2551. 'What did you see, that you have done this thing?' means a looking into the cause. This is evident without explanation, as well as from what follows where the cause is stated. The reason ideas of how the Lord perceived and thought regarding the doctrine of faith, and regarding the rational, whether it should be consulted, are presented in that particular order in the internal sense is that it is angel-like to think about them in such a sequence. The internal sense of the Word exists in particular for angels, and has accordingly been rendered suitable to their perceptions and thoughts. For them these are experiences of delight, indeed of bliss and of happiness, when they are thinking about the Lord, about His Divinity and His Humanity, and about how the latter was made Divine. For when thinking about these they are encompassed by a celestial and spiritual sphere which is filled with the Lord, so that it may be said of them that they are in the Lord. Consequently nothing is more blissful and happy for them than to think in accordance with those things which belong to that sphere and to the affection resulting from this. What is more, they are at the same time instructed and perfected, in particular in the matter of how as He grew up the Lord by degrees and from His own power made Divine the human into which He had been born, and thus how, by means of knowledge and cognitions which He revealed to Himself, He perfected His rational, gradually dispelled its shadows, and brought it into Divine light. When the Word is being read, these and countless other realities are presented to angels in a celestial and spiritual fashion, together with thousands and thousands of representatives in the light of life. But these matters which to angels are so precious are to men of little importance since they are above and beyond them and so are lost in the darkened parts of their understanding. Conversely those which are precious to men, such as hold worldly matters within them, are to angels of little importance since they are beneath their state of existence and so are lost in the darkened parts of their wisdom. Thus, wondrous to tell, the very things which enter the darkened parts of man's mind, and almost into his contempt, pass into the light angels enjoy and into their affection, as do many things which belong to the internal sense of the Word.

2888. The truth of the matter is that the life which anyone has, whether man or spirit, or angel also, flows in solely from the Lord, who is Life itself, and spreads itself throughout the whole of heaven, and of hell also, and in this way enters into each individual, doing so according to an order and sequence beyond comprehension. But this inflowing life is received by each according to his own disposition. Good and truth are received by those who are good as good and truth, but by those who are evil as evil and falsity, and are also converted among such into evil and falsity. It is like the light of the sun which spreads itself into all objects on earth but is received according to the specific nature of each object, possessing a beautiful colouring in forms that are beautiful, and a hideous colouring in forms that are hideous. In the world this is an arcanum, but in the next life nothing is known better. To enable me to know the nature of such influx I have been allowed to speak to the spirits and to the angels present with me, and also to feel and perceive their influx, which has happened more times than I can number. But I realize that people will still be misled into believing that what they will is from themselves, and that what they think is from themselves, thus that they have life from themselves. But nothing could be further from the truth.