38. And they who pierced Him, signifies that they also will see Him who are in falsities from evil. This is evident from the signification of "piercing," as being those who altogether deny the Lord, for these kill and pierce Him in themselves; for these are meant by the soldier who pierced His side (John 19:34-37). By "soldier" and "soldiers" are meant those who are of the church, and who should fight for the Lord. Here in particular are meant those of the Jewish church, and, in general, all that are of the church who are in falsities from evil. And as such were signified by "soldiers," the soldiers divided the Lord's garments, and cast lots upon His coat; which means that the Jewish church dispersed the Divine truths that are in the sense of the letter of the Word, but were unable to disperse interior truths, or the truths of the internal sense (for "garments" signify truths in ultimates; see Arcana Coelestia, n. 5248, 6918, 9158, 9212; "to divide" signifies to dissipate and disperse, see n. 4424, 6360, 6361, 9093; and "the coat" interior truths, n. 9048, 9212, 9216, 9826).

6313. When a person is raised up to more internal levels he passes from the dull light on the level of the senses to a quite gentle light. At the same time he is removed from the inflow of what is disgraceful or foul and is brought closer to what is just and fair, because he is brought closer to the angels present with him, thus closer to the light of heaven. This raising up from the level of the senses was well-known to the ancients, and also to gentiles; and that is why the sages among them have said that when the mind is removed from the sensory level, it comes into inner light and at the same time into a state filled with peace and into a kind of heavenly bliss. From this they also made deductions about the immortality of the mind. A person can be raised to even more internal levels; and the further he goes, the clearer is the light that he comes into. At length he is raised up into the light of heaven, a light that is nothing else than wisdom and intelligence from the Lord. With the three heavens nothing else marks off one from another than the internal levels to which it is raised, and so also the degree of light that it possesses. Because it exists at the inmost levels the third heaven is in the greatest light, thus in wisdom far surpassing the wisdom of lower heavens.