Whatever state a person is in internally on earth, they continue in that state in the spiritual world with the exception that they are a soul (in complete human form) without a physical body. Without the body, the mental and sensing faculties are many times more acute. The soul of a person is formed by what they did, believed, and loved in life.

To get a better idea of the overall picture, I should remind the reader that, in general, Swedenborg distinguishes the whole of the afterlife into three parts; heaven above, hell below, and the world of spirits between them. The world of spirits is said to be an enormous realm between heaven and hell, where people who have died are in a state similar to that which they were in on earth. They stay for a time in the world of spirits (Swedenborg writes that this period is usually anywhere between three days to thirty years), and they gradually move toward heaven or hell as they are prepared. The world of spirits is more like earth life than heaven or hell in that good and evil people live amongst each other (to a degree). However, they are gradually being prepared for heaven or hell by visitation.

Today, people who believe in the afterlife and in eternal life care passionately about the state of their souls in the heavenly realm. This was not part of the thinking of most people in those ancient times. However, there were some pockets of more enlightened groups that were exceptions to this generalization.

If you want to learn more, grab a copy of my book, Rethinking Redemption. I would also love to connect with you on my accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads. Hope to see you there!

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