DLW 203 - When a Person Becomes an Angel; DLW 204 - Simple Elements and Composite Elements

DLW 203

Since the interior regions in a person,
which are those of his will and intellect,
are like the heavens in their degrees -
because a person is,
in respect to the interior elements
which are those of his mind,
a heaven in miniature form -
therefore the perfections of these
are also like those of the heavens.
These perfections, however,
are not apparent to any person
as long as he lives in the world,
for he is then in the lowest degree;
and from the lowest degree
one cannot discern the higher degrees.
But after death they are discerned,
for the person then comes into the degree
which corresponds to his love and wisdom.
For he then becomes an angel,
thinking and saying things inexpressible
to his natural self.
Indeed, he then experiences an elevation
of all his mental faculties
not in a simple progression,
but in a threefold progression.
This latter progression has in it degrees of height,
while the first has in it degrees of breadth.

No others, however,
ascend and are elevated into these degrees
but people who in the world
have been governed by truths
and have applied them to life.

DLW 204 - Simple and Composite Elements

It seems as though prior elements are less perfect
than subsequent ones,
or simple elements less perfect than composite ones;
but the prior elements
from which subsequent ones originate,
or the simple elements
from which composite ones originate,
are nevertheless more perfect.
The reason is that prior or simple elements
are more naked and less covered over
with substances and materials devoid of life.
They are also, so to speak, more Divine,
and consequently nearer to
the spiritual sun where the Lord is.
For perfection itself resides in the Lord,
and thus in the sun which is the first emanation
of His Divine love and wisdom.
Therefore it exists as well
in those subsequent elements
which most immediately follow,
and so on in order down to the lowest elements,
which are less and less perfect
the further removed they are.

If prior and simple elements did not have in them
such surpassing perfection,
no person, and no animal either,
could be produced from sperm
and afterward continue to survive;
nor could the seeds of trees and bushes
sprout and reproduce their kind.
For the more prior any prior element is,
and the more simple any simple element is,
the more perfect it is,
and therefore the more immune to harm.