342 HEAVEN and HELL §562
562 In broad terms, the evils characteristic of people focused on love for
themselves are contempt for others; envy; enmity toward anyone who
is not on their side, and a consequent hostility; various kinds of hatred;
vengefulness; craft; deceit; callousness; and cruelty. In religious matters,
this extends not only to a contempt for the Divine and for the divine
gifts that are the true and good elements of the church; it extends also
to anger at such things, an anger that turns into hatred when we become
spirits. Then not only can we not stand hearing about these matters, we
blaze with hatred against everyone who acknowledges and worships the
Divine.
I talked with one man who had been in power in the world and loved
himself far too much. When he simply heard the Divine mentioned—
especially when he heard the Lord named—he was so struck by angry
hatred that he was consumed with thoughts of murder. When the reins
of his love were loosened, he even wanted to be the Devil himself in
order to satisfy his love by ceaseless attacks on heaven. Many individu-
als of the papal religion feel this desire in the other life when they realize
that the Lord has all power and that they have none.
563 Some spirits appeared to me in the western region, toward the south,
who said they had been granted high honor in the world and deserved
to be promoted over others and to lord it over them. They were exam-
ined by angels to discover what they were like inwardly, and it turned
out that in their earthly offi ces they had paid no attention to service but
only to themselves, which meant that they had put themselves before ser-
vice. Still, since they were afl ame with ambition to be promoted, they
were allowed to join a group of people who were discussing some rather
important matters. You could tell, though, that they were unable to pay
any attention to the real issues that were being discussed and could not see
the matters in any depth. They did not say anything on the basis of the
constructive effects of the discussion, but talked only on the basis of
their own self-image. Their behavior was motivated by a desire to ingra-
tiate themselves; so they were dismissed from the task and left to seek
offi ce elsewhere. So they went farther westward, where they were accepted
here and there; but in every case they were told that they were not think-
ing about anything but themselves, that they were not thinking about the
business at hand except in terms of themselves. This meant that they were
stupid, just like sensual, materialistic spirits. Wherever they arrived, then,
they were rejected. After a while they were utterly bankrupt and were ask-
ing for handouts.