48. When the Lord was transfigured, He represented the Word in its glory. When the Lord was transfigured before Peter, James and John, we read that “His face shone like the sun, ” that “His garments became as white as the light, ” and that “Moses and Elijah appeared..., talking with Him.” Moreover, that “a bright cloud overshadowed” the disciples, and that they heard “a voice...out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son.... Hear Him!’ ” (Matthew 17:1-5).

I have been informed that the Lord then represented the Word. His face, which shone like the sun, represented His Divine goodness. His garments, which became as white as the light, represented His Divine truth. Moses and Elijah represented the narrative and prophetic portions of the Word — Moses the Word written by him, and in general the narrative portion of the Word, and Elijah the prophetic portion of the Word. The bright cloud that overshadowed the disciples represented the Word in its literal sense. That is why they heard a voice from it that said, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” For all utterances and answers from heaven are always made by means of outmost expressions such as are found in the Word’s literal sense, being made in fullness from the Lord.

70. The Word Exists in All of the Heavens, and Is the Source of the Angels’ Wisdom

No one has known before that the Word exists in the heavens, nor could it have been known as long as the church remained unaware that angels and spirits are people, like people in the world, and that they have the same kinds of things that people do, in every respect, the sole difference being that angels and spirits are spiritual, and everything they have comes from a spiritual origin, while people in the world are natural, and everything they have comes from a natural origin. As long as this fact remained hidden, they could not know that the Word exists also in the heavens, and that angels read it there, and so do spirits below the heavens.

However, lest this remain hidden forever, I have been given to be in the company of angels and spirits, to speak with them, and to see their surroundings, and afterward to report much of what I have heard and seen. This I have done in the book Heaven and Hell (London, 1758); and it can be seen from it that angels and spirits are people, and that they have in abundance everything that people in the world have.

That angels and spirits are people may be seen in the aforementioned book, Heaven and Hell 73-77 and 453-456; that they have the same things as people have in the world, nos. 170-190; that they also hold Divine worship and hear sermons in the temples they have, nos. 221-227; and that they have written materials and also books, nos. 258-264, including the Word, no. 259.