The idea of a "prophet" is very closely tied to the idea of the Bible itself, since the Bible was largely written by prophets. At a lower level, prophets represent people who teach from the Bible. At a higher level, they represent the Lord as He reveals himself through the Bible. Viewed in a abstract way, prophets represent the holy parts of the Bible themselves, and also represent doctrine drawn from the Bible. The reason we say "largely written by prophets" and "the holy parts of the Bible" is that not all of the books currently included in the Bible have a complete and continuous internal sense. Some -- like Job, Ruth, and Song of Solomon -- are wonderful literary pieces that got included, but which lack the systematic meanings for words and phrases. Others -- the Acts and Epistles, primarily -- are really doctrinal works, the first attempt by others to extract meaning from Jesus' life and words.

7171. It should be recognized that the sun in this world is not at all visible to any spirit, nor is any light from it visible; for the light of the sun is to spirits like thick darkness. It remains only in spirits' minds, as a result of their having seen it when they were in the world; and the picture of it which presents itself in their minds is a kind of dark patch, a considerable distance away behind them, at a height slightly above head-level. The planets within the solar system appear in fixed positions in relation to the sun - Mercury behind it, slightly to the right; the planet Venus on the left, slightly to the rear; the planet Mars on the left, out in front; the planet Jupiter similarly out in front on the left, but further away; the planet Saturn directly in front, but a considerable distance away; the Moon on the left, quite high up; and other satellites too are on the left of their own planets. This is the way that the planets are aligned in spirits and angels' ideas about them. Also spirits are seen close to their own planet; but they remain outside it.