Heaven and Hell : The New Century Edition Portable

by Swedenborg, Emanuel

• ISBN13: 9780877854067
• ISBN10: 0877854068
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-12-08
• Publisher: Swedenborg Foundation

Summary

In his most popular and influential work, Emanuel Swedenborg describes his journeys through the afterlifethe souls experience of dying and then being resurrected in heaven, how each of us finds a community there in which to live, and how we can ultimately become angels. Heaven and Hell is a powerful affirmation that we are all born for heaven, regardless of background or religion, and that the choices we make in this world shape our destiny in the next.

Author Biography

Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) was a Swedish scientist, nobleman, and theologian who spent his life investigating the mysteries of the soul. Born in Stockholm to a staunchly Lutheran family, he graduated from the University of Uppsala and then traveled to England, Holland, France, and Germany to study the leading scientists of the time. He gained favor with Sweden’s King Charles XII, who gave him the position of overseer of the Swedish mining industry. Later, he was given a seat on the Swedish House of Nobles by Charles XII’s successor, Queen Ulrika Eleonora. Between 1743 and 1745 he began to have visions of heaven, hell, and Jesus Christ which resulted in a stream of books about the nature of God, the afterlife, and the inner meaning of the Bible. He devoted the last decades of his life to studying Scripture and presenting his own unique theology to the world.

Excerpts

“Some people believe it is hard to lead the heaven-bound life that is called ‘spiritual’ because they have heard that we need to renounce the world and give up the desires attributed to the body and the flesh and ‘live spiritually.’ All they understand by this is spurning worldly interests, especially concerns for money and prestige, going around in constant devout meditation about God, salvation, and eternal life, devoting their lives to prayer, and reading the Word and religious literature. They think this is renouncing the world and living for the spirit and not for the flesh. However, the actual case is quite different, as I have learned from an abundant experience and conversation with angels. In fact, people who renounce the world and live for the spirit in this fashion take on a mournful life for themselves, a life that is not open to heavenly joy, since our life does remain with us [after death]. No, if we would accept heaven’s life, we need by all means to live in the world and to participate in its duties and affairs. In this way, we accept a spiritual life by means of our moral and civic life; and there is no other way a spiritual life can be formed within us, no other way our spirits can be prepared for heaven. This is because living an inner life and not an outer life at the same time is like living in a house that has no foundation, that gradually either settles or develops gaping cracks or totters until it collapses.”