Page:A Compendium of the Chief Doctrines of the True Christian Religion.djvu/161

Rh By virtue of this intercourse he discovered, that the spaces, distances, and consequent progressions, which exist in the natural world, are, in their origin and first cause, changes of the state of interior things in the spiritual world; and that with angels and spirits all progressions appear according to such changes. Hence he further found, that angels and spirits may, by such changes, be apparently translated from one place to another, and even from one earth to another, whatever may be their relative distances in natural space; and when so translated, enter into conversation with the spirits and inhabitants belonging to the earth which they visit. He also justly observes, that the case is the same with man as to his spirit; and that therefore he also may be so translated, at the good-pleasure of the Lord, whilst his body still continues in the same place. And although this may appear to the sensual man, who believes in no other world than a world of matter, and in no other progressions than such as are measured by space, to be totally impracticable; yet the spiritual or truly rational man, who can discriminate between the laws of matter and the laws of mind, will be under no such difficulty as the sensual man is, but will readily admit both it's possibility and it's probability.

Distances in another life are not like distances here on earth, but are altogether according to the states of the interiors of every particular person. They who are in a similar state, are together in one society, and in one place; for every thing is present by virtue of similitude of state, and every thing is distant by virtue of dissimilitude of state. Hence, to be present with any spirit or angel, whether he be from this earth, or from any other earth in the universe, it is only requisite to be in a similar state with him as to the interiors of the mind, that is, as to the interiors