686. It is said in the Word that the Lord God our Redeemer baptises with the Holy Spirit and with fire; this means that the Lord regenerates a person by means of the Divine truth of faith and by means of the Divine good of love or of charity, on which see above, 684. Those who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, that is, by the Divine truth of faith can in the heavens be told apart from those who have been regenerated by fire, that is, by the Divine good of love. Those who have been regenerated by the Divine truth of faith go around in heaven dressed in clothing of white linen, and are called spiritual angels. Those who have been regenerated by the Divine good of love go around in purple clothing, and are called celestial angels. It is those who go dressed in white clothing who are meant in these passages:
They follow the Lamb dressed in white and clean fine linen. Rev. 19:14.
They will walk with me in white. Rev. 3:4; also 7:14.
The angels in the Lord's tomb were seen in white, shining garments (Matt. 28:3; Luke 24:4). They were of the spiritual type, for fine linen means the righteous acts of the saints (Rev. 19:8, where this is explicitly stated). For clothes in the Word meaning truths, and white clothes and fine linen meaning Divine truths, see APOCALYPSE REVEALED (397), where this was shown.
The reason why those who have also been regenerated by means of the Divine good of love wear purple clothing is that purple is the colour of love, a colour derived from the fire and redness of the sun; fire means love (see AR 468, 725). It is because clothes mean truths that the man among the invited guests who was not wearing a wedding garment was thrown out and cast into outer darkness (Matt. 22:11-13).
This page is part of 
© 2000-2001 The Academy of the New Church