st or first heaven.{1} From this it is clear that the
states of the interiors are what make heaven, and that heaven is
within everyone, and not outside of him; as the Lord teaches when He
says:

The kingdom of God cometh not with observation, neither
shall they say, Lo here, or Lo there; for behold the
kingdom of God ye have within you (Luke 17:20, 21).

{Footnote 1} There are as many degrees of life in man as there
are heavens, and these are opened after death in accordance
with his life (n. 3747, 9594). Heaven is in man (n. 3884).
Therefore he that has received heaven into himself in the
world, comes into heaven after death (n. 10717).

34. Furthermore, all perfection increases towards interiors and
decreases towards exteriors, since interiors are nearer to the
Divine, and are in themselves pure, while exteriors are more remote
from the Divine and are in themselves grosser.{1} Intelligence,
wisdom, love, everything good and the resulting happiness, are what
constitute angelic perfection; but not happiness apart from these,
for such happiness is external and not internal. Because in the
angels of the inmost heaven the interiors have been opened in the
third degree their perfection immeasurably surpasses the perfection
of angels in the middle heaven, whose interiors have been opened in
the second degree. So the perfection of these angels exceeds in like
measure the perfection of angels of the outmost heaven.

{Footnote 1} Interiors are more perfect because nearer to the
Divine (n. 3405, 5146, 5147). In the internal there are
thousands and thousands of things that appear in the external
as one general thing (n. 5707). As far as man is raised from
externals towards interiors, so far he comes into light and
thus into intelligence and the elevation is like rising out of
a cloud into clearness (n. 4598, 6183, 6313).

35. Because of this distinction an angel of one heaven cannot go
among the angels of another heaven, that is, no one can ascend from a
lower heaven and no one can descend from a higher heaven. One
ascending from a lower heaven is seized with a distress even to
anguish, and is unable to see those who are there, still less to talk
with them; while one descending from a higher heaven is deprived of
his wisdom, stammers in his speech, and is in despair. There were
some from the outmost heaven who had not yet been taught that the
interiors of angels are what constitut