Continuation.- (1) The Lord teaches no one without the use of means, but by such means as are within man's reach resulting from his hearing and sight; this follows from what has been said above. To this must be added, that there is no direct revelation, except that which has been given in the Word, of which kind is that contained in the Prophets and Evangelists, and in the historical parts of the Word. Its nature is such, that every man may be taught from it according to the affections of his love, and the thoughts of his understanding derived therefrom. Those who are not in the good of life can be taught very little; but those who are in the good of life can be taught much, for they are taught by enlightenment from the Lord.

[2] The nature of enlightenment is as follows: Light conjoined to heat enters by influx through heaven from the Lord. This heat, which is the Divine Love, affects the will, from which man derives his affection for good. This light, which is the Divine Wisdom, affects the understanding, from which man derives the thought of truth. From these two sources - the will and understanding - all things belonging to man's love and knowledge (scientia) are influenced, but those only which refer to the subject are called forth, and are present. Enlightenment is in this way effected by the Lord through the Word, in which every thing derived from the spiritual contained therein is in communication with heaven, and the Lord enters by influx through heaven, and into that which is at the time the subject of man's contemplation. The influx is also continual and universal, extending in the case of every one to the most minute particulars. It resembles the heat and light proceeding from the sun of the world, which acts upon all the objects that grow upon the earth, collectively and particularly, and cause them to vegetate according to the quality of their seed and their reception. What then must be the operation of the heat and light from the Divine Sun, from which all things live!

To be enlightened through heaven by the Lord is to be enlightened by the Holy Spirit; for the Holy Spirit is the Divine proceeding from the Lord as the Sun, from which heaven is. It is therefore evident, that the Lord teaches the man of the church mediately through the Word, according to that love of his will which he acquires by means of his life, and according to that light of his understanding, which he receives from his love by means of his knowledge (scientia); and it is further evident that it cannot be communicated in any other way, because this is the Divine order of influx.

[3] This now is the reason why the Christian religion is divided into churches, and into heresies within them, generally and particularly. On the other hand, those who are not within the boundaries of the Christian world, nor in possession of the Word, are also taught in the same way; for they are taught by means of the religion which they have instead of the Word, and which is partly derived from it.

The religion of the Mahometans was in some respects taken from the Word of both the Old and New Testaments. In the case of others their religion is derived from the ancient Word, which was afterwards lost. With some, their religious belief is from the Ancient Church, which was in possession of that ancient Word, and extended throughout much of the continent of Asia, and was divided into many, like the church in our day. From these were derived the religious beliefs of many nations, but in process of time these, in many cases, became more or less idolatrous.

[4] Those whose forms of worship are from this origin, are taught by the Lord mediately through their own religion, in the same way as Christians are taught through the Word. This is effected, as was said, by the Lord through heaven, and thence by calling their will and understanding into exercise. But enlightenment by means of those forms of religion is not like that received through the Word. In the former case it is like the evening, when the moon shines with more or less brightness; but in the latter case it is like the day, when the sun shines with more or less brightness from morning till noon. Hence the Lord's church, extending throughout the whole world, resembles as to its light - which is Divine Wisdom - the day from noon to evening until night; and as to its heat, which is Divine Love, the year from spring to autumn, and until winter.