not know, do not understand, and are not wise about. It is hardly any-
thing at all.
“All the people in this garden paradise who acknowledge on the basis
of inner perception and vision that they have relatively little wisdom can
see the Temple of Wisdom. The human mind’s inner light lets people see
it; but the mind’s outer light without any inner light does not.”
[ 2 ] I had often thought about this myself. At first through book-
learning, later through my own perception of it, and finally because I saw
it in an inner light, I had come to acknowledge that we have very little
wisdom. Therefore I was granted ability to see the temple.
It had an amazing form: it stood extremely high above the earth;
square; walls made of crystal; a roof made of translucent jasper elegantly
arched; a foundation made of different types of precious stone. There
were steps of polished alabaster so that people could go up into the tem-
ple. At the sides of the steps there were images of lions with their cubs.
Then I asked whether it was all right to go in. I was told that it was
all right, so I went up the stairs. As I went in, I saw something like angel
guardians flying near the ceiling, but they soon disappeared. The floor I
was walking on was made of cedar. With its translucent roof and walls,
the whole temple was built to be a form of light.
[ 3 ] The angelic spirit came in with me. I mentioned what I had heard
from the two angels about loveand wisdom,and goodwill and faith. The
angelic spirit said, “Did they not also mention a third element?”
“What third element?” I asked.
The angelic spirit answered, “Good, useful action. Love and wisdom
without good, useful action are nothing. They are only conceptual enti-
ties. They do not become real until they exist in usefulness.
“Love, wisdom, and usefulness are three things that cannot be sepa-
rated. If they are separated, none of them is anything. Love is nothing
without wisdom, but in wisdom it is formed for something; the something
that love is formed for is usefulness. Therefore when love exists in useful-
ness through the help of wisdom, it really exists, because it becomes actual.
“These three are just like purpose, means, and result. The purpose is
nothing unless means exist to bring about results. If one of the three dis-
sipates, each of the others dissipates and becomes more or less nothing.
[ 4 ] “The same is true for goodwill, faith, and good actions. Goodwill
is nothing without faith. Faith is nothing without goodwill. Goodwill and
faith are nothing without good actions, but in the form of good actions
they become something, depending on how useful those good actions are.
§387 faith 469