Swedenborg here unfolds the laws governing the spiritual world; describes the condition of good and evil spirits; and exhibits the general arrangement and surroundings of the inhabitants of heaven and hell. He treats of the form of heaven, in general and in particular; of its immensity, and of the innumerable societies of which it is composed; of the correspondence between the things of heaven and those of earth; of the sun of heaven, and of the light and heat proceeding therefrom; of representative appearances in heaven and of the changes of state experienced by angels; of their garments and habitations, their language and writings, their innocence and wisdom, their governments and worship; of the origin of heaven and its association with the human race by mean of the Word; of the future state of the heathen and of children, and of the occupations and joys of angels. He also treats of the World of Spirits, or the first state of man after death, and of the successive changes that he there passes through in preparation for his final abode; of the nature of hell, and the meaning of the terms “devil,” “satan,” “hell-fire,” and “ gnashing of teeth;" of the appearance, situation, and plurality of the hells, and of the wickedness and arts of infernal spirits.
These presentations of the life of heaven and of hell are eminently practical, and in harmony with the teachings of Holy Scripture. They throw a flood of light upon many parts of the Word, and cannot fail to influence the lives of all who study them.
