in the spiritual world ways are actually shortened or are lengthened in
accordance with the longings that are of thought from affection. From
this, also, comes the expression, "spaces of time." Moreover, in cases
where thought does not join itself to its proper affection in man, as
in sleep, the lapse of time is not noticed.

75. Now as times which are proper to nature in its world are in the
spiritual world pure states, which appear progressive because angels
and spirits are finite, it may be seen that in God they are not
progressive because He is Infinite, and infinite things in Him are one
(as has been shown above, n. 17-22). From this it follows that the
Divine in all time is apart from time.

76. He who has no knowledge of God apart from time and is unable from
any perception to think of Him, is thus utterly unable to conceive of
eternity in any other way than as an eternity of time; in which case,
in thinking of God from eternity he must needs become bewildered; for
he thinks with regard to a beginning, and beginning has exclusive
reference to time. His bewilderment arises from the idea that God had
existence from Himself, from which he rushes headlong into an origin of
nature from herself; and from this idea he can be extricated only by a
spiritual or angelic idea of eternity, which is an idea apart from time;
and when time is separated, the Eternal and the Divine are the same, and
the Divine is the Divine in itself, not from itself. The angels declare
that while they can conceive of God from eternity, they can in no way
conceive of nature from eternity, still less of nature from herself and
not at all of nature as nature in herself. For that which is in itself
is the very Esse, from which all things are; Esse in itself is very life,
which is the Divine Love of Divine Wisdom and the Divine Wisdom of Divine
Love. For the angels this is the Eternal, an Eternal as removed from time