passage above [§§ 214 – 224 ]. The connection to the Lord is not apparent
to us; it exists in our love for the truth and our perception of it.
The Word’s literal meaning also provides association with angels in
heaven because within the literal meaning there is a spiritual meaning
and a heavenly meaning. The angels are in these higher meanings. Angels
of the Lord’s spiritual kingdom are in the Word’s spiritual meaning, and
angels of the Lord’s heavenly kingdom are in the Word’s heavenly mean-
ing. These two meanings unfold out of the Word’s earthly meaning when
the Word is read by people who regard it as holy. The unfolding is instan-
taneous and the association forms immediately.
A number of experiences have made it obvious to me that spiritual 235
angels are associated with the Word’s spiritual meaning and heavenly angels
are associated with the Word’s heavenly meaning. I was allowed to perceive
that a line of communication to the heavens opened up while I was reading
the Word in its literal meaning—at one moment to one community, at
another moment to another community. The things that I understood in
the earthly meaning the spiritual angels understood in the spiritual mean-
ing and the heavenly angels understood in the heavenly meaning. It was
instantaneous. Having perceived this communication several thousand
times, I have no room left for doubt about it.
In fact, there are spirits below the heavens who abuse this communi-
cation. They recite some saying from the Word’s literal meaning and
immediately observe and record the community that it communicates
with. This too I have often seen and heard.
I have been allowed to know through living experience, then, that
the Word in its literal meaning is a divine medium for connecting us to
the Lord and associating us with angels in heaven.
Examples will illustrate how spiritual angels receive their meaning 236
and heavenly angels receive theirs from the earthly meaning when we
read the Word. Four of the Ten Commandments will provide examples.
Take the fifth commandment,“You will not murder.” We take this to
mean not only murdering but also hating and longing for revenge even
to the point of death. Spiritual angels take “murdering” to mean acting
like a devil and killing someone’s soul. Heavenly angels take “murdering”
to mean hating the Lord and the Word.
[ 2 ] The sixth commandment, “You will not commit adultery.” We
take “committing adultery” to mean whoring, doing obscene things, say-
ing lustful things, and having filthy thoughts. A spiritual angel takes
§236 sacred scripture 307