and he treads it eagerly with the delight of an obscene bird flying to a dark wood where the carcass of some wild beast is lying. He finds himself at last in some one of the hells which are opposite to the societies of heaven.
What is the cause of these remarkable phenomena?
The judgment: "It is appointed unto all men to die, and after this the judgment."
Yes, these spirits have been judged. The books have been opened, and they have been judged out of them and "according to their works." The sheep have been separated from the goats. Those who had oil in their lamps have gone into the marriage-feast, and against those who had none the door has been shut. Those who had used their talents wisely, have had their spiritual riches indefinitely increased; those who had buried their gift in the earth, have been stripped of all and cast into outer darkness.
There are two judgments: a special or individual judgment for each soul, and a general judgment which takes place at the end of every Church, or at the close of every Dispensation. These processes occur always in the world of spirits; not in heaven, nor in hell, nor upon the earth. The great
