[2] But as to what a wish on the part of unspiritual natural truth to become joined to spiritual natural truth may be and what is implied by it, this is a mystery at the present day, chiefly because few people have any concern or wish to know what spiritual truth is and what unspiritual truth is. Indeed that lack of concern is so great that people are hardly willing to listen when the word spiritual is used, for at the mere mention of this a kind of darkness instantly descends upon them, and along with this a melancholy feeling, which gives rise to a distaste for the word and so a rejection of it. The truth of this has also been demonstrated to me. While I was once pondering on these matters, some spirits from the Christian world were present, who were then taken back into the state that had been theirs in the world. The mere thought of spiritual good and truth not only gave them a melancholy feeling; it also seized them with such loathing on account of their aversion to it that they said they felt as they had done in the world when they wanted to vomit. But I was allowed to tell them that this happened because their affections were centred solely on earthly, bodily, and worldly interests; and when a person is concerned solely with these, the things of heaven nauseate him. I also told those spirits that when they had gone to church where the Word was preached they had not gone out of any wish to know the things of heaven, but out of some other desire present in them since early childhood. This experience showed me what the Christian world is like at the present day.

[3] The overall reason why this is the situation is that the Christian Church at the present day preaches faith alone, not charity, and so doctrine, not life. And when the Church fails to preach life, no one acquires any affection for good; and when there is no affection for good, neither is there any for truth. Consequently most people find it contrary to their life's delight to listen to anything about the things of heaven beyond what they have known since they were young children.

[4] But the fact of the matter is that a person exists in the world to the end that he may be introduced through the services he renders there into the things of heaven. But his life in the world lasts barely a moment so to speak, compared with his life after death; for the latter goes on for ever. Yet there are few who believe that they will be alive after death, which explains why heavenly things are of little importance to them. And this I can positively declare, that a person is in the next life as soon as he has died, carrying on to the full the life he was leading in the world; the nature of his life remains the same as it was in the world. I can positively declare this to be so because I know it to be so. I have talked to almost all those I knew during their earthly lives after these were over. I have therefore been allowed to know through actual experience the nature of the lot that awaits everyone - that each person's lot is determined by the life he has led. But the kind of people mentioned above do not believe any of this. As to what a wish on the part of unspiritual natural truth to become joined to spiritual natural truth may be, and what is implied by it, meant by 'she took hold of Joseph by his garment', this will be discussed in what follows immediately below.