From The Doctrines For Spiritual Christianity
God, since the world was created, is in space apart from space, and in time apart from time. That God, and the Divine which proceeds immediately from Him, is not in space, although He is omnipresent, and with every man in the world, with every angel in heaven, and with every spirit under heaven, cannot be comprehended by merely natural thought, but it may, in some degree, by spiritual thought. The reason is that space is associated with merely natural conceptions, as these are formed from objects in the world, in every one of which, as these are visible to the eye, there is space. Everything great and small there is spatial, likewise everything that has length, breadth and height; in a word, every measure, figure and form there is spatial. Nevertheless a man may, in some degree, comprehend this idea by his natural thought if he admits into it some spiritual light. However, something must first be said concerning spiritual thought. This derives nothing from space, but everything from state. State has relation to love, life, wisdom, affections, joys, and, in general, to good and truth. A truly spiritual idea concerning these has nothing in common with space: it is on a higher level, and looks down upon spatial ideas beneath it as heaven looks down upon the earth. (True Christian Religion 30{3})
But be it known that by “the extremity of heaven” is not meant any extremity of space, but of the state of good and truth; for in heaven there is no space, but only the appearance of it according to the states of good and truth. (Arcana Coelestia 9666)
The Lord is omnipresent, and is not in space, as was shown above; and therefore distance is an appearance according to conjunction with the Lord, conjunction being according to the reception of love and wisdom from Him; and since no one can be conjoined to the Lord as He is in Himself, He appears to the angels at a distance as a Sun; nevertheless, He is in the whole angelic heaven, as the soul is in man. In like manner He is in every society of heaven and also in every angel there; for a man’s soul is not only the soul of the whole man but also the soul of every part. (Divine Providence 162)
Above the angelic heaven there is a Sun which is pure love, fiery in appearance like the sun of this world; that from the heat of that Sun angels and men have their will and love, and from its light they have understanding and wisdom; and that the things from it are called spiritual, while those that proceed from the sun of this world are containants or receptacles of life, and are called natural. Further, that the expanse of the centre of life is called the spiritual world, which subsists from its own Sun, while the expanse of the centre of nature is called the natural world, which subsists from its sun. Now, since space and time cannot be predicated of love and wisdom, but instead of them, states, it follows that the expanse around the Sun of the angelic heaven is not an extension, although it is within the extension of the natural sun, and present with the living subjects of the natural world according to their reception of it; and their reception is according to their forms and states. (True Christian Religion 35 {11})
It has been said that in the spiritual world, just as in the natural world, there appear to be spaces, consequently also distances, but that these are appearances according to spiritual affinities which are of love and wisdom, or of good and truth. From this it is that the Lord, although everywhere in the heavens with angels, nevertheless appears high above them as a sun. Furthermore, since reception of love and wisdom causes affinity with the Lord, those heavens in which the angels are, from reception, in closer affinity with Him, appear nearer to Him than those in which the affinity is more remote. From this it is also that the heavens, of which there are three, are distinct from each other, likewise the societies of each heaven; and further, that the hells under them are remote according to their rejection of love and wisdom. The same is true of men, in whom and with whom the Lord is present throughout the whole earth; and this solely for the reason that the Lord is not in space. (Divine Love and Wisdom 10)
Key Points From The Video
God as a Non-Spatial Being: The Lord God is omnipresent, but His being is not of a spatial kind. Unlike natural bodies, He does not fill space.
Implications for Spiritual Space: Space is not an independent reality but a mental construct. If space were real in an external sense, it would imply that God’s infinite nature would need to assume finite spatial qualities, which is impossible. Thus, God transcends time and space, and space exists as a reflection of the mental states of finite beings.
Space is an Appearance: In the spiritual world, space is perceived similarly to the natural world but recognised as an appearance. This spatial appearance reflects the imperfect reception of Divine life by finite minds thus space in the spiritual realm is subjective, not objective.
Imperfect Conjunction: Angels cannot be fully united with the Lord’s essential nature but receive Divine life imperfectly, creating a perception of separation or distance. This perceived distance between the Lord and angels manifests as spatial distance, similar to how the sun appears distant to humans.
The Lord and Space: The Lord does not perceive space as we do; both natural and spiritual space are representative images shaped by finite minds.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What is the nature of space in both the natural and spiritual worlds?
a) Real in the natural world but imaginary in the spiritual world
b) An illusion created by sensory perception
c) A mental construct reflecting finite minds in both worlds
d) A boundary that separates beings from each other
Answer: c)
2. How does Spiritual Christianity resolve the paradox of God’s omnipresence and space?
a) By claiming that God is limited by space
b) By stating that God fills space
c) By asserting that space is a mental construct
d) By denying God’s presence in space
Answer: c)
3. What does space represent in the spiritual world?
a) An independent external reality
b) A reflection of the limitations of the mind
c) A physical distance between beings
d) A boundary between the Lord and creation
Answer: b)
4. Why is it impossible for God to fill space according to this teaching?
a) Because God is too large for space
b) Because space is only real in the natural world
c) Because God’s infinite nature cannot assume finite spatial qualities
d) Because space does not exist
Answer: c)
5. What does the perception of space by angels symbolically represent?
a) The distance between angels and God
b) The state of reception of the divine life by the angel’s mind
c) The physical size of the spiritual world
d) The boundaries between different realms of existence
Answer: b)
Reflective Questions
1. How does understanding space as a mental construct change your perception of the physical world around you?
2. In what ways can the concept of space as a reflection of mental limitations influence how you relate to others or to God?
3. How does the idea that God is beyond spatial limitations inspire a deeper understanding of divine presence in your own life?
Experiential Integration
Mindful Perception of Space: Spend a few minutes reflecting on the space around you, whether indoors or outdoors. As you observe the distances between objects or your position within a room, remind yourself that space is not an external reality but a reflection of your mental state. Ask yourself:
- How does the idea of space shift when I think of it as subjective rather than objective?
- How might my perception of spiritual truths be shaped by the way I perceive space?
Write down any changes in how you feel about your environment or your sense of connection to spiritual realities.
Further Exploration
Angels turn their faces constantly to the Lord as a sun, because they are in the Lord, and the Lord in them; and the Lord interiorly leads their affections and thoughts, and turns them constantly to Himself; consequently they cannot do otherwise than look towards the east where the Lord appears as a sun; from which it is evident that angels do not turn themselves to the Lord, but the Lord turns them to Himself. For when angels think interiorly of the Lord, they do not think of Him otherwise than as being in themselves. Real interior thought does not cause distance, but exterior thought, which acts as one with the sight of the eyes; and for the reason that exterior thought, but not interior, is in space; and when not in space, as in the spiritual world, it is still in an appearance of space. But these things can be little understood by the man who thinks about God from space. For God is everywhere, yet not in space. Thus He is both within and without an angel; consequently an angel can see God, that is, the Lord, both within himself and without himself; within himself when he thinks from love and wisdom, without himself when he thinks about love and wisdom. (Divine Love and Wisdom 130)
Distance from the very good itself which proceeds from the Divine, causes the appearance of distance in heaven. The angelic societies there appear distinct and even remote from one another; but as already said this idea of space comes from distance from the good and truth which are from the Divine of the Lord. This must needs appear a paradox, nay, absurd, to many in the world. The reason is that the thoughts and their ideas with man are founded upon spaces and times, insomuch that man cannot think without them. Consequently if you abstract times and spaces from a man’s thought, he scarcely perceives anything. Nevertheless the angels in heaven think absolutely without any idea of time and space, and with such fulness that in intelligence and wisdom their thoughts surpass the thoughts of man thousands, nay, myriads of times; and, wonderful to say, if there occurs to them an idea derived from time and space, shade and thick darkness at once come to their minds, because they then fall from the light of heaven into the light of nature, which to them is thick darkness. (Arcana Coelestia 8918)