“Swedenborg says that Jesus is the head of heaven, and then there are 3 levels. I’ve been thinking of people who use religion and Jesus to hate their neighbour, if they will go to heaven or hell. On the one side, they love the lord, but on the other, they hate their neighbour. And Jesus as far as I understand is all about neighbourly love. If these people go to heaven and become, let’s say, natural angels, will they as natural angels hate the spiritual and celestial angels, who are more focused on neighbourly love? What about Jesus himself, when they find out that Jesus is on the side of neighbourly love?Isn’t this a rebellion of the parts against the whole? Isn’t this a divided kingdom?”
HOW WOULD YOU ANSWER THIS QUESTION?
WHAT’S THE GIST OF THE QUESTION?
DIVISION – What is appropriate or inappropriate?
JESUS TALKS ABOUT BOTH LOVE AND DIVISION – this can be difficult to navigate.
ON LOVE:
“You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39)
“love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44)
ON DIVISION:
“Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division.” (Luke 12:51)
“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. (Luke 14:26)
IS THERE VALUE IN DIVISION? There are DISTINCTIONS:
Between inner and outer:
“unless affection puts itself forth or flows out into acts, …, it is suffocated to such a degree finally that a person has no longer any regard for the neighbour, but only for himself.” (Heaven and Hell, paragraph 360, section 2)
Between will and understanding:
“If solely Divine Truth were [the Lord’s], no one could be saved, for truths condemn everyone to hell. But Divine Good, which is the essence of mercy, raises people up from hell towards heaven.” (Heavenly Secrets, paragraph 1728)
Between GOOD and EVIL:
“Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three.” (Luke 12:51,52)
HOW DO WE SEPARATE WHAT MUST BE, without separating what ought to work together? Where is the “line in the sand”?
Good and evil can – and do – exist anywhere in our “house” – internals, externals, in the will, in the understanding
Should we separate ourselves from others?
“Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:13)
Where is the “line in the sand”, by which we should separate ourselves from others?
“When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison.” (Luke 12:58)
“It is the intent of divine providence that everything created, collectively and in every detail, should be this kind of whole (of Divine Love and Divine Wisdom), and that if it is not, it should become one.” (Divine Providence, paragraph 7)
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