The Writings for the New Church use the word "appearance" in two different ways, both of which are important for us to understand:

1) Appearances of Truth. The Divine as it is in itself cannot really be comprehended by any finite mind. Pure Divine truth never exists with any angel or person, even the wisest; the Divine truth presented in the Word must be accommodated to our finite states. The level of accommodation varies - angels (people in heaven) see truths on their spiritual level and people on earth on their more sensory and natural level. These accommodated presentations of Divine truth are what are called appearances. They are called such because they cause genuine truths to appear; they are appearings of truth, and as a person grows spiritually these appearings, or appearances, become fuller and more accurate. See Arcana Coelestia 1376 [2], 1408, 1838, 3207, 3362 [2], and 3364 [2].

2) Appearances of Reality. The place where everyone first arrives after their physical body dies is a place of preparation called the world of spirits. There the good people are separated from bad people, some quickly and some slowly. While people are there they have alternating states of being drawn toward their good intentions, or their selfish desires. As that happens they seem to be in different places, like beautiful gardens or dismal swamps, depending on which desires they are following. These seeming changes are called appearances. They are not permanent because they reflect the changing states of the newcomer. When a person is fully sorted out, they move on either to heaven or hell.

The surroundings of an angel - a person in heaven - are almost permanent. They are described as "real appearances." An angel's house will change only slowly as the angel comes more and more into the real light and warmth of the Lord's love and wisdom. Rooms may become larger or more beautifully furnished, and gardens may appear where they were not before. Think of it as living for a long time in a house and over the years doing bits of remodeling or buying nicer furniture to make it better suited to your wants. Only in heaven, the Lord does it all for you.

The surroundings of evil people are called “not real appearances” because they are seen to be entirely differently when some light from heaven is allowed in. For example, the miser’s “bags of gold” will be seen to be only dust. See Heaven and Hell 131, 173 to 176, 191, and 429.

(Odkazy: Heaven and Hell 175)