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.

(Referenties: 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.

(Referenties: 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)

60. 4. There is a clear image of what is infinite and eternal in the angelic heaven. The angelic heaven is also one of the things we need to know about. Every religious person thinks about it and wants to go there. Heaven, though, is granted only to people who know the path to it and follow that path. We can know the path to heaven to some extent simply by considering what the people who make up heaven are like, realizing that no one can become an angel or get to heaven unless he or she arrives bringing along some angelic quality from the world. Inherent in that angelic quality is a knowing of the path from having walked it and a walking in the path from the knowing of it.

There really are paths in the spiritual world, paths that lead to each community of heaven and to each community of hell. We all see our own paths, spontaneously, it seems. We see them because the paths there are for the loves of each individual. Love opens the paths and leads us to our kindred spirits. No one sees any paths except those of her or his love.

We can see from this that angels are simply heavenly loves, since otherwise they would not have seen the paths that lead to heaven. However, this is better supported by a description of heaven.

8875. 'A jealous God' means that as a result there is falsity and evil. This is clear from the consideration that in the genuine sense 'a jealous God' means the Divine Truth of Divine Good, since 'God' has reference to truth, 2586, 2769, 2807, 2822, 3921 (end), 4287, 4402, 7010, 7268, 8301, and 'jealous' to good, as will be seen below. But so far as those who do not receive the Divine Truth of the Lord's Divine Good are concerned, 'a jealous God' is falsity and evil. For those who are opposed to Him perceive Divine Truth as falsity, and Divine Good as evil; for the way in which everyone sees that Truth and Good is determined by what he really is in himself. So it is that the Lord's zeal, ¹ which in itself is love and compassion, is seen by them as anger; for when the Lord in love and mercy protects His own in heaven those ruled by evil are indignant and angry with the good. They plunge into the sphere where Divine Good and Divine Truth are, endeavouring to destroy those who are there. But then the Divine Truth of Divine Good acts on them and causes them to experience torments like those suffered in hell. As a consequence of this they attribute wrath and anger, and also all evil, to the Divine, when in fact there is no anger whatever in the Divine, nor any evil whatever, only pure forbearance and mercy.

[2] From all this it is evident why 'jealous' means falsity and evil, and why 'zeal' means anger. See what has been shown already about them, that is to say, in the following places,

Wrath and anger are attributed to the Lord, when in fact they exist with those who are ruled by evil or who are full of anger against the Divine, 5798, 6997, 8284, 8483.

Evil things, punishments, and times of vastation are in a similar way attributed to the Lord, when in fact nothing except love and mercy reside with the Lord, 2447, 6071, 6559, 6991, 6997, 7533, 7632, 7643, 7679, 7710, 7877, 7926, 8214, 8223, 8226-8228, 8282, 8632.

Through their endeavour to destroy goodness and truth the evil bring about their own devastation and cast themselves into damnation and hell, 7643, 7679, 7710, 7926, 7989.

The way in which everyone sees the Lord is determined by what he is within himself, 1861 (end), 6832, 8197.

[3] The places in the Word which are quoted below will show that 'the zeal of the Lord' is love and mercy, and that when the Lord protects the good against the evil it seems like hostility, and also like anger.

The zeal of the Lord is love and mercy.

In Isaiah,

Look out from heaven, and see from the dwelling-place of Your holiness and of Your glory. And where are Your zeal and Your might? The yearning of Your loins, ² and Your compassion, ³ towards me have held themselves back. Isaiah 63:15.

'Zeal' here stands for mercy, which is 'a yearning of the loins' and has reference to good. For where it says 'Your zeal and Your might' the word 'zeal' has reference to good, and the word 'might' to truth; and 'the yearning of the loins' likewise has reference to good, and 'compassion' to truth. In a like manner 'the dwelling-place of holiness' stands for the heaven where members of the celestial kingdom live, and 'the dwelling-place of glory' for the heaven where members of the spiritual kingdom live. From this too it is evident that where good is referred to in the Word, truth is referred to as well, on account of the heavenly marriage, which is the marriage of good and truth, in every individual part of the Word. This is so in the case of the Lord's two names Jesus and Christ; they are a sign of the Divine marriage within the Lord. Regarding these matters, see 683, 793, 801, 2516, 4138 (end), 5138, 5502, 6343, 7945, 8339 (end).

[4] In the same prophet,

To us a Boy is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulder; and His name is called' ⁴ Wonderful, Counsellor, God, Hero, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end. The zeal of Jehovah will do this. Isaiah 9:6-7.

This refers to the Lord and His Coming. 'The zeal of Jehovah will do this' stands for His acting from a love that burns to save the human race. In the same prophet,

Out of Jerusalem will go a remnant, and those who escape from Mount Zion. The zeal of Jehovah will do this. Isaiah 37:32.

'The zeal of Jehovah will do this' stands for His acting out of love and mercy.

[5] In Ezekiel,

Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name. ⁵ Ezekiel 39:25.

'Being jealous' stands for having mercy. In David, The zeal of Your house has devoured me. Psalms 69:9.

This refers to the Lord. 'The zeal of Jehovah's house' stands for love towards those who receive goodness and truth; for they are Jehovah's house.

[6] The Lord's zeal or mercy when He protects the good seems like hostility.

In Isaiah,

Jehovah will go forth as a mighty man, as a man of war He will arouse zeal; He will shout aloud and cry out, He will prevail over His enemies. Isaiah 42:13.

And in Joel,

Jehovah will be jealous for His land, and spare His people. Joel 2:18.

[7] The Lord's zeal is called anger and wrath because mercy is seen as such by the evil.

In Moses,

You shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the peoples who are round about you (for Jehovah your God in the midst of you is a jealous God), lest perhaps the anger of Jehovah your God flare up against you and destroy you from the face of the earth. Deuteronomy 6:14-15.

In the same author,

They provoked Him to jealousy through foreign [gods]; through abominations they made Him angry. They sacrifice to demons. They have moved Me to jealousy, ⁶ by what is not god, they have provoked Me to anger with their idols. ⁷ Deuteronomy 32:16-17, 21.

In Ezekiel,

When My anger is accomplished and I make My wrath rest on them, I will repent, so that they may know that I Jehovah have spoken in My zeal, when I have accomplished My wrath on them. Ezekiel 5:13.

In Zechariah,

The angel of Jehovah [speaking] in me said to me, Cry out, saying, Thus said Jehovah Zebaoth, I have been jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with great zeal. For I have become extremely indignant against the nations that feel secure. Zechariah 1:14-15; 8:2.

In Zephaniah,

I will pour out onto them My indignation, all My fierce anger, ⁸ for in the fire of My zeal the whole earth will be devoured. Zephaniah 3:8.

In Moses,

Jehovah will not be pleased to pardon him; but then the anger of Jehovah, and His zeal, will smoke against that man, and every curse will rest on him Deuteronomy 29:20.

In David,

How long, O Jehovah; will you be angry forever? Will your jealousy burn line fire? Pour out Your anger on the nations that do not know You. Psalms 79:5-6.

Jehovah's zeal is in like manner referred to as 'anger' in Psalms 38:1; Ezekiel 16:42; 23:25; 38:19.

All this shows what is meant by 'Jehovah's zeal' or 'a jealous God' - in the genuine sense love and mercy, but in the non-genuine sense, such as that understood by those immersed in evils and falsities, anger and ruination.

[8] It should be recognized that Jehovah, that is, the Lord, is called 'jealous' or 'an avenger' especially when what ought to reign universally with a member of the Church - that is to say, what is Divine and must be either loved, held in mind, or feared above all things - is being corrupted. When it has been corrupted or destroyed complete and utter darkness ensues in place of heavenly light; for that light no longer flows in from the Divine because there is no acceptance of it. This is why the commandment says, 'I am Jehovah your God, a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the sons, on the third and on the fourth [generations] of those who hate Me', which He would do if they worshipped other gods or made either a graven image or likenesses for themselves. For these corrupt what is Divine and ought to reign universally.

[9] Therefore similar declarations occur elsewhere in Moses,

Take care, lest you make for yourselves a graven image of any figure; for Jehovah your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God. Deuteronomy 4:23-24

And in the same author,

You shall not worship any other god; for Jehovah, whose name is Jealous, He is a jealous [God]. Exodus 34:14.

The reason why the Israelite nation was forbidden so strictly to do these things was that any adoration of other gods, graven images, and other images destroyed everything representative of the Church among them. For in heaven Jehovah, that is, the Lord, reigns universally; His Divine [Life] fills all things there and composes the life of all. If anything else had been worshipped instead of the Divine, everything representative, and so contact with heaven, would have perished.

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