AC 4103. 4104, 4108 - Choosing Between Two Kingdoms, the Spiritual and the Natural

AC 4103

. . . a person is in heaven as to his interiors
when he is in spiritual love and faith.

AC 4104 [5]

Every person of adult age
who possesses any judgment,
and will give the matter any consideration,
is able to know that he is in two kingdoms,
namely, in a spiritual kingdom and in a natural kingdom;
and also that the spiritual kingdom is interior,
and the natural kingdom exterior;
and consequently that he can set one before the other,
that is, he can regard one as the end
in preference to the other;
and thus that the one
which he regards as his end, or prefers,
rules with him.
If therefore he regards the spiritual kingdom as his end,
and prefers it
(that is, the things that belong to this kingdom),
he then acknowledges as the principal and primary,
love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor,
and consequently
all things that confirm this love and charity,
and are said to be of faith;
for these belong to that kingdom;
and in this case
all things in his natural are arranged and set in order
in accordance therewith,
in order that they may be subservient and obedient.
But when a person has as his end
and sets first the natural kingdom
(that is, the things it contains),
he then extinguishes
all that is of love to the Lord
and of charity toward the neighbor,
and all that is of faith,
insomuch that he makes them of no account whatever;
but makes the love of the world and of self,
and all that belongs thereto,
to be everything.
When this is the case,
all things in his natural are arranged in order
in accordance with these ends,
thus in utter contrariety to the things of heaven;
and in this way he makes hell in himself.
To regard as an end is to love,
for every end is of the love,
because whatever is loved is regarded as the end.

AC 4108 [2]

As regards the conjunction
of the rational and the natural in a person,
be it known that the rational
is of the internal person and the natural of the external;
and that their conjunction produces the human,
of such a quality as is the conjunction,
and that there is conjunction when they act as a one;
and they act as a one
when the natural ministers
and is subservient to the rational.
With a person this is impossible
unless it is done by the Lord;
but with the Lord it was done by Himself.