8542. The greatest care is taken to prevent anyone from slipping into perverse ways of thinking about the one and only Lord. If they see that others are starting to think of Him wrongly they first of all warn them; after that they issue threats to check them, and finally they resort to punishments. They said they have noticed that if any such perversity creeps into a family, that family is removed from their midst, not by any death penalties administered by companions, but by being deprived of breath and therefore of life by spirits who have already threatened them with death. For on that planet spirits talk to people, chastizing them if they have done what is bad, and also if they have intended to do anything bad, 7801-7812. Consequently if they think in a bad way about the one and only Lord, they are threatened with death if they do not come to their senses. This is the manner in which worship of the Lord, who for them is the Supreme Divine One, is preserved.

8469. 'The number of your souls' means the amount for all in a community, that is to say, the amount of the good of truth meant by 'the manna'. This is clear from the meaning of 'according to the number of souls' as the amount sufficient for all in a community. For when 'an omer a head' means the amount sufficient for each individual, 'according to the number of souls' means the amount for all in a community. The subject here is good as it exists with those who belong to the Lord's spiritual kingdom, the good which is meant by 'the manna' and which will be given in an amount sufficient for each person and sufficient for a community. For each household among the children of Israel represented one community in heaven, 7836, 7891, 7996, 7997.

The situation with the communities in heaven is that heaven is made up of countless communities that are distinct and separate from one another. All in each community share a common good, which is distinct from the good of other communities. Also each member of a community possesses a particular kind of good, distinct from the good any other in the community possesses. The different kinds of good that members of a community possess, which are distinct and so various but nevertheless compatible, compose a form called a heavenly form. Heaven as a whole is made of such forms. They are called forms when they are thought of as combinations of good, but communities when they are thought of as combinations of persons. These things were represented by the divisions of the children of Israel into tribes, families, and households.