82. I was allowed to see what happens when spirits from that world are, once prepared, carried off to heaven and become angels. At these times chariots and horses are seen shining as if on fire, like those which carried off Elijah. The appearance of chariots and horses shining as if on fire is because this is a picture of their being instructed and prepared for entering heaven. Chariots mean the teaching of the church, and shining horses the enlightened intellect. # Chariots mean the teachings of the church (AC 2761 [2760 in original], 5321, 8215). Horses mean what is intellectual (AC 2760-2, 3217, 5321, 6125, 6400, 6534, 7024, 8146, 8148, 8381). The white horse in the Book of Revelation means the understanding of the Word (AC 2760). Elijah in the representative sense means the Word (AC 2762, 5247). Since the Word is the source of all the church's teaching and its understanding, Elijah was called 'the chariots of Israel and his horsemen' (AC 2762). He was therefore carried up by a chariot and horses of fire (AC 2762, 8029).