Divine of the Lord first or proximately flows, and from which it arranges the other interior things which succeed according to the degrees of order with the angel or man.
This inmost or supreme degree may be called the Lord's entrance to angels and men, and His veriest dwelling-place in them. By virtue of this supreme or inmost, man is man, and is distinguished from brute animals; for these do not possess it. Hence it is that man, different from animals, can, as to all the interiors of his rational and natural mind, be elevated by the Lord to Himself, can believe in Him, be affected with love toward Him and thus see Him; and that he can receive intelligence and wisdom, and converse in a rational manner. It is for this reason also that he lives forever. But what is disposed and provided by the Lord in this inmost degree does not come manifestly to the perception of any angel, because it is above his thought and transcends his wisdom.
These are general truths concerning the three heavens; but in what follows we shall speak of each heaven specifically. (H. H., n. 29-40.)
