The Heavens Consist of Countless Societies
[p018]
41. The angels of one heaven are not all together in one place, but are divided into larger or smaller societies according to the varying excellence of their love and faith. Those whose good is similar form one society. There is an infinite variety of good in the heavens and the character of every angel is determined by his own good.
42. The angelic societies in the heavens are also at a distance from one another, according to the general and specific difference of their goodness; for distance in the spiritual world originates solely from the difference in the state of their minds, and consequently, in the heavens, from the difference in the state of their love. Those are far apart who differ much, and those are near who differ little, for similarity brings them together.
[p019]
43. All the angels in one society are distinguished from one another in a similar manner. Those who are more perfect, that is, who excel in goodness and therefore in love, wisdom and intelligence, are in the centre; and those who excel less are round about and distant from the centre according to the degree in which their perfection diminishes. It is as with the light decreasing from the centre to the circumference. Those who are in the centre are also in the greatest light and those who are towards the circumference are in less and less light.
44. Angels of a similar character are, as it were, spontaneously drawn together; for when in company with those like themselves they feel as if they were at home among their own people, but with others they feel as if they were with strangers and away from home. When they are with those like themselves they also feel in full freedom and therefore in the perfect enjoyment of their life.
45. From this it is evident that goodness is what brings into association with one another all the inhabitants of heaven, and that they are distinguished according to its quality. Yet it is not the angels who thus connect themselves in society but the Lord, the Source of all good. He leads them, unites them, arranges them and preserves them in freedom so far as they live in good; and thus He preserves every one in the life of his own love, faith, intelligence and wisdom and consequently in happiness.
[p019-f4] 46. Moreover all who resemble one another in goodness know each other although they never met before, just as men in the world know their kinsmen, relatives and friends; because the only relationships, affinities and friendships in the other life are such as are spiritual, that is, such as are the result of love and faith. It has been permitted me sometimes to see this when I have been in the spirit and thus withdrawn from the body and in company with angels. At such times, some of them seemed as if they had been known to me from childhood, but others seemed quite unknown to me: the former were in a state similar to that of my own spirit, but the latter were in a dissimilar state.
47. All who form one angelic society have a general resemblance of countenance, with individual differences. How a general resemblance admits of particular variations may in some measure be understood from similar cases in the world. It is well known that every race of people has some general likeness of face and eyes by which it is recognized, and distinguished from other races; and this is still more the case in particular families. This is seen to greater perfection in the heavens, because there all the inward affections appear and shine forth from the face, whose beauty is the outward expression of those affections; for a countenance not corresponding with the affections cannot exist in heaven.
[p020]
It has also been shown me in what manner the general resemblance is varied in the individuals of one society. There appeared to me a face like that of an angel, which was varied according to the affections of good and truth existing with those who are in one society. Those variations continued a long time and I observed that the same cast of countenance continued as the general type of the rest which were nothing but its different variations and derivations. By means of this face also the affections of the whole society, with which the faces of its members are in various accord, were shown to me; for, as just observed, the angels’ faces express their minds and therefore the affections which spring from their love and faith.
- countenance: *생김새; 용모; 안색. *지지; 후원.
48. On this account it is that an angel who excels in wisdom sees the character of another instantly from his face; for no one in heaven can use his countenance to conceal his mind or dissemble, and it is quite impossible to lie and deceive by craft and hypocrisy. It sometimes happens that hypocrites insinuate themselves into angelic societies, having learned to conceal their inner states of mind and to put on an appearance in harmony with the good of the members of that society and thus to feign themselves angels of light. But they cannot stay there long for they begin to feel internal anguish and torment, turn livid in the face and are, as it were, deprived of life, in consequence of the opposite nature of the life which flows into and affects them; so that they quickly cast themselves down into the hell inhabited by their like and no longer desire to ascend. These are they who are meant by man, found among the guests present at the feast, who had no wedding garment and was cast into outer darkness (Matt. 22. 11, and following verses).
[p021]
49. All those societies of heaven communicate with each other, though not by open intercourse, for few go out of their society into another; because to go out from their own society is like going out of themselves or out of their own life and passing into another which is not so well suited to them: nevertheless all communicate by an extension of the sphere which goes forth from the life of every one. The sphere of their life is the sphere of their affections of love and faith. This sphere diffuses itself far and wide into the societies around, and farther and wider as the affections are more interior and more perfect; and therefore the angels have intelligence and wisdom in proportion to the extent of this diffusion. Those who are in the midst of the inmost heaven diffuse their sphere through the whole of heaven and hence there is a communication of heaven as a whole with every individual, and of every individual angel with the whole. But this diffusion will be treated of more fully below when we speak of the heavenly form in which the angelic societies are arranged and also when we speak of the wisdom and intelligence of the angels; for all diffusion of the affections and thoughts proceeds according to that form.
50. It was said above that there are larger and smaller societies in the heavens. The larger consist of myriads of angels, the smaller of some thousands and the smallest of some hundreds. There are some angels also who live apart, as it were, in separate houses and families; but although they live so separated they are still arranged in the same way as those who live in societies, the wiser being in the middle and the more simple in the boundaries. These are more immediately under the Divine guidance of the Lord and are the best of the angels.
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