130. Verse 12. And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write, signifies for remembrance to those within the church who are in temptations. This is evident from the signification of "writing," as being for remembrance (See Arcana Coelestia 8620); and from the signification of "angel," as being a recipient of Divine truth, and in the highest sense Divine truth itself proceeding from the Lord (of which more in what follows); and from the signification of the "church in Pergamum," as being those within the church who are in temptations.

That these are meant by the "church in Pergamum" is clear from the things written to that church, which follow. From no other source can it be known what is signified by each of the seven churches. For as was shown before, what is meant is not any church in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, or Laodicea, but all who are of the Lord's church, and by each of these churches something that constitutes the church with man is meant. And as the first things of the church are the knowledges of truth and good, and the affections of spiritual truth, these are first treated of, namely, in what is written to the angel of the Ephesian church and of the Smyrnean church; of the knowledges of truth and good to the angel of the Ephesian church, and of the spiritual affection of truth to the angel of the Smyrnean church. And as no one can be imbued with the knowledges of truth and good in respect to life, and be steadfast in the spiritual affection of truth, unless he undergoes temptations, so temptations are now treated of in what is written to the angel of the church in Pergamum. From this it appears in what order the things follow that are taught under the names of the seven churches.

[2] It is said "To the angel of the church, write," and not, To the church, because by "angel" is signified Divine truth, which makes the church; for Divine truth teaches how man is to live that he may become a church. That "angel" in the Word, in its spiritual sense, does not mean any angel, but in the highest sense, Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, and in a respective sense, he that receives it, can be seen from this, that all the angels are recipients of Divine truth from the Lord, and no angel is of himself an angel; but he is so far an angel as he receives Divine truth; for angels more than men know and perceive that all the good of love and all the truth of faith are from the Lord, not from themselves, and as the good of love and the truth of faith constitute their wisdom and intelligence, and as these constitute the whole angel, they know and say that they are merely recipients of the Divine proceeding from the Lord, and thus are angels in the degree in which they receive it. On this account they desire that the term "angel" should be understood spiritually, that is, in a sense abstracted from persons, and as meaning Divine truths. By Divine truth is meant at the same time Divine good, because these proceed from the Lord united (See in the work on Heaven and Hell, n.

[133-140] ¹ .

[3] And as Divine truth proceeding from the Lord constitutes the angel, by "angel" in the Word in the highest sense is meant the Lord Himself, as in Isaiah:

The angel of the faces of Jehovah delivered them, in His love and His pity He redeemed them, and took them up, and carried them all the days of eternity (Isaiah 63:9).

In Moses:

The angel who hath redeemed me from all evil, bless them (Genesis 48:16).

In the same:

I send an angel before thee to keep thee in the way; take ye heed of His faces, for my name is in the midst of Him (Exodus 23:20-23).

[4] As the Lord in respect to Divine truth is called an "angel," so also Divine truths are meant by "angels" in the spiritual sense, as in the following passages:

The Son of man shall send His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that cause stumbling. In the consummation of the age the angels shall come forth and sever the wicked out of the midst of the just (Matthew 13:41, 49).

In the consummation of the age the Son of man shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and shall gather together the elect from the four winds (Matt. 24:3, 31).

When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory (Matthew 25:31).

Jesus said, After this ye shall see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man (John 1:51).

In these passages, in the spiritual sense, by "angels" Divine truths and not angels are meant. So when it is here said that, in the consummation of the age, "the angels are to gather out all things that cause stumbling," "are to sever the wicked from the midst of the just," "are to gather together the elect from the four winds with a great sound of a trumpet," and that "the Son of man with the angels is to sit upon a throne of glory," it is not meant that angels, together with the Lord, are to do these things, but that the Lord alone will do them by means of His Divine truths; for angels have no power of themselves, but all power is the Lord's through His Divine truth (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 230-233). That "ye shall see the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man," means the like, namely, that Divine truths should be in Him and from Him.

[5] Moreover, in other places also "angels" mean Divine truths from the Lord, consequently the Lord in respect to Divine truths, as:

To the seven angels were given seven trumpets, and the angels sounded on the trumpets (Revelation 8:2, 6-8, 10, 12, 13; 9:1, 13, 14).

It is said that to the angels were given trumpets, and that they sounded thereon, because "trumpets" and their "sound" signify Divine truth to be revealed (See above, n. 55). Similar things are also meant:

By the angel warring against the dragon (Revelation 12:7, 9);

By the angel flying in the mid-heaven, having the eternal

gospel (Revelation 14:6);

By the seven angels pouring out the seven bowls (Rev. 16:1-4, 8, 10, 12);

By the twelve angels upon the twelve gates of the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:12).

That this is so will also be seen in what follows.

[6] That by "angels" are meant Divine truths which are from the Lord is clearly manifest in David:

Jehovah maketh His angels winds, and His ministers a flaming fire (Psalms 104:4);

by which words are signified Divine truth and Divine good; for the "wind" of Jehovah in the Word signifies Divine truth, and His "fire" Divine good (as can be seen from what is shown in the Arcana Coelestia, as that the "wind of the nostrils" of Jehovah is Divine truth, n.8286; that the "four winds" are all things of truth and good, n. 3708, 9642, 9668; consequently "to breathe" in the Word signifies the state of the life of faith, n. 9281; from which it is evident what is signified by Jehovah's "breathing" into the nostrils of Adam (Genesis 2:7); by the Lord's "breathing" upon His disciples (John 20:22); and by these words, "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the voice thereof, but knowest not whence it cometh" (John 3:8); concerning which see n. 96, 97, 9229, 9281 also n. 1119, 3886, 3887, 3889, 3892, 3893; that "flaming fire" is Divine love, and therefore Divine good, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 133-140, 566-568; and above, n. 68).

[7] That "angel" signifies Divine truth proceeding from the Lord is clearly manifest from these words in Revelation:

He measured the wall of the New Jerusalem, a hundred and forty-four cubits, the measure of a man, which is that of an angel (Revelation 21:17).

That the wall of the New Jerusalem is not the measure of an angel anyone can see, but that all protecting truths are there meant by an "angel" is evident from the signification of the "wall of Jerusalem," and of the number "one hundred and forty-four." (That the "wall" signifies all protecting truths, see Arcana Coelestia 6419; that the number "one hundred and forty-four" signifies all things of truth in the complex, n. 7973; that "measure" signifies the quality of a thing in respect to truth and good, n. 3104, 9603, 10262. These things may also be found explained as to the spiritual sense, in The small work on The New Jerusalem and its Doctrine 1.)

[8] Because by "angels" in the Word Divine truths are signified, therefore the men through whom Divine truths are made known are sometimes called "angels" in the Word, as in Malachi:

The priest's lips ought to guard knowledge, and they shall seek the law at his mouth, because he is the angel of Jehovah (Malachi 2:7).

He is said to be the "angel of Jehovah," because he teaches Divine truth; not that he is the angel of Jehovah, but the Divine truth that he teaches is. Moreover, it is known in the church that no one has Divine truth from himself. "Lips" also here signify the doctrine of truth, and "law" Divine truth itself. (That "lips" signify the doctrine of truth, see Arcana Coelestia 1286, 1288; and that "law" signifies Divine truth itself, see n. 3382, 7463)

[9] From this it is that John the Baptist also is called an angel:

Jesus said, This is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send Mine angel before Thy face, who shall prepare Thy way before Thee (Luke 7:27).

John is called an "angel," because by him, in the spiritual sense, is signified the Word, which is Divine truth, in like manner as by Elias (See Arcana Coelestia 7643, 9372, and what is signified; this is what is meant by the persons mentioned in the Word, see n. 665, 1097, 1361, 3147, 3670, 3881, 4208, 4281, 4288, 4292, 4307, 4500, 6304, 7048, 7439, 8588, 8788, 8806, 9229).

[10] It is said that by "angels" in the Word, in its spiritual sense, Divine truths proceeding from the Lord are meant, because these constitute the angels; when angels utter these truths, they speak not from themselves, but from the Lord. The angels not only know that this is so, but they also perceive it. The man who believes that nothing of faith is from himself, but that all faith is from God, also knows this, indeed, but he does not perceive it. That nothing of faith is from man, but all faith is from God, is the same as saying that nothing of truth that has life is from man, but all truth is from God, for truth is of faith and faith is of truth.

4622. CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE GRAND MAN - continued

IN THIS SECTION THE CORRESPONDENCE OF SMELL AND OF THE NOSTRILS WITH THAT GRAND MAN

The dwelling-places of the blessed in the next life are many and varying. They are built so elegantly that they are so to speak the embodiments of architectural art itself or the direct products of that art. Concerning the dwelling-places of the blessed, see what has been described already from experience, in 1119, 1626-1630. The blessed are aware of these dwelling-places not only through the sense of sight but also through that of touch; for everything in that life is suited to the sensory powers which spirits and angels possess. Consequently their dwelling-places are not of the same nature as the objects perceived by man with his physical senses, but as the objects perceived by the senses which those in the next life possess. I realize that many cannot believe this, and the reason they cannot do so lies in their lack of belief in anything which they cannot see with their bodily eyes or touch with their physical hands. As a consequence man today, the interiors of whose being are closed, has no knowledge of the things which come into being in the spiritual world or in heaven. He does, it is true, say - because the Word and doctrine so teach it - that there is a heaven, where angels live in joy and glory; but beyond that he knows nothing. He would indeed like to know what it is like there, but when he is told this he still fails to believe it, because in his heart he denies the very existence of heaven. The reason he would like to know stems from no more than curiosity aroused by what is taught in doctrine; it does not stem from any delight to know because of any real belief. Those who do not have any real belief in heaven also deny its existence in their hearts, whereas those who do have such belief acquire to themselves ideas about heaven, its joy and glory, from various sources. Each individual does so from whatever knowledge or understanding he has gained, or in the case of the simple from what they discern by means of their bodily senses.

[2] Even so, the majority of people do not grasp the idea that spirits and angels have sensory powers that are far keener than men's in the world; that is to say, they have the powers of sight, hearing, smell, something analogous to taste, and touch, and above all else delights belonging to affections. If people did but believe that the inner essence of their being is spirit and that the body, and the senses and members of this, are suited solely to uses that are served in the world, whereas the spirit, and the senses and organs of this, are suited to uses that are served in the next life, they would arrive unaided and almost spontaneously at ideas about the state of their spirit after death. For in that case they would think of a person's spirit as his true self which thinks, has longings, has desires, and feels emotions, and after that they would think of each sensory power manifested in the body as that which belongs to the spirit, and to the body only through influx from this. These thoughts they would subsequently confirm for themselves from many other pieces of evidence, and so at length they would take more delight in the powers of their spirit than in those of their body.

[3] There is something further to be said on this matter, namely that it is not the body which sees, hears, smells, and feels through touch, but a person's spirit. That being so, when the spirit sheds its body it retains the sensory powers it possessed when within the body; indeed these are now far keener. For that which belongs to the body, being gross compared with that belonging to the spirit, has blunted those sensory powers; and these have been made even blunter because of the person's immersion of them in earthly and worldly interests. I can say this quite definitely, that a spirit has far keener eyesight than man has in the body, as well as far keener hearing. A spirit also has - and this fact will astonish people - the sense of smell, and especially the sense of touch. For spirits can see one another, hear one another, and touch one another. Anyone who believes in a life after death would also deduce this from the fact that no life is possible without the senses, and that the exact nature of that life is determined by that of the senses. Indeed he would deduce that the power of understanding is nothing else than a keener sensory awareness of interior things, a more superior power of understanding being a sensory awareness of spiritual realities. This also explains why the powers of the understanding and their perception of things are called the internal senses.

[4] So far as a person's sensory powers immediately after death are concerned, the position is this: As soon as he dies and the parts of the body grow cold, he is raised up into life, into a state which involves each of his sensory powers. At first he is scarcely aware that he is not still in the body, for the experience of his senses leads him to think he is still in it. But when he notices that his sensory powers are keener than before, and especially when he starts to speak to other spirits, he realizes that he is in the next life and that the death of his body has been a continuation of the life of his spirit. I have spoken to two of my acquaintances on the very day they were to be buried, and to one who through my eyes beheld his own coffin and bier. Since he still possessed each of the senses he had in the world, he spoke to me about his burial service even as I was taking part in the funeral procession. Regarding his body he said that they were putting this away because he was alive.

[5] But it should be recognized that those in the next life cannot see anything whatever of what is in the world through the eyes of anyone in the world. The reason they have been able to do so through my eyes is that in my spirit I am present with them at the same time as I am present in my body with those who are in the world; see also 1880. In addition to this it should be recognized that I have not used the eyes of my body to see those I have spoken to in the next life, but the eyes of my spirit. I have seen them as clearly, and sometimes more clearly, than with my bodily eyes, for in the Lord's Divine mercy the sensory powers of my spirit have been opened.

[6] But I realize that what has been stated up to now is not going to be believed by people who are concerned solely with bodily, earthly, and worldly interests, that is, by those of them who have these interests as their end in view. For such people have no conception of anything apart from that which is dissipated by death. I also realize that what has been stated up to now is not going to be believed by those who have thought a lot about the soul and have asked many questions about it, without at the same time grasping the point that man's soul is his spirit and that his spirit is his real self living within the body. For these people have been unable to conceive of the soul as anything else than something like thought, or flame, or what is ethereal, which operates solely within the organic forms of the body, not within purer forms belonging to his spirit within the body, and so is the kind of thing that is dissipated along with the body. This applies especially to those who have convinced themselves of ideas like these because the picture they have of themselves has been magnified out of all proportion by the false notion that they are wiser than others.