329. We can tell what a useful function is from the goal of the creation of the universe. The goal of the creation of the universe is to bring about an angelic heaven; and since an angelic heaven is the goal, so is humanity or the human race, since that is where heaven comes from. It follows, then, that everything that has been created is an intermediate goal, and that the functions are useful in the sequence, on the level, and in the specific way that they relate to humanity, and through humanity to the Lord.

59. It can be seen from this that the Divine is present in each and every constituent of the created universe, and consequently that the created universe is the work of the hands of Jehovah, as we are told in the Word, ¹ meaning that it is the work of Divine love and Divine wisdom, for these are what are meant by the hands of Jehovah.

Moreover, even though the Divine is present in each and every constituent of the created universe, still there is nothing of the Divine in their being. For the created universe is not God, but from God. And because it is from God, it has in it His image, like the image of a person in a mirror, in which the person indeed appears, but which nevertheless has nothing of the person in it.

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