115. The Second Relation is this. An angel once said to me, "You wish to see clearly what faith and charity are, and thereby what faith is when separate from charity, and what it is when conjoined with charity; I will also demonstrate it to the eye." I replied, "Show it to me." And he said, "Instead of faith and charity, think of light and heat, and you will see clearly. For faith in its essence is the truth of wisdom, and charity in its essence is the affection of love, and the truth of wisdom in heaven is light, and the affection of love in heaven is heat; the light and heat which the angels have, are nothing else. Hence you can see clearly what faith is when separate from charity, and what it is when conjoined with charity.
"Faith separate from charity is like the light in winter, and faith conjoined with charity is like the light in spring; the light in winter, which is light separate from heat, and in consequence thereof conjoined with cold, strips the trees of all their leaves, kills the grass, hardens the earth and freezes the water; but the light in spring, which is light conjoined with heat, causes the trees to vegetate, first into leaves, then into blossoms, and lastly into fruits; it opens and softens the earth whereby it yields grass, herbs, flowers, and fruits; and it also dissolves the ice, so that the waters flow from their fountains. Exactly similar is the case with faith and charity; faith separate from charity deadens all things, and faith conjoined with charity vivifies all things.
"The nature of such deadening and vivifying may be seen to the life in our spiritual world, because here faith is light, and charity, heat; for where faith is conjoined with charity, there are paradisal gardens, flower beds, and lawns, in their pleasantness according to conjunction. But where faith is separate from charity, there does not grow even grass, nor any green thing, except it be on thorns and briers." There were then not far from us some of the clergy, whom the angel called justifiers and sanctifiers of men by faith alone, and also arcanists; we said to them the same things and likewise demonstrated them even so that they saw it to be so. But when we asked them whether it was so, they turned themselves away, and said, "We did not hear;" whereupon we cried aloud to them saying, "Hear us now, then;" but immediately they stopped their ears with both hands, and exclaimed, "We do not wish to hear."
CONCLUSION.
From Jeremiah (7:2-4, 9-11).
Stand in the gate of the house of Jehovah, and proclaim there this word: Thus saith Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel: Render good your ways and your words; trust ye not upon the words of a lie, saying, the temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah is here [that is, the church]. Will ye steal, kill, commit adultery, and swear falsely, and after that come and stand before Me in this house, whereon My name is called, and say, we are delivered, whilst ye do all these abominations? Is not this house become a den of robbers? Even I behold, I have seen, saith Jehovah.