That there is such a marriage in the single things of the Word has been shown in many places in the Arcana Coelestia, and also in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, where it treats of the Word. That there is such a marriage there, can be seen only by those who study its internal or spiritual sense, for everywhere, and conspicuously in the prophets, there are two expressions for one thing, of which one refers to good, thus to the Lord, and the other to truth, thus to the church. This is clearly seen by one who has a knowledge of correspondences, for there are senses and words which correspond to good, and there are correspondences which correspond to truths. Hence now there is a conjunction of the Lord with heaven and with the church by means of the Word.

[2] Since there is a marriage in the Word, therefore there is in it a spiritual sense and there is a celestial sense: the spiritual sense for those who are in the Lord's spiritual kingdom, who constitute all the lower heavens; and the celestial sense for those who are in the Lord's celestial kingdom, who constitute all the higher heavens. The angels of the spiritual kingdom are in the truths of the Word, but the angels of the celestial kingdom are in the goods of the Word. When therefore a man reads the Word with reverence, spiritual angels according to correspondences perceive truths therein, and celestial angels perceive goods; but, and this is an arcanum, the celestial angels do not perceive the goods therein immediately from man, but mediately through the spiritual angels.

The reason is, that scarcely any one in the Christian world at this day is in the good of celestial love, but only some are in truths; wherefore the good of love cannot pass immediately from man to the celestial angels, of whom the third heaven consists, but passes mediately through the spiritual angels, of whom the second heaven is composed. The marriage of the Lord with the church thus exists also in the heavens by means of the Word, for the Word in its spiritual sense treats of the church, but in the celestial sense, of the Lord. Therefore the spiritual angels apply all things to the church, but the celestial angels all things to the Lord. Hence heaven is compared by the Lord to a marriage, and is also called a marriage, and hence the Word effects that marriage. But this is an arcanum, which can be perceived only obscurely by man, while it is clearly perceived by an angel of heaven. [3] The celestial angels can apply to the Lord all things which spiritual angels apply to the church, because the Lord is the all of the church.