9739. 'As it has appeared to you on the mountain, so they shall make [it]' means in keeping with the correspondence of Divine realities in heaven. This is clear from the meaning of the altar that 'appeared on the mountain' as an outward form corresponding to Divine realities in heaven. For Mount Sinai means heaven, 8805, 9420, and the outward forms that appear in heaven correspond completely to actual Divine celestial and Divine spiritual realities, which belong to goodness and truth. The fact that these realities are presented in this visual way to the inner sight of angels and spirits may be recognized from all that has been stated and shown previously regarding the representation of heavenly realities within natural forms, in 1619, 1971, 1980, 1981, 2987-3003, 3213-3227, 3475, 3485, 6319, 9457, 9481, 9574, 9576, 9577. The Divine realities to which the altar corresponded are the ones that have been described up to now.

1619. THE LIGHT IN WHICH ANGELS ARE LIVING - continued; ALSO THEIR PARADISE GARDENS, AND THEIR DWELLING - PLACES

When a person's interior sight - the sight of his spirit - is opened, he then sees things in the next life, things that can never be manifested before his bodily eyes. The visions that the prophets had were nothing else. As has been stated, representatives of the Lord and of His kingdom, as well as meaningful signs, are to be seen constantly, so much so that nothing ever comes before the eyes of angels that is not a representative or a meaningful sign. This is the origin of representatives and of meaningful signs in the Word, for the Word derives from the Lord through heaven.