " They shall hunger no
more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun
light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which
is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and
shall lead them unto living fountains of water,

ABUNDANCE OF OTHER EVIDENCE. 45
and God shall wipe away all tears from their
eyes." This evidence might be indefinitely multiplied. Bui
it is unnecessary. Those who will not be convinced
by the testimony already given, would not be if their
own eyes were opened, and they could see the great
multitude of the departed, and hear their heavenly
songs. They would call it an illusion of the imagina
tion. And yet any other supposition than that the
spirit is the man, is contrary to the whole tenor and
purpose of the Scriptures, contrary to the testimony
of apostles and prophets, the angels, and the Lord
Himself; and involves the whole question of the
future life of man in contradiction, doubt, and dark
ness. On the other hand, the simple admission that
man is essentially a spiritual being, having a com
plete human organization and form, accords with
all we know of the Divine method of accomplishing
his ends ; is in the direct line of all His providences ;
in harmony with reason and revelation ; involves no
contradictions, and holds out to man the sure and
glorious hope of preserving his identity through
eternity, under more favorable conditions, for the
exercise of every faculty, and the attainment of
every joy.
I have dwelt somewhat at length upon this topic,
because it is of essential importance to all our suli-
sequent investigations. Man is the subject of our
whole course of lectures. We are to follow him, if
possible, from his earthly home into the spiritual

46 DEGREES OF HUMAN LIFE.
world ; to learn the changes through which he
passes ; the means by which they are effected ; and
the nature of his life, when he reaches his final
abode. But if he vanishes from our mental sight,
we may speculate and reason, but it will be to no pur
pose, for we shall reason about we know not what.
It is necessary to have a substantial subject, or
being, to whom we can refer all these changes and
activities. Then we shall have a definite form
before us, and we shall not be lost in endless abstrac
tions. Regarding the truth as well established, then, that
man is essentially a spiritual being, or a spirit in the
human form, having a substantial spiritual body,,
• which is to preserve its identity through all its
changes to eternity, we are prepared to discuss our
next topic, which is,
II. The various degrees of his life. It was a true
saying of ancient wisdom, that Man is a microcosm,
a universe in miniature. Into his nature and form
• are collated all the substances and qualities of the
whole creation. Every kingdom and plane of nature
has its representative in him. The golden chain of
being let down from the Lord finds all its links in
man, and by him returning to the Lord, completes
the cycle of causes and effects. But these innume
rable substances, forms, and qualities, are not promis
cuously blended in him ; they are arranged in distinct
planes, which everywhere run parallel to each other,
but never meet. This distinction of degree is seen in

MAN A SERIES OF .ORGANIC FORMS. 47
the various kingdoms of nature. It is also seen in
the human body. The bones, the nerves, the blood
vessels, are all perfectly distinct from each other ; all
have different functions; all act together in unity,
but each preserves its individuality, and never be
comes merged in the other. Thus, as to his material
body, man is a series of organic forms, one rising
above another in excellence and use. By these
various degrees of his being, he is related to the
various planes of matter. By the eye and the ner
vous system he is connected with the ether and the
finer magnetic element, by the ear and the lungs,
with the atmosphere ; by the other senses, which are
all modifications of the sense of touch, with solids
and fluids. Above and within the material body, he
has a spiritual body, which has the same distinct
degrees as the material, and by them he is related to
the spiritual world, in the same way that he is related
to the material world, by the three planes of the ma
terial body. The highest or inmost degree of his life
lies next to the Lord, or to the purest vital forces
which perpetually flow from Him, and fill and give
life to all beings, and perpetual creation to all things.
This inmost degree of his spiritual organization is
brooded over and pressed upon by Divine influences,
as the outer surface of the material body, which lies
next to the material world, is pressed on all sides by
the atmosphere, the ether, and the various material
forces. These degrees never coalesce. They are a
clean cleavage, running through nature and man.
They extend out indefinitely in their relations to all

48 WHY MAN IS BORN IN THIS WORLD.
things on the same plane, but no degree can rise
above or fall below itself. These discrete degrees
constitute the golden chain of being — the Jacob's
Ladder on which the angels of God ascend and de
scend. The Lord is at the top of it ; the earth on
which it rests, at the bottom. Thus, the highest and
the lowest meet in man. He is the grand audience-
hall where all beings and all things can meet, from
the Lord to the rock, each in its appropriate place,
and he can give and receive from all.
The subject is one which demands fuller considera
tion than I can give it now. I have barely stated it,
because it seems necessary to a clear understanding
of our next and final topic for the evening, and
that is :
III. The reasons why man commences his life in
this world. The various planes or degrees of exist
ence which are found everywhere in nature and man,
all rest upon each other. The foot of the ladder
stands upon the earth. The highest degrees are not
fully formed first, but last. I say fully formed.
They do, indeed, exist as causes, or, as we say, in
potency, but not actually. They exist as the tree
exists in the germ of the seed ; as the animal in the
embryo. But they cannot become fully formed with
out a basis to rest upon.
Let us look at some examples and illustrations of
this general truth, and then apply them to the par
ticular case under consideration. Let us suppose
this problem, one which has already been solved

HOW CREATION IS EFFECTED. 49
Given the sun and all spiritual forces to form a plant.
It could not be formed in the sun ; its fierce fires and
intense activities would not permit it. The earth
must first be created. Those pure, flaming substances
which compose the sun must be emitted from it, and
lose so much of their intense life as to become quies
cent and passive. They must become rock and earth.
Then a basis is formed on which the spiritual and
finer material substances can rest, and into which
they can act. Now, the Lord can form the germ,
and endow it with power to collect the materials
necessary to its growth. The sun stimulates all its
activities, and communicates to it of its own sub
stance ; the atmosphere and the water give their quota,
and in process of time the plant is formed, and the
problem solved. Now, you will observe, that in tha
first part of the work, the letting down of the chain,
there was no organization and no possibility for any.
Auras, ether, gases, fluids, and, finally, solids, were
formed. Then the bottom was reached, and the
ascent began. But in every step of the ascent, there
must be a solid, a coat, or skin, or containing vessel,
to hold the finer elements during the process of their
organization. The grain of wheat, for example, must
first form a vessel, which eventually becomes the
chaff, to contain the pure substances that are to be
organized into the grain. For they must be in a fluid
state, or they would not yield to the spiritual forces
which act from within and effect the organization of
the grain, and cast it into their own mould.
Thus, the whole vegetable kingdom rests upon the
3

50 THE WORK OF THE ARTIST.
mineral kingdom, and could only have been formed
subsequently to it. The animal kingdom, also, is
based upon the vegetable, though in a different and
more perfect way. Destroy all vegetable life, and all
animals would soon die, and man himself must cease
to exist upon the earth. There was the same neces
sity for a basis and containing ultimate for the organ
ization of man as a spiritual being, that there was
for the grain of wheat.
But let us take another example. An artist has a
clear conception in his own mind of a beautiful human
face. It is an ideal or spiritual form, and he desires
to bring it out into actual and permanent existence
before him. If he is a painter, it must be done by
means of light, of color. The light flows around him ;
.all its colors are in every ray that enters his eye.
But he cannot use them directly. They must be
embodied in material substances before he can handle
them ; and then he must have his canvas, or some
other material basis, upon which to deposit them, in
the various combinations necessary to bring out into
permanent form the beautiful conception in his own
mind. The Lord is the great creative artist, and this
is the plan his infinite wisdom has formed to create
all beings and all things. The spiritual body cannot
be organized directly from spiritual substances. They
must have a material basis to rest upon — a material
covering to contain their fine essences until they are
deposited and wrought into such organic and perma
nent forms, that they may become the subjects of
thought and affection ; of a conscious, and when in

EARTH THE SEMINARY OF HEAVEN. 51
true order, of a blessed life ; a fit temple for the in
dwelling of the Lord.
This is a brief and very imperfect statement of a
doctrine, which, as we shall see, has a most important
bearing upon the succeeding subjects of discourse.
Thus the earths are the seminaries of the heavens.
Upon them, the Lord plants human souls as the hus
bandman plants seeds in the earth, that they may gain
organization, form, and individual being. And when
that is accomplished, they throw off the material
body, as the wheat rejects the chaff, and pass on into
open and conscious life in the spiritual world. There,
freed from the incumbrances and restrictions of a
material body, with their identity perfectly pre
served, they will find full scope for the development
of all good affections, and the attainment of every
joy. Every step, from conception to the grave, has
been a preparation for this grand result. How this
great step in life is effected, will be the subject of our
next discourse.

LECTURE HI.

DEATH; ITS NATURE, NECESSITY, AND CAUSE. AN
ORDERLY STEP IN LIFE.

The theme of our discourse, to-night, is one of the
most momentous to human hope and happiness that
man is called upon to investigate and decide. If death
is the end of our individual and conscious being ; if
nothing remains but the ashes from the burnt taper, or
a formless essence that soars away and mingles with
the elements ; if our glowing hopes, our lofty aspira
tions, our consciousness of capacities for knowledge
and happiness which have just begun to expand, are
all cut off by death, and buried in the grave — then,
indeed, man is the greatest enigma in the universe.
Compared with the possibilities of his nature, he is the
fading flower, the withering grass, the morning cloud,
the tale that is told.
But if death is only the completion of the first little
round in life — the first short flight ; if it marks the end
only of his seed-time ; if his budding hopes, his lofty
aspirations, and dawning consciousness of desires
which no earthly good can fill, are but the swelling

DEATH A PART OF THE DIVINE PLAN. 53
germs of faculties that are to blossom and bear im
mortal fruit; if he leaves in the grave only the
swaddling-clothes of his spiritual infancy, and rises as
from a sleep, in perfect human form, with all his
memory, his consciousness of individual being, to enter
upon an endless career, in which hope is changed into
fruition, and aspiration into attainment; then death is
the grand step in life. It solves all its enigmas ; it is
the fulfilment, of which this life is but the prophecy ;
and to the wise and pure it opens the shining portals
of an endless day.
The doctrines of the New Church teach us, that
death is this great step in life ; that, from the begin
ning, it was a part of the Divine plan, according to
which, man was to attain the highest possibilities of
his nature ; that it is necessary to the success of that
plan ; is orderly progress ; is the natural side of the
same event we call resurrection ; and instead of shrink
ing from it as his direst enemy, he ought to regard it
as his great deliverer and best friend.
I propose to give you some reasons for this belief,
and as far as time and ability will permit, to offer the
testimony which the Lord himself has given to its
truth, in the two great revelations, recorded in his
Word and created in his works. I invite your candid
and earnest attention to this testimony. Lay aside, if
you can, the prejudices of the past. Bring fresh and
open minds to its consideration ; weigh it in the
balances of reason ; measure it by the divine methods
written on everything around us, and judge it by your
own conceptions of the ends which a being of infinite

54 THE SPIRIT THE MAN HIMSELF.
love and wisdom must seek in the creation of nature
and man, and you can hardly fail to come to just con
clusions. In my first lecture, I endeavored to show that there
are distinct spiritual substances, and a real spiritual
world ; in my second lecture, I gave some reasons for
the belief that man is essentially a spiritual beiijg ;
that he is a spirit in the human form, with a complete
human organization, having spiritual senses adapted
to spiritual objects, as his natural senses are adapted to
natural objects ; that the material body is no part of
the man, but simply the sustaining basis and continent
of those spiritual substances of which the man himself
is formed — the instrument he uses to perfect his com
plete spiritual organization, and lay the foundation for
the superstructure of his future life.
Let us keep the fact distinctly before us, that the
spirit is the man himself, and not some caput morluum,
some formless essence or unsubstantial ghost. For if
we lose sight of the man or mistake some unessential
part of him for the man himself, we lose sight of the
subject of our thought, and we may reason and specu
late for ever, and come to no satisfactory conclusion,
for we do not know what we are reasoning about ; and
we shall be like men who run, but know not whither,
and who, consequently, will never find the end of
their race. Let us not be cheated, then, by any
jugglery of words or any illusion of the senses. Let
us keep the eye of the mind steadily fixed upon the
spirit as the man himself.
What, then, is the death of man, according to the

THE SEPARATION OF SPIRIT AND FLESH. 55
common meaning of the word death? I answer: It ia
the withdrawal of the man himself from the material
body. He casts the body aside. He deserts it. And by
this act he steps out of this world into the spiritual
world. By the simple act, no change is effected in the
man himself, in form, organization, or character. He is
no better and no worse ; he knows no more and no less ;
he has not lost or gained a single feature or faculty.
He has only gained more favorable conditions for the
attainment of his ends.
Nor is any change effected in the material body by
the simple act of death. It has the same form, the
same organization. The eye has the same coats and
lenses ; it is composed of the same substances ; the
nerves of taste and touch and motion are all perfect ;
it possesses as much life as it ever did — that is, none
at all. The simple act — the thing done — is the sepa
ration of two organic forms, which before had acted
together as one. That form, in which life resided,
still retains it; and that which was dependent upon
the other for all its power, and even for the ability to
resist the common forces of nature and retain its form,
has lost it; and is as powerless to love, to think, to feel
and act, as the substanees which compose it were when
they were metals, earth, and gases. It is true a great
change soon commences in both forms. The material
body having lost the special power which gave it
organization, and enabled it to resist the common
forces of nature, yields to their action, and returns to
its former state — becomes earth and gas, and mingles
with the elements ; while the roan enters upon his new

56 THE MATERIAL BODY NOT MAN Hx'MSELF.
career, under new conditions, with corresponding
results. Such is the change we call death. It is very
small in itself, but most momentous in its results.
If we look at the body alone and mistake that for
the man himself, as most persons practically do, the
change is terrible. There lies the form we have loved,
cold, motionless, dead. The red current of life that
flowed through artery and vein, has become a stand
ing pool ; the nerves that gave sensation to the whole
body and special ability to each organ to do its appro
priate work, have lost their power; the light of
thought and affection no longer beams upon us from
the eye ; the ear is deaf to our imploring cries ; the
smile of love has faded from the white lips, and no
voice of recognition can ever move them more; the arm
has lost its power and the fingers their cunning ; the
feet will run on no more errands of love and duty.
And soon the very form disappears, mingles with the
elements, and is lost. How terrible the fate, if that
body was the man himself ! How irreparable the loss
if the friend, the child, the husband, the wife we loved,
was that form ! I do not wonder that those who
have no idea of man as a spiritual being shrink from
death with horror ; that it is universally regarded as
the great agony and terror, and that multitudes cling
to the hope that these elements may be reorganized
into the human form, and man's personal existence
be restored to him.
But if we regard the spirit as the real man, there is
no loss of being or form or consciousness ; there is no
death. The same heart beats with the same love as

DEATH NOT AN ACCIDENT. 57
ever ; the same eye is luminous with affection and
kind thoughts ; the same ear hears, not our outward
cries, but the secret aspirations and yearnings of our
souls ; the same face beams with the same, or a more
unselfish and ardent love, and the lips whisper it to
our inward ear ; the same arms are stronger to give us
spiritual support, and the same hands minister to our
real wants with greater efficiency and tenderer skill ;
and the whole life of those we have loved is nearer our
life, and throbs in and through our inmost being with
a stronger pulse than when the same form and the same
life were separated from us by a wall of clay. We
see them not. We never saw them. Only the mask
they wore was visible to the natural senses. They have
thrown off that, and when we throw off ours, we shall
really see them and be seen, " not as through a glass
darkly, but we shall see as we are seen, and know as
we are known." Such is the apparent and such is the
real change we call death.
Let us now endeavor to ascertain the true grounds
and necessity for the decay and dispersion of the mate
rial body. Is death an accident in man's life ? Was it
sent upon him as a punishment for sin? Is its real
cause due to disease or external injuries? Or, is it a
necessity from the nature of matter ; from the nature
of spirit, and from the Divine purposes as far as we
are able to discern them in the Divine character and
methods of operation as they are manifested in the
Lord's Word and works? It is important that wo
settle these questions if possible; for if we can be
assured that the death of the material body is an order-
3*

58 THE BODY CONTINUALLY DYING.
ly step in life, that it was contemplated in the creation
of man, and is not an interruption of the Divine pur
poses, and a penalty for sin, it will do much to disrobe
it of its terrors and to give us juster views of the com
parative value of spiritual and natural things. Let us
examine the question, then, on all sides; from the
material, the spiritual, and the divine.
We have no evidence that any material form can
long retain its organization. Matter in itself is dead,
passive, has no form of its own, and, by the action of
general laws, constantly tends to its original chaotic
state. All organization in the plant, animal, and man,
is formed and maintained by special forces, counter
acting the general laws to which matter is subject.
Indeed, the material body is not a fixed, definite, and
permanent object in itself. The substances which
compose it are continually passing away, and must be
continually renewed. They are like a flowing stream,
going and coming. And the human form is perpetu
ally maintained, because the soul seizes the new mate
rials and casts them into her own image. The body
is always dying and ever being born. When the
form reaches its maximum, the creative and the
destructive forces seem for a time to be in equili
brium. The banks of the stream are full. In a few
years it begins to diminish, and no power of the soul
is able to restore it to its former vigor, or to prevent
it from final decay. There are no exceptions to this
fact, either in plant or animal, and we have no grounds
for supposing that any material organization is or
could be indestructible.

MATERIAL IMMORTALITY IMPOSSIBLE. 59
^.gain, if man had lived immortal here, the num
ber of inhabitants must, sooner or later, have reached
the limit of the earth's ability to sustain them, or even
to furnish room for them to stand ; and then the
creation of human souls must have ceased. But who
can believe for a moment, that all the human beings
this little mote in the universe can sustain, would
satisfy the demands of infinite love and wisdom ?
What would the Lord do through the coming eter
nity ? Could He be contented to sit down and merely
listen to the endless repetition of prayers and praises
from a few men and angels ? That would be contrary
to the very nature of love. Love impels to action ;
it is a motive power ; it is creative. Fill a human
heart with a powerful affection, and it impels the
whole man to action. He cannot remain idle ; idle
ness is a perfect torment to him. What then must be
the effect of infinite love, guided by infinite wisdom ?
But if the creation of human beings should cease
by the limitation of the earth's capacity to supply
their material wants, the whole structure of society
must be changed. Many of its important elements
would soon be wanting. There would be no infancy,
no childhood, no age ; no room for enterprise, and no
ground for enlarged hope. Man would be limited on
all sides, and however high he might rise, society
must, at some period, reach its level and become in a
great measure stagnant. Viewed from the nature of
matter and the material world, then, there are no
evidences that it would have been for man's happi
ness, or that it would have been possible even, for

60 HINDRANCES OF MATTER.
him to remain for ever in this world. On the con
trary, every principle of matter is against the suppo
sition. Let us now examine the question from the side of
spirit, of the soul, and see if we can come to a differ
ent conclusion.
It is in accordance with the experience of all age3
and universal consciousness, that all our mental
and spiritual faculties are limited and restrained —
"cabined, cribbed, confined " — by the material body.
We begin to feel its restraints in infancy, and we
maintain a life-long struggle against it. The infant
feels it in its first efforts in learning to walk. Indeed,
it is this very desire to escape from its restraints, that
impels it to the difficult and perilous task. The foot
will not convey it to the desired spot ; the hand will
not grasp the glittering bauble. The youth, with all
his exuberant life and strength, chafes under it. He
would mount with the eagle ; he would fly with the
wind ; he would be here, there, everywhere, to gratify
his insatiable curiosity. But the body lags behind
and anchors him to the earth, and fetters his limbs.
When he would learn to wield the instruments of
labor or art, his industry and patience are tested to
the utmost. Even in the prime of life, the body is
never perfectly obedient to the soul. And then how
soon the eye fails the scholar ; the hand will not obey
the musician ; the nerves grow tremulous, and the
muscles tire. A great part of the invention, skill,
and effort of humanity is employed to overcome the
weight and drag of the body. The steamship, the

DEATH A DELIVERANCE. 61
rail-car, and the telegraph, have all been called to
assist man in keeping pace with his desires; and
though they have nearly annihilated space and time,
he is as impatient of delay as ever, and grieves and
despairs at the immeasurable distance between his
attainments and his wants.
It is true he gains in his control over the body for
a time but he soon reaches the limit of its capacities ;
and then its ability to express the thoughts and
affections, and do the will of the spirit, continually
diminishes. The strength fails; the senses grow
obtuse and dim ; and the body becomes the soul's
prison ; shuts it out from the material world and all
its delights; fetters its limbs with feebleness, and
immures it in a dungeon, devoid of light and joy.
How terrible would be its fate if there was no release
from it. And we have no grounds for believing that
the body would not decay, even if man had not
sinned, for the plant and the animal are subject to the
same law. But death comes as a blessed deliverer
from this bondage to the flesh ; breaks off our chains,
clears the mist from the eye, and sets every faculty
free. Without doubt this resistance stimulates and de
velops our spiritual faculties, compels us to control
and moderate our desires, and in manifold ways is
useful to us for a time. But suppose we could throw
off this burden of clay entirely and escape all the
limitations and obstructions of time and space, and
still retain our personality and the reality of our
existence, — should we not accomplish at once what

62 FORESHADOWINGS OF IMMORTALITY.
we are in the continual effort to do with all our labor
and skill ? If the spirit is the man himself, this is
the service death renders us, and therefore it is
necessary to the attainment of the highest possibilities
of our nature. Every spiritual principle demands it.
It must, therefore, have been a part of the Divine
plan in our creation.
Keeping in mind this continual struggle of the soul
against the limitations and weight of the body, let us
see what the Lord reveals to us in His works con
cerning this subject. By general consent man is the
only being in the world that is not in order and har
mony with all things. The laws which regulate the
material world are so perfect in their action, that
whenever there is any perturbation, or deviation from
the established harmony, scientific men begin to
search for the cause. Once they feared it was due to
some defect, and foreboded ruin; but since they were
better instructed, they seek for some wider and more
general law. When Leverrier found that there were
irregularities in the motions of the outermost planets
in our solar system, which could not be accounted for
by any known laws of planetary motion, he inferred
that there was a planet beyond Herschel not yet
known to astronomers. And, after much observation
and many calculations, he told them where to look
for it ; and when they pointed their telescopes to the
spot, they found it according to his prediction. Ap
plying the same principle to man ; when we see the
perturbations and conflict between the spiritual and
material conditions of his life, all analogy would lead

THE LAW OF ADAPTATION. 63
to the conclusion that there must be some cause
beyond this life, some world above this, to whose
laws he is subject, and that this conflict with matter
and struggle for freedom is due to grander harmonies,
and bids us look to that world for the solution of this
apparent anomaly and the true home of the soul.
The same lesson is taught still more forcibly in
many other ways. So far as we know, there are no
superfluous organs, no excess of power beyond use,
in any part of the creation. Everything below man
reaches its maturity, completes the cycle of its life,
and attains its end. The plant does not seek to be
come an animal ; the fish does not aspire to dwell
upon the land or soar in the air; the animal gives
no indications of any thought or desire for anything
beyond this world. It finds enough here to satisfy
every want and fill every desire. The demand and
supply are always equal. There is no lack and no
ixcess. There are no exceptions to this law.
This is not only true in general but in particular.
Everywhere, in plant and animal, we find special
adaptation. The child soon knows that the fish
belongs to the water, and the bird to the air. This
law of specific adaptation is so universal that scientific
men never hesitate a moment to decide according to
it. The geologist finds for the first time the petrifac
tions of some long-extinct animal. The comparative
anatomist will construct the whole animal from them.
He will tell you whether it dwelt upon land or in the
water, or both. Nay, more, he will give you the
general condition of the earth at the time the animal

64 THE DIVINE LAWS UNFAILING.
existed. The instructed mind can see the climate,
the natural production, the relative prevalence of land
and water, and the complete natural history of the
earth, all written on the scale of the fish and the pet
rified bone — so perfectly are all things and all planes
of the creation related. Ask him how he knows.
Tell him he has never seen the animal. Perhaps no
human eye ever rested upon one of its kind. May
he not be mistaken ? He laughs at your incredulity.
The Lord, he would say, never deviates from his
laws ; He never makes any mistakes ; He never
fails in perfect adaptations. I am as certain that
my deductions are true, as you are that the fish on
your table came from the water, though you never
saw it there.
Now is it probable that this law of adaptation, in
large things and small, in general and particular
forms, is universal until we reach man, the crown
and glory of the Lord's works, and then fails ? It is
too irrational and absurd to be admitted for a mo
ment. It is evident enough, even to superficial ob
servation, that all things below man were created for
him ; and while they are all so beautifully and per
fectly adjusted to each other, do they fail of their last
connexion ? No sane mind can admit so great an
absurdity. But men say, I do not feel in harmony with these
earthly things. They do not fully content and satisfy
me. Very true. Suppose they did, what would it
prove ? That you were an animal and nothing more.
And the fact, that no earthly good does content you,

PROGRESS BY DISTINCT STEPS. 65
proves just as conclusively that you have faculties
which can only find full scope for their activities,
and wants which can only be supplied in a spiritual
world ; and consequently, it shows that man must
discard the material body before he can obtain the
means of fully satisfying all his wants, and the ab
solute certainty that natural death was one of the
merciful provisions of the Lord from the beginning.
There is another law in nature, also without excep
tion, which leads by inevitable deductions to the same
conclusion, and if possible makes it more certain.
The plant and animal attain their perfection by
distinct steps, and in the lower steps preparations
are always made for the higher ; and when the higher
step is taken, the means by which it was taken be
come an encumbrance and are discarded. The natu
ral world is full of illustrations of this law. Indeed,
every organized form is an example of it. One will
serve our purpose. Take the sparrow in the egg, just
before it bursts the walls of its prison and escapes
into the air. Here is a fully-organized being, and
yet not one of its organs is adapted to its present con
dition. Here are bones, muscles, feathers, especially
adapted, in every respect, to the air. Every part is
constructed with the utmost lightness, and the mus
cles are distributed and gathered into volume for the
express purpose of giving strength where it is most
needed. The form of the wing is made to cleave the
air and bear the bird aloft. It has eyes for light,
lungs for breathing, and a throat for song. But the
sparrow can exercise none of these functions in the

66 THE EGG AND THE BIRD.
shell. Suppose it was conscious of its state as it lay
there in its womb, but did not know of any other
world than that in which it was dwelling. It feels
the impulse to stretch its wings, and pour forth a song,
but it has no scope for either. If it reasoned as many
men do, it would say : There is nothing here to con
tent or satisfy me ; but I know of nothing beyond.
This shell is the boundary of my universe. If it
should be destroyed, I might fall into nothingness, or
be dispersed among the elements. How can a poor
sparrow know anything beyond its own experience ?
It is true the sparrow cannot reason, but acts accord
ing to the instincts implanted in its nature by the
Lord to be the law of its life, and consequently it
struggles against its narrow walls, and soon emerges
into a new world. Now it sports in short flights from
tree to tree ; fills the morning and the evening air
with its social song; finds its mate and attains the
full end of its creation. It feels no impulses, and has
no hopes beyond its fruition. It follows the law of
Divine Wisdom embodied in it, and reaps the full
rewards of its obedience.
Now, we believe that every bone and muscle and
feather, and every organ within and without, is a true
prophet of its future state. We know also that every
prophecy is fulfilled. These organs foretell another
world of ineffable perfections compared with the
one in which it then dwelt. They prophesy of air
and light; of joyous song and social flight; of worm
and seed for all its needs — and every prophecy is ful
filled to the letter.

THIS WORLD INSUFFICIENT FOR US. 67
So it is with everything in the material world.
Wherever you find any overplus of organization or
strength beyond the present wants of plant and ani
mal, it is an unfailing evidence of a state not yet
attained. Does any one suppose, then, that these
blind surgings of man's soul against the prison walls
of the body have no meaning? Does the Lord follow
a certain method with unvarying regularity up to man,
and then stop short, and even reverse it in him ? No ;
it cannot be. The Lord always works like Himself;
He pursues the same order and method in all planes
of the creation that come within our knowledge, and
no human ingenuity can suggest a reason why He
should abandon them for man, more than for the
insect and sparrow.
Every one knows that we never find anything in
this world to fully consent and satisfy us. We often
think we shall be satisfied when we have a little
more ; but that little more enlarges and recedes as
we approach it. Enough is an ever-receding goal.
The men who have the most knowledge, are the most
eager for more. Those who have the largest fortunes
are the most anxious to accumulate. Alexander
weeps for more worlds to conquer; and Newton,
who has weighed the planets in the balance of his
intellect, and with cunning fingers has disentangled
the solar ray and showed its various colored threads,
standing on the pinnacle of his amazing knowledge,
is yet " the little child upon the shore who has found
only a few shells, while the vast ocean of truth lies
unexplored before him." The artist embodies the

68 ASPIRATIONS AFTER IMMORTALITY.
nighest conceptions of his genius on canvas or in
marble ; but immediately his conceptions rise above
themselves ; he sees new beauty and grandeur in the
human form ; and he, too, is running towards an ever-
receding goal. The same is true, only in a greater
degree, of the affections. There is no home so beau
tiful and full of love as to satisfy every ideal affection ;
there is no being so perfectly the complement of our
own, that we can conceive no lack and no superfluity.
These ideals and aspirations after something which
the world cannot give, are to man, in the material
body and the material world, what the organization
of the sparrow is to the egg. They are voices
implanted in man's nature prophesying another
world, that shall be adequate to his largest desires.
These stirrings of a higher life within us ; these surg
ings of mighty impulses against the walls of clay — are
the struggles of the unfledged bird for a new state of
being. They are not, they cannot be, the mockings
of some tormenting fiend ; they are the powerful
voices of an all-merciful, all-wise Father, who has
provided a better world for us than this — voices of
love, and hope, in which He calls us to believe in
that world, and prepare for it.
But, as the sparrow could not fly in the summer
air, and pour forth the fulness of its own delight in
song until its organization had been effected in the shell,
so neither can man enter into full consciousness of the
perfections of the spiritual world, until the proper
spiritual organization has been formed in the material
body ; and, as the bird cannot enter into its new

MAN'S SPIRITUAL WANTS. 69
world until it breaks its shell and escapes from it, so
neither can m<m rise into the spiritual world until
he throws off the material body, and thus breaks
down the parttion walls which separate him from
it. There is mother legitimate deduction from these
universal methods of the Divine operation, full of the
greatest anrt surest promises of good to man. So far
as we know, the plant, the bird, the animal, fully
attain the ends of their being. The most perfect
animal has no thought, no desire, no impulse even, for
anything beyond this world. So far as they are con
cerned, the declaration of the Psalmist is true — " Thou
openest Thy hand and satisfiest the desires of every
living thing." It is true for man also. It must be,
or the whole creation is a lie. But we must take man's
whole being into consideration. It is false only when
we mistake the lowest and the merely rudimentary
part of his nature for the whole. If you judge the
plant by the blossom, or the insect by the chrysalis,
you will come to the same false conclusion you do,
when you judge man by his life in the material body.
Everything in the universe points to the conclusion
that the Lord intended, and still intends, to satisfy
every spiritual want of man, as fully as He satisfies
every natural want of the animal. He has made
such ample and varied provisions for every possible
want, that man cannot frame a hope which will not be
realized ; he cannot have a desire that will not be
gratified ; he cannot conceive a good which he will
not obtain ; he cannot form an ideal which will not

70 THE LORD'S PROMISES.
become an actual ; he cannot lift an aspiration above
the level of his attainment. This is the Lord's pro
mise in His word — " Ye shall ask what ye will and it
shall be done unto you ;" and this promise is written
upon the whole creation.
You have seen an animal in a good pasture lying
in the shade or basking in the sun, and you knew
that its desires were all satisfied ; it had no dream of
a want. Within the little round of its life it is con
tent, it is full. Now, what the attainment of the
animal is for the animal, will be man's attainment for
man. With all his mental and spiritual faculties
increased to an inconceivable degree of scope and
power; with his knowledge and affections enlarged
beyond the present capacities of the highest angel, yet
every want will be satisfied. He will be full. Visions
of glory and beauty will dawn upon his clear vision,
such as no earthly eye has seen, and no heart con
ceived, and he will reach them, possess them, enjoy
them, and they will content him. There are only two
words that express such a state — Peace, Blessedness.
Peace within, peace with all around. Blessedness in
the heart ; blessedness in the understanding ; blessed
ness in every faculty and every relation.
This is what the Lord promises us in His word,
and in His works, and it is a promise He will fulfil
to the letter. But you must give Him time, and be
obedient to His way. He cannot give it to you while
you are in the material body. He cannot give it to
you in this world, any more than He can give flight
and the joy of song to the bird in the egg. It re-

DEATH A BLESSING. 71
quires a spiritual world to satisfy all the demands of
our spiritual faculties.
Now gather all these considerations into one ; the
limitations and obstructions to the soul inherent in
matter; the nature of the soul itself; the universal
testimony of the Divine methods in the creation ; the
certainty with which the Lord accomplishes His ends,
with no excess of means and no lack of attainment;
the Divine promises in the Word; and does not
everything point to the absolute necessity of the
death of the body? Is there any exception to it?
No, the testimony is all on one side. The soul could
not possibly attain those immeasurable heights of per
fection of which it knows itself to be capable, with
out freeing itself from the body. What we call death,
then, is an orderly step in life. It is not a curse, but
a blessing. It deprives us of no good. It introduces
us to innumerable and inconceivable delights. In
stead of fearing it we should thank the Lord for it,
and patiently await its coming. . We should do oar
work here well, knowing it is the best preparation we
can make for the largest blessings hereafter.

LECTURE IV.
THE RESURRECTION OF MAN.

According to the doctrines of the New Church,
Death and Resurrection are the same event in dif
ferent aspects. The death of the material body is
the natural side of it, and consequently it is all we
can see while we are in this world. Resurrection is
the spiritual side. The material body is left behind
and turns to dust. Man rises out of it. He is with
drawn from the body as the hand is withdrawn from
a glove; and when the separation of the spiritual
from the material body is fully effected, he stands
complete man in the spiritual world, with all his
senses and his whole organism perfectly adapted to it.
He has lost no more than the sparrow loses when it
breaks its shell. When the material body dies, man
rises. He does not wait for unknown ages, and flit
about nowhere, and nobody, waiting for a general
resurrection of the material body, that he may crawl
back into his old prison and resume his chains. He
has left nothing behind him that can ever be useful
to him again. The beautiful moth never becomes a
worm. The sparrow never folds its wings, closes its

73
eyes to the new world in which it has rejoiced for a
brief summer, and becomes reinvested with its old
shell. So it is with man. The material body returns
to the ground whence it was taken. " Earth to earth
— ashes to ashes — dust to dust." The spiritual body
is raised up into the spiritual world, its proper home,
where it will dwell for ever.
The statement of Swedenborg on the subject is as
follows :
" When the body is no longer able to perform its
functions in the natural world corresponding to the
thoughts and affections of the spirit, which it has from
the spiritual world, then the man is said to die. This
takes place when the respiratory motions of the lungs
and the systolic motions of the heart cease to act ; but
still man does not die ; he is only separated from the
corporeal part, which was of use to him in the world ;
for man himself lives. It is said man himself lives,
because man is not man from the body, but from the
spirit^ since the spirit thinks in man, and thought
with affection makes man. Hence it is evident
that man, when he dies, only passes from one world
into another.
" The spirit of man, after the separation, remains a
little while in the body, but not longer than till the
total cessation of the heart's action, which takes place
with variety, according to the state of the disease of
which man dies. ... As soon as this motion
ceases, the man is resuscitated ; but this is done by
the Lord alone. By resuscitation is meant the draw
ing forth of the spirit of man from the body, and its
4

74 THE RESURRECTION OF MAN.
introduction into the spiritual world, which is com
monly called resurrection."
He then goes on to say, " that man is man from his
spirit, and not from his body ; and that the corporeal
form is added to the spirit according to the form of
the spirit and not the reverse ; for the spirit is clothed
with a body according to its own form ; wherefore the
spirit of man acts into the minutest particulars of the
body, insomuch that the part which is not actuated by
the spirit, or in which the spirit is not acting, does
not live. That this is so, may be known to every one
from this alone ; that thought and will actuate each
and all things of the body with such entire command,
that everything concurs, and whatever does not concur
is not a part of the body, and is also cast out as some
thing in which is no life ; thought and will are of the
spirit of man, and not of the body." (H. & H, 453.)
"When man enters the spiritual world, or the life
after death, he is in a body as in the world ; to appear
ance there is no difference, and he does not perceive
nor see a difference. But his body is then spiritual,
and thus separated or purified from earthly things,
and when what is spiritual touches and sees what ia
spiritual, it is just as when what is natural touches and
sees what is natural ; hence, a man when he has be
come a spirit, does not know otherwise than that he
is in bis body in which he was in the world, and
hence he does not know, at first, that he has deceased.
A man's spirit also enjoys every external and internal
sense which he enjoyed in the world; he sees as be
fore ; he hears and speaks as before ; he also smells

SWEDENBORG'S STATEMENT. 75
and tastes, and when he is touched he feels the touch
as before ; he also longs, desires, craves, thinks, re
flects, is affected, loves, wills, as before ; and he who
delights in studies, reads and writes as before. In a
word, when a man passes from one life into the other,
or from one world into the other, it is as if he passed
from one place into another, and he carries with him
all things which he possessed in himself as a man ; so
that it cannot be said that the man after death, which
is only the death of the earthly body, has lost any
thing of himself. He also carries with him the natu
ral memory, for he retains all things whatsoever
which he has in the world heard, seen, read, learn
ed, and thought, from earliest infancy even to the end
of life.
" But still the difference between the life of man
in the spiritual world and his life in the natural world
is great, as well with respect to the external senses and
their affections, as with respect to the internal senses
and their affections. Those who are in heaven perceive
by the senses ; that is, they see and hear much more
exquisitely, and also think more wisely, than when
they were in the world.
" The difference of these external senses is as the
difference between sunshine and the obscurity of
mist, and as the difference between the light at mid
day and the shade at evening, in the world."
Such is a concise and simple statement of the belief
of the New Church concerning that change in man
called resurrection. It differs from the doctrines usu
ally received in every particular.

76 THE NEW AND OLD DOCTRINES.
1. It declares that the spirit is the real and only
man, and the whole of the man.
The common doctrine practically regards the body
as the real man, and the spirit as some vital principle,
or motive power which animates the man ; but of
which, by itself, we can form no conception, and,
therefore, it teaches us to look for the resurrection of
the same body we deposit in the grave ; it teaches us
that the spirit comes back and reenters the material
elements newly organized, and until this reunion is
effected, neither the spirit nor the body is a complete
man. The New Church teaches, that man is a spirit,
and has a material body during the first stage of his
being; the old, that man is a material body, and has
a spirit. 2. The New Church teaches that the resurrection
consists in the withdrawal from the material body
and raising up into the spiritual world of the man
himself. The old doctrine declares, that the material body is
raised up from the grave and the spirit brought back
from wherever it may dwell during its separation from
the body, reenters it, and becomes its life.
3. According to the doctrines of the New Church,
the resurrection takes place immediately after death.
The death of the body is, indeed, caused by the resur
rection of man from it.
According to the doctrines of the old Church, the
resurrection of the material body is to take place at
some distant period at the end of the world. The
doctrines differ, then, in three particulars ; the subject

MAN AND HIS SPIRIT THE SAME. 77
of the resurrection, the manner of the resurrection,
and the time in which it is effected. The New Church
believes that it is the spirit which is raised ; the old,
that it is the body. The New, teaches that the simple
act of resurrection is the separation of the soul from
the body ; the old, that it is the reunion of the soul
and body. The New, declares that man rises imme
diately after the death of the body ; the old, that he
will not rise until some unknown period at the end of
the world.
Having thus stated the doctrine of the New Church
concerning the resurrection, as taught in the writings
of Swedenborg, and as we believe in the Bible, I
invite your attention to some of the Scriptural and
rational grounds of this faith.
1st. We have endeavored in a former lecture to
show that man and his spirit are the same. It is ne
cessary to keep this truth distinctly before us, that we
may know what and whom we are talking about when
we speak of the resurrection of man. We do not
mean that man's tools ; his. material mechanism ; his
material garments, which were continually changing
while they clothed him, are the subject of resurrec
tion. We do not mean oxygen, carbon, nitrogen,
phosphorus and iron, even when cunningly woven
into nerve and muscle, into brain and heart. We
do mean that wonderful spiritual being who formed
these dead elements into this delicate and complex
miracle, the human body ; who lived in it ; acted
through it; carried it about in all the paths of life ;
preserved it from decay ; gave it a sensitive and

78 MEANING OF " ANASTASIS. "
conscious existence, and so wielded it to his own
purposes, and moulded it to his own form, that mul
titudes have mistaken the dead image for the living
being ; and are now looking down into the grave for
the re-awakening and restoration to life of those who
have entered the shining portals of heaven, and who,
now free from the burden of matter, are clothed with
a beauty, and are enjoying a blessedness, which we
who yet dwell in these tents of clay cannot conceive,
and much less express.
2d. We are now prepared to examine our second
point, which is : That this resurrection consists es
sentially in the withdrawal of man from his material
body, and not in raising to life the body itself. This
would follow as a necessary consequence, from our
first position, that man is really a spiritual being,
and takes nothing of his humanity from the material
body, not even his form. But there are positive
considerations which tend powerfully to the same
conclusion. 1. The original word Anastasis, translated "Resur
rection," exactly expresses the New Church idea of
the change that actually takes place in man at his
resurrection. It has no such meaning as raising up
to life again in this world. It means a continuance of
existence after the death of the body. Our Lord's
argument with the Sadducees, shows that it has this
meaning beyond question. But that no one may
think this interpretation of the word is peculiar to the
New Church, or that there is any attempt to wrest it
from its true meaning, I will quote a passage from a

DR. DWIGHT'S SERMON. 79
sermon of Dr. Dwight, of New Haven, upon the Re
surrection. " This word Anastasis," he says, " is commonly, but
often erroneously, translated Besurrection. So far as I
have observed it usually denotes our existence beyond
the grave. . . . Many passages of Scripture would
have been rendered more intelligible, and the thoughts
contained in them more just and impressive, had this
word been translated agreeably to its real meaning
This observation will be sufficiently illustrated by a
recurrence to that remarkable passage which contains
the dispute between our Saviour and the Sadducees.
'Then came unto Him,' says the Evangelist, 'the
Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection ;' that is,
that there is no future state, or no future existence of
mankind. They declare seven brothers to have mar
ried successively one wife, who survived them all.
Then they ask, ' Whose wife shall she be in the resur
rection?' — in the future state ? Our Saviour answers,
in the resurrection, or as it should be rendered, in the
future state, they neither marry, nor are given in mar
riage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. ' But
as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not
read that which was spoken unto you by God ?' or as
it ought to be rendered, ' Have ye not read that
which was spoken unto you by God concerning the
future life of those who are dead, saying, I am the God
of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.'
This passage, were we at any loss concerning the
meaning of the word Anastasis, determines it beyond

80 WHAT THE BIBLE DOES NOT SAY.
dispute. The proof that there is an ' Anastasis' of
the dead alleged by our Saviour, is the declaration of
God to Moses, ' I am the God of Abraham,' &c, and
the irresistible truth that God is not the God of the
dead, but of the living. The consequence is, every
one who reads the Bible knows that Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob were living at the time when this declara
tion was made. Those who die, therefore, live aftei
they are dead ; and this future life is the 'Anastasis,'
which is proved by our Saviour in this passage, and
which is universally denoted by this term throughout
the New Testament."
The common idea of the resurrection, namely, that
it consists in bringing the spirit back from the spi
ritual world, and in the restoration to life of the dead
bodies deposited in the tomb, is not derived from
this word. It was rather put into it to make the
Scripture conform to preconceived ideas. The word
has no reference of the body.
2. But again : There is nothing said in'the Bible
about the resurrection of the body, as there necessarily
would not be if the original term means a continuance
of life in the Spiritual World. There is much said
about the continuance of life after death ; or to use
the common term, of the resurrection from the dead,
or of the dead ; but the terms resurrection of the tody
or of the Jksh are nowhere to be found, because there
is no such idea or truth in the Bible to express.
This was the idea of a certain class of Jews, and
when it was expressed, at least on one memorable
occasion, our Lord corrected it. When he said to

THE CASE OF LAZARUS. 81
Martha, "thy brother shall rise again," she answer
ed, according to the common doctrine of the time, " I
know he shall rise again in the resurrection at the
last day." What was the reply ? Was it an assent
to this doctrine, as it naturally would have been
if it was true? Did our Lord say, "True, the body
you have deposited in the tomb would be raised up
again at the end of the world. But, as a special favor,
I will restore your brother to life now, though he will
again pass into the tomb, and await the final resur
rection ? " No, nothing of this ; "I am the resurrection
and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were
dead, yet shall he live, and whoso liveth and be
lieveth in me shall never die."
The life and the death, He referred to, could not
have been the life or death of the body. They must
refer to the life or death of the man himself — of his
soul. It is the same as though He had said, " You
are mistaken, Martha, in supposing that the body is
to be raised up at the last day. The true resurrection
is that of the spirit. Those who are truly alive, who
live and believe in Me, can never die. And though
they are dead, if they will exercise a living belief in
Me, they shall live. I am," not I will be ; "I am the
resurrection and the life now, to all who will receive
life from Me." You see how entirely the body is
ignore! in this reply, as though it was of no con
sequence. If a man is spiritually alive now, he can
never die. His separation from the material body does
not touch his life any more than the change of his
clothes. And if he is spiritually dead, destroying the
4*

82 THE RESURRECTION MEANT BY THE LORD.
material body will not make him any more dead
The Lord always strives to lift men above the merely
natural idea ; to raise them out of the grave of the
natural and temporary to the spiritual and eternal.
He gives a new spiritual meaning to those terms and
ideas to which the sensuous-minded Jew had attached
only a material one. " The words that I speak unto
you, they are spirit, and they are life."
This principle shows us how we must understand
the 28th and 29th verses of the fifth chapter of
John, which probablj' contain the strongest statement
of the doctrine of the resurrection of the material
body to be found in the Bible. " Marvel not at this,"
he says, " for the hour is coming in the which all that
are in their graves shall hear his voice, and shall
come forth, they that have done good unto the resur
rection of life, and they that have done evil unto the
resurrection of damnation." But just before he had
said, "The hour is coming, and now is, when the
dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and
they that hear shall live ; and in the preceding verse,
"He that heareth my word, and believeth on him
that sent me, hath everlasting life. He is passed from
death unto life."
By those who are in their graves are evidently meant
the same as the dead in the preceding verse, and
there it is said, " The hour is coming and now is." It
is always present. "I am the resurrection and the
life." As life is received from me, everyone is raised
up from the dead. He is passed from death unto
life. Here as before, and everywhere, the material

THE BIBLE DOCTRINE. 83
body is not referred to, because it is no part of the
man. . But suppose we understand it as teaching the doc
trine of the resurrection of the body at the last day, how
can we reconcile the declaration with the clause, " the
hour is coming, and now is," in the preceding verse ?
Who or what is meant by all who are in their graves ?
Are all the generations of men who have lived in this
world in their graves ? We have the most positive
evidence that they are not. Moses and Elias are not
in their graves. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are, not
in their graves. And that multitude which no man
can number, from every nation, kindred, tribe, and
tongue, are not in their graves.
There are many passages in the Bible which imply
or plainly speak of a resurrection. The whole scope
and intent of the Revelation, contained in the word, is
to teach and prove the Resurrection, the "Anastasis"
the uninterrupted continuance of life in the spiritual
world, after the death of the body, and how that life
can be made the most blissful and rich in all spiritual
blessings. But there is some difficulty about every
passage, if by resurrection we. mean the bringing back
to life the material body. The passage in Job, which
was once supposed to teach this doctrine, is now given
up, and by common consent it is conceded that it has
no reference to the resurrection of the body. And the
passage in Daniel, xii. 2 : "And many of them that
sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to
everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting
contempt," was once claimed as teaching this doctrine

84 TWO RESURRECTIONS.
But it is now given up by the most intelligent writers
upon the subject. The fatal clause in it is the words
" many of them." Many does not mean all, but only
a part. The words cannot refer to a general resur
rection, then ; and the most learned commentators
confess that it has no reference to the resurrection of
the dead.
The famous passage in 1 Corinthians, the last one
which I shall notice, teaches a doctrine directly the
reverse of the one generally entertained, and strictly
in accordance with the doctrine of the New Church.
Paul declares that there is a natural body, and that
there is a spiritual body ; that a natural body is sown
and a spiritual body raised, that the body raised is not
the one sown. But time fails me to enter upon a
critical examination of the whole passage. The more
critically and exhaustively all the passages relating to
this subject are examined, however, the more fully
they will be found to confirm the Doctrine, that
the resurrection itself consists essentially in the with
drawal of the man himself from the material body
and raising him up in the spiritual world.
There are two resurrections, as there are two deaths.
The first consists in the restoration of man to spiritual
life. This is truly a resurrection from death, and is
effected while we live in the body in this world, by
the voice of the Son of God, or the divine truth.
When the soul, dead in trespasses and sins, hears that
voice and obeys it, it begins to rise from the grave of
sin and falsity, and to live. It has passed from death
into life, and will die no more for ever. This is the

THE FIRST AND THE SECOND RESURRECTION. 85
essential resurrection, and the one to which our Lord
always refers. The only effect of the death of the
body upon such persons is to give them freedom and
the most favorable opportunities for the exercise of
all their faculties. The second resurrection is con
scious introduction of all, both the spiritually living
and dead, into the spiritual world. These two resur
rections are so spoken of in connexion with each
other ; the fiist being described under the form of the
second, that it is sometimes difficult to see the full
bearing of all parts of the literal statement without a
knowledge of this distinction. And much of the
perplexity and doubt as to the meaning of many
passages which the sincerest seekers after truth have
found, originates in this duality of statement and
meaning. The two ideas, the resurrection from spi
ritual death and the continuance of life in the spiritual
world, are both implied in all statements upon the
subject ; sometimes one truth appears more prominent
than the other, but, generally, both crop out in some
form. They do not in any way conflict with each
other; and when the whole truth in both forms is
understood, every particular passage in the whole
Bible will be found to be perfectly consistent with
itself, with every other passage, and with the tenor of
the whole Scripture, and the doctrines of the New
Church concerning the Resurrection.
Right reason will always coincide with a true
knowledge of Scripture. If this doctrine is genuine
truth, reason will also give her cordial assent to it,
aud we shall find indications and prophecies of it

86 ANALOGIES IN NATURE.
in the created as well as the revealed word. There
is no instance in nature of such a resurrection as the
common doctrine asserts. But the world is full of
the most beautiful examples analogous to man's true
resurrection. Indeed, every organized thing passes
through analogous states. The coarse, rough calyx,
is as a body to the soul of the plant in winter. Man
in this world is only the bud of what he will be
The voice of Spring calls to the sleeping blossom,
and it bursts the cerements of its grave, and rises up
into the new world of light and heat, and blesses the
earth and man with its fragrance and beauty. But
the blossom is only the swaddling-clothes of the real
plant, the seed containing the life, and therefore it
fades and falls when the true plant is raised up into
life. The same stages of death and resurrection are still
more fully exhibited in insect and animal life. The
beautiful moth finds its anastasis ; it is raised up from
a worm, and emerges into a new world. The spar
row that flies in freedom through every field, was
once folded within the narrow limits of an egg. The
shell was its horizon and the boundaries of its uni
verse. But at the voice of God revealed in its own
instincts, it burst the bars of its tomb, and found its
resurrection and its true home in another world.
So it is with man. He attains a resurrection for
his material body, when he is born into this world,
and a resurrection for his spiritual body, when he is
born into the spiritual world. So fully and clearly
does the Lord teach us in the visible things around

INCONSISTENCIES OF THE COMMON DOCTRINE. 87
us, what He is doing in the invisible within us ; so
clearly does He show us in the present what He will
do for us in the future.
Now in all these changes and resurrections, there is
no instance of the dead body being raised to life. In
no case does any created thing go back and resume
its former status. The moth never becomes a worm
again. The sparrow never goes back into the shell,
to reanimate it. Everything moves forward, com
pletes the cycle of its life, and perpetuates its species.
But man being essentially a spiritual, and, therefore,
an immortal being, finds his resurrection by passing
into another world, which is his proper home.
There are many inconsistencies and absurdities con
nected with the common doctrine, which its advocates
have always found it impossible to reconcile or
explain away, and many of them have been given up.
It was once maintained, that exactly the same body
deposited in the ground would be raised up. But
this involves the idea that man is to be raised up with
all his physical imperfections and deformities. Most
persons die in old age, when the beauty and vigor of
adult life are lost ; or after the body has become ema
ciated with disease, or crushed and mangled by acci
dent or in battle. The particles of matter contained
in one body have been incorporated into many others,
and omnipotence cannot make the materials which
belong to two or more bodies, belong exclusively to
each one.
To avoid one difficulty, some have maintained, that
every particle of matter that ever belonged to the

88 THE MATERIAL BODY NOT RAISED AGAIN.
body is incorporated into it at the Resurrection;
But this would make those who live to old age, per
fect monsters. Allowing the materials of the body to
be renewed once in seven years, which is the common
estimate, a man who weighed one hundred and fifty
pounds, and lived to be threescore and ten, would
weigh twelve or fifteen hundred pounds, and Methu-
saleh would weigh nearly ten tans.
Some have tried to avoid this absurdity, and the
impossibility of the identical matter which composed
the body at death, being raised up, by the theory that
the same chemical elements as carbon, nitrogen,
oxygen, etc., will be incorporated into the new body.
But the essential difficulty with all the theories is,
that they get only a material body, whatever terms
may be applied to it, or whatever imaginary perfec
tions it may be supposed to possess ; and a material
body must be subject to all the limitations and imper
fections of matter. It must keep man in this world ;
and however vigorously its advocates may deny it,
the common doctrine leads to an inevitable material
ism. Matter cannot be changed into spirit. If it can
be, it would cease to be matter, and we do not get the
resurrection of the body after all ! If such a change
is possible, there can be a spiritual body, and if there
can, what is the use of a material one ? _ Carry the
doctrine out to its legitimate consequences and absur
dities, and inexplicable difficulties close about the
mind on every side, until its advocates always are
compelled to take refuge in the divine omnipotence.
3. It is not necessary, even if I had time, to dwell

DEATH AND THE RESURRECTION SIMULTANEOUS. 89
upon our third topic. If the first two points are true,
the third certainly is ; if they are not, it is of but little
consequence when the material body is raised. But
in all the passages of the Word upon which I have
commented, you can hardly fail to see that the Resur
rection must necessarily take place at the time of the
death of the body. All the persons mentioned had
attained their resurrection. But if any further testi
mony is needed, what our Lord said to the thief upon
the cross would be conclusive : " To-day shalt thou be
with me in Paradise."
In whatever light we view the subject we are
brought back to the plain, simple, and comforting
truth, that man is essentially a spiritual being, that his
resurrection consists in the withdrawal of his spiritual
from his material body, and that this takes place at
the time the material body dies. Death and the Resur
rection are the same act viewed from opposite sides,
and man's departure from this world is his entrance
into the spiritual world, where he is to find his home
and the theatre of his activities for ever. The voice
of God, as it comes to us in the analogies of nature,
teaches this doctrine in every plant that grows, in
every insect whose life is bounded by a summer's day,
and in every animal that lives; enlightened reason
joyfully assents to it, and every aspiration of our souls
finds in it the sure promise of the fruition of all our
hopes, and especially as with the blast of a trumpet,
with no uncertain sound, does the voice of God, in
His Holy Word, declare it. So far as we accept it as
truth, and bring it home to ourselves as a reality,

90 BEAUTY OF THE TRUE DOCTRINE.
earth and all its fleeting pleasure, and momentary
issues fade away ; life and immortality come to light ;
and only those attainments and possessions which
will be of service to us in our final home in the eter
nal future, will seem worthy of our labor or our love.

LECTURE V.
MAN IN THE WORLD OF SPIRITa

The whole Bible assumes the existence of a Divine
Being, a spiritual world, and the immortality of man.
These ideas form the basis of its whole structure, and
are interwoven into every part of it, but they are
rarely taught in a distinct and formal manner. We
are not told where the spiritual world is, nor are we
distinctly instructed under what form we are to con
ceive it. There is but little said, except in a figura
tive and incidental way, about the employments of
spiritual beings, their relations to each other, and
their general mode of life. But the great truths are
everywhere implied, that the spiritual world is a real
world, that spiritual beings are real beings, and that
they dwell in a state of happiness or misery accord
ing to their characters.
This method of treating these subjects has given
room for the exercise of human reason and fancy, and
the result has been a multitude of theories, ranging
from the grossest materialism to the most ethereal and
meaningless abstractions. These theories have gene

92 POPULAR IDEAS OF THE FUTURE LIFE.
rally been based upon some passages in the Word
which seemed to suggest them ; and then they have
been carried out according to the fancy and construc
tive ability of their authors. Thus, the common idea
of hell as a burning lake into which the wicked are
plunged, and on whose fiery billows they are to be
for ever tossed and tormented, but never consumed, is
founded upon a few passages in the Bible in which
fire is mentioned in connexion with the punishment
of the wicked. The happiness of heaven is generally
thought to consist in rest from all active employment,
and in the perpetual worship of the Lord. This idea
is doubtless derived from some expressions in the
Revelation, which represent the multitude of the
heavenly host as surrounding the throne and singing
songs of perpetual praise. But the more the subject
is viewed in the light of reason, and the nature of
man as a spiritual being, the less satisfactory these
theories become. They cannot be accepted as full
and final statements upon these subjects ; and the doc
trines based upon them are so conflicting with each
other, and result in so many contradictions of the
nature of man, and the general scope and spirit of
the Sacred Scriptures, that they involve the whole
subject in darkness, and lead many to doubt even the
existence of a conscious, real life after this. It was
this very reason, as we believe, that rendered new and
fuller disclosures upon this subject necessary.
In the absence of all direct and positive teaching
upon these subjects in the letter of the Word, we are
compelled to judge of every theory by its intrinsic

HOW THEORIES ARE TO BE JUDGED. 93
probability. If a theory of future life is presented
to us, which contains nothing contrary to the spirit
and plain teachings of the Bible ; if it does no vio
lence to reason; involves no inconsistencies with
itself; satisfies the demands of man's nature, and is
in perfect harmony with all the Divine methods of
operation so far as we know them, it would seem dif
ficult for us to reject it.
We seek this comprehensive, catholic judgment for
the disclosures of the New Church. We do not ask
you to deny the Bible, to reject your reason, to be
blind to universal laws, or to seek refuge from any
absurd conclusions in the Divine Omnipotence. Bring
to their examination the acutest reason, the maturest
judgment; compare them with the whole spirit of
the Word, and with all the Divine methods of opera
tion ; compare them with themselves, and the more
thorough, severe, and impartial your examination, the
more likely you will be to see their truth.
In my former lectures I have endeavored to show
that there are spiritual substances, and, consequently,
that there can be a spiritual world, entirely distinct
from this world ; that man is essentially a spiritual
being, organized of spiritual substances, and that as a
spirit he is in the human form, that his material body
receives its form from the spirit, and when it has per
formed its office, decays and falls off from it, as the
husk falls from the corn when it is ripe, as the shell
falls from the sparrow when it is ready for entrance
into a new world. I have aimed to show that every
law of God, of man, and of nature, demands the

94 THE FIRST STATE AFTER DEATH.
death of the body and the resurrection of man into
the spiritual world. Let us now endeavor to follow
him into that world, learn something of its nature,
and endeavor to ascertain what condition and changes
the same laws demand for him there. I propose to
do, as I have done in previous lectures ; state the doc
trines of the New Church, and give some of the rea
sons on which they are founded.
During the process of his resurrection from the
material body, man is in a state of total unconscious
ness. He falls into a profound sleep, and wakes in
the spiritual world. He has no power to effect his
resurrection himself. His soul does not escape from
the body as gas from a vessel, by its comparative
levity. His spiritual body must be withdrawn fiom
the material body, and this separation is effected by
the Lord, through the ministry of angels, by a sp rit
ual attraction. When the delicate task is fully ac
complished, without any pain or consciousness or the
part of those who are undergoing the change, man is
gradually and gently awaked, and he finds himself
among angels and friends in the spiritual world. He
is in the same form, and he does not even know that
he is dead until he reflects upon what he sees around
him. He has all the bodily organs he ever had. He
sees, hears, and uses all his senses the same as he ever
did. He talks with those present, and walks from
place to place as he did when in this world. Indeed,
there has been no more change in his bodily form and
organization than there would have been by going
from one house to another in this world. He has

FUTURE IDENTITY. 95
only thrown aside the garment of clay. The spirit
ual body remains the same as before.
No change in his intellectual or moral character
has been effected by his death and resurrection. He
knows no more and no less ; he is no better and no
worse. Every one takes all his memory, and all his
mental faculties act the same as before. He loves,
hopes, fears, reasons, desires, reflects, forms opinions
and expresses them. In a word, he is the same per
son, and he knows it.
The question naturally arises, what grounds have
we for this belief?
There is nothing in the Bible contrary to this doc
trine, but many things that tend to confirm it. Our
Lord's promise to the thief on the cross, " To-day
shalt thou be with me in Paradise," is sufficient evi
dence that we preserve our identity, if we do nothing
more. Moses and Elias were seen on the mount of
Transfiguration. John saw a vast multitude from
every nation, kindred, and tongue. All the promises
and threatenings of the whole Bible imply that man
is the same being in the spiritual world that he was
in this.
I presume all persons who believe in a future exist
ence will admit this as an abstract truth. But most
persons practically deny it, by denying to man as a
spirit those qualities which constitute his personal
being, or identity. There is not the slightest ground
for believing that a man would know himself if he
becomes after death what a spirit is generally sup
posed to be. And this, without doubt, is the cause

96 FORM AND CHARACTER NOT CHANGED BY DEATH
of the great fear many persons have of death. They
do not know and cannot conceive what they will
become. There can be no identity or recognition where there
ia no form, or where the form is totally changed.
livery person has some idea or conception of himself.
Suppose the next time you look in a mirror you
should see nothing but what a spirit is generally sup
posed to be, would you recognise yourself in it? Or,
suppose you see a distinct human form, but totally
unlike your own, would you not say at once, " That
is not I ? " How do you recognise your friends ? By
their having the same form they had when you saw
them last? If the change has been very great, you
do not know them ; you never know them, until you
see some features you remember to have seen be
fore. The same principle applies to things as well as
persons. You could not find your house to-night if
it was totally changed, with everything around it.
The word identity means sameness. If we do not
rise into the spiritual world in the same form we pos
sessed here, we shall never rise.
But not only outward form is essential to the pre
servation of our identity, but inward character. We
must preserve our affections, our knowledge, our ex
perience, and our memory. We preserve our iden
tity as intellectual and moral beings, by comparing
every step in our mental and spiritual progress with
the last one. Gradual development is absolutely
essential to the preservation of our personal being.
We must be able to see how one state grows out of

THE NATURE OF THE SPIRITUAL WORLD. 97
another, to know that we are the same beings to-day
we were in the past. All the laws of man's life de
mand, therefore, that he shall preserve his form and
character, and rise in the spiritual world the same
being he was here.
You can hardly fail to see how simple and logical
the doctrines of the New Church are upon this sub
ject. They avoid all the difficulties and confusion
of ideas which the prevalent beliefs produce, by
directing us to look into the grave for some part of
our friends, and into the spiritual world for some other
part, and to some future time when the two may be
re-united. The spiritual world being here, and man himself
being a spirit in the human form — in the same form
as the body — when he is raised up into the spiritual
world, he stands there, a complete human being, hav
ing left nothing behind him but his material body.
The veil of flesh is now removed from his spiritual
senses, and spiritual objects and spiritual beings are
now as real to every sense as natural objects were
before. Having thus endeavored to get man fairly into the
spiritual world, without losing himself as a distinct
personal being, and without violence to the laws of
his own nature, or any opposition to the universal
methods of the Divine Wisdom, let us examine the
nature of the spiritual world and learn its relations to
the intelligent beings who dwell in it.
We have already seen that, if it is anything, it is a
real and substantial world. Our doctrines teach us
5

98 THE INTERMEDIATE STATE.
that it is divided into three principal divisions.
Heaven, the world of spirits, and hell. Heaven is
the abode of the good ; hell of the evil ; and the
world of spirits is a state intermediate between
them. It is called the world of spirits, because those
who dwell in it are called spirits, in distinction from
angels or devils. The inhabitants of the heavens are
angels, of the hells devils ; but all are called spirits
before they reach their final home. This state is not
like the purgatory of the Catholics. It is not a state
of probation or punishment, though some persons suf
fer severely in their passage through it. Nor is it a
place where the souls of men wait for the resurrection
of the material body, as many believe. It is a state
of judgment and preparation for the eternal home, of
all who have passed from the earth. It resembles
this world so fully, that when man is first raised up
into it, he is not struck with any great change. In
respect to the forms and scenery, the change is not
greater than it would be if he had removed to some
other place in this world, and perhaps not so great.
He finds himself a real man in a real world. He
sees similar forms, as real to his spiritual senses as
rock and tree ever were to his natural senses in this
world. It lies next to the earth, between us and
heaven or hell, and all from the earth — the good as
well as the evil — must pass through it before they
reach their final home.
Such, briefly, are the doctrines of the New Church
upon this subject. Let us see what rational grounds
wo have for belief in such a world.

PREPARATION FOR HEAVEN NEEDED. 99
Heaven is a state of unsullied purity, and of that
joy, peace, and blessedness, which only result from
the harmonious activity of all our spiritual faculties.
Every thought and affection must not only be in per
fect accord with every other thought and affection in
the same mind, but in all minds ; and not only with
the minds of all who dwell in heaven, but with the
Lord from whom all this life flows. There must be
no jar, no discord, no selfish or evil desire, no failure
in the attainment of any end. Now, it is almost if
not quite impossible for us to conceive of such a state.
We may imagine a condition of things which we
think would content us, but we often find ourselves
greatly mistaken, even in this world. But when we
come to take all others into the account, the problem
becomes much more complicated. While we love
and obtain what perfectly contents and satisfies our
selves, we must, at the same time, satisfy every one
else. Now, can you find a hundred persons in this
world so heavenly-minded, so unselfish, so homogene
ous in nature, that it would be possible for them to
form such a society ? Do you know of two persons
who have attained such perfection? But this state
must be attained before we reach heaven. Do you
not think the best of men and women must undergo
great changes before they come into this state?
Must not their understandings become greatly en
lightened, and their affections elevated and purified ?
It seems to be generally supposed that all that is
necessary to gain entrance into heaven, is the permis
sion of the Lord. But if the doors of heaven were

100 NO ONE AT ONCE FITTED FOR HEAVEN.
thrown wide open — and they are — and the Lord
should say to every one as he entered : " I freely for
give you ; I will not punish you for a single sin," and
all, as they left this world, should enter, do you think
it would be a heaven long ? We must not forget
that the character of every society is formed by the
members who compose it, and that we do not gain
any knowledge or any goodness by the mere act of
death. Is it not evident that heaven is very remote
from most of us ?
We must remember also, that all changes of cha
racter are effected by our voluntary agency. We
must learn what is true and heavenly, and do it, from
love, not from fear or compulsion, before we can enter
heaven. The kingdom of heaven must be formed
within us before we can enter into it. We find it a
very slow and difficult work here ; so slow and diffi
cult that we often despair of accomplishing it.
But suppose it were possible for the Lord by His
omnipresent power to transform us instantaneously
into angels ? Do you think we should know our
selves? I fear not. We might be angels, but I
doubt whether we should know that we were ever
men and women in this world. Is it rational to sup
pose that we can leap that mighty interval between
us, as we are in this world, and what we must and
shall be, if we ever reach heaven ? The supposition
is contrary to reason, to the nature of man, and to all
known methods of the Divine Wisdom.
Think of the great multitude of human beings who
are daily and hourly passing away from the earth

THE MULTITUDE OF THE DYING. 101
It is estimated that thirty-six millions of people die
annually. This would be three millions a month,
and a hundred thousand a day. Every twenty-four
hours a hundred thousand human beings, of all ages,
sexes, and conditions, pass into the spiritual world.
Among that vast multitude, there are many helpless
infants, children, youth ; many persons in the prime
of natural life ; many in the decrepitude of old age.
How large a portion of them are heathen, utterly
destitute of any spiritual knowledge, and with very
little knowledge of any kind. The infant is an infant
still, the child is a child, the savage a savage. All
these persons are to be provided for. We cannot
suppose the Lord deserts any of his children. We
cannot believe that this vast multitude of human
beings, differing from each other in so many respects,
each one having wants peculiar to himself, are
crowded together in one promiscuous mass. They
could not form a heaven ; they could not form a hell ;
for hell as well as heaven is a state of society deter
mined by those who compose it. They cannot be
instantaneously changed into beings fit for either
state, without destroying their identity, and con
travening all known methods of Infinite Wisdom.
Here is a large army of souls daily marching into
the spiritual world, every one of whom has the capa
cities of an angel. The greater part of them are weak
and ignorant ; their characters have not yet been
developed or permanently fixed. We can conceive
of influences under which they might be brought, if
they were to remain in this woild, that would form

102 INFANTS AND HEATHEN AFTER DEATH.
them into good men and women. Can any one enter
tain the idea, that a being of infinite love and wisdom
fails to provide every necessary means for the accom
plishment of this work, when it is the essential end
for which he created them.
What is to be done with the little child ? He is
weak, ignorant, has many evil tendencies, but he has
all the germs of angelic life. If he could remain in
this world, he might develop these germs and make
them a part of his real being. Does he lose his
opportunity of becoming an angel, by his resurrec
tion from the material body? He cannot become
one, at once, unless all the laws of the human mind
are changed. He must have the means of instruction.
His will must not be destroyed, for that would be the
destruction of the essential human principle. He
must be left in freedom, to do what he is taught.
And this implies the opportunity to exercise his affec
tions. This is the only way in which his spiritual
faculties could be developed.
What becomes of the heathen, and the great num
ber in Christian countries, who go into the spiritual
world without any knowledge of spiritual truth ?
They are children in knowledge, though adults in
years. Do you not suppose that the Lord would pro
vide for the development of those faculties, for which
they had no opportunity in this world ?
Here is a man, a type of a large class, who is a
good man at heart. He means well, and strives to
live a good life. But he has manj' evil inclinations
to contend with, many bad habits to overcome

THE BEST MEN IMPERFECT. 103
Where is there a good man or woman wlo has not?
Where is the Christian who is not oppressed, and
sometimes discouraged, as Paul was, with this con
flict? Who does not find that " When he would do
good, evil is present with him ? " and that he is com
pelled to maintain a constant warfare against false
and evil principles. The purest and best Christian
sees more clearly than any others, that he has these
two opposing natures. Indeed, none but those in
whom a true spiritual life has begun to germinate do
see and feel this antagonism. What is to be done
with that large class who embrace nearly all the
good ? They cannot carry any evil or impurity into
heaven. And, by the same law, they cannot carry
any goodness into hell. Without doing violence to
their own natures, they cannot be instantaneously
changed. I know it is generally supposed that a good man
leaves all his imperfections behind with the material
body. But there is no ground for the belief. The
body does not sin. It is just as powerless to do that
before death, as afterwards. Goodness and truth,
evil and falsity, are mental and spiritual qualities —
not material. But suppose men were instantaneously
changed at death into beings of perfect purity and
holiness, do you think they would know themselves?
Would they be the same beings? Suppose every
thing that is not heavenly to be eliminated from your
will and understanding, your affection and thought,
would it not create a great void ? I fear there would
not be much left of any of us. The result would be

104 INSTANTANEOUS CHANGE IMPOSSIBLE.
about the same, as it would to remove all the fea
tures in a deformed face but those of perfect loveli
ness and beauty. If the mind is a spiritual form, as
we have seen that it is, it would be such a change.
Who would know themselves ? But the mind cannot
be changed, except by its own consent and cooperation.
A rock or a block of dead wood can, but living
forms cannot. Such an instantaneous change, if it
were possible, would so disrupt a man's whole nature,
break all the fine and delicate laws of association, by
which his thoughts and affections are related, and
the continuity of his being is maintained, that it
would destroy him. It would be like tearing out
half the nerves of his body.
Between the vast multitude who are continually
passing into the spiritual world, and the repose,
purity, and perfection of heaven, there is, therefore,
a greater or less distance that must be passed over.
Many evil and false principles must be put off, many
truths must be learned, and many good affections
must be more fully developed. The good and the
evil, so intimately bound together and consolidated
by habit, must be disentangled ; and this must be
done so gently, that our spiritual organization will
not suffer by it. It must be done by our voluntary
cooperation. In the larger part of spirits the whole
character must be formed. And we have no evidence
that the laws of mind, in that world, are changed in
this essential principle. Character is formed by the
same process there as here.
To what conclusion, then, are we inevitably

HARMONY OF THE DIVINE OPERATIONS. 105
brought? Do not heaven, hell, the nature of man
and of the Lord, and all spiritual and Divine laws,
so far as we know anything about them, demand an
intermediate world in which spiritual beings may be
instructed and prepared for their final home, and led
to it? Is there any escape from this conclusion ? It
may be denied. So you may deny that the sun
shines. You may say that the Lord has omnipotent
power, and can effect these changes in a moment.
But you have no evidence that He will. On the
contrary, from all we know of the Divine methods,
we have no right to infer that He abandons the
relations of cause and effect, and acts in a purely
arbitrary manner in the spiritual world more than
here. Admitting, then, as I think every rational mind
must, that there is this intermediate state between us
and our eternal home, we can see how beautifully it
harmonizes with all we know of the Divine operations,
and how clearly it shows the protection and merciful
care of the Lord for His children, in every stage of
their existence, and how consistent the theory is with
all we have said in our previous lecture, concerning
the nature of man as a spiritual being and the realities
of a spiritual world.
That world is here*, is everywhere around us, and is
separated from us only by the thin veil of matter.
We are in it now, though unconscious of it. Man is
a spirit in the human form, and when the veil of mat
ter is withdrawn, it reveals to him the spiritual world
in which he was living before. He has not gone to
5*

106 RE-UNION OF FRIENDS AFTER DEATH.
any remote place. He is not changed. He sees the
beings who were around him, and just as near him,
before the veil was withdrawn from his eyes, as they
are now. He does not go among strangers, and find
everything new and wholly different from what he
has seen and known before. Says Swedenborg:
" The first state of man after death is similar to his
state in this world. He has a similar face, similar
speech, and similar moral and external life ; hence it
is that he knows no otherwise than that he is still in
the world, unless he adverts to those things which
present themselves, and to those which were said to
him by the angels when he was first raised up,
namely, that he is a spirit. Thus one life is continued
into the other, and death is only the passage."
Who cannot see in this a kind and merciful regard
for man ; such provident care as infinite love must
give to every one? You could do no less for your
children. Your weak, imperfect human love would
not only lead you, but would make it delightful to
you, to do all in your power to provide your children
with all the means for their instruction and comfort;
to secure friends for them if they were going far away
from you into some foreign country. Will not infi
nite love do as much ? It follows, from all we have
said, that this world is the place of reunion among
friends who have been separated by death. Being in
the same form as when they were in this world, their
friends can recognise them. If they were nothing but
what spirits are generally supposed to be, such recog
nition would be impossible. But if they have the

THOUGHT SPIRITUAL PRESENCE. 107
same form and the same features, and if all persons
carry with them all things of their memory, so that
the most trivial incident they have ever known or
seen can be recalled to them, it would follow that
they could hardly fail to meet and be recognised by
their friends.
When we found that we were real human beings,
in a substantial human form, and were in a real
world, our first thought would naturally be about our
friends who had gone before us. Would not the
mother, whose children had been removed before her,
first inquire for them, and rejoice with unspeakable
delight when they were restored to her? Would
not the wife or husband, bound to each by the
strongest and tenderest ties, but long separated by
death, seek each other and rejoice in being once more
united ? Could it be otherwise ? Friend would seek
friend, and all whose lives had been united by com
mon pursuits and common affections, would find each
other, and according to the mutual affinities of their
natures they would associate together.
This would necessarily result from a universal law
of spiritual life, a law that operates in this world as
well as in the spiritual. When we think of another,
we imagine how he looks ; we present him before us.
If we were in the spiritual world he would actually
stand before us. Thought is spiritual presence,
Suppose, for example, a mother, when she was fully
aware that she was in the spiritual world, should
think of some beloved son or daughter; she would
have in her mind a perfect picture of her child, and

108 REMOVAL OF THE VEIL OF MATTER.
the being who was the counterpart of that picture
would stand before her, not merely as an image in a
mirror, but as a real presence, and would greet her
and embrace her with as ardent an affection as ever
in this world.
There friend meets friend ; families, apparently
broken up by death, are again reunited ; the child is
restored to the bereaved parent, and all whose hearts
have been bound together by mutual affection find
each other and associate together, according to their
spiritual affection for each other in this world. What
a comforting hope does this truth hold out to every
bereaved heart ?
But while the Lord has mercifully provided that
the change from this world to the spiritual world
should appear to be very small at first, that there
may be no break in the continuity of our being, the
real change is very great. We are free from the im
pediments of the material body. We throw off the
burden we have carried so long, and the spiritual
body becomes subject to spiritual forces alone. The
senses are uncovered. No dead matter comes between
them and spiritual objects, and their acuteness and
delicacy are wonderfully increased.
A veil is taken away from all the mental faculties,
the perception becomes acute, the understanding clear,
the reason sharp to discern all the relations of various
truths ; ideas can be perfectly represented to the senses
in spiritual forms, and the mind has every facility for
rapid and comprehensive development; and though
the distance to our final home is great, we mav soou

THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN. 109
pass over it That depends, however, upcn how
much we have to unlearn, which is always a more
difficult task than to learn, and how much affection
we have for the truth. Some are but a few days in
throwing off all that is not homogeneous to their
essential characters, while others struggle along for
years. Children learn far more rapidly than in this
world, and they have this immense advantage, they
learn only the truth, and consequently they have
nothing to unlearn ; every new truth is a step for
ward. They have teachers, also, who know how to
touch the secret springs of their life, and to adapt
their instruction in the most perfect manner to every
state. And they are not only taught the truth, but
they are continually applying it to life. They use it
as they learn it. Thus they are prepared to become
angels in heaven. It is necessary that they should
begin life in this world in a material body, but it is
not necessary that they should remain long in it.
This world of spirits is common ground for all who
dwell in the spiritual world. The angels visit it when
they can be of any service to any spirit who dwells
there, and there is open, conscious, and delightful
intercourse with those heavenly beings. In that world,
also, they are near to us, for that world is here, and
they are continually performing kind offices for us,
doing far more for us than our best friends here can
do ; and when we are about to leave this world, and
take the next great step in life, they stand around us
and assist us with the most loving and assiduous care.
Thus, in our journey towards our eternal home, we

110 THIS WORLD FOR EVER LEFT BEHIND.
are attended by the purest and noblest beings, and
there is no break in the continuity of our life. From
conception to birth, from birth into this world to our
birth into the spiritual world, and from that through
eternity, every step follows by natural sequence from
the preceding. There are no fathomless gulfs to
cross, no steps to retrace, no dispersion of any ele
ments that will ever be essential to us. We shall
always leave behind everything that has ceased to
serve us. We shall always find the world we dwell
in keeping even pace with the development of our
spiritual natures, that we may have the fullest and
widest scope for the exercise of every faculty, and
the attainment of every joy.

LECTURE VI.
THE JUDGMENT OF MAN.

The subject to which I invite your attention this
evening has been the theme of much eloquent dis
course. The poet and the orator have delighted to
portray its tragic and terrible scenes; to hold them
up as a warning to the wicked, and to present them
as powerful motives to repentance and amendment
of life. It is regarded by multitudes as the greatest
and most dreadful event in human history ; as the
culmination of all human affairs, and the final settle
ment of all human conditions. It is the final settle
ment. Judgment is pronounced upon every human
being ; it will be pronounced upon you and upon me,
and from that judgment there can be no appeal. Its
decisions are irrevocable. It is of the utmost impor
tance, therefore, to us to know how the trial is to be
made, and according to what principles the judgment
will be rendered.
Before entering directly upon the subject, let us
glance backwards, and take our bearings from the

112 RE-STATEMENT OF PREVIOUS POINTS.
principles we have endeavored to establish, and see
what light they throw upon the question before us.
I do not wish to state personal opinions, merely.
No opinion or theory is of any value unless it is true ;
unless it is according to the order established in the
nature of man by Infinite Wisdom. If we can find
that order, we shall find the truth, we shall find har
mony ; and so long as we follow it, we can never go
astray. In my former lectures I have aimed to show that
spirit is a substance, and is capable of existing in
various organic and inorganic forms ; that there can
be, therefore, and is, a real and substantial spiritual
world ; that man is essentially a spirit in the human
form, organized of spiritual substances ; that death is
really his resurrection from the material body, and a
regular and orderly step in life ; a step he would
have taken if he had never sinned ; that he rises in
the world of spirits, the same being with the same
character that he left this world. He has the same
form, the same features, the same knowledges, and the
same affections. The infant is an infant, the youth
is a youth ; the ignorant gain no knowledge, the wise
lose none. The savage is a savage still. The evil
have the same evils, and the good abhor wickedness
and love purity and truth the same as ever.
These human beings, in all states of moral, intel
lectual, and spiritual character, are pouring into the
world of spirits more than sixty a minute. At this
rate the whole population of this vast city would be
removed in ten days. If this grand levy of death

THE CLASSIFICATION OF SPIRITS. 113
was limited to this country alone, in one year it would
take every man, woman, and child, and leave these
great cities and this vast territory without inhabitant.
These people, according to our belief, are never to
return to this world. The material body is never to
be resumed. Their resurrection is already accom
plished. Their judgment must, therefore, take place
in the world of spirits, where all great judgments
have been and will be effected. The judgment which
John describes in the Revelation took place in the
spiritual world.
What is to be done with this great, seething, in
congruous mass of humanity ? If the Lord is a
Being of infinite wisdom and mercy, He could not
permit this vast multitude to remain promiscuously
together. This would be a most terrible fate, unless
their natures have become totally changed. If they
are nothing but vital principles, or mere shadows of
a shade, flitting around in the empty realms of space,
being nobody and nothing, they would need no care.
But if they are, as we believe, real human beings, with
human hearts throbbing with human desires; with
intellects thirsting for truth ; with affections hunger
ing for love ; with passions stimulating them to
intense activity ; they must come under the power of
law, and be arranged into societies, in which each
individual will sustain some definite relations to all
others. Is it not so ? They could not live together
in this world without some discrimination of charac
ter, arrangement into classes, and the establishment
of definite relations ; and unless they lose their indi

114 WHY THE GOOD AND EVIL ARE SEPARATED.
viduality, they cannot, there. Happiness would not
be possible with such a commingling and contact of
incongruous elements.
But besides this assemblage of opposite and repel
lent characters, there are many opposing and inhar
monious elements in individual minds. There are
few, if any, who are so good that they have no evils
and falsities ; and there are few, if any, who are so
wicked that they have not some apparently true prin
ciples and good traits of character. A great number
have no established character ; infants and children
certainly have none. Our happiness depends upon
the degree and quality of our affections, and their
harmonious activities. There can be no heaven
where there is no knowledge, and no affection, or
where the various affeotions are in conflict with each
other. The nature of man, when he rises in the world of
spirits, requires that these conflicting elements shall
be eliminated from his character. All his progress
depends upon it. It requires also that the good and
evil shall be separated, and that only those of conge
nial characters shall associate with each other. The
happiness of the evil as well as the good requires
this, and the Lord regards their happiness, as much
as he does that of the good. He has declared that
He is kind to the evil and to the unthankful. A
wicked man is never so unhappy as when he is com
pelled to live in the society of the good. He is com
pelled to act under restraint. His evil principles are
continually assaulted. But let him get among his

THE CONFLICT OF GOOD AND EVIL IN MAN. 115
companions, and he feels that he regains his freedom,
for he can act out freely his desires. He is lesa
miserable, also, when his whole character is evil and
false, than when it is composed of conflicting ele
ments. We see abundant evidence of this truth in
this life. A thoroughly bad man, a man who loves
evil, and has persuaded himself that evil is good and
the false true, is not so miserable as the man who
knows what is good and true, but loves what is evil
and false. The man who believes it is right to make
the best bargain for himself that he can, as many men
do, is delighted when be overreaches another and
makes money out of him ; while another, whose
greed of gain overcomes his principles, would be tor
mented by his consciousness of having done wrong.
It is of the Lord's mercy, therefore, that the character
of the evil as well as the good shall become homo
geneous, and that the conflict between them shall
cease, when it can be of no more service to man.
In this world every one has two characters, a real
and an apparent one. A bad man can appear to be
very good. He can be very polite. He can assume
all the airs of virtue and innocence; be kind and
attentive to others ; he can even preach and pray and
exhort others to live a good life. Every one can
conceal his real feelings. He can speak differently
from what he thinks, even when he has no intention
of deceiving. A good man knows he has two na
tures. Two opposite characters are struggling in him
for the mastery. In the New Church we call these
two characters, the internal and the external man.

116 THE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL MAN.
The internal is the real man. The external some
times acts in harmony with the internal, and some
times does not. We know from our own experience,
from observation and history, that the internal and
real character gradually gains the ascendancy even in
this world, and brings the external, and even the
body, into conformity with it to some extent. Vice
graves its ugly lineaments on the face so clearly, that
every one can see them. The habitual exercise of a
pure and good affection, changes even a homely face
into its own likeness. This work must continue to
go on until the external and internal become one, and
the whole being is perfectly homogeneous. Every
one can see that no one could enter heaven until this
perfect unity between the external and the internal
was effected.
This external man is not the material body. We
carry it with us when we go into the spiritual world,
and when we are first raised up we can pretend to be
what we are not. The hypocrite is a hypocrite still;
and though a wolf in nature, he may and would try
to deceive others by putting on the sheep's clothing
of goodness and truth. The man who has been
externally religious and devout, hoping thereby to
gain entrance into heaven, though evil at heart, will
still be devout. Every one carries his whole charac
ter with him. His character is himself.
The whole question of judgment is simply the ar
rangement of these people into societies; bringing
them into true and orderly relations to each other, and
leading them by their own affections to their final

HOW JUDGMENT IS EFFECTED. 117
abode. I say, leading them by their own affectic ns,
for the Lord always respects a man's personality. He
never violates his freedom. That is the essential hu
man principle, and to destroy that would be to destroy
the man himself.
Our doctrines teach us that this judgment is effected
in the following manner. When man first rises in
the spiritual world, he is received by the angels with
the utmost kindness, whether he is good or evil. All
are welcomed alike. Every attention is paid to them
and everything is done for them, that it is in the
power of the angels to do. When the persons find
they are in a real world, and are themselves real hu
man beings, they begin to inquire about heaven, and
desire to know whether thjy are likely to gain entrance
into it. The angels then instruct them concerning the
nature of heaven and heavenly happiness. Here the
real character begins to show itself. Those who have
the kingdom of heaven within them, that is, those
who love the principles which constitute a heavenly
life, listen with delighted attention to what the angels
tell them ; while the evil, who have no real love for
goodness and truth, are listless and inattentive, and
desire to turn to other subjects. Those who have an
angelic nature delight to remain with the angels and
be instructed by them; but those who are evil at
heart grow uneasy and restless, and desire to leave
them ; whicluthey are always permitted to do. But
others of a different genius, and better adapted to their
states, attend them and introduce them to various so
cieties, where they remain as long as it is agreeable tc

118 SPIRITUAL AFFINITIES.
them, and when they desire it, they depart to others ,
and they continue to do this, until they find those who
are in a similar state of affection, and consequently
congenial to them.
This change from one society to another is not acci
dental, nor is it effected in an arbitrary manner. But
they are drawn by a spiritual attraction ; by the secret
but powerful affinities of their natures. They are also
at the same time undergoing great personal changes.
They are in a world where all spiritual forces operate
more directly and powerfully upon them than in this.
The ruling love rapidly subdues all things to itself.
The will and the understanding become united. The
external becomes subject to the internal and the per
fect form of it. If the essential character is evil, it
will be acted out in speech and deed. All restraints
will be cast off. There will be no regard for public
opinion, no shame for their wickedness. They will
rather glory in it.
The will and the understanding being united, they
cannot even think of anything good and true, and the
whole form becomes changed into the similitude and
perfect expression of their evil wills. The same prin
ciples apply to those who are interiorly good. All
which is not in accordance with their ruling love,
which is essentially love to the Lord and the neighbor,
is put off. They are freed from everything which re
strained its activities. Their whole form becomes the
similitude of their affection. It glows in their faces,
and every feature becomes moulded into a heavenly
beauty. It is heard in the tones of the voice, which

MAN'S FREEDOM NEVER VIOLATED. 119
express it in every modulation. It speaks in every
limb and motion of the body. The whole form is the
embodied and varied expression of the essential cha
racter. Thus the good and the evil are separated and
drawn away from each other, by the inevitable attrac
tions and repulsions of their natures. And the great
gulf that finally separates them is in their souls. " They
are judged according to the deeds done in the body,"
that is, according to their characters. Their allotment
is not in any sense arbitrary. They choose their own
lot. And the Lord does all he can for the evil as well
as the good. But what He can do for each one de
pends upon what he can receive.
This is a very brief statement of the manner in
which, according to our doctrines, every one is judged.
Let us now examine some of the reasons on which this
doctrine is founded.
It is executed with the most delicate and perfect re
gard to man's freedom. That is never violated. He
is not forced to any course of conduct or bound to any
society against his will. He is not driven away from
heaven and the Lord. On the contrary, every effort
is made to bring him into communion with the good,
and to make him happy. His identity and the conti
nuity of his being is preserved. Instead of losing it,
he becomes more perfectly himself: all that is extra
neous to him is discarded ; every thought and desire
acts in perfect harmony, and even the outward form
is the exact similitude of the internal character.
It is in perfect harmony with all we know of the
nature of man as an intellectual and spiritual being

120 THE LAW OF ASSOCIATION.
It is only carrying out to perfection, under the most
favorable conditions, those spiritual laws which we see
in full and universal operation here, and which, if
man continues the same being, must operate in the
spiritual world.
We know, for example, that we are drawn together
in this world by similarity of tastes, habits, pursuits.
and character. It is true, there is much that is arbi
trary and factitious in our associations, and there are
many obstacles that prevent those of similar natures
from finding each other, and coming together. But
we are always struggling against them and endeavor
ing to overcome them. A knowledge of the same
mechanical employment, or the study of the same
science, the practice of the same profession or art,
draws people together into societies and more or less
intimate associations, and forms a common ground on
which they can stand. When the tastes and habits
are similar, the union is more intimate, and its bonds
are stronger. The more interior the ground of sym
pathy, the more powerful the attraction. Thus, those
who love the same spiritual truths, find in them a
most powerful bond of union. These fine and delicate
but powerful affinities, are to men what attraction is
to matter. They are universal in their operation in
every plane and degree of the creation. It is the Di
vine method of combining all beings and all things
into some degree of unity. There are many obstacles
to this unity from interior grounds in this world, owing
to our selfish and worldly loves ; and we are compelled
to seek by outward restraints and force, by external

ITS APPLICATION TO SPIRITS. 121
laws and arbitrary punishments, a kind of formal or
legal unity. It is, however, at the best, a very exter
nal and imperfect bond.
Can any one suppose that the Lord abandons his
universal methods, embodied in rock and plant, in
beast and bird, and in the inmost nature of man, a law
so perfect that no one can escape from its influence ; a
law that is self-executing? Does the Lord abandon
this law, reverse his own methods, when man comes
into a world where there would be no obstacles to
their perfect operation? How can any rational mind
entertain so absurd an idea !
The doctrines of the New Church simply carry out
this universal principle to its legitimate conclusions.
They have the logic of the Divine order as it is em
bodied in the creation and in the hearts and minds of
men. It is a conclusion also which every good and
every wicked man must desire, if he understands his
own nature. A wicked man cannot be happy in the
presence of the good. Heaven would be a perfect
hell to him. What delight could a supremely worldly
and selfish man find in loving the Lord and the neigh
bor? In doing good to others? What pleasure could
the impure find in purity? the proud in humility?
the ambitious and tyrannical in serving others?
Their whole nature must be reversed before they
could find any delight in these heavenly virtues.
What we inmostly and really love is what we call
good. It is and ever must be the measure of our
good, and must determine its quality. We can no
more escape from it than we can escape from, the law»
6

122 WHAT CONSTITUTES HAPPINESS.
of gravitation. Men desire to escape from hell be
cause it is a place of torment ; and to go to heaven be
cause they think it is a place of happiness. But they
forget that what is happiness for one is torment to
another. They forget that freedom from punishment
is not happiness. If every law was abolished in the
land, and every penitentiary levelled with the ground,
it would have no effect in making wicked men delight
in what is good. They would rejoice, no doubt, that
they could freely indulge in their wicked desires. But
these would soon react upon them in some form of
punishment, and in the end they would gain no hap
piness by it. No. If those heavenly principles,
which constitute the kingdom of God, are not formed
within us — if we have not made them our own, by ac
tual life — we can never taste a heavenly joy. We
pronounce judgment upon ourselves, in the spiritual
world, in the same way we do in this world. The
wicked man seeks hell there as he does here, because
he is drawn to it by his infernal delights — the only
delights he is capable of enjoying; and he is drawn
to it by the current of his desires, as a vessel is drawn
to the ocean by the current of a stream.
The change which takes place in their own persons
by which each one becomes externally the form of
his own interior affection, is also the effect of laws
which we see in universal operation here ; and when
carried out to their legitimate effects, they must pro
duce the results onr doctrines ascribe to them, unless
they are arrested in their course in some miraculous
manner and the whole nature of the human mind is

THE OUTWARD FORM OF SPIRITS. 123
changed. The soul being an organized form expresses
its thoughts and affections by changes of form, and,
even the material body conforms to its action. Under
the influence of powerful passions the material body
seems to be, as it were, fused in their fires, and cast
into their mould. The same affection or passion always
expresses itself in a similar form ; and those forms
are universally recognised as the natural expression
of the corresponding affection. All representative
art in painting and sculpture is founded upon this
immutable law. The mind is the great sculptor,
and, line by line, traces its own habitual moods and
states of affection upon the body and moulds it into
its likeness. Every passion and affection leaves its
own marks. Invisible or evanescent at first, they
gradually come out in clearer lines and more perma
nent forms, until the whole body becomes changed
into their similitude, and the hidden affection is spread
like a banner over the face, and the secret thought is
proclaimed in every tone of the voice and movement
of the limbs.
If this is true of so hard and intractable a substance
as the material body, how much more must it be true
of those spiritual substances, which yield readily to
the plastic forces of the will I If a man in this world
who habitually indulges in any lust, is gradually but
surely changed into the forms of that lust so that he
becomes the embodiment of it, how much more will
the spiritual body become permanently moulded into
the exact image and likeness of the interior and real
affection.

124 THE GOOD AND EVIL MUTUALLY REPULSIVE.
When our doctrines teach, therefore, that every
essentially wicked man becomes the form of his own
evil, so that it is written all over him ; flashes from
his eye, croaks and grates in his voice ; forms its
infernal ugliness in every line of the face, twists the
limbs and knots the muscles into its own deformities,
and makes the whole spiritual organization the em
bodiment of its inverted, disorderly, misshapen and
repulsive self, they only state a universal law ; a law
that the child understands ; a law that you judge and
act from every day. And if it is a punishment too
awful to contemplate, to be for ever the embodiment
of some infernal lust — to be so hideous and repulsive
to every pure and good being that they would shrink
from us with horror — we cannot say it was a punish
ment inflicted by the Lord. He has ever done all in
his power to save us from it. The law is beneficent
in its action. It is the same law that makes the angel
the embodiment of a loveliness and beauty which no
words can describe and no art can adequately repre
sent. If these changes in the external form do actually
take place in the evil and the good until the external
and the internal become homogeneous, you can readily
understand that it would take no Divine edict and
Almighty power to separate them. They would be a
terror to each other. They would flee from each
other, and thus the sheep would be divided from the
goats, and each would seek his own companions,
and his own home. And it would be done without
the violation of his freedom ; it would be accomplish-

THE BOOK OF LIFE. 125
ed by means of it. There would be no violation or
suspension of universal laws, and the end would be
perfectly accomplished, and by the simplest means, as
the Lord always accomplishes His end. The book of
each one's life is opened, for the book of life is the
internal and real character, and each one is judged
out of the things written in that book ; and all that
it contains has been written by the deeds done in the
body. Thus every one is judged according to his
deeds. These books are opened as the Lord opens
every book of life, not in a forcible and arbitrary
manner, but by the orderly and harmonious develop
ment of what is really written in them.
This method of judgment is perfectly illustrated by
the Divine methods we see in operation everywhere
around us. Here are two seeds somewhat similar
in outward form, perhaps ; but internally they are
totally different. How shall we judge them ? How
shall we estimate their true value and assign them
their proper place in the paradise of the garden, the
orchard, the field, or the hell of fire ? Shall we weigh
them? Shall we measure them? Shall we compare
their colors and form ? Shall we send them to the
chemists or examine them by any outward test? They
would all fail. By none of these methods could we
discover their real character, which is written in invisi
ble lines on the delicate and folded leaves of their
closed book. There is only one way to learn their
character, and that is to open the book and read their
past history and the sure prophecy of the future,
every event of which is written there. But how shall

126 ILLUSTRATION FROM SEEDS.
we open the book, sealed with seven seals ? And if
we could open it, how shall we read what is invisible
to mortal eye, and written in forms which no finite
mind can understand ? How can we compel or per
suade them to give up their history ? We will plant
them. The sun and the rain and the secret forces
that pervade the earth and penetrate all things will
loose their seals and open the book. We put them in
a rich soil and a genial climate. When we first plant
them, they have the same form as ever. But soon
they begin to change. They may seem to perish ; but
they do not. A little stalk pushes itself above the
ground, and delicate leaves begin to unfold from it.
You cannot yet tell whether it is vine, or shrub, or
tree. You give to each plant the best culture you
can. You use no partiality. Both grow. Branches
push out from the increasing stem. Summer and
winter pass, and yet you may not be able to read
what is written in the book of their lives. In time
their inward forms unfold into leaves ; but every twig
and leaf of the one is armed with thorns which pierce
you. They cover themselves with the glory of blos
soms. Both fill the air with odors, but the odor
of one is fetid and poisonous; the other sweet,
delicate, and grateful. You now begin to discover
their real character. They are proclaiming it to every
breeze. They mature their fruit. The one is pun
gent, bitter, poisonous, and fills every one who eats
with pain and disease ; the other is sweet, delicious,
wholesome, nourishing ; gives delight and health to
every one who partakes it. Now the book is opened :

HOW JUDGMENT IS PRONOUNCED. 127
the meanings of its characters are all so plainly reveal
ed, that beast and bird, and even insect and worm,
can understand them. " By their fruits ye shall know
them." How simple and orderly the process ! How
inevitable the result 1 There is no chance for escape.
There is no room for error.
So the Lord judges man. He is not arraigned
before some awful tribunal, surrounded with incon
ceivable terrors, every evil thought and sinful act of
his whole life brought before his consciousness, and
made to testify against him ; he has no formal, legal
trial according to an arbitrary law, like a criminal
before a civil court. Nor is the judgment pronounced
before the assembled universe, in tones of thunder,
and with flashes of fierce wrath, that the face of the
poor sinner may be covered with confusion and shame,
and his soul filled with awful terrors. His Creator,
his Father, his Saviour, who has ever loved him with
an infinite love, does all He can for him. He gives
him every opportunity to show the best he is, and to
obtain the highest good he can receive. He does not
drive him away ; he goes away of his own accord, in
the pursuit of what he regards as his highest good.
The Lord and the angels do not close the doors of
heaven against him. He has closed them against him
self by not having them open in his own heart, as the
man in this world would close the gates of the sun
against himself by putting out his own eyes. The
Lord does not seek to expose him for the purpose of
putting him to shame, but he gives him every facility
fo'r proving what he really is, by becoming the form

128 THE BOOK OF LIFE WRITTEN HERE.
of his ruling or essential love, that he may find hia
own place and be recognised in it ; that he may not
be a torment to others, and that they may not be a
torment to him. The Lord does not condemn him.
He condemns himself. The Lord loves him, and
would gladly draw him to himself, and pour into his
heart the glowing currents of his own life. But that
would torment and consume him. So he does the
best He can for him ; and He does it according to the
laws of His immutable and infinitely wise order.
Can you conceive of a better method of trial and
judgment than this? It is in perfect accordance with
infinite love. The tenderest pity and mercy itself
could do no more. It is as certain in its results as
infinite wisdom and omnipotent power can make it.
The wicked can no more fail of condemnation, than
the evil seed can fail of bearing evil fruit. By the
operation of the same principles, those who have any
love for goodness and truth cannot fail to receive all
that they have the capacity to enjoy. The result is
inevitable, and the Divine goodness, justice, and mercy,
are equally displayed in the method and the result.
You will observe also, that according to this method
of trial and judgment, the result is pre-determined in
this world, for it is in this world that the character
was formed. The book was written here. As the
history of the future plant, as it is embodied in the
seed, was written in the tree that bore the seed. The
world of spirits is not a place of probation, but simply
a world where many obstructions are removed, and
many influences, more powerful and better adapted tc

THE REAL TERROR OF JUDGMENT. 129
the reduction of every external principle to perfect
harmony with the essential ruling love, can be brought
to bear upon every soul.
You will see also that it abates none of the real
terrors of a final judgment. If it is not attended
with the picturesque and sublime, and I may add
impossible scenes, which are generally associated with
this great event, it is, if possible, more terrible and
certain in its results, and much more consonant with
all we know of the Divine Laws, and with the infi
nite mercy of the Lord. And in its results it is in
perfect harmony with the sacred Scriptures, and in its
forms and methods also when they are properly
understood. In discussing this subject I have endeavored to
adhere to my simple plan, which was to take certain
principles, generally admitted in some form to be
true, and carry them out to their legitimate conse
quences, and in this manner show that the doctrines
of the New Church are based on the immutable laws
of the Divine Order ; and so far as we know, that
they are in perfect harmony with them.
I have not quoted largely from the Bible, even
when I might have done so, nor from any other book,
because I have not sought to establish a doctrine by
any other authority than that of the truth itself. I
may fail in so arduous an undertaking. I doubtless
shall fail in the opinion of some of you. But you
will all acknowledge, that, if any doctrines of spiritual
truth can be established upon the immutable order of
the Divine Wisdom, and can be shown to be in per-
6*

130 REASONABLE BASIS OF OUR DOCTRINES.
feet harmony with all the Divine methods, so far as
they come under our observation ; and if they are in
perfect consonance with the sacred Scriptures, they
must take their place with the mathematics and other
established sciences, and carry irresistible conviction
of their truth to every rational mind. We believe
the doctrines and philosophy of the New Church
have this basis, and we can conceive of no greater
service to humanity than to make them known, and
to show the true grounds on which they are to be
received.

LECTURE VII.
MAN'S PREPARATION FOR HIS FINAL HOME.

It was the aim of my last Lecture to show, that
the judgment of every one takes place after the death
of the material body, and his resurrection into the
world of spirits; according to the saying of the
Apostle, " It is appointed unto men once to die, and
after death the judgment." The world of spirits is,
therefore, the august judgment-hall, where man's
trial is held, and the verdict rendered. He is not,
however, arraigned before any tribunal, and ac
quitted or condemned according to any arbitrary
law. He is simply placed in the most favorable
conditions — conditions which could only be found in
the spiritual world — for the evolution of his real
character. The good man is drawn into the societies
of the good by the power of his spiritual affinities.
By the same power the wicked man is attracted
to those of a nature similar to his own. At the
same time, the external and the internal character
become united. Everything is cast aside which is

132 HOW THE WICKED ARE CONDEMNED.
not in perfect harmony with the ruling love. Every
one speaks as he thinks, and acts as he desires ; and
finally becomes the perfect form of his own good or
evil. The features of his face, the tone of his voice,
the expression of his eye, his gestures, his walk, and
his whole form and deportment, are the perfect em
bodiment and expression of his will. This great
change is not effected in an arbitrary manner by
Omnipotent power, but in perfect accordance with
laws which we see in constant operation in this
world. Each person condemns or acquits himself
by simply becoming what he really is. The wicked
man throws off all his disguises ; the good man is
freed from all the natural evils which he had com
bated in this life, but from which he could never
entirely free himself. And as the real character be
comes known, unlike natures are repelled from each
other, and like are attracted to like. In this way
the judgment is effected, and the sentence pro
nounced by each one upon himself. The wicked are
condemned out of their own mouths ; by their own
form, by their own acts, by their own choice, and of
their own accord, they go to their own place. All
the preparation they need is simply to be stripped of
all their disguises. They need no instruction in the
evil and false, and they will receive none in what is
good and true.
But with the good, and with all who have not
confirmed themselves in evil, who have not esta
blished a decidedly evil character, it is not so. Being
essentially good, or having the capacities for the re-

HEAVEN MORE THAN ESCAPE FROM HELL. 133
ception of the Divine life, which have not become
destroyed or permanently obstructed by evil, they
can receive truth corresponding to the state of their
affections. They enter upon a third state, which is
a state of instruction and special preparation for
heaven. This is the topic of our discourse to-night.
I am to show the necessity for instruction, its nature,
and the methods by which it is given.
The necessity for instruction is evident from the
nature of heaven, and the state of those who are to
be introduced into it. Heaven is not merely escape
from the punishment of sin. If the Lord should
offer a free pardon to every one, it would not make
him any better. It would not form the kingdom of
heaven within him. It would not create a single
heavenly affection, or give the understanding a sin
gle truth. Heaven is not a negative, but a positive
state. When we are weary, we think of heaven as
a place of rest ; and by rest most persons mean in
action, or at least freedom from the labors, the
cares, the anxieties and disappointments of this life.
And so it is. But this is only what it is not; the
causes of pain which are not there. Permanent in
action is not rest; it is death. It is blindness in
the eye, deafness in the ear, darkness in the intel
lect, and torpor in the heart. The rest of heaven is
not inaction, but the harmonious and orderly activity
of all the spiritual faculties ; an activity which does
not exhaust, but rather increases our powers. All
delight originates in some faculty of the will or of the
understanding. Heaven, then, must depend upon

134 THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF HAPPINESS.
what we love, what we know, and our ability to carry
our will into successful effect.
A little reflection upon what constitutes the es
sential elements of happiness, will make this clear
to our minds. We are happy when we attain what
we desire or love. There are three things, then, es
sential to happiness: the will or love, which gives
rise to the desire to obtain certain ends, which we
call good ; the understanding or truth, which shows
us how to obtain them ; and the actual attainment
of the ends we seek. If either of these elements is
wanting, we fail of happiness. If there is no will,
there is no motive power, and there will be no ac
tion, though there may be the greatest amount of
knowledge. If there are ardent desires and little
wisdom, we must be subject to perpetual failure. If
there is a powerful will and extensive knowledge,
but some physical or other hindrance which prevents
their ultimation in act, the whole soul is filled with
pain. The utter inability to obtain the gratification
of our desires is the most prolific cause of our unhap-
piness. Supposing these essentials to be secured ; then the
degree of our happiness will be measured by the
purity and largeness of the will, and the extent of
the understanding. For example : Here is a man of
feeble will and little knowledge. He has but few
wants, and those are easily satisfied. He is contented
with little. He is happy according to the degree of
his desires, and the extent of his knowledge. Another
man has a powerful will, and a corresponding under-

OUR AFFECTIONS THE MEASURE OF IT. 135
standing. He has a wide range of affinities and
tastes. He enjoys art, delights in music, has a keen
perception of natural beauty, an ardent love foi
science, enters with real zest into a wide intercourse
with the wise and good ; is a warm friend, and his
whole soul is attuned to the refined and delicate joys
of domestic life, and all his faculties are alive to
everything beautiful, true, and good in nature and
man. A person with such endowments may enjoy
more in one day than the other in a year.
Our happiness in this or the spiritual world, then,
reust depend upon the breadth and depth and purity
of our affections ; a corresponding extent of know
ledge; and the ability to attain the ends our affec
tions desire. When the will, the understanding, and
the ultimate effect, correspond, and act in perfect
harmony, our happiness will be in proportion to their
extent. The larger our affections, the wider the
range, and the more various our affinities, the more
numerous and exquisite must be our joys.
Man's spiritual nature consists essentially of the
will and the understanding. The will is the recepta
cle of good, and the understanding of truth. The
happiness and peace of heaven consist in the perfect
union of the will and the understanding. As they
expand they must keep equal pace with each other,
or the balance of force is lost, and the harmony and
peace are destroyed. As the affections expand by
exercise, knowledge must correspondingly increase.
We must be learners, then, for ever. The moment
we cease to be capable of gaining more truth, we

136 NECESSITY FOR INSTRUCTING SPIRITS.
reach the limits of our happiness, and either remain
stationary, or, if our desires increase, as they must,
we begin to be tormented with disappointments.
Now, if we revert to the actual condition of per
sons who have passed into the world of spirits, and
who have not confirmed themselves in evils, we shall
see the absolute necessity for instruction.
A verj' large part are infants and children, who
have no knowledge of spiritual things, and no esta
blished character, either good or evil. Great numbers
also are children in knowledge and spiritual life,
though adult in natural age. They have never
sinned against light. They never had any rational
knowledge of their spiritual natures, and their ac
countability to God, nor any means of obtaining it.
This, we know, must be the condition of by far the
greatest number of persons, when they leave this
world. They have lived according to the knowledge
they had ; perhaps have lived more fully in accord
ance with it than those who have had much greater
light. To say the least, they have not formed any
character in determined opposition to the truth, for
they have had no means of doing it. They are,
therefore, substantially in the same state as children.
Many Christians have lived good lives, but have
believed in some false doctrine. They have been
honest and sincere in their opinions ; they have be
lieved what they were taught in childhood; what
they have learned from men, whom they regarded
as thoroughly informed upon all spiritual, subjects.
But they are mistaken.

KNOWLEDGE MUST BE TAUGHT. 137
We know that this is so. We know that our own
views of the same doctrines change. We call the
doctrine by the same name, perhaps, but it is not the
same doctrine to us that it was once. No man but
the most narrow bigot, can deny that there are good
men in all religious denominations ; and no rational
mind can admit, that the belief of every good man
and woman is true in every particular, because they
are exactly opposite in some points. It necessarily
follows that they will need instruction.
But even the most intelligent minds are in doubt
upon many subjects concerning spiritual things.
There are very few persons who, by their own con
fession, have any distinct, and much less any rational
idea of the nature of the spiritual world, of heaven
and hell, and of what they themselves will be after
death. Now, if it is true, as I have endeavored to
show, that the spiritual world is a real world, and
that men are real human beings, having gained no
knowledge and lost none by death, the conclusion is
inevitable, that there would be very few, if any, who
would not need instruction. They would have the
same belief on first entering the spiritual world, that
they had when they left this. They cannot enter
heaven with any falsity, for, by the very nature of
heaven, every thought and affection must be in per
fect harmony. Knowledge is not gained by mere
entrance into the spiritual world. They would ad
here to their belief with more or less tenacity, accord
ing to the degree in which they had confirmed it.
And it might require much instruction and much

138 WHAT IS TAUGHT TO SPIRITS.
positive evidence of its falsity before they would give
it up. We all know by our own experience, how
slow we are to reject opinions which have become
thoroughly established in our minds. It is like
taking away our very life to part with them.
The instruction given would evidently be in those
principles which constitute the kingdom of heaven.
They would be taught the existence of one God.
now large a part of the human race do not know
that simple and fundamental truth. They would be
taught the true nature of His essential attributes!
How little is known, even among professing Chris
tians, concerning them ! How diverse, and even op
posite, are the conceptions of good men who have the
Bible, and who are really desirous of living accord
ing to His commandments. Some regard Jesus Christ
as God ; others believe Him to be a mere man. Some
regard Him as one person in a trinity of Beings whom
they call God ; and while they say one God with their
lips, they have three distinct persons in their minds.
If there is this difference among Christians, how great
must be the diversity of opinion among others ; there
is the same diversity of belief concerning His char
acter. He is all mercy to one, and all anger to
another. To one he is a tender and loving Father ;
to another a stern and inflexible judge. He cannot
be all that men conceive Him to be, and they cannot
come into harmonious relations to Him until they
have a true knowledge of His character.
They would be taught what is really good and true
in life. Many persons are honestly in doubt upon a

NO END TO SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. 139
multitude of subjects which relate to practical life.
But they cannot take these doubts to heaven. That
is no place for trial ; for the rectification of opinions.
The grand themes of instruction, therefore, would be
the real nature of man as a spiritual being, and of
the Lord as a Divine being, and the relations which
exist between all beings. We learn something upon
these subjects here, but how little ! How imperfect
that little ! How much it is blended with fallacies
and positive errors 1 How various and contradictory
are the opinions honestly entertained concerning the
nature of heaven and heavenly joys I It is a very
common doctrine, that the happiness of heaven will
consist mainly in perpetual adoration and praise. If
the doctrine is not true, how disappointed those will
be who have firmly believed it. If it is true, how
many more will fail to find their true idea of happi
ness. Truth is infinite ; there is no danger that there
will be any lack of subjects, upon which most persons
will need instruction. Especially since in this world
we see, as through a glass darkly, and our clearest
knowledge concerning spiritual and Divine things is
mingled with so many fallacies and appearances.
There is every reason to believe, therefore, that we
shall become learners for ever. But there will be
many circumstances which will greatly facilitate our
acquisition of a knowledge of spiritual truth.
1. We shall be freed from the incumbrance and
limitations of the material body. Our senses and all
our mental faculties will be much more acute. Being

140 FACILITY OF LEARNING.
in a world where all things are spiritual, there will
not be that contrariety and antagonism which we find
between our thoughts and affections, and dead inert
matter. We shall not be continually deceived by the
illusions of appearances, and bound by the strong
bonds of hereditary opinions. All the faculties being
in clearer light, we can see through, and clearly un
derstand many subjects at a glance, which we could
not comprehend, by years of study in this life'. We
all know something of the influence the body has
upon the mind. When it is weary, enfeebled by
disease, and filled with pain, we find it difficult and
often impossible to think upon any subject, in a con
nected and rational manner. In old age, men some
times seem to lose all their knowledge and mental
power. How great the change from the elastic and
vigorous action of the mind, when the body was in
its prime, and acted in perfect harmony with it. But
the difference is not so great, as it will be between the
highest attainments of the mind, when clothed with
the material body, and when entirely emancipated
from it. All comparisons between the most extreme
states of the soul when in the body, must fall far
short of the reality. It will be vigorous, elastic,
keen, comprehensive, untiring, perceptive; so great
will be the change, that men will seem to awake as
from a dream; to have passed from darkness into
light. 2. Angels will be our teachers. We all know how
much a wise teacher can help us. And by a wise

ANGELS OUR TEACHERS. 141
teacher, I mean one who not only understands the
subject he teaches, but the mind he instructs.
In the spiritual world men do not wear masks. The
whole outward form is the embodiment of the inward
life. The angels can understand at a glance, the spe
cific spiritual state of those committed to their care.
They can put themselves in their state, as it were,
and see truths from their standpoint. They know,
therefore, exactly what they need. And they know
equally well how to supply it. They know in what
order, and by what processes, to lead the mind from
step to step, out of any error, to the recognition of any
truth. What an amazing help this must be? While
here in the material body, using the clumsy methods
of an artificial language, we often fail to make our
exact difficulties known. The wisest teachers must
often give their instructions at random, and even if
they meet the case, we may not understand them;
and so we grope our way along, the blind often
attempting to lead the blind, and both falling into the
ditch. But in the spiritual world, minds will come
into perfect rapport with each other ; and each will
give and receive to the extent of its power. Such
being the state of those who learn, and the wisdom
of those who teach, they could hardly fail to make
the most rapid progress.
But the methods of our spiritual teachers will be as
wise as their knowledge is perfect. By the operation
of spiritual affinities, to whose action there are no
obstacles in the spiritual world, those who were in
similar states of affection and thought would be drawn

142 CLASSES OF LEARNERS.
together, and a complete classification would be
effected. Those whose spiritual wants are the same,
and those who are the most competent to supply them,
would be drawn into intimate relations. This would
only be carrying out, under perfect conditions, princi
ples which are universally operative in this life, and
the accomplishment of results which we are always
in the effort to attain. As society advances in civili
zation and intelligence, it becomes more distinctly
classified and arranged. This process goes on in busi
ness, in education, in social and civil life, in every
thing. The results, however, are very imperfect,
because we are compelled to judge by external and
artificial means. Whereas, in the spiritual world,
state alone will determine our place, and our associates,
even to the most minute particular.
It would necessarily follow that those, whose spiri
tual wants were the same, would be drawn into the
same society. Thus infants, children, youth, and all
of every age and state, would be arranged into socie
ties or schools, where they could receive instruction
exactly adapted to their wants. All of the same age,
even in infancy, would not be together. But those
of a similar hereditary character ; those who needed
similar processes of instruction, to repress every evil
tendency, and to develop the true principles of a
heavenly life, would be in the same schools.
It must be a most consoling thought to every
parent, who has children in the spiritual world, that
they are not to remain in the ignorance and feeble
ness of infancy ; that the Lord has made provision foi

THE EXPERIENCE OF CHILDREN. 1J3
their instruction and for the development of all their
faculties, into angelic perfection. They are free from
all contagion of evil example, from the temptations of
wicked companions, and the imperfect methods and
the false principles of the schools of earth. They
will never be taught anything that is untrue ; they
will never have any lesson to unlearn. Their deli
cate natures will not be subject to the rude and blind
treatment that children receive in this life. The
angels will love them with a tenderness greater than
a mother's ; they will know how to touch the secret
springs of their innocent natures ; and all their faculties
will develop in beautiful harmony and order, as the
bud unfolds into the blossom, and develops into the
fruit. No shadows will fall upon their hearts ; no
tears will ever dim their eyes ; they will have no hard
and repulsive tasks to perform ; they will never go
astray. The innocence of infancy will never receive
a stain ; and the elastic, bounding joys of childhood
will never be repressed. They will grow up into the
manly strength and feminine grace of adult age; they
will attain the wisdom, the culture, the comeliness,
and the ineffable beauty and blessedness of the angels,
by processes of order, harmony, and ever-increasing
delight. But not only are all shades of character nicely dis
criminated, and all specific wants perfectly met, the
methods of instruction are also as superior to those
which are practised in the schools of this life, as that
world is superior to this. This perfection does not
consist in their being entirely different or opposite to

144 ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE DOCTRINE.
the methods of instruction in this life. They could
not be, unless we are entirely different beings from
what we are here. This shows the coherency and
logical consistency of the doctrines of the New
¦ Church ; for while they teach many things concerning
the spiritual world and the nature of spiritual life,
which many persons regard as the mere fancies of a
diseased mind, they will be found, upon careful
examination, to be logical and inevitable deductions
from the nature of the human mind, and perfectly
consistent with all we know of the Divine methods.
What better evidence of their truth could a rational
mind demand ?
As illustrations and proof of this assertion, take
what these doctrines teach us concerning the methods
of instruction in the world of spirits. " Truth is
taught principally by representatives." Instead of
describing a subject by words only, it is represented to
the life. This can be done in the spiritual world, be
cause thoughts assume form and become visible there.
Suppose, for example, a number of novitiate spirits
had an imperfect or false idea of what really consti
tutes the neighbor, or of who is our neighbor, as all
children and most adult persons have. Instead of a
parable of words, the actual scene could be presented.
To teach this truth, our Lord has given us the Parable
of the Good Samaritan. If the persons He desired to
teach were in the spiritual world, the scene described
by words in the parable, could be made to appear in
reality before the eyes of the persons who needed the
instruction, with innumerable particulars, and in such

OBJECT TEACHING IN HEAVEN. 145
fulness, that a whole library could not contain a
verbal description of them
Or suppose the nature and delights of innocence
was the subject upon which instruction was to be
given. The angels could cause a perfect panorama
of all living objects which were the perfect embodi
ments and representatives of innocence, not merely
to pass before those who were to be instructed, but to
surround them on every side as far as the eye could
reach. And this whole scene could be filled with
everything which the purified intelligence and exalted
perceptions of an angel could conceive. Flowers of
the most pure and lovely colors ; lambs and doves,
and the young of every living thing which represents
this affection ; and little children, of surpassing love
liness and beauty, would gambol and sport with each
other in many various forms, so that the very nature
of innocence would be acted out to the life. And not
only the abstract nature of innocence could be made
to appear in various forms, but the origin of this
affection as from its germ ; the various methods of its
development, and its various results, could all be
represented by changes in the scene. There would
be nothing wanting to make the beautiful panorama
of this soul of virtue, and essential quality of heavenly
character, perfectly adequate to the states of every one
who beheld it.
Those who beheld this representation would, also,
perceive the meaning of every particular form, of
every motion, and every change, anil its perception
would be accompanied with inmost delight.
7

146 WORDS AND PICTURES.
No one can deny, that this would be a most effectual
method of instruction, and a little reflection will
show that it is in perfect accordance with the wisest
and best methods in this life. The novelist and
poet seek to accomplish this end in words, the artist
with his colors and canvas, and the forms into which
he moulds the marble. The teacher of science finds
the greatest help in diagrams and pictorial representa
tions of the truths he seeks to communicate. The
most of you have doubtless seen the pictures or the
engravings of Cole's Voyage of Life, and know how
vividly he has portrayed the wilfulness and confidence
of youth, the illusions of ambition, and the certainty
that the angels we desert in the morning of life, are
our only hope in death. How much more vivid and
powerful the impression such a picture makes upon
our minds, than the most forcible statement in words
of the abstract truth. But if we could see the whole
history, only a few suggestive images of which can be
represented upon the canvas, acted out to the life before
us in all the details ; if we could see the bright hopes
fade, the terrible struggle, the inevitable defeat and
final despair, the effect would surpass the picture far
more than that does the verbal statement of the
truth. The reason is evident. When we are taught by
the instrumentality of words, we are compelled to
make the picture for ourselves. And there are but
few persons who have much skill in that. In all
cases the idea or picture before the mind's eye, will
r)ppend upon the meaning attached to the words.

THE DIVINE METHOD OF TEACHING. 147
The picture upon canvas is made for us, and we have
only to open our eyes to it. Still the objects aro
comparatively few, and we may not understand them.
But when they move and act before us in various
relations, we can hardly fail to gain their true
meaning. This method is, therefore, perfectly adapted to all
the human faculties, and one which we all seek to
adopt when we can. It is the Divine method, as we
know from experience. The Lord taught by parables,
which are pictures of imaginary events, painted in
words. The whole Bible is such a panorama. In it,
for thousands of years, the Jewish race is made to
pass before us in all its phases of victory and defeat,
of servitude and dominion, of glory and shame, from
its rise to its dispersion. In this histor* every man
can see his own life as in a glass. He can see his
relations to the Lord, and to his fellow man : the
blessings which follow obedience to the Divine com
mandments, and the inevitable and terrible conse
quences which must flow from their violation. What
further proof do we need that the same method will
be continued in the new and more favorable conditions
of the spiritual world, for the perfect use of those
who dwell there?
By another method, men are convinced of the
falsity of many of the doctrines they may have
imbibed. They are permitted to try them until they
are convinced of their falsity by actual experiment.
This is often the only way that we can be made to
see and acknowledge our errors in this life. One per-

148 TEACHING. BY EXPERIENCE.
son will not take the experience and wisdom of
another for his own use. Suppose, for example, that
one carries with him the idea that the happiness of
heaven consists in perpetual worship, as multitudes
do ; it would be more difficult to convince them by
the force of argument of the falsity of this idea, in
the spiritual world, than it is here. A simpler and
more effectual method is adopted. They are per
mitted to test the truth of their doctrine by actual
experiment. They are admitted into temples or are
gathered by the attractions of a similar thought and
affection into great multitudes around a throne, and
there they worship until they become so weary and
exhausted by the forced and long-continued exaltation
of their minds, that they are perfectly convinced of
their mistake, and are ready to be instructed in the
true idea of heavenly happiness, which, our Lord has
taught us, consists in doing good to others from love
to them and the Lord. Those who use the talents
given them, are the only ones who enter into the joy
of the Lord.
In these and in many other ways, impossible in a
material world, all who will receive instruction, are
prepared for heaven. Infants, children, and the ig
norant, are taught heavenly truths, and are led to
practise them until they have made them their own,
until their whole characters are established in hea
venly principles. Those who are good at heart, but
who have imbibed false doctrines from education or
other means, are permitted to see their errors, and
when they see them they gladly reject them. Thus

RESULTS OF THIS PREPARATION. 149
everything that is false is eliminated from their minds,
the whole nature becomes homogeneous with itself
and with the angels.
The progress they make is inconceivably more
rapid than it could be in this world, owing to the
increased power and freedom of the mind, and the
facilities for showing every truth and falsity in its
true light and form. Some pass rapidly along, and
in a few days are ready for heaven. Others linger
and yield up with more or less reluctance the false
principles they had imbibed in the world, according
to the degree in which they had confirmed them.
But sooner or later, all who have not destroyed their
spiritual life and become dead in trespasses and sins;
all who are really good at heart, though they may
not have been entirely free from natural evils and
falsities, are prepared for their eternal home.
When the preparation is complete, when everything
is removed from their characters which is repellent
to the purity and perfect order and harmony of hea
ven, they are drawn to it by the force of those spiritual
affinities which separated them from the wicked, and
which now operating more powerfully and specifically,
draw them to those of a homogeneous nature, and to
their eternal home.
This is effected without any violation of their free
dom, without any external and arbitrary power,
without any force. Each goes, as of himself, though
constantly directed by the infinite wisdom and mercy
of the Lord. In effecting this end, the same laws
operate that we see in full and universal force around

150 HEAVENLY REST.
us in this world. Every one preserves his identity
and his consciousness of individuality. There is no
link broken in the chain -of his being. Through all
the vicissitudes of life, from the cradle to the grave,
from the grave to the open portals of heaven, we
have been led in perfect freedom by a way we knew
not. We have been protected from innumerable un
seen dangers ; we have been turned aside from paths
which seemed to us flowery, and leading only to good,
to steep and rugged ways, because the Divine mercy
saw that the strait and narrow path was the one that
led to heaven ; we have cast off the material body,
when Infinite Wisdom saw it was the best time for us
to do it ; we have been raised up into the world of
spirits by the ministry of angels; we have been in
structed and led by them to renounce every principle
in our characters that was not in harmony with hea
ven. And when this work was fully accomplished,
they have led us in opening paths of growing beauty
and ever-increasing peace and blessedness to our
home, to the home of the heart and the understand
ing, the home of friends, of those who love us, and
by whom we are loved the best of all in the universe,
the home of every faculty and every joy.
Now the six days of labor are ended. For us
there are to be no more blasted hopes, no corroding
cares, no weariness from heavy burdens, no vain re
grets, no rending anxieties, no blind gropings for the
way, no illusions of the senses, no shadows on the
soul, no repulsive labor, no repugnant associations,
no pain, no sorrow, no eyes wet with tears, no part-

ETERNAL BLESSEDNESS. 151
ings from loved ones, no jar, no discord in the uni
versal harmony. There will be no more death. The
former things are passed away. All imperfection lies
behind us.
What lies before us? "Eye hath not seen, ear
hath not heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of
man to conceive." The highest angels cannot tell.
But one thing we may know. With intellects ele
vated into a light so clear and brilliant that the
brightest noon on earth is darkness compared with it;
with their power so great, and their compass so ex
tended, that all earthly knowledge is weakness and
ignorance; with affections glowing with the intense
ardors of the Divine love, and yet perfectly married
to truth in the understanding, so that every desire
finds full expression ; in a world where all without is
in perfect harmony with all within; where all the
faculties are increased in power beyond conception ;
in these exalted conditions I know the promise will
be fulfilled, "Ye shall ask me what ye will, and it
shall be done unto you." I know that when we have
passed beyond the present capacity of the highest
angel, in our varied power to ask and to receive, we
shall only be gathering the crumbs which fall from
our Father's table. Our ability to ask, and our power
to receive, are yet only the infant's knowledge and
the infant's power. We have but just begun to live ;
we are just opening our eyes upon the riches of our
Father's bounty. Eternity — eternity is yet before us;
and infinite beauty, peace, and blessedness, await our
desire to ask and our power to receive.

LECTURE YIIL
.THE STATE OF MAN IN HELL,

In former lectures we have endeavored to follow
man from his resurrection into the spiritual world,
through his intermediate state, the World of Spirits,
and to present the fundamental principles which de
termine his course, and the methods by which he is
conducted to his final home. We have seen that his
freedom is never violated ; that he is led by infinite
mercy and wisdom ; and that the Lord always does
all that He can for him, whether he be evil or whether
he be good. As we advance to the consideration of
his state in his eternal home, we shall find the same
laws operating, and the same love and wisdom caring
for him, whether that home be hell or heaven.
It seems to be a rational, and even a necessary con-
clusion, that the Lord's method of providing for the
punishment of violated law should partake of His
infinite mercy and wisdom, and should surpass all
human methods, as His wisdom and power surpass
ours. But men have always found it difficult to be
lieve that the Lord administers His government in a

DIVINE AND HUMAN GOVERNMENT. 153
different manner and by infinitely wiser methods than
man. Consequentlj', they have attributed to Him
all the vindictive motives, and the external and ar
bitrary methods of human governments. The idea
has generally prevailed that the Lord can forgive, or
remit the penalty of sin, as a civil magistrate re
mits the punishment for a crime committed against
civil laws. It has been inferred, therefore, that the
pardon of sin depends upon the arbitrary will, or
good pleasure of the Lord. Those who look more
to the stern justice of the Lord, and by justice un
derstand the punishment of the sinner according to his
deserts, hold that the Lord cannot remit the penalty
of sin consistently with His own character and the
safety of His government, without some compensa
tion or satisfaction for His violated law. Others, on
the contrary, who look more to the Lord's love and
mercy, believe that He will save all men from mere
mercy, if not immediately, then at some future time,
when their sins have been sufficiently punished.
Each party goes to the Bible and seizes upon those
passages which appear to confirm its views, and brings
all its ingenuity and force to explain away the mean
ing of those which appear to oppose them.
But the question can never be settled in this way.
It cannot be rationally and conclusively answered
without some certain knowledge of the nature of man,
and of his relations to the Lord. Human govern
ments are not the true types and examples of the
Lord's government. We must learn of the Lord
Himself. If we can discover how He rewards good
7*

154 THE LAWS OF PHYSICAL LIFE.
and how evil is punished in one province of His
government, we may safely conclude that we have
found the principles and methods according to which
He administers His government in every depart
ment of His kingdom. We shall have no difficulty
in this; for there is one province in His government
with which we are all more or less familiar from ex
perience and observation. We all know something
of the nature and methods by which we are rewarded
for obedience to the laws of physical life, and pun
ished for disobedience to them. And here we may
find a key that will unlock all the secrets of the Divine
Government in every kingdom of life.
The Lord has so formed man that he is capable of
receiving delight from everything around him. His
whole form is a combination of organs or senses
through which the material world comes to him and
brings him delight. But in order to accomplish this
end, the nicest order and adjustment of man's phy
sical organism to the world without and to the world
within him, is necessary and must be constantly main
tained. Any derangements of that order must neces
sarily defeat the end for which it was instituted. So
long as the true order and exact relations are main
tained, we are rewarded for every activity with de
light. Everything we hear, or see, or smell, or taste,
or touch, gives us pleasure. Every one who is in
perfect physical health is physically happy. He has
no sense of pain, and can have none. So long as
he obeys the laws of physical life, there is no way in
which pain can possibly reach him. All his delight?

PAIN THE PENALTY OF PHYSICAL SIN. 155
are the rewards he receives for his works — for his
obedience to the laws of his life. The reward flows
from the obedience. It is not so much for doing
right, as in doing right.
But if he violates this order, and disobeys these
laws of his life, he suffers for it. He is punished. If
he eats or drinks too much or too little, or of unwhole
some substances ; if he exercises any organ too much
or too little, he violates a law of his life, and the
penalty grows out of, or flows from the violation of
the law, in the same manner that the reward is the
effect of his obedience. The pleasure and the pain
are inseparably linked with the action. There is
nothing arbitrary or uncertain in either case. The
results in both arise from the same principle, and in
their origin, intention, and effect, are both good. Man
is drawn to orderly action by the pleasure, and deter
red from evil by the punishment; and both the reward
and the punishment are administered according to the
work, whether it be good or bad. The pain, which is
the punishment for violating a physical law, does not
come from without any more than the pleasure. It is
not annexed to it, bnt flows from it ; it is inherent in
it. And the punishment consists in pain, in feeble
ness ; in being deprived of all the delights of health.
Now man, viewed as a spiritual being, is as really a
man, an organized human form, as he is as a material
being; and all his enjoyments and sufferings flow from
the orderly or disorderly action of these forms, in the
same way, relatively, that his bodily sufferings and
delights flow from the abuse or orderly use of his

156 THE ORIGIN OF HAPPINESS.
physical organism. This spiritual organism, as we
have shown in former lectures, is as variously and
nicely related to all spiritual objects and forces, as hi?
material body is to this world ; and its modes or order
of action are laws of spiritual life. When these spi
ritual laws are obeyed, or we act in conformity to the
order and constitution given to man by the Lord, hap
piness, and happiness only, flows from the obedience.
When they are violated pain follows, and the duration
and degree of the pain are exactly according to the ex
tent and degree of the violation of the spiritual law.
The pleasure and pain are not affixed arbitrarily ; they
both flow from the action of the same law, under dif
ferent circumstances, and one is as inevitable as the
other. But we are not left to mere assumption or analogy
on this subject. We know from experience that it is
so, even in this world. Every one knows that he is
always happy when he feels kindly and thinks truly,
and endeavors to act right towards all others. The
love of others as surely brings happiness with it, as
heat brings warmth. In the same manner hatred, or
the indulgence of any evil passion, just as inevitably
brings pain. No one can do a wrong action and es
cape the punishment. He may, indeed, escape the
punishment which man has annexed to it ; but he
cannot escape the penalty of the spiritual law. A
man may commit murder and never be detected. But
can he avoid the consciousness of his crime ? He may
wash the stains of blood from his hands, but can he
wash it from his soul? Can he forget? Whither can

NATURAL AND SPIRITUAL LAWS ALIKE. 157
he flee from himself? What darkness can hide him?
What hand shield him from the fiery stings and bit
ing strokes of guilt? The real penalty, as you see,
cannot be avoided. The laws of natural and spiritual
life are the same in principle, and the rewards and
punishments are administered in the same way. The
penalty is inherent in, and flows from the act. And
ft cannot in any way be separated from it.
But this is not only true of that which is felt as
punishment immediately, but of all the consequences
which flow from it. Everything we do, whether evil
or good, reacts upon us. Good causes a greater good,
and evil results in some form of punishment. Kind
ness towards others begets kindness in others towards
us. A thoroughly honest and good man soon finds
himself surrounded with friends. The principle is
seen in the great outward changes and facilities for
business and pleasure that we possess at the present
time. As soon as men began to turn their thoughts
and affections to something useful — to mechanical in
ventions — what a change it soon wrought in all our
relations to outward things? How soon they began
to react upon us for our good in a thousand different
ways! In the same manner the evil passions and deeds of
men have reacted upon them in some form of punish
ment. The thief and robber build their own prison,
and shut themselves up in it. The outrages of evil
men upon others render their confinement necessary
to the general welfare, and thus the whole community
stands arrayed against the evil. When a man of

158 CHARACTER NOT CHANGED BY DEATH.
violent and vindictive passions gives vent to them
in words and deeds of violence against other men,
he soon calls down upon himself curses and blows,
and even death. These are illustrations of the gene
ral principle, that the life of every one reacts upon
him either as reward or punishment, according to his
deeds, so that it is strictly true that punishment flows
from the evil, even when it seems to come from
others. But will it not be different when we come into the
spiritual world? How can it be, if men are men, if
their happiness flows from their activities, from the
exercise of their affections ? It is evident that it can
not, for, so far as we know, there is but one way of
being happy, and that is by the exercise of some affec
tion. If a person has no good affections, how can he
exercise them ? He could as easily enjoy all the
delights of seeing without eyes. If the indulgence of
evil affections must, in the nature of things, cause
pain, how can the evil escape suffering? Passing into
the spiritual world does not change a man's nature ;
consequently the laws of life must be the same there
that they are here. Man is a spirit now.
Suppose the Lord should say to every one when he
comes into the spiritual world, " I withdraw all charges
against you. I will not punish you for anything you
have done. Enter heaven. Do as you please. Enjoy
yourself as you best can." Do you suppose that would
make the evil man good ? He is the embodiment of
selfish and worldly loves. Do you suppose he would
now immediately reverse his whole nature and begin

THE ORIGIN OF PUNISHMENT. 159
to love the Lord and his brother supremely ? No-
no more than thieves and murderers are changed to
saints by receiving a free pardon for their crimes.
Suppose the prison doors of all the penitentiaries in
the land were opened to-morrow, and there was a
general jail delivery throughout the Union, do you
think the malefactors now confined in prison would
feel grateful for the clemency of the governments and
return to virtue ? No : they would rush into worse
crimes as the fear of punishment was removed.
We may safely conclude, therefore, that punishment
is good for the wicked, and that it must inevitably
flow from evil, and that the Lord's government is
everywhere the same in principle. The origin of
punishment, then, is in the evil. Nor does it come
from any other source, however many channels it
may pass through, and however various the forms it
may assume before it reaches the doer of the evil.
Consequently, the doctrines of the New Church accord
with universal laws, in teaching that the Lord pun
ishes no one. He is love and mercy itself, and no
i evil or pain can come from Him. No one thinks of
attributing his physical sufferings to the Lord. When
we expose ourselves to a greater degree of heat or
cold than the nature of our material bodies can sus
tain, we are punished for it, more or less severely,
according to the degree of our exposure — sometimes
with the entire loss of limbs or life. But no one would
think of saying that the Lord sent that suffering and
mutilation because we had violated His laws. Our
punishment had its origin in our disobedience — in the

160 NO PUNISHMENT FOR PAST SINS.
violation of a good law. So it is with every pain
human beings suffer. No suffering does, or can come
from the Lord. He is not the author of evil or of its
punishment. It follows, as a necessary consequence, from this
fundamental principle, that no one is, or can be pun
ished for an evil after it has been removed. The
Lord does not lay up charges and penalties against
men. He does not give them license in this world,
and punish them in the next for it. That is a most
horrible doctrine. Men are not punished in the spiritual
world for what they do in this, but for what they do there.
It is true that the evil life and habits which men con
firm here become their life there, and lead them to do
evil and thus to be punished. But when they cease
to do evil, they cease to suffer for it. Men often jump
to conclusions from the truth that neither facts nor
experience warrant. They say : " If I shall not be
punished in the spiritual world for what I do in this,
when I get there I will stop sinning and thus I will
escape all punishment." But why not stop now?
If you should express the answer that is in your heart,*
you would say : Because I wish to indulge in selfish
and worldly delights a while longer. Should we not
have the same desire and the same delights there?
We must not forget that we shall be ourselves, and
not beings of another nature, when we rise in the
spiritual world. It does not change our characters to
throw off the material body, but rather makes us more
completely ourselves. We shall even find it more
difficult to change then than we do now, for the un-

HOW THE WICKED ARE PUNISHED. 161
derstanding and will will be one there, and we can
only think of what we love. We cannot be outwardly
good and inwardly evil. There are two consequences
which follow every evil : one is the immediate pain it
causes, and the other the habit of evil which it con
firms. The truth, then, that no one is punished in the
spiritual world for what he does in this, gives no
license to sin, but makes its consequences more severe
and terrible.
But I proceed, in the second place, to state how the
wicked are punished in the spiritual world. In a
former lecture I showed that those who are inherently
wicked remain in the world of spirits until they have
put off all that is not homogeneous to their ruling
love, so that every evil affection has its corresponding
falsity, and the spirit finds nothing in himself that
opposes or in any way prevents him from acting out
his essential nature. He throws off all appearances
of good ; for in the spiritual world those who are in
good have a perception of everything that is opposite
to their love, so that no disguises or subterfuges avail
any one. Every one is known for what he is, and is
drawn by an irresistible attraction to those of similai
affection. "His external form corresponds to his in
ternal, and is its exact type and effigy ; consequently,
it is then known as soon as seen, what sort of a spirit
he is, not only by his countenance but by his person,
and also by his speech and by his gestures ; and as,
likewise, he is now in his intrinsic identity, he cannot
abide anywhere but where those like himself dwell
For in the spiritual world there is a complete commu

162 SPIRITUAL SOCIETY.
nication of affections and of the thoughts thence
originating, on which account a spirit is conducted as
if of himself, because from his own affection and its
delights, to those who are like him."
Being thus openly introduced into the society of
those of a similar character, it is not difficult to de
termine what would be the inevitable result. We
must keep in mind that the same principles operate
in the spiritual world that operate here, only the}' are
more clearly and freely developed. The life of spirits
is as real, and the ends they seek to obtain are as real
and seem to them much more desirable, than the ends
men seek in this world. And they pursue them
through various instrumentalities ; they use each
other to accomplish their purposes, and to do that,
they must present motives ; they must offer some
good, or create some fear.
Under these circumstances, imagine a company of
human beings, in which each one was fired with the
lust of dominion, claimed homage for himself, and
desired to make every one serve him. You see at once
that there could be no bond of union among them
but fear. The interests of each one are hostile to all
the others. There would be jealousies, envyings,
hatreds, fears ; the exercise of tyrannical powers, the
most cruel punishments, and the most abject ser
vitude. No one could act out his nature freely with
out coming in contact with all the others, and calling
down their vengeance upon him. Each one would
be kept in torment, either from the fear of injury, or
from the desire to act out his evil love, or from the

HELLS ON EARTH. 163
inevitable punishment that would follow from acting
according to it. It would be impossible for him to
escape punishment in any other way than by sub
mission, and quietly surrendering himself to be a
slave. There have been, and there are still, such hells in
this world. History furnishes us with the most
mournful and shocking accounts of the tyrannies and
cruelties inflicted upon each other by those who had
the power or desired to obtain it. How many mil
lions of human beings have been slaughtered ; how
many have been immured in dungeons, and sub
jected to the most terrible tortures ! All tyrannical
governments could furnish us with abundant ex
amples to illustrate this principle. All the societies
of the hells are governed by some one who seeks the
position from his indomitable love of rule, and by
his power to subdue and command others. The
ruler would obtain his position in the same manner
that he would in a band of pirates and robbers. He
who had the greatest cunning and strength, the most
daring and energy, and the greatest skill and power
in command, would seize the chief power and rule.
But every such government must be a tyranny, and
the only motive to obedience fear. The lust for domi
nion in each one would lead to perpetual plotting and
counterplotting, to commotions, insurrections, and
consequent punishments.
Suppose, again, a society in which every one's rul
ing love was cruelty, or the delight of inflicting pain
upon others, (and such dispositions are not unknown

164 MUTUAL PUNISHMENT OF THE EVIL.
in this world,) the consequence must inevitably bo
the misery of every one. For no one could act out
his nature without inflicting pain upon some one else,
and this would bring down vengeance upon his own
head. The happiness of every member of such a
community would consist in disturbing, annoying,
fretting, exciting fears, opposing the delights of
others, and by a cunning, deceit, and craftiness, known
only to spirits, inflicting pain. Would not such a
condition of things keep every one in torment?
In the same manner we may take any other evil,
and carry it out to its legitimate consequences. Col
lect together a number of persons who are the embo
diments of it, and every one who knows anything of
the nature of evil must know, that nothing but pun
ishment, or suffering in some form, could flow from
such a society. We see that it is so here ; it must be
so in the nature of things. We see, also, that the
punishment does not come from the good, but from
the evil. They delight to inflict it upon each other,
and if they were not restrained by fear, they would,
if it were possible, destroy each other. Their ruling
loves all impel them to act in opposition to others.
As they love nothing but themselves, they can act
from no other motives, and as their understanding
and will have become one, they can think nothing
but what they love ; the only restraint that can have
any weight with them is fear. Their fears, also, can
only be excited by their sufferings. The state of the
wicked is such, then, that they never can act from
affection, without rousing up opposition and bringing

THE SCENERY OF HELL. 105
back upon themselves some form of suffering. If
they refrain from evil, they must do so from compul
sion or fear. All that keeps them within bounds is
restraint of some kind. They are all, literally, the
vilest slaves. And the punishment of each one is
exactly adapted to his state, and never passes beyond
the severity necessary to keep him in his proper
place, and to prevent him from injuring others. The
kinds of punishment the wicked inflict upon each
other are as numerous as the varieties of evils in
which they are principled.
It is a law of the spiritual world that everything
that surrounds its inhabitants is in exact correspond
ence with their state or character. The scenery of
the hells, then, must be composed of all that is essen
tially repulsive and horrible. Its inhabitants dwell
in darkness, or what is darkness compared with the
light of heaven, because, like owls and bats, they can
not bear the light. They are themselves horribly
deformed monsters, because every one is the form of
his own evil, and they dwell in dens and holes, in
filthy and dilapidated hovels, surrounded with stag
nant marshes, in whose slime every hideous and de
formed thing that represents their own evils is bred.
Some dwell in deserts of sand, or wildernesses filled
with savage beasts, and still more savage spirits. The
evil of every one begets its corresponding phantasies,
which people his world, and haunt and terrify him.
When we consider that the senses of spirits are
much more acute than they were when clothed with
flesh in this world; that their power is vastly in-

166 NO REMORSE IN HELL.
creased, and their cunning and malignant arts are so
great that they cannot be described in human lan
guage, and that many of them are unknown even to
the most malicious in this world ; that there are no
restraints but fear, and no love for anything but evil,
and no thought but how to accomplish it, we can
well imagine that their condition is so miserable, that
it may well fill our minds with horror to think of it.
And yet, perhaps, we love the same evils, and if we
were left in freedom to seek our like we should, of
our own accord, join some of these miserable socie
ties, and become a slave like them.
It may be proper here to remark, that none of the
punishments of the wicked consist in remorse, or in
the stings of conscience. They have no conscience,
and they are, therefore, incapable of remorse. Every
man who has a conscience goes to heaven. The pos
session of a conscience shows that the Lord has some
hold upon him. The wicked do not care for heaven.
Their only desire is to indulge in their own lusts, and
their only grief consists in the restraints that are im
posed upon them, and the punishments which flow
from their evils.
It is sometimes supposed that the wicked will
mourn over their past folly, and repent, though their
repentance will not avail them, because their day of
probation is over. But their evils cause them no
regret. They rather glory in their shame. They do
not mourn over the past ; they only mourn that they
cannot gratify their lusts in the present. One sincere
and earnest desire to know the truth and to live \t

NO ESCAPE FROM HELL. 167
would fling the gates of hell wide open, ind release
its possessor from the eternal prison-house. But no
such desire is ever breathed in those gloomy and ter
rible abodes ; for no one who is capable of such an
affection ever goes there. No. The life of the hells,
which is essential death, is a life of purely selfish and
worldly lusts.
But is there no escape from hell ? Will not its
inhabitants finally see the folly of evil, and cease to
do it? Will they not become instructed in the truth
and raised to heaven ? Some believe that they will ;
but their belief is not founded upon revelation, or
reason, or a true knowledge of the nature of man.
There are many reasons why it is impossible, in the
nature and constitution of things, that such a change
should take place.
1. A spirit, who is essentially evil, cannot be taught
what is true. He cannot think what is true, or have
any desire to live a good life. The only ground for
teaching any one the truth in this world is, because
the will and the understanding are separated, and we
can see and speak the truth even when we have no
will to do it. If a man could think only about what
he loved ; that is, if his thoughts flowed only from his
affections, and were the form and expression of them as
they are in the spirit world, he could not be reformed
here. There would be no possibility of saving him.
2. Again, a spirit is an organized human form,
entirely inverted by evil. A direct influx of the divine
life into such a form would rend it to pieces ; because
its currents would flow in a direction entirely contrary

168 CHARACTER FORMED HERE.
to the currents of the evil life. An evil spirit could
not breathe the air of heaven. If it were possible for
him to attempt it, he would gasp like a fish out of
water, or would be so tormented that the deepest hell
would be a comfortable place compared with it.
3. There is a proper time in the order of the crea
tion of every being and thing, when the different parts
that compose it must be inserted, and commence their
growth ; and if they are not inserted in their proper
time, they never can be. Suppose a child is born into
this world without eyes ; is there any possibility that
it can ever see ? We know there is none. The Lord
cannot, from immediate mercy, or the exercise of
arbitrary, omnipotent power, give eyes to the child
or the man ; for the only way in which he can do it
has not been obeyed. He cannot go back. As the
first steps in the organization of our material bodies
were taken before we were born into the world so the
first steps in our spiritual organization must be taken
before we are born into the spiritual world. And by
spiritual organization I mean that interior plane of the
spiritual mind which can receive the Divine Love and
Wisdom in true order. In other words, " a man must
be born again, or he cannot see the kingdom of God."
But there is no chance for him to be born again in the
spiritual world. He has passed that state in his exist
ence when such a work could be begun. There is no
basis for the new spiritual organism to rest upon. We
might as well begin at the top of an arch to construct
it, or plant our seeds in the air, or hope to obtain
fruit before we have blossoms. A spirit is not part

TIME AND ETERNITY. 169
memory, part understanding, part reason, and part
will ; but he js all will. The only hold he has upon
anything is his affection for it. Nor does he desire
anything else, or think of anything else. I repeat,
that plane in his nature, in which goodness and truth
can be implanted, is wanting, and can never be sup
plied. Some think this doctrine militates against the
Divine Benevolence. If they can believe that all will
be restored to happiness and heaven some time in the
vast futurity, no matter how remote, they are content.
It saves the Divine character, they think, and saves
man. But they cannot endure the thought that any
one will suffer eternally ; eternity is too long, they
say. But it is not ; eternity is neither long nor short.
It has no reference to time whatever ; it is a state of
the soul. Spirits do not think how long they have
been in hell or heaven, and how long they will have
to remain there. Eternity is now. They do not
think or care for to-morrow or yesterday ; they are
absorbed in the present. They are seeking to gratify
their lusts or to escape punishment, and they have no
thought for anything else. The fact, therefore, that
they will never be delivered from this state, does not
militate against the Divine mercy. Never is a thought
that is impossible to beings who are entirely removed
from the laws of time and space. The existence of
evil for thousands of years, or even for a moment, is
just as strong an argument against the Divine benevo
lence as is its existence to eternity. Nor is it to be
supposed that the wicked think their condition one of
8

170 THE DELIGHTS OF THE EVIL.
continual suffering. They have their infernal delights,
and they can conceive of no other. They are not
always undergoing punishment. Do you not suppose
the thief and the robber are delighted when they suc
ceed in a skilful theft or a bold robbery ? Does not
the man who loves money more than honesty feel a
delight when he has defrauded his neighbors ? Is not
revenge sweet to the revengeful ? Do no men volun
tarily dwell in caves and dens, or in hovels, where
they are surrouuded by all forms of foul and hateful
things ? Are there not hells in every city, where the
darkest crimes are committed, where evil passions
rage; hells in which men and women voluntarily
immerse themselves ? Why do not those miserable
beings leave them if they take no delight in them ?
Why do we not find them engaging in some useful
employment, frequenting churches and commencing
the life of heaven ; they are not held in these hells by
any external force ? Is it not because they take de
light in the society and practices they find there ? and
find no pleasure in the society and employments of
the pure and good ? The same principle applies to
the inhabitants of the hells. They have no desire to
change. They cannot conceive of any other happiness
than what they enjoy. They do not consider exist
ence a curse to them. They do not pray for extinc
tion ? There is no one who does not, on the whole,
regard his life as a blessing. I cannot conceive that
the Lord ever created a human being who does not,
or who would voluntarily resign it. That all do
not go to heaven, then, no more militates against the

EVIL NOT IMPERFECT GOOD. 171
divine goodness, than it does that all are not equally
happy in this life or in heaven.
But every one does go — I will not say where he
can be the happiest — but where he will be the least
miserable. A wicked man has his delights, but only
a good man can be happy, for happiness is not a
proper term for the delights of the wicked. The hells
are just as clear an evidence of the Lord's goodness as
the heavens; as in this world, the jail and the peni
tentiary are as clear an evidence of the benevolence
-of the state as asylums for the blind or orphans. It
is better both for himself and for others, that a man,
who will not voluntarily refrain from inflicting injury
upon others, should be imprisoned. In the peni
tentiary he can be of some use to others, and he has
not the same opportunity to injure his own nature.
So it is with the hells. They are provided by the
¦Lord's mercy and love as truly as the heavens are,
and exist according to the same law. They are the
best that can be done for those in that state. And
what the Lord can do for any human being depends
upon his state and capacity to be affected by the
Divine Life.
Evil is considered by some as an imperfect state of
goodness, and the idea is entertained that the worst
men may develop into angels. But evil is not imper
fect good, and falsity is not imperfect truth ; and the
one cannot be developed into the other. Could a
falsehood become a truth by development? Can you
cure a man by developing his disease ? Can sour be
changed to sweet, and cold to heat, by developing

172 PROGRESS IN THE NEXT LIFE.
them ? How many degrees of cold would it take to
make one warm and comfortable? Good and evil,
truth and falsity, are the opposites of each other, and
the more you develop either the more remote they
become. A man may be internally good and have many
external imperfections. Then there is ground for de
velopment. His essential goodness will finally cast
off all his imperfections, and his whole nature will
become homogeneous. His development does not con
sist in changing the evil into good, but in destroying .
the evil and substituting the good in its place. On
the other hand, a man may be internally and essen
tially evil, and externally good — he may know many
truths and assume many virtues — then, according to
the same law as that which operates in the good
man, his progress will consist in casting off all that is
apparently good in him, and in making his external
conduct agree with his internal life. The only real
progress that is possible for a bad man, is to cease to
do evil — to let his essential nature become quiescent.
But this would be retrograding, according to his idea,
because it would be restraining him from the ends he
desires to attain. It would be withholding him from
what he loves. And this process, without any doubt,
does go on in the hells. Its inhabitants improve in
one respect. Their ruling loves, being constantly
repressed and inevitably punished, they become, in a
degree, quiescent. Their natures are not changed.
They do not become good, but they cease to be so
violently and actively evil. They do not become more

THE END OF PUNISHMENT. 173
happy, but less miserable. The change is no^from a
lower to a higher life, but rather to a less acrrve state
of evil. To remove all the evils of an essentially bad
man would annihilate him, for it would take away all
his life. Thus, while the wicked in the hells become
less actively evil, they never become radically better.
Their love is not changed. They do not turn towards
the Lord, but ever look away from Him towards their
own loves. Those who are essentially evil cannot
pass out of the state they are essentially in when they
leave this world, for there is nothing in them to de
velop into goodness. This truth is illustrated and
confirmed by all true knowledge of man's nature, and
all the analogies of the Divine order.
But the Lord never permits any suffering to come
upon us, either in this world or in any other, that is not
for our good. The end of punishment is not the satis
faction of Divine justice, but the permission of the Di
vine love. Its sole end is to keep men and spirits from
plunging into deeper evils, and consequently from
bringing upon themselves greater sufferings. This
must be so, from the fact that all pain grows out of
the violation of law, or of the order and constitution
of our nature. It is, therefore, as impossible for men
to do wrong, and not suffer spiritually, as it is foi
them to violate the laws of health and not suffer phy
sical pain. The end of the punishment of the wicked,
therefore, is to save them from greater suffering. It
is one way in which the Lord protects the evil, and
withholds them from greater evils. All punishment
is reformatory. The Lord always gives all the good

174 THE PUNISHMENTS OF HELL.
He can. to every one. If He cannot give a positive
good, because man will not receive it, He will at least
restrain him as far as possible from greater evils.
And so far as an evil becomes quiescent, to that de
gree one is saved from the consequences of it.
The conclusions to which we must come, then, con
cerning the nature and punishment of the wicked in
the spiritual world are these :
1. All punishment flows from evil, and is so in
separably connected with it, that one cannot exist
without the other. No punishment comes from the
Lord or the angels. Even when evil spirits inflict
it upon each other, it still flows from their wicked
ness. 2. The punishments or sufferings which the wicked
suffer, must, from the very nature of their condition
and state, surpass all the powers of language to
describe. They are more various than the pains of
body and mind which men suffer in this world. All
are not punished alike, but in every case, as the suffer
ing flows from the evil, it is exactly proportioned
to it.
3. As the lusts of the infernals become quiescent,
as they must do when they find that every attempt to
act from them inevitably produces pain, their suffer
ings will become less. But it will be rather from the
loss of life, than from any positive improvement in
character. It will be more like the mitigation of
suffering from the torpor of cold when one is freezing,
than from any increase of goodness. But however
great the changes of this evil nature may be, there is

HOW THE HELLS ARE GOVERNED. 175
no possibility that the wicked can be elevated out of
it, and pass into heaven, for they have nothing within
them that is capable of receiving the life of heaven,
and no grounds or basis for forming that life. That
point in their creation, when the germs of a true
spiritual organization could have been formed, has
been passed, and they can never return to it.
4. The purpose of all punishment or pain in every
form, is to prevent evil, and consequently greater
suffering. It is in no sense or form vindictive. No
one is punished because he was once guilty of an
evil, which no longer exists in his nature. But pun
ishment is permitted only, and just to that degree
which is necessary to keep his evil desires within
bounds, and thus prevent a greater evil.
In general, the hells are governed by fear, for
there are no other motives which have weight with
their inhabitants. They have no conscience, no sense
of shame, no remorse, no love for anything good, no
desire for improvement. They are the embodiment
and forms of their own evils. Their whole nature is
homogeneous. There is no ground for any conflict
within themselves, for there are no opposing princi
ples in their minds. They love evil, and they believe
nothing but the falsities that correspond to their evils.
There is no ground for development, for there are no
germs of goodness in them to develop. The best
and only thing that can be done for them, is restraint
from without. This result is attained by a principle
of universal order, according to the same law that
rewards the good ; according to laws that operate in

176 THE LAW OF AFFINITY.
this life in the same manner, and which are inherent
in the very nature of man. The wicked are not wholly
miserable. They have their satisfactions and delights
as the wicked do in this world. The Lord does all
He can for them. They could not be happy in hea
ven. They would writhe in perfect agony if they
were admitted into its pure atmosphere. The Lord's
mercy is as fully shown in the condition of the low
est devil as in the highest angeL He gives all the
good to every human being He has created, that he
can be made to receive.
Thus man finds his home according to his state.
His state, whether good or evil, determines it and
forms it. The same law that makes the water the
most suitable and delightful home for the fish, and
the air for the bird, and determines the specific rela
tions of every species of animal life to those substan
ces which supply its food, which forms its instincts
and habits, and leads it to its home, operates in the
final disposition of every human being. There is no
possibility of escape from it, without reversing all the
laws of the Divine order. And that would be no es
cape from it. Instead of relieving the Divine charac
ter from any apparent want of mercy and wisdom,
and any human being from comparative misery, it
would cause universal ruin, and either destroy the
universe, or bring upon all created beings, the good
as well as the evil, a thousand-fold more misery than
is now suffered by the evil alone. There is, therefore,
nothing in the doctrine that the wicked must suffer,
and that they can never entirely escape from suffer-

the lord's goodness. 177
ing, anything that is contrary to the eternal truth,
that, " The Lord is good to all, and His tender mer
cies are over all His works." 8*

LECTURE IX.
MAN IN HEAVEN.

Heaven, which all hope to attain, is a state of
rest, of peace, and perfect happiness. But what is
the nature of that happiness? What am I to enjoy
there? What shall I find there that will fill my
heart with peace and blessedness too great for words
to express? These are questions which receive various
and contradictory answers.
Multitudes, wearied with labor, look forward to
heaven as a state of eternal repose. They will have
no more duties to perform, no more burdens to bear ;
necessity will no longer goad them to reluctant tasks.
They will have nothing to do but " to sit among the
lazy saints," and bask in the sunshine of the Divine
favor. Others add to this repose some degree of
social intercourse. They will recline upon the banks
of the heavenly Jordan, and recount to each other
the various scenes of their past life, and they will
hear from others — from the lips of Adam, and Moses,

PREVALENT IDEAS OF HEAVEN. 179
and David — an account of their personal history while
in this world. The prevalent idea among Christians
at the present day is, that heavenly happiness will
consist in for ever singing the praise of the Lord.
The multitudes of the saved will surround His
throne, bowing before Him, and casting their golden
crowns at His feet, they will for ever sing the song
of Redeeming Love, and make the whole heavens
resound with anthems to His praise and glory.
In all these opinions, and in many others, the fun
damental idea is cessation from all useful and active
employment. Heaven is to be an eternal holiday — a
state of security from every danger, and of rest from
all work. This, as you will see upon a little reflec
tion, is a merely negative conception of it. It is
making heaven to consist in what it is not, rather than
in what it is. There will not be any labor, or care,
or anxiety, or bereavement. There will not be any
tears or sorrow. There will be no more pain. But
this can be said of the stones in the street, and the
lilies in the field, and of the material body, as it lies
mouldering to dust in the grave. But this is not
happiness. It may be escape from the punishment
due to sin — a release from those fears which torment
so many in this world, — with a sense of security for
the future ; but still it does not constitute a single
element of happiness.
And if we take all that is positive in popular be
lief, we shall find but a few simple elements of hap
piness, which could not long content an intelligent
being, unless his nature was much changed from

180 THE COMMON BELIEF NOT REASONABLE.
what it is in this life, and shorn of many of its
noblest qualities. The poor monk spoke the truth
when he said :

" If one goes to heaven without his heart,
God knows he leaves behind his better part."

" To sit down clad in white robes and wear a
golden crown, for ever and forever," would be very
poor and wearisome happiness, even if the repose
was varied by conversation and song. No ; if the
common belief is true, heaven is not so perfect a
life as this. Instead of advancing towards the per
fection of the Divine Character, man sinks down
towards the condition of the brute and the clod, when
he enters the spiritual world. Man's capacities for
happiness are not so great as they are in this world,
nor are the means of supply so various, full, and
abundant. His noblest faculties of reason and affec
tion must lose their power, their very nature, before
he could endure the torpor of eternal repose. He is
now an instrument of myriad strings, and the com
mon belief would destroy all conception of him as a
real substantial being, and of the spiritual world as
anything but an empty name, and leave him only
one string to thrum upon in dull monotony through
eternity. The conversation of such beings must be
come, in time, as trite as nursery rhymes. They
would long to return to earth and undergo its labors
and suffer its pains, or even think

ACTIVITY ESSENTIAL TO HAPPINESS. 181
" The world of pain were better, if therein
One's heart might still be human, and desires
Of natural pity drop upon its fires
Some cooling tears,"
than to be a useless drone in the universe.
There is but little said directly in the Bible about
the special means of our happiness in heaven. But
every page of the Word declares the essential nature
of a heavenly life. It is written so plainly and de
clared in so many forms, that it would seem impos
sible for any one who desired to know, to come to
any other than one conclusion, and that is, that heaven
must consist in a life of active use. If we examine our
natures with any degree of care and wisdom, we can
not fail to see that all our happiness flows and must
flow from the normal, healthy activity of our faculties,
and the more full, varied, and harmonious the acti
vity is, the greater our happiness. Reason and ex
perience teach us this. Repose and rest are pleasant;
but it is action that makes them so. Sleep is sweet
and refreshing ; but it is wakefulness and labor that
make it so. Eternal sleep is eternal death. It is
delightful to throw off all the burdens of labor, to put
the yoke of duty from the neck, and give the mind up
to sport and play, free from all care. But if there was
no sense of responsibility, and no special work to do,
there would be no relief in our amusements, no recrea
tion in our release from duty. The Lord has given us
no useless faculties of head or heart. He intended them
all for use. He formed them all to be the means of
communicating to us some delight. And that delight

182 THE REWARDS OF HEAVEN.
can only be attained by their use. As the pipe and
string make music only when they vibrate, so man's
faculties, from the highest to the lowest, give him de
light only when they are exercised. It is wise use
that gives the largest measure of happiness, and this
use is the only condition of happiness on earth or in
heaven. The Bible everywhere inculcates this life of active
use. We are commanded to love others ; to do them
good ; to let our light shine ; to improve the talents
the Lord has given us ; to work in His vineyard ;
and everywhere He promises to reward us according
to our deeds. Many suppose we are to do our work
in this life and to receive our reward in another.
This is true in one sense. But the reward is not for
work, as men pay wages ; but in the work itself.
"In keeping the commandments there is great re
ward." The only way in which we shall be rewarded
in the spiritual world for work done in this, is in the
strength and culture we get by it, and the consequent
increase of capacity to do and to receive. In endea
voring to ascertain the nature of heavenly happiness,
then, let us keep this eternal law of the Divine
order and of man's spiritual nature continually in
view, as our guide and rule of reason.
Heaven is a state of greater happiness than this
world, because we shall find there more abundant,
various, and perfect means for the exercise of every
faculty of the will and the understanding.
All happiness flows from love. There is no excep
tion to this law. The wicked find their delight in

THE FREEDOM OF HEAVEN. 183
the indulgence and gratification of their evil lusts. It
is the gratification of the affection, whether good or
evil, which constitutes the delight. But the delights
which flow from evil are soon turned to pain, because
they are contrary to the Divine order ; while those
that originate in the exercise of good affections, en
large our capacities for happiness. The love of self
and the world receives its poor and momentary re
ward ; but it contracts the heart, and closes it against
the inflowing love of the Lord, and arrays those who
exercise it against Him, and against every human
being, while the love of the Lord and the neighbor
opens the heart to Divine influences, and conjoins man
to man, to angels, and the Lord.
The happiness of heaven consists preeminently in
the fact, that all pure and noble affections will have
the widest scope and the most abundant means for
their development, and I know of no other way in
which that happiness can be described, than by stating
the facilities we shall find there for the exercise of our
affections, and some of the most general forms which
they will assume.
1. In heaven we shall be in perfect freedom. All
freedom springs from love. We feel free when we
can carry into effect the ends of life, or do what we
please. In this world we are restricted by the na.-
ture of material substances, by our necessities, by
opposition from others, and innumerable other things,
from carrying out our affections into complete effect.
But in heaven all these obstacles will be removed.
Space will not separate us from those we love. They

184 THE PEACE OF HEAVEN.
will all be with us. Necessity will not compel us to
forego any delight. We shall have abundant means
to gratify every taste and every desire. We shall
meet with no opposition from others. On the con
trary, every one will do all in his power to assist us
in the attainment of our ends. We shall find help
ing hands and encouraging hearts on every side. We
shall find those who can tell us all we desire to know.
and assist us in all we desire to do.
Reflect a moment upon this one element of heav
enly happiness. You can form some estimate of it
from your experience in this life. Suppose you have
an ardent desire to accomplish some great good for
yourself or for humanity in this world. The mo
ment you propose it you find every one desirous of
helping you. You find sympathy, encouragement,
and helping hands in every movement, and you are
borne up and carried along on the flood-tide of good
will to the full accomplishment of your end. What
consciousness of power it would give you I What
certainty of success ! What security, satisfaction, and
peace I You will find this happiness to perfection in
heaven. Every heart, and brain, and hand, will be
yours. Yes, and vastly more than that — all the
Divine forces will favor you — Omnipotence will be
yours. 2. There will be no conflict between the various
faculties and degrees of your own mind. Every na
ture will be homogeneous throughout in all its planes
and degrees. You will not have to practise any self-
denial. You will have no right eye to pluck out, nc

THE COMPLETENESS OF LIFE IN HEAVEN. 185
offending hand or foot to cut off, nc life to lay down.
You will love the Lord and the neighbor supremely,
and therefore you cannot have any personal ends tc
gratify in preference to their good. There is no
ground for self-denial, for your selfhood consists in
loving others ; and the only room for self-denial
would be in preventing yourself from doing all in
your power to promote the happiness of others — in
making your life an idle and useless one.
This harmony of nature will be especially manifest
in the perfect unity of the will and the understanding.
In this life they are distinct. We love and desire
what we do not know how to attain, and we have a
knowledge of truth which we do not love to obey and
do. Hence there is a perpetual conflict between the
will and the understanding, and a sense of incom
pleteness and a want of satisfaction in all we
do. But it will not be so in heaven. We shall know
how to do all that we love to do, and we shall love
to do all that we know how, and we shall do it.
There will be no overplus of knowledge or of will.
Thus every deed will be complete. It will be to us
the perfect ultimation and embodiment of our affec
tion and thought, and consequently will perfectly
content us. What a profound satisfaction there must
be in this ! What fulness and completeness it must
give to the activities of every day ! Our work will
content us — our affection is perfectly satisfied 1 We
see no way in which it could have been done better.
There is nothing lacking and nothing over.

186 THE HARMONY OF HEAVEN.
3. Our work will not only content us, but it will
content others also. There will be no envy or jealousy.
Each one will hold the same relation to others in the
same society, that the various organs of the mind or the
body hold to each other. Each one will have his special
function — some use which he can perform better than
any one else. As the hand can do some things better
than the eye, and the eye some things better than the
ear, and so on with every organ in the body, so each
member of a society can perform his own use better
than any one else in the whole heavens. He will de
light to do it, and all will delight to acknowledge his
special use.
What harmony and loving regard this would pro
duce in the society and in the whole heavens!
Imagine such a society in this world. Every member
is in his place, and delights to be in it. Each one can
do something that will be useful to the whole society
better than any one else, and he does it perfectly, and
all delight to acknowledge his use. What unity and
power such a society or government would possess,
and what happiness they would find in working
together for a common end I Such will be the happi
ness of every society in heaven. Each one will be
content with his function, because it will content all
others ; and all others will be content with it, because
he who performed it was filled with delight in doing
the good, and because no one else could do it so well.
Thus, while each person is a complete human being
in himself, he is a complement to every other mem
ber of a heavenly society, and they are all rounded

THE REST OF HEAVEN. 187
into a symmetrical and perfect whole. Each one
serves the whole, and all serve each one.
Can you conceive of any state, so far as regards
yourself personally, that could be more conducive to
perfect peace and happiness than this? There is not
a discord in your whole nature; there are no conflict
ing elements within or without you. All the faculties
of will, of understanding, of reason, and even sense,
act in perfect harmony with each other. There could
be no hesitation whether to speak or act ; there could
be no doubt about how we ought to act, or what we
should say. There would be no imperfection in our
utterance. We could express ourselves fully to the
nicest shade of meaning — there would be no danger
of being misunderstood. The hand and foot, and the
whole spiritual body, would perfectly obey the will.
Every faculty and organ would move as one and
reach the desired attainment.
This would be rest worthy of the name. Not the
rest of inaction and death ; but the rest from every
jar, and discord, and constraint. The rest of perfect
freedom, of harmonious activities that invigorate
rather than exhaust. This would be the peace of
heart and mind, of reason and act, all reposing upon
each other, and moving joyously in accord with all
other movements without and within.
4. But not only will all the elements of our own
natures be in perfect harmony with each other, and
with all who dwell in the heavens, and with the
Lord, but every object without and around us will
also be in perfect harmony with us. It is impossible

188 THE BEAUTY OF HEAVEN.
for us to conceive how much this state of the outward
world would enhance our happiness. But it must bo
far greater than we have any words to express, or
imagination to conceive. To see everywhere around
us, and above us, within the whole scope of our
vision, nothing to offend us, nothing to suggest the
feeling or the thought that anything is wanting to the
perfection of the scene. Not only to see beauty
everywhere, in landscape and home, but just the
kind of beauty that is the most delightful to us.
Wherever the eye rests, to be able to say, that suits
me ; that equals my ideal. And far more than this,
not only to be content with it, but to see the signifi
cance of everything. How little we know of the
meaning of the outward world I The flower is
lovely, the landscape beautiful, the mountain sublime,
but we gather only a vague and imperfect meaning
from them. They say but little to us. But in hea
ven it is not so. Everything in particular and in
general will answer to our affections and thoughts;
will be our idea ; and we shall feel a personal interest
in it. There will be the same harmony and unity of
the whole outward world with the whole world
within, that there is between the various faculties of
our being. Imagine yourself to be in such a world,
in such a state, where perfect harmony reigns 1 even
with your present capacities for happiness, your senses
dimmed and muffled with the veil of clay. And
could you ask for anything more? What more could
you ask? It equals your highest conceptions, and
you could not ask for what you could not conceive.

THE SENSES IN HEAVEN. 189
There would be no want of satisfaction; nc vague
longing for some unattained and unattainable good.
Your affections and thoughts would rest in peace
and perfect contentment.
5. But if we should stop here, we should have a
very poor and imperfect conception of heavenly hap
piness. I have as yet stated but little more than the
means for the attainment of happiness. We shall not
only be in this harmonious and perfect state as to the
essential conditions of happiness, but all our capaci
ties will be largely and variously increased in power.
The senses will become inconceivably more delicate
and acute. The sight will become amazingly sharp
ened. Two causes will heighten the brilliancy of all
colors, and the splendor in which all objects will be
seen — the vastly increased purity and power of spi
ritual light, and a corresponding increased sensitive
ness and capacity in the eye. The light is so great
that the light of our sun is mere darkness compared
with it. The atmospheres glow and sparkle as if
composed of rainbows and diamond dust. There are
colors which cannot be formed from material light,
and each color is far more clear, distinct, and brilliant,
than the brightest on earth. The sense of touch is so
delicate and acute in the spiritual body, and so per
fectly adapted to. all outward things, that every con
tact will give the most exquisite delight. We shall
be all alive with sensation.
The same perfection will exist in the sense of hear
ing. This sense is more allied to the affections than
any other. And it is this fact that gives to music its

190 THE MUSIC OF HEAVEN.
power. We know that each affection expresses itself
by a peculiar tone of voice. Sorrow moans and wails ;
quiet and gentle affections flow forth in soft and win
ning harmony ; joy is loud and jubilant. Some
chords are so plaintive, that they move us to tears
quicker than any words. Indeed, some states of
affection can be expressed much more fully and clearly
by music than by words. If this is so here, what must
it be in heaven, where the senses are much more acute,
and the whole nature is attuned to finer harmonies
than we can conceive ! There are no discords there ;
nor do the inhabitants of heaven learn music as we do ;
it is spontaneous. At certain times, the affections of
the angels flow forth in song ; and then the song be
comes the perfect embodiment and expression of the
affection. And such is the similarity of state, that
thousands and tens of thousands join in it in perfect
concord. The particular states which gave it birth
are fully expressed in the various parts and move
ments of the song, and all combine like various chords
in one grand harmony. All who hear it understand
it, and are affected by it. Thus every heart in the
whole society vibrates in unison, is delighted, exalted,
and thrilled by it. What voices the angels must
have ! We hear some in this world that thrill us
with delight ; what then must they be in heaven ?
Every tone is clear, round, smooth, and sweet ; every
chord is perfect ; every note has its meaning — a mean
ing that is fully understood. All voices blend in per
fect harmony, and give full and varied expression to
every particular in the affection sung 1 And then

THE REALITY OF HEAVEN. 191
with what acute perception they listen to this musical
expression of pure, innocent, and exalted affections!
Such delights will constitute one of the elements of
heavenly happiness.
So we might employ a whole discourse upon the va
rious delights of each sense, simply carrying out the
general principle in some details to their logical conse
quence. Eternity will not exhaust, but increase their
variety and perfection. But it is enough for our pre
sent purpose to know that the senses are far more
acute, act with far more precision, and are more ex
quisitely adjusted to all outward forms. And all
forms, colors, sounds, and qualities of external objects,
are correspondingly perfect, and clearly defined.
It is a very common idea, that all things in the
spiritual world (if there are any things there) are
vague and indistinct in outline, shadowy, unreal, and
.illusory. But this is directly the reverse of the truth.
They are far more real and distinct to every sense.
Every person becomes more individualized. The
lines which mark the identity of the angels are far
more nicely and accurately drawn than they can be in
this world. And this clear distinction in form, in
office, and quality of character, will constituto one of
the perfections of the heavenly state. While all will
act in harmony, each element in the society will be
come more distinct from every other.
6. Another element of heavenly happiness consists
in the fact that all the inhabitants live in the present,
and are totally absorbed in it. It is a very common
opinion that one of the great sources of pleasure in

192 HEAVENLY PROGRESS.
heaven will consist in reviewing our former life in
this world. But a little reflection will convince us that
there could not be much pleasure in that. It does
not give us much pleasure here to look back upon
the past ; why should it there ? There would cer
tainly be as much pain as pleasure in it. We shall
be so absorbed in the various activities and de
lights of the present, and the new and attractive
forms of the Divine Wisdom, that we shall not think
of the past or the future. There will be no regrets
for the past, and we shall borrow no trouble about
the future. The Lord will fill our hearts so full of
absorbing activities and exquisite delights, that there
will be no room for remembrance or expectation.
We shall take no thought for the morrow ; but, like
lilies and sparrows, grow and sing, and in all possible
ways communicate our delights, and trust implicitly
in the Lord. There will be no sting from the past, no
shadow of doubt about the future. We shall be ever
busy and active in giving to others ; and while we do
it, and in doing it, the Lord will give to us good meas
ure, pressed down and running over through others,
and immediately from Himself, and so the eternal
years will be an eternal succession of delights.
7. But although we live in the present we shall not
remain stationary. The law of mental and spiritual
development, which is clearly established in this life,
will not be annulled in the spiritual world. On the
contrary, it will be carried out under more favor
able, conditions. All the powers of the mind gain
strength and expand by action. Our affections grow

NO LIMIT TO HEAVENLY CAPACITY. 193
stronger and purer by exercise. So do the reason
and the understanding. The more you put into the
mind the more capacious it becomes. The more you
know, the more rapidly you can learn, and the more
you see there is to learn. The more you enlarge the
range of your affections, the purer and stronger they
become. The more you love others the more your
capacity to love increases, and the increase is not by
a diminished, but by an accelerated ratio. A wise
man can learn a thousand things easier than a child
can learn one. When a man once looks beyond him
self and begins to do good to others, it is much easier
to do two good actions than one. When you have
given a dollar to your neighbor, from love to him,
you can give two much easier than you did the
first. Now, carry this law on into the spiritual world,
and what must be the consequences ? Do you not
see that the infant born to-day may — nay, must — ¦
pass beyond the present attainments of the highest
angel ? Do you not see that there are, and can be, no
assignable limits beyond which the regenerate soul
must not pass? That our capacities for knowing, and
loving, and, consequently, for happiness, must for
ever increase in a continually accelerating ratio?
What shall we become, then, when millions of ages
have rolled away? The cup of life's happiness, full
to-day, and by filling it made larger for to-morrow ;
every affection giving birth to a purer, higher, and
more glorious truth, and every new truth prepar
ing the way for a sweeter, lovelier, more blessed af-

194 WHAT SWEDENBORG SAYS.
fection, and so on, for ever rising, for ever perfecting
for ever nearer the Lord. " It doth not yet appear
what we shall be ! " No, it doth not. The highest
angel cannot conceive it. Oh, the grandeur, the
glory of the blessedness of human destiny ! As a
necessary consequence of this continual and rapid
expansion and perfection of our natures, you can see
that no one grows old in heaven. You can see that
what Swedenborg says upon the subject must be true,
for it is the legitimate result of principles which we
all acknowledge and see in constant operation in this
life. " Such as are principled in mutual love," he says,
"continually advance in heaven towards the morn
ing of youth, and the more thousands of years, the
more nearly they attain to a joyous and delightful
spring, and so on to eternity, with fresh increments
of blessedness, according to their advancement in mu
tual love, charity, and faith. Those of the female
sex who depart this life, broken with the infirmities
of age, after living in faith towards the Lord, in
charity towards their neighbor, and in conjugal love
with their husbands, advance with the succession of
ages, more and more towards the bloom of youth,
and acquire a beauty surpassing all description. For
it is the nature of goodness and charity to form and
establish their own image in such persons, causing
the delight and loveliness of charity to be expressed in
every feature of the face, so that such persons become
forms of love itself. * * This form of exquisite beauty
affects with charity the inmost life of him who be-

THE ETERNAL YOUTH OF THE ANGELS. 195
holds it, and by the beauty of that form the truths
of faith are imaged forth, and thereby rendered per
ceptible. Those who have lived in faith grounded
in charity towards the Lord, become such forms of
beauty in another life. All the angels are such forms,
with an infinite variety, and of these heaven is com
posed." There is no old age, no infirmity, no signs of decay
in heaven. Conceive every face you look upon to
be a special and perfect form of some affection, so
that it shall be distinctly, variously, and adequately
portrayed in every feature, gleam forth in mild but
radiant splendors from the eye, be enthroned in the
forehead, moulded into beauty in the cheek, playing in
smiles and lovely expression about the lips, flowing
in harmony in the Voice, rounding the whole form, and
swaying it in graceful and gentle motions. And then
conceive that you have the power of perceiving the
meaning of every form and motion, and of being
affected by it. It would send a thrill of joy through
you, even to look upon such forms of purity and
loveliness. What then must be the happiness of see
ing such faces and forms everywhere, and of asso
ciating with them freely in all heavenly ministries ?
8. I have said but little about the relations of the
angels to the Lord, and I have no space to do it now,
except to say that they are with Him, where He is.
They are one with Him, not immediately and visibly
in His presence, as many suppose; they could not
bear that; but they live in the sphere of His love, and
in the light of His wisdom. They see Him in every-

196 THE MINISTRIES OF THE ANGELS.
thing around them. They delight to acknowledge
that all they possess is His continual gift to them,
and the various tokens of His love. All the beauty
of outward things, their habitations, their dress, their
food, their beautiful ornaments, are His gifts, and they
value them more as tokens of His love, than they do
for their beauty. They are objects which suggest
His love and thoughtful care. And they have a per
ception of their meaning. The thought is not, bee
what beautiful things I possess ; but see the munifi
cence, the love and wisdom of the Lord ! My Father
gave me these.
So in all their lovely ministries to each other,
they remember that the brother angel is only the
voluntary medium of the kindness. The Lord is the
real giver. They ask no return for the favors they
bestow. They rather thank the Lord that He has
permitted them to be the almoners of His bounty;
and so in all things they regard Him first. And
when they think of Him, and open their hearts to
Him, a new wave of life from Him flows into them,
expanding them, making their natures more delicate
and sensitive to deeper and more exquisite delights.
The attractions of His love get a more powerful hold
upon them. They become more perfectly magnetized
by it, and He draws them gently and lovingly, closer
to His infinite heart. They feel the new life thrilling
through them, and they see it blossoming into all
lovely forms around them. Thus He lives in them,
and they in Him, and the Lord and the angels are
continually becoming more and more perfect in one.

COMPANIONSHIP IN HEAVEN. 197
It is the Divine of the Lord ; the Divine love and the
Divine Wisdom, which constitute heaven ; and all are
in heaven just in the degree they can receive that
love and wisdom. You have friends there. Some
who walked by your side in these streets, and met
with you to worship. We see their faces here no
longer. We have put their material bodies away
tenderly into the earth, where they are returning to
dust. But they are in heaven. Their faces are radiant
with the Divine love. They have thrown off the in
firmities of age, and they are advancing towards the
spring-time of an eternal youth. There are our
children. Beautiful, lovely innocents ! They, too,
are unfolding in those soft and glowing vernal airs,
and becoming forms of the Divine love and wisdom.
Our places will soon be vacant here. May they not
be left eternally vacant there ! May the Lord in His
infinite mercy help us all to begin a heavenly life
here, that we may continue it there, and become the
partakers of its ineffable and ever enduring blessed
ness I

APPENDIX

THE LORD'S RESURRECTION BODY NOT MATERIAL.
The question is often asked, How do New Churchmen reconcile
the apparent resurrection of the Lord's material body with the doc
trine that man's material body never rises again ? The answer is,
that the Lord did not rise in a material, but in a divine body, and
that after His resurrection He was never seen with the material eye,
nor became manifest to any material sense. Some of the more gene
ral grounds for this belief are these .-
Spiritual beings cannot become manifest to the material senses.
In most of the cases in which the appearance of spirits to men
is recorded in the Bible, it is plainly declared that the persons to
whom such manifestations were made, were in an abnormal state.
They were "in the spirit," or "their eyes were opened," or else it is
said that the spiritual beings came and went in a manner impossible
to material substances. When several persons were together, one
would see the vision or hear the voice, when others did not ; or it
appeared differently to dififerent persons. One hears the utterance
of distinct words; others say it thundered, and so on, with great
variety. When " Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary " came to the
sepulchre, they saw angels and heard them speak, but Peter and the
other disciple saw neither the angels nor Jesus. They only saw the
" linen clothes lying " in which He had been wrapped when taken
from the cross. This shows conclusively that the women saw with
dififerent eyes from the men. A further evidence that Mary did not
see the- Lord with the natural eye, is found in the fact, as recorded

200 THE LORD'S RESURRECTION BODY
by John, that Mary did not know the Lord when she did see Him.
She supposed the person she saw was the gardener ; and it was not
until she heard Him pronounce her name that she recognised the
risen Lord. The same remark may be made of His manifestation to
the disciples. His first appearance was to two of the disciples while
they were going to Emmaus. It is said, "And it came to pass, that
while they communed and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and
went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not
know Him.'' And the moment their eyes were opened to know Him,
He vanished out of sight. One of these disciples was Simon. They,
of course, knew his features perfectly, having been with Him con
stantly for three years. ¦ He must, therefore, at first have appeared
to them in a dififerent form, and with different features, from whak
they were accustomed to see Him, as He did to Mary.
This difference of appearance is perfectly accounted for according
to the principles of the New Church, by a universal law of the
spiritual world, and that is, that the Lord always appears to spirit
ual beings according to their state. For this reason one person sees
what another cannot, and sees at one time things in a very different
aspect from what they appear at another. This law obtains in this
world on all questions of a moral and spiritual nature: and, indeed,
upon all questions, except those that are purely material. We can
see to-day what we could not see yesterday; and all questions
change according to our knowledge, and the state of our affections.
The old maxim is true, " A change iu ourselves, changes the whole
world." The poet has expressed the same truth when he says,
" Who has no inward beauty
None perceives, though all around is beauti/ul."
The disciples did not come into a state to see the Lord in His
glorified humanity so readily as the Marys. The intellect is always
slower in its apprehensions than the affections.
Again : " Jesus came and stood in the midst of the disciples when
the doors were shut." This clearly indicates that His body was not
a material one. I know it may be said, that it would be easy for a
being who had burst the bars of the grave to effect an entrance into
a room, though the doors were shut, even if he was in a material
body. But we have no right to make this supposition. The Loid

NOT MATERIAL. 201
does not violate His iwn laws. He fulfils them. His miracles were
all wrought not in violation of His laws, but in the fulfilment ol
them. Now it is a universal law, that oue solid, material body can-
not pass through another, unless a passage is made for it. Rut
matter is no obstruction to spirit.
When the Lord left the disciples, He did not go from them in the
ordinary way, but He vanished from their sight. This vanishing
was efifected by the closure of their own spiritual sight, and not by
His removal beyond the reach of their natural vision. It is gene
rally supposed that the appearance and disappearance of spiritual
beings is effected by some chango in them. They assume a mate
rial body for the occasion. But if they do, what becomes of it when
they go away? It is much more philosophical, and in accordance
with all the facts, to suppose that theophanies and spiritual mani
festations are efifected by a change in those to whom the manifesta
tions are made. On this principle the manner of our Lord's coming
and going can be satisfactorily explained, according to the universal
laws of the relation of spirit and matter.
At His first appearance to the disciples, on the evening of the day
of the resurrection, "Came Jesus, and stood in the midst, and saith
unto them, ' Peace be unto you.' And when He had so said, He
showed unto them His hands and His side." And afterwards, He
said to the doubting Thomas, " Reach hither thy finger, and behold
my hands ; and reach hither thy hand and thrust it into my side,
aud be not faithless, but believing." He said, also, to the disciples,
terrified at the idea that they had seen a spirit, when He appeared
unto them : "A spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see mo have."
Now these words seem to declare very plainly that our Lord's ma
terial body was raised. But they do not. This will appear evident
when all the circumstances are taken into consideration.
The universal law is, as we have said, that the Lord, as a Divine
Being, must appear to every one according to his state, and his
ideas of Him. The disciples had the idea in their minds, that the
Lord must have these marks in his hands and side, if He was really
the same Being, and, therefore, they saw them. He appeared to
them according to their state. These words express the truth as it
appeared to His disciples, and it was only by these appearances of
truth that they could be led to recognise and identify- the Lord
9*

202 THE LORD'S RESURRECTION BODY
after His resurrection. At each time of His appearance, it was in a
dififerent way, and His recognition was efifected in a dififerent man
ner. Mary knew Him when He pronounced her name ; the disci
ples He accompanied to Emmaus, "in the breaking of bread;" the
other disciples, by His appearing in their midst, when the doors
were shut, and showing them His hands and side ; and, again, the
disciples at the sea of Tiberias, by the miraculous draught of fishes,
and after His ascension, as recorded in the Apocalypse, He appeared
to John in various forms, in the midst of the golden candlesticks, as
the Lamb slam, as the Word of God on the white horse, eta If He
is in the same body, why should He not always appear the samo ?
Especially, why should there be such an amazing difference in His
appearance at dififerent times ? I know of no other way in which this
fact can be accounted for, than in the one I have mentioned, namely.
That because He is in a divine and infinite body, He must appear
to men and angels according to their states, or power of compre
hending Him?
But, it must be observed, that in every manifestation of Himself
to His disciples after His resurrection, two remarkable and very dis
similar tilings are always brought together. Some token is given by
which He can be identified, and something else is said or done, to
show that He is not in the same state He was before the crucifixion.
When He showed His disciples His hands and side, it is carefully
stated, also, that He came in wheu the doors were shut. Why
should that be stated, unless for the purpose of showing that,
though the same person, He was in a different state; and in this
way of leading their gross, natural minds, from the natural to the
spiritual. There is abundant evidence in the gospels that it was very diffi
cult for the disciples, even, to comprehend the true nature of the
Iiord, and His real mission. They were slow to understand that
His kingdom was a spiritual one. They thought that He came to
establish a temporal kingdom, and they never seem to have gained
a true idea of His nature and mission until after His ascension, and
the gift of the Holy Spirit. Hence their despair at His crucifixion,
and their incredulity and amazement at His resurrection. Now, it
is impossible to conceive any means more perfectly adapted to ele
vate their minds from the natural to the spiritual, than this coming

NOT MATERIAL. 203
and going; this double aspect in which He presented himself to
them. If He had never appeared to them after the crucifixion, or
the resurrection, they would have gone back to their old employ-
meuts, and never would have obtained any other idea of Hun than
they had from the first. In all probability they wo lid have sup
posed that they had been mistaken in Him. If He had come back
from the sepulchre, and remained with them permanently, they must
have been confirmed in their ideas that His kingodm was a material
one ; and so, in either case, His work would not have been com
pleted. But by coining and going, appearing and disappearing, He
gradually led their minds from a natural to a spiritual conception of
Him. This is, doubtless, the reason for his appearing to the disci
ples in such a manner as to lead them into doubt at first whether
He was the same person or not. The wounds proved that He must
be the same person that was crucified. His coming in when the
doors were shut, and appearing to them under another form, proved
with equal clearness, that He must have a different body, and be is
a different state, from the one in which they had known Him before
the crucifixion. It is one of the most beautiful and instructive ex
amples of the manner in which the Lord leads us from natural to
spiritual conceptions of Himself, and furnishes a perfectly satisfac
tory reason why He appeared to His disciples in such a double
aspect. The same principle will be seen in all He says of Himself. " A
spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have." Now we
oelieve that spirits have flesh and bones, though they are not mate
rial For without flesh and bones, or what is the same thing, a sub-
itantial form, organized of spiritual substances, they could have no
personality or existence. But still we believe that the declaration
of tho Lord is literally true. A spirit hath not such flesh and bones
as the Lord : He glorified His human nature, to the lowest degree,
to the very senses. He made the sensual degree of the humanity
divine. But this degree becomes quiescent in us when we are raised
up into the spiritual world. This, however, opens a profound and
extensive question concerning the real distinction between thd
nature of the Lord's Divine body and man's spiritual body, which
the doctrines of the New Church fully explain, but upon which it is
not necessary to enter now. It is sufficient for the present purpose

204 THE LORD'S RESURRECTION BODY
to state the fact that there is a radical difference between man and
the Lord in this, as in all other respects.
Recurring to the idea of flesh, you will recollect that the Lord
says in another place, that we must " eat His flesh and drink his
blood, or we can have no life in us;" and, again, "He that eateth
Me shall live by Me." Here the word " flesh " cannot be usod in its
material sense. At the institution of the Holy Supper, He said,
" The bread is my body, which is broken for you." Many other pas
sages might be quoted to show that by flesh the Lord did not mean
material flesh, and, therefore, that we are not compelled in these
passages to limit their meanings to the material body.
But there is another statement that seems even more conclusive
to many, than the showing of His wounds to His disciples, that He
was still in the material body, and that is, His eating the bread and
fish with His disciples, at the sea of Tiberias. If He could eat fish
and bread, He must still bo in the material body. But a careful
examination of the passage will show that it is capable of another
solution. After stating the fact that several of the disciples had gone a fish
ing, and that they had caught nothing during the night, the narra
tive continues : " But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood
on the shore ; but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus." Then
Jesus saith unto them, "Children, have ye any meat? They
answered Him, no. And He said unto them, cast the net on the
right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast, therefore, and
now they were not able to draw it, for the multitude of fishes.
Therefore, that disciple whom Jesus loved, saith unto Peter : It is
the Lord. Now, when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he
girt his fisher's coat unto him, for he was naked, and did cast him
self into the sea. And the other disciples came in a little ship (for
they were not far from land, but as it were, two hundred cubits),
dragging the net with them." Now we come to the point in the
narrative to which I wish to call your special attention. " As soon
as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish
laid thereon, and bread." The fire, then, was not kindled by the
apostles, and the fish and bread were not supplied by them, for they
had been out all night, and they saw the fish as soon as they came
to land ; and there is no evidence in the account, that the fish even

NOT MATERIAL. 205
wero supplied from those caught by the apostles. Jesus saita unto
them, " Come and dine," the moment the net was drawn to the
shore; and before it was drawn to the shore, Peter and the dis
ciples who came first, saw the coals of fire and the fish. There is
nothing in the account to invalidate the doctrine of the New Church,
that this whole transaction was a spiritual one. The spiritual sight
of the apostles must have been open or they could not have seen
Jesus. And when they saw Him, and hoard Him call to them, they
did not know Him, until their attention was aroused to the fact by
the large draught of fishes.
It will doubtless seem incredible to many, that the fire, the fish,
the bread, and the eating, could be spiritual, because there is so lit
tle belief in the absolute reality of the spiritual world. But there
are some instances mentioned in the Bible that show clearly that
such a scene might be spiritual. Peter afterwards saw a vision in a
trance. " A certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet let
down from heaven by four corners," and in it he saw four-footed
beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air, and this was done
three times. " And I heard a voice, saying unto me, Arise, Peter,
slay and eat." It is not said that he did eat, but there was an
abundance provided for him, and the four-footed beasts and creeping
things, and fowls of the air, were spiritual. It is said, also, in the
Revelation, while John was in the spirit, that a little book was
given to him, and he was commanded to eat it, and that he did eat
it up, and he says : "In my mouth it was sweet as honey ; and as
soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter." Ezekiel, also, says
that " in the waters that issued out from under the threshold of the
house " he saw in. the spiritual world, which must have been a spi
ritual river, " There shall be a very great multitude of fish, * * and
they shall be a place to spread forth nets. Their fish shall be
according to their kinds as the fish of the great sea, exceeding
many." The Lord, also, declared to His disciples at the last supper,
" I will drink no more of this fruit of the vine until that day when I
drink it new with you, in my Father's kingdom." To deny the pos
sibility of such a scene in the spiritual world, then, is to deny the
possibihty and the truthfulness of many things recorded in the
Word. And while there is nothing in the letter of the Word which

206 THE LORD'S RESURRECTION BODY.
requires us to believe that our Lord was seen with the natural ey^
and many things which render it improbable ; and while no diffi
culties are avoided by the supposition that our Lord rose in tha
same body that was crucified, there are rational and spiritual
grounds that render such a supposition impossible. If He rose in a
material body, He must now dwell in a material body, with all its
limitations and imperfections, and He must also dwell in a material
world; for the very organization and nature of a material body
adapts it to a material world, and unfits it for a spiritual world. He
came into this world by assuming a material body — the only way in
which a spiritual being can get into this world — and so long as He
dwelt in that body He must remain here, or in some other material
world. Now He declared that He was going away to prepare a
place for us in His Father's house, which is heaven. But where is
heaven 1 Is it in any material world ? If it is, how do the angels,
and the multitude of those who have passed from the earth, dwell
there ? John also declares that he saw the Lord, and an innume
rable company of angels and spirits in the spiritual world. How do
they associate together, if the Lord is in a material body, whilo they
are pure spirits ? So far as we have any knowledge of the nature
and relations of spirit and matter, open, conscious intercourse
between beings in such different states would be impossible.
But it is not necessary to multiply examples. There is no end to
the difficulties in the interpretation of Scripture, and the absur
dities in the nature and relations of men and angels to the Lord,
involved in the supposition that the same body that was crucified
rose again. On the other hand, the doctrine of the New Church
removes every real difficulty, involves no contradiction to Scripture,
but is in harmony both with the letter and spirit of the Word, and
is in accordance with all we know of the laws of matter and spirit,
and holds out to man the most definite and certain assurances oJ a
real and substantial spiritual life beyond the grave.

New- Church Messenger
(established in 1S55)
A WEEKLY PERIODICAL,
DEVOTED TO THE EXPOSITION AND PROPAGATION OF THE
^admits of tlje ilcro ffiljurtlj,
AS TAUGHT IN THE SACRED SCRIPTURES, AND UNFOLDED IN THE
WRITINGS OF
EMANUEL SWEDENBORG.

It is a quarto of sixteen pages, of which fourteen pages con
sist of original matter, and two are given to advertisements.
Many cannot, until they become accustomed to Swedenborg's
style, and familiar with some of the fundamental principles of
his teachings, understand his books. The Messenger is espe
cially adapted to meet the wants of such persons, interpreting
the language of Swedenborg's writings, and presenting his ideas
in accordance with our modern modes of expression.
In its Editorials and Notes it calls attention to the progress
of new spiritual light and life, as evinced in the religious, social,
and scientific ideas of the day, expressed by our most advanced
thinkers. In each number two or three essays and a sermon give
expositions of New-Church doctrines, and of passages from the
Sacred Scriptures. The News Department chronicles the growth
of New-Church ideas, and the advancement of New-Church or
ganizations all over the world. There are also columns devoted
to Correspondence and Communications, in which points of
doctrine are explained for the benefit of inquirers not familiar
with New-Church teachings. The Children's Page consists of
one or two poems, an interesting story, original or selected, and
other matter of peculiar interest to children. The whole con
cludes with Literary Reviews, and the usual Marriage, Obituary,
and Special Notices. The Messenger thus presents, and brings
into the familiar experiences of our every-day life, the most
beautiful, spiritual, and enlightened system of religious truth
known. Subscription Price, Three Dollars a Year.
Specimen numbers, five cents. Subscription for any clergy
man, $1.50. Subscription for extra copies to be distributed gra
tuitously, $1.50. Advertisements, ten cents per line.
Published by New-Church Board of Publication,
Room 20, Cooper Union, New York, N.Y.

standard new-church books.

A COMPENDIUM OF THE THEOLOGICAL WRITINGS OF
EMANUEL SWEDENBORG:
By SAMUEL M. WARREN.
Second and revised edition, with a Biographical Introduction by
Hon. John Bigelow, and Schoff's portrait of Swedenborg.
850 pp., 5XX8Ji inches; large type; neat cloth.
Price, reduced from $3.25 to $1.75 ; postage, 25 cts. extra.

CONTENTS.
Concerning God ; Creation ; Man ; the Fall of Man ; the Docrrine of the
Lord ; the Holy Spirit ; the Divine Trinity ; the Sacred Scriptures ;
Signification or various Terms and Subjedts in the Word ; the Ten
Commandments ; Faith ; Charity and Good Works ; Free Will ; Re
pentance, Reformation, and Regeneration ; Imputation ; the Church ;
the First, or most Ancient Church ; the Second, or Ancient Church ;
the Third, or Israelitish Church ; the Fourth, or First Christian
Church ; the Second Coming of the Lord ; the Fifth, or New Christian
Church ; Baptism ; the Holy Supper ; the Priesthood ; Marriage ;
Divine Providence ; the Human Soul ; Influx and Intercourse be
tween the Soul and the Body : the Eternal World ; the Intermediate
State, or World of Spirits : Heaven ; Hell ; the Last Judgment ; the
Earths in the Universe ; Miscellaneous Extracts. Index.
As will be seen from the above table of contents, the Compen
dium is an epitome of the Theology of the New Church, in the
language of Swedenborg himself. The subjedts are systemat
ically presented, and the extracts are so arranged under heads
that they present an orderly and logical treatise upon the spe
cial topics treated. The articles are selected from the whole
range of Swedenborg's writings, and his clearest and most em
phatic expressions are brought together and made to throw light
upon each other.
It is a work to be kept by one for daily reference ; a hand
book in which we can find Swedenborg's clearest statements
upon all the most important subjedts of spiritual growth and
life. Objection has often been made to the voluminousness of Swe
denborg's writings, and the dryness of his style, and many are
no doubt deterred from reading them on this account. Many,
too, would like to know what he says upon some particular sub
ject, but do not know where to find it without considerable labor.
These hindrances to the study of his writings are removed in
the Compendium: and by the aid of the Index one can turn
directly to what he wants, and find the pith of Swedenborg's
teachings upon all subjects which relate to man's spiritual life,
expressed in clear and smooth English.
Address : New-Church Board of Publication,
Room 20, Cooper Union, New York, N.V.

STANDARD NEW-CHURCH BOOKS.

AMID THE CORN.
By the Author of "The Evening and the Morning."
Part I. The Christmas Visit.
A new and cheap edition, in paper covers ; 90 pp., 4%XsH inches.
Prices : 10 cts. each, twelve for $1.00, postage included ;
$6.00 per hundred, postage not included.
CONTENTS.
Jesus in the Cornfield.— Garnered Wheat and Consumed Chaff.— The Gos
pel in the Book of Numbers.— The Sheep and the Goats.— The New
House and its Battlements.— Let the Dead Bury their Dead.— The
Wells of Salvation.— The Wise and Prudent— The Potterand the Pots.
—The Jubilee.— The Tares amid the Wheat

THE EVENING AND THE MORNING : a Narrative.
235 PP-i 4~Xfi% inches ; neatly printed in clear type on tinted
paper, and firmly bound in fine cloth. Price, 75 cts.
CONTENTS.
Our Hero.— Perplexed.— Rev. Jabez Faithful.— An Incident of some Im
portance.— The Logic of Death.— The Logic of Lite.— Pradlical Wis
dom. — Glimpses.— God. — More Pradlical Wisdom. — Revelation, Its
Human Side. — Mr. Jones in his Element. — Revelation, Its Divine
Side. — An Arrival and a Departure. — Heaven and Hell. — Marriage.
— Historical Difficulties. — More Historical Difficulties. — Symbols.—
Jesus. — The Last
"This book consists in a conversation between a New-Church
man and a modern unbeliever in the doctrines of Christianity
as they are generally held and taught in the so-called Evangel
ical Churches  The most important doctrines of religion are
discussed, and the absurdity of modern unbelief and the truth
of the new faith, are set forth with great clearness of statement
and variety of illustration  It is a capital book to put into
the hands of doubters, and even those who are familiar with the
doctrines of the New Church will find much in it to interest
and instruct. They can hardly fail of getting clearer ideas of
important truths from reading it. No allusion is made to the
New Church or Swedenborg by name. We think this is a mis
take ; but some do not, and we are willing they should work in
their own way." — {New yerusalem Messenger?)
Address: New-Church Board of Publication,
Room 20, Cooper Union, New York, N.Y.

STANDARD NEW-CHURCH BOOKS.

HEAVEN AND HELL, ALSO THE WORLD OF SPIRITS.
from Things Heard and Seen,
By EMANUEL SWEDENBORG.
383 pages, 4^X7^ inches ; bound in boards ; price, 25 cts.
{Other editions at 15 els. ; 75 els. ; $1.50; $2.00; and $5.00.)
CONTENTS.
Concerning Heaven. — Introduction; the Lord is the God of Heaven-; the
Divine of the Lord makes Heaven ; the Divine of the Lord in
Heaven is Love to Him and Charity towards the Neighbor ; Heaven
is distinguished into Two Kingdoms; there are Three Heavens ; the
Heavens consist of Innumerable Societies ; Every Society is a Heaven
in a less Form, and Every Angel in the Least ; the Whole Heaven in
one complex resembles One Man ; Every Society in the Heavens
resembles One Man ; hence Every Angel is in a perfect Human
Form ; it is from the Divine Human of the Lord, that Heaven, in the
whole and in part, resembles a Man ; there is a Correspondence of
all things of Heaven with All Things of Man ; there is a Corre
spondence of Heaven with All the Things of the Earth ; the Sun in
Heaven ; Light and Heat in Heaven ; the Four Quarters in Heaven ;
the Changes of State of the Angels in Heaven ; Time in Heaven ;
Representatives and Appearances in Heaven ; the Garments with
which the Angels appear clothed ; the Habitations and Mansions of
Angels ; Space in Heaven ; the Form of Heaven, according to which
are consociations and communications there ; Governments in Heav
en ; Divine Worship in Heaven ; the Power of Angels in Heaven ; the
Speech 01 the Angels ; the Speech of Angels with Man ; Writings in
Heaven ; the Wisdom of the Angels of Heaven ; the State of Inno
cence of Angels in Heaven ; the State of Peace in Heaven ; the con
junction of Heaven with the Human Race ; the conjunction of Heaven
with Man by the Word; Heaven and Hell are trom the Human Race;
the Nations or Peoples out of the Church, in Heaven; Infants in Heav
en ; the Wise and the Simple in Heaven ; the Rich and Poor in Heav
en ; Marriages in Heaven ; the Employments of Angels in Heaven ;
Heavenly Joy and Happiness; the Immensity of Heaven.
Concerning the World of Spirits and Concerning the State of Man
after Death. — What the World of Spirits is ; Every Man is a Spirit
as to his Interiors ; Man's Resuscitation from the Dead, and En
trance into Eternal Life ; Man After Death ia in a Perfect Human
Form ; Man After Death is in all Sense, Memory, Thought, and Af
fection, in which he was in the World, and that He Leaves Nothing
except his Earthly Body ; Man is, After Death, as his Life was in
the World; the Delights of the Life of Every One After Death are
Turned into Corresponding Delights ; First State of Man after Death ;
Second State of Man After Death ; Third State of Man After Death,
which is the State of Instruction of those who come into Heaven ; No
One Comes into Heaven from immediate Mercy ; it is not so Diffi
cult to Live a Life which Leads to Heaven as it is supposed.
Concerning Hell. — The Lord Rules the Hells; the Lord Casts no one
down into Hell, but that the Spirit casts himself down ; all who are in
the Hells are in evils and falses thence, originating in the Loves of
Selt and of the World ; what is meant by Internal lure, and what by
Gnashing of Teeth ; the Malice and Wicked Arts of Infernal Spirits ;
the Appearance, Situation, and Plurality of the Hells; the Equili
brium between Heaven and Hell ; Man is in Freedom through the
Equilibrium between Heaven and Hell.
New-Church Board of Publication, 20 Cooper Union, N.Y.

standard new-church books.

THE LIFE AND MISSION OF EMANUEL SWEDENBORG.
By BENJAMIN WORCESTER.
With a fine steel portrait of Swedenborg and a fac-simile of his
handwriting.
One handsome i2mo, 475 pp., 5X7^ inches ; with Index.
Price, $2.00.

CONTENTS.

Introductory ; Swedenborg's Place in History. — Swedenborg's Parentage.
— Childhood and Youth ; Studies Abroad ; "Daedalus." — Assessor-
ship; Employment by Charles XII. — Twenty Years' Labor; "Opera
Philosophica." — Philosophical Studies. — Philosophical Studies, con
cluded. — Spiritual Preparation. — Opening of Spiritual Sight. — Open
ing of the Scriptures. — Assessorship ; "The Arcana;" "The Apoc
alypse." — Doctrinal Treatises. — Conclusion oi Life ; Friends of Later
Years. — Stories of Spiritual Sight : Dr. Beyer ; Opposition by the
Clergy. — Friendly Accounts of Swedenborg. — Home Life of Sweden
borg. — Appendix ; Notes Appended to Text ; Portraits of Sweden
borg; Writings of Swedenborg; Principal Dates in Swedenborg's
Life ; Biographies of Swedenborg.
"We have here the most complete, just, and interior life of
Swedenborg that has yet appeared. The work has been thor
oughly done, with great painstaking, and entirely without haste.
 Worcester's Life of Swedenborg has a great mis
sion before it. It is the most complete answer to popular false
notions concerning Swedenborg, and is the best adapted to meet
the questions of modern intelligence of anything we have ever
met. It promises to hold the highest position among the lives
of Swedenborg for many years to come." — (New-Church Mes
senger^ Address : New Church Board of Publication,
Room 20, Cooper Union, New York, N.V.

AN APPEAL IN BEHALF OF THE VIEWS OF THE ETER
NAL WORLD AND STATE, AND THE DOCTRINES OF FAITH
AND LIFEt held by the body of Christians who believe that a
New Church is meant in the Revelation {chap, xxi.) by "the New
Jerusalem :" embracing Answers to all Principal Objections.
By the Rev. SAMUEL NOBLE.
Ninth Edition, with a Memoir of the Author.
532 pp., 4^X7^ inches ; price, $1.50, postpaid.
contents.
Introduction, — The Second Coming of the Lord.
The Resurrection. — The True Doctrine Proposed, and Texts cited in Op
position Considered ; Other Texts commonly regarded as adverse
to the True Doctrine, Considered; The Testimony of Reason, for
and against, the Resurrection of the Material Body; Scripture Evi
dence of the True Doctrine.
The Last Judgment. — The Last Judgment of the Scriptures was not to be
accomplished in the Natural World ; the Spiritual World the Scene
of It ; as of all former General Judgments : An Intermediate World
and State the Specific Scene of all General and Particular Judgments ;
The Last Judgment Actually Accomplished.
A Human Instrument Necessary and Therefore Raised Up. — Sweden
borg Qualified to be such an Instrument, and not Unlikely to be Chos
en ; Specific Evidences to the Qualifications of Swedenborg, and to
the Truth of his Claims : The Objection, "That Swedenborg Perform
ed no Miracles," considered ; The Charge against Swedenborg of
"Mental Derangement," considered, with some Minor Objections.
Heaven and Hell ; and the Appearances in them and in the In
termediate Region or World of Spirits. — The Human Instrument
for Opening the Truths to be Revealed at the Lord's Second Advent,
should be Enabled to Remove the Prevailing Darkness on these Sub
jects ; The Inhabitants of Heaven and of Hell are all from the Hu
man Race ; All Swedenborg's Statements respecting the Spiritual
World are perfectly Reasonable and Scriptural, when Certain
Truths, relating to that World, are known ; The Existence of the
Marriage Union in Heaven, and of an Opposite Connection in Hell ;
Other Circumstances in Heaven, Hell, and the World of Spirits, dif
fering from what is usually conceived ; Swedenborg's General
Views respecting Heaven and Hell, obviously agreable to Reason
and Scripture.
The Trinity, as Centered in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. —
The General Doctrine stated, and Established by Scripture ; All Ob
jections to the Doctrine fall to the Ground, when Certain Truths are
"known relating to the Lord as the Son of God, and the Glorification
of His Humanity ; Trifheism the Alternative of the True Doctrine of
the Trinity ; The True Doctrine confirmed from the Texts Most Re
lied On for the Proof of the Contrary.
The Atonement, Sacrifice, and Mediation of Jesus Christ. — Atonement
in General, and Atonement by Sacrifices, especially by the Sacrifice
of Jesus Christ ; Other Modes of Atonement, besides that by Sacri
fices, mentioned in Scripture ; The Mediation of Jesus Christ.
The Christian Life. — The New-Church Doctrine of Life, a Doctrine of
Genuine Holiness ; Holiness, not Laxity, encouraged by the senti
ment, "That it is not so Difficult to Live the Lite that Leads to
Heaven as some suppose ; Charity not Infringed by Swedenborg's
Exposure of the Errors of a Perverted Church.
Appendix. — Various Particulars relating to Heaven and Hell, &c, Ex-
Slained ; The New-Church Doctrine of the Trinity not a Revival of
abellianism, or any other Ancient Heresy.
Address: New-Church Board of Publication,
Room 20, Cooper Union, New York, N.Y.

STANDARD NEW-CHURCH BOOKS.

LECTURES ON THE SYMBOLIC CHARACTER OF THE
SACRED SCRIPTURES.
By Rev. ABIEL SILVER.
Fifth Edition,
286 pp., 4XX7 inches ; large type ; fine cloth binding.
Price, $1.25, postpaid.

CONTENTS.
Reasons why the Literal Sense of the Word of God must Symbolize a
Higher Sense {John vi. 63). — The Origin of Language, and the Law
of the Divine Symbols {Ps. xix. 3). — The Scripture Analogy between
the Material Universe and the Human Mind {Zefih. iii. 9). — The Di
vine Law of Life between God, Man, and Nature {Ps. cxiv. 1, 2, 3). —
The Correspondence of Birds and Animals to the Thoughts and Af
fections of Man {Ezek. xxxix. 17-20). — The Symbolic Meaning and
Use of Horses {Rev. xix. n-14). — The Correspondence of Trees to
the Things of the Mind (2 Kings xiv. 9). — The Symbolic Meaning of
the Heavens and the Earth, Sun, Moon, and Stars [Matt. xxiv. 29). —
The first chapter of Genesis in its Spiritual Import ; the Creation of
Man f Gen. i. 27). — The first chapter of Genesis, in its practical bear
ing upon the Regeneration of Man in all ages {Gen. i. 28.) — A glance
at the second chapter of Genesis, and at the Making of the "Woman
of the Rib of the Man {Gen. ii. 18-23.) — The Correspondence of Water,
and the Divine Teachings thereby {Rev. i. 15).— The Nature and
Character of the Mosaic Deluge {Gen. viii. 8, 9). — A Spiritual view of
Cain, Abel, and Seth ; of Cain's wife, and of the Building of the City
of Enoch {Gen. iv. 17). — A general glance at the whole subject of
these Lectures ; God, Man, and Nature, and their relative connec
tion {Gen. i. 1). — How the Science of Correspondence has been re
stored, and the Spiritual Sense of the Word and its Doctrines
Revealed {Rev. xxi. 5).
The plain and practical light in which it presents rudimental
lessons on the nature and character of the divine language and
the doctrines of the revealed Word, renders it very useful as an
introductory book for doubting minds, religiously inquiring for
rational theological light.
Address: New-Church Board of Publication,
Room 20, Cooper Union, New York, N.Y.

STANDARD NEW-CHURCH BOOKS.

THE SCIENCE OF CORRESPONDENCES ELUCIDATED;
the Key to the Heavenly and True Meaning of the
Sacred Scriptures.
By the Rev. EDWARD MADELEY ; Edited by his Son.
Revised and greatly Enlarged by B. F. Barrett.
742 pp., 5/4X8 inches ; with complete Index of Subjects and
Scripture Passages. Cloth ; price, $1.75.
The illustrious Swedenborg has been the appointed instru
ment, in the order of Divine Providence, for restoring the long-
lost Science of Correspondences to the world, — that " chain of
golden links by which heaven and earth are bound in harmoni
ous unison and this work is designed to answer, without any
pretension to critical exactness, and in as plain and familiar a
manner as possible, the inquiries which are continually and
naturally urged, as to what is meant by this Science, — how a
knowledge of it may be acquired, — how -its truth may be de
monstrated, — and in what way it is to be applied in expounding
the Holy Word: and also to remove some of the difficulties
which, from want of a knowledge of this science, every one will
encounter in first taking up a volume of Swedenborg's exposi
tions, and which have induced some earnest minds to relinquish
the study of his writings, and regard his interpretations as
clever, but chimerical and capricious. — Preface
OUR ETERNAL HOMES.
By a Bible Student.
Cheap American Edition, from the Fourth London Edition.
156 pp., 4X6 X inches; cloth; price, 50 cts.
{London Edition, handsomely printed, and bound in extra cloth, price,
$1.25.)

CONTENTS.
Introduction. — What is Heaven ?— Guardian Angels. — Heavenly Scenery.
— Death the Gate of Life. — Do the Departed forget us 1 — Man's Book
of Life. — Infants in Heaven.
Address: New-Church Board of Publication,
Room 20, Cooper Union, New York, N.Y.

standard new-church books.

TEN CHAPTERS ON MARRIAGE; its Nature, Uses,
Duties, and Final Issues.
By WILLIAM B. HAYDEN,
Minister of the New Jerusalem Church.
Second Edition.
168 pp., 4j4y\6% inches; fine cloth, red edges ; price, 75 els.
CONTENTS.
The Dual Creation. — The Analogies of the Physical Universe, Animate
and Inanimate ; Sexuality of the Soul.
The Implanted Law. — Origin ; Mental Distinction ; Distinguishing Char
acteristics of the Two Sexes J Women's Rights ; TheTrue Order of
Development.
The Betrothal. — Religious Principle, the Primary Thing; Purposes;
Cautions; Amenities; Duties; Pleasures of Courtship.
The Uses of Marriage. — To the World; To the Individual; Means of
Populating Heaven, and of promoting Personal Regeneration.
Means of Union. — Advice to Married Partners ; How to Decome United ;
The Divine Precepts of Life, the true Ground of Union ; The Puri
fying Principle.
Mutual Duties. — Conjugial Love, in its Essence, a Spiritual Love ; What
Things are to be given up ; True Jealousy ; Singleness of Attention ;
The Church supplies the Wedding Garment.
What of the Future Life. — Immortality of the Sexual Distinction; The
Lord's Words to the Sadducees refer to the Spiritual Marriage, and
not to the Connubial Relation ; shown from Scripture.
The Conjugial Relation in the Life After death.
The Two Ways; or, the Called and the Chosen. — A further Unfolding
of the Spiritual Laws, by which they who are internally united here
are joined for ever, and they who are not, are separated for ever.
The Vision of Beatified Ones.— Extracts from Swedenborg; A Memora
ble Relation ; — Glorification of the Lord ; Restoration of Conjugial
Love. LIGHT ON THE LAST THINGS.
By Rev. W. B. HAYDEN.
Revised and enlarged edition ; 194 pp., 4X6.K inches ; well print
ed ; neat cloth binding ; price, 75 (£ts.
CONTENTS.
New Truth for a New Age ; Reality and Extent of the Other World ; Seer-
ship ; The Seers of the Old Testament ; The Spiritual Body with
drawn from tbe Natural Body at the death of the latter; The"Sheol"
of the Old Testament, and the Hades of the New, an Intermediate
State ; That Intermediate World needed as a place where the "Judg
ment" occurs ; History of that World from the Scriptures ; An Im
portant part of our Lord's Work lay in Hades ; His Work on the Un
clean Spirits ; Redemption effeaed in Hades ; End of the World not
foretold in Scripture; The Symbolism of Prophecv; The Stability
of the Physical Earth and the Material Universe argued from Script-
ure and Physics; The "Clouds "in which the Lord is to appear,
the Symbols in the Letter of the Word ; The "Second Coming" a
new and wonderful disclosure of Heavenly Truth ; The " New Jeru
salem "a New Church on Earth ; Its Plattorm of Catholic Doctrine.
New-Church Board of Publication,
Room 20, Coooer Union, New York, N.Y.

SWEDENBORG'S
Theological Works.

CHEAP UNIFORM EDITION IN ENGLISH.

This set includes all the theological works that Swedenborg himself
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*S*SPECIAL OFFER TO Clergymen. — The set of nineteen octavo
volumes, mentioned above, on good paper and well bound in cloth,
containing 9434 pages, boxed ready for shipment, is offered to any cler
gyman' for $7.50; or, omitting "Heaven, and Hell" "True Christian
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tained from J. B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia, Pa., free of cost, except
61 (Sis. for postage), for S6.00.
Address : New-Church Board of Publication,
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