HEAT >> Love >> Will >> Heart
/Opposite Sense >> Lust

Something shall now be said about the heat of heaven. That heat in its essence is love. It goes forth from the Lord as a sun, which is Divine love in the Lord and from the  Lord, as has been shown in the preceding chapter. It is evident, therefore, that the heat of heaven, like the light of heaven, is spiritual, because from the same source.# There are two things that go forth from the Lord as a sun, Divine truth and Divine good; Divine truth is manifested in the heavens as light, and Divine good as heat; and yet Divine truth and Divine good are so united that they are not two, but one.  Nevertheless, with angels they are separate, for there are angels that receive more of Divine good than of Divine truth, and there are those that receive more of Divine truth than of Divine good. Those who receive more of Divine good are in the Lord’s celestial kingdom, and those who receive more of Divine truth are in His spiritual kingdom. Those that receive both in a like degree are the most perfect angels.  [HH133] 

The heat of heaven, like the light of heaven, is everywhere different. It is different in the celestial kingdom from what it is in the spiritual kingdom, and it is different in each society therein. It differs both in degree and in quality. It is more intense and more pure in the Lord’s celestial kingdom, because the angels there receive more of Divine good; and it is less intense and pure in His spiritual kingdom, because the angels there receive more of Divine truth. Also in each society the heat differs in accordance with reception. There is heat in the hells, but it is unclean heat.{1} The heat in heaven is what is meant by holy and heavenly fire, and the heat of hell by profane and infernal fire. Both mean love—heavenly fire meaning love to the Lord and love to the neighbor and every affection of those loves, and infernal fire meaning love of self and love of the world and every lust of those loves. That love is heat from a spiritual source is shown from one’s growing warm with love; for in accordance with the strength and nature of his love a man is inflamed and grows warm; and the heat of his love is made manifest when it is opposed. From this also it is customary to speak of being inflamed, growing hot, burning, boiling, being on fire, both in regard to the affections of the love of good and the lusts of the love of evil. [HH134]

Love going forth from the Lord as a sun is felt in heaven as heat, because the interiors of the angels are in a state of love from the Divine good that is from the Lord; and in consequence their exteriors which grow warm therefrom are in a state of heat. For this reason heat and love so correspond to each other in heaven that everyone there is in heat such as his love is, according to what has been said just above. This world’s heat does not enter heaven at all, because it is too gross, and is natural, and not spiritual; but with men it is otherwise, because they are in both the spiritual world and the natural world. As to their spirits they grow warm in exact accordance with their loves; but as to the body they grow warm both from the heat of their spirit and from the heat of the world. The former flows into the latter, because they correspond. The nature of the correspondence of the two kinds of heat can be seen from animal life, in that the love of animals-the chief of which is the love of propagating offspring of their kind-bursts forth and becomes active in accordance with the presence and influence of heat from the sun of the world, which is the heat of the spring and the summer seasons. Those who believe that the world’s heat flows in and excites these loves are greatly mistaken, for there can be no influx from the natural into the spiritual, but only from the spiritual into the natural. This influx is of Divine order, but the other would be contrary to Divine order.{1} [HH135]

Angels, like men, have understanding and will. The light of heaven constitutes the life of their understanding, because that light is Divine truth and Divine wisdom therefrom; and the heat of heaven constitutes the life of their will, because that heat is Divine good and Divine love therefrom. The veriest life of the angels is from heat, and from light only so far as heat is in it. That life is from heat is shown by the fact that when heat is taken away life perishes. The same is true of faith without love or of truth without good; since the truth that is called truth of faith is light, and the good that is called good of love is heat. {1} This is more clearly shown by the heat and light of the world, to which the heat and light of heaven correspond. By the world’s heat when conjoined with light, as in spring and summer, all things on the earth are quickened and grow, but by light separate from heat nothing is quickened or grows, but everything lies torpid and dies. They are not conjoined in winter, when heat is absent though light remains. From this correspondence heaven is called paradise, since truth is there joined with good, or faith with love, as light is with heat in springtime on the earth. All this makes more clear the truth set forth in its own chapter (n. 13-19), that the Divine of the Lord in Heaven is love to Him and charity towards the neighbor.  [HH136]

And the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life, signifies that the interiors of the minds of them all were laid open, and by the influx of light and heat from heaven their quality was seen and perceived, as to the affections which are of the love or will, and thence as to the thoughts which are of faith or of the understanding, as well the evil as the good. By "books" are not meant books, but the interiors of the minds of those who are judged, by "the books," the interiors of the minds of those who are evil, and are judged to death, and by "the book of life" such as are good, and are judged to life. They are called "books," because in the interiors of the mind of everyone are inscribed all the things that he thought, intended, spoke, and did in the world from the will or the love, and thence from the understanding or faith; all these things are inscribed on the life of everyone, with so much exactness that not one of them is wanting. The quality of all these things appears to the life, when spiritual light, which is wisdom from the Lord, and spiritual heat, which is love from the Lord, flow in through heaven. Spiritual light discloses the thoughts which are of the understanding and faith, and spiritual heat discloses the affections which are of the will and love; and spiritual light together with spiritual heat disclose the intentions and endeavors. That this is the case, I do not say that the rational man can see from the light of his own understanding; but he can if he will, provided he be willing to understand that there is given spiritual light which enlightens the understanding, and spiritual heat which enkindles the will. [AR 867}

Neither shall the sun fall upon them, nor any heat, signifies that hereafter they shall not have lusts to evil, nor to the falsity of evil. "The sun shall not fall upon them," signifies that they shall not have lusts to evil, "neither shall any heat fall upon them," signifies that they shall not have lusts to falsity. That "the sun" signifies the Divine love and thence the affections of good; and, in the opposite sense, diabolical love and thence lusts to evil, may be seen above (n. 53). But the reason why "heat" signifies lusts to the falsities of evil, is, because falsity is produced from evil, as heat is from the sun; for when the will loves evil, the understanding loves falsity, and burns with the lust of confirming it, and evil confirmed in the understanding, is the falsity of evil; consequently the falsity of evil is evil in its form. "Heat" and "to be hot" have a like signification in the following passages

Blessed is the man that trusteth in Jehovah, he shall not see when heat cometh (Jer. 17:7-8).
For thou hast been a refuge to the needy from the inundation, a shade from the heat; He tempered the heat with the shadow of a cloud (Isa. 25:4-5).
When they are heated, I will make them drunken, that they may sleep the sleep of an age (Jer. 51:39).
They are all hot as an oven, there is none among them that calleth unto Me (Hos. 7:7).
He beholdeth not the way of the vineyards. Drought and heat seize the waters of the snow (Job 24:18-19).
The fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and it was given unto him to scorch men with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God (Rev. 16:8-9).
To say to the bound, Go forth; they shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat smite them (Isa. 49:9-10).
[AR 382]

Author: EMANUEL SWEDENBORG  (1688-1772)