171. There is no way to describe briefly how things look to angels in the heavens. To a considerable extent, they look like the things we see on earth, but they are more perfect in form and also more abundant.

We may conclude that there are things like this in the heavens because of what the prophets saw - for example what Ezekiel saw of the new temple and the new earth as described in chapters 40-48 [of his book], what Daniel describes in his chapters 7-12, what John saw as described from the first through the last chapter of Revelation, along with other visions presented in both the historical and the prophetic books of the Word. They saw things like this when heaven was opened to them, and heaven is said to be opened when our inner sight, the sight of our spirit, is opened. For the things that exist in heaven cannot be seen with our physical eyes, but only with the eyes of our spirit; and when it pleases the Lord, these are opened. At such times we are led out of the natural light that our physical senses are in and raised into the spiritual light in which we dwell because of our spirit. This is the light in which I have seen the things that exist in the heavens.

3225. All this now makes clear what correspondence is and where it originates, and also what representation is and where this originates. That is to say, correspondence exists between the things belonging to the light of heaven and those belonging to the light of the world, that is, between things belonging to the internal or spiritual man and those belonging to the external or natural man; and representation is everything whatever manifesting itself within things belonging to the light of the world, or within the external or natural man, that stands in specific relationship to things belonging to the light of heaven, that is, to things that spring from the internal or spiritual man.