55. Because all receive the heaven that is outside them in accordance with the quality of the heaven within them, so in like manner do they receive the Lord since the Divine of the Lord makes heaven. So it comes about that when the Lord shows Himself as present in any society, He appears there in accordance with the quality of good in which the society is, thus not the same in one society as in another. This diversity is not in the Lord, but in the angels who behold Him from their own good, thus in accordance with that good. They are even affected by His appearance in accordance with the quality of their love, those who love Him inmostly being inmostly affected and those who love Him less being less affected; while the evil who are outside heaven are tortured at His presence. When the Lord appears in any society, He appears there as an Angel, but He is distingtuished from others by the Divine which shines through.

107. That such is the case throughout the whole of heaven may be concluded from a similar one in each society there, for every society in heaven is a heaven in smaller form, and is also like a person. The reality of this may be seen in the book Heaven and Hell 41-87.

In every society in heaven, the angels who are at its center likewise relate to the heart and lungs, and they possess the greatest light. This light and its accompanying perception of truth radiate out in every direction from the center to the surrounding areas, thus to all the rest of the people in the society, and make possible their spiritual life.

I have been shown that when the people who were at the center, who formed the region of the heart and lungs and who therefore possessed the greatest light, were removed, those who lived round about were left in comparative darkness, and that they then had such a weak perception of truth as to have scarcely any. But as soon as those at the center returned, their light reappeared as before, and they recovered their former perception of truth.