2552. 'Abraham said' means a perception, which constituted a reply. This is clear from the meaning in historical narratives of the Word of 'saying', dealt with many times already, as in 1791, 1815, 1819, 1822, 1898, 1919, 2061, 2080, 2238, 2260, 2271, 2287. As regards the Lord's thought from the doctrine of faith being meant by the expression 'Abimelech said to Abraham' but a perception which constituted a reply, by the expression 'Abraham said', the position is that perception is something higher, which in the Lord's case was from the Divine itself, whereas thought is something lower, which in the Lord's case was from the understanding itself. And because it was perception from which His thought sprang, so was the reply possessed by His thought derived from perception. This may be illustrated by means of something similar with man. The celestial man is unable to think except from perception, and the spiritual is unable to do so except from conscience, 2515. The perception of the celestial man, like the conscience [of the spiritual], originates in the Lord, though to the individual himself it is not apparent where it comes from; but his thought springs from the rational and seems to him to originate in himself. Thus again when he thinks about any matter from the rational the conclusion within his thought, or the reply, comes either from perception or from conscience. Consequently any reply which he receives from the Lord is conditioned by his own state of life, by his affection, and by the truth of doctrine implanted or imprinted in conformity with these.

321. It should be known that in outward appearance the spiritual world is just like the natural world. One sees there lands, mountains, hills, valleys, plains, fields, lakes, rivers, and springs, just as in the natural world, thus all the phenomena belonging to the mineral kingdom. One sees also parks, gardens, groves, and forests, in which are found trees and bushes of every kind, with fruits and seeds, and plants, flowers, herbs, and grasses, thus all the phenomena belonging to the plant kingdom. One sees animals, birds, and fish of every kind, thus all the phenomena belonging to the animal kingdom. A person there is an angel or spirit.

This much is premised in order to make it known that the universe of the spiritual world is just like the universe of the natural world, the only difference being that the phenomena which exist there are not fixed and set like phenomena in the natural world, because nothing there is natural, but everything spiritual.