Afterwards it was announced from on high that this is the way the matter stands, namely, that societies must be broken up in order again to be brought together. Then it was observed that the [real] meaning of the words could not penetrate through the world of spirits to me, but that it was twisted. So the world of spirits is in such disharmony that the Word of the Lord is unable to flow down, through the world of spirits, to mankind, without being turned into a different meaning, and, in certain conditions, without being totally distorted.

a] 2180 1/2. This is a sign that the last time is at hand [Matt. 24:14 ff.]. For human souls that die make up the largest part of the world of spirits. It is well known that the human being is a spirit, and becomes a spirit being, and that there are not, as some have thought, any spirits from eternity. But no others are allowed into the world of spirits than those who can be of use, especially to the human race, both to those living on earth, and to souls who are coming out of the body. In these there are still bodily elements joined together, or mixed in, with what is of nature, which must be separated. Therefore such spirits as are compatible with these souls also go to make up the world of spirits. 1748, 3 June.

b] Things that are spoken in heaven come down to people on earth into things on their level that correspond

[2180 1/3.] I have noticed that whatever I had thought, and whatever spirits had spoken and thought, streamed in from heaven, but still, in different ways, depending on what there is in the person's memory that interacts, and on what his thought is focussed at the time. For it is certainly true that the speech, or thought of the heavenly angels, contains many, many elements, being a chain of many, many distinct mental images. When these come down into the mind of a spirit, or of a person on earth, that whole chain of very many images becomes like one single image. The series of mental images in it are not apparent. This can also be supported by many other considerations. Therefore, since so very many elements are contained in the speech or thought of the heavenly angels, and these stream into the mental imagery of spirits and men, they cannot but arouse whatever is suited to their diverse natures and states of mind, and of course, things that correspond.

[2180 1/4.] For this reason also there are things that correspond to very many things, that is, many items corresponding to one thing. Take, for example, only the love of self, which is symbolized by what is high, of whatever kind or description, thus countless things, such as mountains, in general, tall trees, and so on. 1748, 4 June.