Day: October 9, 2016

The 3rd State of the Life After Death

The 3rd State of the Life After Death

A Sermon by the Rev. James P. Cooper

Toronto, Dec. 4, 2011

Lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal:  for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:20,21)

Heaven is our true home. Once we have completed our earthly life, our attachment to the world of nature ends. Our time on this earth, in relation to the time we will spend in the spiritual world, is a mere blink of an eye. Why then do we spend so much of our time laying up earthly treasure for ourselves? Would not our time be far better spent preparing for the eternity which is to follow in the spiritual world? This is the message that the Lord came on earth to bring to us:  that we must not set our hearts on the things of this world, but instead set our sights on the spiritual world, and use our time in this world to prepare wisely for the life to come.

Today’s sermon is the last in a series of three that describe the spiritual journey that takes place when the natural body dies and the spirit is set free. Today we will focus on how new spirits are given instruction and preparation for entering heaven, and how they find their eternal, spiritual home once their questions have been answered.

We know from the Lord’s many parables that the Lord wanted people to know that there was life after death where the good would be rewarded and the evil suffer. He used simple, comforting ideas for simple times and simple people.

We will briefly review the definitions of several important terms used in this series. The “spiritual world” means the whole spiritual universe, including heaven, hell, and the world of spirits. The “world of spirits” always refers to that part of the spiritual world which lies between heaven and hell and which is the place where all people go first when their natural bodies die. The word “spirit” means anyone living anywhere in the spiritual world, although it is most frequently used to refer to someone who is still living in the world of spirits. Finally, an “angel” is a particular kind of spirit, specifically a spirit who has been through all the states of introduction and has chosen heaven.

In the first sermon of this series, we learned that the first state, or state of exteriors, is one of introduction and welcome. It is provided so that each person who enters the spiritual world will have a chance to become accustomed to the fact of the death of the natural body and the eternal life of the spirit. Eventually every spirit feels a desire to find his true spiritual home, and when this happens, he is ready to enter into the second state, the state of his interiors. But since his true spiritual home will be a reflection of his true spiritual state, that internal state must be revealed. In the second sermon of this series we saw how all the external habits and defenses are removed layer by layer until nothing remains but the spirit’s true internal loves, the essential character. The spirit no longer cares what anyone thinks of him, and does exactly as he pleases. For an evil spirit, the second state is his last. Once evil has taken over the heart and mind, there can be no further instruction or preparation.

However, the good spirits rejoice because their good intentions now instantly become acts of kindness. As they find themselves able to do more and more, they become more and more interested in understanding what is happening to them. The evils that do not agree with their ruling love drop away after some effort and pain. As the falsities of life in the world are taken away, new truths are given to take their place, and the heaven-bound spirit enters into the state of preparation, the state where he is led from the world of spirits to his eternal, spiritual home. This final part of the journey is the topic of today’s sermon.

The 3rd state begins when those who are headed for heaven are taken to special places set aside for this use. We are told that the places of instruction are oriented east and west, with the best and the most innocent spirits in the east, for that is nearest to where the Lord dwells.

Children who die as infants are first placed with angel mothers who care tenderly for them.  Once they have grown enough to begin schooling, they are brought to these heavens of instruction near the Lord where they begin their formal education.  As they get older, they move westward and join others who entered the spiritual world as older children and youths, and receive instruction appropriate to their age – even including field trips to various parts of the world of spirits!  Behind them in the western parts are the places where those who died in adult age and who were in the affection of truth from the good of life are instructed.

Further to the west behind these are those who were obedient, moral Mohammedans in the world. These are in heaven because in their life they acknowledged one Divine and the Lord as the true prophet. When these eventually stop venerating the man Mohammed and begin to think of the principles of their Religion they are then able to approach the Lord and worship Him and acknowledge His Divinity. They are then introduced into the Christian religion.

Behind these, tending toward the north, are places of instruction for various peoples from the world who have lived a good life according to their own religion and thereby formed some kind of conscience.

All these people who have tried their best to live a good life in the world, no matter what their civilization or culture, are easily led to acknowledge the Lord because they have lived according to the heartfelt belief that God is not invisible, but that He is in the Human form. We are told that the greater part of heaven is made up of such people who hold a simple, honest faith in God-Man. (HH 514:e).

The Lord is the perfect teacher, and He accommodates all lessons to the particular needs of each of the good spirits. Each spirit is taught by those who are best able to communicate with him.

Children who have grown up in heaven are instructed by angels from the interior heavens. Those who died as adults, and who are in a sphere of simple obedience, are instructed by angels of the lowest heaven. Those who belonged to various religious denominations in the world are instructed by angels who at one time belonged to those denominations. Even the heathen are taught by others of their own kind who have accepted Christianity in heaven.

During the state of preparation, the good spirits are instructed in all kinds of spiritual truths. The wonderful thing is that these truths no longer need to be couched in appearances as they are in the letter of the Word, no longer limited by natural comprehension. They are taught by the angels themselves in such a way as to be perfectly accommodated to the state of the good spirits, and the good spirits in turn learn them with delight and without any effort whatsoever. The truths that the spirits hear are no longer abstractions of limited interest to their life. They hear only things that speak directly to their particular loves and affections in such a way that they enter directly into their life.

Naturally, we are all curious as to what those truths may be. What wondrous secrets are being told! Do we have any hint at all as to the nature of this heavenly wisdom? We are told that all the knowledges about heaven are derived from and can be learned from the Word and from the doctrine of the Church that is drawn from the Word. However, while we are still in the world we cannot receive truth on this level unless the interiors of our mind are open to heaven. We are in heaven as to our interiors when we both acknowledge the Divine and act justly and honestly for the reason that we ought to act so because it is commanded in the Word by the Lord.

If a casual acquaintance comes up at a party and tries to initiate a discussion about the various schools of thought within the development of quantum mechanics, most of us would literally not know what to think. We do not have the tools, the knowledge, to hold up our end of the conversation. Without a knowledge of the principles of quantum mechanics, we cannot think about it or form valid opinions. Therefore it is not surprising that the Heavenly Doctrines should teach that, “without a knowledge of spiritual things, man cannot think spiritually” (HH 512:3). And since angels must think spiritually, it is essential that they be given the tools, the knowledges, to think about their new life in heaven, and to take a useful part in it.  That also means that we’re going to have to wait to get there before we have the tools and thus the ability to understand what the angels are teaching.  If we were allowed to listen to one of these angelic classes, we would hear words, but comprehend nothing because of the limitations imposed on our thinking by the natural body and the need to be connected to the natural world by means of the senses and the sensual degree of the mind.

As we age, most of us suffer from some degree of memory loss.  This may cause some concern when we hear about all the learning about high spiritual stuff that’s ahead of us.  But remember, the problem we have with our memory is related to the aging of the cells in the brain.  In the spiritual world, we’ll be in a spiritual body which will not suffer from these limitations.  We take our complete memory with us into the spiritual world, not the natural organ of memory.

All instruction in heaven is from doctrine drawn from the Word. Knowledges are not committed to memory, but to life. This is because the memory of spirits is in their life, for they receive and gather everything that is in accord with their life. And everything that is gathered into their living memory is taken for the sake of the use which it may perform.

Since the good spirits are no longer hampered by earthly restraints and they love what they are learning, the instruction goes very quickly. The students are interested in every subject because it relates directly to their future use in the spiritual world. The angel teachers have a perception of the states and needs of their students and so are able to adapt their teaching to the needs of the spirits perfectly. The students never tire or get bored, and because the truths are taken directly into the life, there is no need for them to study. We must also remember that they are not being taught in any language of the world, but in the angelic tongue, a language of pure ideas that connects one mind directly to another, and so yet another barrier to understanding is removed.

The subject of when married couples come together in this process is complex and lengthy, better suited to a separate study. But speaking generally we can say that husbands and wives are first reunited in the First State while in the world of spirits. If they find that they can continue together, they then go through the various states together. If they cannot continue together because of a difference in their internal states, they separate (the Writings are silent about how many separate and how many stay together). At some point (which will vary according to the spiritual state of each) as they proceed through the various states they discover a partner with whom they can live to eternity in heaven. They then complete their preparation through the third state together.

It is not long until they know enough to enter a heavenly society and begin their life of use. As a sign of their readiness, they are given angelic garments. These are described as being “glowing white as if made of fine linen” (HH 519). Thereafter they are taken to angelic guides who start them on their way to their own home society. The Heavenly Doctrines tell us that there are many paths in the spiritual world, but that the conjugial pair on way to their own society easily find their way, no matter how winding the path, or how many forks, because they are led by their own heart and guided by the Lord.

During journey, they may pass many beautiful societies, but they know in their heart that they are not their true home. Eventually, they come to a place which they recognize as their own, for every aspect the place corresponds with their own affections. The couple hears singing, a song that touches them deeply, and draws them near. As they approach, they begin to sing along and it feels right. They draw nearer, and the song becomes more familiar. Soon they find themselves in the midst of a heavenly choir, sharing in their song, in perfect harmony with their new society, singing a song of welcome, and they know that they have found their true home.

In summary, we can say that only good spirits enter the state of instruction to be prepared for heaven. All instruction in this state is provided by angels, and is perfectly accommodated to the states of the spirit. They are able to learn quickly because they is not limited by an earthly body or by an earthly language but are able to communicate in the spiritual language of ideas. Further, everything that is taught pertains to their own ruling love and the uses that they will perform, and therefore is received with delight.

The death of the natural body is something every one of us must face sooner or later. The purpose of the Lord’s first and second comings has been to give us the information we need to face death without fear. The Lord had tried to show, in many different ways, that everything that happens to a spirit after death is guided by concern and love for him. Everything possible is done to make him comfortable and lead him to a special place in heaven. The Lord Himself came on earth, suffered the temptation of the cross, raised Himself with His own power, and has come again in the spiritual sense of the Word to take away the fear of the grave and to give us ample warning of what we face and what we must do to prepare ourselves while we live in the natural world. The Lord has offered the gift of eternal life in heaven. Now it is up to us to receive His gift, and use it well.

Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know. (John 14:1-4) AMEN.

First Lesson:  MAT 6:19-24

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; {20} but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. {21} For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. {22} The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. {23} But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! {24} No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Amen.

Second Lesson: HH 512:2, 3

THE THIRD STATE OF MAN AFTER DEATH, WHICH IS A STATE OF INSTRUCTION FOR THOSE WHO ENTER HEAVEN.

[2] Good spirits … are led from the second state into the third, which is the state of their preparation for heaven by means of instruction. For one can be prepared for heaven only by means of knowledges of good and truth, that is, only by means of instruction, since one can know what spiritual good and truth are, and what evil and falsity are, which are their opposites, only by being taught. One can learn in the world what civil and moral good and truth are, which are called justice and honesty, because there are civil laws in the world that teach what is just, and there is intercourse with others whereby man learns to live in accordance with moral laws, all of which have relation to what is honest and right. But spiritual good and truth are learned from heaven, not from the world. They can be learned from the Word and from the doctrine of the church that is drawn from the Word and yet unless man in respect to his interiors which belong to his mind is in heaven spiritual good and truth cannot flow into his life; and man is in heaven when he both acknowledges the Divine and acts justly and honestly for the reason that he ought so to act because it is commanded in the Word, This is living justly and honestly for the sake of the Divine, and not for the sake of self and the world, as ends.

[3] But no one can so act until he has been taught, for example, that there is a God, that there is a heaven and a hell, that there is a life after death, that God ought to be loved supremely, and the neighbor as oneself, and that what is taught in the Word, ought to be believed because the Word is Divine. Without a knowledge and acknowledgment of these things man is unable to think spiritually; and if he has no thought about them he does not will them; for what a man does not know he cannot think, and what he does not think he cannot will. So it is when man wills these things that heaven flows into his life, that is, the Lord through heaven, for the Lord flows into the will and through the will into the thought, and through both into the life, and the whole life of man is from these. All this makes clear that spiritual good and truth are learned not from the world but from heaven, and that one can be prepared for heaven only by means of instruction. Amen.

The 2nd State of Life After Death

The 2nd State of Life After Death

A Sermon by the Rev. James P. Cooper

Toronto, Nov. 27, 2011

Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us. (Luke16:26)

With these words the Lord taught his disciples and followers about the difference between heaven and hell. The Lord wanted people to know that there was a life after death where the good would be rewarded and the evil suffer. While the Old Testament is essentially silent on the subject of the life to come, the New Testament has many parables about heaven. The Lord told stories using situations familiar to the farmers and shepherds of that time. Simple, comforting ideas for simple times and people. In so doing, He prepared the way to reveal more truths about the spiritual world through the experiences of Emanuel Swedenborg.

Today’s sermon is the second in a series of three where we learn from Swedenborg’s personal testimony how spirits from the world find their way to their eternal home in heaven or hell, and how their true spiritual qualities are revealed and finally allowed to express themselves freely.

We need to define several terms that will be used in this series of sermons.

  • The “spiritual world” means the whole spiritual universe, including heaven, hell, and the world of spirits.
  • The “world of spirits” is a much more specific term. It always refers to that part of the spiritual world which lies between heaven and hell and is the place where all people go first when their natural bodies die. In character and appearance, it is very much like this world.
  • The word “spirit” means anyone living anywhere in the spiritual world, although it is most frequently used to refer to someone who is still living in the world of spirits and has not yet found their home in heaven or hell.
  • Finally, an “angel” is a particular kind of spirit, specifically a spirit who has been through all the states of introduction and has chosen heaven. An angel is a person who, with their married partner, has been completely accepted into a heavenly society which will be their home to eternity.

Last week we learned that the first state, or state of exteriors, is one of introduction and welcome. It is provided so that each person who enters the spiritual world will have a chance to get their bearings, and become accustomed to the fact of the death of their natural body and the reality of eternal life. They are kept in surroundings that are as familiar as possible, and encouraged to explore and learn all that they desire for as long as they need to. But eventually every spirit becomes ready to move on, he feels a desire to find his true spiritual home. When this happens, he is ready to enter into the second state, the state of his interiors.

Since their spiritual home will be a reflection of their inmost spiritual character, that character must first be revealed in such a way that the spirits themselves see and acknowledge their own ruling love. When the external trappings of intelligence and honour are laid aside, each spirit passes through their own individual “last judgment” where they are weighed in the balance, and the true nature of their heart and mind are for the first time revealed.

While we are in the natural world, each of us is, to some degree, a hypocrite. We have to be. In order to live in civil harmony we sometimes have to hide our true feelings and try to treat all people with courtesy if not kindness. This difference between what we may feel like doing and what we actually do when we remember that others will be watching and judging us, is an illustration of the false front that we create to hide our true feelings.

While we are in the world, it’s not all a bad thing.  From birth, we are all inclined to evils of every kind, but we must not act on them.  So, we learn to create an external shell of orderliness while we deal with all the different desires and ideas that roil around in our minds like a boiling pot of soup.  Throughout our adult lives the rational mind gradually makes sense of all these thoughts and feelings as we make choices about the course of our life and how we treat other people.  If we are making the effort to prepare for the life of heaven, the Lord works in partnership with us to bring order to the mind and in the process of time less and less needs to be hidden. The external shell and the internal character gradually become one.

On the other hand, if one is being led by the loves and self of the world, those loves are not removed but fester within like a disease.  Over the course of time the external shell develops to effectively hide what lurks within from others.  The shell and the internal character gradually become more and more different.

An angel’s freedom comes from the fact that the things that he wants to do are all good.  He doesn’t need to hide any of his desires.  A devil’s frustration comes from the fact that nothing that he really wants to do is permitted so in order to get along he had to hide everything.  While in the world, we hover between these two conditions.  And where we end up is decided on the sum total of our choices.

The 2nd state begins when spirits are let into the state of their interiors, or into the state of their interior will and the thought that comes from it. These interior thoughts are really nothing more than the kinds of things we think about when left to ourselves, that is, they are really our daydreams, our fantasies, our secret desires which we hide behind that external shell mentioned above, our inhibitions.

Now here’s the scary part.  As we move into the 2nd state, the Lord gradually removes those inhibitions, the layers of that protective shell, so that spirits gradually stop caring what other people think about what they are doing and so begin to openly and proudly do exactly what they really want to do – thus revealing their true internal state, their ruling loves. After years of hiding these things there is a lot of habitual resistance at first.  The spirits are still guarded about what they say and do because they fear ridicule and punishment.  But, over time, all is revealed (See HH 502, 503).

Those people who, while in the world, actually make spiritual progress, who have come to love the Lord and act in a charitable way and now that they are in the spiritual world take delight because limitations of the body and the natural world have been removed and they begin to act rationally and wisely — even more wisely than in the world.

He who was evil in the world begins to act foolishly and insanely, and even more insanely than in the world, because he is free and under no longer cares at all what anyone thinks of him. For while he was in the world he made himself appear to be a rational man, but when the externals are removed, the insanities are revealed. (HH 505)

All people who have lived a good life in the world and have acted from conscience, who have acknowledged the Divine and loved Divine truths, and especially those who have applied those truths to life, seem to themselves, when let into the state of their interiors, like those aroused from sleep into full wakefulness.… Heaven flows into their thoughts and affections with an interior blessedness and delight which they had no knowledge of previously. They then acknowledge the Lord and worship Him from their very life.

When those who have not acknowledged the Lord come into the state of their interiors, they appear foolish; for from their evil lusts they burst forth into all sorts of abominations, into contempt of others, ridicule and blasphemy, hatred and revenge; they plot intrigues, some with a cunning and malice that can scarcely be believed to be possible in any man. All the wisdom that they seemed to have has been only in the exteriors of their mind, and while this allowed them to seem wise in the world, when the exteriors are left behind with the natural body, they also leave behind all their apparent wisdom and act from their inner insanity…. (HH 506)

Through this process, spirits become visibly just what they had been interiorly during their life in the world. Things that they had once done and said in secret or in their own imagination now become visibly obvious to all because external things no longer restrain them. They speak openly about whatever they think, and attempt to do whatever they wish, as they are no longer afraid of damaging their reputation. All inhibitions are lost, and angel guards are needed to restrain them from committing acts of actual violence against other spirits.  They can no longer restrain themselves from doing exactly what they want to do, when they want to do it, without any regard to the consequences.

Everyone can judge for themselves how they would act if they were left free to do whatever they wanted with no fear of the law and no fear in regard to life, and with no outward restraints, such as fear of injury to one’s reputation or of loss of honour and gain and consequent pleasures. This is how the Lord, in His infinite Wisdom, allows each of us to find our own home. From time to time it is useful, and sobering, to think of how we are going to react when our turn comes. Those things that we don’t want to be revealed to all in the world of spirits must be shed and left in this world by the process of self examination, repentance, reformation, and regeneration.

It is very important to understand that no one is ever punished in the spiritual world for deeds done during life in the world. Death wipes the slate clean. Evils deeds done from a youthful lack of judgment and that have been seen and rejected by the adult will not come back to haunt them. Spirits are only punished on account of the evils done after they enter the world of spirits. Everyone after death returns to his own life and thus into like evils. Those who are evil at heart continue to express their hatreds and it is these things that are punished and restrained. Good spirits are never punished no matter what they may have done during their life in the world, because their evils do not return because they are not longer a part of their interior (or true) character.

By revealing genuine internals and shedding external appearances, a spirit is led home. Some evil spirits enter and leave hell several times until they are finally ready. By the end of the second state the good and the evil are separated from one another, for the evil at heart have fled from the presence of the angels, while the good at heart seek them out for guidance and instruction.

In summary, we can see that the first state, or the state of exteriors, is a time of familiarization, where people newly from the world can get used to the idea of their eternal life and become comfortable. The second state is where everyone’s true spiritual nature is revealed. Layer by layer all the external habits and defences are peeled away until nothing remains but the spirit’s ruling loves.

The evil spirit no longer cares what anyone thinks of him, and does exactly as he pleases, as if he were living in a dream. He rejoices as he finds his fantasy world becoming real. He is no longer anxious about the law. He no longer fears being found out. And in his freedom he strikes out at others. But when he is prevented from actually harming anyone, or stealing anything, he becomes enraged, insane, and eventually throws himself into hell to be with others of like loves. For the evil, the second state is the last. Once evil has taken over the heart and mind, there can be no further instruction or preparation.

However, the good rejoice in that they are no longer limited by worldly restraints. Their good intentions now instantly become acts of kindness. Money, busy schedules, household duties, and physical tiredness no longer stand in the way of doing the good and kind things they’ve always wanted to do. As they find themselves able to do more, they become more and more interested in understanding what is happening to them. The evils that do not agree with their ruling love drop away, sometimes with some effort and pain.

When loves that do not belong to the ruling love are removed, it is called a vastation, and it is a necessary preparation for entering heaven, for the angelic mind cannot contain what is evil or false, nor can the devil’s mind contain what is good and true. The conflict between good and evil, the true and the false would destroy the mind and thus eternal life, so such a mixture and confusion in not permitted in either heaven or hell.

As the falsities of life in the world are taken away, new truths are given to take their place, and the heaven-bound spirit enters into the state of preparation, the state where he is led from the world of spirits to his eternal, spiritual home.

This spiritual journey, or state of instruction, will be the topic of the sermon next week. AMEN.

First Lesson: LUK 16:19-31:  “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. {20} “But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, {21} “desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. {22} “So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. {23} “And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. {24} “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ {25} “But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. {26} ‘And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ {27} “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, {28} ‘for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ {29} “Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ {30} “And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ {31} “But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.'” Amen.

Second Lesson: HH 502, 503:  When the first state, … of the exteriors … has been passed through, the man-spirit is let into the state of his interiors, or into the state of his interior will and its thought, in which he had been in the world when left to himself to think freely and without restraint. Into this state he unconsciously glides, just as when in the world he withdraws the thought nearest to his speech, that is, from which he speaks, towards his interior thought and abides in the latter. Therefore in this state of his interiors the man-spirit is in himself and in his very life; for to think freely from his own affection is the very life of man, and is himself.

  1. In this state the spirit thinks from his very will, thus from his very affection, or from his very love; and thought and will then make one, and one in such a manner that he seems scarcely to think but only to will. It is nearly the same when he speaks, yet with the difference that he speaks with a kind of fear that the thoughts of the will may go forth naked, since by his social life in the world this has come to be a part of his will. Amen. Here end the lessons. Blessed are they who hear the Word of God and keep it. Amen.