9438. ON THE EARTHS IN THE STARRY HEAVEN; AND THEIR INHABITANTS, SPIRITS AND ANGELS.

They who are in heaven can speak and be in company with angels and spirits, not only from the earths in this solar system, but also with those who are from earths in the universe outside this system; and not only with spirits and angels therefrom, but also with the inhabitants themselves there whose interiors have been opened so that they are able to hear those who speak from heaven. The same is possible for a man during his life in the world, to whom it has been granted by the Lord to speak with spirits and angels; for as to his interiors a man is a spirit and angel, the body which he carries about in the world being merely of service to him for activities in this natural or earthly sphere, which is the ultimate one.

[2] But to no one is it given to speak as a spirit and angel with angels and spirits, unless he is of such a character that he can be consociated with them in respect to faith and love; and he cannot be so consociated unless he has faith in the Lord and love to the Lord, because a man is conjoined through faith in Him, thus through the truths of doctrine, and through love to Him; and when he has been conjoined with Him, he is safe from the attack of evil spirits who are from hell. With others the interiors cannot be opened at all, because they are not in the Lord.

[3] This is the reason why at the present day it is given to few to speak and be in company with angels. A plain proof of this is that at the present day the existence of spirits and angels is scarcely credited, still less that they are with every man, and that through them man has connection with heaven, and through heaven with the Lord. And still less is it believed that when a man dies as to his body, he lives a spirit, also in a human form as before.

5708. Five measures. That this signifies much increased, is evident from the signification of “five,” as being much (of which in what follows); and from the signification of “measures,” as being states of truth from good (see n. 3104). As regards “five,” it is a number that signifies a little, likewise some, and also much. Its signification depends upon its relation to the number of which it is a part (n. 5291): as a part of “ten” it involves the same as ten, but in a less degree, because it is half of the number ten; for as numbers formed by multiplication signify the like with their simple numbers (see n. 5291, 5335), so numbers produced by division signify the like as their multiples-for instance “five” the same as “ten” and as “twenty” and also as “one hundred” and “one thousand,” and so on. (That “ten” denotes what is full may be seen above, n. 3107, 4638.) Five more measures were given to Benjamin than to the rest of his brethren because of the signification of the matter in the internal sense; ten measures could not have been given, for they would have been far too much. By traditions from the Most Ancient Church the ancients knew what some numbers signified, and therefore they made use of these numbers when anything occurred which they might serve to signify, as here the number “five;” and in other cases they applied several other numbers, as “three” to signify what is full from beginning to end; “seven” to signify what is holy; “twelve” to signify all things in their complex.