Doc. of Sacred Scripture (Dick) n. 6

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6. From the Lord proceed the Celestial, the Spiritual and the natural, one after another. What proceeds from His Divine Love is called the Celestial, and is Divine Good; what proceeds from His Divine Wisdom is called the Spiritual, and is Divine Truth. The Natural is from both and is their complex in the ultimate [or lowest] degree. The angels of the Lord's celestial kingdom, who constitute the third or highest heaven, are in that Divine proceeding from the Lord which is called the celestial, for they are in the good of love from the Lord. The angels of the Lord's spiritual kingdom, who constitute the second or middle heaven, are in that Divine proceeding from the Lord which is called the spiritual, for they are in the truths of wisdom from the Lord.* Men of the Church is the world, however, are in the Divine natural, which also proceeds from the Lord. From this it follows that the Divine proceeding from the Lord to its ultimates, descends through three degrees, and is termed Celestial, Spiritual and Natural. The Divine which descends from the Lord to men comes down through these three degrees; and when it has descended, it contains these three degrees in itself. Such is the nature of every thing Divine; therefore when it is in its ultimate degree, it is in its fulness. This is the nature of the Word. In its ultimate sense it is natural, in its interior sense it is spiritual, and in its inmost sense it is celestial; and in each it is Divine. That the Word is of this nature is not apparent in the sense of its Letter, as this is natural; because man when in the world has hitherto not known anything concerning the heavens; and consequently has not known what the spiritual is, and what the celestial; thus he has not known the difference between these and the natural. *Author's Note. The heavens consist of two Kingdoms, one of which is called the celestial kingdom, and the other the spiritual kingdom. This may be seen in the work on HEAVEN AND HELL Nos. 20-28.


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