Heaven and Hell: The Portable New Century Edition

The Lord Governs the Hells

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I

N the earlier discussion of heaven, it was made clear throughout (partic-

ularly in §§ 2 – 6 ) that the Lord is the God of heaven and that the whole

government of the heavens is in the Lord’s hands. Since the relationship

of heaven to hell and of hell to heaven is like that of two opposites that

act against each other, the action and reaction of which yield the state of

equilibrium within which everything exists, in order for absolutely every-

thing to be kept in this balance, it is necessary that the ruler of the one be

the ruler of the other as well. That is, unless the same Lord controlled the

attacks of the hells and restrained their madness, the balance would be

destroyed; and if the balance were destroyed, everything else would go.

First, though, I need to say something about the balance. It is recog- 537

nized that when two forces act against each other and when one reacts

and resists as much as the other acts and pushes, neither has any force

because each has the same amount of power. Then either can be moved

by a third force at will, since when the two have no force because of their

equal resistance, the force of the third has total control and acts as easily

as if there were no resistance at all.

[ 2 ] There is this kind of equilibrium between heaven and hell.^

However, it is not the kind of equilibrium that occurs between two

people who are fi ghting physically, with one just as strong as the other;

it is rather a spiritual balance, one of the false against the true and the

evil against the good. Malicious falsity constantly breathes forth from

hell and benevolent truth constantly breathes forth from heaven. This

is the spiritual balance that provides us with our freedom for thinking

and intending, since everything we think and intend depends either

on evil and its consequent falsity or on good and its consequent truth.

[ 3 ] So when we are in this state of equilibrium, we are in freedom

either to let in and accept what is evil from hell and its consequent

falsity or to let in and accept what is good from heaven and its conse-

quent truth. Each of us is kept in this equilibrium by the Lord, who

governs both heaven and hell.

I will explain later, in a separate chapter, why we are kept in this

freedom by means of the balance, and why the evil and the false are not

taken away from us by divine power and the good and true instilled.

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