"came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." They are all of them children of the Heavenly Father, having their hearts stamped indelibly with the impress of his spirit—which is what is meant by their having "his name written in their foreheads." Their love is like God's, pure and unselfish. They love each other even better than themselves, and find their chief delight in doing good and communicating happiness to others. Having in their hearts the very spirit of the Lord, they love only what He loves, and delight to do only those things that He delights to have them do. Their ruling desire and purpose are the same as his; their ends and aims the same. For they desire above all else to impart unto others the delights of heavenly life. They desire to dissipate the spiritual darkness, to heal the spiritual sickness, to restore the spiritual health and renew the spiritual strength of the world. Swedenborg's writings are full of the most beautiful and inspiring pictures of angelic life, from which people here on earth may learn lessons of the highest practical wisdom. Thus he says:
"The angelic life consists in the performance of uses, or in the goods of charity. For to the angels nothing is more delightful than to instruct spirits coming from the world;—to serve mankind by inspiring them with what is good, and by restraining the evil spirits attendant on them from passing their proper bounds;—to raise
