20. At this the new spirits asked, 'Why do you say that the things we saw represent, not that they are?' The angels replied, 'Because every single thing which appears visible in this world is a correspondence or representation. These contain truth in themselves and thus stand for them; so spiritual things are here presented in appearances similar to those of natural objects. The spiritual things which belong to our world are also described in the Word as they appear here. For the Word is written by means of correspondences, in order that it should serve at once for both angels and men. These things were first shown to your sight and seen, so that you should know how the Lord's coming is to be understood.