135. [136] All who have not denied God with the lips, although they have in the heart, and have led a moral life on account of the civil laws and also on account of reputation and consequent honors and gains, when they come into the other life betake themselves into societies where there are cities; and there as in the world they live well morally, from fear of punishment and of the loss of honor and gain. But when their externals are taken away from them, and they are let into their internals, they rush into infamous crimes. But when the wicked increase in number the society is then perverted; wherefore angels are then sent thither who search out the state and separate the good from the evil; and the good are either sent to the sides of the society or are taken away. Then the city with the evil sinks down into hell, to a depth according to their wickedness. Once I saw that four angels were sent to such a city, who when they came thither entered into a house;* but the criminal spirits who were there, being excited by their presence into interior malice, as takes place, rushed to the house where the angels were, shouting out to them, Did they wish to come out and commit whoredom? They wished to urge them to it, and even attempted to offer violence, but in vain; in a word, they did like what was done in Sodom. And that city was completely destroyed and its inhabitants cast into hells. The reason why they wished to lead them forth to commit whoredom, was because in that city were gathered those who in the world had accounted adulteries as allowable; also because they had been in falsities of doctrine, by reason of having regarded life as of no account; moreover, to confirm these things they had falsified the Word, and all those who falsify the Word in order to confirm evils of life and falsities of doctrine, account adulteries as allowable and are led into them. * See SE 4932