Apocalypse Explained (Tansley) n. 1111

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1111. For her sins have reached even unto heaven. That this signifies, because their evils have closed heaven, is evident from the signification of sins, as denoting the evils springing from the loves of self and of the world (as above, n. 1108); and from the signification of reaching even unto heaven, as denoting to close heaven, for evils do this, especially evils from such a love of self as reigns with these [the Babylonians} their love of self being the love of ruling over the world, the Word and the church; over heaven and over the Lord Himself. The reason why to reach even unto heaven, denotes to close heaven, is, because when evils reach to heaven, they have an effect of that kind. For the angels, from the evils of those who are beneath heaven, come into a state of either sadness, grief, horror, or anger; they come into this state not because they see those who are in those evils, and are conscious that it is caused in this way, but because falsities from evil have such an effect, when they reach unto heaven. For in the heavens all are in goods from love to the Lord, and in charity towards the neighbour; and evils from the love of self and the love of the world are altogether opposite to these goods; and when, as in this case, one opposite acts upon another, that is to say diabolical evil against celestial good, then those who are in celestial good are brought into a state of either sadness, grief, horror, or wrath, and when this is the case they turn themselves away, and so heaven becomes closed. But still it is provided by the Lord, that those who are in evils, especially those who are in the worst of all evils, should be removed afar off from heaven, in order that the angels may not be infested by them.

[2] Continuation concerning the Athanasian Creed and concerning the Lord.- That in the Lord there is a trine (trinum) - the Divine Itself called the Father, the Divine Human called the Son, and the proceeding Divine called the Holy Spirit, is evident from the Word, from the Divine Essence, and from heaven. (1) From the Word. The Lord Himself teaches there, that the Father and He are one, and that the Holy Spirit proceeds from Him and from the Father; also where the Lord teaches that the Father is in Him and He in the Father, and that the Spirit of Truth, which is the Holy Spirit, does not speak from Himself but from the Lord. Similarly, from passages in the Old Testament, where the Lord is called Jehovah, the Son of God, and the Holy One of Israel.

[3] (2) From the Divine Essence. One Divine by Itself is not possible, but there must be a trine; this trine consists of esse, existere, and proceeding (esse, existere, procedere), for esse must needs exist, and since it exists it must go forth to production, and this trine is one in essence and one in person, and is God. This may be illustrated by comparison. An angel of heaven is a trine and therefore one. The esse of an angel is called his soul, his existere is called his body, and the proceeding from both is called the sphere of his life, without which an angel neither exists nor is. It is from this trine that an angel is aa image of God, and is called a son of God, and also an heir, indeed, also a god; still, an angel is not life from himself, but is a recipient of life, God alone being life from Himself.

[4] (3) From heaven. The Divine trine, which is one in essence and in person, is such in heaven; for the Divine called the Father, and the Divine Human called the Son, appears there, before the angels, as a Sun, and the Divine proceeding thence as light united to heat, the light being Divine Truth, and the heat being Divine Good. Thus, the Divine called the Father, is the Divine Esse, the Divine Human called the Son, is the Divine Existere from that Esse, and the Divine called the Holy Spirit is the Divine proceeding from the Divine Existere and from the Divine Esse. This trine is the Lord in heaven; it is His Divine Love that appears as a Sun there.


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