1442. 'As far as the oak-grove of Moreh' means a first perception. This too becomes clear from the sequence of events. It is clear that as soon as Jehovah appeared to the Lord in His celestial things the Lord had attained perception. Celestial things are the source of all perception. What perception is has been stated and shown already in 104, 202, 371, 483, 495, 503, 521, 536, 865. When anyone attains to celestial things he acquires perception from the Lord. All who have become celestial people, such as members of the Most Ancient Church, have acquired perception, as shown already in 125, 597, 607, 784, 895. All who become spiritual people, however, that is, who acquire charity from the Lord, have something akin to perception, namely the voice of conscience, strong or weak, in the measure that the celestial things of charity exist with such persons. This is how it is with the celestial things of charity, for it is in these alone that the Lord is present, and in these that He manifests Himself to man. How much more must this have applied to the Lord, who from infancy moved closer to Jehovah, and was joined and united to Him so that they were one?

104. Today people do not know what perception is. It is a certain inward feeling, wholly from the Lord, as to whether a thing is true and good. Such perception was fully known to the Most Ancient Church, and with the angels it exists so excellently that they know and recognize what is true and good, what comes from the Lord and what comes from self, and also the character of anyone who approaches them merely from the manner of his approach and merely from a single one of his ideas. The spiritual man has no perception, but he does have conscience. The dead man does not even have conscience. Nor do most people know what conscience is, much less what perception is.