That the Divine, that is, God, is not in space, although omnipresent and
with every man in the world, and with every angel in heaven, and with
every spirit under heaven, cannot be comprehended by a merely natural
idea, but it can by a spiritual idea. It cannot be comprehended by a
natural idea, because in the natural idea there is space; since it is
formed out of such things as are in the world, and in each and all of
these, as seen by the eye, there is space. In the world, everything great
and small is of space; everything long, broad, and high is of space; in
short, every measure, figure and form is of space. This is why it has
been said that it cannot be comprehended by a merely natural idea that
the Divine is not in space, when it is said that the Divine is everywhere.
Still, by natural thought, a man may comprehend this, if only he admit
into it something of spiritual light. For this reason something shall
first be said about spiritual idea, and thought therefrom. Spiritual idea
derives nothing from space, but it derives its all from state. State is
predicated of love, of life, of wisdom, of affections, of joys therefrom;
in general, of good and of truth. An idea of these things which is truly
spiritual has nothing in common with space; it is higher and looks down
upon the ideas of space which are under it as heaven looks down upon the
earth. But since angels and spirits see with eyes, just as men in the
world do, and since objects cannot be seen except in space, therefore in
the spiritual world where angels and spirits are, there appear to be
spaces like the spaces on earth; yet they are not spaces, but appearances;
since they are not fixed and constant, as spaces are on earth; for they
can be lengthened or shortened; they can be changed or varied. Thus because
they cannot be determined in that world by measure, they cannot be
comprehended there by any natural idea, but only by a spiritual idea. The
spiritual idea of distances of space is the same as of distances of good
or distances of truth, which are affinities and likenesses according to
states of goodness and truth.
8. From this it may be seen that man is unable, by a merely natural idea,
to comprehend that the Divine is everywhere, and yet not in space; but
that angels and spirits comprehend this clearly; consequently that a man
also may, provided he admits into his thought something of spiritual light;
and this for the reason that it is not his body that thinks, but his
spirit, thus not his natural, but his spiritual.
9. But many fail to comprehend this because of their love of the natural,
which makes them unwilling to raise the thoughts of their understanding
above the natural into spiritual light; and those who are unwilling to do
this can think only from space, even concerning God; and to think according
to space concerning God is to think concerning the expanse of nature. This
has to be premised, because without a knowledge and some perception that
the Divine is not in space, nothing can be understood about the Divine
Life, which is Love and Wisdom, of which subjects this volume treats; and
hence little, if anything, about Divine Providence, Omnipresence,
Omniscience, Omnipotence, Infinity and Eternity, which will be treated
of in succession.
10. It has been said that in the spiritual world, just as in the natural
world, there appear to be spaces, consequently also distances, but that
these are appearances according to spiritual affinities which are of love
and wisdom, or of good and truth. From this it is that the Lord, although
everywhere in the heavens with angels, nevertheless appears high above
them as a sun. Furthermore, since reception of love and wisdom causes
affinity with the Lord, those heavens in which the angels are, from
reception, in closer affinity with Him, appear nearer to Him than those
in which the affinity is more remote. From this it is also that the
heavens, of which there are three, are distinct from each other,
likewise the societies of each heaven; and further, that the hells under
them are remote according to their rejection of love and wisdom. The same
is true of men, in whom and with whom the Lord is present throughout the
whole earth; and this solely for the reason that the Lord is not in space.