en he is sent forth, and
serves as a subject thinks from those by whom he is sent forth
and not from himself (n. 5985-5987).
256. An angel or spirit is not permitted to speak with a man from his
own memory, but only from the man's memory; for angels and spirits
have a memory as well as man. If a spirit were to speak from his own
memory with a man the man would not know otherwise than that the
thoughts then in his mind were his own, although they were the
spirit's thoughts. This would be like the recollection of something
which the man had never heard or seen. That this is so has been given
me to know from experience. This is the source of the belief held by
some of the ancients that after some thousands of years they were to
return into their former life, and into everything they had done, and
in fact, had returned. This they concluded because at times there
came to them a sort of recollection of things that they had never
seen or heard. This came from an influx from the memory of spirits
into their ideas of thought.
257. There are also spirits called natural and corporeal spirits.
When these come to a man they do not conjoin themselves with his
thought, like other spirits, but enter into his body, and occupy all
his senses, and speak through his mouth, and act through his members,
believing at the time that all things of the man are theirs. These
are the spirits that obsess man. But such spirits have been cast into
hell by the Lord, and thus wholly removed; and in consequence such
obsessions are not possible at the present time.{1}
{Footnote 1} External or bodily obsessions are not permitted at
the present time, as they were formerly (n. 1983). But at
present internal obsessions, which pertain to the mind, are
permitted more than formerly (n. 1983, 4793). Man is inwardly
obsessed when he has filthy and scandalous thoughts about God
and the neighbor, and is withheld from making them known only
by external consideration, which are fear of the loss of
reputation, honor, gain and fear of the law and of loss of life
(n. 5990). Of the devilish spirits who chiefly obsess the
interiors of man (n. 4793). Of the devilish spirits who long to
obsess the exteriors of man; that such are shut up in hell (n.
2752, 5990).
258. XXIX. WRITINGS IN HEAVEN.
As the angels have speech, and their speech consists of words, they
also have writings; and by writing as well as by speech they give
exp
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