Now, since of love and wisdom there cannot be predicated
spaces and times, but instead thereof states, it follows, that the
expanse around the sun of the angelic heaven is not extended, but still
is in the extense of the natural sun, and present with all living
subjects therein according to their receptions, which are according to
forms. But he then asked, "Whence comes the fire of the sun of the
world, or of nature?" We replied, that it is derived from the sun of the
angelic heaven, which is not fire, but divine love proximately
proceeding from God, who is love itself. As he was surprised at this, we
thus proved it: "Love in its essence is spiritual fire; hence fire in
the Word, in its spiritual sense, signifies love: it is on this account
that priests, when officiating in the temple, pray that heavenly fire
may fill their hearts, by which they mean heavenly love: the fire of the
altar and of the candlestick in the tabernacle amongst the Israelites,
represented divine love: the heat of the blood, or the vital heat of men
and animals in general is from no other source than love, which
constitutes their life: hence it is that a man is enkindled, grows warm,
and becomes on fire, while his love is exalted into zeal, anger, and
wrath; wherefore from the circumstance, that spiritual heat, which is
love, produces natural heat with men, even to the kindling and inflaming
of their faces and limbs, it may appear, that the fire of the natural
sun has existed from no other source than the fire of the spiritual sun,
which is divine love. Now, since the expanse originates from the centre,
and not the centre from the expanse, as we said above, and the centre of
life, which is the sun of the angelic heaven, is divine love proximately
proceeding from God, who is in the midst of that sun; and since the
expanse of that centre, which is called the spiritual world, is hence
derived; and since from that sun existed the sun of the world, and from
the latter its expanse, which is called the natural world; it is
evident, that the universe was created by one God." With these words we
took our leave, and he attended us out of the court of his study, and
conversed with us respecting heaven and hell, and the divine government,
from a new acuteness of genius.

381. THE SECOND MEMORABLE RELATION. On a time as I was looking around
into the world of spirits, I saw at a distance a palace surrounded and
as it were besieged by a crowd; I also saw many run