8886. 'The sabbath day' in the highest sense means the union of the Lord's Divine [Itself] and His Divine Human; in the internal sense it means the Divine Human joined to the heavens, and so means heaven and consequently the marriage of goodness and truth there. This is clear from what has been shown already in 8495. Since such things are meant by 'the sabbath', therefore in the representative Church it was most holy. It was that which was to be perpetually in the thoughts, that is, that which was to compose a heavenly life; for what a person thinks perpetually, that is, what reigns universally, composes his life, see 8853 8858, 8865, 8885. The Israelite nation had no thought, it is true, of the union of the Lord's Divine and His Divine Human, or of His union with heaven, or of goodness and truth joined together in heaven, which were meant by 'the sabbath', since they were concerned altogether with external things and not with anything internal. Yet they were commanded to hold the sabbath most holy, in order that Divine and heavenly realities might be represented in heaven. The situation as it was with them is evident from what has been shown already regarding that nation, and regarding a representative of the Church among them, in 3147, 3479, 3480, 3881 (end), 4208, 4281, 4288, 4289, 4293, 4307, 4444, 4580, 4680, 4825, 4844, 4847, 4899, 4912, 6304, 6306, 7048, 7051, 8301 (end).

6307. INFLUX AND THE INTERACTION OF SOUL AND BODY - continued

Experience extending over many years now has allowed me to know about the existence of influx from the spiritual world by way of angels and spirits into people's affections and thoughts, to know it so plainly that nothing could be plainer. I have been made aware of it as an inflowing not merely into thoughts but also into affections. Whenever evil and falsity have flowed in I have been allowed to know which hells they came from, and whenever goodness and truth have flowed in to know which angels they came from. Experience has made me so familiar with all this that at last I have been able to know where every specific aspect of my thoughts and affections originated. Yet my thoughts have been just like those I had before.