From The Doctrines For Spiritual Christianity
By changes of state of the angels are meant their changes as to love and faith, and wisdom and intelligence therefrom, thus their changes as to states of life. States are predicated of life and of the things that are of life; and as angelic life is a life of love and faith, and of wisdom and intelligence therefrom, so states are predicated of these and are called states of love and faith, and states of wisdom and intelligence. (Heaven and Hell 154)
In heaven they have no thought of any time or season, only of the changes of state that affections and consequent thoughts undergo, and changes of state there are like the times of day, which are morning, midday, evening, and night, the morning being that from which they begin. It may come as a surprise to everyone that in heaven there are no times or seasons, when yet those there live among one another as people do in the world, though they are different from them so far as intelligence, wisdom, and blessedness are concerned. But the reason is that the light there radiating from the sun, which is the Lord, does not undergo daily changes like the light from the sun in the world. Instead it varies in accordance with the states of love and faith among the angels, who undergo changes of state like the states of heat, light, and shade every day on earth. (Arcana Coelestia 1065)
They who are in the celestial kingdom are in the inmost or third heaven, thus nearest to the Lord; for they who are there are in love to the Lord and in innocence, consequently in wisdom above all the other angels. (Arcana Coelestia 8945)
Many people may suppose that little children remain little children and become angels immediately after death. But it is intelligence and wisdom that make an angel. Consequently, as long as little children do not have that intelligence and wisdom, they are indeed among angels, but are not themselves angels. They become angels for the first time only when they have become intelligent and wise. Little children are therefore led from the innocence of early childhood to the innocence of wisdom; that is, from an external innocence to an internal one. This latter innocence is the goal in all their instruction and advancement. Consequently, when they reach the innocence of wisdom, attached to it is the innocence of their early childhood, which in the meantime had served them as a foundation. (Conjugial Love 413)
Let it be clearly understood that with the angels it is the interiors that cause them to be in one heaven or another; for as their interiors are more open to the Lord they are in a more interior heaven. There are three degrees of interiors in each angel and spirit, and also in man. Those in whom the third degree is opened are in the inmost heaven. Those in whom the second degree is opened, or only the first, are in the middle or in the outmost heaven. The interiors are opened by reception of Divine good and Divine truth. Those who are affected by Divine truths and admit them at once into the life, thus into the will and into action therefrom, are in the inmost or third heaven, and have their place there in accordance with their reception of good from affection for truth. Those who do not admit truths at once into the will but into the memory, and thence into the understanding, and from the understanding will and do them, are in the middle or second heaven. But those who live morally and who believe in a Divine, and who care very little about being taught, are in the outmost or first heaven. From this it is clear that the states of the interiors are what make heaven, and that heaven is within everyone, and not outside of him; as the Lord teaches when He says:The kingdom of God cometh not with observation, neither shall they say, Lo here, or Lo there; for behold the kingdom of God ye have within you (Luke 17:20, 21). (Heaven and Hell 33)
There are three heavens, the first where good spirits are, the second where angelic spirits are, and the third where angels are. One heaven is interior to and purer than the next, which means that they are entirely distinct and separate from one another. The first heaven divides into countless communities, as do the second and the third, and each community consists of many individuals who, because of the harmony and unanimity that exist among them, in effect constitute one person. At the same time, all the communities in effect constitute one human being. Communities differ in nature from one another according to the way their mutual love and faith in the Lord varies. These differences are so countless that it is not possible to count up even the most general kinds of them. Even the smallest of differences fits into the perfectly ordered arrangement of the whole, and so contributes in perfect unanimity to a general unity, as does the general unity to the unanimity among individuals. Each individual therefore contributes to the happiness of all, and all to that of each individual. Consequently every angel and every community is an image of the whole of heaven and is so to speak heaven in miniature. (Arcana Coelestia 684)
Key Points From The Video
Heaven is Beyond a Physical Place: Heaven is not a physical place but a state of being connected to spiritual consciousness and mental states.
Heaven as a State of Mind: Heaven is shaped by the influx of Divine Life into the minds of angels, reflecting their inner spiritual reality in their sensory experiences.
The Formation of an Angelic Mind: The angelic mind integrates innocence, love, and wisdom, received from the Divine, not self-originated.
The Divine Origin of Angelic Qualities: Angelic qualities are appropriated from the Divine, becoming inherent to the angels.
Variations in Angelic Qualities: The degree of innocence, love, and wisdom varies among the heavens, regions, and individual angels, each creating unique spiritual experiences.
Distinctions in Reception: Differences in the reception of these qualities lead to unique roles and experiences for each angel within the heavenly state of mind.
The Dynamic Nature Of Heaven: Heaven as a dynamic state of mind highlights the transformative power of Divine influence, continuously shaping the angelic mind through the reception of Divine qualities.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. In Spiritual Christianity, how is heaven conceptualised?
a) A physical place
b) A state of mind
c) A historical event
d) An unreachable goal
Answer: b)
2. What shapes the state of mind known as heaven in angels?
a) Their physical location
b) Their past experiences
c) Their social interactions
d) The influx of Divine Life
Answer: d)
3. What are the three key mental properties that form an angelic mind?
a) Knowledge, power, and courage
b) Faith, hope, and charity
c) Innocence, love, and wisdom
d) Honesty, integrity, and compassion
Answer: c)
4. How do the qualities of innocence, love, and wisdom become inherent to angels?
a) Through self-evolution
b) By appropriation from the Divine
c) Through education
d) By imitation of other angels
Answer: b)
5. What causes the variation in angelic qualities among different heavens and angels?
a) The unique reception and integration of Divine properties
b) Different educational backgrounds
c) Their physical environments
d) Their levels of experience
Answer: a)
Reflective Questions
1. How does viewing heaven as a state of mind rather than a physical place change your perspective on spirituality and the afterlife?
2. In what ways do you experience moments of “heaven” or spiritual influx in your daily life?
3. How can the qualities of innocence, love, and wisdom shape your interactions and relationships with others?
Experiential Integration
Mindful Influx Exercise
- Morning Reflection: Spend a few minutes in the morning contemplating the qualities of innocence, love, and wisdom.
- Daily Practice: Throughout the day, consciously integrate these qualities into your thoughts, actions, and interactions.
- Evening Journal: Reflect on how embodying these qualities influenced your day and your state of mind, noting specific instances and feelings.
Further Exploration
All changes of place in the spiritual world come about by changes of state of the interiors so that changes of place are nothing else than changes of state… All the angels move in this manner. Consequently, for them there are no distances; and since there are no distances, there are no spaces either, but instead states and their changes. (Heaven and Hell 192)
That Jehovah or the Lord appeared or went before in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night, was because thereby was represented the state of heaven, for in heaven there are never-ceasing variations and changes of state; for the angels are continually being perfected, which cannot possibly be done without unceasing changes of states. In general these variations and changes are like the changes of times in the world; namely, the changes of the times of the year – spring, summer, autumn, winter, and again spring; and the changes of the times of the day-morning, noon, evening, night, and again morning. When it is morning and noon in heaven, there is enlightenment of the understanding from the Lord, but this enlightenment is then tempered by obscurity of truth as by a cloud; and when it is evening and night there, they have obscurity of understanding, but this is tempered by the Lord by means of the good of love, as by a fire which gives light. These are the things which were represented by the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night with the sons of Israel in the wilderness. (Arcana Coelestia 8108)
When I asked where they got their garments, they said from the Lord, and that they receive them as gifts, and sometimes are clothed with them unconsciously. They said also that their garments are changed in accordance with their changes of state, that in the first and second state, their garments are shining and glistening white, and in the third and fourth states, a little dimmer, and this also from correspondence, because they have changes of state as to intelligence and wisdom. (Heaven and Hell 181)