Two Suns — One Spiritual, One Natural

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
TO UNDERSTAND AND THENCE TO PERCEIVE AND ALSO TO HAVE FAITH

NATURAL LIGHT is from the sun of the world, and SPIRITUAL LIGHT is from the sun of heaven, which is the Lord. All the truths of faith that man learns from infancy are apprehended by means of such objects and derivative ideas as are from the light of the world, thus all and each are apprehended naturally; for all the ideas of man's thought, so long as he lives in the world, are founded upon such things as are in the world; and therefore if these were taken away from him, his thought would utterly perish. The man who has not been regenerated is wholly ignorant that there is SPIRITUAL LIGHT, or even that there is in heaven a light that has nothing in common with the light of the world, still less does he know that it is this light that enlightens the ideas and objects which are from the light of the world, and enables man to think, infer, and reflect. That SPIRITUAL LIGHT can do this is because this light is the wisdom itself that proceeds from the Lord, and this is presented as light before the sight of the angels in heaven. From this light appear all and each of the things that are below, or that are in man from NATURAL LIGHT; but not the converse, unless the man has been regenerated, in which case the things of heaven, that is, of good and truth, by enlightenment from SPIRITUAL LIGHT appear in the NATURAL as in a representative mirror.

From this it is evident that the Lord, who is light itself, sees all things and each that are in the thought and will of man, nay, that are in universal nature, and that nothing whatever is hidden from Him.

(from Arcana Coelestia 5477)

In regard to "seeing" as denoting to understand and thence to perceive and also to have faith, be it known that there are two things with man which make his life, namely, SPIRITUAL LIGHT and SPIRITUAL HEAT.

SPIRITUAL LIGHT makes the life of his understanding, and SPIRITUAL HEAT the life of his will. SPIRITUAL LIGHT is from its first origin - Divine truth from the Divine good of the Lord, and hence is the truth of faith from the good of charity. And SPIRITUAL HEAT is from its first origin - the Divine good of the Divine love of the Lord, and hence is the good of celestial love, which is love to the Lord, and the good of spiritual love, which is love toward the neighbor. These two, as before said, constitute the whole life of man.

As regards SPIRITUAL LIGHT, it is with this in the understanding of man as it is with NATURAL LIGHT in his external sight; namely, in order that the eye may see, it is necessary that there be light to illumine, and then the eye sees in the light all things which are round about outside of it. So the intellectual mind, (which is man's internal eye), in order that this eye may see, it is necessary for the light of heaven, which is from the Lord, to illumine it; and when this eye is illumined by this light, it then sees the things which are round about outside of itself; but the objects which it sees are spiritual, namely, memory-knowledges and truths. But when this light does not illumine, the intellectual mind or internal eye of man, like the external or bodily eye, is in darkness and sees nothing, that is, from memory-knowledges nothing of truth, and from truths nothing of good.

The light which illumines the intellectual mind is in very truth LIGHT, and such light that it a thousand times surpasses the midday light of the world, which I bear witness to because I have seen it.

By this light all the angels in the heavens see the things which are round about outside of themselves, and also by the same light they see and perceive the truths which are of faith, and their quality. Hence then it is that by "seeing" is signified in the spiritual sense not only the understanding, but also whatever is of the understanding, as thought, reflection, observation, prudence, and many such things; likewise not only faith, but also whatever is of faith, as truth, doctrine from the Word, and the like.

But as regards SPIRITUAL HEAT, it is with this in the will of man as it is with NATURAL HEAT in the body, in that it vivifies. But in its first origin, which origin is from the Lord, SPIRITUAL HEAT is nothing else than the Divine love toward the universal human race, and from this the reciprocal love of man to Him and also toward the neighbor.

And this SPIRITUAL HEAT is in very truth HEAT, which gladdens the bodies of the angels with heat, and at the same time their interiors with love.

Hence it is that by "heat," "flame," and "fire" in the Word are signified in the genuine sense those things which are of love, as the affections of good and of truth, and also good itself.

(from Arcana Coelestia 6032)