parent of all other heavenly loves, so the nearer marriages on earth approach in their nature to those in heaven, the more of heaven will there be in the hearts of men;—the more fully will the Lord's kingdom come and his will be done on earth as it is done in the heavens.
But are there really marriages in heaven? We will first hear Swedenborg's answer to this question, and then subject it to a careful examination in the light of reason and known facts; and finally, will explain the passage of Scripture which is commonly supposed to teach a different doctrine on the subject.
"Heaven is from the human race; therefore the angels of heaven are of both sexes. And because it was ordained from creation that the woman should be for the man and the man for the woman, and thus that each should be the other's, and because this love is innate in both, it follows that there are marriages in heaven as well as on earth. But marriages in heaven are very different from those on earth.
"Marriage in heaven is the uniting of two into one mind. The mind consists of two parts, one of which is called the understanding, the other the will. When these two parts act in unity, they are then called one mind. In heaven the husband acts that part which ts called the understanding, and the wife that which is called the will. When this union which is of the interiors, descends into the inferiors which are of the body, it is perceived and felt as love. This love is conjugial love.
"Hence it is evident that conjugial love derives its origin from the union of two into one mind. This is called in heaven cohabitation; and it is said that they are not two but one. Therefore two married partners in heaven are not called two but one angel."—H. H. n. 366, '7.