5320. 'And placed a chain of gold onto his neck' means an outward sign denoting the joining of interior things to exterior ones, good being that which effects that joining together. This is clear from the meaning of 'the neck' as a flowing in, also the communication of higher things with lower ones, or what amounts to the same, interior things with exterior ones, dealt with in 3542; and therefore 'a chain', because it goes around the neck, is a sign denoting the joining together of those things. 'A chain of gold' means a joining together by means of good; that is, good is the means which effects it, because 'gold' means good, 113, 1551, 1552. A sign denoting the joining of interior truth to exterior truth is meant by 'a chain onto the neck' in Ezekiel,

I adorned you with ornaments and put bracelets onto your hands and a chain onto your neck. Ezekiel 16:11.

3485. The representations that occur in the next life are appearances. But they are living representations because they come from the light of life. The light of life is Divine Wisdom, which is received from the Lord alone. Consequently all things that come into being from that light, unlike those from the light of the world, are real. For this reason people in the next life have said several times that the things they behold in that world are real, whereas those that man beholds are by contrast not real. The reason for this is that the former are living and so have a direct influence on their life, whereas the latter are not living and so have no direct influence on their life, except insofar as things with them belonging to the light of the world join themselves appropriately and by correspondence to those belonging to the light of heaven. From all these considerations it now becomes clear what representations are and what correspondences are.