Selection from Heaven and Hell ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
Man is so created as to have a conjunction and connection with the Lord, but with the angels of heaven only an affiliation. Man has affiliation with the angels, but not conjunction, because in respect to the interiors of his mind man is by creation like an angel, having a like will and a like understanding.Consequently if a man has lived in accordance with the Divine order he becomes after death an angel, with the same wisdom as an angel.Therefore when the conjunction of man with heaven is spoken of his conjunction with the Lord and affiliation with the angels is meant; for heaven is heaven from the Lord's Divine, and not from what is strictly the angels' own [proprium]. ...
But man has, beyond what the angels have, that he is not only in respect to his interiors in the spiritual world, but also at the same time in respect to his exteriors in the natural world. His exteriors which are in the natural world are all things of his natural or external memory and of his thought and imagination therefrom — in general, knowledges and sciences with their delights and pleasures so far as they savor of the world, also many pleasures belonging to the senses of the body, together with his senses themselves, his speech, and his actions.
All these are the outmosts in which the Lord's Divine influx terminates; for that influx does not stop midway, but goes on to its outmosts. All this shows that-
The outmost of Divine order is in man; and being the outmost it is also the base and foundation.As the Lord's Divine influx does not stop midway but goes on to its outmosts, as has been said, and as this middle part through which it passes is the angelic heaven, while the outmost is in man, and as nothing can exist unconnected, it follows that the connection and conjunction of heaven with the human race is such that one has its permanent existence from the other, and that the human race apart from heaven would be like a chain without a hook; and heaven without the human race would be like a house without a foundation.
But man has severed this connection with heaven by turning his exteriors away from heaven, and turning them to the world and to self by means of his love of self and of the world, thereby so withdrawing himself that-
He no longer serves as a basis and foundation for heaven; therefore the Lord has provided a medium to serve in place of this base and foundation for heaven, and also for the conjunction of heaven with man. This medium is the Word.I have been told from heaven that the most ancient people, because their interiors were turned heavenwards, had immediate revelation, and by this means there was at that time a conjunction of the Lord with the human race.
After their times, however, there was no such immediate revelation, but there was a mediate revelation by means of correspondences, inasmuch as all their Divine worship was maintained by correspondences, and for this reason the Churches of that time were called representative Churches.
For it was then known what correspondence is and what representation is, and that all things on the earth correspond to spiritual things in heaven and in the Church, or what is the same, represent them.Therefore the natural things that constituted the externals of their worship served them as media for thinking spiritually, that is, thinking with the angels.
When the knowledge of correspondences and representations had been blotted out of remembrance then the Word was written, in which all the words and their meanings are correspondences, and thus contain a spiritual or internal sense, in which are the angels.In consequence, when a man reads the Word and perceives it according to the sense of the letter or the external sense, the angels perceive it according to the internal or spiritual sense; for all the thought of angels is spiritual while the thought of man is natural. These two kinds of thought appear diverse; nevertheless they are one because they correspond. Thus it was that after man separated himself from heaven and severed the bond, the Lord provided a medium of conjunction of heaven with man by means of the Word.
(Heaven and Hell 304 - 306)