287. We can also tell that love and wisdom are human by looking at heaven's angels, who are people in full beauty to the extent that they are caught up in love, and therefore in wisdom, from the Lord. The same conclusion follows from what it says in the Word about Adam's being created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26), because he was created in the form of love and wisdom.

All earthly individuals are born in the human form as to their physical bodies. This is because our spirit, which is also called our soul, is a person; and it is a person because it is receptive of love and wisdom from the Lord. To the extent that our spirit or soul actually accepts love and wisdom, we become human after the death of these material bodies that we are carrying around. To the extent that we do not accept love and wisdom we become grotesque creatures, retaining some trace of humanity because of our ability to accept them.

9660. 'Sixteen bases' means total support. This is clear from the meaning of 'sixteen' as that which is total, 'sixteen' being similar in meaning to 'eight' since multiple numbers have a similar meaning to the simple ones of which they are the products, 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973, and 'eight' means what is complete and what is so in every respect, as shown immediately above in 9659, thus that which is total; and from the meaning of 'bases' as support, dealt with in 9643.