§270 angels’ wisdom 141
e. Heavenly angels know countless things and are vastly wiser than spiritual angels: 2718. Heav-
enly angels do not think and talk on the basis of faith the way spiritual angels do, because they are
gifted by the Lord with a perception of everything that has to do with faith: 202 , 597 , 607 , 784 ,
1121 , 1387 [ 1384 ], 1398 , 1442 , 1919 , 7680 , 7877 , 8780 , 9277 , 10336. Concerning truths of faith, they
simply say, “Yes, yes,” or “No, no,” whereas spiritual angels try to calculate whether it is true:
2715 , 3246 , 4448 , 9166 , 10786 ; an explanation of the Lord’s words, “Let your speech be yes, yes,
no, no”: Matthew 5 : 36 [ 5 : 37 ].
we have by comparison. We have hardly any knowledge of what regener-
ation is and no awareness of a single step when we are being regenerated.
I need now to say something about the wisdom of the angels of the 270
third or inmost heaven, and about how much it surpasses the wisdom of
the fi rst or outmost heaven.
The wisdom of angels of the third or inmost heaven is beyond com-
prehension, even for angels of the fi rst or outmost heaven. This is
because the inner natures of angels of the third heaven are opened at the
third level, while those of angels of the fi rst heaven are open only at the
fi rst level; and all wisdom increases as you move toward the deeper levels
and is perfected as they are opened (§§ 208 , 267 ).
[ 2 ] Since the inner levels of angels of the third heaven are opened at
the third level, they have divine truths virtually engraved on them, for
inner matters at the third level are more in heaven’s form than those at
the second and fi rst level. Heaven’s form arises from divine truth and
therefore is in agreement with divine wisdom. This is why divine truths
seem to these angels to be engraved, or to be instinctive and innate.
Because of this, as soon as they hear genuine divine truths, they immedi-
ately acknowledge and grasp them and from then on virtually see them
within themselves. Because this is characteristic of angels of this heaven,
they never try to fi gure out divine truths, much less argue whether some
particular truth is true or not. They do not know what it is to believe or
have faith, but say, “What is faith? I perceive and see that this is so.” They
offer a comparison by way of illustration. It would be like someone seeing
a house and various things in and around it and telling someone with him
that he ought to believe that they existed and that they were what they
seemed to be. Or it would be like someone seeing a garden with trees and
fruit in it and telling someone that she should have faith that it was a gar-
den and that those were trees and fruit when she could see them plainly
with her own eyes. So these angels never call “faith” by name and in fact
have no concept of it. This is why they do not try to fi gure out divine
truths, much less argue whether any particular truth is true or not.e