4482. 'Behold, the land is broad and spacious before them' means extension, that is to say, of truth which is the truth of doctrine. This is clear from the meaning of 'the land' as the Church, dealt with just above in 4480, and from the meaning of 'broad and spacious' as extension as regards truths, and so as regards those taught by doctrine. When in the Word the measurements of something are given, it is not those measurements that are meant in the internal sense but the essential characteristics of a state that is being described. For measurements involve spatial dimensions and in the next life there are no intervals of space, as there are no periods of time, but states which correspond to these, see 2625, 2837, 3356, 3387, 3404, 4321. That being so, lengths, breadths, and heights, which are spatial measurements, mean the aspects of a state - length meaning holiness, height good, and breadth truth, see 650, 1613, 3433, 3434. This then is why 'the land is broad and spacious' means the extension of truth which is the truth of doctrine within the Church.

[2] Anyone who does not know of the existence of anything spiritual in the Word other than that which stands out in the literal sense is bound to be amazed by the statement that 'the land is broad and specious' means the extension of truth which is the truth of doctrine within the Church. But the truth of this statement may be established from places where 'breadth' is mentioned in the Word, as in Isaiah,

Asshur will go through Judah, it will deluge it and pass through and will reach even to the neck; and the outstretchings of its wings will fill the breadth of the land. Isaiah 8:8.

In David,

O Jehovah, You have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy. You have made my feet stand in a broad place. Psalms 31:8.

In the same author,

Out of my distress I called on Jah; He answered me in a broad place. Psalms 118:5.

In Habakkuk,

I am rousing the Chaldeans, a bitter and hasty nation, marching' into the breadths of the earth. Habakkuk 1:6.

'Breadths' here means nothing other than the truth of the Church.

[3] The reason why breadth has this meaning is that in the spiritual world, that is, in heaven, the Lord is the centre of all, for He is the Sun there. Those in a state of good are more interior, their exact position towards the middle being determined by the character and the amount of the good present in them. This is why 'height' is used in reference to good. Those who are in a similar degree of good are also in a similar degree of truth, and so dwell so to speak at the same distance from the centre, or one might say, dwell on the same contour; and this is why 'breadth' is used in reference to truths. Therefore when a person reads the Word the angels present with him do not understand by 'breadth' anything other than truths. When in the Historical sections, for example, the ark, the altar, the temple, and the spaces outside cities are referred to, states of good and truth are perceived by the dimensions indicating the lengths, breadths, and heights of these. The same is so with the new earth, new Jerusalem, and new Temple - described in Chapters 40-47 of Ezekiel - by which heaven and a new Church are meant, as may be seen from the detailed descriptions in those chapters. So also in John where it is said of the New Jerusalem that it will be foursquare, 'its length being as great as its breadth', Revelation 21:16.

[4] Things which in the spiritual world are interior are described as those that are higher, while those that are exterior are described by those that are lower, 2148, for while in the world, no one can conceive of interior things and exterior ones in any other way, for the reason that he dwells within space and time, and things that belong to space and time have entered in among the ideas comprising his thought and have conditioned the majority of these. From this it is also evident that expressions which give the spatial measurements of things such as the height, length, and breadth of them, are in the spiritual sense expressions used to indicate the magnitude of affections for good and affections for truth.

1555. 'From the south and even to Bethel' means from the light of intelligence into the light of wisdom. This is clear from the meaning of 'the south' as the light of intelligence, or what amounts to the same, a state of light as regards interiors, dealt with already in 1458, and from the meaning of 'Bethel' as celestial light having its origin in cognitions, dealt with already in 1453. The expression 'light of intelligence' describes that light which is acquired through cognitions of the truths and goods of faith, whereas the light of wisdom is the light of life which is acquired from the light of intelligence. The light of intelligence has regard to the intellectual part of the mind, or to the understanding, whereas the light of wisdom has regard to the will part, or to life.

[2] Few if any people know how a person is led to true wisdom. Intelligence is not wisdom but it leads to wisdom, for having an understanding of what truth and good are is not the same as being a true and good person; but being wise is. Wisdom can be used only in reference to a person's life, to what kind of person he is. To wisdom, or life, he is introduced through coming to know and being aware, that is, through knowledge and cognitions. With every person there are two parts of the mind - the will and the understanding - the will being the primary part and the understanding the secondary; and the nature of his life after death is as the nature of the will part, not the understanding part, of his mind. A person's will is being formed by the Lord from infancy on into childhood, and this is achieved through the innocence that has been instilled into him, and through the exercise of charity towards parents, nursemaids, and other young children of his own age, and through further things that he is quite unaware of and which are celestial. Unless those celestial things were first instilled in a person while an infant and child he could not possibly become truly human. In this way the first degree is formed.

[3] But because a person is not human unless he is provided with understanding as well, will alone does not make a human being but understanding and will together. And understanding cannot be acquired except by means of knowledge and cognitions, and therefore he has to be endowed with these step by step from childhood onwards. In this way the second degree is formed. Once the understanding part of the mind has been furnished with knowledge and cognitions, especially cognitions of truth and good, he is for the first time able to undergo regeneration. And when he is being regenerated, truths and goods are implanted by the Lord by means of cognitions within the celestial things he has been granted by the Lord since infancy. The result is that the ideas now in his understanding make one with those celestial things. And once the Lord has joined them together so, he is endowed with charity from which he starts to act and which constitutes conscience. This is how he comes to receive new life for the first time, something that is achieved step by step. The light of this life is called wisdom, which then plays the leading role and is set above intelligence. In this way the third degree is formed. If this has happened to a person during his lifetime he goes on being perfected in the next life. These considerations show what the light of intelligence is, and what the light of wisdom.