9682. 'And you shall put the mercy-seat onto the ark of the Testimony in the holy of holies' means the hearing and reception of all things which in the inmost heaven belong to worship arising from the good of love from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of 'the mercy-seat' as the hearing and reception of all things that belong to worship arising from the good of love, dealt with in 9506; from the meaning of 'the ark of the Testimony' as the inmost heaven where the Lord is, dealt with in 9485, 'the Testimony' there being the Lord, 9503; and from the meaning of 'the holy of holies' as the place where the good of love from the Lord dwells, dealt with above in 9680. From all these meanings it is evident that 'you shall put the mercy-seat onto the ark of the Testimony in the holy of holies' means the hearing and reception of all things which in the inmost heaven belong to worship arising from the good of love from the Lord.

[2] The nature of the Lord's presence in the inmost heaven, and the nature of His presence in the middle heaven, and also in the lowest, may be recognized from what has been shown in many places regarding the inflow of goodness and truth from the Lord. The Lord becomes present by flowing in, but this inflow is conditioned by what people's life of goodness and truth is like. Those governed by the good of love to the Lord are the ones to receive that inflow the most immediately. Those however who are governed by the good of charity towards the neighbour receive it as well, yet more remotely, because the good of charity towards the neighbour is more remote than the actual good of love to the Lord. As for those who are governed by the good of faith, they too indeed receive it, but according to the amount of good there is within that faith. Consequently people who lead a good life based on the truths of faith receive it; for the Lord resides within their good, since all good springs from Him and none whatever from man, nor from the angels in heaven.

[3] To pursue this matter further, that the Lord is present in heaven and with mankind through heaven, it should be remembered that the Lord is above the heavens, since He is the actual Sun of heaven; yet He is nevertheless present in heaven through the light and heat from that Sun. The light from it is the Divine Truth which is the light of faith, while the heat from it is the Divine Good which is the heat of love; what emanates from the Lord is the Lord Himself. From these considerations it is evident that the Lord is present where good received from Him dwells. But a better understanding of all this may be gained from what has been shown regarding influx, that is to say, where it has been shown that the all of life, thus all good and truth since these constitute life in a person, flows in from the Lord, and that the things which flow in are conditioned by the manner in which each person receives them, 2536, 2706, 2886-2889, 2893, 3001, 3318, 3484, 3742, 3743, 4151, 5846, 5850, 5986, 6053-6058, 6189-6215, 6307-6327, 6466-6495, 6598-6626, 6982, 6985, 6996, 7004, 7055, 7056, 7058, 7147, 7270, 7343, 8321, 8685, 8701, 8717, 8728, 9110, 9111, 9216, and where it has been shown that influx from the Lord comes both directly from Him and also indirectly through the heavens, 5147, 6058, 6063, 6466, 6472, 6473, 6982, 6985, 6996, 7004, 7007, 7055, 7056, 7058, 7270, 8685, 8701, 8717, 8728, 9216.

5850. The truth of the matter is this: Beginning in the Lord and coming by way of the spiritual world into persons and things in the natural world there is both general influx and particular influx. General influx passes into whatever exists in a state of order, particular influx into whatever does not exist in a state of order. Animals of every kind live in the order of their own nature and therefore receive general influx. The fact that they live in the order of their own nature is clear from their knowing at birth all they need to know, so that they do not have to receive any training to acquire it. But human beings do not live in a state of order or in accordance with any laws of order. Therefore they have the particular influx into them; that is, they have with them angels and spirits through whom that influx comes. If human beings did not have the angels and spirits with them they would plunge into every kind of wickedness and hurl themselves instantly into the deepest hell. By means of those spirits and angels a person is kept under the Lord's guidance and control. If human beings lived in the state of order in which they were created they would love their neighbour as themselves; indeed they would love him more than themselves, as the angels do. But the human being loves only himself and the world, and hates his neighbour, except so far as he - his neighbour - indulges him, letting him take control and giving him the world. Since therefore the way people live is totally contrary to heavenly order the Lord rules them by means of separate spirits and angels for each one.