Page:Heaven Revealed.djvu/358

 cessively opened those three degrees of life in man, thus the three heavens in him.

"But it is to be known that so far as man recedes from good of life, and accedes to evil of life, so far these degrees are closed, that is, so far the heavens in him are closed; for as the good of life opens them, so evil of life closes them: hence it is, that all who are in evil are out of heaven, that is, in hell. And since the heavens in man are successively opened according to the good of his life, as was said above, it is to be known that, on this account, in some the first heaven is opened and not the second, and in some the second heaven is opened and not the third; and that the third heaven is opened in those only, who are in good of life from love to the Lord."—A. C. n. 9594. See also A. C. n. 1642, '7, 3691, 5145, 9825, 10,130. D. L. W. n. 202, 236-9. Influx n. 16.

We have said that the three angelic heavens are related to each other like the head, trunk and extremities of the human body. The same is said in one of the above extracts; and in D. L.W. n. 202, that "the thoughts of the angels of the highest or third heaven are thoughts of ends, and the thoughts of those of the middle or second heaven are thoughts of causes, and the thoughts of those of the lowest or first heaven are thoughts of effects;" thus showing the three heavens to be related like end, cause and effect.

Now if the doctrine concerning the human form of heaven as developed in a previous chapter be true, it follows as a logical sequence that there must be in general three heavens related like head, trunk and extremities. Otherwise the whole heaven would not be in the human form, that is, not in true human order. The