415. THE IMMENSITY OF HEAVEN
That the heaven of the Lord is immense can be confirmed from many things that have been said and shown in the foregoing sections, especially from this, that heaven is from the human race (see above, n. 311-317), both from those born within the Church and from those born out of it (n. 318-328); thus it consists of all from the beginning of this earth who have lived a good life. How great a multitude of men there is on the entire face of the globe anyone who knows anything about the divisions, the regions, and kingdoms of the earth may conclude. Whoever goes into a calculation will find that several thousands of men die every day, that is, some myriads or millions every year; and this from the earliest times, since which several thousands of years have elapsed. All of these after death have come into the other world, which is called the spiritual world, and they are constantly coming into it. But how many of these have become or are becoming angels of heaven cannot be told. This I have been told, that in ancient times the number was very great, because men then thought more interiorly and spiritually, and from such thought were in heavenly affection; but in the following ages not so many, because in the process of time man became more external and began to think more naturally, and from such thought to be in earthly affection. All of this confirms how great heaven is even from the inhabitants of this earth alone.