—­Heaven and Hell, nn. 319, 54, 58

AN ACTUAL WORLD

In general, what appears in heaven, appears the same as it does in our material world of three kingdoms.  Things appear before the eyes of angels just as objects of the three kingdoms do before the eyes of men in the world.  Still there is this difference:  the things which appear in heaven, have a spiritual origin, and those which appear in our world a material origin.  Objects of a spiritual origin affect the senses of angels because these senses are spiritual, as those of a material origin affect the senses of men, inasmuch as their senses are material.  Heavenly objects are said to have a spiritual origin, because they exist from the Divine which proceeds from the Lord as a Sun; and the Divine that proceeds from the Lord as a Sun is spiritual.  For there the Sun is not fire, but Divine Love, appearing before the eyes of the angels as the sun of the world does before the eyes of men; and whatever proceeds from the Divine Love is Divine and is spiritual.  Of this origin are all things which exist in the heavens, and they appear in forms like those in our world.  It is due to the order of creation that they appear in such forms.  According to that order, things which are of love and wisdom with the angels, on descending into the lower sphere in which angels are in respect of their bodies and of their sensation, present themselves in such forms and under such types.  These are correspondences.

—­Apocalypse Explained, n. 926

A WORLD OF ACTION

All heaven’s delights are united to uses and inhere in them, because uses are the goods of love and charity, in which the angels are.  The angels find all their happiness in use, from use, and according to use.  There is the highest freedom in this because it proceeds from interior affection, and is conjoined with ineffable delight.  Uses exist in the heavens in all variety and diversity.  Never is the use of one angel quite the same as that of another; nor the delight.  What is more, the delights of any one person’s use are countless.  These countless and various delights are nevertheless united in an order so that they mutually regard one another, as do the uses of every member, organ and inner part of the body.  They are even more like the uses of each vessel and fibre in every member, organ and vital part; each and all of which are so related that they regard each of its own good in the other, and thus in all, and all in each.  As a result of this general and several regard they act as one.

—­Heaven and Hell, nn. 402, 403, 404, 405

OUR CHILDREN IN HEAVEN

Every little child, wheresoever born, whether within the Church or out of it, whether of pious parents or of impious, is received by the Lord at death; is educated in heaven; is taught and imbued with affections of good and by these with knowledges of truth; and then, as he is perfected in intelligence and wisdom, is introduced into heaven and becomes an angel.