angels perceive this they leave him. After some interaction with
others he at length unites himself with those who are in evil like
his own (see above, n. 445-452). When this takes place he turns
himself away from the Lord and turns his face towards the hell to
which he had been joined in the world, in which those abide who are
in a like love of evil. All this makes clear that the Lord draws
every spirit to Himself by means of angels and by means of influx
from heaven; but those spirits that are in evil completely resist,
and as it were tear themselves away from the Lord, and are drawn by
their own evil, thus by hell, as if by a rope. And as they are so
drawn, and by reason of their love of evil are eager to follow, it is
evident that they themselves cast themselves into hell by their own
free choice. Men in the world because of their idea of hell are
unable to believe that this is so. In fact, in the other life before
the eyes of those who are outside of hell it does not so appear; but
only so to those who cast themselves into hell, for such enter of
their own accord. Those who enter from a burning love of evil appear
to be cast headlong, with the head downwards and the feet upwards. It
is because of this appearance that they seem to be cast into hell by
Divine power. (But about this more will be said below, n. 574.) From
all this it can be seen that the Lord casts no one into hell, but
everyone casts himself into hell, both while he is living in the
world and also after death when he comes among spirits.

549. The Lord from His Divine Essence, which is goodness, love, and
mercy, is unable to deal in the same way with every man, because
evils and their falsities prevent, and not only quench His Divine
influx but even reject it. Evils and their falsities are like black
clouds which interpose between the sun and the eye, and take away the
sunshine and the serenity of its light; although the unceasing
endeavor of the sun to dissipate the opposing clouds continues, for
it is operating behind them; and in the meantime transmits something
of obscure light into the eye of man by various roundabout ways. It
is the same in the spiritual world. The sun there is the Lord and the
Divine love (n. 116-140); and the light there is the Divine truth (n.
126-140); black clouds there are falsities from evil; the eye there
is the understanding. So far as any one in that world is in falsities
from evil he is encompassed by such a cloud,