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.

1757. THE SPEECH OF SPIRITS, AND ITS VARIATIONS - continued

As stated already, the speech of spirits with man is effected by means of words, whereas the speech of spirits among themselves is effected by means of ideas - the first origins of words - such as comprise thought. Those ideas however are not so obscure as man's ideas while he is living in the body, but are distinct and separate, like those that compose speech. Following the decease of the body human thought becomes more distinct and clear, and the ideas comprising thought become discrete and separate, so that they come to serve as distinct speech-forms; for obscurity has been dispelled together with the body, and thus thought, now freed, so to speak, from the shackles by which it was held, and therefore from the shades that enveloped it, becomes more spontaneous. As a consequence, insight into every specific idea, and the perception and utterance of it, become more immediate.