Page:Heaven Revealed.djvu/374

 Eternal progress, then, is clearly among the possibilities of the angelic state; and this may be taken as presumptive evidence, at least, that the doctrine is true. For the Lord's essential nature is such that He must forever desire to draw all—angels as well as men—to Himself. His will toward all his children must be, that they continually "go on unto perfection,"—continually approximate the Divine likeness. And if such be his will, such is virtually his command to the angels; and such a command implies the capability of endless progress.

Furthermore, progress is everywhere an indispensable condition of the highest happiness. We must not forget that angels are human beings. They are all in the human form, and were once inhabitants of the natural world. They are all, therefore, gifted with human faculties which are subject to fixed laws. Now it is well known that progress is an essential condition of the highest happiness on earth. However learned, wise and good a person may be, the consciousness of having attained the utmost limit of human perfection, and of inability to receive any increase of knowledge, wisdom or love, while knowing that there exist degrees of excellence infinitely beyond his present attainments,—this would be a serious draw-back to his happiness. A person of very moderate attainments, if conscious of a steady increase in wisdom, and of possessing the capacity for unlimited progress, would be much happier than he who had attained a far higher spiritual eminence, but knew that all further progress was denied him. If heaven were an unprogressive state, therefore, it would be wanting in