Apocalypse Explained, volume 1 - Swedenborg Foundation

APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED 202proceeding from the Lord, and in a respective sense, he thatreceives it, can be seen from this, that all the angels are recipients ofDivine 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 morethan men know and perceive that all the good of love and all thetruth of faith are from the Lord, not from themselves, and as thegood of love and the truth of faith constitute their wisdom andintelligence, and as these constitute the whole angel, they know andsay that they are merely recipients of the Divine proceeding fromthe Lord, and thus are angels in the degree in which they receive it.On this account they desire that the term “angel” should beunderstood spiritually, that is, in a sense abstracted from persons,and as meaning Divine truths. By Divine truth is meant at thesame time Divine good, because these proceed from the Lordunited (see Heaven and Hell, n. 133–140).[3] And as Divine truth proceeding from the Lord constitutes theangel, by “angel” in the Word in the highest sense is meant theLord himself, as in Isaiah:The angel of the faces of Jehovah delivered them, in his love andhis pity he redeemed them, and took them up, and carried them all thedays of eternity (Isa. 63:9).In Moses:The angel who hath redeemed me from all evil, bless them (Gen.48:16).I send an angel before thee to keep thee in the way; take ye heed ofhis faces, for my name is in the midst of him (Exod. 23:20–23).[4] As the Lord in respect to Divine truth is called an “angel,” soalso Divine truths are meant by “angels” in the spiritual sense, as inthe following passages:The son of man shall send his angels, and they shall gather out ofhis kingdom all things that cause stumbling. In the consummation ofthe age the angels shall come forth and sever the wicked out of the midstof the just (Matt. 13:41, 49).