The earliest church, which came before the Flood, did
not have a written Word but one revealed to all who
were in the church. They were heavenly people, so they
had a perception of goodness and truth, as do the angels,
with whom they also interacted. As a result, they had the
Word written on their hearts.
Because they were heavenly and interacted with angels,
everything they saw (or sensed in any other way) represented
and symbolized the heavenly and spiritual qualities
of the Lord’s kingdom to them. They did see worldly
and earthly objects with their eyes, or perceived them
with their other senses, but these were the starting point
and means for thoughts about heavenly and spiritual
subjects. This ability and no other enabled them to talk
with angels, because what exists with angels is heavenly
and spiritual, and when it is communicated to people,
it is expressed in the kinds of images that are familiar to
us in our world. Everything in the world represents and
symbolizes something in the heavens.
—Secrets of Heaven 2896
