9571. And it shall give light over against the faces of it. That this signifies from the Divine good of the Lord’s Divine Human, is evident from the signification of “giving light,” as being the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord’s Divine good; for it is this which gives light to heaven and the angels themselves who are there, and also to the church and the men therein who are in faith from good. The illumination from this is the illumination of the mind, from which come intelligence and wisdom in the truths and goods of faith. The mind is illuminated by means of the Word, because the Word is Divine truth from the Lord. And from the signification of “the faces,” when said of the Lord, as being all that which is from the Divine good of His Divine love (n. 9545, 9546). The reason why it is from the Divine good of the Lord’s Divine Human, is that the Lord’s Divine Human is the source of light in heaven, for it is the Sun of heaven, from which is light, and the light from this is Divine truth (see n. 1053, 1521-1533, 1619-1632, 2776, 3094, 3138, 3167, 3190, 3195, 3222, 3223, 3337, 3339, 3341, 3636, 3643, 3862, 3993, 4060, 4180, 4302, 4408, 4414, 4415, 4419, 4527, 4598, 5400, 6032, 6313, 6315, 6608, 6907, 7174, 8644, 8707, 8861, 9399, 9407); and that the Lord is the Sun of heaven may also be seen above (n. 1053, 1521, 1529, 1530, 1531, 2441, 3636, 3643, 4321, 5097, 7078, 7083, 7171, 7173, 8644, 8812). The Divine Human of the Lord is the source of light in heaven, because the Divine cannot be seen except under a human form, as also the Lord taught in John:

No man hath seen God at any time; the Only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath set Him forth (John 1:18).

Ye have not heard the voice of the Father at any time, nor seen His shape (John 5:37).

4415. Souls newly arrived, or novitiate spirits-that is, those who have been in the other life but a few days since the death of the body-are very much surprised to find that there is light in the other life, for they carry with them the ignorance that supposes light to be exclusively from the sun and material flame. Still less do they know that there is any light which illumines the understanding, for in the bodily life they have not observed this, and even still less that this light confers the capacity to think, and by its influx into forms which are from the light of the world presents all things that are of the understanding. If these spirits have been good they are taken up into heavenly societies to be instructed, and are passed from one society to another, in order that they may perceive by living experience that there is light in the other life, and this more intense than is ever found in the world; and that they may at the same time take notice that insofar as they are in the light there, so far they are in intelligence. Some who were taken up into the spheres of heavenly light spoke with me from thence, and confessed that they had never believed in any such thing, and that the light of the world is relatively darkness. From that light they also looked through my eyes into the light of the world, and perceived it as nothing but a dark cloud, and in pity said that such is the light in which are men. From what has been said it may also be seen why the angels of heaven are called in the Word “angels of light;” and also that the Lord is the Light, and consequently is the life for men (John 1:1, 9; 8:12).