6. From the Lord spring three levels of reality — the celestial, the spiritual, and the natural — one after another.

The level termed celestial is one that springs from the Lord’s Divine love, and is Divine goodness.

The level termed spiritual is one that springs from His Divine wisdom, and is Divine truth.

The level termed natural is one that springs from these two. It is a composite of them on the lowest level.

Angels of the Lord’s celestial kingdom, who make up the third or highest heaven, are surrounded by the Divinity emanating from the Lord that we call celestial. For they are prompted by the goodness of love received from the Lord.

Angels of the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, who make up the second or middle heaven, are surrounded by the Divinity emanating from the Lord that we call spiritual. For they are prompted by the truths of wisdom received from the Lord. ¹

And in the church in the world people are surrounded by the natural Divinity that also emanates from the Lord.

[2] It follows from this that the Divinity emanating from the Lord to its lowest level descends through three degrees, and is termed celestial, spiritual, and natural.

The Divinity that descends from the Lord to humankind does so through these three degrees, and when it has descended, it contains these three degrees within it.

Everything Divine is of such a character. When it is in its lowest degree, therefore, it exists in its fullness.

Such is the Word. In its lowest or outmost sense it is natural. In its interior sense it is spiritual, in its inmost sense celestial, and in every sense Divine.

That the Word is of such a character is not apparent in its literal, natural sense, and that is because people in the world have previously known nothing of the heavens, and so nothing of the spiritual and celestial levels, thus nothing of the difference between these levels and the natural one.

Footnotes:

47. The outer constituents of the Temple in Jerusalem represented the outer constituents of the Word, which are those of its literal sense. That is because the Temple had the same representation as the Tabernacle, namely heaven and the church, and so also the Word.

That the Temple in Jerusalem symbolized the Lord’s Divine humanity is something the Lord Himself tells us in John:

Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.... But He was speaking of the temple of His body. (John 2:19, 21)

And wherever the Lord is meant, the Word is meant as well, because the Lord embodies the Word.

Now because the inner constituents of the Temple represented the inner constituents of heaven and the church, thus also those of the Word, therefore its outer constituents represented and symbolized the outer constituents of heaven and the church, thus also those of the Word, which are those of its literal sense.

Regarding the outer constituents of the Temple, we read that they were built of whole, uncut stone, and inside of cedar; that all its walls within were carved with figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers; and that the floor was overlaid with gold (1 Kings 6:7, 18, 29-30). All of these particulars, too, symbolized the outer constituents of the Word, which are the holy ones of its literal sense.