And as the Divine that goes forth from the Lord is the good of love and the truth of faith, the angels are angels and are heaven in the measure in which they receive good and truth from the Lord.

This sentence reflects Swedenborg’s mature theological system, developed after his reported spiritual experiences beginning in the mid-1740s and presented in his major Latin works on the afterlife and the nature of heaven. In these writings he argues that heaven is not a reward assigned externally but a state formed by reception of the Lord’s “Divine” influx. The line belongs to his recurring explanation that angels are not a separate species: they are human spirits perfected by their openness to divine love and divine truth. The statement is typically used in his discussions of how heaven is structured by degrees according to each being’s capacity to receive and embody that influx.

The sentence expresses a central Swedenborgian doctrine: heaven is not a place granted by decree but a spiritual state formed by reception of God’s “Divine” as love (good) and wisdom/truth (faith). Angels are not a separate species; they are human spirits who have been so shaped by divine influx that they embody heavenly life. The “measure” language emphasizes degrees—one’s angelic quality and participation in heaven correspond to how fully one receives and lives from divine love and truth. It also implies that separation from heaven is self-chosen: to reject good and truth is to close oneself to the Lord’s life.