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Arcana Coelestia
5982. By means of evil spirits on the one hand and angels on the other, the Lord places a man in equilibrium between evils and goods, and between falsities and truths, so that the man may be in freedom. For in order that a man may be saved he must be in freedom, and in freedom be drawn away from evil and led to good. Whatever is not effected in freedom does not remain, because it is not appropriated. This freedom is from the equilibrium in which the man is kept.
Heaven and Hell
155. Angels are not constantly in the same state as to love, and consequently not in the same state as to wisdom for all their wisdom is from, and according to love. Sometimes they are in a state of intense love, sometimes in a state of love not intense. The state decreases by degrees from its greatest to its least intensity. When in their greatest degree of love, they are then in the light and warmth of their life, or in a clear and delightful state, but when in their least degree, they are in shade and cold, or in their obscure and undelightful state. From this last state they return again to the first, and so on, these alternations following one after another with variety. There is a sequence of these states like the varied states of light and shade, of heat and cold, or like morning, noon, evening and night, day after day in the world with unceasing variety throughout the year.
158. I have been informed from heaven why there are such changes of state there. The angels said that there are many reasons.
First, the delight of life and of heaven which they have from the love and wisdom that are from the Lord, would gradually become worthless if they were in it continually, as is the case with those who are in delights and pleasures without variety.
A second reason is that angels as well as men, have a proprium, and this consists in loving self. All in heaven are withheld from their proprium, and in so far as they are withheld from it by the Lord, to that extent they are in love and wisdom. But so far as they are not withheld they are in the love of self, and because everyone loves his proprium and it draws him, they have changes of state or successive alternations.
A third reason is that they are in this way perfected, for they thus establish a habit of being held in love to the Lord and of being withheld from the love of self. Also by alternations between delight and lack of delight, the perception and sensation of good becomes more exquisite.
The angels added that the Lord does not bring about their changes of state, since He, as a Sun is unceasingly flowing in with heat and light, that is, with love and wisdom. But the cause is in themselves in that they love what is their proprium and this continually leads them away. This was illustrated by comparison with the sun of the world, showing that the cause of the changes of state of heat and cold, and of light and shade, year by year and day by day, is not in that sun which remains stationary, but the cause is in the earth.
Third Round posts are short audio clips taken from Round 3 comments offered in the online Logopraxis Life Group meetings. The aim is to keep the focus on understanding the Text in terms of its application to the inner life along with reinforcing any key LP principles that have been highlighted in the exchanges.
