Page:Heaven and its Wonders and Hell.djvu/170

therefore no one can enter heaven unless he possesses innocence; and this the Lord teaches when he says,

"Suffer little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of the heavens. Verily I say unto you, Whoever shall not receive the kingdom of the heavens as a little child, he shall not enter into it" (Mark x. 14, 15; Luke xviii. 16, 17).

Here as elsewhere in the Word "little children" mean those who are innocent. A state of innocence is also described by the Lord in Matthew (vi. 25-34), but by correspondences only. Good is good so far as it has innocence in it, for the reason that all good is from the Lord, and innocence is a willingness to be led by the Lord. I have also been told that truth can be conjoined to good and good to truth only by means of innocence, and therefore an angel is not an angel of heaven unless he has innocence in him; for heaven is not in any one until good is conjoined to truth in him; and this is why the conjunction of truth and good is called the heavenly marriage, and the heavenly marriage is heaven. Again, I have been told that true marriage love derives its existence from innocence, because it derives its existence from the conjunction of good and truth, and the two minds of husband and wife are in that conjunction, and when that conjunction descends it presents the appearance of marriage love; for consorts are in mutual love, as their minds are. This is why in marriage love there is a playfulness like that of childhood and innocence.^[1]

282. Because innocence with the angels of heaven is the very being (esse) of good, it is evident that the Divine good that

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1. True marriage love is innocence (n. 2736).
   Marriage love consists in willing what the other wills, thus mutually and reciprocally (n. 2731).
   They who are in marriage love dwell together in the inmosts of life (n. 2732).
   There is such a union of the two minds that from love they are a one (n. 10168, 10169).
   True marriage love derives its origin and essence from the marriage of good and truth (n. 2728, 2729).
   About angelic spirits who have a perception from the idea of the conjunction of good and truth whether anything of marriage exists (n. 10756).
   Marriage love is just the same thing as the conjunction of good and truth (n. 1904, 2173, 2508, 2729, 3103, 3132, 3155, 3179, 3180, 4358, 5807, 5835, 9206, 9207, 9495, 9637).
   Therefore in the Word "marriage" means the marriage of good and truth, such as there is in heaven and such as there will be in the church (n. 3132, 4434, 4835).