Generally speaking, people who are at lower levels of an organization serve those at higher levels. Bosses boss and their employees serve; coaches devise strategy and players do what the coach tells them to do; engineers design car parts and workers assemble them according to the engineers' instructions. Ideally, of course, it's a two-way street: A good boss knows he is really there to help his employees succeed; a good coach creates strategies based on his players' strengths. Even there, though, the boss and coach are really working in service of a higher goal, seeking organizational success. The same is true in the spiritual sense of the Bible. When someone serves another, they are in a lower state, serving a higher state (or a deeper evil, if they are being enslaved by people who represent evil). This can take many different forms, depending on the circumstances. In many cases, this creates a connection between "service" and intellectual things. This is because who we are is determined by what we love; our loves are the deepest part of us. What we think, our reasoning and intellect and the things we learn about, come from those loves and serve those loves.

The book of Daniel follows after Ezekiel in the Old Testament. Daniel was a prophet during the early part of the captivity of the Jews in Babylon. (His Babylonian name, given to him by King Nebuchadnezzar, was Belteshazzar.) The first half of the Book of Daniel tells the story of Daniel and three friends, and then Daniel’s rise to prominence under Kings Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, and Darius. The second half is prophecy. In the internal sense of the Word, Daniel represents the Lord at His advent. Daniel's captivity, and the actions of the Babylonian kings that he interacts with, show the state of the Israelitish church at that time.

(Odkazy: Arcana Coelestia 3652)