TCR 753, 754 - The Ending of the Age

TCR 753

The ending of the age 
is the final period or end of the church.

This earth has seen a number of churches, 
all of which have in course of time 
reached their end, 
and after this new ones have come into existence, 
and the process has continued 
up to the present day. 
A church reaches its end 
when there is no longer any Divine truth left in it, 
but only falsified or rejected truth. 
When there is no real truth, 
there cannot be any real good, 
since the whole quality of good 
is formed by means of truths; 
for good is the essence of truth, 
and truth is the form of good, 
and no quality can exist without form. 
Good and truth can no more be separated 
than the will and the understanding, 
or, what is the same thing, 
the affection of love and the thought it gives rise to. 
Consequently, 
when the truth in a church reaches its end, 
so does its good. 
When this happens, 
then the church is terminated, 
that is, it reaches its end.

TCR 754

. . . The reason for truth coming to an end, 
and good with it, 
is principally the two natural loves 
which are diametrically opposed to 
the two spiritual loves; 
these are called self-love and love of the world. 
When self-love is dominant, 
it is the opposite of love to God; 
and when the love of the world is dominant, 
it is the opposite of love towards the neighbor. 
Self-love is wishing well to no one but oneself, 
except for selfish reasons; 
and likewise the love of the world. 
Once those loves have got a grip, 
they spread like mortification through the body, 
and stage by stage destroy every part of it.

 

TCR 751 - A Church Service in Heaven

TCR 751

When they were assembled, 
the priest went up into the pulpit 
and preached a sermon 
full of the spirit of wisdom. 
Its subject was the holiness of Sacred Scripture, 
and how by its means the Lord 
is conjoined with both the spiritual 
and the natural worlds. 
The enlightenment he enjoyed 
enabled him to prove fully
that this holy book was dictated 
by the Lord Jehovah, 
so that He was present in it, 
to such an extent 
that He was the wisdom it contains. 
But the wisdom, which is the Lord Himself in it, 
lies hidden beneath the literal sense, 
and is not laid open 
except to those who possess the truths of doctrine 
and at the same time lead a good life, 
so that they are in the Lord and the Lord is in them. 
He ended his sermon with an earnest prayer, 
and then came down.

TCR 746 - The Angelic Wisdom of Living for Others

TCR 746

. . . in the case of the angels 
wisdom has no limit and never comes to an end, 
but goes on growing and increasing for ever.

. . . 'At man's first creation . . . he was endowed 
with wisdom and the love of wisdom, 
not for his own sake, 
but so that he might share it with others. 
So there is a warning attached 
to the wisdom of the wise, 
that no one is to keep his wisdom to himself alone, 
or live for himself alone, 
but is to share it at the same time with others. 
That is the origin of society, 
which could not otherwise exist. 

To live for others is to perform uses (services). 
Uses are what hold society together, 
and there are as many ways of doing this 
as there are ways of doing good, 
and uses are beyond counting. 
There are spiritual uses, 
which have to do with love to God 
and love towards the neighbor. 
There are moral and political uses, 
which have to do with the love of the community 
and country in which a person lives, 
and with his colleagues and fellow-citizens. 
There are natural uses, 
which have to do with the love of the world 
and its demands. 
And there are bodily uses, 
which have to do with looking after oneself, 
so as to be able to perform higher uses.

 

TCR 742 - Heavenly Artistic Representations; TCR 744 - Pleasures and Uses

TCR 742 [2]

The heavenly designs . . . 
were artistic representations based on wisdom, 
which no art in the world could create, 
nor can they be described in worldly language.

TCR 744 [2-3]

"The delights of the soul 
are in themselves imperceptible blessings; 
but as they descend into the thoughts of the mind, 
and then into the sensations of the body, 
they become more and more perceptible. 
In the thoughts of the mind 
they are perceived as happy states, 
in the sensations of the body as delights, 
and in the body itself as pleasures. 
Eternal happiness is the result 
of all these taken together; 
but happiness resulting from 
the gratification of the bodily senses alone 
is not eternal, but merely temporary: 
it comes to an end, it passes away, 
and sometimes it is turned into misery. 
You now see that all your joys 
are also joys of heaven, 
and are even more excellent 
than you have ever been able to imagine; 
but such joys do not affect our minds interiorly.

"There are three things that flow as one 
from the Lord into our souls; 
and these three, which are as one, or this trine, 
are love, wisdom and use. 
Love and wisdom exist ideally, 
existing only in the affection and thought of the mind; 
but in use they exist really, 
because they are then simultaneously 
in the act and operation of the body; 
and where they exist really, 
there they also subsist. 
Love and wisdom exist and subsist in use (service), 
but it is the use which affects us; 
and use consists in discharging 
the duties of one's office 
with fidelity, sincerity and diligence. 

The love of use, 
and the devotion to it which then arises, 
keep the mind from losing control, 
from wandering about and absorbing all the lusts 
which flow in with their allurements 
through the senses from the body and the world. 
These lusts dissipate to all the winds of heaven
the truths of religion 
and morality with all that is good in them; 
but devotion of the mind to use 
retains and binds those truths together, 
and disposes the mind to become a form 
receptive of wisdom from those truths; 
and then it drives out from their position of vantage 
the illusions and mockeries of vain falsity.

 

TCR 739 - Each Angel Is His Own Heaven, a Shared Community

TCR 739 [8]

'Everyone who becomes an angel 
carries within himself his own heaven, 
since he has a love for his own heaven. 
For a person is by creation 
a small-scale effigy, image and model 
of the great heaven. 
The human form is nothing else. 
Therefore each person 
comes into the community in heaven 
of which he is formed as a particular model. 
When therefore he comes into that community, 
he enters a form corresponding to himself, 
so passing from himself to himself in it, 
and from it to it in himself. 
He absorbs its life as if it were his own, 
and his own as if it were its. 
Each community there 
is as it were something shared, 
and the angels there are like similar parts 
combining to create the community.

 

TCR 736 - Governments and Forms of Governments

TCR 736 [4]

'There are in the heavens, as on earth, 
. . . governments and forms of government, 
and therefore major and minor authorities and ranks. 
. . . these highest rulers are chosen from those 
whose heart is in the welfare of society, 
and only their bodily senses are concerned with 
the greatness of magnificence, 
in order to inspire obedience. 
Since the public welfare demands 
that everyone should serve 
some purpose in the community 
as being the common body, 
and since all service comes from the Lord, 
and is performed by angels and by people 
as if of themselves, 
it is obvious that this is reigning with the Lord.'

TCR 735 - Happiness & Service; TCR 736 - A Love of Service

TCR 735 [5]

It is the happiness in joys 
that makes them joys, 
enriches them, 
and keeps them from becoming 
worthless and boring. 
Everyone gets this happiness 
by being of service in his occupation.

TCR 736 [3]

Since the Lord does good or performs services 
indirectly through angels, 
and in the world through people, 
He gives those who faithfully perform services 
a love of service and its reward, 
which is inward blessedness, 
and this is everlasting happiness.