1807. He said, "Look, please, toward the sky," symbolizes a representation of the Lord's kingdom when one is gazing at the universe, as can be seen from the symbolism of the sky. In the Word, on an inner level, the sky means not the heaven that we see with our eyes but the Lord's kingdom as a whole and in each part. When people who see deeper meaning in external objects look at the sky, they do not think about the starry heaven at all but about the angels' heaven. When they see the sun, they do not think about the sun but about the Lord as heaven's sun. Likewise when they see the moon and also the stars. In fact when they see how vast the sky is, they do not think about its immense size but about the Lord's vast, infinite power. The same holds true for all other sights, because each one of them represents something.
[2] The same is true for sights on the earth. When such people see the sun rise, for example, they do not think about the dawn but about the way everything rises out of the Lord, and the way wisdom advances day to day. Again, when they look at gardens, orchards, and flower beds, their eye does not cling to any tree, or to its blossom, leaf, or fruit, but to the heavenly attributes these represent. Their attention is absorbed not by the loveliness or charm of any flower but by what it represents in the other life. Nothing beautiful or enjoyable can possibly exist in the heavens or on earth that does not in some measure represent the Lord's kingdom. (On this subject, see what was said at §1632.) That is what is meant by looking toward the sky, symbolizing a representation of the Lord's kingdom when one is gazing at the universe.
[3] The reason each and every thing in the sky and on earth represents something is that a stream of influence from the Lord through heaven brought it into existence, and continues to do so, in order to keep it in existence.
The situation is like that with the human body. It is through our soul that our body comes into existence and remains in existence, so our whole body and everything in it represents something about our soul. The soul concerns itself with purposes and goals; the body, with executing them.
All effects of whatever kind likewise represent the purposes that caused them, and the purposes represent the ultimate goals that form their origins.
[4] People who think divine thoughts never restrict themselves to the objects of outward sight but are always seeing inner depths in those objects and from those objects. The very innermost depths have to do with the Lord's kingdom, so these people concern themselves with the very ultimate goal.
It is the same with the Lord's Word. People who care about divine concerns never view the Lord's Word in terms of the letter but view the letter and the literal meaning as representing and symbolizing the heavenly and spiritual attributes of the church and the Lord's kingdom. In their eyes, the literal sense merely serves as a vehicle for thinking about those subjects.
That is how the Lord looked at things.
