We continue today the methodical study of “Heaven and Hell, or Divine Justice According to Spiritism” by Allan Kardec. The first edition was published in August 1, 1865. This work is part of the Kardecian Pentateuch. The answers to the questions suggested for discussion are at the end of the text below.
Questions for discussion
A. According to the Church, the angels are divided into three major hierarchies. What are they?
B. Does Spiritism admit the existence of angels?
C. What is the origin of the doctrine regarding the existence of demons?
D. Who are the demons according to the teachings of the Church?
Reading Text
68. The soul, created simple and ignorant, gradually develops, improves, and advances in the Spiritual Hierarchy until it reaches the state of a pure Spirit or angel. Angels are, therefore, the souls of men who arrived to a degree of perfection that creature may reach, and they enjoy to the fullest the promised happiness. Before reaching the highest degree, they enjoy the happiness equivalent to their advancement, happiness, which does not consist in idleness, but in the functions, God entrusts them with and the performance of which makes them feel blessed. (First Part, Chapter VIII, section 13).
69. Humanity is not limited to Earth. It lives in many worlds that move through space. It has already lived in worlds that have disappeared, and shall live in those yet to be formed. God never stopped creating. Thus, long before the Earth existed, and the most remote we can imagine, other worlds existed, in which incarnated Spirits went through the same stages as those on recently formed worlds, reaching their purpose even before we left the hands of the Creator. (First Part, Chapter VIII, section 14).
70. Therefore, for all eternity, there have been Spirits or angels. However, since their human existence was in a distant past, this is the reason why we presume they were always like this. (First Part, Chapter VIII, section 14).
71. At all times the demons represented a prominent role in several theogonies, and although they have fallen considerably in the general opinion, the importance attributed to them, even today, gives the question some seriousness, because it touches the essence of the religious beliefs. (First Part, Chapter IX, section 1).
72. The closer to the primitive state, the more man becomes a slave of his instincts, as it occurs still today among the contemporary barbarians and savages. What worries man most, or what exclusively worries him in this state, is the satisfaction of his material needs, because he has no other. (First Part, Chapter IX, section 2).
73. The process for man to reach the purely moral enjoyments is gradual and slow. The soul, therefore, has its childhood, youth and manhood, in the same manner as the body. However, to reach the level of understanding the abstract, it has to experiment many stages of evolution! How many stages it has to go through! (First Part, Chapter IX, section 2).
74. For a long time, man only understood the physical good and evil. The moral feelings of good and evil only later marked the progress of human intelligence. Thus, man could see there was an extra human power in Spirituality, beyond the visible world and the material things. This work was certainly accomplished by elite intelligences. However, they could not exceed certain limits. (First Part, Chapter IX, section 3).
75. Since there is a constant struggle between evil and good, this often triumphing over that, and not being able to, rationally, admit that evil derived from a beneficial power, it was found that there exists two rival powers in the government of the world. Hence, the doctrine of the two principles was born, in fact very logical at a time when man, however reasoning, was unable to understand the essence of the Supreme Being. How could he understand, then, that evil is merely a transitory state from which good can emanate? (First Part, Chapter IX, section 4).
76. Of course, to understand that evil can have its origin in good, one must take into consideration not only one life, but also all of them. You need to cover them all and only then, the real causes and effects will appear. (First Part, Chapter IX, section 4).
77. The dual principle of good and evil was, for many centuries, and under different names, the basis of all religious beliefs. We see it so synthesized in Hormuz and Arimane among the Persians, in Jehovah and Satan among the Hebrews. However, as all sovereigns have their ministers, so religions also have, secondary powers, the good and evil geniuses. The pagans called them gods, the Jews, Christians, and Muslims call them angels and demons. (First Part, Chapter IX, section 5).
78. Satan, the chief or king of the demons, is not, according to the Church, a personification of evil, but a real entity, who exclusively practices evil, while God exclusively practices His goodness. (First Part, Chapter IX, section 7.)
Answers to the proposed questions
A. According to the Church, the angels are divided into three major hierarchies. What are they?
Those of the first and highest hierarchy are called according to their roles in Heaven. They are the Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones.
The angels of the second hierarchy are given names consistent with the operations ascribed to them in the general government of the Universe: they are the Dominions, Virtues, and Powers.
The third hierarchy has the mission of guiding the companies and people: these are the Principalities, Archangels, and Guardian Angels. (Heaven and Hell, Part First, Chapter VIII, section 2).
B. Does Spiritism admit the existence of angels?
Yes, there is no doubt that there are beings endowed with all the qualities attributed to angels. The Spiritual Revelation at this point confirms the belief of all people, making us acknowledge, at the same time, both the source and nature of such beings.
Souls or Spirits are created simple and ignorant, that is, without knowledge or awareness of good and evil, but are able to acquire what they lack. Work is a means to acquire the final purpose, i.e. perfection, and it is the same for everyone. One can reach it more or less promptly, according to one's free will and in direct reason of our efforts. Everyone has the same steps to climb, the same work to complete.
The angels are, therefore, the souls of men, who arrived to the level of perfection that creature, can reach, enjoying to the full the promised happiness. However, before reaching the highest level, they enjoy the happiness equivalent to their advancement, happiness that does not consist in idleness, but in the roles that God entrusts them. (Ibid, First Part, Chapter VIII, items 3, 12-14).
C. What is the origin of the doctrine regarding the existence of demons?
The dual principle of good and evil was, for many centuries, and under various names, the basis of all religious beliefs. We see it so synthesized in Hormuz and Arimane among the Persians, in Jehovah and Satan among the Hebrews. However, as all sovereigns have their ministers, so religions also have, secondary powers, the good and evil geniuses. Pagans made them individuals with the generic name of gods and gave them special powers for good and for evil, to the vices and the virtues. Christians and Muslims inherited the Hebrew angels and demons. The doctrine of demons has therefore originated in the ancient belief of the two principles. (Ibid, First Part, Chapter IX, items 5 and 6.)
D. Who are the demons according to the teachings of the Church?
It has long been taught in the Church that the demons were beings exclusively and eternally devoted to evil, and Satan, is their king or chief. At the time of the Codification of the Spiritist Doctrine, according to the ministry of Bishop Gousset, Cardinal-Archbishop of Reims, for 1865 Quaresma, this way of thinking was changed, namely, God did not create them evil and bad, but made them equal to the Spirits sublime of glory and happiness. Subdivided by all their orders and assigned to all classes, they had the same purpose and identical destinations and their leader was the most beautiful of the archangels. However, they rebelled, and since then, without knowing exactly why, they devote themselves to evil. (Ibid, First Part, Chapter IX, items 7 and 8.)
