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Angels

Napsal(a) New Christian Bible Study Staff

'Soul Carried to Heaven,' by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, a 19th-century French traditionalist.

The Writings offer a tremendous amount of material on angels. The book "Heaven and Hell" offers detailed discussions as it describes heaven; "Conjugial Love" has much to say about marriage and romantic love in heaven; "Divine Love and Wisdom" offers insight into how angels in their nature reflect the nature of the Lord. So we'll offer some basics here and recommend those books to those who want more detail.

(Odkazy: Divine Love and Wisdom 231; Divine Providence 60-67)


Basically, the Writings say that if people in this life open themselves to the Lord, follow the Lord's teachings and let the Lord change their selfish desires into generous loves, they will go to heaven as angels after they die. If they don't, and instead embrace their selfishness, they will go to hell as evil spirits. The Writings also say that this is the only source of angels and evil spirits - they were all once people. There is no separately created race of angels, no fallen angel Lucifer who is now the Devil; that belief is based solely on a few lines of misinterpreted scripture.

This makes sense if you look at it logically. If the Lord could create beings that would live in love and harmony with him with no possibility of evil, why would He have bothered with us? Why not just make more of them? The fact is, such beings would not have any choice in their actions, making them no better than animals. And ultimately, if they were purely good then they would really just be extensions of the Lord, so in loving them He would be loving Himself. The reverse is true of the idea of Satan or "the" Devil. The Lord creates us from love so that he can love us, bring us to heaven and make us happy. For Satan to exist, the Lord would have had to create him, and it would be contrary to His essence to create something that was not intended for heaven, for joy, and for union with the Lord.

So angels were once people, who got to be angels by embracing the idea of being good and followed the Lord's teachings as best they could. The Writings make it clear these people can come from anywhere, from any religious background. Some churches may have doctrine that is closer to the truth than others, but the point of any religion is for people to desire to be good and try to be good using the tools they have.

When those people die, they go first to a place called the "world of spirits." There everyone who has recently died can learn about the Lord and spiritual life and prepare for heaven. There also, people's inner affections start showing on the surface; those who are ultimately evil start losing the ability to cover it up, and the love starts shining through for those who are ultimately good. As this continues and as people learn more, they naturally start congregating with others who have similar loves. This way evil people eventually take themselves to hell, where they can be with others who share their evil. Good people, on the other hand, can be prepared for heaven.

Two important things have to happen for us to truly enter fully into heaven. First, the Lord will push aside our remaining evil desires, so they cannot hurt us or tempt us anymore; angels are in a marvelous state of peace, with no active evil to trouble them. Second, we will each be led by the Lord to the perfect married partner, the one whose soul matches ours, the one we can love blissfully to eternity. All angels are married, because the marriage of a man and a woman represents the marriage of love and wisdom in the Lord, and also the marriage of the desire for good and understanding of truth in each of us. Because of this, we can only fully receive and return the Lord's love as married partners, and heaven is suffused with the sphere of marriage and the love of marriage.

The angelic couples will find their way to communities of other angels whose loves match their own, people with whom they can share the deepest friendships imaginable. They will have houses which reflect the character of their loves, and will be given work to do that springs from their loves and fills them with joy. Beyond that, their lives are much as life might be in this world, though free of sickness and aging and boredom and conflict. They have bodies that are human in form - no wings! - but a beauty in face and form that reflects the good loves they have inside. They eat and drink and laugh and sleep and have parties and games; all filled with the delight of mutual love.

The Writings tell us the work angels do is varied far beyond what we can imagine, though they only describe a few aspects. Among other things, angels care for people in this life, passing on to them true ideas and desires for good from the Lord. They also teach those in the World of Spirits, greet those who have just died, raise those who died as children, keep order in hell and do many other things.

We would finally note that there are three degrees of angelic life, based on the loves people embraced in this life. The first, lowest heaven, called the "natural heaven," is filled by those who are in the love of service. Angels there love to do what's right because they know it is right. The second, middle heaven, called the spiritual heaven, is filled by those who are in the love of the neighbor. Angels there love to engage their minds with spiritual questions to gain an ever-deeper understanding of how to be loving to one another. The third, highest heaven, known as celestial, is filled with those who are in love of the Lord Himself. From that love they have such innocence that they look like children, and they instantly perceive what is true, in all its variety, from the light of that love.

(Odkazy: Apocalypse Revealed 818; Arcana Coelestia 228-233, 454, 1802, 2551, 2572 [3-4], 5470, 6872 [2-3], 8747, 9503 [1-3], 9814 [2], 10604 [2-4]; Conjugial Love 44 [6-10], 52; Divine Love and Wisdom 19, 63, 71, 115, 116, 202, Divine Love and Wisdom 321, 322, 334; Heaven and Hell 75, 133, 266, 267, 304, 311, 415)

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Heaven and Hell # 266

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266. We may gather what angels' wisdom is like from the fact that they live in heaven's light, and in its essence heaven's light is divine truth or divine wisdom. This light illuminates at one and the same time both their inner sight, which is mental, and their outer sight, the sight of their eyes. (On heaven's light being divine truth or divine wisdom, see above, 126-133.) Angels also live in heaven's warmth, which in its essence is divine good or divine love, and from this comes their affection and longing for wisdom. (On heaven's warmth being divine good or divine love, see above, 133-140.)

Angels enjoy wisdom to the point that they might be called "wisdoms," as we may gather from the fact that all the elements of their thoughts and affections flow according to the heavenly form, which form is the form of divine wisdom, and further that their more inward levels, which are open to wisdom, are framed according to this form. (On angels' thoughts and affections, and therefore their intelligence and wisdom as well, flowing according to heaven's form, see above, 201-212).

[2] We may further infer the excellence of angels' wisdom from the fact that their speech is the speech of wisdom. It actually flows directly and freely from their thought, which in turn comes from their affection, so that their speech is their thought from affection in an external form. Consequently, nothing draws them away from the divine inflow: there is none of that external matter that for us keeps intruding into our speech from thoughts about other things. (On angels' speech being the speech of their thought and affection, see 234-245.)

It also contributes to this kind of angelic wisdom that everything they see with their eyes and perceive with their senses is in harmony with their wisdom. This is because all these things are correspondences and therefore the objects of their senses are forms that portray elements proper to their wisdom. (On the fact that everything visible in heaven is in correspondence with the deeper levels of the angels and is representative of their wisdom, see above, 170-182).

[3] Further, angels' thoughts are not bounded and constrained by concepts drawn from space and time the way ours are; for space and time are properties of nature, and properties of nature distract the mind from spiritual things and deprive our intellectual sight of breadth. (On angels' concepts being devoid of time and space and therefore unlimited, relative to ours, see above, 162-169, 191-199.)

Angels' thoughts are not diverted to earthly and material concerns or interrupted by the cares and needs of life, so they are not distracted by such things from the joys of wisdom the way our thoughts are in this world. They are given everything by the Lord gratis: they are clothed gratis, fed gratis, housed gratis (181-190); and beyond this, they are provided with joys and pleasures in proportion to their acceptance of wisdom from the Lord.

All this has been presented to show where angels derive this kind of wisdom. 1

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. [Swedenborg's footnote] On angels' wisdom - that it is incomprehensible and inexpressible: 2795-2796, 2802, 3314, 3404-3405, 9094, 9176.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for the permission to use this translation.

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Psalms 119

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1 Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to Yahweh's law.

2 Blessed are those who keep his statutes, who seek him with their whole heart.

3 Yes, they do nothing wrong. They walk in his ways.

4 You have commanded your precepts, that we should fully obey them.

5 Oh that my ways were steadfast to obey your statutes!

6 Then I wouldn't be disappointed, when I consider all of your commandments.

7 I will give thanks to you with uprightness of heart, when I learn your righteous judgments.

8 I will observe your statutes. Don't utterly forsake me. BET

9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.

10 With my whole heart, I have sought you. Don't let me wander from your commandments.

11 I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

12 Blessed are you, Yahweh. Teach me your statutes.

13 With my lips, I have declared all the ordinances of your mouth.

14 I have rejoiced in the way of your testimonies, as much as in all riches.

15 I will meditate on your precepts, and consider your ways.

16 I will delight myself in your statutes. I will not forget your word. GIMEL

17 Do good to your servant. I will live and I will obey your word.

18 Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things out of your law.

19 I am a stranger on the earth. Don't hide your commandments from me.

20 My soul is consumed with longing for your ordinances at all times.

21 You have rebuked the proud who are cursed, who wander from your commandments.

22 Take reproach and contempt away from me, for I have kept your statutes.

23 Though princes sit and slander me, your servant will meditate on your statutes.

24 Indeed your statutes are my delight, and my counselors. DALED

25 My soul is laid low in the dust. Revive me according to your word!

26 I declared my ways, and you answered me. Teach me your statutes.

27 Let me understand the teaching of your precepts! Then I will meditate on your wondrous works.

28 My soul is weary with sorrow: strengthen me according to your word.

29 Keep me from the way of deceit. Grant me your law graciously!

30 I have chosen the way of truth. I have set your ordinances before me.

31 I cling to your statutes, Yahweh. Don't let me be disappointed.

32 I run in the path of your commandments, for you have set my heart free. HEY

33 Teach me, Yahweh, the way of your statutes. I will keep them to the end.

34 Give me understanding, and I will keep your law. Yes, I will obey it with my whole heart.

35 Direct me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in them.

36 Turn my heart toward your statutes, not toward selfish gain.

37 Turn my eyes away from looking at worthless things. Revive me in your ways.

38 Fulfill your promise to your servant, that you may be feared.

39 Take away my disgrace that I dread, for your ordinances are good.

40 Behold, I long for your precepts! Revive me in your righteousness. WAW

41 Let your loving kindness also come to me, Yahweh, your salvation, according to your word.

42 So I will have an answer for him who reproaches me, for I trust in your word.

43 Don't snatch the word of truth out of my mouth, for I put my hope in your ordinances.

44 So I will obey your law continually, forever and ever.

45 I will walk in liberty, for I have sought your precepts.

46 I will also speak of your statutes before kings, and will not be disappointed.

47 I will delight myself in your commandments, because I love them.

48 I reach out my hands for your commandments, which I love. I will meditate on your statutes. ZAYIN

49 Remember your word to your servant, because you gave me hope.

50 This is my comfort in my affliction, for your word has revived me.

51 The arrogant mock me excessively, but I don't swerve from your law.

52 I remember your ordinances of old, Yahweh, and have comforted myself.

53 Indignation has taken hold on me, because of the wicked who forsake your law.

54 Your statutes have been my songs, in the house where I live.

55 I have remembered your name, Yahweh, in the night, and I obey your law.

56 This is my way, that I keep your precepts. CHET

57 Yahweh is my portion. I promised to obey your words.

58 I sought your favor with my whole heart. Be merciful to me according to your word.

59 I considered my ways, and turned my steps to your statutes.

60 I will hurry, and not delay, to obey your commandments.

61 The ropes of the wicked bind me, but I won't forget your law.

62 At midnight I will rise to give thanks to you, because of your righteous ordinances.

63 I am a friend of all those who fear you, of those who observe your precepts.

64 The earth is full of your loving kindness, Yahweh. Teach me your statutes. TET

65 Do good to your servant, according to your word, Yahweh.

66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments.

67 Before I was afflicted, I went astray; but now I observe your word.

68 You are good, and do good. Teach me your statutes.

69 The proud have smeared a lie upon me. With my whole heart, I will keep your precepts.

70 Their heart is as callous as the fat, but I delight in your law.

71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn your statutes.

72 The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of pieces of gold and silver. YUD

73 Your hands have made me and formed me. Give me understanding, that I may learn your commandments.

74 Those who fear you will see me and be glad, because I have put my hope in your word.

75 Yahweh, I know that your judgments are righteous, that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.

76 Please let your loving kindness be for my comfort, according to your word to your servant.

77 Let your tender mercies come to me, that I may live; for your law is my delight.

78 Let the proud be disappointed, for they have overthrown me wrongfully. I will meditate on your precepts.

79 Let those who fear you turn to me. They will know your statutes.

80 Let my heart be blameless toward your decrees, that I may not be disappointed. KAF

81 My soul faints for your salvation. I hope in your word.

82 My eyes fail for your word. I say, "When will you comfort me?"

83 For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke. I don't forget your statutes.

84 How many are the days of your servant? When will you execute judgment on those who persecute me?

85 The proud have dug pits for me, contrary to your law.

86 All of your commandments are faithful. They persecute me wrongfully. Help me!

87 They had almost wiped me from the earth, but I didn't forsake your precepts.

88 Preserve my life according to your loving kindness, so I will obey the statutes of your mouth. LAMED

89 Yahweh, your word is settled in heaven forever.

90 Your faithfulness is to all generations. You have established the earth, and it remains.

91 Your laws remain to this day, for all things serve you.

92 Unless your law had been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.

93 I will never forget your precepts, for with them, you have revived me.

94 I am yours. Save me, for I have sought your precepts.

95 The wicked have waited for me, to destroy me. I will consider your statutes.

96 I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commands are boundless. MEM

97 How I love your law! It is my meditation all day.

98 Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for your commandments are always with me.

99 I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation.

100 I understand more than the aged, because I have kept your precepts.

101 I have kept my feet from every evil way, that I might observe your word.

102 I have not turned aside from your ordinances, for you have taught me.

103 How sweet are your promises to my taste, more than honey to my mouth!

104 Through your precepts, I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. NUN

105 Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path.

106 I have sworn, and have confirmed it, that I will obey your righteous ordinances.

107 I am afflicted very much. Revive me, Yahweh, according to your word.

108 Accept, I beg you, the willing offerings of my mouth. Yahweh, teach me your ordinances.

109 My soul is continually in my hand, yet I won't forget your law.

110 The wicked have laid a snare for me, yet I haven't gone astray from your precepts.

111 I have taken your testimonies as a heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.

112 I have set my heart to perform your statutes forever, even to the end. SAMEKH

113 I hate double-minded men, but I love your law.

114 You are my hiding place and my shield. I hope in your word.

115 Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commandments of my God.

116 Uphold me according to your word, that I may live. Let me not be ashamed of my hope.

117 Hold me up, and I will be safe, and will have respect for your statutes continually.

118 You reject all those who stray from your statutes, for their deceit is in vain.

119 You put away all the wicked of the earth like dross. Therefore I love your testimonies.

120 My flesh trembles for fear of you. I am afraid of your judgments. AYIN

121 I have done what is just and righteous. Don't leave me to my oppressors.

122 Ensure your servant's well-being. Don't let the proud oppress me.

123 My eyes fail looking for your salvation, for your righteous word.

124 Deal with your servant according to your loving kindness. Teach me your statutes.

125 I am your servant. Give me understanding, that I may know your testimonies.

126 It is time to act, Yahweh, for they break your law.

127 Therefore I love your commandments more than gold, yes, more than pure gold.

128 Therefore I consider all of your precepts to be right. I hate every false way. PEY

129 Your testimonies are wonderful, therefore my soul keeps them.

130 The entrance of your words gives light. It gives understanding to the simple.

131 I opened my mouth wide and panted, for I longed for your commandments.

132 Turn to me, and have mercy on me, as you always do to those who love your name.

133 Establish my footsteps in your word. Don't let any iniquity have dominion over me.

134 Redeem me from the oppression of man, so I will observe your precepts.

135 Make your face shine on your servant. Teach me your statutes.

136 Streams of tears run down my eyes, because they don't observe your law. TZADI

137 You are righteous, Yahweh. Your judgments are upright.

138 You have commanded your statutes in righteousness. They are fully trustworthy.

139 My zeal wears me out, because my enemies ignore your words.

140 Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them.

141 I am small and despised. I don't forget your precepts.

142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness. Your law is truth.

143 Trouble and anguish have taken hold of me. Your commandments are my delight.

144 Your testimonies are righteous forever. Give me understanding, that I may live. KUF

145 I have called with my whole heart. Answer me, Yahweh! I will keep your statutes.

146 I have called to you. Save me! I will obey your statutes.

147 I rise before dawn and cry for help. I put my hope in your words.

148 My eyes stay open through the night watches, that I might meditate on your word.

149 Hear my voice according to your loving kindness. Revive me, Yahweh, according to your ordinances.

150 They draw near who follow after wickedness. They are far from your law.

151 You are near, Yahweh. All your commandments are truth.

152 Of old I have known from your testimonies, that you have founded them forever. RESH

153 Consider my affliction, and deliver me, for I don't forget your law.

154 Plead my cause, and redeem me! Revive me according to your promise.

155 Salvation is far from the wicked, for they don't seek your statutes.

156 Great are your tender mercies, Yahweh. Revive me according to your ordinances.

157 Many are my persecutors and my adversaries. I haven't swerved from your testimonies.

158 I look at the faithless with loathing, because they don't observe your word.

159 Consider how I love your precepts. Revive me, Yahweh, according to your loving kindness.

160 All of your words are truth. Every one of your righteous ordinances endures forever. SIN AND SHIN

161 Princes have persecuted me without a cause, but my heart stands in awe of your words.

162 I rejoice at your word, as one who finds great spoil.

163 I hate and abhor falsehood. I love your law.

164 Seven times a day, I praise you, because of your righteous ordinances.

165 Those who love your law have great peace. Nothing causes them to stumble.

166 I have hoped for your salvation, Yahweh. I have done your commandments.

167 My soul has observed your testimonies. I love them exceedingly.

168 I have obeyed your precepts and your testimonies, for all my ways are before you. TAV

169 Let my cry come before you, Yahweh. Give me understanding according to your word.

170 Let my supplication come before you. Deliver me according to your word.

171 Let my lips utter praise, for you teach me your statutes.

172 Let my tongue sing of your word, for all your commandments are righteousness.

173 Let your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts.

174 I have longed for your salvation, Yahweh. Your law is my delight.

175 Let my soul live, that I may praise you. Let your ordinances help me.

176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I don't forget your commandments. A Song of Ascents.