Heaven and Hell - Swedenborg Foundation

HEAVEN AND HELL 381
49
Man after Death Is Such
as His Life Had Been in the World
470. Every Christian knows from the Word that one’s own
life awaits him after death; for it is there said in many passages
that man will be judged and rewarded according to his deeds
and works; and no one who thinks from good and from real
truth can help seeing that he who lives well goes to heaven and
that he who lives wickedly goes to hell. But the evil man is
unwilling to believe that his state after death is according to his
life in the world; he thinks, especially when he is sick, that
heaven is granted to everyone out of pure mercy, whatever his
life may have been, and that this is done in accordance with his
faith, which he separates from life.
471. That man will be judged and rewarded according to his
deeds and works is declared in many passages in the Word,
some of which I will here quote:
The Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his
angels, and then he will render unto everyone according to his
works (Matt. 16:27).
Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord; yea, saith the Spirit,
that they may rest from their labors, for their works follow them
(Rev. 14:13).
I will give to everyone according to his works (Rev. 2:23).
I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God; and the
books were opened and the dead were judged out of the things that
were written in the books according to their works. The sea gave