AC 6677 - Why One Angel Can Subdue Thousands of Evil Spirits

AC 6677

For when those from hell molest anyone
they are allowed to set upon truths
but not upon forms of good,
the reason being that truths
are what can be made to suffer attack,
not forms of good.
The latter are protected by the Lord,
and when those from hell
do try to set upon forms of good
they are cast far down into hell.
They cannot stand the presence of good,
since the Lord is present in every form of good.
This explains why the angels,
being governed by good,
have so much power and control over hellish spirits
that just one of them can subdue
thousands of those from hell.
It should be recognized that good holds life within it,
for good springs from love,
and love is the life in a person.
If evil that springs from selfish and worldly love
and seems to be good to those governed by evil
attacks good which springs from heavenly love,
the life of the one fights against the life of the other.
And since the life belonging to the good
that comes with heavenly love
originates in the Divine,
the life belonging to selfish and worldly love
starts to be annihilated
if it comes into conflict with that life from the Divine.
For it is stifled
and so those involved suffer torment
like those in the threes of death.
Because of this they hurl themselves into hell,
where they recover the life that is theirs.
This is another reason why
evil genii and spirits are unable to attack good
and so do not dare to destroy it.
It is different with truth.
This has no life within it,
other than what it receives from good, that is,
from the Lord through good.