8658 – 10837

sRef Ex@18 @5 S0′ 8658. ‘Where he was encamped at the mountain of God’ means near to the good of truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘encamping’ as an arrangement into order of the Church’s truth and good with a person, dealt with in 8103 (end), 8130, 8131, 8155; and from the meaning of ‘the mountain of God’ as the good of love, dealt with in 795, 796, 2722, 4210, 6435, 8327, at this point the good of truth, since the subject is the good of those belonging to the spiritual Church, who are represented by ‘the children of Israel’. Good as it exists with them is the good of truth, and this good is also the good of charity. This also accounts for the words ‘the mountain of God’, for ‘God’ is used when truth is the subject, and ‘Jehovah’ when good is the subject, 2586, 2769, 2807, 2822, 3921 (end), 4295, 4402, 7268, 7873. From all this it is evident that ‘he was encamped at the mountain of God’ means an arrangement into order of the Church’s good and truth near to the good of truth.

[2] How to understand all this must also be stated briefly. When a person is in the first state, that is to say, when his actions spring from truth but not as yet from good, that is, when they spring from faith but not as yet from charity, he is in the state in which temptations have to be undergone. By means of these he is brought step by step to the second state – to the one in which his actions spring from good, that is, from charity and the affection belonging to it. When therefore he is getting near to that state he is said ‘to be encamped at the mountain of God’, that is, at the good from which his actions later on spring. This is said because what follows refers to a new arrangement or re-ordering of truths for entrance into that state, to which members of the Church also come after they have undergone temptations and before God’s law is written on their hearts. In what has gone before temptations have been the subject, and in what now follows the subject is the law issued from Mount Sinai, ‘Mount Sinai’ being good which holds truth within it.

sRef Ex@18 @7 S0′ sRef Ex@18 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@18 @6 S0′ 8659. Verses 6, 7 And he said to Moses, I your father-in-law Jethro come to you, and your wife, and her two sons with her. And Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and bowed down, and kissed him; and they asked, a man his companion, as regards peace;* and they came into the tent.

‘And he said to Moses’ means influx and resulting perception. ‘I your father-in-law Jethro come to you, and your wife, and her two sons with her’ means levels of God’s good in their order. ‘And Moses went out to meet his father-in-law’ means God’s truth being brought to Divine Good. ‘And bowed down’ means being brought into contact with it. ‘And kissed him’ means being joined to it. ‘And they asked, a man his companion, as regards peace’ means the mutual, Divine celestial state. ‘And they came into the tent’ means the holiness of union.
* i.e. they asked each other about their welfare

sRef Ex@18 @6 S0′ 8660. ‘And he said to Moses’ means influx and resulting perception. This is clear from the meaning of ‘saying’, when Divine Good addresses Divine Truth regarding the arrangement of truths, as influx; and since influx is meant, perception is also meant because perception arises as a result of influx. For the meaning of ‘saying’ as influx on the part of the one who acts, and perception on the part of the one who receives, see 5743.

sRef Ex@18 @6 S0′ 8661. ‘I your father-in-law Jethro [come to you], and your wife, and her two sons with her’ means levels of God’s good in their order. This is clear from the representation of Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, as Divine Good, dealt with in 8643, 8644; from the representation of Zipporah, the wife of Moses, as good originating in that Divine Good and joined to God’s truth, dealt with in 8647; and from the representation of ‘her sons’ as forms of the good of truth, dealt with in 8649 8651. Thus they are levels of good in their order. Levels of good in their order are interior and exterior forms of good that come in order one after another – in degrees, about which see 3691, 4154, 5114, 5145, 5146, 8603.

sRef Ex@18 @7 S0′ 8662. ‘And Moses went out to meet his father-in-law’ means God’s truth being brought to Divine Good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘going out to meet’ as being brought to (the reason why ‘going to meet’ means being brought to is that just afterwards it says that he kissed him, which means being joined to, and being joined to is preceded by being brought to); from the representation of ‘Moses’ as God’s truth, dealt with above in 8644; and from the representation of Jethro, to whom ‘father-in-law’ refers, as Divine Good, also dealt with above, in 8643, 8644.

sRef Ex@18 @7 S0′ 8663. ‘And bowed down’ means being brought into contact with it. This is clear from the meaning of ‘bowing down’ as humility and self-surrender, dealt with in 2153, 5682, 7068, but at this point being brought into contact, because it refers to God’s truth and its relationship with Divine Good.

sRef Ex@18 @7 S0′ 8664. ‘And kissed him’ means being joined to it. This is clear from the meaning of ‘kissing’ as a joining together resulting from affection, dealt with in 3573, 3574, 4215, 4353, 5929, 6260.

sRef Ex@18 @7 S0′ 8665. ‘And they asked, a man his companion, as regards peace’ means the mutual, Divine celestial state. This is clear from the meaning of ‘asking as regards peace’ as association in respect of the Divine celestial state, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘a man his companion’ as mutually. The reason why ‘asking as regards peace’ means association in respect of the Divine celestial state is that in the internal sense ‘asking as regards peace’ means asking about another’s life, its prosperity and happiness, whereas in the highest sense, in which Divine Good and God’s truth are the subject, ‘asking as regards peace’ means association in respect of the Divine celestial state. For ‘peace’ in the highest sense means the Lord and consequently the state in the inmost heaven, the home of those who live in love to the Lord and therefore in innocence. They more than all others live also in peace because they abide in the Lord, their state being called Divine celestial. So it is that ‘peace’ here is used to mean that state. For what ‘peace’ means in the highest sense and in the internal sense, see 3780, 4681, 5662, 8455.

sRef Ex@18 @7 S0′ 8666. ‘And they came into the tent’ means the holiness of union. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the tent’ as the holiness of love, dealt with in 414, 1102, 2145, 2152, 4128, and so the holiness of union, since love consists in union. Consequently ‘coming into the tent’ means being united by holy love. The subject in the present verse is the union of Divine Good with God’s truth; and since all union is brought about by the flowing of the one into the other, which results in perception, then by a bringing towards and placing in contact of one with the other, and after that a joining together of them, the influx and resulting perception is described first, 8660, then the bringing of one towards the other, 8662, and also the placing one in contact with the other, 8663, after that the joining together, 8664, and finally the union through love.

sRef Ex@18 @10 S0′ sRef Ex@18 @11 S0′ sRef Ex@18 @9 S0′ sRef Ex@18 @8 S0′ 8667. Verses 8-11 And Moses told his father-in-law all that Jehovah had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the distress that had come upon them on the way, and how Jehovah had rescued them. And Jethro rejoiced over all the good which Jehovah had done for Israel, who had rescued them from the hand of the Egyptians. And Jethro said, Blessed be Jehovah, who has rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh, who has rescued His people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that Jehovah is greater than all gods, for this reason, that they behaved proudly over them.

‘And Moses told his father-in-law all that Jehovah had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians’ means perception at this time from God’s truth* regarding the power of the Lord’s Divine Human against those who were steeped in falsities and engaged in molestation. ‘For Israel’s sake’ means for those belonging to the spiritual Church. ‘All the distress that had come upon them on the way’ means the toil in temptations. ‘And how Jehovah had rescued them’ means deliverance by the Lord’s Divine aid. ‘And Jethro rejoiced over all the good which Jehovah had done for Israel’ means the state of Divine Good when all things go well. ‘Who had rescued them from the hand of the Egyptians’ means because of their deliverance from attack by the molesters. ‘And Jethro said, Blessed be Jehovah’ means that the Lord is the source of all Good**. ‘Who has rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh’ means deliverance from attack by the molesters. ‘Who has rescued His people from under the hand of the Egyptians’ means mercy towards those governed by the good of truth and guided by the truth of good. ‘Now I know that Jehovah is greater than all gods’ means the Lord, that there is no God besides Him. ‘For this reason, that they behaved proudly over them’ means because of the endeavour and the force used to exercise control over those belonging to the Church.
* i.e. perception resulting from the influx of that truth into Divine Good
** Reading quod a Domino omne bonum (that the Lord is the source of everything good), as in 8674, for Divinum Bonum (Divine Good). In his rough draft of 8674 Sw. first wrote Divinum Bonum, then amended to what appears in the printed edition.

sRef Ex@18 @8 S0′ 8668. ‘And Moses told his father-in-law all that Jehovah had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians’ means perception at this time from God’s truth’ regarding the power of the Lord’s Divine Human against those who were steeped in falsities and engaged in molestation. This is clear from the meaning of ‘Moses told’ as perception from God’s truth, ‘telling’ meaning perceiving, see 3209, and ‘Moses’ representing God’s truth, 6752, 6771, 7010, 7014, 7382; from the representation of ‘the father-in-law of Moses’ as Divine Good, the source of the good joined to God’s truth, dealt with in 8643, 8644; from the meaning of ‘all that Jehovah had done’ as the things which had been done for the children of Israel in Egypt and after that in the wilderness – and since these things imply in the internal sense the things that were done for those belonging to the Lord’s spiritual Church who were held back on the lower earth until the Lord glorified the Human within Himself, the words here mean perception regarding the power of the Lord’s Divine Human (that those who belonged to the Lord’s spiritual Church were held back on the lower earth, and were saved by the power of the Lord’s Divine Human, see 6854, 7035, 7091 (end), 7828, 8018, 8054, 8099, 8321); and from the representation of ‘Pharaoh and the Egyptians’ as those who were steeped in falsities and engaged in molestation, dealt with in 7097, 7107, 7110, 7126, 7142, 7220, 7228, 7317.

sRef Ex@18 @8 S0′ 8669. ‘For Israel’s sake’ means for those belonging to the spiritual Church. This is clear from the representation of ‘Israel’ as those belonging to the spiritual Church, dealt with in 6426, 6637, 6862, 6868, 7035, 7062, 7198, 7201, 7215, 7223.

sRef Ex@18 @8 S0′ 8670. ‘All the distress that had come upon them on the way’ means the toil in temptations. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the distress’ as the toil (the reason why ‘the distress’ means the toil is that it is used to refer to temptations, for in them the tempted are involved in toil against falsities and evils, and also the angels are involved in toil together with them to maintain them in faith and so in the power to be victorious); and from the meaning of ‘that had come upon them on the way’ as in regard to temptations, that is to say, the toil in them. For ‘on the way’ is in the wilderness where they underwent the temptations that have been the subject before now.

sRef Ex@18 @8 S0′ 8671. ‘And how Jehovah had rescued them’ means deliverance by the Lord’s Divine aid. This is clear from the meaning of ‘rescuing’ as deliverance, ‘Jehovah’ being the Lord in the Word, see 1343, 1736, 1815, 2447, 2921, 3035, 5041, 5663, 6280, 6303, 6405.

sRef Ex@18 @9 S0′ 8672. ‘And Jethro rejoiced over all the good which Jehovah had done for Israel’ means the state of Divine Good when all things go well. This is clear from the representation of ‘Jethro’ as Divine Good, dealt with above in 8643; and from the meaning of ‘rejoiced over all the good’ – when used in reference to Divine Good, represented by ‘Jethro’ – as the state of that Good. The state of Divine Good when good is done to heaven and the angels there, also to the Church and the people there, is expressed in the Word as ‘joy’. The nature of the joy however surpasses all understanding, because it is that of the Infinite. Infinite joy also exists when good is received by those in heaven and in the Church, as may be recognized from Divine Love, which is infinite towards the human race, 8644; for all joy is a characteristic of love. From all this it is evident that ‘Jethro rejoiced over all the good which Jehovah had done for Israel’ means the state of Divine Good when all things go well. ‘Israel’ is used to mean those belonging to the Lord’s spiritual kingdom and spiritual Church, 8669, with whom all things went well; for they were delivered from molestations, and were after that victorious in temptations, as has been described above.

sRef Ex@18 @9 S0′ 8673. ‘Who had rescued them from the hand of the Egyptians’ means because of their deliverance from attack by the molesters. This is clear from the meaning of ‘rescuing’ as deliverance, as above in 8671; and from the representation of ‘the Egyptians’ as those who used falsities to engage in molestation, also dealt with above in 8668.

sRef Ex@18 @10 S0′ 8674. ‘And Jethro said, Blessed be Jehovah’ means that the Lord is the source of all good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘blessed be Jehovah’ as the Lord’s being the source of all good, dealt with in 1096, 1422, 3140, ‘Jehovah’ being the Lord, see above in 8671. The reason why ‘blessed be Jehovah’ means that the Lord is the source of all good is that the blessing which man receives holds within it all the good of eternal life, that is, the good of love to the Lord and towards the neighbour, 3406, 4981. Such good is what constitutes eternal life with a person.

sRef Ex@18 @10 S0′ 8675. ‘Who has rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh’ means deliverance from attack by the molesters. This is clear from the explanations above in 8671, 8673.

sRef Ex@18 @10 S0′ 8676. ‘Who has rescued His people from under the hand of the Egyptians’ means mercy towards those governed by the good of truth and guided by the truth of good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘rescuing’ as deliverance, as immediately above in 8675; from the meaning of ‘the Egyptians’ as those who used falsities to engage in molestation, also dealt with above in 8668; and from the representation of Israel, to whom ‘Jehovah’s people’ refers here, as those who belong to the spiritual Church, dealt with in 8645, and so those who are governed by the good of truth and guided by the truth of good, 7957, 8234. This is of the Lord’s mercy, for the words used are ‘blessed be Jehovah who has rescued’, and ‘blessed be Jehovah’ means that He is the source of all good flowing from His Divine Love, 8674. Divine Love, the source of the good that comes to a person who is in a state of wretchedness because left to himself he is wholly steeped in evil and sunk in hell, is mercy.

sRef Ex@18 @11 S0′ 8677. ‘Now I know that Jehovah is greater than all gods’ means the Lord, that there is no God besides Him. This is clear from what has been stated and shown in 7401, 7444, 7544, 7598, 7636, 8274.

sRef Ex@18 @11 S0′ sRef Isa@14 @13 S1′ sRef Isa@14 @14 S1′ sRef Isa@14 @12 S1′ sRef Isa@14 @19 S1′ sRef Isa@14 @15 S1′ 8678. ‘For this reason, that they behaved proudly over them’ means because of the endeavour and the force used to exercise control over those belonging to the Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘behaving proudly’ as the endeavour and the force used to exercise control, dealt with below; and from the representation of the children of Israel, who are the ones over whom they behaved proudly, as those belonging to the spiritual Church, dealt with above in 8645. The reason why ‘behaving proudly’ means the endeavour and the force used to exercise control is that kind of endeavour and the force used as a result are present in all pride; for pride consists in loving self more than others, putting self before others, and wishing to rule others. Those who wish to do this also despise others in comparison with themselves, and in addition out of hatred and vengeance persecute others who put themselves before them or do not pay respect to them. The nature of self-love, which is pride, is such that so far as it is given rein it gallops away, gaining speed with every possible step it can take, till eventually it reaches the very throne of God – wishing to usurp God. This is what all in hell are like. What they are like is revealed by their endeavours emanating from there, and also by their intense feelings of hatred for one another and their awful acts of revenge because of their wish to exercise control. That endeavour is one that is curbed by the Lord; and it is what is meant by the head of the serpent which the seed of the woman will tread down, 257. Such spirits also are meant by Lucifer in Isaiah,

How have you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the Dawn? You have been cut down to the earth, you have been weakened below the nations. And you said in your heart, I will go up the heavens, above the stars of God I will raise my throne, and I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the furthest parts of the north; I will go up above the heights of the clouds, and I will make myself like the Most High. But you have in truth been sent down to hell, to the sides of the pit. You have been cast out of the sepulchre like an abominable branch, [like] a garment of the killed, [like] those pierced with the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit like a dead body trodden underfoot. Isa. 14:12-19.

[2] The fact that pride of heart, which is self-love, drives the Divine away from itself and puts heaven away from itself becomes perfectly clear from that state in which the Divine and heaven find acceptance, which is a state of love towards the neighbour and a state of humility towards God. To the extent that a person can humble himself before the Lord, to the extent that he can love his neighbour as himself, and – as they do in heaven – above himself, he accepts the Divine and for that reason lives in heaven. From this one can see what the state is of those who love themselves more than their neighbour, and who behave proudly towards him, that is, who are ruled by self-love. One can see that it is a state in which they are opposed to heaven and to the Divine; it is therefore the state in which those in hell live. See what has been stated and shown about self-love in 2041, 2045, 2051, 2057, 2219, 2363, 2364, 2444, 3413, 3610, 4225, 4750, 4776, 4947, 5721, 6667, 7178, 7255, 7364, 7366-7377, 7488-7492, 7494, 7643, 7819, 7820, 8318, 8487.

sRef Ex@18 @12 S0′ 8679. Verse 12 And Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God; and Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to eat bread with the father-in-law of Moses before God.

‘And Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God’ means worship springing from the good of love and the truths of faith. ‘And Aaron and all the elders of Israel came’ means the things which in the Church are primary. ‘To eat bread with the father-in-law of Moses before God’ means making their own these things coming from Divine Good.

sRef Ex@18 @12 S0′ sRef Deut@12 @27 S0′ 8680. ‘And Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God’ means worship springing from the good of love and the truths of faith. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a burnt offering and sacrifices’ as representatives of celestial and spiritual realities that belong to internal worship, ‘burnt offerings’ being representative of celestial realities, that is, aspects of the good of love, and ‘sacrifices’ being representative of spiritual ones, that is, aspects of the truth of faith, dealt with in 922, 923, 1823, 2180, 2805, 2807, 2830, 3218, 3519, 6905. The representation of ‘burnt offerings’ as aspects of the good of love, and of ‘sacrifices’ as aspects of the truth of faith, is clear from their institution – from the requirement that in burnt offerings everything was to be burnt, both the flesh and the blood, but that in sacrifices the flesh was to be eaten, as may be seen in chapters 1-5 of Leviticus; Numbers 28:1-end; and in Deuteronomy, where the following words occur,

You are to present, your burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, on the altar of Jehovah your God; the blood of the sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of Jehovah your God, and the flesh you shall eat. Deut 12:27.

The reason why those two realities were represented by the burnt offerings and sacrifices is that burnt offerings and sacrifices represented all worship of God in general, 9?3, 6905; and worship of God in general is founded on love and faith. Without these it is not worship, only ritual such as is performed by the external man who has no internal and so no life within him.
* lit. make

sRef Ex@18 @12 S0′ 8681. ‘And Aaron and all the elders of Israel came’ means the things which in the Church are primary. This is clear from the representation of ‘Aaron’ as the truth contained in doctrinal teachings, dealt with in 6998, 7009, 7089, 7382; and from the representation of ‘the elders of Israel’ as the chief truths of the Church that accord with good, dealt with in 6524, 8578, 8585 – for ‘Israel’ means the Church, 8645.

sRef Ex@18 @12 S0′ 8682. ‘To eat bread with the father-in-law of Moses before God’ means making their own these things coming from Divine Good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘eating’ as making one’s own, dealt with in 3168, 3513 (end), 3596, 3832, 4745; and from the meaning of ‘bread’ as the good of love, dealt with in 2165, 2177, 3464, 3735, 4211, 4217, 4735, 5915, its coming from Divine Good being meant by the statement that they were going to eat bread ‘before God’. Here ‘bread’ is used to mean all the food they had then, in particular the flesh of the sacrifices; for when sacrifices were offered, the flesh in them was eaten beside the altar. For the meaning of ‘bread’ as all food in general, see 2165.

The reason why the flesh of the sacrifices was eaten was in order that making heavenly good one’s own might be represented, as well as togetherness in love. The flesh of a sacrifice, eaten by them then, meant the good of love, which was why this was for them a sacred feast. For the meaning of ‘flesh’ as the good of love, see 7850. From this one can see what the Lord meant when He said that they were to eat His flesh, John 6:53-56, and also, when He instituted the Holy Supper, that the bread was His body, Matt. 26:26. No one can possibly know what He meant then unless he knows that His words have an inner sense, and that in this sense celestial and spiritual realities are meant instead of natural things, and that natural things correspond to those realities and have spiritual meanings in keeping with correspondences. Without knowledge of these things no one could ever know why the Holy Supper was instituted, what is holy about the bread, why the bread is the body and is the flesh, and countless other questions besides these.

8683. Verses 13-16 And so it was, on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening. And the father-in-law of Moses saw all that he was doing for the people, and he said, What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people are standing before you from morning until evening? And Moses said to his father-in-law, Because the people come to me to inquire of God. When they have a matter they come to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbour*; and I make known the judgements of God and His laws.

‘And so it was, on the morrow’ means what is eternal. ‘That Moses sat to judge the people’ means the arrangement, effected by God’s truth, with those belonging to the spiritual Church in the state before their actions sprang from good. ‘And the people stood before Moses’ means obedience at that time to God’s truth. ‘From morning until evening’ means in every state at that time, inwardly and outwardly. ‘And the father-in-law of Moses saw all that he was doing for the people’ means the complete knowledge Divine Good possessed. ‘And he said, [What is this thing that you are doing for the people?] Why do you sit alone?’ means that it existed without any truth from good flowing in from another source. ‘And all the people are standing before you from morning until evening’ means that at this time it was the source of every act of the will which those belonging to the spiritual Church possessed, in every state. ‘And Moses said to his father-in-law’ means reciprocation in response. ‘Because the people come to me to inquire of God’ means that nothing else governs their will and actions than that which the Word has declared to be so. ‘When they have a matter’ means in everything that comes about. ‘They come to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbour’ means that revealed truth at this time brought about the arrangement existing among them. ‘And I make known the judgements of God and His laws’ means that it teaches them what truth is and what good is.
* lit. companion or fellow

sRef Ex@18 @13 S0′ 8684. ‘And so it was, on the morrow’ means what is eternal. This is clear from the meaning of ‘tomorrow’ or ‘the morrow’ as what is eternal, dealt with in 3998.

sRef Ex@18 @13 S0′ 8685. ‘That Moses sat to judge the people’ means the arrangement, effected by God’s truth, with those belonging to the spiritual Church in the state before their actions sprang from good. This is clear from the representation of ‘Moses’ as God’s truth going forth directly from the Lord, dealt with in 7010, 7382; from the meaning of ‘judging’ as effecting an arrangement (the reason why ‘judging’ has this meaning here is that God’s truth does not judge anyone, but flows in and arranges things for its own reception, and after it has been received judgement then takes place in accordance with the laws of order; this is what is meant by the Lord’s judgement in Matt. 25:31-end; John 5:22, 26, 27, 30; 9:39, as is clear from the Lord’s words where He says that He judges no one, John 3:17-21; 7:24; 12:47, 48); and from the representation of Israel, to whom ‘the people’ refers here, as those belonging to the spiritual Church, dealt with above in 8645. From all this it is evident that ‘Moses sat to judge the people’ means the arrangement, effected by God’s truth going forth directly from the Lord, with those belonging to the spiritual Church.

[2] This is so in the state before their actions spring from good, as is clear from what follows. There are two states that the person who is being regenerated and coming to have the Church within him passes through. In the first state his actions spring from truth, in the second from good, regarding which states see 8516, 8539, 8643, 8648, 8658. In both states the person is led by the Lord, in the first however through direct influx, but in the second through influx both direct and indirect. Regarding the influx of goodness and truth from the Lord in direct and indirect ways, see 6472-6478, 6982, 6985, 6996, 7054-7058, 7270. Direct influx is represented by the situation in which Moses alone judged the people, and influx both direct and indirect by the situation in which the rulers of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens who had been chosen were themselves to judge small matters, and to refer large matters to Moses, spoken of further on. But these things are arcana which hardly anyone can understand unless he is enlightened by the Lord, and being enlightened has perception. Those kinds of influx and also the effects they produce can, it is true, be described. Nevertheless a person can have no proper understanding of them without perception from heaven; and perception from heaven comes only to those who have a love of truth springing from good, yet not even to them unless it is a love of truth springing from genuine good.

sRef Ex@18 @13 S0′ 8686. ‘And the people stood before Moses’ means obedience at that time to God’s truth. This is clear from the representation of ‘Moses’ as God’s truth, as immediately above in 8685, so that ‘standing before him’ means consulting God’s truth and awaiting the reply from it, and then acting in accordance with it, that is, obeying it. These words in the internal sense describe the first state, in which the Lord leads a person who is being regenerated by means of truth. The truth by which He leads him is the Word, since this is God’s truth.

sRef Ex@18 @13 S0′ 8687. ‘From morning until evening’ means in every state [at that time], inwardly and outwardly. This is clear from the meaning of ‘morning’ and ‘evening’ as spiritual states which follow one another like the states belonging to times of day in the world, which are morning, midday, evening, night, and morning again; for these times of day correspond to the changes of state that take place in the next life, see 5672, 5962, 6110, 8426. The reason why inwardly and outwardly is meant is that people in the next life are governed on an internal level by goodness and truth when they pass through a morning state there, that is, a state corresponding to that time of day, but on an outward level when they pass through an evening state there. An evening state which they pass through is one of natural delight, whereas a morning state is one of spiritual delight, see 8431, 8452.

sRef Ex@18 @14 S0′ 8688. ‘And the father-in-law of Moses saw all that he was doing for the people’ means the complete knowledge Divine Good possessed. This is clear from the meaning of ‘seeing all that he is doing’, when said of Divine Good, which Jethro ‘the father-in-law of Moses’ represents, as complete knowledge. ‘Seeing’ in the internal sense is understanding and perceiving, 2150, 2325, 2807, 3764, 4403-4421, 5400. In the highest sense however, where the Lord is the subject, it is foresight and providence, 2837, 2839, 3686, 3854, 3863, so that ‘seeing all that he is doing’ is complete knowledge.

sRef Ex@18 @14 S0′ 8689. ‘And he said, [What is this thing that you are doing for the people?] Why do you sit alone?’ means that it existed without any truth from good flowing in from another source. This is clear from the meaning of ‘sitting alone’ – when said of God’s truth flowing in directly from the Lord, which ‘Moses’ represents – as influx from that truth alone and not at the same time from another source. The nature of all this may be recognized from what has been stated above in 8685.

sRef Ex@18 @14 S0′ 8690. ‘And all the people are standing before you from morning until evening’ means that at this time it was the source of every act of the will which those belonging to the spiritual Church possessed, in every state. This is clear from the representation of Israel, to whom ‘the people’ refers here, as those belonging to the spiritual Church, dealt with above in 8645; from the meaning of ‘standing before Moses’ as obedience to God’s truth, also dealt with above, in 8686, and – since obedience is meant – as an act of the will (obedience springs from the will, but from a will to do the truth because it has been commanded, not out of affection for it; and this will is obedience); and from the meaning of ‘from morning until evening’ as in every state, inwardly and outwardly, dealt with above in 8687.

[2] The subject here is the first state a person passes through before regeneration. During this state he does good in a spirit of obedience and not as yet out of affection. But this good is truth as done by him, since he does it solely because it has been commanded, and so is still acting under compulsion, not in freedom. It is done by him in freedom when he does it out of affection; for everything that flows from love and affection is free. While a person passes through the first state the Lord flows in and leads him directly; but direct influx from the Lord does not come to be perceived because it is an influx into the inmost parts of a person’s being and does not therefore generate affection. But when the Lord’s influx is direct and at the same time indirect it does come to be perceived and generate affection, since it is an influx not only into the inmost parts of a person but also into the middle and outermost. This latter state is dealt with in the verses following below in this chapter, the former state in the present verses, where it says that Moses judged alone; see what has been stated above in 8685.

sRef Ex@18 @15 S0′ 8691. ‘And Moses said to his father-in-law’ means reciprocation in response. This is clear from the meaning of ‘saying’ here as a response; for Moses is responding to his father-in-law. The reason why reciprocation is meant is that ‘Moses’ represents Divine Truth joined and united to Divine Good, 8664, 8666; and when they are joined and united there is reciprocation, good being active and truth reactive. Reaction is reciprocation in response. The same also applies in general to goodness and truth present with a person in whom they have been joined together.

sRef Ex@18 @15 S0′ 8692. ‘Because the people come to me to inquire of God’ means that nothing else governs their will and actions than that which the Word has declared to be so. This is clear from the representation of Moses as God’s truth, and so the Word, dealt with in 5922, 6723, 6752; and from the meaning of ‘the people coming to him to inquire of God’ as coming for advice about what the Divine prescribes, and so about what their will and actions ought to be.

sRef Ex@18 @16 S0′ 8693. ‘When they have a matter’ means in everything that comes about. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a matter’ as a thing that comes about. The reason why in everything is meant is that the people were coming to him alone, meaning that God’s truth was consulted on every matter.

sRef Ex@18 @16 S0′ 8694. ‘They come to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbour’ means that revealed truth at this time brought about the arrangement existing among them. This is clear from the meaning of ‘coming to me’, when this refers to God’s truth represented by ‘Moses’, as coming for advice about what their will and actions ought to be, as above in 8692; and from the meaning of ‘judging between a man and his neighbour’ as the arrangement existing among truths, arranging being meant by ‘judging’, see above in 8685. It follows that revealed truth brings the arrangement about, for just above it says that the people came to him to inquire of God, and immediately below that he makes known to them God’s judgement and laws.

[2] The term ‘revelation’ is used to mean the light that comes when the Word is read, and perception then; for this is the way that people who are governed by good and desire truth are taught from the Word. But those who are not governed by good cannot be taught from the Word; they can only be made stronger in whatever they have learned since early childhood, whether that consists in truths or in falsities. The reason why revelation comes to those who are governed by good but not to those who are ruled by evil is that every single thing in the Word refers in the internal sense to the Lord and His kingdom, and the angels present with a person perceive this level of meaning in the Word. Their perception is communicated to the person governed by good who reads the Word and desires truth from an affection for it; through them comes the light he has and his perception. For with those governed by good and consequently by an affection for truth the understanding part of the mind has been opened into heaven, and their soul, that is, their internal man, is in fellowship with the angels. It is altogether different with those who are not governed by good and so do not desire truth out of an affection springing from that good. To these heaven is closed.

[3] But what that revelation is like which comes to those governed by good and consequently by an affection for truth is not easy to describe. It is not something overt, nor is it something altogether hidden; rather it is a kind of inclination, coming from within, to accept that a thing is true, or not to accept if it is not true. When it is the inclination to accept, the mind is at rest and is tranquil; and in that state there exists the acknowledgement that goes with faith. All this comes about as a result of the influx of heaven from the Lord. For from the Lord by way of heaven there comes the light which pours into the understanding, which is the eye of inward sight, and enlightens it. What are now made visible in that light are truths, for that light actually is Divine Truth which emanates from the Lord; and this Truth is the light in heaven, as has been shown often

sRef Ex@18 @16 S0′ 8695. ‘And I make known the judgements of God and His laws’ means that it teaches them what truth is and what good is. This is clear from the meaning of ‘making known’ as teaching; from the meaning of ‘judgements’ as truths, dealt with in 2235, 6397; and from the meaning of ‘laws’ as the truths of good The reason why ‘laws’ are the truths of good is that in a broad sense ‘the Law’ means the whole Word, in a narrower sense the historical section of the Word, in a restricted sense the Word written through Moses, and in a very restricted sense the Ten Commandments, see 6752. Consequently, since the Word is Divine Truth which goes forth from the Lord’s Divine Good, ‘laws’ are the truths of good. The truths of good are truths which spring from good, and are in themselves good since they derive their existence continually from good.

sRef Ex@18 @19 S0′ sRef Ex@18 @20 S0′ sRef Ex@18 @17 S0′ sRef Ex@18 @18 S0′ sRef Ex@18 @23 S0′ sRef Ex@18 @22 S0′ sRef Ex@18 @21 S0′ 8696. Verses 17-23 And the father-in-law of Moses said to him, The thing that you do is not good. You will surely wither away, both you and this people who are with you, for the task* is too heavy for you; you are not able to do it yourself alone. Now hear my voice; I will counsel you, and God will be with you. Be for the people with God, and you are to bring matters to God.** And you are to teach them the statutes and the laws, [and] make known to them the way in which they must go, and the work they must do. And you are to see*** out of all the people men of vigour fearing God, men of truth hating gain; and you are to appoint them rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And let them judge the people at all times. And it shall be, every great matter let them bring to you, and every small matter let them judge themselves; and roll down [the burden] from upon yourself, and let them bear [it] with you. If you do this thing and God has commanded you, you will be able to stand fast; and also all this people will come upon their place in peace.

‘And the father-in-law of Moses said to him’ means foresight. ‘The thing that you do is not good’ means that a change must take place. ‘You will surely wither away, both you and this people who are with you’ means that if it carries on as before the truth which has been implanted is going to perish. ‘For the task is too heavy for you’ means that it is not possible because it does not arise from true order. ‘You are not able to do it yourself alone’ means without any truth from good flowing in from another source. ‘Now hear my voice’ means agreement as a result of union. ‘I will counsel you, and God will be with you’ means that it comes from the Divine. ‘Be for the people with God’ means truth coming forth directly from the Lord. ‘And you are to bring matters to God’ means mediation and intercession. ‘And you are to teach them the statutes and the laws’ means that truth coming directly from the Lord is the source of external and internal aspects of goodness and truth in the Church. ‘And make known to them the way in which they must go’ means the light of intelligence and the life led as a result of it. ‘And the work they must do’ means faith put into action. ‘And you are to see out of all the people’ means the choice of subservient truths. ‘Men of vigour fearing God’ means to which the good from God can be joined. ‘Men of truth hating gain’ means because**** the truths are pure, devoid of any worldly end in view. ‘And you are to appoint from them rulers of thousands’ means first and foremost truths in the first degree below truth coming directly from God. ‘Rulers of hundreds’ means first and foremost truths in the second degree. ‘Rulers of fifties’ means first and foremost truths that are intermediary. ‘And rulers of tens’ means first and foremost truths in third place. ‘And let them judge the people at all times’ means arrangement in this order perpetually. ‘And it shall be, every great matter let them bring to you’ means that everything exists from the truth going forth directly from God. ‘And every small matter let them judge themselves’ means the appearance that some particular and specific things derive from another source. ‘And roll down [the burden] from upon yourself, and let them bear [it] with you’ means thus assigning them functions and duties. ‘If you do this thing and God has commanded you’ means since it is so ordained by God … ‘You will be able to stand fast’ means, it accordingly has a dwelling place with them. ‘And also all this people will come upon their place in peace’ means that those belonging to the spiritual Church will thus be governed by good and led by good.
* lit. word or matter
** i.e. Represent the people before God, and bring their difficulties to Him.
*** i.e. select
**** The Latin here is quibus (to which), but at 8711 it is quia (because).

sRef Ex@18 @17 S0′ 8697. ‘And the father-in-law of Moses said to him’ means foresight. This is clear from the meaning of ‘saying’ – when it has reference to Divine Good, which is represented by Jethro, ‘the father-in-law of Moses’ – as foresight, as also in 5361, 6946.

sRef Ex@18 @17 S0′ 8698. ‘The thing that you do is not good’ means that a change must take place. This is clear from what comes after these words.

sRef Ex@18 @18 S0′ 8699. ‘You will surely wither away, both you and this people who are with you’ means that if it carries on as before the truth which has been implanted is going to perish. This is clear from the meaning of ‘withering away’ as being consumed little by little, and so perishing. The reason why it is the truth that has been implanted is that ‘Moses’ is used to mean the truth from God, and ‘people’ those who receive it. More about all this will be stated in what follows below.

sRef Ex@18 @18 S0′ 8700. ‘For the task is too heavy for you’ means that it is not possible because it does not arise from true order. This is clear from the meaning of ‘heavy task’ as something not possible. The meaning of ‘heavy burden’ here as something not possible is clear from what comes before, where it says that he and the people with him would wither away, meaning that the truth which had been implanted was going to perish, and also from what comes after – ‘You are not able to do it yourself alone’, and later on in verse 23, ‘If you do this thing, you are able to stand fast’ – by which impossibility if no change takes place is meant.

[2] The reason why it is not possible because it does not arise from true order is that in the next life everything is possible which arises from order, and everything is impossible which does not arise from order. Divine Truth, which emanates from the Lord, is what makes order, indeed is order. Consequently everything that is in keeping with Divine Truth, being in keeping with order, is possible; and everything that is contrary to Divine Truth, being contrary to order, is impossible. Let some examples serve to show plainly that this is so. It is in keeping with order that people who have led good lives will be saved, and those who have led bad ones will be condemned. Therefore it is impossible to send to hell those who have led good lives, or to raise to heaven those who have led bad ones. Consequently it is impossible for those in hell to be brought, by the Lord’s pure mercy, out of there into heaven and to be saved. For it is the acceptance of the Lord’s mercy when they lived in the world that saves everyone. Those who accept it in the world are open to the Lord’s mercy in the next life, for there they have the ability to accept it. Imparting it to others, and doing so at will to all and sundry provided that they possess faith and so believe they have been cleansed from sins, is impossible because it is contrary to true order, that is, contrary to the Divine, who is order.

[3] It is in keeping with order that faith and charity should be implanted in freedom and not under compulsion, and that faith and charity that has been implanted in freedom should remain, but not if implanted under compulsion. The reason for this is that when they are implanted in freedom they are instilled into the person’s affection and so into his will, and are accordingly made his own, but not so if they are implanted under compulsion. Consequently it is impossible for a person to be saved unless, having been born in evil, he is left in freedom to do evil or to refrain from it. When with that freedom he refrains of his own accord from evil, an affection for truth and goodness is instilled by the Lord; and this gives him freedom to receive insights belonging to faith and desires belonging to charity; for freedom exists as a result of affection. From this it is evident that it is impossible for a person to be saved under compulsion; were it possible all people in the world would be saved.

[4] It is in keeping with order in the next life for all to be formed into different communities according to the life they acquired in the world, the evil living in association with the evil, and the good with the good. It is not possible therefore for the evil and the good to be together, nor is it possible for the evil to be governed by good; for good and evil are opposites and one destroys the other. From this it is also evident that it is not possible for those in hell to be saved, so that salvation by mercy alone, regardless of the life a person has been leading, is an impossibility. Those who are in hell and suffer torment there attribute the torments there to the Divine. They say that since the Divine is all-powerful He is able, if He is willing, to take their torment away, but that He is not willing, and that for this reason He is responsible for it. For they say that he who is able yet unwilling to take it away is the one who is responsible for it. But it is impossible for such things to be taken away because that is contrary to order. If they were taken away the evil would rise up against the good; they would overpower the angels themselves and destroy heaven. But the Divine desires only what is good, that is to say, the happiness of those who are good, and those torments only because they restrain and at the same time correct the wicked. Since this is the end in view, being the end that Divine Love and Mercy itself has in view, it is not possible for the torments suffered by those in hell to be taken away. From these examples it becomes clear that everything is impossible which is contrary to order, however possible it may seem to be to those unacquainted with the arcana of heaven.

sRef Ex@18 @18 S0′ 8701. ‘You are not able to do it yourself alone’ means without any truth from good flowing in from another source. This is clear from the meaning of ‘doing it alone’ – when said of God’s truth, represented by ‘Moses’ – as the influx of truth from it alone, and not at the same time from any other source. The situation here may be recognized from what has been stated above in 8685 about the direct influx of God’s truth, and the direct and at the same time indirect influx of it. There it is shown that direct influx of God’s truth occurs in a person’s first state when he is being regenerated, but that influx direct and indirect occurs in the second state, that is to say, when he has been regenerated. When the influx is direct the Lord flows in indeed with good and truth, but the good is not perceived then, only the truth. During this time therefore he is led by truth, and not so much by good. But when the influx is at the same time indirect, the good is perceived; for indirect influx reaches down into a person’s outward, sensory level of awareness. So it is that then the Lord leads the person through good.

[2] In general it should be recognized that not until his actions spring from an affection for good has a person been regenerated, for then his will desires what is good, and he finds delight and bliss in doing it. When he attains this state his life is a life of good, and he is in heaven since good reigns throughout heaven. Truth however that composes faith leads a person towards good, and so towards heaven; but it does not place him in heaven. The reason for this is that in the next life all are formed into different communities according to the life of the will, not according to the life of the understanding; for where the will is, there the understanding is, but not vice versa. This is so in heaven, and it is so in hell. Those who are evil are not sent to hell until the evil of their life takes control of them; for when this takes control of them, so too does the falsity accompanying their evil, even as those who are governed by good are also governed there by the truth accompanying their good. All in the next life are brought at last into a state in which their mind is single, that is to say, the intentions of their will are in tune with their thoughts and not at variance with them. The situation is different in the world. There what a person thinks, indeed sees in his understanding, can be at variance with his intentions. But this enables him to be reformed; that is to say, he can understand what good is even though he intends evil, and so can be led by means of his understanding to intend what is good. But in the next life each person is led in accordance with the intentions he acquired when in the world.

sRef Ex@18 @19 S0′ 8702. ‘Now hear my voice’ means agreement as a result of union. This is clear from the meaning of ‘hearing a voice’ as obedience. But in this instance agreement is meant since the words are spoken by Jethro, who represents Divine Good united to Divine Truth, which is represented by Moses (regarding their being united, see above in 8666), and therefore ‘hear my voice’ means agreement as a result of union. It should be recognized that when good and truth have been joined together, there is agreement in every single respect, that is to say, agreement of good with truth and of truth with good. The reason for this is that good complements truth, and truth complements good, so that the two are one. What good desires, truth endorses, and what truth perceives as true, good desires; and both do these things simultaneously. The situation with them is similar to that with will and understanding, in that what the will desires and loves, the understanding thinks and endorses, and vice versa. The reason why the situation with them is similar is that good belongs to the will and truth to the understanding. This is the kind of state attained by those whom the Lord leads by means of good, dealt with immediately above in 8701.

sRef Ex@18 @19 S0′ 8703. ‘I will counsel you, and God will be with you’ means that it comes from the Divine. This is clear from the meaning of ‘counselling’ – when done by Divine Good, represented by ‘Jethro’ – as what is determined by the Divine, and so as what comes from the Divine; and from the meaning of ‘God will be with you’ also as what comes from the Divine. But from the Divine meant by ‘counselling’ has regard to Divine Good, which is represented by ‘Jethro’, whereas from the Divine meant by ‘God will be with you’ has regard to Divine Truth, which is represented by ‘Moses’.

sRef Ex@18 @19 S0′ 8704. ‘Be for the people with God’ means truth coming forth directly from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being for the people with God’ – when said in reference to Divine Truth, represented by ‘Moses’ – as that which exists nearest the Lord, because it comes forth directly from Him. What this implies will be evident from what follows immediately below.

sRef Ex@18 @19 S0′ 8705. ‘And you are to bring matters to God’ means mediation and intercession. This is clear from the meaning of ‘bringing matters to God’, when said in reference to Divine Truth, as mediating with the Divine Himself and interceding; for one who mediates and intercedes brings matters to Him who offers aid. Mediation and intercession are the work of Divine Truth because it exists nearest Divine Good, which is the Lord Himself. The reason why Divine Truth exists nearest Divine Good, which is the Lord, is that it goes forth directly from Him.

Since the opportunity is provided, the nature of the Lord’s mediating and interceding will be stated here. People who believe that three persons constitute the Godhead, yet taken together are called one God, derive from the literal sense of the Word no other idea of mediation and intercession than this: The Lord sits on His Father’s right hand and speaks to Him in the way that one human being does to another, bringing people’s supplications to Him, and asking the Father for His sake, because He endured the Cross for the human race, to pardon and have mercy. An idea of intercession and mediation such as this every simple person derives from the literal sense of the Word.

[2] But it should be recognized that the literal sense accords with simple people’s level of understanding, in order that they may be led into more internal truths which are actual truths. The simple cannot picture the heavenly kingdom except as an earthly kingdom, the Father except as a king on earth, and the Lord except as the king’s son who is heir to the throne. The fact that such ideas are what simple people possess is plainly evident from the ideas the Lord’s actual apostles had regarding His kingdom. Initially they believed, like all other Jews, that since He was the Messiah the Lord was going to be the greatest king on earth and was going to exalt them to a position of glory above all the nations and peoples throughout the entire world. But when they heard from the Lord Himself that His kingdom was not on earth but in heaven they could do no other than think that His kingdom in heaven was going to be exactly like a kingdom on earth. This also explains why James and John asked that they might sit one on His right and the other on His left in His kingdom, and why the rest of the apostles, who also wished to become great in that kingdom, were angry and argued with one another about which of them was to be the greatest there; and since such ideas were firmly fixed in them and could not be rooted out the Lord also told them that they would sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel, see Mark 10:37, 41; Luke 22:24, 30; Matt. 19:28. But they did not at that time know what the Lord really meant by ‘twelve thrones’, ‘the twelve tribes’, and ‘judging’.

[3] From all this one may now see what people’s ideas about the Lord’s mediating and interceding with the Father are like, and where they come from. But anyone who is acquainted with the more internal truths of the Word has an altogether different conception of the Lord’s mediation and of His intercession. They conceive of Him interceding not as a son does on earth with his king and father, but as the Lord of all things with Himself, and as God by Himself; for the Father and He are not two but one, as He Himself teaches, John 14:8-11. The reason why He is called Mediator and Intercessor is that ‘the Son’ is used to mean Divine Truth, and ‘the Father’ Divine Good, 2803, 2813, 3704, and mediation is done by Divine Truth, through which lies access to Divine Good Divine Good, being like the fire of the sun, is unapproachable; but Divine Truth, being like the light from the sun, is approachable. It provides a person’s inner eye – the eye of faith – with a means and access to [Divine Good], 8644. From this one may see what mediation and intercession are.

sRef John@1 @18 S4′ sRef John@5 @37 S4′ [4] Something must also be said now about how the Lord, who is Himself Divine Good and the Sun of heaven, comes to be called One who mediates and intercedes with the Father. While He was in the world, before He was fully glorified, the Lord was Divine Truth; during that time therefore mediation took place, and He interceded with the Father, that is, with Divine Good itself, John 14:16, 17; 17:9, 15, 17. But now, ever since His Human has been glorified, He is called the Mediator and Intercessor because no one can think of the Divine Himself unless he envisages Him as a Divine Man (Homo). Still less can anyone be joined in love to the Divine Himself unless He is envisaged as such. The ideas of anyone who thinks of the Divine Himself without envisaging Him as a Divine Man, lack definition, and an idea in which nothing definite is seen is not an idea. Alternatively, to conceive of the Divine he may think of the visible universe stretching out endlessly or ending in obscurity. Such an idea ties up with that which worshippers of nature have; it also reduces the idea of the Divine to nature, and so ceases to be an idea of Him. From this it is evident that nobody with such ideas could be joined to the Divine through faith, or through love. Any joining together requires an object, and such joining depends on the essential nature of the object. So it is that in respect of the Divine Human the Lord is called Mediator and Intercessor, though He mediates and intercedes with Himself. The truth that no ideas can be formed to picture the Divine Himself is clear from the Lord’s words in John,

Nobody has ever seen God; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known. John 1:18.

And in the same gospel

You have never heard the Father’s voice nor seen His shape. John 5:37.

[5] However, it is a remarkable fact that none of those whose thought about God springs from self or the flesh have any definite mental picture of Him when they think about Him, whereas those whose thought about God does not spring from self or the flesh but from the spirit do have a definite mental picture when they think about Him, that is, they envisage the Divine within a human shape. That is the way in which the angels in heaven think about the Divine, and it was the way in which the wise people of old thought about Him. Furthermore whenever the Divine Himself appeared to them He did so as Divine Man; for the Divine as He passes through heaven is Divine Man. The reason for this is that heaven is the Grand Man, as has been shown at the ends of quite a number of chapters. From all this one may see what the intelligent in the world are like and what the intelligent in heaven are like. That is to say, one may see that the intelligent in the world dismiss the idea of the human; as a result of this no mediation takes place between their mind and the Divine, and they are therefore in thick darkness. But the intelligent in heaven picture the Divine within the Human; thus for them mediation resides in the Lord, and their minds as a result have light.

sRef Ex@18 @20 S0′ 8706.. ‘And you are to teach them the statutes and the laws’ means that truth coming directly from the Lord is the source of external and internal aspects of goodness and truth in the Church. This is clear from the representation of Moses, who it is said was ‘to teach’, as truth coming forth directly from the Lord, dealt with in 7010, 7382; from the meaning of ‘the statutes’ as outward aspects of goodness and truth in the Church, dealt with in 3382, 8363; and from the meaning of ‘the laws’ as inward aspects of goodness and truth in the Church, dealt with in 8695.

sRef Ex@18 @20 S0′ 8707. ‘And make known to them the way in which they must go’ means the light of intelligence and the life led as a result of it. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the way’ as that which has reference to the understanding of truth, dealt with in 627, 2333, in this instance on a more internal level since it has reference to the understanding of truth which a member of the spiritual Church possesses as a result of the direct influx of truth from the Lord, an influx which does not bring a person any actual discernment of truth, only the light that enables him to use his understanding (the situation with this light is as it is with the light which the sight of the eye depends on. In order that the eye may see objects light is necessary, providing illumination all around; in this light the eye sees and discerns objects, and is struck by their beauty and delightfulness because of their accord with true order. The situation is similar with the sight of the inner eye which is the understanding, in order that this may see, light is again necessary, providing illumination all around, in which objects that are matters of intelligence and wisdom may manifest themselves. The source of this light is Divine Truth which goes forth directly from the Lord, see 8644 (end); and objects in that light appear beautiful and delightful to the extent that they accord with the good anyone possesses); and from the meaning of ‘in which (light) they must go’ as the life led as a result. For the meaning of ‘going’ in the internal sense as life, see 3335, 4882, 5493, 5605, 8417, 8420.

sRef Ex@18 @20 S0′ 8708. ‘And the work they must do’ means faith put into action. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the work they must do’ as action, at this point action inspired by the light of intelligence, that is, by faith since the light of intelligence holds faith from the Lord within it, dealt with above in 8707. In the measure that a person accepts the truths of faith he passes into that light and is raised to heaven. But acceptance of the truths of faith is arrived at not by simply acknowledging them but by acknowledgement linked to life, that is, by an acknowledgement of them expressed in action. This kind of acceptance is what ‘the work they must do’ is used to mean.

sRef Ex@18 @21 S0′ 8709. ‘And you are to see out of all the people’ means the choice of subservient truths. This is clear from the meaning of ‘seeing’ here as choosing; and from the meaning of ‘the people’ as that which has reference to truths, dealt with in 1259, 1260, 3581, 4619, at this point truths subservient to the truth going forth directly from God, represented by ‘Moses’, 7010, since the rulers he was to choose were to be subservient to him. For the meaning of ‘the rulers’ as subservient truths, see below.

sRef Ex@18 @21 S0′ 8710. ‘Men of vigour fearing God’ means to which the good from God could be joined. This is clear from the meaning of ‘men of vigour’ as those who are strong in truths which emanate from good; for ‘man’ means truth, 3134, 5502, and ‘vigour’ the strength it gives. In the original language also strength is meant by the same word as that used for ‘vigour’ here. The reason why those strong in truths which emanate from good are meant is that they are also called men ‘fearing God’, and by those ‘fearing God’ are meant people governed by good that comes from the Divine. For ‘the fear of God’ is worship springing from the good of faith and from the good of love, 2826, 5459.

sRef Ex@18 @21 S0′ 8711. ‘Men of truth hating gain’ means because the truths are pure, devoid of any worldly end in view. This is clear from the meaning of ‘men of truth’ as pure truths (the reason why ‘men of truth’ are pure truths is that ‘men’ means truths, 3134, 5502, and ‘truth’ means faith, 3121, so that ‘men of truth’ means the truths of faith, that is, pure truths); and from the meaning of ‘hating gain’ as detesting the convincing false impressions which falsity and evil create, since ‘hating’ means detesting and ‘gain’ falsity and evil that are able to convince people and draw them away from truth and goodness. In general ‘gain’ means all falsity arising from evil that perverts mental judgements; and since this happens to those with the world as their end in view, men ‘hating gain’ also means those devoid of any worldly end in view. The fact that ‘gain’ means all falsity arising from evil that perverts mental judgements and draws a person away from truth and goodness may become clear to anyone who stops to reflect. ‘Gain’ in this sense is mentioned quite a number of times in the Word, such as in Isaiah 33:15; 56:11; 57:17; Jeremiah 6:13; 8:10; 22:17; Ezekiel 22:27; 33:31; and David, Ps. 119:36.

sRef Ex@18 @21 S0′ 8712. ‘And you are to appoint them rulers of thousands’ means first and foremost truths in the first degree below truth coming directly from God. This is clear from the meaning of ‘rulers’ as first and foremost truths, dealt with in 1482, 2089, 5044,* at this point truths springing from good since those rulers were to serve under Moses, who represents God’s truth going forth from Divine Good, that is, from the Lord; and from the meaning of ‘thousands’ as those in the first degree. For ‘a thousand’ means many people or, in the abstract sense, many things; it also means where there are many things, or those who govern many and are consequently in a higher-ranking degree than those who govern few. Here therefore those in the first degree are meant, for those in a lower degree were rulers of hundreds, fifties, and tens. The fact that ‘a thousand’ in the internal sense is not a thousand but many things, see 2575.
* The Latin word rendered rulers in the present chapter is variously translated elsewhere, such as princes, chiefs, or governors.

sRef Ex@18 @21 S0′ 8713. ‘Rulers of hundreds’ means first and foremost truths in the second degree. This is clear from the meaning of ‘rulers’ as first and foremost truths, dealt with immediately above in 8712; and from the meaning of ‘hundreds’ as many people or many things, but in the second degree since ‘thousands’ exist in the first. For the meaning of ‘hundred’ as much or many, see 4400.

sRef Ex@18 @21 S0′ 8714. ‘Rulers of fifties’ means first and foremost truths that are intermediary. This is clear from the meaning of ‘rulers’ as first and foremost truths, as above in 8712, 8713; and from the meaning of ‘fifties’ as intermediary truths, that is to say, those which lie between truths springing from good that reside in the second degree and those that reside in the third, meant by ‘rulers of hundreds’ and ‘rulers of tens’. The reason why ‘fifties’ are intermediary truths is that ‘fifty’ means either much or something, just as ‘five’ does (for the meaning of ‘five’ as much, see 5708, 5956, and for its meaning something, 4638, 5291), and therefore when fifty is mentioned between a hundred and ten, intermediaries are meant. Intermediary truths are those which extend towards one part from another, that is, exist between those in a prior degree and those in a posterior degree, in order to link such degrees together.

sRef Rev@20 @2 S0′ sRef Ex@18 @21 S0′ sRef Ps@68 @17 S0′ sRef Ps@90 @4 S0′ sRef Ps@144 @13 S0′ sRef Ps@105 @8 S0′ sRef Rev@20 @5 S0′ sRef Luke@14 @31 S0′ sRef Rev@20 @3 S0′ sRef Rev@20 @7 S0′ sRef Matt@18 @28 S0′ sRef Ps@91 @7 S0′ sRef Matt@18 @24 S0′ 8715. ‘And rulers of tens’ means first and foremost truths in third place. This is clear from the meaning of ‘rulers’ as first and foremost truths, as above; and from the meaning of ‘tens’ also as much or many, but in a smaller degree since they come below hundreds. For the meaning of ‘tens’ or ‘ten’ also as many, see 3107, 4638.

The placement of the rulers over a thousand, over a hundred, or over ten, represented in the abstract sense, separately from any idea of numbers, many truths in first, second, and third degrees. This use of the numbers is like that found elsewhere in the Word, for example where the Lord said of the servant that he owed ten thousand talents and that the fellow-servant owed him a hundred denarii, Matt. 18:24, 28, and where He speaks of the king, about to make war against another king, considering whether He was able with ten thousand to meet the other who was coming with twenty thousand, Luke 14:31. Likewise in John,

An angel coming down from heaven laid hold of the dragon, and bound him for a thousand years, and cast him into the abyss, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years had come to an end. The rest of the dead did not live again before the thousand years came to an end. This is the first resurrection. Rev. 20:1-3, 5, 7.

Here ‘a thousand’ does not mean a thousand but much, without the idea of some number. Likewise in Moses,

Jehovah shows mercy to a thousand generations who love Him. Exod. 20:6; Deut. 5:9, 10; 7:9; Jer. 32:18.

In David,

The word He has commanded to a thousand generations. Ps. 105:8.

In the same author,

A thousand will fall at your side, and a myriad at your right hand; it will not come near you. Ps. 91:7.

In the same author,

The chariots of God are myriad on myriad!, thousands of peacemakers. Ps. 68:17.

In the same author,

Our flocks are thousands, and ten thousands in our streets. Ps. 144:13.

In the same author,

A thousand years in Your eyes are as a day. Ps. 90:4.

The situation is much the same with a hundred and with ten, for a smaller number or a factor is similar in meaning to the powers of that number, 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973. For the meaning of ‘a hundred’ and ‘ten’ also as much, see 3107, 4400, 4638.
* lit. two myriads

sRef Ex@18 @22 S0′ 8716. ‘And let them judge the people at all times’ means arrangement in this order perpetually. This is clear from the meaning of ‘judging’ as the arrangement of truths, dealt with above in 8685; and from the meaning of ‘at all times’ as perpetually.

sRef Ex@18 @22 S0′ 8717. ‘And it shall be, every great matter let them bring to you’ means that everything exists from the truth going forth directly from God. This is clear from the representation of Moses as the truth going forth directly from God, dealt with in 7010, 7382, the existence of everything from that truth being meant by ‘let them bring every great matter’ to him. From the sense of the letter it seems as though everything was to be brought to Divine Truth; but since everything comes from the Lord through the truth going forth from Him, for life derives wholly from Him, the meaning in the internal sense is not to that truth but from it. This is like what has been shown with regard to influx, in 3721, 5119, 5259, 5779, 6322. There it has been shown that the direction in which influx goes is not from outward things to inward ones, but from inward to outward. The reason for this is that outward things are all formed to serve inward ones, just as instrumental causes serve their principal causes, without which the instrumental are dead causes. It should be recognized that in the internal sense things are presented according to their true nature, not according to the nature of them as seen in the sense of the letter.

[2] The true nature of the matter here is that the Lord governs all things, even the most specific, through the truth that goes forth from Himself, not in the way a king governs in the world, but in the way God does so in heaven and over all creation. A king in the world takes only overall care of a country, while his chief ministers and officials take care of matters in particular. It is otherwise with God. God sees all things, knows all things from eternity, provides all things into eternity, and from Himself maintains all things in their order; from which it is clear that the Lord takes not only overall care but also particular and individual care of all things, unlike a king in the world. His regulation of things is achieved directly by means of God’s truth that is going forth from Himself and also indirectly by means of heaven. Yet the indirect regulation by means of heaven is also tantamount to direct regulation by Him; for what comes from heaven comes by way of heaven from Him. This the angels in heaven not merely know to be so; they also perceive it within themselves. Regarding the Lord’s Divine regulation of things or His providence, that it operates in all things generally and specifically, indeed in the most specific of all, however different from this it may seem to a person to be, see 4329, 5122 (end), 5904 (end), 6058, 6481-6487, 6490, 6491.

[3] But it is difficult for this subject to find a place in any person’s way of thinking, least of all in that of those who trust in their own prudence; for they attribute to themselves all things that turn out beneficially for themselves, and ascribe everything else to luck or chance. Few ascribe them to God’s providence. Accordingly they attribute things which happen to dead causes, not to a living cause. When things go well they do, it is true, say that this has been done by God, also that there is nothing which is not done by Him; but few, scarcely any, believe it in their hearts. Much the same is done by those who suppose that complete happiness lies in worldly and bodily acquisitions, that is to say, in important positions and wealth; they believe that these alone are Divine blessings. When therefore they see that very many of those who are bad possess these things in abundance, and not so the good, they cast away from their hearts and deny the existence of God’s providence in anything specific. They are not prepared to think that being blessed by God means being made happy into eternity, and that the Lord regards what is by nature transient – which worldly things are, relatively – only as a means to what is eternal. Therefore also the Lord provides the good, who accept His mercy during their time in the world, with such things as contribute to the happiness of their eternal life. He confers wealth and important positions on those to whom they can do no harm, and withholds wealth and important positions from those to whom they can do harm. To the latter nevertheless, during their time in the world, He imparts the ability to be glad with a few things instead of important positions and wealth, and to be more content than those who have wealth and important positions.

sRef Ex@18 @22 S0′ 8718. ‘And every small matter let them judge themselves’ means the appearance that some particular and specific things derive from another source. This is clear from the explanation immediately above in 8717, where it is shown that ‘every great thing let them bring to Moses’ means that all things generally and specifically, even the most specific, have their origin in the Lord, from which it follows that ‘small matter’, that is, particular and specific things, have their origin in Him. The fact that they appear to derive from another source will be seen below.

sRef Ex@18 @22 S0′ 8719. ‘And roll down [the burden] from upon yourself, and let them bear [it] with you’ means thus assigning them functions and duties. This is clear from the meaning of ‘rolling down from upon yourself’ as delegating also to others; and from the meaning of ‘bearing with him’ as being of assistance to. The reason why these words mean thus assigning them functions and duties is that in everything generally and specifically done by Him the Lord acts both directly from Himself and indirectly through heaven. He acts indirectly through heaven not because He needs their help but in order that the angels there may have functions and duties, and therefore life and happiness in keeping with the duties and services they perform. This accounts for the appearance to them that they act independently; yet they perceive that what they do comes from the Lord. These are the things which are meant by the advice that Moses should roll down [the burden] from upon himself, and that the rulers, who were to judge small matters, should bear [it] with him. Regarding the Lord’s inflowing not only directly but also indirectly, not merely into the first levels of order but also into the middle and lowest levels, see 6982, 6985, 6996, 7004, 7007.

sRef Ex@18 @23 S0′ 8720. ‘If you do this thing and God has commanded you’ means since it is so ordained by God … This is clear from the meaning of ‘if God has commanded you to do this thing’ as since it is so ordained by God.

sRef Ex@18 @23 S0′ 8721. ‘You will be able to stand fast’ means, it accordingly has a dwelling place with them. This is clear from the meaning of ‘you will be able to stand’ as having a dwelling place with those who belong to the spiritual Church. The reason why this is meant is that if the flow of truth came only directly from God, and not through heaven indirectly, a member of that Church could be led only by truth, and not by good, as may be seen from what has been shown above in 8685, 8701. Unless he were led by good he could not be in heaven, and so the Lord could not have a dwelling place with him; for the Lord’s dwelling place with a person is in the good with him, not in the truth except through the good.

sRef Ex@18 @23 S0′ 8722. ‘And also all this people will come upon their place in peace’ means that those belonging to the spiritual Church will be governed by good and thus led by good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘people’ as those belonging to the spiritual Church, for by ‘people’ one should understand the children of Israel, who represent the spiritual Church; from the meaning of ‘coming to their place’ as arriving at the state to which they are going to be led, which state is a state of good, since those who belong to the spiritual Church are led through truth to good, and when they arrive at good they come to their place, ‘place’ meaning state, see 2625, 2837, 3356, 3387, 4321, 4882, 5605, 7381; and from the meaning of ‘peace’ as the Divine within good, for ‘peace’ in the highest sense is the Lord, and is therefore the influence inmostly at work within good and is the very essence (esse) of the happiness of those governed by good. As long as a person is governed by truth and not as yet by good he has no serenity; but when he is governed by good he does have serenity and so is ‘in peace’. The reason for this is that evil spirits cannot attack good but flee from it the moment they are aware of it; but they can attack truth. So it is that when people are governed by good they are ‘in peace’. These are the things that are meant by ‘all the people will come upon their place in peace’. What it is to be led by the Lord through truth, and what it is to be led by Him through good, see 8516, 8539, 8643, 8648, 8658, 8685, 8690, 8701.

sRef Ex@18 @27 S0′ sRef Ex@18 @24 S0′ sRef Ex@18 @25 S0′ sRef Ex@18 @26 S0′ 8723. Verses 24-27 And Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did all that he said. And Moses chose men of vigour from all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And they will judge the people at all times; a difficult matter they will bring to Moses, and every small matter they will judge themselves. And Moses sent his father-in-law away; and he went his way to his own land.

‘And Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did all that he said’ means that the arrangement ordained by Divine Good was put into effect. ‘And Moses chose men of vigour from all Israel’ means the choice of truths to which good could be joined among those belonging to the spiritual Church. ‘And made them heads over the people’ means influx into those truths. ‘Rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens’ means successive levels of first and foremost truths below the truth coming forth directly from God. ‘And they will judge the people at all times’ means unceasing dependence on the level above. ‘A difficult matter they will bring to Moses’ means mediation and intercession. ‘And every small matter they will judge themselves’ means the appearance that some particular and specific things derive from another source. ‘And Moses sent his father-in-law away’ means the fully adjusted state of God’s truth. ‘And he went his way to his own land’ means to the Divine Himself.

sRef John@5 @26 S0′ sRef John@7 @39 S0′ sRef John@16 @7 S0′ sRef Ex@18 @24 S0′ sRef John@5 @19 S0′ sRef John@16 @14 S0′ sRef John@16 @13 S0′ 8724. ‘And Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did all that he said’ means that the arrangement by Divine Good was put into effect. This is clear without explanation, for Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, represents Divine Good, 8643, while Moses represents Divine Truth emanating from Divine Good, 8644. Divine Truth emanating from the Lord never acts independently; its actions spring always from Divine Good, which is the Divine Himself. Divine Good is Being, whereas Divine Truth is the Coming-into-Being that arises from that Being. Consequently the Being must be present within the Coming-into-Being, if this is to be anything and anything is to be effected as a result of their union. When the Lord was in the world He was Divine Truth. The Divine Good present in Him then was the Father; but now that He has been glorified His Human too has become Divine Good. And the Divine Truth that emanates from Him now is called the Paraclete or Spirit of Truth. If a person acquainted with these two arcana is enlightened by the Lord when he reads the Word, he can have some understanding of a great number of the things spoken by the Lord regarding the Father and Himself, and regarding the Paraclete, the Spirit of Truth – things which would otherwise be incomprehensible mysteries, such as the following statements in John,

Jesus said, The Son cannot do anything of Himself, unless He sees the Father doing it; for what He does, this also the Son in like manner does. As the Father has life in Himself, so He has also granted the Son to have life in Himself. John 5:19, 26.

Again in the same gospel,

The Holy Spirit was not yet because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:39.

And elsewhere,

If I do not go away the Paraclete will not come to you; but if I go away I will send Him to you. He the Spirit of Truth will not speak from Himself, but whatever He hears He will speak; He will glorify Me, because He will take of what is Mine. John 16:7, 13, 14.

And there are many other statements like these.

sRef Ex@18 @25 S0′ 8725. ‘And Moses chose men of vigour from all Israel’ means the choice of truths to which good could be joined among those belonging to the spiritual Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘men of vigour’ as truths to which good can be joined, dealt with above in 8710; and from the representation of ‘Israel’ as those who belong to the spiritual Church, dealt with above in 8645. The choice of truths to which good can be joined is spoken of because there are truths to which good cannot as yet be joined and there are truths to which it can be joined. The truths to which it can be joined are truths that have been corroborated and have in addition been linked to many others, also those that delight the eye of the mind. In this way those truths enter the affections, which cause a person to want to practice them. When this point is reached good joins itself to those truths, for wanting to practice truths and therefore actually doing so makes those truths into good. It should in addition be recognized that good is not joined to truths until those truths have been purified from falsities arising from evil, and until they have a connection with all the truths which must be incorporated into the faith of one who is to be regenerated. Angels have from the Lord perfectly clear vision and perception of the connection and purification of truths, however little a person may sense or discern that anything like this is happening inside him.

sRef Ex@18 @25 S0′ 8726. ‘And made them heads over the people’ means influx into those truths. This is clear from the meaning of the men of vigour, referred to here as those whom Moses made heads over the people, as truths to which good can be joined, dealt with immediately above in 8725; from the representation of Moses as the truth going forth directly from God, dealt with often; and from the meaning of ‘making them heads’ as inflowing, and so imparting qualities to those truths, in order that the truth directly from God can work through them to lead a member of the Church by means of good. The situation in all this may be recognized from the following explanations that have been given before,

A person who is being regenerated is led first by means of truth that is the truth of faith; but when he has been regenerated he is led by means of good that is the good of charity, 8643, 8648, 8658, 8685, 8690, 8701.

In the first state, when he is led by means of truth, the Lord flows in by means of God’s truth that is going forth directly from Himself; but in the second state, when he is led by means of good, the Lord flows in by means of truth that goes forth both directly and indirectly from Him, 8685, 8701. Indirect influx comes no less from the Lord than direct influx does, 8717.

These are the matters described by this verse in the internal sense. The actual influx of the truth coming indirectly from God is meant by the words ‘Moses made them heads over the people’.

sRef Ex@18 @25 S0′ 8727. ‘Rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens’ means successive levels of first and foremost truths below the truth coming forth directly from God. This is clear from what has been brought forward above in 8712-8715, 8717, 8718, 8722.

sRef Ex@18 @26 S0′ 8728. ‘And they will judge the people at all times’ means unceasing dependence on the level above. This is clear from the meaning of ‘judging’ as the arrangement of truths, dealt with above in 8685, at this point the arrangement of them into descending levels, each dependent on the level above; for the rulers who were to judge the people were to be the arbiters in place of Moses in small matters. The meaning in the internal sense is that truths following one another in order from more internal to more external levels are subordinated to the truth coming directly from God; and they are accordingly a channel through which the Lord acts indirectly. But in the sense focusing specifically on persons, the subordination of angels and angelic communities one below another is meant, and their dependence on those immediately above; for they are the channel through which the Lord acts indirectly and governs people on earth. It is not however the angels who govern but the Lord through them, see 8718, 8719. To take this matter further, it should be recognized that some things also come from the angels themselves who are present with a person. But all the goodness and the truth that become the components of the person’s faith and charity, that is, of his new life, come from the Lord alone, even that which comes from Him through the angels. Likewise from Him springs the whole order in which truths are arranged in constantly descending levels for that purpose. The things which come from the angels themselves are the kinds of things that accord with the person’s affection. They are not in themselves forms of good; nevertheless they serve to introduce the forms of good and the truths coming from the Lord. As regards the meaning of ‘at all times’ as unceasing, this is clear without explanation.

sRef Ex@18 @26 S0′ 8729. ‘A difficult matter they will bring to Moses’ means mediation and intercession. This is clear from the explanation above in 8705. Here it says that they will bring the matter to Moses, there however that Moses will bring matters to God; but both statements embody the same meaning.

sRef Ex@18 @26 S0′ 8730. ‘And every small matter they will judge themselves’ means the appearance that some particular and specific things derive from another source, as above in 8718, where the same words occur.

sRef Ex@18 @27 S0′ 8731. ‘And Moses sent his father-in-law away’ means the fully adjusted state of God’s truth. This is clear from the consideration that after all things have been set in order or adjusted to their correct positions, that is to say, when the truths through which the Lord acts indirectly have been subordinated to the truth coming directly from God, it is the end of that state. This is described by the words ‘Moses sent his father-in-law away’; for the beginning of the state is described by Jethro’s coming to Moses, and so by their coming together for that end. The reason why Jethro did not command earlier that rulers, who also were to judge the people, were to be appointed but that they were appointed as a result of Jethro’s having counselled and urged it was in order that the reality that is the subject in this chapter might be represented fully in its order. For previously the subject was the first state which those belonging to the spiritual Church pass through when they are being regenerated, that is to say, when the Lord leads them by means of truth. But this state gives way to another, in which the Lord leads them by means of good. This turning or change of one state into another is what is described in this chapter by ‘Jethro.’

sRef Ex@18 @27 S0′ 8732. ‘And he went his way to his own land’ means to the Divine Himself. This is clear from the meaning of ‘going to his own land’ as to the former state, that is, to the Divine. Furthermore ‘land’ in the internal sense means the Church and also heaven, so that in the highest sense it means the Divine. As regards the meaning of ‘land’ in the internal sense as the Church, and so also the Lord’s kingdom in heaven, see 566, 662, 1066, 1067, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 2928, 3355, 4447, 4535, 5577, 8011. But as regards the meaning of ‘land’ in the highest sense as the Divine, the explanation for this is that ‘Jethro’ represented Divine Good, thus the Divine Himself; and going back to the Divine cannot be expressed in the historical narrative of the literal sense in any other way than by the words, ‘going to his own land’. For spiritual meanings in the Word adapt themselves to whatever is being represented; yet the meaning which belongs properly to a word still remains. This is so with the meaning of ‘land’. Its proper meaning is the Church, the reason for this being that those in heaven do not think of a land when ‘land’ is referred to in the Word; rather they think of the spiritual state of the nation in that land and so of religion as it exists there. When therefore a land where the Church exists is referred to they think of the Church there; along with the Church they also think of the Lord’s kingdom, and consequently of heaven; and along with heaven they also think of the Divine there. But when the thing represented has all to do with some holy reality existing in the Church or in heaven, then that reality is to be understood by ‘land’ – such as love, charity, good, or faith. From this it is evident that the proper meaning of that word still remains. When for example good is meant, or love, or charity, its overall meaning as the Church still remains; for those virtues are the essential characteristics of the Church, and cause it to be the Church.

8733. SPIRITS AND INHABITANTS OF THE PLANET JUPITER – continued

Since they correlate in the Grand Man with the ability to form mental images spirits belonging to the planet Jupiter engage to only a small extent in speaking and to a large extent in thinking. When they do engage in speech it is non-verbal, differing from other spirits’ kinds of speech in that it is contained not so much in audible sound as in a kind of subdued murmur which is inwardly fluent. Thought itself is converted into speech in this kind of way. The reason why is that by disposition they come between those who are spiritual and those who are celestial. For the speech of those who are spiritual is contained in audible sound; and they translate the whole of their thought into such speech. To know their thought therefore one must gather it from spoken words. But this is not so with those who are celestial. Instead, what is in their will employs something of thought to roll itself into a kind of wave, which then makes an impact on and stirs another’s will according to the state of the subject.

8734. Spirits’ speech generally is composed of ideas constituting thought which pass into words according to their fullness and the affection for them. And since the entire idea of something is in that way presented and conveyed, spirits can express more within a minute than a person in the world can within an hour; and every idea of something, as it exists in their thought, is introduced fully into another’s thought. This has demonstrated to me what the unity of minds or spiritual togetherness is, known as charity or mutual love; that is to say, this unity exists when the mind of one person presents itself in the mind of another with all the good present in its thought and will towards that other, and thereby stirs his affection; and vice versa. And conversely it has demonstrated what spiritual division is, known as enmity and hatred, that it is the mind of one presenting itself in the mind of another with the thought and desire to destroy him, which leads to rejection.

8735. Another thing I was told about by the spirits belonging to the planet Jupiter who were present with me for a great length of time was that on that planet there are also those who call themselves saints and who under threat of punishment order their domestic servants, whom they increase in number, to call them lords. They also forbid those servants to worship the Lord of the universe, saying that they are the Lord’s mediators and that they will convey their supplications to the Lord of the universe. They do not call the Lord of the universe, who is our Lord, the one and only Lord, as all others do. Instead they call Him the highest Lord, for the reason that they also call themselves lords.

8736. These saints, whom their servants greet as lords, call the sun the face of the highest Lord, believing that He has His dwelling place there, which also explains why they are sun-worshippers. All other inhabitants detest them and refuse to mix with them, both because they are sun-worshippers and because they call themselves lords, being venerated by their servants as mediator-gods.

8737. The spirits who instruct and chastise, referred to above in 7802 7812, do not go to them as they do to others on that planet, because they do not allow themselves to receive instruction or to be disciplined and corrected. They are rigid, because self-love governs what they do. Spirits say that they know from the coldness that they are such, and that when they feel the coldness they depart from them.

8738. I was shown by the spirits what those calling themselves saints wore on their heads. It was a dull-coloured hat like a turret.

8739. In the next life such people appear to the rear on the right, in a somewhat elevated position. There they are seated like idols, and initially they are also venerated by their servants who had attended them [in the world] but are subsequently held to ridicule by them. And what has surprised me, their faces shine there as if from fire; this is due to their having believed that they were saints and also that they resembled the Lord who is in the sun. But although they appear to be fiery in their faces they are nevertheless cold and have an intense desire to warm up. From this it is evident that the fire from which they shine is a kind of will-o’-the-wisp.

8740. To become warm the same people seem to themselves to be cutting pieces of wood. While they are cutting there appears underneath the wood something that looks like a human being, whom they try to strike at the same time. This happens because they claim merit for themselves; and since they also impute righteousness to themselves they claim holiness. Those who do this in the world seem to themselves in the next life to be cutting pieces of wood, as also do some from our planet, whom I have spoken about from experience before. To shed light on the subject let that experience recorded in 4943 be repeated here:

On the lower earth beneath the soles of the feet there are also those who have regarded good deeds and works to be meritorious. Many of these appear to themselves to be cutting pieces of wood. The place where they are is quite a cold one, but they seem to themselves to find warmth in the work they do. I talked to these people too and was allowed to ask them whether they wished to leave that place. Their replies were that they had not done enough meritorious work. But once this stage is completed they are released from there. These people likewise are natural, for the desire to earn salvation through merit is not a spiritual desire, since it begins in self, not in the Lord. What is more, they regard themselves to be those who are superior to others, and some of them are also contemptuous of others. If in the next life they do not receive greater joy than all others, they are angry with the Lord, which explains why [sometimes] when they are cutting pieces of wood, it appears as though something of the Lord is underneath their pile of wood – their anger being that which produces this appearance. But because they have led a devout life and have acted in the ways they did out of ignorance that had some degree of innocence within it, angels are therefore sent to them periodically to console them. Sometimes, in addition, something that looks like a sheep appears from above on the left, and from this too they receive consolation when they see it.

See also 1110.

8741. ‘Spirits and inhabitants of the planet Jupiter’ is continued at the end of the next chapter.

8742. 19

TEACHINGS ABOUT CHARITY

Everyone has an internal man and an external man, the internal being called the spiritual man, and the external the natural man. Both must be regenerated, if a person is to become regenerate.

8743. In the case of the person who has not been regenerated the external or natural man is the master and the internal or spiritual is the servant. But in the case of the person who has been regenerated the internal or spiritual man is the master and the external or natural is the servant. This inversion of roles cannot come about at all except through regeneration by the Lord.

8744. When the external man has not been regenerated he considers that everything good consists in pleasure, gain, and eminence; and he flares up into hatred and vengeance against those who oppose him. At this time the internal man does not merely go along with all this; he also supplies reasons which support and further it. The internal man is accordingly the servant, and the external the master.

8745. But when the external man has been regenerated the internal considers all good to consist in thinking well of the neighbour and wishing him well, while the external considers it to consist in speaking well of him and behaving well towards him. Both at length have loving the neighbour and loving the Lord as their end in view, and not loving self and loving the world, as they did at first. Now the external or natural man is the servant, and the internal or spiritual is the master.

8746. The internal man is regenerated first by the Lord, and the external after that, the external being regenerated by means of the internal. The internal man is regenerated through thinking about matters of faith and intending them, but the external through a life in keeping with them. The life of faith is charity.

8747. A person who has been regenerated is in heaven, as to his internal man; and he is an angel there with angels, among whom he also comes after death. He is then able to lead the heavenly life, love the Lord, love his neighbour, understand truth, taste good, and feel blessed in doing so. These things compose the happiness of eternal life.

EXODUS 19

1 In the third month from the going of the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, on this day they came to the wilderness of Sinai.

2 And they travelled from Rephidim, and came to the wilderness of Sinai, and encamped in the wilderness; and there Israel encamped beside the mountain.

3 And Moses went up to God, and Jehovah called to him from the mountain, saying, Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel,

4 You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and [how] I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself.

5 And now, if you will indeed hear My voice and keep My covenant, you will be to Me a peculiar treasure* more than all peoples; for all the earth is Mine.

6 And you will be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.

7 And Moses came and called the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which Jehovah commanded him.

8 And all the people answered together and said, All that Jehovah has spoken we will do. And Moses brought back the people’s words to Jehovah.

9 And Jehovah said to Moses, Behold, I am coming to you in the thickness of a cloud, in order that the people may hear when I speak to you, and also will believe in you forever. And Moses told the people’s words to Jehovah.

10 And Jehovah said to Moses, Go to the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow; and let them wash their garments.

11 And they will be ready by the third day; for on the third day Jehovah will come down before the eyes of all the people onto Mount Sinai.

12 And you are to set bounds for the people round about, saying, Take care not to go up into the mountain or to touch the border of it; everyone touching the mountain will surely die.

13 Let no hand touch it, for he will surely be stoned or will be killed by being shot with arrows; whether it is a beast or a man, it shall not live. When there is a long sounding with the jobel** they shall go up into the mountain.

14 And Moses went down from the mountain to the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their garments.

15 And he said to the people, Be ready by the third day; do not go near a woman.

16 And so it was on the third day, when it came to be morning, that there were voices*** and lightnings, and a heavy cloud on the mountain, and the voice of a trumpet extremely loud; and all the people who were in the camp trembled.

17 And Moses caused the people to go out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the foot**** of the mountain.

18 And Mount Sinai was smoking, the whole of it, because Jehovah came down onto it in fire; and its smoke went up like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain began to tremble greatly.

19 And the voice of the trumpet grew louder and louder*****; Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice.

20 And Jehovah came down onto Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and Jehovah called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

21 And Jehovah said to Moses, Go down, warn the people so that they do not perhaps break through to Jehovah to see [Him], and many of them fall.

22 And also the priests coming near Jehovah must sanctify themselves, so that Jehovah does not perhaps make a breach in them.

23 And Moses said to Jehovah, The people cannot go up to Mount Sinai; for You have warned us, saying, Set bounds to the mountain and sanctify it.

24 And Jehovah said to him, Go! go down; and you are to come up, you and Aaron with you. And do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to Jehovah, so that He does not perhaps make a breach in them.

25 And Moses went down to the people and told them.
* peculiar treasure translates peculium, a word denoting a private or exclusive possession.
** i.e. the ram’s horn or the trumpet
*** i.e. claps of thunder
**** i.e. in the lower parts
***** lit. was going forth and making itself exceedingly strong

sRef Ex@19 @0 S0′ 8748. CONTENTS

The subject in what follows now is in the internal sense the revelation of God’s truth that is going forth from the Lord out of heaven. The present chapter deals with the preparation to receive that truth.

sRef Ex@19 @2 S0′ sRef Ex@19 @1 S0′ 8749. THE INTERNAL SENSE

Verses 1, 2 In the third month from the going of the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, on this day they came to the wilderness of Sinai. And they travelled from Rephidim, and came to the wilderness of Sinai, and encamped in the wilderness; and [there] Israel encamped beside the mountain.

‘In the third month’ means fullness of state. ‘From the going of the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt’ means after those belonging to the spiritual Church were delivered from molestations. ‘On this day’ means that at this point … ‘They came to the wilderness of Sinai’ means, they entered a state of good in which the truths of faith were to be implanted. ‘And they travelled from Rephidim’ means a continuation of life from the first state. ‘And came to the wilderness of Sinai’ means to a state of good in which truths were to be implanted. ‘And encamped in the wilderness’ means the arrangement within that state of good. ‘And Israel encamped beside the mountain’ means an arrangement effected by Divine heavenly good among those belonging to the spiritual Church.

sRef Ex@19 @1 S0′ 8750. ‘In the third month’ means fullness of state. This is clear from the meaning of ‘month’ as state, for all periods of time, such as days weeks, months, or years, mean states, 2788; and from the meaning of ‘three’ or ‘third’ as that which is complete, dealt with in 1825, 2788, 4495, 5159, 7715, so that ‘in the third month’ means in fullness of state.

[2] What fullness of state is must be mentioned briefly. Every state has its beginning, period of development, and end. When a state reaches its end it is full or complete, and it is called fullness. In the next life all things are measured by the stages of development that their states undergo, and by the consecutive changes of those things from beginning to end, just as in the world they are measured by periods of time. This is so because in heaven there are no periods of time; instead there are states. The reason for this is that in the next life the Sun, which is the Lord, remains constantly in its place. It does not make apparent daily advances like the sun in the world, dividing the day into morning, midday, evening, and night, nor apparent yearly advances, dividing the year into spring, summer, autumn, and winter. So it is that in heaven there are no periods of time, but states instead. However, since within the inmost sphere of heaven a kind of advance or development takes place in accordance with the Divine heavenly form, which no one is capable of perceiving, and since the states of all in heaven change in accordance with that process of development, angels there pass through a cycle of states in which the good of love, the truth of faith, or obscurity in respect of both predominates. From this there arises the correspondence of states in heaven with periods of time in the world, that is to say, the state of the good of love with morning, the state of the truth of faith with midday, and the state of obscurity with evening and night. Furthermore the heat too that is radiated by the sun there is the good of love, while the light radiated by the sun there is the truth of faith. From this also there arises the correspondence of heat in the world with love, which is for that reason called spiritual heat, and of light in the world with faith, which is for this reason called spiritual light.

[3] In general there are two states of life – the state of thought, a state which belongs to the understanding; and the state of affection, a state which belongs to the will. The state of thought belonging to the understanding is connected with the truth of faith. This state is one that is enlightened by light from the Sun of heaven, which is the Lord, even as this light is the source of light in the human understanding. But the state of affection belonging to the will is connected with the good of charity, even as the heat radiating from the Sun in heaven, which is the Lord, is the source of heat in the will, which is love. From all this one may now see the nature of the states and their changes in the next life, and what is implied by fullness of state, meant by ‘the third month’. The state to which fullness is ascribed here is the first state which those belonging to the spiritual Church underwent; for these people undergo two states, the first being when the Lord leads them by means of truth, the second when He does so by means of good, see 8643, 8648, 8658, 8685, 8690, 8701. Here the fullness of the first state is meant, the state which has been described in what has gone before; now the second state is described.

sRef Ex@19 @1 S0′ 8751. ‘From the going of the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt’ means after those belonging to the spiritual Church were delivered from molestations. This is clear from the meaning of ‘going out’ as being delivered; from the representation of ‘the children of Israel’ as those who belong to the spiritual Church, dealt with in 6426, 6637, 6868, 7035, 7062, 7198, 7201, 7215, 7223; and from the meaning of ‘the land of Egypt’ as molestations, dealt with in 7278. What molestations are, see 7474; and the fact that those belonging to the spiritual Church were held back on the lower earth until the Lord’s Coming into the world, and were delivered by the Lord, 6854, 6914, 7035, 7091, 7474, 7878, 7932, 8018, 8054, 8099

sRef Ex@19 @1 S0′ 8752. ‘On this day means that at this point … This is clear from the meaning of ‘on this day’ as at this point; for ‘day’ means state, 23, 487, 488, 493, 2788, 7680, and therefore ‘on this day’ means at this point when fullness of state had been reached.

sRef Ex@19 @1 S0′ 8753. ‘They came to the wilderness of Sinai’ means, they entered a state of good in which the truths of faith were to be implanted. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the wilderness of Sinai’ as a state of good in which the truths of faith are to be implanted. Here ‘wilderness’ is good in which truths have not as yet been implanted, and ‘Sinai’ is actual truths. For ‘wilderness’ has a number of meanings, 3900, in general what is uninhabited and uncultivated, 2708, so that in the spiritual sense it means good which as yet has no truths in it; for good without truths is spiritually uncultivated. Consequently ‘wilderness’ means a new will which has not as yet been formed by means of the truths of faith, 8457.

sRef Ps@68 @9 S2′ sRef Ps@68 @7 S2′ sRef Ps@68 @8 S2′ [2] As regards ‘Mount Sinai’, in the highest sense it means Divine Truth emanating from Divine Good, Divine Good being meant by ‘mountain’ and Divine Truth by ‘Sinai’. In the internal sense it means the truth of faith springing from good, in this instance the truth of faith that is to be implanted in good since the Law had not as yet been declared from there. The reason why ‘Mount Sinai’ has these meanings is that the Law was declared from there by the Lord, and the Law is Divine Truth emanating from Divine Good, and also is the truth of faith springing from good, 6752, 7463, 8695. This explains why the children of Israel encamped in the wilderness beside this mountain; for not only the Ten Commandments, which are the Law in a restricted sense, were declared from there, but also all the statutes of the Church, which, being representative, held within themselves the spiritual and celestial truths and forms of good of the Lord’s kingdom. The fact that the Law was declared from that mountain is clear from Chapter 20 below; and the fact that the statutes of the Church were as well is clear from Exodus 21 and following chapters; and Lev. 7:37, 38; 27:34. ‘Sinai’ has the same meaning in David,

O God, when You went out before Your people, when You marched in the wilderness, the earth trembled; the heavens also dropped [rain] before God. This Sinai [trembled] before God. the God of Israel. You cause a rain of blessings to drop down, O God. Ps. 68:79.

Here ‘Sinai’ stands for truth which springs from good, for these are meant by ‘the heavens dropped [rain] before God’ and by ‘God dropped a rain of blessings’.

sRef Judg@5 @7 S3′ sRef Judg@5 @4 S3′ sRef Judg@5 @6 S3′ sRef Judg@5 @5 S3′ [3] In the Book of Judges,

O Jehovah, when You went forth from Seir, when You set out from the field of the earth trembled, the heavens also dropped, the clouds indeed dropped water, the mountains flowed down before Jehovah, Sinai itself before Jehovah God of Israel. In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the roads ceased to be, and those who went along by pathways kept to twisting roads; the streets in Israel ceased to be. They ceased until I, Deborah, arose, until I arose a mother in Israel. Judg. 5:4-7.

Here also ‘Sinai’ stands for the Law or Divine Truth emanating from Divine Good, from which the truths of faith were implanted in the good of faith, those truths also being meant by ‘the heavens dropped, and the clouds dropped water’. A lack of the truths of faith and the perversion of them is meant by ‘the roads ceased to be, and those who went along by pathways kept to twisting roads’, truths being meant by ‘roads’ or ‘ways’, ‘pathways’, and ‘streets’, see 627, 2333, 3123, 3477. For the theme of this prophetic song, which is the Song of Deborah and Barak, is the perversion of the Church’s truth and the renewal of it.

sRef Deut@33 @2 S4′ [4] In Moses,

Jehovah came from Sinai, He dawned from Seir upon them; He shone from Mount Paran, and came out of myriads of holiness. From His right hand came a fiery law for them. Deut. 33:2.

Here the children of Jacob are blessed by Moses before his death. He begins the prophetic utterance in his blessing with Jehovah came from Sinai, and in this instance ‘Sinai’ means the truths of faith in their entirety. The reason why he begins with these words is that all the truths and forms of the good of faith are meant by ‘the children of Jacob’, 3858, 3862, 3926, 3939, 6335, and in a similar way by ‘the children of Israel’, 5414, 5951, 5879.

sRef Ex@19 @1 S0′ 8754. A brief statement will be made here about good in which truths are to be implanted, meant here by ‘the wilderness of Sinai’. A person who is being regenerated is led by the Lord at first by means of truth, and later on by means of good, see 7923, 8643, 8648, 8658, 8685, 8690, 8701. The person who is being regenerated is led by means of truth to the end that he may come to good, that is, come to know it, then intend it, and finally do it. But when he is being led to good by means of truth he comes first to good which has not as yet had the truths of faith implanted within it; for truths cannot be implanted until he is governed by good. He already knows them, it is true, because they are present in his memory; yet they do not at this time reside within good but lie outside good. Later on when the person receives a new life, which he first receives when he is governed by good, the truths of faith are implanted, and within the internal man they enter into a marriage so to speak with good. This good in which the truths of faith have not as yet been implanted but which is nevertheless so arranged that it can receive them is meant here by ‘the wilderness of Sinai’. No other kind of good than Christian good is meant, regarding which see 8635-8638.

sRef Ex@19 @2 S0′ 8755. ‘And they travelled from Rephidim’ means a continuation of life from the first state. This is clear from the meaning of ‘travelling’ as a Edom, continuation of life, dealt with in 4375, 4554, 4585, 5996, 8181, 8345, 8397, 8557; and from the meaning of ‘Rephidim’ as the essential nature of the state of a temptation that has to do with truth dealt with in 8561, thus the essential nature of the first state referred to immediately above in 8754. For in that first state a member of the spiritual Church undergoes temptations. Therefore from that first state there is a continuation of life, and this is meant by ‘travelling from Rephidim’.

sRef Ex@19 @2 S0′ 8756. ‘And came to the wilderness of Sinai’ means to a state of good in which truths were to be implanted. This is clear from what has been stated above in 8753, where similar words occur, and in 8754 regarding the essential nature of that good.

sRef Ex@19 @2 S0′ 8757. ‘And encamped in the wilderness’ means the arrangement within that state of good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘encamping’ as setting out in order the truth and good which have to do with life, dealt with in 8103 (end), thus also an arrangement; and from the meaning of ‘the wilderness’ as a state of good in which the truths of faith have not as yet been implanted, dealt with above in 8753.

sRef Ex@19 @2 S0′ 8758. ‘And Israel encamped beside the mountain’ means an arrangement effected by Divine heavenly good among those belonging to the spiritual Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘encamping’ as an arrangement, as above in 8757; from the representation of ‘Israel’ as those who belong to the spiritual Church, also dealt with above, in 8751; and from the meaning of ‘the mountain’ as the good of heavenly love, dealt with in 4210, 6435, 8327. The words ‘Divine heavenly good’ are used to mean good from God as it exists in heaven; for that good as it exists in itself is far above heaven.

sRef Ex@19 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@19 @3 S0′ sRef Ex@19 @4 S0′ sRef Ex@19 @8 S0′ sRef Ex@19 @7 S0′ sRef Ex@19 @6 S0′ 8759. Verses 3 8 And Moses went up to God, and Jehovah called to him from the mountain, saying, Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel, You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and [how] I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself. And now, if you will indeed hear My voice and keep My covenant, you will be to Me a peculiar treasure* more than all peoples; for all the earth is Mine. And you will be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel. And Moses came and called the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which Jehovah commanded him. And all the people answered together and said, All that Jehovah has spoken we will do. And Moses brought back the people’s words to Jehovah.

‘And Moses went up to God’ means the truth from God which was below heaven joining itself to Divine Truth in heaven. ‘And Jehovah called to him from the mountain’ means the union of Divine Good in heaven with Divine Truth there. ‘Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel’ means the salvation of those belonging to the spiritual Church, external and internal. ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians’ means remembrance of all that happened to the evil who engaged in molestation. ‘And [how] I bore you on eagles’ wings’ means and that as a result they were raised by means of truths to heavenly light. ‘And brought you to Myself’ means thus to the good of love existing in heaven. ‘And now, if you will indeed hear My voice’ means the acceptance of truth. ‘And keep My covenant’ means thus leading a good life, and as a consequence being joined [to the Lord]. ‘You will be to Me a peculiar treasure from among all peoples’ means that at that time Divine Truth will exist with them more than with others. ‘For all the earth is Mine’ means that all power is the Lord’s in heaven and on earth. ‘And you will be for Me a kingdom of priests’ means that at that time the good of truth will be with them. ‘And a holy nation’ means thus the spiritual kingdom. ‘These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel’ means influx in order that truths may be received within good. ‘And Moses came and called the elders of the people’ means the choice of those who ranked first in the understanding of truth. ‘And set before them all these words’ means a proposition, together with influx. ‘Which Jehovah commanded him’ means from the Divine. ‘And all the people answered’ means receptivity. ‘And said, All that Jehovah has spoken we will do’ means in accord with the influx from the Divine. ‘And Moses brought back the people’s words to Jehovah’ means correspondence and being joined together.
* peculiar treasure translates peculium, a word denoting a private or exclusive possession.

sRef Ex@19 @3 S0′ 8760. ‘And Moses went up to God’ means the truth from God which was below heaven joining itself to Divine Truth in heaven. This is clear from the representation of ‘Moses’ as the truth from God, dealt with in 6771, 6827, 7014, at this point the truth from God which was below heaven, since he now represents the children of Israel as their head, and so represents those belonging to the spiritual Church not yet in heaven because they are not as yet governed by good formed from truths, 8753, 8754; and from the meaning of ‘going up’ as joining oneself to, for someone who goes up to the Divine joins himself to Him, even as the words ‘going up into heaven’ mean man’s being joined to the Lord, and the words ‘coming down from heaven’ mean His being joined to man. Divine Truth in heaven, to which the other was joined, is what ‘God’ is used to mean; for in the Word the Lord is called ‘God’ by virtue of Divine Truth, and Jehovah’ by virtue of Divine Good, 2586, 2769, 2807, 2822, 3921 (end), 4402, 7010, 7268, 7873, 8301. And since the joining of Divine Truth to Divine Good is the subject here, this verse first says ‘God’, then ‘Jehovah’ just after, in these words, And Moses went up to God, and Jehovah called to him from the mountain.

[2] The expression Divine Truth in heaven is used, and then Divine Good in heaven, because the Divine Himself is far above the heavens; not only Divine Goodness itself is far above them but also Divine Truth itself which goes forth directly from Divine Good. The reason why they are far above heaven is that in Himself the Divine is the Infinite, and the Infinite cannot be joined to finite beings, thus not even to angels in heaven, unless He puts on some finite clothing and in that way adapts Himself for reception. Also Divine Good as it exists in itself is a flame of infinite intensity or love, a flame which no angel in heaven can bear; for he would be devoured by it, as a person in the world would be if the flame of the sun were to reach him without anything between them to moderate it. The light also from the flame of God’s love, which is Divine Truth, would blind all who are in heaven if it were to flow in without abatement of its fiery brightness. All this goes to show what the difference is between Divine Good and Divine Truth that are above the heavens and Divine Good and Divine Truth in the heavens, which are the subject here.

sRef Ex@19 @3 S0′ 8761. ‘And Jehovah called to him from the mountain’ means the union of Divine Good in heaven with Divine Truth there. This is clear from the meaning of ‘calling to him’, or calling someone to oneself, when said of the Divine, as a joining together, at this point a union, since it is said in reference to Divine Good and Divine Truth, which by being joined together are made one (for the meaning of ‘calling someone to oneself’ as a joining together, and also presence, see 6047, 6177, 7390, 7451, 7721; and the reason why it is a joining to Divine Good is that the name ‘Jehovah’ is used, regarding which see immediately above in 8760); and from the meaning of ‘the mountain’ as Divine good in heaven, dealt with just above in 8758. At this point heaven itself is meant, for whether you say Divine Good in heaven or simply say heaven it amounts to the same thing since heaven springs into being from that Good. The situation here is the same as with all spiritual qualities considered in isolation from persons in whom they reside. When those qualities are spoken of, persons in whom they reside nevertheless spring to mind, as when the truth of faith or the good of charity is spoken of, the member of the Church in whom it resides springs to mind. This is especially so in regard to heaven, for there Divine Good united to Divine Truth is the All in all, that is, the life or soul of heaven.

sRef Ex@19 @3 S0′ 8762. ‘Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel’ means the salvation of those belonging to the spiritual Church, external and internal. This is clear from the meaning of ‘saying’ and ‘telling’ here as salvation, for what Jehovah now says and tells them through Moses is all about salvation; and from the meaning of ‘the house of Jacob’ and ‘the children of Israel’ as the external Church and the internal Church, dealt with in 3305, 4286. What the external Church and the internal Church are has been stated before in several places, where it was shown that the external aspect of the Ancient Church involved everything representing the internal, while the internal aspect of the Church was that which external things represented. People for example who considered Divine worship to consist in sacrifices, and in religious ceremonies and rules, which represented the spiritual and celestial realities of the Lord’s kingdom, were concerned with external things, whereas those who considered Divine worship to consist at the same time in the celestial and spiritual realities that were represented were concerned with internal things. It is similar at the present day. Some people consider Divine worship to consist in going to church, listening to sermons, attending the Holy Supper, and doing these things in a devout manner, yet do not think of them except as duties to be done regularly because they have been instituted and commanded. Those people belong to the external Church. Others however likewise believe that such duties should be attended to, but that nevertheless the essential element of worship is the life of faith, which is charity towards the neighbour and love to the Lord. These people belong to the internal Church. Consequently those also belong to the external Church who do good to the neighbour and worship the Lord, but solely in a spirit of obedience born of faith, whereas those belong to the internal Church who do good to the neighbour and worship the Lord out of love. And so on with all else exemplifying those two aspects of the Church.

[2] But with every member of the Church both aspects must be present, the external and the internal. Unless both are present spiritual life does not exist with him; for the internal is so to speak the soul, and the external so to speak the body housing the soul. Those however who belong to the external Church are plainly concerned with external things of the Church and only vaguely with internal ones, whereas those belonging to the internal Church are plainly concerned with internal things and vaguely with external ones. But those concerned only with external things and not at the same time with internal do not belong to the Church. A concern for both exists with all who lead a good life in accordance with the teachings of their Church. But a concern for external things alone without internal exists with those who engage in acts of worship yet do not at the same time lead a good life in accordance with the teachings of their Church. There are few who know this; and the reason why few know it is that people consider worship and therefore salvation to consist wholly in faith, and not at all in charity. So it is also that those who think about eternal salvation consider it to consist in the religious life and not at all in the life of charity, regarding which kinds of life see 8252-8257.

sRef Ex@19 @4 S0′ 8763. ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians’ means remembrance of all that happened to the evil who engaged in molestation. This is clear from the meaning of ‘you have seen’ as remembrance; and from the representation of ‘the Egyptians’ as the evil who engaged in molestation, dealt with in 7097, 7107, 7110, 7126, 7142, 7317. From all this it is evident that ‘you have seen what I did to the Egyptians’ means remembrance of all that happened to those who engaged in molestation.

sRef Ex@19 @4 S0′ 8764. ‘And [how] I bore you on eagles’ wings’ means and that as a result they were raised by means of truths to heavenly light. This is clear from the meaning of ‘bearing someone on eagles’ wings’ as being raised on high, even to heavenly light; for ‘bearing’ means being raised, ‘wings’ spiritual truths, and ‘an eagle’ the rational in respect of truth (regarding this meaning of ‘eagle’, see 3901); for eagles fly on high. By the visible heaven or sky the ancients understood the angelic heaven. The simple also believed that angels had their home up there, and in addition that since places on high were nearer the sun and stars, heavenly light itself shone there. So it is that ‘being borne on eagles’ wings’ means being taken on high into that light. The reason why one is raised into it by means of the truths of faith is that the truth of faith is what raises a person right up to heaven, where the good of faith is. The rational in respect of truth is meant by ‘an eagle’ because the rational level of a person is his heaven or sky, and in relation to it the natural level is so to speak the earth. For the rational constitutes the internal man and the natural the external.

[2] The reason why ‘wings’ are spiritual truths is that birds in general mean intellectual concepts and thoughts, 40, 745, 776, 3219, 5149, 7441, and therefore ‘wings’ are spiritual truths since all real understanding is formed from them. An understanding formed from falsities, no matter how clear and sharp-sighted it may seem to be, is no real understanding. Real understanding sees in the light of heaven, and the light of heaven is spiritual truth, that is, the truth of faith. Consequently where the truth of faith does not exist there is no light, only thick darkness; and an understanding set in thick darkness is no understanding at all. ‘Wings’ are also power, which spiritual truth possesses, derived from its good; for the wings on birds are like the hands and arms on a human being, and ‘arms’ and ‘hands’ mean power, 878, 3387, 4931-4937, 5327, 5328, 5544, 6292, 6947, 7538, 7673, 8050, 8153, 8281, 8305. Regarding the power which spiritual truth possesses, derived from good, see 3563, 4931, 5623, 6344, 6423.

sRef Ezek@1 @23 S3′ sRef Ezek@1 @6 S3′ sRef Ezek@1 @24 S3′ [3] The fact that ‘wings’ are spiritual truths or the truths of faith, possessing power derived from good, is evident from places elsewhere in the Word. Consequently when wings are attributed to the Divine, Divine Truth possessing almighty power is meant by them, for example where they are attributed to cherubs, by whom the Lord’s providence is meant, as in Ezekiel,

Each cherub had four faces, and each one had four wings. Their wings were straight up, [the wing] of one towards [that of I the other; each had wings covering their bodies. I heard the sound of [their] wings, like the sound of great waters, like the voice of Shaddai, when they were coming, the sound* of tumult, like the sound* of a camp. When they stood they let down their wings. I heard the sound* of their wings, brushing together**, [the wing] of one towards [that of] the other, and the noise* of the wheels beside them. The sound* of the wings of the cherubs was heard even in the outer court, like the voice of God Shaddai. The likeness of the hands of a human being was under their wings. Ezek. 1:4, 6, 23, 24; 3:13; 10:5, 21.

[4] ‘Wings’ here are God’s truth. This is clear from the details contained in the description, both from the detail that the wings were straight up, one towards the other, and that they covered their bodies, as well as the details that the sound of them when it was heard was like the sound of great waters, like the noise of the wheels, and like the voice of Shaddai, and also the detail that the likeness of the hands of a human being was under their wings. The wings going straight up, one towards the other, represented the fellowship of all in the Divine. Their covering the cherubs’ bodies was a sign that Divine Truth clothed Divine Good from which it comes forth; for Divine Good is the flame, and Divine Truth is the light emanating from it. This light encircles and so clothes that flame all round. The actual flame is not visible in heaven, only the light containing the flame, which is thereby felt as heat, which is rave. The sound heard ‘like the sound of many waters’ means the nature of Divine Truth as it exists in heaven; and the like is meant by the sound of it being like the noise of the wheels and like the voice of Shaddai. For ‘sound’ and ‘voice’ are attributed to Divine Truth. This explains why the words ‘the sound of great waters’ are used, for ‘waters’ are truths, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 8137, 8138, 8568; also the words ‘the noise of the wheels’, for ‘wheels’ are truths belonging to religious teachings, since ‘chariots’ are teachings that uphold truth, 5321, 5945, 8146, 8148, 8215; as well as ‘the voice of God Shaddai’, for ‘God Shaddai’ is truth rebuking in temptations and subsequently bringing comfort, 1992, 4572, 5628. ‘The likeness of the hands of a human being under their wings’ was a sign of the almighty power that Divine Truth possesses, for ‘hands’ are power, and in the highest sense almighty power when they are attributed to the Lord.

sRef Isa@6 @1 S5′ sRef Isa@6 @2 S5′ [5] From all this one may see what was represented by the wings of the cherubs who were over the mercy seat which was over the ark of the covenant, and by their being spread out upwards and covering the mercy seat, Exod. 25:20; also what the cherubs on the curtains of the tabernacle and on the veil represented, and in Solomon’s temple too. In a similar way one may see what those all around within the new house represented, as described in Ezekiel 41:18-20; likewise what is meant by the four living creatures around the throne, each one of which had for itself six wings round about, Rev. 4:8, and what by the seraphim standing above the throne, each of which had six wings, Isa. 6:1, 2.

sRef Ezek@17 @3 S6′ sRef Ezek@17 @1 S6′ sRef Ezek@17 @2 S6′ sRef Ezek@17 @8 S6′ sRef Ezek@17 @4 S6′ sRef Ezek@17 @5 S6′ sRef Ezek@17 @6 S6′ sRef Ezek@17 @7 S6′ [6] The fact that ‘wings’ in the internal sense are spiritual truths or the truths of faith is clear in Ezekiel,

Thus said the Lord Jehovih, A great eagle with great wings with long pinions full of feathers,*** in its embroidery, came on Lebanon and took a twig of the cedar. He carried it into a land of commerce. After that he took some of the seed of the land and planted it in a seed field; he took it to great waters. It sprouted and became a spreading vine. And there was another eagle with great wings and full of feathers,**** and behold, the vine directed its roots towards it, and sent out its branches to it, in a good field, by many waters. It was planted to produce branches, and to bear fruit, in order that it might become a magnificent vine. Ezek. 17:1-8.

This prophecy describes the establishment of the spiritual Church by the Lord. ‘The eagle’ referred to here is faith, ‘its great wings and long pinions’ are the truths of faith, and ‘its embroidery’ is factual knowledge. Growth out of all this is described by ‘a twig of the cedar from Lebanon, by ‘a land of commerce’, and ‘the seed of the land in a seed field, [taken] to great waters’, the actual Church arising from this being ‘a vine’. For the meaning of ‘a vine’ as the spiritual Church, see 1069, 5113, and as the external Church, 6375. But ‘a magnificent vine’ planted by another eagle is the internal Church, 6376; for the external aspect of the Church is described by the one eagle, and the internal aspect of it by the other. The prophet describes later on in the same chapter how this Church established among the Ancients was perverted among the Jews.

sRef Ps@68 @13 S7′ [7] The truth of faith is in like manner meant by ‘wings’ in David,

If you lie between the rows,***** [you will be like] the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her pinions with the yellow of gold. Ps 68:13.

‘The wings of a dove’ are the truths of faith, ‘dove’ meaning faith, see 870. They are said to be ‘covered with silver’ because ‘silver’ is truth derived from good, 1551, 2954, 5658, 6914, 6917, 7999.

sRef Ps@63 @7 S8′ sRef Ps@17 @8 S8′ sRef Ps@36 @7 S8′ sRef Ps@18 @10 S8′ sRef Ps@91 @4 S8′ sRef Isa@40 @31 S8′ [8] The meaning of ‘wings’ as God’s truth is in addition clear from the following places: In Isaiah,

Those who await Jehovah are renewed with strength; they mount up with wings like eagles. Isa. 40:31.

In David,

God rode on a cherub, and flew; He was borne on the wings of the wind. Ps. 18:10; 104:3.

This refers to Divine Truth and its power. In the same author,

Jehovah will cover you under His wing, and under His wings will you put your trust. Truth is a shield and buckler. Ps. 91:4.

‘Being covered by Jehovah’s wing, and putting one’s trust under His wings’ stands for protection and trust that belong to faith. The like is meant by being hidden under the shadow of God’s wings, Ps. 17:8; trusting in the shadow of His wings, Ps. 36:7; 57:1; 61:4; singing in the shadow of His wings, Ps. 63:7.

sRef Rev@9 @2 S9′ sRef Rev@9 @9 S9′ [9] Most things also have a contrary meaning, and this is no less so with ‘wings’. In that contrary sense ‘wings’ means falsities, as in John,

From the smoke of the pit of the abyss there went out locusts, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of many chariot horses running to war. Rev. 9:3, 9..

Here ‘wings’ are falsities fighting against truth, for ‘locusts’ are falsities in the things that are outermost, 7643.
* lit. voice
** lit. kissing
*** lit. A great eagle, great with wings, long with pinions, and full with
feathers
**** lit. another eagle, great with wings, and full with feathers
***** What Sw., following the Latin version of Sebastian Schmidt, understands the Hebrew to mean here is uncertain.

sRef Ex@19 @4 S0′ 8765. ‘And brought you to Myself’ means thus to the good of love existing in heaven. This is clear from the consideration that Jehovah, who says that they were drawn to Himself, is the Divine Good of Divine Love, 2586, 2769, 2807, 2822, 3921 (end), 4402, 7010, 7268, 7873, 8301, 8760, at this point the Divine Good of Divine Love as it exists in heaven, 8761. In what way these things link together with those that come immediately before them is self-evident. The words in what comes immediately before, bore you on eagles’ wings’, mean that they were raised by means of truths to heavenly light, while the words here, ‘brought you to Myself’, mean to the Divine Good of love as it exists in heaven; for the truths of faith are the means by which a person is brought to good, and so into heaven, and to the Lord there. A person is not in heaven, nor thus with the Lord, until he is governed by good, that is, by charitable affection.

[2] People who suppose that salvation lies in faith alone, and not at the same time in the life of faith, that is, in the life of charity, believe that anyone can enter heaven and come to the Lord, irrespective of the life he has led. They do not know what the life of man is; and not knowing what this is they imagine that the life is of no importance at all. Consequently if they are asked whether a bad person is able to be among the good, they say that by God’s mercy he can be, since it is the work of an almighty power. Indeed if they are asked whether the devil is able to become an angel of heaven, they say Yes, provided that he wishes to receive faith. Nor are they in any doubt about his ability to receive it. But if they are told that evil is not able to be turned into good, nor thus hell into heaven with a person, and that such a conversion is impossible because it is contrary to order, therefore contrary to God’s truth, and so contrary to God Himself who is order, they reply that such ideas are false reasonings about salvation that do not interest them. All these and countless other considerations go to show how great a blindness regarding salvation and eternal life is caused by teachings about faith alone.

sRef Ex@19 @5 S0′ 8766. ‘And now, if you will indeed hear My voice’ means the acceptance of truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘hearing’ as obedience, dealt with in 2542, 3869, 4652-4660, and since ‘hearing’ is obedience it is also acceptance, 5471, 5475, 7216; and from the meaning of ‘the voice of Jehovah’ as the Word, and so God’s truth, dealt with in 219, 220, 6971, 7573.

sRef Ex@19 @5 S0′ 8767. ‘And keep My covenant’ means thus leading a good life, and as a consequence being joined [to the Lord]. This is clear from the meaning of ‘keeping the covenant’ as leading a life in accordance with the commandments, thus a life governed by good, and so being joined to the Lord. The reason why ‘keeping the covenant’ means leading a life in accordance with the commandments, thus leading a good life, is that the stipulations of the covenant were all the things that had been commanded, which were called testimonies, judgements, laws, and statutes, in particular the Ten Commandments. All these were also called the covenant because it was established through them. The fact that keeping them is leading a life in accordance with them is evident from the meaning of ‘keeping’ in the Word. Many times it speaks of hearing the commandments and keeping them, and in those places ‘hearing’ means accepting them in faith, and ‘keeping’ accepting them in life, that is, leading a life in accordance with them. The reason why ‘keeping the covenant’ also means being joined [to the Lord] is that in an overall sense ‘a covenant’ means being joined together, 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 6804. It has this further meaning because a person who leads a life in accordance with the commandments is joined to the Lord. For the commandments teach about life and also impart life, thereby opening the way to heaven and opening one’s eyes to see the Lord.

sRef Ex@19 @5 S0′ sRef Deut@7 @6 S1′ sRef Ps@135 @4 S1′ 8768. ‘You will be to Me a peculiar treasure from among all peoples’ means that at that time Divine Truth will exist with them more than with others. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being Jehovah’s (or the Lord’s) peculiar treasure’ as being the Lord’s, for ‘a peculiar treasure’ is something especially one’s own, and so a possession. Those among whom the Word exists are meant, the reason for this being that those who have the Word, that is, where the Church exists, are called the Lord’s own more than others; and that these are called ‘His own’ is clear from the Lord’s words in John 1:11; 10:2-4. The fact that those who belong to the Church, thus with whom the Word exists, are called ‘a peculiar treasure’ is clear in David,

Jah has chosen Jacob for Himself, and Israel to be His peculiar treasure. Ps 135:4.

‘Jacob’ and ‘Israel’ are plainly those who belong to the Church, among whom the Word exists. Likewise in Moses,

You are a holy people to Jehovah your God; Jehovah your God has chosen you to be for Himself a people who are a peculiar treasure,* from among all peoples who are on the face of the earth. Deut. 7:6; 14:2.

sRef Deut@26 @18 S2′ sRef Deut@26 @17 S2′ [2] The reason why those who have the Word are more than others a peculiar treasure [to the Lord] and especially His own is that they are acquainted with the truths and forms of the good of faith. This being so, they are able more than others to lead the life of heaven and so be joined to the Lord. For the good that constitutes heaven with a person receives its specific quality from the truths of faith. Thus good becomes more heavenly or more Divine among those who possess genuine truths, which are truths drawn from the Word, though only if they keep them, that is, lead a life in accordance with them. This is shown to be so in Moses,

Today you have declared that Jehovah is your God, and that you will go in His ways, and will keep His statutes, and His commandments, and His judgements, and will obey His voice. And Jehovah declares to you today that you are for Him a people who are a peculiar treasure,* as He has told you, and that you should keep all His commandments. Deut. 26:17, 18.
* lit. the people of a peculiar treasure

sRef Ex@19 @5 S0′ 8769. ‘For all the earth is Mine’ means that all power is the Lord’s in heaven and on earth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the earth’ in the internal sense as the Lord’s kingdom on earth and also the Lord’s kingdom in heaven, 1413, 1607, 4447. The reason why the Lord is the One who has all power is that the Lord is meant in the Word by ‘Jehovah’, see 1343, 1736, 2921, 3035, 5663, 6281, 6303. The truth that the Lord has all power in heaven and on earth He Himself teaches in Matthew 28:16, 18. See also 8331.

sRef Ex@19 @6 S0′ 8770. ‘And you will be for Me a kingdom of priests’ means that at that time the good of truth will be [with them]. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a kingdom of priests’ here as spiritual good, which is the good of truth, that is, the good that a member of the spiritual Church is brought to by means of truth. The reason why ‘a kingdom of priests’ means this good is that these words are addressed to the house of Jacob and the children of Israel, who represent the spiritual Church, external and internal – the house of Jacob representing the external Church, and the children of Israel the internal Church, 8762. Also ‘a kingdom’ means truth, 1672, 2547, 4691, while ‘priests’ means good, since the Lord’s Priesthood, which was represented by priests, means Divine Good, and the Lord’s Kingship, which was represented by kings, means Divine Truth, 1728, 2015 (end), 3670, 6148.

[2] In the representative Church among the descendants of Jacob there was first a kingdom ruled by judges, after that a kingdom ruled by priests, and finally a kingdom ruled by kings. The kingdom ruled by judges represented Divine Truth emanating from Divine Good, whereas the kingdom ruled by priests, who were also judges, represented Divine Good from which Divine Truth emanates, and the kingdom ruled by kings represented Divine Truth without Divine Good. But when the office of king also had some of the priestly functions attached to it, kings then also represented Divine Truth containing good in the measure that priestly functions were linked to the office of king.

[3] All this was brought about in the Jewish Church to the end that the states of heaven might thereby be represented. For in heaven there are two kingdoms, one being called the celestial kingdom, and the other being called the spiritual kingdom. The celestial kingdom is what is called the Lord’s Priesthood, and the spiritual kingdom is what is called His Kingship. In the latter Divine Truth reigns, in the former Divine Good. And since the representation of the celestial kingdom began to perish when the people asked for a king, therefore – to ensure that something representing the Lord’s kingdom in the heavens might nevertheless continue to exist – the Jews were separated from the Israelites. The Jewish kingdom then represented the Lord’s celestial kingdom, and the Israelite kingdom His spiritual kingdom.

[4] If people know these things they are able to know why the changes in forms of government took place one after another among the descendants of Jacob. They are also able to know why, when the people asked for a king, they were told by Jehovah through Samuel that in doing so they rejected Jehovah so that He should not reign over them, I Sam. 8:7, and why they were told then about ‘the right of the king’, I Sam. 8:11 and following verses, which describes Divine Truth without Divine Good. If people know the things mentioned above they can also know why some priestly functions were conferred on David, and also why after Solomon’s time the kingdom was divided into two, into the Jewish kingdom and the Israelite kingdom. Regarding the two kingdoms in heaven, see 3635, 3883-3896, 4112, 4113, 4138.

sRef Ex@19 @6 S0′ 8771. ‘And a holy nation’ means thus the spiritual kingdom. This is clear from the meaning of ‘nation’ as those governed by good, dealt with in 1259, 1260, 1416, 1849, 6005; and from the meaning of ‘holy’ as that which has reference to truth springing from good, dealt with in 6788, 7499, 8127 (end), 8302, 8330, so that ‘a holy nation’ means the good from which truth is derived. Both expressions – ‘a kingdom of priests’ and ‘a holy nation’ – mean the spiritual kingdom; yet there is a difference between them. ‘A kingdom of priests’ means those who are governed by good from truth, whereas ‘a holy nation’ means those who are governed by good and by truth from this good. Those governed by good from truth use truths to look upwards to the Lord; but those governed by good and by truth from this good are with the Lord, and see truths from Him. These two states come one after the other with those who are being regenerated, in whom the spiritual kingdom, that is, the life of heaven, is implanted by the Lord. For they are led by means of truth on into good, thus into heaven since heaven consists in good; and when they are there they see truths in heaven and from heaven.

sRef Ex@19 @6 S0′ 8772. ‘These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel’ means influx in order that truths may be received within good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘speaking’, when done by the Divine, as influx, as in 2951, 5481, 5743, 5797, 6152, 6291, 8128, 8660. The reason why in order that truths may be received within good is meant is that what is said has regard to the children of Israel, by whom the spiritual Church is meant, and the spiritual Church exists among those governed by good that has truths within it. What is implied by good that has truths within it must be stated briefly. Anyone who knows the way in which good is formed from truths is acquainted with the greatest arcana of heaven; for he knows the arcana concerning the way in which a person is formed anew, that is, the way in which heaven or the Lord’s kingdom is formed with him. All Christian good or spiritual good holds the truths of faith within it; for that good is given specific quality by the truths of faith. Good that does not receive its specific quality from the truths of faith is not Christian good; instead it is natural good which does not impart eternal life. The reason for this is that in itself natural good holds merely natural life, life that is not unlike that of animals, who are also governed by good when they are harmless ones. But animals cannot receive spiritual life.

[2] From this it is evident that spiritual life is acquired only through the truths of faith. This life – spiritual life – is acquired first by knowing the truths of faith, after that by acknowledging them, and at length by believing them. When they are merely known they are so to speak at the front door; when they are acknowledged they are in the hall; but when they are believed they are in the room. Thus they pass in stages from the outer to the inner parts of the mind. In a person interiorly there exists good which flows in constantly from the Lord; and there it joins itself to truths, turning them into faith, and then into charity. That good draws truths to itself; for it desires them so that through them it may obtain for itself a specific quality, and in this condition manifest itself.

[3] When therefore those truths have been joined to the good, the person has been regenerated; for the standpoint from which he sees what he ought to believe and what he ought to do is no longer truths but good. This is because he has absorbed truths, and these now reside within him; and he has no interest in truths from any source except those which he can see from his good. He is all the time seeing more truths, which are produced from that good like offspring from their parents. These offspring arise from such a marriage of goodness and truth, which is called the heavenly marriage. Truths which are products of the marriage hold good within themselves, because good gives birth to them. They enter into good in a continuous series, enlarging it and perfecting it; and they go on doing so for evermore. All this too goes to show the nature of the two states that a person who is being regenerated passes through, the states spoken of previously in 7992, 8643, 8648, 8658, 8685, 8690, 8701, and also in 8516, 8539, 8722.

sRef Ex@19 @7 S0′ 8773. ‘And Moses came and called the elders of the people’ means the choice of those who ranked first in the understanding of truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘calling to oneself’ as choosing; and from the meaning of ‘the elders of the people’ as those who rank first in the understanding of truth, or – in the sense completely separate from actual persons – leading truths, dealt with in 6524, 6525, 6890, 8578, 8585. The implications of all this are as follows: People governed by the kind of good that is the subject in the present chapter – that is, good that has not as yet received truths to give it form – are reformed by the Lord first by means of leading truths, that is, by general truths, which contain and are the source of all other truths. Leading truths are these: God is one; the Lord was born a human being in order that the human race might be saved; heaven exists, and hell; those who have led a good life enter heaven, and those who have led a bad one enter hell; love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour are the commandments on which all others hang; and only through faith can this love exist. These and others like them are the leading truths which the Lord first instills into the good present with a person who is being regenerated. When these truths have been instilled into the good and become the truths of good, all other truths are instilled. They are arranged into order within and beneath those general or leading truths, and are in keeping with the form that heaven takes. Thus by degrees they enable the life of heaven to exist in that person, who is then so to speak a miniature heaven; that is, they enable all that composes his understanding and that constitutes his will to be linked to the forms of good and the truths residing with angels, and so to the angels themselves.

sRef Ex@19 @7 S0′ 8774. ‘And set before them all these words’ means a proposition, together with influx. This is clear from the meaning of ‘setting words before them’ as a proposition. The reason why together with influx is meant is that ‘speaking’, when done by the Divine, means influx, as above in 8772.

sRef Ex@19 @7 S0′ 8775. ‘Which Jehovah commanded him’ means from the Divine. This is clear without explanation.

sRef Ex@19 @8 S0′ 8776. ‘And all the people answered’ means receptivity. This is clear from the meaning of ‘answering’ as receptivity, when ‘speaking words’ means influx, 8772. ‘Answering’ in other places besides this means receptivity, see 2941, 2957, for it is the reciprocation of influx, 2919, 4096, 8340.

sRef Ex@19 @8 S0′ 8777. ‘And said, All that Jehovah has spoken we will do’ means in accord with the influx from the Divine. This is clear from the meaning of ‘doing as Jehovah has spoken’ as in accord with influx from the Divine; for ‘speaking’ means influx, 8772, and ‘Jehovah’ the Divine.

sRef Ex@19 @8 S0′ 8778. ‘And Moses brought back the people’s words to Jehovah’ means correspondence and being joined together. This is clear from the meaning of ‘bringing words back to Jehovah’ as correspondence and consequently being joined together. For the subject is the covenant that is to be made with the people; and since covenants are made through agreement on both sides, something that resembles the making of a covenant takes place here. That is to say, Jehovah proposes and the people respond, at this point through Moses, who represents the truth from God when it has been joined to Divine Truth as it exists in heaven, 8760, which is intermediary. But the only way that the covenant is made with mankind is through being receptive of the influx of truth from the Divine, and through correspondence at that time; for when higher things flow into lower they are not received in any other way.

[2] What correspondence and receptivity through correspondence are becomes clear from what has been shown at the ends of quite a number of chapters regarding the correspondence of all things present in the human being with the things that exist in heaven. It has also been shown in those places that all joining of natural things to spiritual ones, and in general of lower things to higher ones, is accomplished through correspondence. Such correspondence does not exist unless the lower things are placed in subordinate positions and made subject to the higher ones; and when the lower have been made subject, the higher ones act on them altogether as a cause does on its effect. From all this one may see what reciprocity on man’s side is when the Divine flows in, and what the consequent joining together is, which is described in the sense of the letter here by the method used to make covenants, which is that Jehovah speaks to the people through a messenger, and the messenger brings their reply back to Jehovah. For this is how a person can grasp the concept of being joined to the Divine.

sRef Ex@19 @9 S0′ 8779. Verse 9 And Jehovah said to Moses, Behold, I am coming to you in the thickness of a cloud, in order that the people may hear when I speak to you, and also will believe in you forever. And Moses told the people’s words to Jehovah.

‘And Jehovah said to Moses’ means an influx of the Divine through the truth from God, regarding revelation. ‘Behold, I am coming to you in the thickness of a cloud’ means that it will be made in a form utterly natural. ‘In order that the people may hear when I speak to you’ means in order that those belonging to the spiritual Church may have some understanding of Divine things. ‘And also will believe in you forever’ means in order that a faith composed of truth may exist, a faith that is going to be permanent. ‘And Moses told the people’s words to Jehovah’ means correspondence and being joined together.

sRef Ex@19 @9 S0′ 8780. ‘And Jehovah said to Moses’ means an influx of the Divine through the truth from God, regarding revelation. This is clear from the meaning of ‘saying’, when it refers to revelation coming from God, as influx. ‘Saying’ in other places besides this means influx, see 5743, 7291, 7381, 8221, 8262, 8660; ‘Jehovah’ is plainly the Divine, the source from which the revelation comes; and ‘Moses’ is the truth from God, the means through which it comes, 6771, 6827, 7014. The fact that it is an influx regarding revelation is clear from what follows, that is to say, from the declaration that Jehovah is going to come to them in the thickness of a cloud, in order that the people may hear when I speak to you, and also will believe in you forever, words meaning revelation and the essential nature of it.

[2] Revelation here does not mean in the internal sense the kind of revelation made to the Israelite people from Mount Sinai, that is to say, when the Lord spoke with an audible voice and the people standing round heard it. Rather it means a revelation that is not made with an audible voice but is received by a person inwardly. This revelation is made through enlightenment of inner sight, which is the understanding, when a person with an affection for truth springing from good reads the Word. That enlightenment is brought about by the light of heaven, which flows from the Lord as the Sun there. That light enlightens the understanding in much the same way as outward sight, which is that of the eye, is enlightened by the light which flows from the sun in the world. When the understanding is enlightened by that Divine light it perceives that to be the truth which is the truth, inwardly acknowledges it, and so to speak sees it. This is what the revelation is like which is received by those with an affection for truth springing from good, when they read the Word.

[3] But those with an affection for truth springing from evil – that is, those who wish to know truths solely for the sake of important positions, monetary gain, reputation, and the like – do not see truths. All they see are corroborations of things taught by their Church, whether those things are true or false. The light which enlightens them then is not Divine light from heaven; instead it is the light belonging to the senses, such as those in hell also possess, a light which becomes complete and utter darkness at the presence of heavenly light. When these people read the Word they are altogether blind to truth if it does not make one with their religious teachings. When for example those who make salvation consist in faith alone read the Word they pay no attention whatever to the things said there about love and charity; they do not even see them since those things fall within the obscured parts of their field of vision, like objects well off to the side or behind one’s back. It is much the same with the Jewish nation, which sets itself up above all others in the whole world. They do not see that the Lord is the One who is meant in the Prophets, no matter how plainly this may be stated. [4] The reason why is that they see nothing except corroborations of their teachings about the Messiah, which are that He is going to come as a mighty hero, perform greater miracles than Moses, and lead them into the land of Canaan, at which time they are all going to proceed in grandeur, listening to the appeals made by gentiles taking hold of the hem of their garments to let them join their company. Since these are the ideas that compose what they teach they see nothing whatever regarding the Lord; anything regarding Him is to them as thick darkness. The situation is the same with all other errors. All this goes to show what the situation is so far as the revelation of truth from the Word is concerned.

sRef Ex@19 @9 S0′ 8781. ‘Behold, I am coming to you in the thickness of a cloud’ means that it will be made in a form utterly natural. This is clear from the meaning of ‘coming to you’ – when said by Jehovah to Moses, who represents the truth from God which the spiritual Church possesses, 8760 – as revelation; and from the meaning of ‘the thickness of a cloud’ as in a form utterly natural, like that in which the Old Testament Word exists in the letter. For the meaning of ‘a cloud’ as the Word in the letter, see preface to Genesis 18, and 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343 (end), 6752, 8106, 8443. ‘Thickness’ means dimness, such as that of a person’s thought when it is lit solely by the inferior light of the senses, that is, by wholly natural light. It was in dimness such as this that the descendants of Jacob at that time thought about the Divine, and also that the Jews at the present day think about Him; for the Divine cannot be seen by anyone except in ways that are in keeping with his state of life and consequent discernment. So it is that heavenly light cannot be seen by those ruled by self-love and love of the world, which that nation more than others was ruled by, except as ‘the thickness of a cloud’. The letter of the Word, especially the prophetical part, is nothing else in contrast to its internal sense. In its internal sense light exists such as may be compared to the light of the sun on top of clouds, the light which in the Word is called ‘the glory’. This also explains why the Word says that Jehovah is carried on top of the clouds, rides above the clouds, flies above them, has His triclinium* above them, that the Lord is going to come in the clouds of heaven, and many more statements like these, which would never have been made to describe Jehovah, that is, the Lord, unless they had meant the bright light of truth in which He is present in heaven, and ‘clouds’ had meant a shadowy light of truth in which those below heaven see.
* i.e. either a dining-room or the couch around the table in a dining-room

sRef Ex@19 @9 S0′ 8782. ‘In order that the people may hear when I speak to you’ means in order that those belonging to the spiritual Church may have some understanding of Divine things. This is clear from the meaning of ‘hearing’ as discerning, dealt with in 5017, and so having some understanding; from the representation of the children of Israel, to whom ‘the people’ refers here, as those who belong to the spiritual Church, dealt with often; and from the meaning of ‘when I speak’ as Divine Truths, for ‘Jehovah’s voice’ is Divine Truth, 219, 220, 3563, 6971, and so also is His speech.

sRef John@3 @12 S0′ sRef Ex@19 @9 S0′ 8783. ‘And also will believe in you forever’ means in order that a faith composed of truth may exist, a faith that is going to be permanent. This is clear from the representation of ‘Moses’ as the truth from God, dealt with in 6771, 6827, 7014; from the meaning of ‘believing’ as faith; and from the meaning of ‘forever’ as that which is going to be permanent. The situation here is that the truth from God cannot be received by anyone unless it is adjusted to what he is capable of understanding, and so unless it is seen in a natural shape and form. For initially human minds can understand only earthly and worldly things, and not at all spiritual and celestial ones. If therefore spiritual and celestial things were made plainly visible they would be cast aside, as if they were worthless. This accords with the Lord’s words in John,

If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how [will you believe] if I tell you heavenly things? John 3:12.

Still less would those who lived before the Lord’s Coming have believed them. They were eventually so blind that they knew nothing, because they did not wish to know anything, about the life after death, about the internal man, about charity and faith, or about any heavenly reality. They rejected these because they had no liking for them, for those who have earthly and worldly things as their end in view, that is, love them more than anything else, have no liking for spiritual things; they virtually detest the very mention of them. Those things would suffer almost the same rejection at the present day. Learned people in the world do indeed believe that they would be better able to receive the Word if heavenly things were made plainly visible in it and if it were not written in so simple a style. But they are very much mistaken. They would reject it more than simple people, and would see no light in it, only complete and utter darkness. This darkness is brought about by human learning among those who trust in their own intelligence and therefore set themselves up above others. The Lord teaches that such things have been hidden from the wise and revealed to young children, that is, to the simple, in Matthew 11:25, 26, and Luke 10:21. This is also perfectly clear from the consideration that those who are atheists and nature-worshippers, as they are called, are people who are learned. The world knows this, and they themselves know it.

sRef Ex@19 @9 S0′ 8784. ‘And Moses told the people’s words to Jehovah’ means correspondence and joining together. This is clear from the explanation above in 8778, where similar words occur.

8785. Verses 10-13 And Jehovah said to Moses, Go to the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow; and let them wash their garments. And they will be ready by the third day; for on the third day Jehovah will come down before the eyes of all the people onto Mount Sinai. And you are to set bounds for the people round about, saying, Take care not to go up into the mountain or to touch the border of it, everyone touching the mountain will surely die. Let no hand touch it, for he will surely be stoned or will be killed by being shot with arrows; whether it is a beast or a man, it shall not live. When there is a long sounding with the jobel* they shall go up into the mountain.

‘And Jehovah said to Moses’ means revelation regarding preparation. ‘Go to the people’ means a joining together. ‘And sanctify them today and tomorrow’ means covering over their interiors in order that those people may appear now and subsequently in the holiness of faith. ‘And let them wash their garments’ means the purification of truths. ‘And they will be ready by the third day’ means thus full and complete preparation. ‘For on the third day’ means because at the end, when they have been prepared to receive … ‘Jehovah will come down before the eyes of all the people’ means, the coming of the Lord will occur, and enlightenment at that time. ‘Onto Mount Sinai’ means into the good in which truth is to be implanted. ‘And you are to set bounds for the people round about’ means not extending into heaven beyond the spiritual spheres of good. ‘Saying, Take care not to go up into the mountain’ means that there must be no extension whatever to celestial communities which have the love of good. ‘Or to touch the border of it’ means that there must be no extension even to intermediate parts. ‘Everyone touching the mountain will surely die’ means that anyone belonging to the spiritual Church who forces his way through to celestial communities will be destroyed. ‘Let no hand touch it’ means those who have enough arrogant self-confidence to force their way through. ‘For he will surely be stoned’ means that as a result the truths of faith which they possess will be destroyed. ‘Or will be killed by being shot with arrows’ means that spiritual good too [will be destroyed] ‘Whether it is a beast or a man, it shall not live’ means that goodness and truth will lose their spiritual life. ‘When there is a long sounding with the jobel’ means those who have a general perception of celestial good. ‘They shall go up into the mountain’ means extension all the way to those who are celestial.
* i.e. the ram’s horn or the trumpet

sRef Ex@19 @10 S0′ 8786. ‘And Jehovah said to Moses’ means revelation regarding preparation. This is clear from the meaning of ‘saying’, when Jehovah is the speaker, as revelation from the Divine. It is clear from what follows that the revelation has regard to preparation, for the subject there is the way in which they are to be prepared to receive the truth from God.

sRef Ex@19 @10 S0′ 8787. ‘Go to the people’ means a joining together. This is clear from the representation now of ‘Moses’ as the truth from God which was below heaven, dealt with above in 8760; and from the representation of the children of Israel, to whom ‘the people’ to whom he was to go refers here, as those belonging to the spiritual Church, dealt with often. The reason why ‘go to the people’, when said by Jehovah, means a joining together is that the truth from God, represented by ‘Moses’, is the intermediary between the Divine and those belonging to the Church; for in order that the joining together represented here by the covenant between Jehovah and the people may take place an intermediary must be present. Therefore also ‘Moses’ represents the truth from God below heaven joined to God’s truth in heaven, 8760, so joined in order to serve as an intermediary.

sRef Ex@19 @10 S0′ 8788. ‘And sanctify them today and tomorrow’ means covering over their interiors in order that those people may appear now and subsequently in the holiness of faith. This is clear from the meaning of ‘sanctifying’ as arranging them so that outwardly they may appear in holiness; and since this is accomplished by covering over their interiors, ‘sanctifying’ has this meaning also. The fact that ‘today and tomorrow’ means now and subsequently is self-evident. What all this implies will be stated briefly. The Church established among the Jews was not, as regards the Jews themselves, the Church, only a representative of the Church. For the Church to exist there must reside with those belonging to the Church faith in the Lord, and also love to Him, as well as love towards the neighbour. These virtues make the Church. But they did not reside with the people who were called Jacob; for they did not acknowledge the Lord, and so did not wish to hear about faith in Him, let alone about love to Him or indeed about love towards the neighbour. They were ruled by self-love and love of the world, the kinds of love that are the complete opposites of love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour. Such a disposition has been rooted in that people from their earliest forebears. This is why no Church could be established among that people; all they could do was represent things that constitute the Church. Mere representation of the Church comes about when people’s worship centres on external things, but only on such things as correspond to heavenly ones. External things then serve to represent internal, and the internal things are made evident in heaven, to which those people are consequently joined. Therefore to make representation possible among the Israelite people, when interiorly they were devoid of the faith and love of heaven, indeed were full of self-love and love of the world, their interiors were covered over. Then their externals alone, without their internals, could be conveyed to spirits, and through these to angels. Consequently unless their internals had been covered over, internals too would have been made evident, in which case the representation would have been destroyed because foul [thoughts and affections] would have burst out and defiled it. Such a covering over was possible with that people more than with all the rest because they venerated external things more than others did; they thought that those things themselves were intrinsically holy, indeed Divine.

All this makes clear what one should understand by ‘sanctifying’, namely covering over their interiors in order that those people may appear in the holiness of faith, though not to themselves, only to the angels present with them. See what has been shown already about this people and the establishment of the Church among them, in 4208, 4281, 4288, 4289, 4293, 4307, 4314, 4316, 4317, 4429, 4433, 4444, 4459, 4844, 4847, 4865, 4899, 4911, 4912, 4500, 7048, 7051, 8588. The fact that sanctification among them amounted to no more than an appearance of holiness in externals, since they themselves had no holiness within them, becomes clear from the ceremonies by which they were sanctified, that is to say, by sacrifices, washings, sprinklings of blood, and anointings, which do not in any way whatever touch internal things.

sRef Ex@19 @10 S0′ 8789. ‘And let them wash their garments’ means the purification of truths. This is clear from the meaning of ‘washing’ as an act representative of purification from spiritual filth, dealt with in 3147, 5954 (end); and from the meaning of ‘garments’ as truths, dealt with in 4545, 4763, 5248, 5319, 5954, 6914, 6918.

sRef Ex@19 @11 S0′ 8790. ‘And they will be ready by the third day’ means [thus] full and complete preparation. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being ready’ as preparation through sanctification, dealt with just above; and from the meaning of ‘the third day’ as a state made complete, dealt with in 7715, thus full and complete preparation.

sRef Ex@19 @11 S0′ 8791. ‘For on the third day’ means because at the end, when they have been prepared to receive … This is clear from what has been stated immediately above.

sRef Ex@19 @11 S0′ 8792. ‘Jehovah will come down before the eyes of all the people’ means, the coming of the Lord will occur, and enlightenment at that time. This is clear from the meaning of ‘coming down’, when said of Jehovah, that is, the Lord, as His presence through influx, thus His coming – the coming of the Lord being meant here by Jehovah’s coming down before the eyes of all the people. Jehovah appeared in an outward form before those people because they could not perceive His presence in any other way; for they were inwardly devoid of the goodness and truth in which the Lord is present with others, 8787. Enlightenment at that time is meant by ‘before the eyes of all the people’, for ‘the eye’ in the internal sense is the understanding, and consequently the sight of the eye is the perception belonging to faith, which owes its existence to the light of heaven, so that ‘before the eyes’ is enlightenment. For the meaning of the eye as the understanding, and its sight as the perception belonging to faith, see 4403- 4421, 4523-4534.

sRef Ex@19 @11 S0′ 8793. ‘Onto Mount Sinai’ means into the good in which truth is to be implanted. This is clear from the meaning of ‘Mount Sinai’ as the good in which the truths of faith are to be implanted, dealt with above in 8753. Truth that is to be implanted in good is the subject in the next chapter, the Ten Commandments declared from Mount Sinai being internal truths, and the laws and statutes that are commanded in the chapters which come after that being external truths. Both the latter and the former mean the truths that are to be implanted in good.

sRef Ex@19 @12 S0′ 8794. ‘And you are to set bounds for the people round about’ means not extending into heaven beyond the spiritual spheres of good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘setting bounds round about’ as the extension of a sphere into heaven to specific limits that are determined by each one’s good; and from the representation of the children of Israel, to whom ‘the people’ refers here, as those governed by spiritual good in which truth is to be implanted. For this state of the good of those belonging to the spiritual Church is described in the present chapter and in those that follow it, 8753. So it is that ‘you are to set bounds for the people round about’ means extension into heaven no further than to the spiritual spheres of good.

[2] No one can know except from revelation what to understand by extension into heaven as far as the spiritual spheres of good. The situation is this: Any good imparted to a person through regeneration by the Lord extends itself to communities in heaven. The amount and the nature of this extension varies with each person; it varies in amount as it advances towards more distant boundaries in heaven, and in nature as it shifts more towards the internal parts of heaven or more towards the external parts. The actual good residing with a person flows in from the Lord by way of the communities of heaven that are round about; good that does not flow in by way of those communities is not possible. The communities of heaven exist round about, closely joined together without a break; not a break between them appears anywhere. It is the same with every single thing that is connected with good and constitutes its essential nature. Therefore when a person is being regenerated his enrichment in good is nothing other than being introduced into angelic communities, and in this way being joined to them. See also 4067, 4073, 4077, 6598-6613

[3] This has also been demonstrated to me quite a number of times by actual experience. Sometimes contact with certain communities has been withdrawn from me, and then the amount and the nature of life that remained were determined by the amount and nature of extension into the communities that were left. And when more communities were taken away, my life suffered and began seemingly to be snuffed out. Every angel, spirit, and man has a spiritual sphere, and its nature is determined by its extension into different communities. It extends not into the actual communities, but into the spheres emanating from their good. These matters are arcana that are unknown to anyone in the world but are very well known indeed in the next life. The reason why they are unknown to anyone in the world is that a person at the present day believes that he has life in himself, and consequently that he lives without association with spirits and angels, and so without being linked to heaven. But in this he is altogether mistaken; for all the life a person has comes from the Lord by way of communities [in the spiritual world].

[4] In addition it should be recognized that the life emanating from those belonging to the spiritual Church reaches as far as the angelic spheres in the second heaven, called the spiritual heaven, but not as far as the third heaven, where those who are celestial are. The reason for this is that a member of the spiritual Church cannot receive the Divine as He exists in the inmost or third heaven where those who are celestial are, except in so general a way that he does not even notice it. And the reason for this is that those who are spiritual cannot reach even the outer doorstep of the good governing those who are celestial, 2718, 3833, 6500, 8521. All this shows what should be understood by not extending into heaven beyond the spiritual spheres of good, meant by the injunction ‘you are to set bounds for the people round about’, and also what should be understood by the words that follow it.

[5] It should also be recognized that just as those governed by good have an extension into angelic communities according to the nature and amount of their good, so those ruled by evil have an extension into hellish communities according to the nature and amount of their evil. And in addition to this, everyone in the next life comes among those with whom he had been in contact during his lifetime. His ruling love determines this; for that love is what constitutes the sphere emanating from each person’s life, and extends as far as the nature and amount of it determine.

sRef Ex@19 @12 S0′ 8795. ‘Saying, Take care not to go up into the mountain’ means that there must be no extension whatever to celestial communities which have the love of good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘going up’ as extending to the Divine as He exists in a higher heaven; and from the meaning of ‘the mountain’ as the good of love there, dealt with in 4210, 6435, 8327, 8758. The nature of all this is clear from the explanation immediately above in 8794.

sRef Ex@19 @12 S0′ 8796. ‘Or to touch the border of it’ means that there must be no extension even to intermediate parts. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the border’ as intermediate parts, for the Lord’s celestial kingdom, which is the inmost or third heaven, is separated from the spiritual kingdom, which is the second or middle heaven, by intermediate parts. The celestial kingdom flows through these into the spiritual kingdom, but not the latter into the former; for all influx takes place by way of intermediate parts from interiors into exteriors, but not from exteriors into interiors, 5259, 5779. From all this it is evident that the intermediate parts are borders, and that not even the edges of the good of the celestial kingdom can be reached by those belonging to the spiritual kingdom, 2718, 3833, 6500, 8521. So it is that ‘taking care not to touch the border of the mountain’ means that there must be no extension to celestial communities who have the love of good, or even to intermediate parts.

sRef Ex@19 @12 S0′ 8797. ‘Everyone touching the mountain will surely die’ means that anyone belonging to the spiritual Church who forces his way through to celestial [communities] will be destroyed. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the mountain’ as the good of love, dealt with just above in 8795, at this point the Divine Good of Divine Love in the inmost heaven, since the people below the mountain represent the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, which is the middle heaven; from the meaning of ‘touching’ as penetrating that far, at this point forcing one’s way through, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘surely dying’ as being destroyed.

[2] The situation here is that those belonging to the Lord’s spiritual kingdom cannot flow into the celestial kingdom since this is higher or more internal and the spiritual kingdom is lower or more external; for what is more external or lower cannot flow into what is higher or more internal, 5259, 5779. However it sometimes happens that those in a lower heaven seek to go up into a higher heaven; they seek to do so because of a wrong desire that has its origin in pride, dominion, or envy. Those who have that desire and venture up are also let in now and again; but then they suffer badly. They are seized by anxiety, at length by pain, and also by blindness; their intelligence is destroyed, and their happiness. On account of all this they cast themselves down from there as if they are about to die, and do not revive until they have been cast down out of heaven.

[3] Such is the fate of those belonging to a lower heaven who force their way through to a higher heaven from a desire born of pride, dominion, or envy. The reason why they suffer badly is that the good of love in the higher heaven is comparatively like a devouring fire, and the truth of faith there is like fiery light blinding the sight of those coming up from below. These are the things that are meant in the internal sense by the Israelite people’s being forbidden to touch Mount Sinai where Jehovah was. A similar fate would await those belonging to the celestial kingdom if they perhaps tried to go up above to the Divine. It also awaits those who are below heaven if they desire to go up into heaven; they too suffer badly, see 4225, 4226, 4299, 5057, 5058.

sRef Ex@19 @13 S0′ 8798. ‘Let no hand touch it’ means those who have enough arrogant self-confidence to force their way through. This is clear from the meaning of ‘touching’ – touching the mountain – as forcing one’s way through to Divine celestial good, dealt with immediately above in 8797; and from the meaning of ‘hand’ as power, dealt with in 4931-4937, 5327, 5328, 6292, 6947, 7188, 7189, 7518, 7673, 8050, 8153, 8281, from which also arrogant self-confidence is meant, 878, 5544.

sRef Ex@19 @13 S0′ 8799. ‘For he will surely be stoned’ means that [as a result] the truths of faith which they possess will be destroyed. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being stoned’ as the punishment for falsity and for the violation of truth, dealt with in 5156, 7456, 8575. The reason why that is the punishment suffered by those who in arrogant self-confidence ascend to the Divine in a heaven above is that when they do this all the intelligence they possessed previously is destroyed; for they are seized then by blindness, see just above in 8797.

sRef Ex@19 @13 S0′ 8800. ‘Or will be killed by being shot with arrows’ means that spiritual good too will be destroyed. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being killed with arrows’ as being destroyed in respect of spiritual good; for the spiritual man is meant by ‘an archer’, 2686, 2709, 6422.

sRef Ex@19 @13 S0′ 8801. ‘Whether it is a beast or a man, it shall not live’ means that goodness and truth will lose their spiritual life. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a beast’ as an affection for good, dealt with in 45, 46, 142, 143, 246, 714, 715, 776, 2179, 2180, 3218, 3519, 5198, 7523; from the meaning of ‘a man’ as truth, dealt with in 3134, 3459, 7716; and from the meaning of ‘living’ as spiritual life, dealt with in 5890, so that ‘not living’ means losing it. Goodness and truth lose their life when influx from the Lord is no longer perceived, for this is what brings them life. To outward appearance that goodness and truth may then, it is true, look like goodness and truth; but they are no different from a painting, which in itself has no life.

sRef Ex@19 @13 S0′ 8802. ‘When there is a long sounding with the jobel” means those who have a general perception of celestial good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘when there is a long sounding with the jobel’, or what amounts to the same thing, ‘when the sound of the trumpet is heard’, as a general perception of celestial good; for ‘being heard’ means perception, 5017, 8361, and ‘the jobel’ or ‘the sound of the trumpet’ means celestial good. The reason why ‘the sound of the trumpet’ or ‘the jobel’ means celestial good is that by virtue of the sounds they make musical instruments correspond to affections for truth or affections for good, stringed instruments corresponding to affections for truth, and wind to affections for good, 418 420, 4138, 8337. Being a wind instrument, a loud sounding one, the trumpet corresponded to an affection for celestial good, which also was why a jubilee, which represented the marriage of goodness and truth in the inmost heaven, took its name from it. So it is that ‘a long sounding with the jobel’ means those who have a general perception of celestial good.

[2] The words ‘those who have a general perception of celestial good’ are used to mean the intermediaries who are positioned between the Lord’s celestial kingdom and His spiritual kingdom, and who are therefore those through whom influx, communication, and joining together are accomplished, see just above in 8787, 8796. They have extension all the way into celestial communities, meant by the words ‘they shall go up into the mountain’. These intermediaries are represented by ‘Moses’, 8787, and also by ‘Aaron’, who were allowed to go up into the mountain, verse 24 below. What extension into the spheres of angelic communities is, and that the nature of each person’s extension is determined by his good, see above in 8794. A general perception exists with those who are governed by spiritual good and are able to receive a general influx of good from a higher heaven, in this instance the inmost heaven. Such are meant by those who shall go up [into] the mountain when the jobel is heard.

sRef Ex@19 @13 S0′ 8803. ‘They shall go up into the mountain’ means extension all the way to those who are celestial. This is clear from what has been stated and shown in 8794, 8795, and also immediately above in 8802.

8804. Verses 14, 15 And Moses went down from the mountain to the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their garments. And he said to the people, Be ready by the third day; do not go near a woman.

‘And Moses went down from the mountain to the people’ means application and preparation by the truth from God, in order that truths may be received within good. ‘And sanctified the people’ means covering over their interiors in order that those people may appear in the holiness of faith. ‘And they washed their garments’ means purification of the truths of faith. ‘And he said to the people, Be ready by the third day’ means complete preparation. ‘Do not go near a woman’ means purification of the good of faith.

sRef Ex@19 @14 S0′ 8805. ‘And Moses went down from the mountain to the people’ means application and preparation by the truth from God, in order that truths may be received within good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘going down’ – when said of ‘Moses’, who represents the truth from God – as application and also preparation by that truth; from the representation of ‘Moses’ as the truth from God, dealt with in 8760, 8787, which also acts as an intermediary, 8787, thus which also prepares and applies; from the meaning of ‘the mountain’ as the Divine within heaven, thus heaven itself; and from the representation of ‘the children of Israel’ as those belonging to the spiritual Church, thus those guided by truth through which good comes, and governed by good from which truth springs, at this point good in which truths are to be received. It is important to know what is meant specifically by ‘Mount Sinai’ in this and subsequent chapters of the Book of Exodus, also what is represented by ‘the people Israel’, and what by ‘Moses’ as well.

[2] Specifically Mount Sinai means heaven, out of which truths flow in from the Lord. Consequently ‘Jehovah came down onto that mountain’ means His presence in heaven. And since heaven – in which Jehovah, that is, the Lord, is present – is meant by ‘Mount Sinai’, Divine Good united to Divine Truth there is also meant by it; for these are what make it heaven.

[3] But The People Israel beside this mountain represent the spiritual Church in respect of good in which the truths of faith are to be implanted. It has been shown already that those belonging to the spiritual Church pass through two states. The first is when they are led by means of truths to good, and the second state is when they are governed by good and consequently by truths. At this point the state is one when they are governed by good in which truths are to be implanted, which state is an intermediate state that comes between those first and second ones. The truths that are implanted within good are contained in those which were declared by the Lord from Mount Sinai and conveyed by Moses to the people.

[4] Moses in this and subsequent chapters represents the truth from God below heaven joined to God’s truth in heaven. He therefore represents the intermediary between the Divine in heaven and the good in which truths are to be implanted, the spiritual Church’s good, and so represents the intermediary between the Lord and the people.

It is important to know these things for the understanding of what follows below in the Book of Exodus. All this also shows that ‘Moses went down from the mountain to the people’ means application and preparation through the truth from God for truths to be received within good.

sRef Ex@19 @14 S0′ 8806. ‘And sanctified the people’ means covering over their interiors in order that those people may appear in the holiness of faith. This is clear from the explanation above in 8788. That paragraph however showed what sanctification among the Israelite people was, namely a covering over of their interiors in order that those people might appear outwardly in holiness when they were involved in representative worship. And unless their interiors had been covered over then, foul thoughts and evil affections would have not merely defiled the holiness of their worship but also completely destroyed it, so completely that nothing celestial or spiritual, represented in externals, could have been perceived from it in heaven.

[2] But since ‘the children of Israel’ is used here to mean those belonging to the spiritual Church, something brief will be stated about how to understand sanctification among those people. Those belonging to the spiritual Church, those who lead a life of truth, and go on to lead a life of good, are withheld from evils and maintained in good by the Lord. The good they have from the Lord is the holiness with them. Consequently in the measure that they receive good from the Lord they are holy; and the measure of good they receive from the Lord, that is, the measure in which they are holy, is determined by how far they lead a life of good in keeping with the genuine truths of faith, and by how far at that time they believe that all the good they think and do then begins in the Lord. When they do these things the evils present with them are separated so that they do not at all appear, especially the evils they have derived by heredity from their parents, which are foul, because they have been accumulated from many ages back by successive generations of parents and accordingly heaped up in offspring. These are the interiors which with those belonging to the spiritual Church have been hidden away and so to speak covered over, 966, 1667, 2307, 2308, 3701, 4317, 8550. So it is that the entire will they receive by heredity has been corrupted. As a consequence of this they have a new will which the Lord forms in the understanding part of the mind by means of the truths of faith. This explains why they are led by means of truths to good while they are being regenerated, and after that, when they have been regenerated, from good into the truths of good. This shows plainly how their new will is created by the Lord. Regarding its formation in the understanding part of the mind with those belonging to the spiritual Church, see 863, 875, 895, 927, 1023, 1043, 1044, 1555, 2256, 4328, 4493, 5113, 6125.

sRef Ex@19 @14 S0′ 8807. ‘And they washed their garments’ means purification of the truths of faith. This is clear from what has been stated above in 8789, where similar words occur.

sRef Ex@19 @15 S0′ 8808. ‘And he said to the people, Be ready by the third day’ means full and complete preparation. This is clear from what has been stated above in 8790, where similar words occur.

sRef Ex@19 @15 S0′ 8809. ‘Do not go near a woman’ means purification of the good of faith. This is clear from the consideration that marriages among the Israelite nation were impure because their interiors were foul. Conjugial love descends from the marriage of goodness and truth; consequently pure marriage does not exist with those whose interiors have no goodness or truth in them, and impure marriage exists with those whose interiors have evil and falsity in them, as that nation’s did. This is why ‘not going near a woman’ means abstaining from impurity. Regarding the descent of conjugial love from the heavenly marriage, which is the marriage of goodness and truth, see 2727-2759, 2803, 3132, 4434, 4835; and regarding the absence of anything of true marriage among the people descended from Jacob, who were therefore allowed to take a number of wives, 3246. But so far as those who belong to the spiritual Church are concerned, and who are represented here by the children of Israel, they do not have anything of true marriage in them until they have had truth implanted in their good. Before this happens a marriage does, it is true, exist, but it is not pure because up to then no marriage of goodness and truth exists in their interiors. So it is that ‘not going near a woman’ in the internal sense means being purified in respect of the good of faith. For the subject in the present chapter is good which has not as yet had truth implanted in it, and in subsequent chapters the actual implanting.

8810. Verses 16-19 And so it was on the third day, when it came to be morning, that there were voices* and lightnings, and a heavy cloud on the mountain, and the voice of a trumpet extremely loud; and all the people who were in the camp trembled. And Moses caused the people to go out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the foot** of the mountain. And Mount Sinai was smoking, the whole of it, because Jehovah came down onto it in fire; and its smoke went up like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain began to tremble greatly. And the voice of the trumpet grew louder and louder;*** Moses spoke and God answered him by a voice.

‘And so it was on the third day’ means at the end of purification. ‘When it came to be morning’ means a state when they were governed by good. ‘That there were voices and lightnings’ means a Divine state in which revelation took place. ‘And a heavy cloud on the mountain’ means the Divine state in relation to those about to receive. ‘And the voice of a trumpet extremely loud’ means a celestial state which was round about. ‘And all the people who were in the camp trembled’ means a holy quivering by those about to receive. ‘And Moses caused the people to go out of the camp to meet God’ means the power of the truth from God to make them ready to receive the Divine in the good they had. ‘And they stood at the foot of the mountain’ means a long way off from the good of celestial love. ‘And Mount Sinai was smoking, the whole of it’ means the appearance of celestial good in the greatest obscurity. ‘Because Jehovah came down onto it in fire’ means since the Divine was there in celestial love. ‘And its smoke went up like the smoke of a furnace’ means obscurity like the obscurity resulting from evil desires. ‘And the whole mountain began to tremble greatly’ means heaven, shaking violently. ‘And the voice of the trumpet grew louder and louder’ means revelation in its general aspects, which comes through the angelic heaven. ‘Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice’ means through the influx of the truth from God, having the Divine Himself within it.
* i.e. claps of thunder
** i.e. in the lower parts
*** lit. was going forth and making itself exceedingly strong

sRef Ex@19 @16 S0′ 8811. ‘And so it was on the third day’ – means at the end of purification. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the third day’ as the end of the state of preparation to receive, as above in 8791, and so the end of purification.

sRef Ex@19 @16 S0′ 8812. ‘When it came to be morning’ means a state when they were governed by good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘morning’ as a state of the good of love, dealt with in 8426. From these details – that Jehovah, that is, the Lord, came down onto Mount Sinai on the third day, and also in the morning of that day – it is plainly evident that this event was representative of some Divine reality in heaven which no one can come to know about except from the correspondence of such things as arise in the natural world with realities in the spiritual world, and therefore from the spiritual meaning of those things. This is so here so far as the meaning of ‘morning’ and ‘the third day’ are concerned. ‘The third day’ means the end of a former state, and it does so because ‘three’ means what is complete from start to finish, 8790; and ‘morning’ means a state of the good of love, because the sun – the sun in the next life which gives light to angels and the whole of heaven – is the Lord. The fire there is His Divine Love, which gives vital heat to all that lives, and the light there is Divine Truth which enlightens all who receive it. The sun there is altogether different from the sun in the world, whose fire is fire and not love, and whose radiating light is light and not truth.

[2] All this goes to show what kind of effects the fire and also the light coming from the sun in the world produce, and what kind of effects the fire and light coming from the sun of heaven produce. The sun in the world provides heat and light without life, whereas the sun in heaven provides heat and light together with life. The latter, being provided by the sun of heaven, are therefore called spiritual, because they hold life within them, whereas the former, which are provided by the sun of the world, are called natural and do not hold life within them. The life in living things that is recognized in their heat and indicated by it does not come from the heat of the sun in the world but from the heat of the sun in heaven. When the latter heat enters heat in the world it produces that effect; the body feels it as elemental heat, but this has vital heat in it, which has its origin in the love that is heat from the sun of heaven. The truth that vital heat springs from a source other than the sun in the world, and that it owes its origin to love and exists according to the amount and the character of that love within it, anyone is able to know provided that he is prepared to think about it properly. Anyone can know except those who do not acknowledge anything internal in the human being and attribute everything to natural forces.

[3] Since therefore heat from the sun in heaven, which is the Lord, is the good of love, and the light from it is the truth of faith, one may see what is meant by ‘morning’, and what by ‘midday’, ‘evening’, and ‘night’ in the next life. They are states of good and truth or love and faith, ‘morning’ being a state of the good of love, ‘midday’ a state of the truth of faith, ‘evening and night’ a deprivation of them, which is ignorance and blindness in insights that belong to faith, and also slowness and coldness in feelings that belong to heavenly love.

[4] Furthermore the situation with the sun of heaven is as it is with the sun in the world, in that it is motionless and does not bring about those states by any wheeling round of its own. Rather the things around it bring them about, just as a planet travelling round the sun and at the same time rotating on its axis produces changes. The appearance therefore is that those changes are attributable to the sun, but in reality they are not attributable to the sun, only to the planet going round it. So also in heaven. Changes of state there, to which morning, midday, evening, and night correspond, are not attributable to the sun there, for that sun is always radiating heat and light, that is, the good of love and the truth of faith. Instead those changes are attributable to the recipients, that is to say, to the angels and spirits, who move through a regular cycle of such changes as their life progresses. At one point it is morning, that is, they are filled with the good of love; at another it is midday, that is, they are enlightened with the truth of faith; and at yet another it is evening and night, that is, these gifts become vague and dull with them.

[5] The reason why the situation in the world is as it is in heaven, except for the difference that in the world the regular cycle consists of states belonging to the fumes of day, while in heaven it consists of states of life, is that all things in the world have been created in the image of those in heaven. For natural things arise from spiritual ones as effects from their causes. Consequently there is a correspondence of all things in the world with those in heaven, and therefore the whole natural order is nothing other than a theatre representative of the Lord’s kingdom, 3483, 4939, 8211.

sRef Ex@19 @16 S0′ sRef Ps@77 @18 S1′ sRef Ps@77 @17 S1′ 8813. ‘That there were voices and lightnings’ means a Divine state in which revelation took place. This is clear from the meaning of ‘voices’, which are the sounds made by claps of thunder, as God’s truths; and from the meaning of ‘lightnings’ as the radiance and brilliance which those truths possess, for God’s truths are made brilliant and radiant by the fiery brightness of light that shines from the sun of heaven. This is why ‘voices and lightnings’ means a Divine state in which revelation takes place, a Divine state being meant by the fact that they come down out of the sky, and revelation by the fact that ‘voices’ and ‘lightnings’ mean God’s truths. For the meaning of ‘voices’, which are the products of lightning from the sky, as God’s truths, see 7573; and the fact that ‘lightnings’ means brilliant flashes from them which strike a person’s inward eye, enlightening those guided by truth derived from good and bewildering those steeped in falsity arising from evil, is clear from places in the Word where ‘lightnings’ are mentioned, as in David,

The clouds dropped water, the skies gave voice; and Your arrows went out The voice of Your thunder went into the world,* the lightnings lit up the earth, the earth was shaken violently and quaked. Ps. 77:17, 18.

Here ‘the voice of thunder’ stands for God’s truth, 7573, ‘lightnings’ for its brilliance, and ‘the earth’ for the Church. Consequently ‘ the lightnings lit up the earth’ stands for the enlightenment of the Church by God’s truth.

sRef Ps@135 @6 S2′ sRef Ps@135 @7 S2′ sRef Ps@97 @5 S2′ sRef Rev@11 @19 S2′ sRef Ps@97 @4 S2′ [2] Something similar occurs in the same author,

His lightnings will enlighten the earth, the earth will see and fear; the mountains will melt like wax before Jehovah. Ps. 97:4, 5.

In the same author,

What Jehovah wills He does in heaven and on earth, in the seas and in all deep places. He causes the vapours to go up from the ends of the earth, He makes lightnings for the rain. Ps. 135:6, 7; Jer. 10:13; 51:16.

‘Lightnings for the rain’ stands for the brightness of the truth coming down from heaven. In John,

There were lightnings, voices, and thunders. Rev. 11:19; 16:18.

‘Voices, lightnings, and thunders’ stands for God’s truths which enlighten the good and terrify the evil.

sRef Ezek@1 @13 S3′ sRef Ezek@1 @14 S3′ [3] In Ezekiel,

The appearance of the living creatures (who were cherubs) was like burning coals of fire, Like the appearance of lamps. It was moving between the living creatures, so that there was the brightness of fire, and out of the fire went forth lightning. And the living creatures ran forth and back, in appearance like a flash of lightning. Ezek. 1:13, 14.

Here ‘fire’ stands for the good of love, and ‘out of the fire went forth lightning’ for God’s truth derived from that good. The Lord’s Divine providence, which is God’s truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good, is described here by ‘the cherubs’.

sRef Dan@10 @5 S4′ sRef Dan@10 @6 S4′ [4] In Daniel,

behold, one clothed in linen whose loins were girded with gold of Uphaz, and his body was like tarshish;** his face was like the appearance of lightning, and his eyes were like fiery torches. Dan. 10:5, 6.

‘A face like the appearance of lightning’ stands for the love of truth; for truth radiated by love carries with it a characteristic, meant by ‘lightning’, which is like a flame flashing from fire.

sRef Zech@9 @14 S5′ [5] In Zechariah,

Jehovah will appear over them, and His arrow will go forth like lightning; and the Lord Jehovih will sound a blast on the trumpet, and move forward in storms of the south. Zech. 9:14.

‘The arrow which will go forth like lightning’ stands for God’s truth which strikes and penetrates, ‘an arrow’ being truth coming from doctrine, see 2686, 2709, so that ‘an arrow from Jehovah’ is truth coming from God.

sRef Nahum@3 @3 S6′ sRef Deut@32 @41 S6′ [6] In Nahum,

The glitter of the sword, the lightning-flash of the spear,*** and the multitude of the slain. Nahum 3:3

In Moses,

I will sharpen My flashing sword****. Deut 32:41.

This stands for the penetration of God’s truth as experienced by the evil, ‘sword’ standing for truth engaged in conflict, 2799, 8294, and ‘lightning’ for its brightness which strikes the understanding and deprives it of the ability to see truth. Something similar occurs in Ezekiel 21:15, 28. From all this it is also evident that ‘lightning’ is used to mean God’s truth in Matthew 28:3, and Luke 17:24.
* The Hebrew, word here means a wheel or a whirlwind.
** A Hebrew word for a particular kind of stone, possibly a beryl.
*** lit. The brightness of the sword, the lightning of the spear
**** lit. the lightning of My sword

sRef Ex@19 @16 S0′ 8814. ‘And a heavy cloud on the mountain’ means the Divine state in relation to those about to receive. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a cloud’ as truth adjusted for those about to receive, that is, the Word in the letter, dealt with in 8443, 8781, at this point God’s truth adjusted for the people descended from Jacob. Because they were in great darkness so far as God’s truths were concerned, ‘a heavy cloud’ is spoken of here, ‘in the thickness of a cloud’ above in verse 9, and the smoke of the fire ‘like the smoke of a furnace’ in verse 18 below. How much darkness they were in may be recognized from what has been mentioned above regarding that nation in 8788, and also from the consideration that things involving the internal man were not revealed to them, only those involving the external. For they did not apprehend or have any wish to apprehend internal things, because these were contrary to their kinds of love, which were that they should be highest of all in the world and also richest of all, and that all nations elsewhere should be as nothing in comparison with themselves. Where these kinds of love prevail heavenly kinds cannot be received, for the former snuff out and smother the latter. This is the reason why Jehovah, that is, the Lord, appeared to them in a dense and heavy cloud. A similar situation exists in the next life, where those steeped in falsities arising from evil are surrounded by a dense, black cloud, how dense and black being determined by the nature and amount of the falsities. This sight appears before the eyes of everyone there; even so, the sun there is shining constantly. Regarding these matters, see what has been stated already in 6832, 8137, 8138. Ordinarily the Divine appears in the next life to everyone according to the nature of their faith and love.

sRef Ex@19 @16 S0′ sRef Zech@9 @14 S1′ sRef Ps@47 @5 S1′ 8815. ‘And the voice of a trumpet extremely loud’ means a celestial state which was round about. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the voice (or sound) of the trumpet’ as the truth of celestial good, ‘the voice’ being truth and ‘a trumpet’ celestial good, as above in 8802. The reason why a celestial state which was round about is meant is that the Divine in heaven is in the middle or inmost part, that is, the highest part there. But heaven as occupied by angels lies round about or outside, that is, below; for what is round about is also outside, and what is outside is also below. God’s truth itself in heaven is meant by ‘voices and lightnings’; but celestial or angelic truth linked to the Divine, which is the truth below or round about, is meant by ‘the voice of a trumpet’. Similarly in Zechariah,

Jehovah will appear over them, and His arrow will go forth like lightning; and the Lord Jehovih will sound a blast on the trumpet, and move forward in storms of the south. Zech. 9:14.

And in David,

God has gone up with a blast, Jehovah with the voice of a trumpet. Ps 47:5

‘A blast’ stands for the truth of spiritual good, ‘the voice of a trumpet’ for the truth of celestial good.

[2] Divine Truth passing through heaven is also meant by the trumpets on which the angels blasted in Rev. 8:2, 6-8, 12, 13; 9:14. God’s truth from heaven was represented too by the seven trumpets on which the seven priests blasted before the Ark or in front of Jehovah when the walls of the city of Jericho fell down, Joshua 6; and also by the trumpets with which the three hundred men accompanying Gideon made a noise around the camp of Midian, Amalek, and the Sons of the East, Judges 7. The reason why the trumpets achieved that effect was that they represented God’s truth passing through the heavens. This truth is such that it perfects the good but destroys the evil. It perfects the good because they receive Divine Good present within Truth, but it destroys the evil because they do not receive Divine Good present there. ‘The walls of Jericho’ meant the falsities that defended evils, and ‘Midian, Amalek, and the Sons of the East’, around whose camp Gideon’s three hundred men blasted on their trumpets, meant those immersed in evils and in falsities arising from them

sRef Ex@19 @16 S0′ 8816. ‘And all the people who were in the camp trembled’ means a holy quivering by those about to receive. This is clear from the meaning of ‘trembling’ as a holy quivering; and from the meaning of ‘the people who were in the camp’ as those about to receive Divine Truth. Various places in the Word say that when Jehovah comes down the earth quakes and mountains collapse, as in Ps. 77:17, 18; 97:4, 5; 104:32; and elsewhere. By this the violent shaking of all things at the presence of the Divine is meant; for the Divine is such that no person can bear His presence unless he is in a kind of cloud and so in a suitable condition to receive Him. The Divine is like the fire within the sun; if this were to fall naked on people it would instantly devour them. But reception of Him depends on how far good exists with someone. Those governed by good do indeed start to quiver at the presence of the Divine; but it is a holy quivering that comes before reception. Those however who are ruled by evil are terrified at the presence of the Divine and therefore flee, at which time they are enveloped by their falsities as if by a dark cloud, and are hidden. These falsities are meant by the caves in the rocks they then take themselves into. From all this one may see what ‘all the people who were in the camp trembled’ means.

sRef Ex@19 @17 S0′ 8817. ‘And Moses caused the people to go out of the camp to meet God’ means the power of the truth from God to make them ready to receive the Divine. This is clear from the meaning of ‘causing the people to go out to meet God’ as the power to make them ready to receive the Divine. For the subject further on is the Law declared on Mount Sinai, and this was the Divine which they were about to receive, the Law being Divine Truth emanating from Divine Good. Consequently ‘causing to go out to meet’ is the power to make ready for reception, exercised by the truth from God, which ‘Moses’ represents, 8760, 8787, 8805.

sRef Ex@19 @17 S0′ 8818. ‘And they stood at the foot of the mountain’ means a long way off from the good of celestial love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘Mount Sinai’ as heaven, and so as God’s good united to Divine Truth there, dealt with in 8805; and from the meaning of ‘standing at the foot of it’ as a long way off or far away from that good. The meaning here in the internal historical sense is the Israelite nation, which was devoid of the good of celestial love, see above in 8788, 8806, and was therefore a long way off from it, which also accounts for what is said below, in verses 21, 22, 24, 25, that Moses warned the people and also the priests not to break through the bounds, nor to touch the mountain, and so die. But in the internal sense, which refers to those belonging to the spiritual Church, the meaning of the people’s standing at the foot of the mountain is that they were not allowed to go up in arrogant self-confidence to a higher heaven, or if they did they would die, regarding which see 8794, 8797.

sRef Ex@19 @18 S0′ aRef Ex@24 @16 S1′ sRef Ex@24 @17 S1′ sRef Deut@5 @23 S1′ sRef Deut@4 @11 S1′ sRef Deut@4 @12 S1′ sRef Deut@5 @25 S1′ sRef Deut@5 @24 S1′ 8819. ‘And Mount Sinai was smoking, the whole of it’ means the appearance of celestial good in the greatest obscurity. This is clear from the meaning of ‘Mount Sinai’ as celestial good, as immediately above in 8818; and from the meaning of ‘smoking’ as appearance in obscurity. Obscurity is used to mean the obscurity of faith such as those belonging to the spiritual Church possess when compared with those belonging to the celestial Church, 2708 (beginning), 2715, 2718, 2831, 2935, 2937, 3241, 3833, 6289. The greatest obscurity, meant by ‘Mount Sinai was smoking, the whole of it’ and by the statement just below that ‘its smoke went up like the smoke of a furnace’, means the obscurity that clouded the understanding of the Israelite nation, before whom the appearance took place. For Jehovah or the Lord appears to everyone according to their true nature, 8788, 8814, so that He appears as love and the light of truth to those governed by good, but as an enemy and avenger to those ruled by evil. His appearance as such to the Israelite people is also clear from other places in Moses,

The appearance of the glory of Jehovah was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain, before the eyes of the children of Israel. Exod. 24:16, 17.

In the same author,

You came near and stood at the foot of* the mountain, and the mountain was burning with fire even to the heart of heaven; there was darkness and cloud and thick darkness. And Jehovah spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. Deut. 4:11, 12; 5:22.

And in the same author,

It happened, when you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, and the mountain was burning with fire, that you came near to Me and said, Why should we die? For this great fire will devour us; if we hear the voice of Jehovah our God any more we shall die. Deut. 5:23-25.

[2] The reason why this should be so is that no person can help seeing God from such things as are present in himself. The person who is ruled by hatred, for example, sees Him from hatred; and one who is ruled by ruthlessness sees Him in ruthlessness. And on the other hand, the person who is governed by charity and mercy sees Him from these virtues and in them. It is like rays of light, which are converted into hideous colours when they fall on hideous forms, but into beautiful colours when they fall on beautiful forms. The meaning of ‘smoke’ as the obscurity of truth, and also as the thick darkness belonging to falsity, is clear in Isaiah 9:18, 19; 34:9, 10; Joel 2:30, 31; Hosea 13:1, 3; Revelation 9:17, 18; 18:2, 18; 19:3.
* lit. stood under

sRef Ex@19 @18 S0′ 8820. ‘Because Jehovah came down onto it in fire’ means since the Divine was there in celestial love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘fire’, in which Jehovah was, as Divine celestial love. ‘fire’ is love, see 934, 4906, 5071 (end), 5215, 6314, 6832, 6834, 6849, at this point Divine celestial love, which is God’s love as it exists in the heaven where celestial angels are.

sRef Ex@19 @18 S0′ 8821. ‘And its smoke went up like the smoke of a furnace’ means obscurity like the obscurity resulting from evil desires. This is clear from the meaning of ‘smoke’ as obscurity, dealt with above in 8819; and from the meaning of ‘a furnace’ as evil desires, dealt with in 7519. Why the Lord, when in celestial love, appeared in this manner to the children of Israel, see 8819, and also 1861 (end), 6832.

sRef Ex@19 @18 S0′ 8822. ‘And the whole mountain began to tremble greatly’ means heaven, shaking violently. This is clear from the meaning of ‘beginning to tremble’ as shaking violently; and from the meaning of ‘Mount Sinai’ as heaven, dealt with in 8805. As regards the occurrence of violent shaking at the presence of the Divine, see above in 8816.

sRef Ex@19 @18 S0′ sRef Ex@19 @19 S0′ sRef 1Ki@19 @11 S0′ sRef 1Ki@19 @12 S0′ 8823. ‘And the voice of the trumpet grew louder and louder’ means revelation in its general aspects, which comes through the angelic heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the voice of a trumpet’ as celestial or angelic truth joined to the Divine, dealt with in 8815, and so revelation in its general aspects, since God’s truth is revelation, and what is revealed by means of heaven is very general compared with God’s truth itself in heaven (for it is outside or round about, 8815, and what is round about or outside is general compared with what is in the middle or inside); and from the meaning of ‘growing louder and louder’ as increasing, for just as a sound is inaudible on high, where the air is rarer, but grows and sounds louder as it comes down to lower levels, where the air is denser, so Divine Good and Divine Truth on highest levels are peaceful and altogether without any agitation; but as they pass down to lower levels they become by degrees less peaceful and at length violently agitated. These things are described in the following way by the Lord to Elijah when he was in Horeb, in the first Book of Kings,

Go out, and stand on the mountain before Jehovah. Behold, Jehovah was passing by, so that a great and strong wind was breaking apart the mountains, and shattering the rocks before Jehovah; Jehovah was not in the wind. Then after the wind, an earthquake; but Jehovah was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake, a fire; Jehovah was not in the fire. Finally after the fire, a slight whisper.* 1 Kings 19:11, 12.
* lit. a thin voice of silence

sRef Ex@19 @19 S0′ sRef Ex@19 @18 S0′ 8824. ‘Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice’ means through the influx of the truth from God, having the Divine Himself within it. This is clear from the representation of ‘Moses’ as the truth from God, dealt with in 8760, 8787, 8805; from the meaning of ‘speaking’ as influx, dealt with in 5797, 7270, 8128; and from the meaning of ‘answering by a voice’ as Divine Truth, which is the source. The reason why these things are meant is that God’s answer consists in truths that have the Divine within them.

sRef Ex@19 @18 S0′ 8825. Verses 20-25 And Jehovah came down onto Mount Sinai to the top of the mountain; and Jehovah called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. And Jehovah said to Moses, Go down, warn the people so that they do not perhaps break through to Jehovah to see [Him], and many of them fall. And also the priests coming near Jehovah must sanctify themselves, so that Jehovah does not perhaps make a breach in them. And Moses said to Jehovah, The people cannot go up to Mount Sinai; for You have warned us, saying, Set bounds to the mountain and sanctify it. And Jehovah said to him, Go! go down; and you are to come up, you and Aaron with you. And do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to Jehovah, so that He does not perhaps make a breach in them. And Moses went down to the people and told them.

‘And Jehovah came down onto Mount Sinai’ means the Lord’s presence in heaven. ‘To the top of the mountain’ means in the inmost. ‘And Jehovah called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up’ means the joining of the truth from God there. ‘And Jehovah said to Moses’ means admonition from the Divine. ‘Go down, warn the people so that they do not perhaps break through to Jehovah to see [Him]’ means that those belonging to the spiritual Church should not desire to go up to the heaven where the Divine celestial is. ‘And many of them fall’ means that in so doing they would perish. ‘And also the priests coming near Jehovah must sanctify themselves’ means that those governed by spiritual good, which has the Divine within it, are to be covered over. ‘So that Jehovah does not perhaps make a breach in them’ means a consequent separation from good. ‘And Moses said to Jehovah’ means thought engaged in by the truth from God. ‘The people cannot go up to Mount Sinai’ means that they are unable to raise themselves to the celestial kingdom. ‘For You have warned us’ means because the Divine has cautioned them. ‘Saying, You are to set bounds to the mountain’ means by declaring that the spiritual sphere of good comes to an end below [the celestial kingdom]. ‘And sanctify it’ means that they are thereby held back from the Divine. ‘And Jehovah said to him’ means further admonition. ‘Go! go down’ means influx. ‘And come up, you and Aaron’ means being joined to the truth from God, inward and outward. ‘And do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to Jehovah’ means that those governed by spiritual good and truth should not desire to go up into the celestial heaven. ‘So that He does not perhaps make a breach in them’ means separation from truth and good. ‘And Moses went down to the people’ means influx of the Divine through the truth from God. ‘And told them’ means admonition through it.

sRef Ex@19 @20 S0′ 8826. ‘And Jehovah came down onto Mount Sinai’ means the Lord’s presence in heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘Mount Sinai’ as heaven, dealt with in 8805, so that ‘coming down onto that mountain’ is presence there. The reason why the Lord’s presence is meant is that in the Word ‘Jehovah’ is the Lord.

sRef Ex@19 @20 S0′ 8827. ‘To the top of the mountain’ means in the inmost, that is to say, the inmost heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the mountain’ as heaven, as immediately above in 8826. The reason why ‘the top of the mountain’ means the inmost heaven is that the top of a mountain is its highest point, and ‘highest’ means inmost, 1735, 2148, 4210, 4599, 8153. There are three heavens, which are the lowest, called the first; the middle, called the second; and the inmost, called the third. This heaven has what is Divine in it more fully than in the two lower ones; for those there are directly beneath the Lord’s sight, because they are governed by love to the Lord, and consequently possess greater peace and innocence than all others. Angels there are called celestial angels, whereas angels in the second heaven are called spiritual angels. Therefore what is Divine in the third heaven is called the Divine celestial, and what is Divine in the second is called the Divine spiritual. From all this one may see what Jehovah’s coming down onto the top of the mountain means.

sRef Ex@19 @20 S0′ 8828. ‘And Jehovah called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up’ means the joining of the truth from God there. This is clear from the explanations above in 8760, 8761, where similar words occur. At this point a joining to the Divine celestial, that is, what is Divine in the inmost heaven, is meant.

8829. ‘And Jehovah said to Moses’ means admonition from the Divine. This is clear from the meaning of ‘saying’, which includes what follows it, namely the words admonishing them not to break through the bounds with which the mountain was hedged around.

8830. ‘Go down, warn the people so that they do not perhaps break through to Jehovah to see [Him]’ means that those belonging to the spiritual Church should not desire to go up to the heaven where the Divine celestial is. This is clear from the meaning of ‘warning’ as admonition; from the representation of the children of Israel, to whom ‘the people’ refers here, as those belonging to the spiritual Church, dealt with often; from the meaning of ‘breaking through’ – breaking through the bounds – as desiring to go up to a higher heaven; and from the meaning of ‘to see Jehovah’ as in order to perceive the Divine. For by ‘Jehovah’ on the top of the mountain is meant the Divine in the inmost heaven, called the celestial heaven, 8827, and by ‘seeing’ is meant perception, 2150, 3764, 4567, 4723, 5400.

8831. ‘And many of them fall’ means that in so doing they would perish. This is clear without explanation.

sRef Ex@19 @22 S0′ 8832. ‘And also the priests coming near Jehovah must sanctify themselves’ means that those governed by spiritual good, which has the Divine within it, are to be covered over. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the priests’ as good, dealt with in 1728, 2015 (end), 6148, at this point spiritual good since the children of Israel, whose priests they were, represented those belonging to the spiritual Church, and so those governed by good coming through truth and guided by truth springing from good, 7957, 8234; from the meaning of ‘going near Jehovah’ – said in reference to ‘the priests’, by whom good is meant – as having the Divine within it; and from the meaning of ‘being sanctified’ as having one’s interiors covered over, dealt with in 8788, 8806.

sRef Ex@19 @22 S0′ 8833. ‘So that Jehovah does not perhaps make a breach in them’ means a [consequent] separation from good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘making a breach’ as the separation of truth from good, dealt with in 4926, at this point a separation from good since what is said refers to ‘the priests’, by whom good is meant, 8832.

sRef Ex@19 @23 S0′ 8834. ‘And Moses said to Jehovah’ means thought engaged in by the truth from God. This is clear from the meaning of ‘saying’ – when done by the truth from God, represented by ‘Moses’ – as thought, as also in 3395, 7107, 7244, 7937. The expression ‘thought engaged in by the truth from God’ is used, but by this is meant the thought present with him who represents the truth from God. The reason why such an expression is used is that it is the truth present with a person that engages in thinking, and when thought takes place in a person, he employs truth to think with. For the Lord flows by way of good into truth, and in so doing imparts life to the person. This life seems to the person to be his own, but it is the Lord’s in the truth springing from good present with him. Because this is so angels speak in that kind of way; for they ascribe thought to truth springing from good, without reference to any specific person, and so at the same time they perceive where such thought engaged in by truth comes from. All this shows what the angelic way of speaking is like, and that it is the language of wisdom.

sRef Ex@19 @23 S0′ 8835. ‘The people cannot go up to Mount Sinai’ means that they are unable to raise themselves to the celestial kingdom. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the people’, or the children of Israel, as those belonging to the spiritual kingdom; from the meaning of ‘going up’ as raising oneself up; and from the meaning of ‘Mount Sinai’ as the celestial kingdom, dealt with above in 8827. For what all this implies, see above in 8794, 8797.

sRef Ex@19 @23 S0′ 8836. ‘For You have warned us’ means because the Divine has cautioned them. This is clear without explanation.

sRef Ex@19 @23 S0′ 8837. ‘Saying, You are to set bounds to the mountain’ means by declaring that the spiritual sphere of good comes to an end below [the celestial kingdom]. This is clear from the meaning of ‘setting bounds to the mountain’ as not extending into heaven beyond the spiritual spheres of good, dealt with above in 8794-8797.

sRef Ex@19 @23 S0′ 8838. ‘And sanctify it’ means that they are thereby held back from the Divine. This is clear from the meaning of ‘sanctifying’ as covering over their interiors in order that externals may appear in holiness, dealt with in 8788, 8806, thus also being held back from the Divine so as not to suffer harm. Unless they were covered over the Divine would penetrate them and destroy them. For the presence of the Divine is like a devouring fire to those who have not been covered. This also explains why angels are covered with a cloud, 6849. From all this one may see what should be understood by being covered over. The reason why this is meant by ‘being sanctified’ is that those who are covered appear in holiness, for then the Divine can flow in, establishing a state of good and giving it the form of truth, which cannot happen without the covering-over.

sRef Ex@19 @24 S0′ 8839. ‘And Jehovah said to him’ means further admonition. This is clear from the meaning of ‘saying’, when Jehovah is telling Moses to warn the people not to break through to see [Him], as admonition. The reason why it is further admonition is that Moses said they had already been admonished regarding that action, and cautioned not to do such a thing.

sRef Ex@19 @24 S0′ 8840. ‘Go! go down’ means influx. This is clear from the meaning of ‘going’ and ‘going down to the people’ to admonish them – when done by the Divine through truth from Him, represented by ‘Moses’ – as influx, that is to say, influx of the Divine through truth from Him.

sRef Ex@19 @24 S0′ 8841. ‘And come up, you and Aaron’ means being joined to the truth from God, inward and outward. This is clear from the meaning of ‘coming up’, coming up to Jehovah, as a joining together, dealt with in 8760; and from the representation of ‘Moses and Aaron’ as the truth from God, inward and outward, ‘Moses’ being inward truth and ‘Aaron’ outward, dealt with in 7089, 7382.

sRef Ex@19 @24 S0′ 8842. ‘And do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to Jehovah’ means that those governed by spiritual good and truth should not desire to go up into the celestial heaven. This is clear from what has been stated above in 8830, 8832, where similar words occur.

sRef Ex@19 @24 S0′ 8843. ‘So that He does not perhaps make a breach in them’ means separation from truth and good, as above in 8833, at this point a separation from truth as well as from good since it speaks of ‘the people’ as well as the priests.

sRef Ex@19 @25 S0′ 8844. ‘And Moses went down to the people’ means influx of the Divine through truth from Him, as above in 8840.

sRef Ex@19 @25 S0′ 8845. ‘And told them’ means admonition through it, as above in 8839.

8846. SPIRITS AND INHABITANTS OF THE PLANET JUPITER – continued

There are also spirits among those belonging to Jupiter whom they call chimney-sweeps, because their clothes look like those of chimney-sweeps, as do their faces. They belong among those spoken about in 7801-7812 who reprimand people on their planet and after that instruct them. What such spirits correlate with in the Grand Man, and what they are like, may be seen from the description of them above in 5056; which let me reproduce here.

8847. A certain spirit from another planet was once present with me. (He belonged to the planet Jupiter.) He asked me earnestly to intercede on his behalf to enable him to enter heaven. He said he was not aware of having done what was evil, only of having reprimanded inhabitants of that planet. He added that after he reprimanded people he instructed them. He placed himself on my left side below my elbow; and as he spoke his voice seemed to crack. He also had the ability to arouse feelings of pity. The only answer I could give him however was that I was unable to help him in any way. Entrance into heaven, I told him, rested with the Lord alone. Nor could I intercede, since I did not know whether it would be useful or not; but if he was worthy he could entertain the hope of gaining it. At that point he was sent back to be among upright spirits who belonged to his own planet; but those spirits said that he could not remain in their company because he was not like them. Nevertheless because his intense desire made him demand that he should be let into heaven, he was sent to a community of upright spirits belonging to our own planet. But these too told him that he could not remain with them. In addition to this his colour seen in the light of heaven was black, though he himself said it was not black but a ruddy brown.

[2] I was told that this is what people of this sort are like initially, before they are received among those who constitute the province of the seminal vesicles. For in these vesicles sperm (semen) is gathered together, where it is clothed with a suitable substance which is just right to preserve it from being dissipated and which can be shed at the cervix, so that the sperm stored inside may serve to bring about conception, that is, impregnation of the ovum. Therefore also that seminal substance holds within it the endeavour and so to speak burning desire to shed itself and leave the sperm to fulfill its purpose. Something similar was seen to happen to that spirit. He returned to me, but now he was dressed in humble clothing. He again said he had a burning desire to enter heaven and now recognized that he was in a fit state to remain there. But I was led to say to him that this was perhaps a sign that he would be received there shortly. At this point angels told him to cast aside his clothing, which in his desire to do so he cast aside so quickly that hardly anything could have been done more quickly. This represented the nature of the desires of those in the province to which the seminal vesicles correspond.

8848. I was told that when people such as these are prepared for heaven they are stripped of their garments and re-clothed in new and shining ones; then they become angels. They likened those people to caterpillars which, when their humble state has been completed, are changed into pupae and so into butterflies, at which time they are given clothing different from before, and also wings that are blue, yellow, silver, or golden. This gives them freedom to fly in the air as in their heaven, celebrate their marriages, lay eggs, and so attend to the propagation of their kind. At the same time they are supplied with sweet and lovely food from the juices and scents of various flowers.

8849. Some other spirit from that planet came to me, saying that he was looking for the one and only Lord and desired to enter heaven, but could not because he had done a bad deed during his lifetime. I asked him what that bad deed had been. He said that he had stolen from a companion something that was of no great value, which he had supposed his companion was going to give him, and that this deed was weighing on his conscience. This showed me the kind of life people lead on that planet, and that they feel distressed if they do something bad to anyone, even if only slightly bad. For this spirit had brought what he thought with him from his planet.

8850. I was shown a bald head, but only the top of it, which was bony. Then I was told that such a thing is seen by those who are going to die within a year, and that they then prepare themselves. For on that planet they have no fear of death, except that they leave behind married partner, children, or parents; for they know that they will be alive after death and that they do not relinquish life, since they go to heaven. This also explains why dying is not called dying by them but being heavenized. Those on that planet who have led lives happily filled with conjugial love, and have looked after their children as parents ought, do not die from sicknesses but peacefully, as in sleep, and in that condition pass from the world into heaven.

8851. The length of time people live there, measured in the years of our planet, is for the most part thirty years. Those who live longer than this are said to be unteachable, and therefore the spirits who chastize and instruct do not go to them. The reason why the majority die within so short a space of time is that in the Lord’s providence the population there may be prevented from increasing beyond the number that the planet is able to support. People also mature more quickly there than on our planet. They also marry in the earliest bloom of youth, and their delights then consist in loving their married partner and looking after their children. Other delights are, it is true, called delights by them, but in comparison they are superficial ones.

8852. At the end of the next chapter spirits and inhabitants belonging to the planet Saturn will be spoken about.

8853. 20

TEACHINGS ABOUT CHARITY

In everyone there is something his own which he loves above all things. It is called that which is dominant or, if you will, that which reigns universally with him. It is unceasingly present in his thought and also his will; and it composes his very life.

8854. For example, a person who above all loves riches, whether money or possessions, is constantly turning over in his mind how to get hold of them. He is profoundly glad when he gains them, profoundly sad when he loses them; his heart is in them. A person who above all loves himself is mindful of himself in all the details of life, thinks about himself, talks about himself, and acts for the sake of himself; for his life is a life of self.

8855. A person has as his end what he loves above all; he has it in view in every single thing It resides in his will like the hidden current of a river which draws him to itself and carries him away, even when he is engaged in some other activity; for it is what motivates him. Such motivation is what one person looks for and also sees in another; and depending on what he sees he then either takes the lead with him or joins him in what he does.

8856. When a person is being regenerated charity is implanted in him by means of faith until it becomes dominant; and when charity has become dominant he has new life since it is unceasingly present in his thought and unceasingly present in his will. Indeed it is present in every aspect of them, even when his mind is on other things or he is involved in dealings with others.

8857. It is similar with love to the Lord. When that love is dominant it is present in every aspect of his life, as when he loves his monarch or loves his parent. While he is in their presence love towards them shines from every part of his face, is heard in every syllable of his speech, and is apparent in every one of his gestures. This is how to understand the command* to have the Lord unceasingly before one’s eyes and to love Him above all, with all one’s soul and all one’s heart.
* Deut. 6:5, 8

8858. A person’s whole character is determined by the nature of whatever dominates his life; this is what marks him off from others. His heaven is formed in accordance with it if he is good, or his hell if he is bad. For it constitutes his true will and so the true being of his life, which is unchangeable after death. From all this one may see what the life is like in a person who has been regenerated, and what it is like in one who has not been regenerated.

EXODUS 20

1 And God spoke all these words, saying,

2 I am Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slaves.

3 You shall not have other gods before My face.

4 You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness [of things] which are in the heavens above, and which are on the earth beneath, and which are in the waters under the earth.

5 You shall not bow down to them, and you shall not serve them; for I am Jehovah your God, a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the sons,* on the third and on the fourth [generations] of those who hate Me,

6 And showing mercy to thousands who love Me and keep My commandments.

7 You shall not take the name of Jehovah your God in vain; for Jehovah will not render him innocent who takes His name in vain.

8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9 Six days you shall labour and do all your work;

10 And the seventh day is a sabbath to Jehovah your God. You shall not do any work – you, nor your son, nor your daughter; your male slave, nor your female slave, nor your beast, nor your sojourner who is within your gates.

11 For in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore Jehovah blessed the sabbath day, and sanctified it.

12 Honour your father and your mother, in order that your days may be prolonged on the land which Jehovah your God gives you.

13** You shall not kill.

14 You shall not commit adultery.

15 You shall not steal.

16 You shall not answer as witness of a lie against your neighbour.

17 You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, nor his male slave nor his female slave, nor his ox nor his ass, nor anything that is your neighbour’s.

18 And all the people saw the voices and torches,*** and the voice of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and the people saw and were violently shaken, and stood afar off.

19 And they said to Moses, Speak yourself to us, and we will hear; and do not let God speak to us, lest perhaps we die.

20 And Moses said to the people, Do not fear, for God has come in order to test you, and in order that His fear may be before your faces, so that you do not sin.

21 And the people stood afar off; and Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.

22 And Jehovah said to Moses, Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, You have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven.

23 You shall not make [to be] with Me gods of silver and gods of gold; you shall not make [them] for yourselves.

24 An altar of soil**** you shall make for Me, and shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your eucharistic offerings, your flocks and your herds; in every place where I shall put the memory of My name I will come to you and bless you.

25 And if you make for Me an altar of stones, you shall not build it with hewn ones; for if you move your chisel over it you will profane it.

26 And you shall not go up to My altar by steps, in order that your nakedness may not be revealed on it.
* or the children
** In the Latin an alternative numbering of verses is used from here to the end of the chapter.
*** i.e. thunder and lightning
**** lit. the ground (humus)

sRef Ex@20 @0 S0′ 8859. CONTENTS

This chapter deals in the internal sense with God’s truths that are to be implanted in the good which governs those belonging to the Lord’s spiritual Church. The Ten Commandments are those truths; and the commandments that follow them in this chapter, regarding sacrifices and the altar, are outward truths concerned with worship.

sRef Ex@20 @1 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @1 S0′ 8860. THE INTERNAL SENSE

Verse 1 And God spoke all these words, saying means God’s truths for those in heaven and for those on earth.

sRef Ex@20 @1 S0′ 8861. ‘And God spoke all these words, saying’ means God’s truths for those in heaven and for those on earth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the words which God spoke’ as God’s truths; for things that God speaks are nothing other than truths. So it is also that God’s truth is called ‘the Word’ – ‘the Word’ being the Lord – in John 1:1, for the reason that the Lord was Divine Truth itself while He was in the world. And after that, when He was glorified, He became Divine Good, and ever since then He has been the source from whom all Divine Truth flows. This Divine Truth comes to the angels as light, the light which also enlightens our inward sight, or power of understanding.

[2] Since this kind of sight does not see natural but spiritual things it has truths as its objects. On the level of the understanding it has spiritual ones, called the truths of faith. But on the natural level it has as its objects the truths concerning a person’s role as a citizen, which are truths about what is right; also the truths concerning a person’s role in private life, which are truths about what is honourable; and lastly the natural truths that are conclusions formed on the basis of objects perceived by the outward senses, in particular that of sight. From all this one may see in what order truths follow one another, and that all collectively and individually have their origin in God’s truths, which are the inner beginnings of all truths. The forms also in which they exist have the same origin, since such forms have been created to receive and contain them. This shows how the teaching in John 1:1-3, that all things were created through the Word, should be understood; for God’s truth is the supreme essential entity, the one true substance, through which all things come into being.

sRef Ex@20 @1 S0′ 8862. The reason why ‘the words which God spoke’ means God’s truths for those in heaven and for those on earth is that the Ten Commandments or Decalogue, and then the statutes, declared and commanded from Mount Sinai, are truths such as are intended not only for those who are on earth but also for those who are in heaven. All the words, that is, all the truths that come from the Lord are not merely for people in the world but also at the same time for angels; for they pass through heaven and thereby to earth. But they do not sound the same in heaven as they do on earth, because there they exist in a spiritual form, whereas on earth they exist in natural form. What they are like in their spiritual form compared with what they are in their natural form is clear from the internal sense and the external sense of the particular things in the Word. In the internal sense they are spiritual matters, but in the external sense, which is the sense of the letter, they are natural ones. The latter have been made suitable for those on earth, but the former for those in heaven.

[2] The truth of this may be seen from the consideration that the Word, sent by the Divine Himself, has passed from Him through heaven to earth. When it reaches earth it is truth made suitable for the human race, which lives amid earthly and bodily things. But as it exists in heaven it is made suitable for angels, who live amid spiritual and celestial things. Because it is like this the Word is in itself holy; for it contains what is heavenly and Divine within it. This is perfectly clear from the Ten Commandments. Anyone can see that those commandments are the kind of laws that are well known everywhere on earth – that one should honour parents, that one should not kill, commit adultery, or steal, and that people should not answer as false witnesses. Consequently the Israelite nation could have known these laws from natural enlightenment alone; for is there any nation that does not know them? And yet Jehovah Himself came down to declare them; and He declared them out of fire that was burning ‘even to the heart of heaven’.* From this it becomes clear that those commandments contain more within them than is apparent in the letter; that is to say, they contain truths such as are intended at the same time for heaven and which fill heaven. Everything in the Word is like this since it comes from the Divine. All this shows why the Word is holy and what should be understood by statements about the inspiration of the Word even to every jot and tattle, and to every small part of a letter, Matt. 5:18; Luke 16:17. The nature therefore of the Ten Commandments in the spiritual sense, that is, as they exist in heaven, will be seen in what is to follow.
* Deut. 4:11

sRef Ex@20 @7 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @2 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @6 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @3 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @4 S0′ 8863. Verses 2-7 I am Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slaves. You shall not have other gods before My face. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness [of things] which are in the heavens above, and which are on the earth beneath, and which are in the waters under the earth. You shall not bow down to them, and you shall not serve them; for I am Jehovah your God, a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the sons,* on the third and on the fourth [generations] of those who hate Me, and showing mercy to thousands who love Me and keep My commandments. You shall not take the name of [Jehovah] your God in vain; for Jehovah will not render him innocent who takes His name in vain.

‘I am Jehovah your God’ means the Lord in respect of the Divine Human reigning universally, in every single aspect of goodness and truth. ‘Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slaves’ means deliverance by Him from hell. ‘You shall not have other gods before My face’ means that there must be no thought about truths from any source other than the Lord. ‘You shall not make for yourself a graven image’ means no product of self-intelligence. ‘Or any likeness’ means a resemblance of those things which are from God. ‘Which are in the heavens above, and which are on the earth beneath’ means which exist in spiritual light, and which exist in natural light. ‘And which are in the waters under the earth’ means which exist on the level of the bodily senses. ‘You shall not bow down to them, and you shall not serve them’ means that no Divine worship must be offered to them. ‘For I am Jehovah your God’ means that the Divine from the Lord is in every single thing. ‘A jealous God’ means that as a result there is falsity and evil. ‘Visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the sons’ means the consequent propagation of falsity from evil. ‘On the third and on the fourth [generations]’ means in a long sequence, and joined together. ‘Of those who hate Me’ means those who completely reject the Lord’s Divinity. ‘And showing mercy to thousands’ means goodness and truth imparted to them for evermore. ‘Who love Me’ means who receive the good of love. ‘And keep My commandments’ means who receive the truths of faith. ‘You shall not take the name of your God in vain’ means instances in which the truth or the good of faith is profaned or blasphemed. ‘For Jehovah will not render him innocent who takes His name in vain’ means that these things cannot be forgiven.
* or the children

sRef Ex@20 @2 S0′ 8864. ‘I am Jehovah your God’ means the Lord in respect of the Divine Human reigning universally, in every single aspect of goodness and truth. This is clear from the consideration that in the Word no one other than the Lord is meant by ‘Jehovah’, 1343, 1736, 2921, 3023, 3035, 3448, 5663, 6280, 6281, 6303, 8274, or likewise by ‘Jehovah Zebaoth’, ‘the Lord Jehovih’, and ‘Jehovah God’, 2921, 3023, 3448, 6303; and from the consideration that the Lord is called ‘Jehovah’ by virtue of the Divine Good, which is the Divine Being (Esse), and ‘God’ by virtue of Divine Truth, which is the Divine Coming-into-being (Existere), 6905, and also 709, 732, 1096, 2586, 2769, 2807, 2822, 3921 (end), 4402. The reason why the Lord’s Divine Human is what ‘Jehovah God’ is used to mean here is that the Lord in respect of that Divine Human is meant in the Word both by ‘Jehovah’ and by ‘God’. Divine Good, which He is also in respect of the Human is meant by ‘Jehovah’, while Divine Truth, which He is because it goes forth from Him, is meant by ‘God’.

aRef John@1 @18 S2′ aRef Gala@3 @19 S2′ aRef John@6 @46 S2′ aRef Hebr@8 @6 S2′ aRef John@10 @7 S2′ aRef John@5 @37 S2′ aRef John@10 @9 S2′ aRef 1Tim@2 @5 S2′ aRef John@14 @6 S2′ aRef Hebr@9 @15 S2′ aRef Gala@3 @20 S2′ aRef Hebr@12 @24 S2′ [2] The reason why the Lord’s Divine Human is meant by ‘Jehovah God’ is that the Divine Itself which is within the Lord cannot be seen in heaven or even perceived, thus cannot be received in faith and love; only the Divine Human can. The truth that the Divine Itself cannot be communicated to angels in heaven, still less to people on earth, except through the Divine Human is well known in the Churches from the Lord’s words in the Gospels, where He says that He is the Door; that He is the Mediator; that nobody can come to the Father except through Him; that no one except Himself knows the Father; and that no one has seen the Father, not even some shape He might take. From all this it is evident that it is the Lord who is meant here by ‘Jehovah God’. It is also well known that He is also the one who has redeemed the human race and delivered them from hell.
This truth is meant by the words that follow, by ‘I brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slaves’. From all this it is now evident that Jehovah God, who spoke from Mount Sinai, is the Lord in respect of the Divine Human.

[3] The reason why this is the first truth to be stated by the Lord from Mount Sinai is that it must be present, reigning universally in each and every truth that follows. For what is stated first must be held in mind and must be seen to reside universally in everything that follows. What ‘universally reigning’ describes will be seen below. The truths which were stated by the Lord are all of this nature. That is to say, truths stated first must reign in those stated next and incorporate them; these in turn must reign in and incorporate those after that, and so on sequentially. In the present chapter the truths stated next are the Ten Commandments, which are inward truths, and after these the statutes, which are outward truths. The latter and the former must have the Lord – His Divine Human – reigning within them, for they spring from Himself, and are Himself. For, to be sure, truths which are truths all emanate from Him; and the things which emanate from Him are Himself. The truth that the Lord’s Divine Human is what must reign in every single part of faith is also well known in the Churches; for they teach that there is no salvation without the Lord, and that all the truth and good of faith comes from Him. Thus since He is the source of faith He is the faith present with a person; and if He is the faith He is also all the truth contained in teachings about faith that are drawn from the Word. This also is the reason why the Lord is called ‘the Word’.

[4] The truth that what comes first must reign in what comes next, and so on sequentially, as stated above, is clear from the individual parts of the things spoken by the Lord, in particular from His prayer called the Lord’s Prayer. All its parts follow one another in such a sequence that they constitute a pillar so to speak, widening from the top down to the base and holding inside itself the things that appear earlier in the sequence. What is first there is inmost, and what comes after in sequence adds itself gradually to the inmost and in that way grows wider. What is inmost then reigns in all the surrounding parts; it reigns universally, that is, in every detail, for it is essential to the existence of them all.

sRef Ex@20 @2 S0′ 8865. How to understand ‘reigning universally’ becomes clear from what has been stated and shown above in 8853-8858. What reigns universally with a person is that which is present in every idea of his thought and every desire of his will, consequently which constitutes his actual mind or life. That which reigns universally within a person should be the Lord, for that which reigns universally within the angels in heaven is the Lord, and they are for this reason said to be ‘in the Lord’. The Lord starts to reign in a person when he not only believes that everything good and everything true comes from Him but also loves it to be so. Angels not only truly believe but also perceive it to be so, and that is why their life is the Lord’s life within them. The life of their will is the life of love coming from the Lord, and the life of their understanding is the life of faith coming from the Lord. All this shows what is meant when it is said that the Lord is the All in all of heaven, and that He is heaven. When the Lord reigns universally with a member of the Church, as He does with angels in heaven, the Lord is within every truth and good of faith residing with him, just as the heart is within all the blood vessels, since they derive from it their origin, and the blood which is their life.

[2] In addition it should be recognized that the kind of spirits or the kind of angels who are present with a person is determined by the nature of what reigns universally in him. The reason for this is that what reigns universally is the being (esse) of anyone’s life, 8853, 8858. All the cheerfulness and all the contentment a person has, even when thinking about other matters, springs from it. For in it the angels and spirits present with him reside and so to speak have a dwelling-place; their gladness enters the person and creates the cheerfulness and contentment. The person does not realize that they are the source of it because a person does not know that his life flows in, or that what reigns universally constitutes his life, or that when something touches this core of his life the effect is like that which visual objects have on the pupil of the eye, that is, pleasure when they are beautiful and pain when they are not beautiful. The term ‘universally’ is used because it implies every single thing within the whole, so that what reigns universally is that which exists in each individual part, see 1919 (end), 5949, 6159, 6338, 6482, 6483, 6571, 7648, 8067.

sRef Ex@20 @2 S0′ 8866. ‘Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slaves’ means deliverance by Him from hell. This is clear from the meaning of ‘bringing out’ as deliverance; from the meaning of ‘the land of Egypt’ as molestations by those from hell, dealt with in 7240, 7278; and from the meaning of ‘the house of slaves’ as spiritual captivity, dealt with in 8049. The reason why ‘the house of slaves’ means spiritual captivity and also hell is that being held captive by those in hell and being led by them is slavery, whereas being led by the Lord is freedom, 892, 905, 2870-2875, 2882, 2884, 2892, 2893, 6205, 8209. The fact that those belonging to the spiritual Church, who are represented by the children of Israel, were delivered from hell by the Lord, through His coming into the world and making Divine the Human within Himself, see 6854, 6914, 7035, 7828, 7932, 8018, 8321.

sRef Ex@20 @3 S0′ 8867. ‘You shall not have other gods before My face’ means that there must be no thought about truths from any source other than the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘gods’ as truths, and in the contrary sense as falsities, dealt with in 4402, 4544, 7268, 7873, 8301; and from the meaning of ‘face’, in a reference to God’s face, as love, mercy, peace, and goodness, dealt with in 222, 223, 4311, 5585, thus the Lord Himself, since the Lord is the Source from which these spring. The reason why ‘there must be no other gods before My face’ means that there must be no thought about truths from any source other than the Lord is also that the Lord’s Divine Human, meant by ‘I am Jehovah your God’, is mentioned first, which is therefore first in line and must reign universally in each individual truth that follows, 8864, 8865. Consequently the commandment now declares such things as are to be avoided because they are thoroughly destructive and prevent the Lord from reigning universally in each and every truth contained in the commandments and statutes that were dictated and commanded from Mount Sinai. The first thing that would be destructive is thought about truths from a source other than the Lord, which is meant in the words that prohibit the presence of other gods before the Lord’s face. All other things which would destroy that truth reigning universally are contained in the prohibitions that follow in sequence – that they were not to make a graven image for themselves; that they were not to make any likeness of the things that were in the heavens, on the earth, and in the waters and that they were not to bow down to them, and not to serve them. And after these therefore comes the reiteration ‘for I am Jehovah your God’, meaning that the Lord must be in every single one.

sRef Matt@24 @23 S0′ sRef Matt@24 @24 S0′ sRef Luke@21 @8 S0′ sRef Matt@24 @26 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @3 S0′ sRef Matt@24 @25 S0′ 8868. A brief statement must also be made about truths which come from a source other than the Lord. In general they are those which do not have the Lord within them. The truths a person knows do not have the Lord within them when he refuses to accept Him and His Divinity, or else when he does accept Him and yet believes that what is good and true does not begin in Him but in himself, as a result of which he claims righteousness for himself. Nor do those truths have the Lord within them which are taken from the Word, in particular from the sense of the letter there, and interpreted in favour of personal dominion and personal gain. In themselves these are truths because they come from the Word yet they are not truths because they are interpreted wrongly and thereby perverted. Such perversions of them are what the Lord means by the following in Matthew,

If anyone says, Behold, here is the Christ! or There! do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will arise, and they will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead into error, if possible, even the elect. Matt. 24:23-26.

See 3900. And in Luke,

See that you are not led astray. For many will come in My name, saying, I am He; The time is near. Therefore do not go after them. Luke 21:8.

[2] Truths which come from the Lord never cease to be truths from the Lord in their inward form. But truths which do not come from the Lord appear to be truths only in their outward form, not in their inward form – for inwardly they are either empty, false, or evil. To be the truth, truth must have life within it; for truth devoid of life is not the truth of faith with a person, and life comes from no other source than good, that is, from the Lord by way of good. If therefore the Lord is not within truth it is truth devoid of life, and so is not truth. And if there is falsity or evil within it the actual truth with a person is falsity or evil. For what exists inwardly constitutes its essential nature, and also in the next life shines through the outward appearance. From all this one may now see how to understand the explanation that there must be no thought about truths from any source other than the Lord.

[3] Since few know about the nature of truths which are truths in their inward form, and so which have life from the Lord, something will be said from experience regarding them. In the next life when anyone speaks there others perceive plainly what lies concealed in the words he utters, such as whether inwardly it is closed or open, and also what kind of affection there is within it. If there is an affection for good it is inwardly soft, if there is an affection for evil it is inwardly hard; and so on. With the angels of heaven the whole content of what they say is open all the way to the Lord. This is not only clearly perceived to be so but is audible from the softness of their speech, indeed from the particular nature of its softness. From this too what lies concealed inwardly in truths is known, whether it is the Lord or not. Truths which have the Lord within them are truths that have life, but truths which do not have the Lord within them are truths that have no life. Those which have life are truths of faith grounded in love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour. Those which have no life are not truths, because inwardly they have self-love and love of the world in them. In this way spirits or angels in the next life can be told apart, for each individual’s possession of truth is determined by the life he leads, that is, by that which reigns universally in him.

sRef Ex@20 @4 S0′ 8869. ‘You shall not make for yourself a graven image’ means no product of self-intelligence. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a graven image’ as that which does not come from the Lord but from a person’s self. A product of one’s own understanding is meant by ‘a graven image’, and a product of one’s own will by ‘a molded image’. Having either kind as a god or venerating it is loving all that comes from self more than anything else. People who do this do not at all believe that any of their intelligence or wisdom flows in from the Divine; for they attribute it all to themselves. And everything else happening to them which they cannot attribute to themselves they relate to fortune or to chance; they altogether refuse to recognize God’s providence in such matters. They suppose that if some higher power is present it lies within the natural order, to which they ascribe all things. They do, it is true, say with their lips that some God and Creator has stamped such things on the natural order; but in their hearts they refuse to recognize any God higher than the natural order. This is what those people are like who at heart attribute everything to their own prudence and intelligence, and nothing to God. And those of them who love themselves venerate their own abilities. They also wish to be venerated by others, indeed to be venerated as gods, openly so if the Church did not forbid it. These are ‘the makers of graven images’, and the images themselves are what they hatch from their own understanding and will, and wish to be venerated as things that are Divine.

sRef Jer@10 @14 S2′ [2] The fact that those things are meant by ‘graven images’ in the Word is clear from places where they are mentioned, as in Jeremiah,

Every person has been made stupid by knowledge; every metal-caster has been filled with shame by his graven image, for his molded image is a lie; and there is no spirit in those things. Jer. 10:14; 51:17.

Because ‘a graven image’ means that which does not originate in the Lord but is a product of self-intelligence, the words ‘every person has been made stupid by knowledge’ and ‘every metal-caster has been filled with shame by his graven image’ are therefore used. And because what is hatched from self-intelligence does not have within it any spiritual life, which comes solely from the Lord, the words ‘and there is no spirit in those things’ are also therefore used.

sRef Hab@2 @18 S3′ sRef Hab@2 @20 S3′ sRef Hos@11 @2 S3′ sRef Hab@2 @19 S3′ [3] In Habakkuk,

What profit is a graven image since its image-maker has graven it, a molded image and a teacher of lies, since the image-maker trusts in the thing he himself has made, when he makes dumb gods? It has no breath in it.* Hab. 2:18-20.

Here ‘a graven image’ stands for what is hatched from self-intelligence and has no life at all from the Lord within it.

sRef Jer@50 @39 S4′ sRef Jer@50 @38 S4′ [4] In Jeremiah,

A drought on its waters, and they will dry up! For it is the land of graven images, and they glory in idols.** Therefore the ziim dwell with the iim, and the daughters of the owl dwell in it. Jer. 50:38, 39.

This refers to Chaldea and Babel. ‘A drought on its waters, and they will dry up’ stands for truths that have no life at all in them, ‘the ziim and the iim and the daughters of the owl dwell’ stands for evils and falsities, and so for things which inwardly belong to death This is why the words ‘the land of graven images’ are used.

sRef Isa@44 @17 S5′ sRef Isa@44 @11 S5′ sRef Isa@44 @18 S5′ sRef Isa@44 @10 S5′ sRef Isa@44 @9 S5′ [5] In Isaiah,

Makers of the graven image, all are vanity; and their most desirable things are profitless. And they are their own witnesses; they do not see, nor do they know. Isa. 44:9-11.

‘Makers of the graven image’ stands for those who hammer out teachings which are not products of truths from the Word but products of self-intelligence, in reference to which teachings the words ‘their most desirable things are profitless’ and ‘they do not see, nor do they know’ are used. Verses 12-16 of that chapter go on to refer to the art of conceiving ideas and of using reasonings to hatch them from self-intelligence – ideas which they wish to be recognized as Divine. Regarding these the following is said finally,

The rest of it he makes into a god, his graven image. He venerates it, bows down [to it]. And yet they do not know or understand; and their eyes do not see, so that their hearts do not understand. Isa. 44:17, 18.

‘They do not know, do not understand, and do not see’ stands for the absence of truths and forms of good within; for inwardly nothing that is the outcome of self-intelligence has either truths or forms of good in it, only falsities and evils, since it is the outcome of the person’s proprium. The fact that the proprium is fundamentally evil, see 210, 215, 694, 874-876, 987, 1023, 1044, 1047, 1581, 3812 (end), 4328, 5660, 5786, 8480.

sRef Isa@40 @19 S6′ sRef Isa@40 @20 S6′ sRef Isa@40 @18 S6′ [6] In the same prophet,

To whom will you liken God, and what image will you compare with Him? The craftsman casts a graven image, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts silver chains for it. Whoever is too impoverished to make this oblation*** chooses a piece of wood that will not rot; he seeks for himself a wise craftsman to make ready a graven image that is immovable. Isa. 40:18-20.

‘A graven image’ cast by a craftsman stands for false teachings that spring from the self, and ‘a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts silver chains for it’ stands for the fact that it uses reasonings to make the falsities in those teachings look like truths.

sRef Isa@42 @7 S7′ sRef Isa@42 @8 S7′ sRef Isa@42 @6 S7′ [7] In the same prophet,

I Jehovah have called You in righteousness, to open the blind eyes, to bring the bound out of prison, out of the dungeon-house those who sit in darkness. I am Jehovah, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to graven images. Isa. 42:6-8.

These words refer to the Lord. They declare that He is Jehovah, that He is the Source of all wisdom, and that none at all springs from man. Their reference to the Lord is self-evident, as is the truth that He is Jehovah; for they declare that Jehovah has called Him in righteousness, and then ‘I am Jehovah, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another’. The truth that He is the Source of all wisdom which has to do with life is meant when it says that He is to open the blind eyes, bring the bound out of prison, and out of the dungeon-house those who sit in darkness; and the truth that no wisdom at all springs from man is meant by ‘My praise I will not give to graven images’.

sRef Deut@27 @15 S8′ sRef Isa@30 @22 S8′ sRef Jer@8 @19 S8′ sRef Isa@21 @9 S8′ [8] Ideas belonging to self-intelligence are also meant by ‘graven images’ in the following places: In Isaiah,

And there came the chariot of a man (vir), a pair of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babel has fallen; and all the graven images he has broken to the earth. Isa. 21:9.

In the same prophet,

Then you will judge unclean the covering of the graven images of your silver, and the clothing of the molded image of your gold. You will throw them away like a menstruous rag; a piece of dung it will be called. Isa. 30:22.

In Jeremiah,

Why have they provoked Me to anger through their graven images, through foreigners’ idols?**** Jer. 8:19.

In Hosea,

[As] they have called themselves, so they have gone for the sake of themselves. They sacrifice to the baals, and burn incense to graven images. Hosea 11:2.

In Moses,

Cursed is the man who makes a graven or a molded image, an abomination to Jehovah, the work of a craftsman’s hands. Deut. 27:15.
* lit. No spirit is in the midst of it.
** lit. horrible things
*** lit. The destitute of the oblation
**** lit. Vanities

sRef Ex@20 @4 S0′ 8870. ‘Or any likeness’ means a resemblance of those things which are from God. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a likeness’ as a resemblance. The fact that the resemblance is of those things which are from God is evident from what comes before and after. What comes before declares that there must be no other gods before Jehovah God’s face, and that people must not make for themselves a graven image, meaning truths that spring from a source other than God yet are made to look like those from Him. And what comes after speaks of that which is in heaven, that which is on the earth, and that which is in the waters, meaning such things everywhere as are from God.

[2] How a resemblance of those things which are from God should be understood must be stated here, since they are the subject in the rest of the present verse and in the first part of the next. A resemblance of those things which are from God is produced when people speak God’s truths with their lips and also perform the kinds of deeds which have been commanded by God, and in so doing lead others to believe that they are governed by what is good and true, when yet at heart they think in a completely different way, and are intent only on what is bad. Such people are pretenders, hypocrites, and deceivers. These are the ones who produce a resemblance of those things which are from God. In the next life evil spirits produce a resemblance of those things which are from God; they present a likeness and appearance in externals, which inwardly have nothing at all of God in them. Pretenders, hypocrites, and deceivers in the next life learn to behave in this way, as in general do all who by frequent practice have become habituated to saying one thing while thinking another, and to doing one thing while being intent on another. People who engage in such presences wish to earn a reputation, some in order that they may seem to be good, and so may mislead other people, others in order that they may exercise dominion.

[3] Such things there are also misuses of correspondences. But the externals by means of which they have performed deeds that simulate acts of charity and faith are gradually removed from them, and then the internals, which are wicked and horrid, are laid bare. For as a result of this those people are led to act out their true nature which they acquired in the world, and no longer some presence or hypocrisy. When people like these realize that externals are to be taken away from them they say that if the externals were left with them they could mix with companions in the next life and seemingly perform good deeds just as well as when they had previously been in the world. But this is impossible. Their externals which are seemingly good would place them in contact in some way with heaven – that is to say, with those who are in the outskirts there and are simple, who correspond to skin in the Grand Man – while their internals would place them in contact with hell. And since the evil desires within predominate because they occupy the will, and the simulations of good deeds in externals serve to acquire dominion for the evil, it is contrary to Divine order to leave those people free to dissemble and act hypocritically as they did in the world. Therefore such things are taken away from them, and they are left to the evil itself present in the intentions of their will.

sRef Ex@20 @4 S0′ 8871. ‘Which are in the heavens above, and which are on the earth beneath’ means which exist in spiritual light’ and which exist in natural light. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a likeness of those things which are in the heavens above’ as the things which are visible to the eye in spiritual light, all of which are connected with goodness and truth, and so are aspects of faith, charity towards the neighbour, and love to the Lord (feigning and simulating these virtues is meant by ‘making a likeness of those things which are in the heavens above’); and from the meaning of ‘a likeness of those things which are on the earth beneath’ as the things which are visible to the eye in natural light, which are the kind that belong to goodness and truth on the level of people’s public life and on that of their private life. Feigning and simulating these virtues is ‘making a likeness of those things which are on the earth beneath’. The sense of the letter implies objects seen in the sky, such as the sun, moon, and stars, and objects seen on earth, such as various kinds of living creatures, both flying ones and those that walk or creep. But the internal sense implies the kinds of things that are meant spiritually by those objects, all of which are connected with goodness and truth, as stated above.

sRef Deut@4 @18 S2′ sRef Deut@4 @19 S2′ sRef Deut@4 @25 S2′ sRef Deut@4 @20 S2′ sRef Deut@4 @26 S2′ sRef Deut@4 @27 S2′ sRef Deut@4 @24 S2′ sRef Deut@4 @17 S2′ sRef Deut@4 @16 S2′ sRef Deut@4 @21 S2′ sRef Deut@4 @23 S2′ sRef Deut@4 @28 S2′ sRef Deut@4 @22 S2′ [2] Further description of these matters is contained in the following words in Moses,

… lest you make for yourselves a graven image in the form of any likeness, the figure of a male or a female, the figure of any beast which is on the earth, the figure of any winged bird which flies under heaven, the figure of any creeping thing on the earth, of a fish which is in the waters under the earth; and lest perhaps you lift your eyes to heaven and you look at the sun and moon and stars, all the host of heaven, and you are drawn away and bow down to them and serve them. Take care, lest you forget the covenant of Jehovah your God which He has made with you, and you make for yourselves a graven image of any figure. For Jehovah your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God. When you beget children and children’s children, and grow old in the land, and corrupt yourselves and make a graven image of any figure, I call heaven and earth today as witnesses against you, that you will altogether perish quickly from upon the land. Jehovah will scatter you among the peoples, where you will serve gods, the work of man ‘s hands – wood and stone. Deut. 4:16-19, 23-28.

[3] The chief reason why making a likeness of anything in the heavens or on the earth was so strictly forbidden was that this people descended from Jacob were most prone to worshipping external objects. The reason for that proneness was that they had no wish to know anything whatever about the internal aspects of the Church, which are those of faith and love to the Lord, and of charity towards the neighbour. If therefore they had been allowed to make likenesses of things they would have bowed down to them and worshipped them as gods. This is plainly evident from the golden calf which they made for themselves in the midst of so many miracles, and also from their frequent apostasy, when they forsook the worship of God for idolatrous worship. Nevertheless such actions by them are not meant in the internal sense but the things which have been explained above.

sRef Ex@20 @4 S0′ 8872. ‘And which are in the waters under the earth’ means which exist on the level of the bodily senses. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a likeness of the things which are in the waters under the earth’, as those which come below the ones that exist in natural light. The fact that they exist on the level of the bodily senses is evident from the consecutive degrees of the light that shines in a person’s understanding. In the first degree with him there are the things which exist in spiritual light; these are meant by ‘the things which are in the heavens above’. In the second degree there are the things which exist in natural light; these are meant by ‘the things which are on the earth beneath’. And in the third degree there are the things which exist on the level of the bodily senses; these are meant by ‘the things which are in the waters under the earth’. What the level of the bodily senses is and the nature of it, see 5084, 5089, 5094, 5125, 5128, 5580, 5767, 6183, 6201, 6310-6316, 6318, 6598, 6612, 6614, 6622, 6624, 6844, 6845, 6948, 6949, 7442, 7693. The things which come to be known most directly from the experience of the outward senses, and the delights accompanying such knowledge, are connected with the level of the bodily senses. With those who are good that knowledge and associated delights are good because they are used in good deeds; but with those who are bad they are bad because they are used in bad deeds. Misleading by means of such knowledge and its delights, as pretenders, hypocrites, and deceivers are accustomed to do, is ‘making a likeness of such things as are below the waters under the earth.’

sRef Ex@20 @5 S0′ 8873. ‘You shall not bow down to them, and you shall not serve them’ means that no Divine worship must be offered to them. This is clear from the meaning of ‘bowing down’ as humility, dealt with in 2153, 5682, 6266, 7068; and from the meaning of ‘serving’ as submissiveness, dealt with in 5164. The reason why Divine worship is meant is that humility and submissiveness are the essentials of worship; for without them worship is not worship, only bodily actions which are an imitation of those made by people engaged in true worship. Such actions have no life at all in them. Life from the Lord flows only into a humble and submissive heart, since it is fitted to receive. And it is fitted to receive because when a heart is truly humble no self-love or love of the world stands in the way. The reason why both expressions are used is that ‘bowing down’ means worship springing from the good of love, and ‘serving’ worship springing from the truth of faith.

sRef Ex@20 @5 S0′ 8874. ‘For I am Jehovah your God’ means that the Divine from the Lord is in every single thing. This is clear from the explanations above in 8864, 8865.

sRef Ex@20 @5 S0′ sRef Ps@79 @6 S0′ sRef Ps@79 @5 S0′ 8875. ‘A jealous God’ means that as a result there is falsity and evil. This is clear from the consideration that in the genuine sense ‘a jealous God’ means the Divine Truth of Divine Good, since ‘God’ has reference to truth, 2586, 2769, 2807, 2822, 3921 (end), 4287, 4402, 7010, 7268, 8301, and ‘jealous’ to good, as will be seen below. But so far as those who do not receive the Divine Truth of the Lord’s Divine Good are concerned, ‘a jealous God’ is falsity and evil. For those who are opposed to Him perceive Divine Truth as falsity, and Divine Good as evil; for the way in which everyone sees that Truth and Good is determined by what he really is in himself. So it is that the Lord’s zeal,* which in itself is love and compassion, is seen by them as anger; for when the Lord in love and mercy protects His own in heaven those ruled by evil are indignant and angry with the good. They plunge into the sphere where Divine Good and Divine Truth are, endeavouring to destroy those who are there. But then the Divine Truth of Divine Good acts on them and causes them to experience torments like those suffered in hell. As a consequence of this they attribute wrath and anger, and also all evil, to the Divine, when in fact there is no anger whatever in the Divine, nor any evil whatever, only pure forbearance and mercy.

[2] From all this it is evident why ‘jealous’ means falsity and evil, and why ‘zeal’ means anger. See what has been shown already about them, that is to say, in the following places,

Wrath and anger are attributed to the Lord, when in fact they exist with those who are ruled by evil or who are full of anger against the Divine, 5798, 6997, 8284, 8483.

Evil things, punishments, and times of vastation are in a similar way attributed to the Lord, when in fact nothing except love and mercy reside with the Lord, 2447, 6071, 6559, 6991, 6997, 7533, 7632, 7643, 7679, 7710, 7877, 7926, 8214, 8223, 8226-8228, 8282, 8632.

Through their endeavour to destroy goodness and truth the evil bring about their own devastation and cast themselves into damnation and hell, 7643, 7679, 7710, 7926, 7989.

The way in which everyone sees the Lord is determined by what he is within himself, 1861 (end), 6832, 8197.

sRef Isa@63 @15 S3′ [3] The places in the Word which are quoted below will show that ‘the zeal of the Lord’ is love and mercy, and that when the Lord protects the good against the evil it seems like hostility, and also like anger.

The zeal of the Lord is love and mercy.

In Isaiah,

Look out from heaven, and see from the dwelling-place of Your holiness and of Your glory. And where are Your zeal and Your might? The yearning of Your loins,** and Your compassion,*** towards me have held themselves back. Isa. 63:15.

‘Zeal’ here stands for mercy, which is ‘a yearning of the loins’ and has reference to good. For where it says ‘Your zeal and Your might’ the word ‘zeal’ has reference to good, and the word ‘might’ to truth; and ‘the yearning of the loins’ likewise has reference to good, and ‘compassion’ to truth. In a like manner ‘the dwelling-place of holiness’ stands for the heaven where members of the celestial kingdom live, and ‘the dwelling-place of glory’ for the heaven where members of the spiritual kingdom live. From this too it is evident that where good is referred to in the Word, truth is referred to as well, on account of the heavenly marriage, which is the marriage of good and truth, in every individual part of the Word. This is so in the case of the Lord’s two names Jesus and Christ; they are a sign of the Divine marriage within the Lord. Regarding these matters, see 683, 793, 801, 2516, 4138 (end), 5138, 5502, 6343, 7945, 8339 (end).

sRef Isa@37 @32 S4′ sRef Isa@9 @7 S4′ sRef Isa@9 @6 S4′ [4] In the same prophet,

To us a Boy is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulder; and His name is called’**** Wonderful, Counsellor, God, Hero, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end. The zeal of Jehovah will do this. Isa. 9:6, 7.

This refers to the Lord and His Coming. ‘The zeal of Jehovah will do this’ stands for His acting from a love that burns to save the human race. In the same prophet,

Out of Jerusalem will go a remnant, and those who escape from Mount Zion. The zeal of Jehovah will do this. Isa. 37:32.

‘The zeal of Jehovah will do this’ stands for His acting out of love and mercy.

sRef Ps@69 @9 S5′ sRef Ezek@39 @25 S5′ [5] In Ezekiel,

Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name.***** Ezek. 39:25.

‘Being jealous’ stands for having mercy. In David, The zeal of Your house has devoured me. Ps. 69:9.

This refers to the Lord. ‘The zeal of Jehovah’s house’ stands for love towards those who receive goodness and truth; for they are Jehovah’s house.

sRef Joel@2 @18 S6′ sRef Isa@42 @13 S6′ [6] The Lord’s zeal or mercy when He protects the good seems like hostility.

In Isaiah,

Jehovah will go forth as a mighty man, as a man of war He will arouse zeal; He will shout aloud and cry out, He will prevail over His enemies. Isa. 42:13.

And in Joel,

Jehovah will be jealous for His land, and spare His people. Joel 2:18.

sRef Deut@29 @20 S7′ sRef Zech@1 @15 S7′ sRef Zech@1 @14 S7′ sRef Ezek@5 @13 S7′ sRef Deut@6 @14 S7′ sRef Deut@6 @15 S7′ sRef Deut@32 @21 S7′ sRef Zeph@3 @8 S7′ sRef Deut@32 @17 S7′ sRef Deut@32 @16 S7′ [7] The Lord’s zeal is called anger and wrath because mercy is seen as such by the evil.

In Moses,

You shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the peoples who are round about you (for Jehovah your God in the midst of you is a jealous God), lest perhaps the anger of Jehovah your God flare up against you and destroy you from the face of the earth. Deut. 6:14, 15.

In the same author,

They provoked Him to jealousy through foreign [gods]; through abominations they made Him angry. They sacrifice to demons. They have moved Me to jealousy,****** by what is not god, they have provoked Me to anger with their idols.******* Deut. 32:16, 17, 21.

In Ezekiel,

When My anger is accomplished and I make My wrath rest on them, I will repent, so that they may know that I Jehovah have spoken in My zeal, when I have accomplished My wrath on them. Ezek. 5:13.

In Zechariah,

The angel of Jehovah [speaking] in me said to me, Cry out, saying, Thus said Jehovah Zebaoth, I have been jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with great zeal. For I have become extremely indignant against the nations that feel secure. Zech. 1:14, 15; 8:2.

In Zephaniah,

I will pour out onto them My indignation, all My fierce anger,******** for in the fire of My zeal the whole earth will be devoured. Zeph. 3:8.

In Moses,

Jehovah will not be pleased to pardon him; but then the anger of Jehovah, and His zeal, will smoke against that man, and every curse will rest on him Deut. 29:20.

In David,

How long, O Jehovah; will you be angry forever? Will your jealousy burn line fire? Pour out Your anger on the nations that do not know You. Ps. 79:5, 6.

Jehovah’s zeal is in like manner referred to as ‘anger’ in Ps. 38:1; Ezek. 16:42; 23:25; 38:19.

All this shows what is meant by ‘Jehovah’s zeal’ or ‘a jealous God’ – in the genuine sense love and mercy, but in the non-genuine sense, such as that understood by those immersed in evils and falsities, anger and ruination.

[8] It should be recognized that Jehovah, that is, the Lord, is called ‘jealous’ or ‘an avenger’ especially when what ought to reign universally with a member of the Church – that is to say, what is Divine and must be either loved, held in mind, or feared above all things – is being corrupted. When it has been corrupted or destroyed complete and utter darkness ensues in place of heavenly light; for that light no longer flows in from the Divine because there is no acceptance of it. This is why the commandment says, ‘I am Jehovah your God, a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the sons, on the third and on the fourth [generations] of those who hate Me’, which He would do if they worshipped other gods or made either a graven image or likenesses for themselves. For these corrupt what is Divine and ought to reign universally.

sRef Ex@34 @14 S9′ sRef Deut@4 @24 S9′ sRef Deut@4 @23 S9′ [9] Therefore similar declarations occur elsewhere in Moses,

Take care, lest you make for yourselves a graven image of any figure; for Jehovah your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God. Deut. 4:23, 24

And in the same author,

You shall not worship any other god; for Jehovah, whose name is Jealous, He is a jealous [God]. Exod. 34:14.

The reason why the Israelite nation was forbidden so strictly to do these things was that any adoration of other gods, graven images, and other images destroyed everything representative of the Church among them. For in heaven Jehovah, that is, the Lord, reigns universally; His Divine [Life] fills all things there and composes the life of all. If anything else had been worshipped instead of the Divine, everything representative, and so contact with heaven, would have perished.
* or jealousy. In Latin, as in Hebrew, the same noun may be rendered zeal or jealousy, and the same adjective may be rendered zealous or jealous.
**lit. The commotion of Your viscera
*** lit. compassions
**** lit. He has called His name
***** lit. the name of My holiness
****** lit. they have moved My jealousy (or zeal)
******* lit. vanities
******** lit all the wrath of My anger

sRef Ex@20 @5 S0′ 8876. ‘Visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the sons’ means the consequent propagation of falsity from evil. This is clear from the meaning of ‘visiting the iniquity of the fathers’ as the propagation of evils, the reason why ‘visiting’ means propagating being that the subject is the state of those who completely reject the Divine, therefore who are receptive no longer of good but of evil, and constantly so since evil is constantly increasing with such people, which is the propagation of it (for the meaning of ‘father’ as good and in the contrary sense as evil, see 3703, 5902, 6050, 7833, 7834); and from the meaning of ‘the sons’ as truths, dealt with in 1147, 2623, 3373, and therefore in the contrary sense as falsities In the proximate sense ‘visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the sons’ does not mean that sons pay the penalty for the iniquity of their fathers, for that is contrary to the Divine, Deut. 24:16. Rather the meaning in that sense is that evil increases with the fathers and so is passed on by heredity to their children, and that consequently the evil mounts up over successive generations, 2910, 3701, 4317, 8550, 8551. In the spiritual sense however ‘the fathers’ does not mean fathers but evils, and ‘the sons’ does not mean sons but falsities; therefore those words mean the constant propagation of falsity from evil.

sRef Ex@20 @5 S0′ 8877. ‘On the third and on the fourth [generations]’ means in a long sequence, and joined together. This is clear from the meaning of ‘three’ as what is complete from start to finish, dealt with in 2788, 4495, 7715, thus a long sequence, so that ‘the third [generation on sons’ is falsities in a long sequence (for the meaning of ‘sons’ as falsities, see immediately above in 8876); and from the meaning of ‘four’, like two, as joined together, dealt with in 1686, 5194, 8423, so that ‘the third and the fourth [generations of] sons’ are falsities joined together in a long sequence. This explanation of ‘the third and the fourth [generations of] sons’ must inevitably seem to be nonsensical or foreign to the meaning of the Word; but it should be remembered that in the internal sense numbers do not mean numbers but real things, see 482, 487, 575, 647, 648, 755, 813, 1963, 1988, 2075, 2252, 3252, 4264, 4495, 4670, 5265, 6175.

sRef Ex@20 @5 S0′ 8878. ‘Of those who hate Me’ means those who completely reject the Lord’s Divinity. This is clear from the meaning of ‘those who hate God’ as those who are ruled by evil and therefore by falsity. For these are they who reject the Lord’s Divinity; and to the extent that they are ruled by evil and therefore by falsity they not merely reject but also hate it. The reason why the Lord’s Divinity is what they reject is that those ruled by evil do not see things in heavenly light, only in natural light, and eventually only in the light of sensory awareness provided by the body. In this inferior light these people cannot possibly see the Lord’s Human as anything more than human. They are unable to recognize what the Divine Human is, because they have an altogether empty and meaningless notion of the Divine. If they are told that the Divine itself is Divine Love, and that Divine Love is the Essential Being (Esse) of all life; if they are told that by virtue of His conception the Lord was that Love, which was thus the Essential Being of His life, that is, was Jehovah; and if they are told that He glorified, that is, made Divine, His Human to be the likeness of Him, then those of them who are endowed with some intellectual ability may indeed be able to some extent to grasp all this. Even so, they do not believe it; for when they pass from the intellectual light in which they are then seeing things into their natural and sensory light, they sink into complete and utter darkness regarding this truth, and consequently into denial of it.

sRef Ex@20 @6 S0′ 8879. ‘And showing mercy to thousands’ means goodness and truth imparted to them for evermore. This is clear from the meaning of ‘mercy’ as the influx of goodness and truth from the Lord, and therefore spiritual life imparted through regeneration, dealt with in 6180, 8307, for out of mercy the Lord imparts the gifts that belong to eternal life and happiness; and from the meaning of ‘a thousand’ as very much and, when it refers to God’s mercy, as for evermore, dealt with in 2575, 8715.

sRef Ex@20 @6 S0′ 8880. ‘Who love Me’ means who receive the good of love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘those who love Jehovah’, that is, people who love the Lord, as receivers of the good of love; for the love of those who love the Lord does not originate in themselves but comes from the Lord. This is so because all good flows in from Him, and the ones who love Him are those who refrain from evil; for evil stands in the way and repels the inflow of good from the Lord. Consequently once evil has been removed good, which is constantly present from the Lord and trying to enter, is received.

sRef Ex@20 @6 S0′ 8881. ‘And keep My commandments’ means who receive the truths of faith. This is clear from the meaning of ‘commandments’ as the truths of faith, dealt with in 3382, 8362. The reason why ‘keeping’ them means receiving them is that truths which are called the truths of faith – if they are to be those of faith with a person and have life in them – also flow in from the Lord. A person, it is true, learns them and stores them in his memory; but as long as they are not in the person’s will and he does not therefore do them, they do not come to have any life in them. When however they are brought out of store in his memory and introduced by way of his understanding into his will, that is, through thought into affection and therefore into action, they come to have life in them and to be truths of faith. This is accomplished by the Lord when the person refrains from evils, as stated immediately above in 8880.

sRef Ex@20 @7 S0′ 8882. ‘You shall not take the name of your God in vain’ means instances in which the truth or the good of faith is profaned or blasphemed. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the name of God’ as everything in its entirety with which the Lord is worshipped, thus every truth or good of faith, dealt with in 2724, 3006, 6674; and from the meaning of ‘taking in vain’ as profaning and blaspheming. To be precise ‘taking God’s name in vain’ means turning what is true into what is bad, that is, believing it to be true and yet living a bad life. It is also turning what is good into what is false, that is, living in a holy manner and yet not believing. Both are forms of profanation, 4601. Belief belongs to the understanding and life to the will; consequently thought and will in people whose belief is out of keeping with their life are divided. But the will is entering constantly into the understanding, for the understanding is the outward form assumed by the will, that is, the will brings itself to light there. This being so, when a person thinks in one way and lives in another, truth and evil or goodness and falsity are combined with each other; that is, things of heaven with a person are combined with those of hell. This combination cannot be dissolved, and so the person cannot be healed, except by a tearing apart which takes away with it everything of spiritual life. Therefore people who are like this are sent to the most horrible hell of all, where they suffer dreadful torments. sRef Luke@11 @26 S2′ sRef Matt@12 @32 S2′ sRef Matt@12 @31 S2′ sRef Luke@11 @24 S2′ sRef Luke@11 @25 S2′ [2] This is how the Lord’s words in Matthew should be understood,

Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy of the Spirit will not be forgiven people. If anyone speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but he who speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the one to come. Matt. 12:31, 32.

Also by these words in Luke,

When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person he passes through dry places seeking rest – and if he does not find any he says, I will return to my house out of which I came. And if when he comes he finds it swept and decorated, he goes away and brings seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter in and dwell there. And the last things of the person become worse than the first. Luke 11:24-26.

[3] By these words the Lord is describing the profanation of truth. ‘When the unclean spirit goes out’ is used to mean acknowledgement of and real belief in truth, ‘the house which has been swept’ to mean a life contrary to truths, and ‘his coming back with seven others’ to mean a state of profanation. These are the things which are meant by ‘taking God’s name in vain’. The fact that the person cannot be healed from such a condition and so receive forgiveness is also meant by the words following immediately after – ‘Jehovah will not render him innocent who takes His name in vain’ – which are used to mean that this thing cannot be forgiven. For more about what profanation is and with whom it exists, see 593, 1003, 1008, 1010, 1059, 1327, 1328, 2051, 2426, 3398, 3399, 3402, 3489, 6348, 6595, 6960, 6963, 6971, 8394

sRef Ex@32 @6 S4′ sRef Ex@32 @33 S4′ sRef Ex@32 @5 S4′ sRef Ex@32 @4 S4′ sRef Ex@32 @34 S4′ [4] ‘Taking God’s name in vain’ also means blasphemy, which takes place when fun is poked at those things which belong to the Word or to religious teachings and belief, thus which are holy, and they are dragged through the mud and thereby defiled, dealt with in 4050, 5390. But in respect of the Israelite nation, which did not acknowledge any good or truth of faith meant by ‘God’s name’, their use of Jehovah’s name, and also of the commandments and statutes they were commanded, in the worship of idols is meant by ‘taking God’s name in vain’. It was what they did in the wilderness when they worshipped the golden calf; they not only presented it burnt offerings and sacrifices, and ate of consecrated elements from them, but also called the day of that celebration ‘a feast to Jehovah’. This is recorded in Moses as follows,

Aaron made out of the gold a molded calf, and they said, These are your gods, O Israel. who caused you to come up out of the land of Egypt. When Aaron saw it he built an altar in front of it, and made a proclamation and said, Tomorrow there will be a feast to Jehovah. Therefore they rose up in the morning of the next day and presented burnt offerings and brought eucharistic offerings. Exod. 32:4-6.

Jehovah’s words at the time, concerning those who had taken the name of Jehovah God in vain by doing all this, make it clear that they could not be forgiven, meant by their not being rendered innocent. Those words spoken to Moses are,

Him who has sinned against Me I will blot out of My book. All the same, go, lead this people to the place of which I have spoken to you. But on the day of My visitation, I will visit them for their sin. Exod 32:33, 34.

sRef Ex@20 @7 S0′ 8883. ‘For Jehovah will not render him innocent who takes His name in vain’ means that those things cannot be forgiven. This is clear from the explanation immediately above in 8882.

sRef Ex@20 @10 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @11 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @9 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @8 S0′ 8884. Verses 8-11 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work; and the seventh day is a sabbath to Jehovah your God. You shall not do any work – you, nor your son, nor your daughter; your male slave, nor your female slave, nor your beast, nor your sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore Jehovah blessed the sabbath day, and sanctified it.

‘Remember’ means what is perpetually in the thoughts. ‘The sabbath day’ in the highest sense means the union of the Lord’s Divine Itself and His Divine Human; in the internal sense it means the Divine Human joined to the heavens, and so means heaven and consequently the marriage of goodness and truth there. ‘To keep it holy’ means no violation in any way. ‘Six days you shall labour and do all your work’ means the conflict which comes before and is preparatory to that marriage. ‘And the seventh day is a sabbath to Jehovah your God’ means when good has been implanted, and so the marriage exists. ‘You shall not do any work – you, nor your son, nor your daughter; your male slave, nor your female slave, nor your beast, nor your sojourner who is within your gates’ means that at that time heaven and its blessedness are present in every single part of a person inwardly and outwardly. ‘For in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, and the sea’ means regenerating and vivifying the things in the internal man and in the external. ‘And all that is in them’ means of all that are there. ‘And rested on the seventh day’ means that at that time peace and the good of love are present. ‘Therefore Jehovah blessed the seventh day’ means that at that time the heavenly marriage from the Lord exists. ‘And sanctified it’ means that in no way can it be violated.

sRef Ex@20 @8 S0′ 8885. ‘Remember’ means what is perpetually in the thoughts. This is clear from the meaning of ‘remembering’, when said in connection with the kind of thing which must by no means be forgotten, as what is perpetually in the power of thought. What is perpetually in the thoughts is that which reigns universally there; and that reigns universally with a person which is present perpetually in his thoughts, even when his mind is on other things or he is occupied with his work. A person’s thoughts contain a number of things existing together with one another, for it is the form produced by a number of things which have entered in successive stages. The ones which are clearly perceptible lie in the middle then and so are in the light that inner sight possesses, while the remainder then are to the sides round about. Those which lie in the surrounding parts are in obscurity and are not plainly visible, except when the kinds of matters which they have been connected with crop up. But those which are even more outlying, and are not on the same level but slope away downwards, are the kinds of things which a person has thrown aside and which he detests. The latter are evils and falsities in the case of people who are good, and forms of good and truths in the case of those who are bad.

[2] Within a person’s thoughts there are things which are there perpetually, that is, they reign universally there; these are his inmost things. From them the person regards others which are not perpetually there, that is, are not yet reigning universally, as being outside himself, and also as beneath himself and not as yet related to him. From these others he can at that time choose and link to himself ones which accord with the inmost; and when they have been linked to and at length combined with them, the inmost, that is, those reigning universally, are made stronger. This is done by means of new truths in the case of those who are good, and by means of new falsities, or by wrong application of truths, in the case of those who are bad.

[3] It should be recognized in addition that that which reigns universally is whatever has been instilled into the actual will, which is the inmost part of a person because it has been formed from his love. For whatever a person loves, that is what he wills; and what he loves above all he wills in his inmost being. The understanding however serves to make plain to others the things a person wills, that is, loves. But also it serves to bend other people’s wills; the person uses ideas formulated in various ways to make their wills comply with his own. When this happens love or affection also passes from the will into ideas in the understanding, and by means of a kind of inspiration breathes life and movement into them.

[4] In the case of people who are good those ideas in the understanding make one with affections belonging to the will. But in the case of people who are bad it is different. With them thought and will inmostly do indeed accord with each other; for the evil desired by the will occupies the understanding in the form of falsity according with that evil. But this agreement is not evident to people in the world; for they learn from earliest childhood to speak other than they think, and to do other than they will. In short they learn to separate their inner man from their outer man, to develop in the latter a will and also thought other than what is in the inner man, and so by means of their outer man to feign good that is altogether out of keeping with their inner man, which in the same instant desires evil and also imperceptibly is thinking it. But what the inner will and thought are like is evident in the next life, as in broad daylight; for there externals are taken away and internals are laid bare.

sRef Ex@20 @8 S0′ 8886. ‘The sabbath day’ in the highest sense means the union of the Lord’s Divine [Itself] and His Divine Human; in the internal sense it means the Divine Human joined to the heavens, and so means heaven and consequently the marriage of goodness and truth there. This is clear from what has been shown already in 8495. Since such things are meant by ‘the sabbath’, therefore in the representative Church it was most holy. It was that which was to be perpetually in the thoughts, that is, that which was to compose a heavenly life; for what a person thinks perpetually, that is, what reigns universally, composes his life, see 8853 8858, 8865, 8885. The Israelite nation had no thought, it is true, of the union of the Lord’s Divine and His Divine Human, or of His union with heaven, or of goodness and truth joined together in heaven, which were meant by ‘the sabbath’, since they were concerned altogether with external things and not with anything internal. Yet they were commanded to hold the sabbath most holy, in order that Divine and heavenly realities might be represented in heaven. The situation as it was with them is evident from what has been shown already regarding that nation, and regarding a representative of the Church among them, in 3147, 3479, 3480, 3881 (end), 4208, 4281, 4288, 4289, 4293, 4307, 4444, 4580, 4680, 4825, 4844, 4847, 4899, 4912, 6304, 6306, 7048, 7051, 8301 (end).

sRef Ex@20 @8 S0′ 8887. ‘To keep it holy’ means no violation in any way. This is clear from the things commanded regarding the sabbath, which are dealt with in 8495, and from the things that follow here about keeping the sabbath holy, which are,

Six days you shall labour and do all your work; and the seventh day is a sabbath to Jehovah your God. You shall not do any work – you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore Jehovah blessed the sabbath day, and sanctified it.

From these words it is clear that ‘keeping the sabbath holy’ means not violating it in any way. But the internal sense of the commandment is that the realities meant by the sabbath must not be violated in any way, those realities being the union of the Lord’s Divine Essence with His Human Essence, also the union of His Human with the heavens, and the consequent joining together in them of goodness and truth, 8886. For if these realities are violated by anyone, spiritual life is ruined with that person. It becomes life on the natural level alone and after this on that of the senses, when falsity is seized on instead of truth, and evil instead of good, since these now reign universally with that person.

sRef Ex@20 @9 S0′ 8888. ‘Six days you shall labour and do all your work’ means the conflict which comes before and is preparatory to that marriage. This is clear from the meaning of ‘six days’ as states of conflict, conflict being meant by ‘six’, see 720, 737, 900, and states by ‘days’, 23, 487, 488, 493, 2788, 4850, 5672, 5962, 6110, 8426; and from the meaning of ‘labouring and doing one’s work’ as attending to the necessary things of life, here those of spiritual life, which is life in heaven.

[2] Furthermore by the conflict which comes before and is preparatory to the heavenly marriage one should understand spiritual conflict or temptation. For before a person enters into the heavenly marriage, that is, before being regenerated, he is involved in conflict with the evils and falsities residing with him; these have to be removed before truth and good from the Lord can be received. They are removed – those evils and falsities – by means of the truths of faith; for a person not only learns through those truths what good is, but is also led to good by means of them. This state is the first that a person who is being regenerated passes through; and it is called the state which comes before and is preparatory to the heavenly marriage. But when the person is governed by good and is led by the Lord by means of good, he has entered into the heavenly marriage, and so is in heaven since the heavenly marriage is heaven. The first state is what is meant by the six days that come before the seventh, the second is what is meant by the seventh day. Regarding these two states with a person, see 7923, 8505, 8506, 8510, 8512, 8516, 8539, 8643, 8648, 8658, 8685, 8690, 8701, 8722.

[3] Since the heavenly marriage, which is heaven, is meant by ‘the sabbath’, the Lord’s kingdom in the heavens is called an everlasting sabbath, that is, everlasting rest and peace; and there the six days of labour are no more.

sRef Ex@20 @10 S0′ 8889. ‘And the seventh day is a sabbath to Jehovah your God’ means when good has been implanted and so the marriage exists. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the sabbath’ as the heavenly marriage, dealt with above in 8886, thus good which has been implanted through truths and after that given form by them. For good with a person is not spiritual good until it has been given form by truths. And when it has been given form the heavenly marriage exists, since this marriage is good and truth joined together and constitutes heaven itself with a person. All this also goes to explain why ‘the seventh day’ means a holy state, state being meant by ‘day’, see 8888, and holy by ‘seven’, 395, 433, 716, 881, 5265.

sRef Ex@20 @10 S0′ 8890. ‘You shall not do any work – you, nor your son, nor your daughter; your male slave, nor your female slave, nor your beast, nor your sojourner who is within your gates’ means that at that time heaven and its blessedness are present in every single part of a person inwardly and outwardly. This is clear from the meaning of ‘not doing any work’ as rest and peace, thus heaven, for when a person is in heaven he is free from all apprehensiveness, uneasiness, and anxiety, and when free from these, blessedness is his; and from the meaning of ‘you, your son, your daughter, your male slave, your female slave, your beast, and the sojourner within your gates’ as every single part of a person inwardly and outwardly. For ‘you’ means the person himself, ‘son’ means his understanding, and ‘daughter’ his will, both of which reside in his internal man. ‘Male slave’ means his natural in respect of truth, and ‘female slave’ his natural in respect of good, thus both as they reside in his external man, while ‘beast’ means affection in general, and ‘sojourner within the gates’ factual knowledge in general. Thus every single part is meant. ‘Son’ means his understanding here because ‘son’ means truth, and truths constitute the understanding; and ‘daughter’ means his will because ‘daughter’ means good, and forms of good constitute the will. For the meaning of ‘son’ as truth, and so the understanding, see 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3373, 3704, 4257; for ‘daughter’ as good, and so the will, 489-491, 2362, 3024; for ‘male slave’ as the natural in respect of truth, 3019, 3020, 3409, 5305, 7998; for ‘female slave’ as the natural in respect of good, 2567, 3835, 3849; for ‘beast’ as affection in general, 45, 46, 142, 143, 246, 714, 715, 2179, 2180, 3218, 5198, 7523, 7872; and for ‘sojourner’ as one who receives instruction in the Church’s truths, 1463, 4444, 8007, 8013, so that ‘the sojourner within your gates’ is factual knowledge in general, since factual knowledge in general lies within the gates, that is, at the entrance to the truths the Church possesses.

sRef Ex@20 @11 S0′ 8891. ‘For in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, and the sea’ means regenerating and vivifying the things in the internal man and in the external. This is clear from the meaning of ‘six days’ as states of conflict, dealt with just above in 8888, and – when used in reference to Jehovah, that is, the Lord – as His labour with a person before he is regenerated, 8510; from the meaning of ‘heaven and earth’ as the Church or Lord’s kingdom in a person, ‘heaven’ being in his internal man and ‘earth’ in his external, dealt with in 82, 1411, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118 (end), 3355 (end), 4535, so that a person who has been regenerated is meant, that is, one who has acquired new life and accordingly been vivified; and from the meaning of ‘the sea’ as the sensory awareness adhering to the bodily level of a person’s mind, dealt with in 8872.

[2] The present verse deals with the sanctifying of the seventh day or institution of the sabbath, describing it as follows,

In six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore Jehovah blessed the sabbath day, and sanctified it.

When people’s thinking does not extend beyond the sense of the letter they cannot do other than suppose that the creation described in the first and second chapters of Genesis is the creation of the universe, and that there were six days within which heaven, earth, the sea, and all that is in them were created, and at length the human being in God’s likeness. Yet is there anyone pondering on the details who fails to see that the creation of the universe is not what is meant there? For there are things in those chapters which common sense tells anyone are not literally true, for example, that days existed before the sun and moon, that light and darkness did so, and that plants and trees sprang up, when in fact it is through those [great] lights that light is given, light and darkness are divided, and so days come into being.

[3] Further on after these details, others of a similar nature follow which scarcely anyone who thinks more deeply will consider to have been literally possible, such as these: The woman was built out of the man’s rib; two trees were placed in paradise, the fruit of one of which they were forbidden to eat; a serpent spoke from one of them to the wife of man (homo), who had been the wisest of mortal beings; what it said – what came out of the serpent’s mouth – deceived them both; and the whole human race, numbering so very many thousands of thousands, was therefore condemned to hell. As soon as they are contemplated these and similar details there inevitably seem nonsensical to those who entertain any doubt about the holiness of the Word; and they lead to a denial of the Divine there. However it should be realized that every detail there down to the smallest is Divine; they all contain arcana which are clearly visible to angels in heaven, as in broad daylight. The reason why this should be so is that angels do not see the literal meaning of the Word but what lies within it, that is, spiritual and celestial realities, and Divine ones within these. When the first chapter of Genesis is read they perceive no other creation than the new creation of a human being, which is called regeneration. This is what is described there, ‘paradise’ being the wisdom of a person created anew. ‘The two trees in the middle of it’ are the two mental powers of that person, which are a will desiring good, meant by ‘the tree of life’, and an understanding seeing truth, meant by ‘the tree of knowledge’. And the reason why they were forbidden to eat from this tree was that a person who has been regenerated or created anew ought no longer to be led by an understanding that sees truth but by a will desiring good, or else his newness of life is destroyed. Regarding these matters, see 202, 337, 2454, 2715, 3246, 3652, 4448, 5895 (end), 5897 (end), 7877, 7923, 7992, 8505, 8506, 8510, 8512, 8516, 8539, 8643, 8648, 8658, 8690, 8701, 8722. Consequently Adam or Man and Eve his wife there are used to mean a new Church, and ‘eating from the tree of knowledge’ to mean the decline of that Church from good into truth, consequently from love to the Lord and towards the neighbour into faith without such love. And this came about through reasoning arising from self-intelligence, that reasoning being meant by ‘the serpent’, see 195-197, 6398, 6399, 6949, 7293.

[4] From all this it is evident that the historical narratives regarding creation, and regarding the first human being and paradise, are the descriptions of fictitious historical events, containing heavenly and Divine realities within them. Making up such stories was in keeping with the accepted custom in the ancient Churches; and the custom also spread from them to many outside the Church, who in a similar way produced descriptions of fictitious historical events, wrapping up arcana within them, as is evident from writers belonging to most ancient times. For the ancient Churches were well acquainted with what such things as exist in the world meant in heaven. Nor were great exploits of sufficient importance for them to write about, only the things of heaven. Things of heaven occupied their minds because they thought on a more internal level than people do at the present day and so were in contact with angels; and for this reason they gained a delight out of putting together such stories. But they were led by the Lord to images which would be held sacred in Churches. Out of these they composed stories in which everything had a correspondence

[5] All this shows what ‘heaven and earth’ is used to mean in the first verse of the first chapter of Genesis – the internal Church and the external Church. The fact that they are meant by ‘heaven and earth’ is also clear from places in the Prophets which speak of a new heaven and a new earth, by which a new Church is to be understood, see 82, 1411, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118 (end), 3355 (end), 4535.

From all this it is now evident that ‘in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, and the sea’ means regenerating and vivifying the things in the internal man and in the external man.

sRef Ex@20 @11 S0′ 8892. ‘And all that is in them’ means of all that are there, that is to say, vivifying them. This is clear without explanation.

sRef Ex@20 @11 S0′ 8893. ‘And rested on the seventh day’ means that at that time peace and the good of love are present. This is clear from the meaning of ‘resting’ as peace; and from the meaning of ‘the seventh day’ as the state of celestial love, dealt with in 84-87, and therefore what is holy, 395, 43}, 716, 5265, 5268. The reason why ‘resting on the seventh day’ means peace and the good of love is that before a person has been regenerated or created anew there is no serenity or rest, since his natural life engages in conflict at that time with his spiritual life and wishes to have dominion over it. Consequently the Lord at that time labours, for He fights for the person against the hells that attack. But as soon as the good of love has been implanted conflict comes to an end, and rest takes over; for now the person is brought into heaven and is led by the Lord in accord with the laws of order there, and so is at peace. These things are meant by ‘Jehovah’s rest on the seventh day’.

sRef Ex@20 @11 S0′ 8894. ‘Therefore Jehovah blessed the seventh day’ means that at that time the heavenly marriage from the Lord exists. This is clear from the meaning of ‘blessing’ as undergoing rearrangement into heavenly order and being endowed with the good of love, dealt with in 3017, 3406, 4981, 8674; and from the meaning of ‘the seventh day’ as the state of celestial love, dealt with in 84 87, thus the heavenly marriage, since the heavenly marriage is goodness and truth joined together, which is heaven in a person. For the meaning of ‘the sabbath’ as this marriage, see 8495, 8510.

sRef Ex@20 @11 S0′ 8895. ‘And sanctified it’ means that in no way can it be violated. This is clear from the meaning of ‘sanctifying’ or ‘keeping holy’ – when it refers to the heavenly marriage with the person who has been regenerated – as that which is inviolable, dealt with above in 8887. For what is holy and the Lord’s with a person cannot be violated, nor accordingly can the person who receives what is holy and the Lord’s be violated, that is, with whom the good of love exists and who is therefore in heaven.

sRef Ex@20 @12 S0′ 8896. Verse 12 Honour your father and your mother, in order that your days may be prolonged on the land which Jehovah your God gives you.

‘Honour your father and your mother’ means love for goodness and truth, in the highest sense for the Lord and His kingdom. ‘In order that your days may be prolonged on the land’ means the resulting state of life in heaven. ‘Which Jehovah your God gives you’ means where the Divine is, and influx from Him.

sRef Ex@20 @12 S0′ 8897. ‘Honour your father and your mother’ means love for goodness and truth, in the highest sense for the Lord and His kingdom. This is clear from the meaning of ‘honouring’ as loving, for in the spiritual sense ‘honour’ is love, because in heaven one loves another, and in loving him also honours him since love is present within honour (honour without love there is rejected, indeed spurned, because it is devoid of life from good); from the meaning of ‘father’ as goodness, dealt with in 3703, 5581, 5902, 6050, 7833, 7834, and in the highest sense as the Lord in respect of Divine Goodness, 15, 1729, 2005, 2803, 3704, 7499, 8328 (the reason why ‘Father’ in the highest sense is the Lord is that He imparts new life to the person, so that this life may make that person a son and heir of His kingdom); and from the meaning of ‘mother’ as truth, dealt with in 3703, 5581, and in the highest sense the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, thus His kingdom since Divine Truth which emanates from the Lord makes heaven. The reason why the Lord’s Divine Truth makes heaven is that in the next life the Lord in respect of Divine Good is the Sun, and in respect of Divine Truth is the Light. This Divine Light radiating from the Lord as the Sun is what enlightens angelic minds and fills them with intelligence and wisdom, causing them to be angels of light. Divine Good is present within Divine Truth, even as heat from the sun is present within the light in springtime and summer in the world.

sRef Ex@20 @12 S0′ 8898. ‘In order that your days may be prolonged on the land’ means the resulting state of life in heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being prolonged’ as that which has reference to good and the increase of it, dealt with below; from the meaning of ‘your days’ as states of life, dealt with in 23, 487, 488, 493, 893, 2788, 3462, 3785, 4850, 5672, 5962, 6110, 7680, 8426; and from the meaning of ‘the land’ – at this point the land of Canaan, since the children of Israel are told ‘it is the land which Jehovah your God gives you’ – as the Lord’s kingdom, dealt with in 1413, 1437, 1607, 1866, 3038, 3481, 3686, 3705, 4240, 4447. The reason why ‘being prolonged’ has reference to good and the increase of it is that the prolongation of days is the length of time that life will last, and in heaven there is neither time nor space, but states instead of them. Therefore ‘being prolonged’, since it has reference to a state in respect of good, means the increase of it. For length is spoken of in regard to good, and breadth to truth, see 1613, 4482; and in heaven there are no areas of space, just as there are no periods of time, but states instead of them, 1274, 1382, 2625, 2788, 2837, 3254, 3356, 3404, 3938, 4321, 4814, 4882, 4901, 4918, 5605, 6110, 7218, 7381.

sRef Ex@20 @12 S0′ 8899. ‘Which Jehovah your God gives you’ means where the Divine is, and influx from Him. This is clear from the consideration that these words are spoken in regard to heaven, meant here by ‘the land’, 8898, so that ‘Jehovah God’ is the Divine there, and ‘giving’ is influx; for heaven with all people in general and with each person in particular consists in the reception of influx from the Divine. It may seem strange that such things are meant by the commandment about honouring parents, for they are remote from the literal meaning. But it should be recognized that the Ten Commandments are rules both for those in the world and for those in heaven. The literal or external sense is for those in the world, the spiritual or internal sense for those in heaven; and this being so, both senses – the external and the internal – are for those who while in the world are also in heaven, that is, those leading a good life in conformity with the truths of religious teachings. The fact that the Ten Commandments are also for those in heaven is evident from the internal sense of all that is in the Word, and especially from the consideration that things spoken by Jehovah God, that is, the Lord Himself, are not only for men or the world but also for angels, indeed for the whole of heaven. For Divine Truth which goes forth from the Lord flows through heaven; it passes right through to man. This is so with these Ten Commandments which the Lord Himself spoke from Mount Sinai.

[2] Since these commandments were declared not only for those in the world but also for those in heaven they could not be understood in the same way in both places. That was so with this commandment that they should honour father and mother, in order that their days might be prolonged on the land that Jehovah God would give them. For in heaven parents and children do not come together as on earth; therefore the Lord is in place of ‘father’ there, and His kingdom in place of ‘mother’. Nor can it be said of those in heaven that their days would be prolonged, since they live there forever. Neither can ‘land’ there be taken to mean the land of Canaan, as it is in this commandment, but the heavenly Canaan instead which is heaven. Since ‘father and mother’ means the Lord and His kingdom this commandment is fourth in order, surpassing in holiness those that come after it. The commandment regarding the worship of Jehovah, that is, the Lord, is the first and second, because it is the holiest. After it comes the commandment regarding the sabbath, because in the highest sense the union within the Lord of the Divine Itself and the Divine Human is meant by it. Then follows the commandment about honouring parents, because love of the Lord is meant by it, and consequently the love of goodness and truth that come from the Lord. Since these things are meant by this commandment, treating parents with contempt is listed among the crimes meant by ‘shedding blood’, Ezek. 22:6, 7; and disobedient and stubborn sons were to be stoned, Deut. 21:18-21.

sRef Ex@20 @12 S0′ 8900. It has been shown just above in 8897 that the Lord is meant by ‘father’ and His kingdom by ‘mother’. But in case there is any lingering doubt that in the internal sense ‘mother’ is used to mean the Lord’s kingdom or heaven, let the following be added to what has been stated above. In the Word ‘mother’ is used to mean the Church, 289, 4257, 5581, which is also therefore called at one time the Lord’s bride, at another His wife. And since the Lord’s kingdom is the same as the Church, the only difference being that the Lord’s kingdom on earth is called the Church, His kingdom too is meant by ‘mother’. Consequently the sons or children born from that mother are truths, and they are called ‘the sons of the kingdom’, Matt. 13:38, see 3373. The Lord’s kingdom is also the native land of all who are there; and native land is meant by ‘mother’ in a natural sense, as the Church is in the spiritual sense.

sRef Ex@20 @13 S0′ 8901. Verse 13* You shall not kill means not taking the spiritual life away from anyone, also not destroying faith and charity, and not hating the neighbour.

* In the Latin an alternative numbering of verses is used from here to the end of the chapter.

sRef Matt@5 @22 S0′ sRef Matt@5 @21 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @13 S0′ 8902. ‘You shall not kill’ means not taking the spiritual life away from anyone, also not destroying faith and charity, and not hating the neighbour. This is clear from the meaning of ‘killing’ as depriving of spiritual life. The reason why ‘killing’ has this meaning in the internal sense is that the internal sense deals with the spiritual life or life of heaven with a person; and since the spiritual life or life of heaven with a person is the life of faith and charity, ‘not killing’ also means not destroying the faith and charity present with anyone. The reason why ‘not killing’ also means in the internal sense not hating the neighbour is that someone who hates his neighbour is wanting all the time to kill him and would actually do so if there were no fear of punishment, of loss of life or reputation, or other such fears to hold him back. For hatred springs from evil, is opposed to charity, and is intent on nothing other than the murder of the one who is hated – in the world the murder of his body, in the next life the murder of his soul. This is meant by the Lord’s words in Matthew,

You have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgement. But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without cause will be liable to judgement. Whoever indeed says to his brother, Raca! will be liable to the Sanhedrin. And whoever says, You fool! will be liable to the Gehenna of fire. Matt 5:21, 22ff.

Hatred towards the neighbour is meant by ‘being angry without cause with his brother’, and degrees of greater hatred are described by saying to him, Raca! and calling him, You fool’ Regarding ‘anger’, that it is a turning away from charity and springs from evil, thus that it is hatred, see 357, 4164, 5034, 5798, 5887, 5888.

sRef Isa@13 @16 S2′ sRef Isa@13 @9 S2′ sRef Isa@13 @11 S2′ sRef Isa@13 @15 S2′ sRef Isa@13 @10 S2′ sRef Isa@13 @12 S2′ sRef Isa@13 @18 S2′ [2] The fact that ‘killing’ in the internal sense means taking the spiritual life away from anyone, consequently destroying faith and charity, is clear from almost all the places in the Word that mention ‘killing’, such as in Isaiah,

Behold, the day of Jehovah comes, cruel, and [full] of indignation and wrath and anger, to make the earth a waste, so that* He may destroy its sinners from it. At that time the stars of heaven and their constellations will not shine with their light. The sun will be darkened in its rising, and the moon will not cause its light to shine. I will visit the world for its malice, and the wicked for their iniquity I will make man (homo) more rare than pure gold, and the son of man than the gold of Ophir. Everyone that is found will be slain, and everyone that is gathered will fall by the sword. Their young children will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses will be plundered, and their wives will be ravished. Bows** will dash the young men to pieces; the eye** will not spare sons. Isa. 13:9ff.

This refers to the final period of the Church, when faith and charity do not exist any longer; that period is meant by ‘the day of Jehovah, cruel, full of indignation, wrath, and anger’. Anyone may see that something other is meant here than that which the words describe literally; yet what is meant cannot be known except from the meanings which the words carry in the spiritual sense. In the spiritual sense ‘the earth’ or ‘the land’ is the Church, see 566, 662, 1067, 1262, 1413, 1607, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118 (end), 2928, 3355, 4447, 4535, 5577, 8011, 8732, so that ‘making the earth a waste, and destroying sinners from it’ means the members of the Church at that time, devoid of faith and charity.

[3] ‘Stars and constellations’ are cognitions or knowledge of truth and good, see 2120, 2495, 2849, 4697. These are said ‘not to shine with their light’ when they are no longer lit by the light of heaven which flows in through faith accompanying charity. ‘The sun’ is love to the Lord, and ‘the moon’ belief in Him, 2120, 2441, 2495, 3636, 3643, 4060, 4321 (end), 4696, 5097, 5377, 7078, 7083, 7171, 7173, 8644, 8812, so that ‘the sun being darkened in its rising’ means that love to the Lord cannot come to exist with a person and ‘the moon not causing its light to shine’ means that charity and faith cannot do so, thus that the person can no longer be regenerated.

[4] ‘Making man more rare than pure gold, and the son of man than the gold of Ophir’ means that good will not be seen any longer, and neither will truth; for ‘man’ means the Church’s good, 4287, 8547, and ‘the son of man’ truth springing from good, in the highest sense Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, 1729, 1733, 2813, 3704. ‘Everyone that is found will be slain’ means that all are going to be destroyed because of the evil of falsity, and ‘everyone that is gathered will fall by the sword’ means that all are going to be destroyed because of falsity. For the meaning of ‘being slain’ as being destroyed because of the evil of falsity, 4503; and for ‘falling by the sword’ as being destroyed because of falsity, 2799, 4499, 7102, 8294.

[5] ‘Young children being dashed to pieces’ means that they will completely annihilate innocence, for ‘young children’ are innocence, 430, 2126, 3183, 3494, 5608. ‘Wives will be ravished’ means that forms of the good of truth will be perverted by evils of falsity; for ‘wives’ are forms of the good of truth, 2517, 4510, 4823, 7022, and ‘being ravished’ is being perverted, 2466, 4865. ‘Bows will dash the young men to pieces’ means that the truths of good are going to be destroyed by false teachings arising from evil; for ‘a bow’ is teachings that are true, and in the contrary sense those that are false, 2686, 6422, 8800, and ‘young men’ are truths that have been corroborated, 7668. ‘The eye will not spare sons’ means that those who have an understanding of truths will nevertheless annihilate them; for ‘sons’ are truths, 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2803, 2813, 3373, 4257, 5542, and eye is the understanding seeing truth, 2701, 4403-4421, 4523-4534.

All this now makes plain what should be understood by the prophet’s words, namely that when the Church reaches its end all faith and all charity, that is, all truth and all good, are going to be destroyed. It is also evident that ‘being thrust through’ and ‘being dashed to pieces’, in short ‘being killed’, is the annihilation of faith and charity.

sRef Jer@12 @3 S6′ sRef Jer@12 @4 S6′ [6] In Jeremiah,

Drag them away like sheep for the slaughter, and destine them to the day of killing. How long will the land mourn and the plant of every field wither, on account of the wickedness of those who dwell in it? The beasts and the birds will be devoured. Jer. 12:3, 4.

‘The day of killing’ stands for the time when the Church has been laid waste, which is its final period when faith no longer exists because there is no charity. ‘The land will mourn’ stands for the Church; ‘the plant of every field will wither’ stands for the withering of every truth of the Church; and ‘the beasts and the birds will be devoured’ stands for the devourment of forms of good and truths. For the meaning of ‘the land’ as the Church, see just above; for ‘the plant of the field’ as the truth of the Church, 7571, ‘the field’ being the Church, 2971, 3310, 3766; for ‘the beasts’ as forms of good, and affections for good, 45, 46, 142, 143, 246, 714, 715, 719, 1823, 2179, 2180, 3218, 3519, 5198; and for ‘the birds’ as truths, and affections for truth, 5149, 7441. From all this one may see what the internal sense of those words is. One may also see that some spiritual and holy feature of the Church and of heaven is present in every detail, and that without the internal sense no one would have any understanding at all of what ‘the day of killing’ means, what ‘the land will mourn’ means, or ‘the plant of every field will wither’, or ‘the beasts and the birds will at that time be devoured’.

sRef Zech@11 @5 S7′ sRef Zech@11 @4 S7′ [7] In Zechariah,

Thus said Jehovah my*** God, Feed the sheep for killing, whose owners kill them and do not acknowledge themselves guilty. Zech. 11:4, 5.

‘The sheep for killing’ are those who are governed by simple good, with whom the truths of faith are annihilated not through their own fault but that of their teachers.

sRef Isa@27 @7 S8′ sRef Isa@26 @21 S8′ sRef Isa@27 @6 S8′ [8] In Isaiah,

Those who are to come Jacob will cause to take root Israel will blossom and flower, so that the face of the earth (orbis) may be filled with produce. Has he struck him as with the stroke of one who strikes? Has he been killed as at the slaughter of his killed ones? Isa 27:6, 7.

Behold, Jehovah is coming out of His place to visit the iniquity of the earth; at that time the earth (terra) will disclose her blood,**** and will not conceal her killed ones. Isa. 26:21.

This too refers in the internal sense to the final period of the Church, when a new Church will be raised up as the old is passing out of existence. ‘Jacob’ stands for those in the external part of the Church, ‘Israel’ for those in the internal part. ‘The face of the earth’ (orbis) stands for the Church in general, ‘the earth’ (terra) for the old Church, ‘the killed ones’ for those with whom there is no faith because there is no charity.

sRef Isa@14 @19 S9′ sRef Isa@14 @20 S9′ [9] In the same prophet,

You are cast out from your sepulchre like an abominable branch, [like] a garment of the killed, [like] those slain with the sword. You will not be united with them in the sepulchre, for you have destroyed your land, you have killed your people. Isa, 14:19, 20.

‘The killed’ stands for those who have been deprived of spiritual life, ‘you have killed your people’ stands for the destruction of the truths and forms of the good of faith. This is said in reference to Babel, by which the profanation of good is meant, 1182, 1283, 1295, 1306-1308, 1321, 1322, 1326, and also its being laid waste, 1327 (end).

sRef Jer@5 @1 S10′ sRef Jer@4 @31 S10′ [10] In Jeremiah,

I have heard the voice of the daughter of Zion; she sighs, she spreads out her hands, [saying,] Woe is me now, for my soul has been wearied by killers! Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem and see now, and take note, and search in its broad places, if you can find a man, if there is anyone executing judgement and seeking truth. Jer. 4:31; 5:1.

‘The daughter of Zion’ stands for the celestial Church, ‘killers’ for those who destroy forms of good and truths, ‘a man’ and ‘anyone executing judgement’ for those guided by truths rooted in good.

sRef Deut@27 @24 S11′ sRef Deut@27 @25 S11′ sRef Ezek@13 @19 S11′ [11] In Ezekiel,

You have desecrated Me among My people for handfuls of barley and for crusts of bread, to kill souls that ought not to die, and to keep alive souls that ought not to live. Ezek. 13:19.

Here ‘killing souls’ plainly stands for taking spiritual life away. Because ‘killing’ had this meaning also, the actions that were cursed on Mount Ebal included killing a companion secretly and taking a bribe to kill an innocent person,***** Deut 27:24, 25.

sRef Matt@24 @9 S12′ sRef John@16 @3 S12′ sRef John@16 @2 S12′ [12] In Matthew,

At the close of the age they will deliver you up to affliction, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. Matt 24:9.

And in John,

Jesus said to the disciples, The hour will come that everyone who kills you will think that he offers holy worship to God. And these things they will do because they do not know the Father nor Me. John 16:2, 3.

In these places also ‘killing’ means depriving of spiritual life, that is, of faith and charity; for all aspects of the truth and good of faith and charity are meant by ‘the disciples’, 3488, 3858 (end), 6397. The fact that it is not the disciples to whom the Lord was speaking who are meant there is evident from the consideration that in those places the subject is the close of the age, when the Lord is going to come in the clouds of heaven. And the close of the age which the disciples asked Him about means the final period of the Church, at which time the disciples would not be alive, see 3488.

sRef Mark@13 @12 S13′ [13] Similarly in Mark,

Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his children; the children will rise up against parents and kill them. Mark 13:12.

This too refers to the last times, and again ‘killing’ means depriving of the truths and forms of the good of faith and charity, thus depriving of spiritual life.

sRef Luke@11 @49 S14′ sRef Luke@11 @51 S14′ [14] In Luke,

I will send them prophets and apostles, but some of them they will kill and persecute. From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah the prophet it will be required of this generation. Luke 11:49, 51.

‘Prophets and apostles’ stands in the spiritual sense for the Church’s truths and forms of good, ‘killing’ for annihilating them, and ‘the blood of Abel’ for the annihilation of charity. For the meaning of ‘prophets’ as truths contained in teachings derived from the Word, see 2534, 7269; and for ‘the blood of Abel’ as the annihilation of charity, 374.

sRef Rev@18 @24 S15′ [15] Similarly in John,

The blood of saints and prophets, and of the killed, was found in Babylon. Rev 18:24.

Here also ‘the blood of saints and prophets’ stands for the annihilation of the good and truth of faith and charity, ‘the killed’ for those who have lost their spiritual life – ‘blood’ being violence done to charity, as well as all evil in general, 374, 1005, and the profanation of truth in particular, 4735, 6978, 7317, 7326.

sRef Deut@21 @5 S16′ sRef Deut@21 @6 S16′ sRef Deut@21 @4 S16′ sRef Deut@21 @7 S16′ sRef Deut@21 @1 S16′ sRef Deut@21 @2 S16′ sRef Deut@21 @3 S16′ sRef Deut@21 @8 S16′ [16] Since the annihilation of goodness and truth is meant by one who has been ‘killed’ or ‘slain’, and since all that had been established in the Jewish Church was representative of spiritual and celestial realities in the Lord’s kingdom, and in the highest sense of Divine attributes in the Lord, the following procedure to expiate the people was commanded if someone was found slain, lying in the field,

They were to measure the distances to the cities from the one slain, lying in the field. Then the elders of the nearest city were to take a heifer by means of which  no work had been done, and on which the yoke had not yet been laid, and to bring it down to a fast-flowing river. The priests, the sons of Levi, were to break its neck there, and then the elders of the city were to wash their hands over the heifer and to say that their hands had not shed that blood, nor had their eyes seen it, and that in this way the blood would be expiated. Deut. 21:1-8.

Could anyone ever know why such a procedure was established on account of someone who had been slain and was lying in the field, unless it were known from the internal sense what is meant by ‘one slain, in the field’, by ‘the nearest city’, by ‘a heifer’, by ‘a fast-flowing river’, by ‘washing the hands’, and by everything else in the procedure? ‘One slain, in the field’ means truth and good that have been annihilated, 4503, ‘the field’ being the Church, 2971, 3310, 3766 ‘The city’ means teachings composed of truth, 402, 2449, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493, ‘the elders of the city’ meaning truths that accord with what is good, 6524, 6525, 8578, 8585. ‘A heifer on which the yoke had not yet been laid’ means truth that has not yet been corroborated – for what ‘a heifer’ means, see 1824, 1825. ‘Washing the hands over the heifer at a fast-flowing river’ means purification from that evil because the commission of it has been due to the excessive zeal of one who does not know what the truth is.

[17] From these as from all other places one may see what the arcana are, and how great they are, which every part of the Word contains. They will not, it is true, be seen as arcana by a person if he believes that the literal sense is all there is to the Word, and so believes that nothing holier or more heavenly lies inwardly in it. However, the literal sense is for a person in the world, that is, for the natural man, whereas the internal sense is for one in heaven, that is, for the spiritual man. From this one may see what the commandment about not killing holds within it, namely not only that a person’s body must not be killed but that his soul must not be killed either, thus not only that he must not be deprived of life in the world but in particular that he must not be deprived of life in heaven. If that commandment had not at the same time held the latter prohibition within it, ]Jehovah Himself, that is, the Lord, would not have declared it on Mount Sinai in so miraculous a way by an actual voice. For all peoples and nations without direct revelation know, and also their laws decree that a person must not be killed, even as they know that adultery, theft, and false witness are forbidden. Nor should anyone think that the Israelite nation were so stupid that they alone did not know what all throughout the world knew. But because the Word that has been revealed comes from God Himself, it in addition conceals deeper and more universal truths within itself, namely the kind that have to do with heaven; that is, it holds not only truths which concern the life of the body but also those that concern the life of the soul or eternal life. This makes the Word different, far removed from and superior to anything else that has been written.
* Reading ut (so that) for et (and)
** i.e. of the Medes
*** The Latin means your but the Hebrew means my, which Sw. has in another place where he quotes this verse.
**** lit. bloods
***** lit. to kill the soul of innocent blood

sRef Ex@20 @14 S0′ 8903. Verse 14 You shall not commit adultery means that what belongs to teachings about faith and charity must not be perverted, thus that the Word must not be used to lend support to falsities and evils also that the laws of order must not be turned upside down.

sRef Ex@20 @14 S0′ 8904. ‘You shall not commit adultery’ means that what belongs to teachings about faith and charity must not be perverted, thus that the Word must not be used to lend support to falsities and evils, also that the laws of order must not be turned upside down. This is clear from the meaning of ‘committing adultery’* and ‘committing whoredom.’ In the internal or spiritual sense they mean perverting the forms of good and falsifying the truths that belong to teachings about faith and charity. And since these things are meant by ‘committing adultery’, using the Word to lend support to evils and falsities is also meant, since the Word constitutes the most genuine teachings about faith and charity, and truth and good there are perverted when used to support falsities and evils. Scarcely anyone at the present day knows that these things are meant ‘by committing adultery’ in the spiritual sense, because few people within the Church at the present day know what the spiritual realm is and how it differs from the natural. And scarcely anyone knows of the correspondence that exists between the two, which indeed is such that an image of the one presents itself in the other, that is, the spiritual realm is represented in the natural. Consequently the spiritual exists as a soul and the natural as its body, so that through influx and the joining together that results they constitute a single entity, just as the internal man, also called the spiritual man, and the external man, also referred to as the natural man, make one in a person who has been regenerated.

[2] Since people nowadays are ignorant of such matters they cannot know what else ‘committing adultery’ means beyond unlawful bodily coupling. Because people nowadays are ignorant of these matters, as has been said, let the reason be stated here why ‘committing adultery’ in the spiritual sense means perverting what belongs to teachings about faith and charity, that is, adulterating forms of good and falsifying truths. That reason, which is deeply hidden at the present day, is that conjugial love descends from the marriage of goodness and truth, called the heavenly marriage. The love existing between goodness and truth in heaven flows in from the Lord and changes into conjugial love on earth; and this happens through correspondence. This explains why the falsification of truth is meant by ‘whoredom’ in the internal sense, and the perversion of good by ‘adultery’. It also explains why those who are not governed by the goodness and truth of faith cannot have genuine conjugial love within them, and why those who experience the delight of life in adulterous relationships can no longer receive anything of faith. I have heard it said by angels that as soon as anyone commits adultery on earth and takes delight in doing so, heaven is closed to him, that is, he refuses to receive any longer from there anything of faith or charity. The reason why at the present day in countries where the Church exists very many people make light of adulterous relationships is that the Church is at its end, and so there is no longer any faith because there is no charity; for the one corresponds to the other. Where no faith exists there is falsity instead of truth and evil instead of good; and from this flows attitudes in which adultery is no longer considered to be an offence. For when heaven has been closed with a person such attitudes flow in from hell. See what has been stated and shown previously on these matters in 2727-2759, 4434, 4835, 4837.

sRef Ezek@16 @1 S3′ [3] The meaning of ‘committing adultery’ in the internal or spiritual sense as falsifying and perverting the truths and forms of the good of faith and charity, and therefore also lending support to falsity and evil by using statements in the Word wrongly, becomes clear from individual places in the Word in which ‘committing adultery’ and ‘committing whoredom’ are mentioned. That meaning will be plainly evident from places quoted below, as in Ezekiel,

Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations. You committed whoredom because of your renown, and poured out your acts of whoredom on every passer-by. You took some of your garments and made for yourself high places variously coloured, and on them committed whoredom. For your adornment you took vessels made of My gold and of My silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself figures of the male; you committed whoredom with them. You took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to Me, and sacrificed them to them. Were your acts of whoredom a small matter? You committed whoredom with the sons of Egypt, your neighbours, great in flesh, and multiplied your whoredom to provoke Me to anger. And you committed whoredom with the sons of Asshur, since you were insatiable; with them you indeed committed whoredom and were not satisfied. And you multiplied your whoredom, even as far as the trading land of Chaldea; and yet you were not satisfied with this. An adulterous woman – though subject to her husband, she takes strangers. To all harlots [men] make payments; but you have made payments to all your lovers, and have bribed them to come to you from all around for your whorings. Therefore, O harlot, hear the word of Jehovah. I will judge you with the judgements of adulteresses and of shedders of blood. Ezek. 16:1ff.

[4] Is there anyone who cannot see that falsifications of truth and adulterations of good are meant here by ‘acts of whoredom’? And is there anyone who can understand a single word here unless he knows that such things are meant by ‘whoredom’, and also unless he knows what is meant by ‘the sons of Egypt’, ‘the sons of Asshur’, and ‘Chaldea’, with whom Jerusalem is said to have committed whoredom? Jerusalem, it is obvious, did not literally commit whoredom with those actual peoples; therefore what the things in this passage mean in the internal sense must be stated. ‘Jerusalem’ is used to mean the perverted Church, ‘its garments’ here being truths that are perverted; and therefore falsities that are accepted are meant by ‘high places variously coloured’. ‘The sons of Egypt’ are factual knowledge, ‘the sons of Asshur’ are reasoning, and ‘Chaldea’ is the profanation of truth. For truths are meant by ‘garments’, see 1073, 2576, 4545, 4763, 5248, 5319, 5954, 6914, 6918; and worship is meant by ‘high places’, so that the worship of falsity is meant here by ‘high places variously coloured’, 796. ‘Vessels for adornment. made out of gold and silver’ are cognitions or knowledge of good and truth – ‘vessels’ being cognitions, 3068, 3079; ‘gold’ being good, 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917; and ‘silver’ the truth of good, 1551, 2048, 2954, 5658 ‘figures of the male’ means appearances and likenesses of truth, 2046; ‘the sons and daughters whom they had borne’ are the truths and forms of good which they perverted, ‘sons’ being truths, 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3373, and ‘daughters’ forms of good, 489, 2362, 3024. ‘The sons of Egypt’ are factual knowledge, by means of which the perversion is brought about, 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 2588 (end), 4749, 4964, 4967, 5700, 5702, 6004, 6015, 6125, 6651, 6679, 6683, 6692, 6750, 7296, 7779, 7926; ‘Asshur’ is reasoning, which by means of factual knowledge has brought about the perversion of the truths of faith and the adulteration of forms of the good of faith, 119, 1186. ‘Multiplying whoredom even as far as the land of Chaldea’ is even to the profanation of truth, ‘Chaldea’ being the profanation of truth, 1368. From all this it is evident why the expressions ‘adulterous woman’ and ‘harlot’ are used.

sRef Rev@17 @1 S5′ sRef Rev@17 @2 S5′ sRef Rev@17 @5 S5′ [5] Something similar is said about ‘Babylon’, in the Book of Revelation,

One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke to me, saying to me, Come, I will show you the judgement of the great harlot who is seated on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed whoredom, and with the wine of whose whoredom the inhabitants of the earth have become drunk. Babylon the great was the mother of whores and of the abominations of the earth. Rev. 17:1, 2, 5; 14:8; 18:3.

‘Babylon’ is those who pervert the Church’s truths and forms of good for the sake of their own dominion and gain, perverting them to the point of profanation, as is clear from the meaning of ‘Babel’ in 1182, 1283, 1295, 1304, 1306-1308, 1321, 1322, 1326, 1327 (end). This explains why Babylon is called ‘a harlot’ and ‘the mother of whores’. People who know nothing about the internal sense will think that ‘the kings of the earth who have committed whoredom with her’ means kings on earth or kingdoms. Neither kings nor kingdoms are meant however, but the Church’s truths of faith; and ‘to commit whoredom’ with these is to pervert them. For the meaning of ‘kings’ as the truths of faith, see 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 6148; and ‘the earth’ as the Church, 566, 662, 1067, 1262, 1413, 1607, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118 (end), 2928, 3355, 4447, 4535, 5577, 8011, 8732. ‘The inhabitants of the earth have become drunk with the wine of whoredom’ means that those within the Church have been carried away into errors and insane ideas by falsities arising from evil. For ‘being made drunk’ is being led into errors by false reasonings and wrong interpretations of the Word, 1072, and ‘wine’ is falsity arising from evil, 6377, so that ‘the wine of whoredom’ is falsity resulting from the perversion of truth; and ‘the earth’, as shown just above, is the Church. She is said ‘to be seated on many waters’ because she rests on falsities; for ‘waters’ in the genuine sense are truths, and in the contrary sense falsities, 729, 790, 8137, 8138, 8568.

sRef Ezek@23 @2 S6′ [6] The fact that ‘committing adultery’ and ‘committing whoredom’ mean perverting the Church’s forms of good and its truths is also quite clear from the following words elsewhere in Ezekiel,

Two women, the daughters of one mother, committed whoredom in Egypt. In their youth they committed whoredom. Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem. Oholah committed whoredom under Me and doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours – clothed in purple, governors and leaders, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses. She bestowed her acts of whoredom on them, the choicest of all the sons of Asshur. But her acts of whoredom brought from Egypt she did not give up, for they kind lab’ with her in her youth. Oholibah corrupted her love more than she, and her acts of whoredom more than her sister ‘s acts of whoredom; she desired the sons of Asshur. She added to her acts of whoredom, when she saw men portrayed on the wall, images of the Chaldeans, painted in vermilion. As soon as her eyes saw them she desired them. The sons of Babel came also to her, into her love-bed; they defiled her through their whoredom. Yet she multiplied her acts of whoredom when she remembered the days of her youth, in which she committed whoredom in the land of Egypt. She desired them more than their concubines did. Ezek. 23:1ff.

Here also no one can fail to see that ‘acts of whoredom’ is used to mean spiritual acts of whoredom, that is, perversions of the good and falsifications of the truth which the Church possesses, and also that what the internal sense contains does not become evident unless one knows what is meant by ‘the sons of Egypt’, ‘the Assyrians’ or ‘sons of Asshur’, ‘Chaldea’, and ‘Babel’. Those nations are plainly not the meaning but such things as belong to falsity; for the inhabitants of Samaria and Jerusalem did not literally commit whoredom with them. But what ‘Egypt’, ‘Asshur’, ‘Chaldea’, and ‘Babel’ mean has been shown and may be seen just above.

sRef Hos@2 @5 S7′ sRef Hos@2 @2 S7′ sRef Hos@2 @4 S7′ sRef Hos@2 @3 S7′ sRef Hos@2 @9 S7′ sRef Hos@2 @10 S7′ sRef Hos@2 @11 S7′ sRef Hos@2 @7 S7′ sRef Hos@2 @12 S7′ sRef Hos@2 @6 S7′ sRef Hos@2 @8 S7′ [7] From the following passages also it is clear that ‘whoredoms’ and ‘adulteries’ in the internal sense are falsifications and perversions of goodness and truth, thus adulterations of them, as in Hosea,

Contend with your mother, contend, since she is not My wife, and I am not her husband, in order that she may remove her whoredoms from her sight,** and her adulteries from between her breasts. I will not have mercy on her children, for they are children of whoredoms, because their mother committed whoredom saying, I will go after my lovers giving [me] my bread, and my water, and my wool, and my flax, my oil, and my drink. But I will lay waste her vine and her fig tree, about which she has said, These are my harlot’s reward that my lovers have given me. Hosea 2:2-12

‘Mother’ in the internal sense here means the Church, 289, 2691, 2717, 4257, 5581, 8897, and so does ‘wife’, 252, 253, 409, 749, 770; but she is said ‘not to be a wife’ because she is steeped in perverted truths, that is, in falsities. ‘Children’ or ‘sons’ are the Church’s truths, in this instance falsities since they are called ‘children of whoredoms’, 489, 491, 533, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3373, 3704, 4257. What ‘bread’, ‘water’, ‘wool’, and ‘flax’ mean, also ‘oil’ and ‘drink’, and ‘vine’ and ‘fig tree’ too, has been shown in their own places. In these it has been shown that they are forms of the good of love and charity, and also forms of the good and the truths of faith, interior and exterior; but that in the contrary sense they are evils and falsities, since forms of good become evils and truths become falsities when they are perverted. What ‘bread’ means, see 276, 680, 2165, 2177, 3464, 3478, 3735, 3813, 4217, 4735, 4976, 5915, 6118, 8410; ‘water’, 739, 790, 8137, 8138, 8568; ‘flax’ 7601; ‘oil’, 886, 3728, 4582; ‘drink’, 3069, 3168, 3772, 8562; ‘vine’, 1069, 5113, 6376; and ‘fig tree’, 4231, 5113. ‘Harlot’s reward’ is falsity contained in religious teachings which they try to palm off as truth.

sRef Hos@4 @14 S8′ sRef Ezek@6 @9 S8′ sRef Hos@4 @15 S8′ sRef Hos@4 @13 S8′ sRef Hos@4 @12 S8′ [8] In the same prophet,

My people inquire of a piece of wood, and their rod gives them a reply, for the spirit of whoredom has led them astray, and they have committed whoredom beneath their god. They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains and burn incense on the hills, therefore your daughters commit whoredom and your daughters-in-law commit adultery. Shall I not punish*** your daughters because they commit whoredom and your daughters-in-law because they commit adultery? For the men themselves divide with whores and sacrifice with cult-prostitutes. If you commit whoredom, O Israel, do not let Judah become guilty. Hosea 4:11 ff.

‘Committing whoredom beneath their god’ stands for perverting truth; for ‘god’ in the internal sense means truth and in the contrary sense falsity, 2586, 2769, 2807, 2822, 4295, 4402, 4544, 7010, 7268, 7873, 8301, 8867. ‘Mountains’ and ‘hills’ are types of love, at this point self-love and love of the world, 795, 796, 1691, 2722, 6435; ‘a piece of wood’ which is ‘inquired of’ is the good associated with the delight belonging to some desire or other, 643; and ‘a rod which gives a reply’ is the illusory power that one’s own understanding seems to provide, 4013, 4015, 4876, 4936, 7011, 7026. Since truths are meant in the genuine sense by ‘gods’ and falsities in the contrary sense falsifying truths and adulterating forms of good is meant by they went whoring after foreign gods – after baal, after Molech, after idols, Lev. 20:5; Ezek. 6:9; and elsewhere.

sRef Jer@3 @1 S9′ sRef Jer@3 @4 S9′ sRef Jer@23 @9 S9′ sRef Jer@13 @25 S9′ sRef Isa@57 @3 S9′ sRef Jer@3 @3 S9′ sRef Jer@23 @11 S9′ sRef Jer@23 @10 S9′ sRef Jer@13 @27 S9′ sRef Isa@57 @5 S9′ sRef Isa@57 @4 S9′ sRef Jer@3 @9 S9′ sRef Isa@23 @18 S9′ sRef Jer@3 @10 S9′ sRef Jer@29 @23 S9′ sRef Jer@3 @7 S9′ sRef Jer@3 @8 S9′ sRef Jer@3 @6 S9′ sRef Jer@23 @16 S9′ sRef Jer@23 @14 S9′ sRef Jer@3 @5 S9′ sRef Isa@23 @17 S9′ sRef Jer@3 @2 S9′ [9] From all this one may now recognize what is meant by ‘adultery’ and ‘whoredom’ in the following places: In Isaiah,

Draw nearer, sons of the sorceress, seed of the adulterer, and [of her who] committed whoredom. Whom are you mocking?**** Against whom do you open your mouth wide and stick out your tongue? Are you not those born of transgression, the seed of deceit, who inflamed yourselves among the gods under every green tree? Isa. 57:3-5.

In the same prophet,

It will happen at the end of seventy years, that Jehovah will visit Tyre, so that she may return to her harlot ‘s reward and may commit whoredom with all the kingdoms of the earth on the face of the world. Isa. 23:17, 18.

In Jeremiah,

And a man has put away his wife, and she has gone from him and become another man’s .., .. you***** have committed whoredom with many partners. You have profaned the land with your nets of whoredom and with your wickedness. Have you not seen what estranged Israel has done? Going up onto every high mountain and under every green tree, you have committed whoredom there. Also her treacherous sister Judah, she also has gone and committed whoredom, so much so that with the voice of her whoredom she has profaned the land; she has committed adultery with stone and wood. Jer. 3:1-10.

In the same prophet,

This is your lot, because you have forgotten Me and trusted in a lie. Your adulterous acts and your neighings, the wickedness of your whoredom committed on the hills, in the field – I have seen your abominations. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! Jer. 13:25, 27.

In the same prophet,

Against the prophets: The land is full of adulterers; for because of a curse the land mourns, the pastures of the wilderness have dried up. For both prophet and priest practice hypocrisy. In the prophets of Jerusalem also I have seen a horrible obstinacy, in their committing adultery and walking in a lie; they strengthen the hands of the evil. They speak a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of Jehovah. Jer. 23:9, 10ff.

In the same prophet,

They have committed folly in Israel, and have committed adultery with their companions’ wives, and have lyingly spoken in My name a word which I did not command them. Jer. 29:23.

sRef Hos@9 @1 S10′ sRef Nahum@3 @1 S10′ sRef Nahum@3 @4 S10′ sRef Num@14 @33 S10′ sRef Hos@1 @2 S10′ sRef Num@14 @34 S10′ [10] From these places it is plainly evident that ‘committing adultery’ means explaining and perverting the truths of the Word because of self-centred desires, that is, the proprium, thus as self-love and love of the world dictate; it is therefore speaking lies, that is, falsities, as is explicitly stated. In addition to those places, in Hosea,

Do not rejoice, O Israel, for you have committed whoredom under your God – you have taken delight in a harlot’s reward on every threshing-floor. Hosea 9:1.

In the same prophet,

Jehovah spoke to Hosea, Go, take yourself a wife of whoredoms, and children of whoredoms; for the land has committed great whoredom by forsaking Jehovah.****** Hosea 1:2.

In Nahum,

Woe to the city of blood,******* because of the multitude of the acts of whoredom of a harlot with goodly grace, the mistress of sorceries, the seller of nations through her acts of whoredom, and of families through her sorceries. Nahum 3:1, 4.

In Moses,

Your sons will be shepherds in the wilderness for forty years, and will bear your acts of whoredom; according to the number of days in which you explored the land, each day for a year. You shall bear your iniquities forty years. Num. 14:33, 34

sRef Lev@19 @29 S11′ sRef Lev@20 @10 S11′ sRef Deut@23 @18 S11′ sRef Deut@23 @2 S11′ sRef Lev@21 @9 S11′ [11] Because falsifications of truth and adulterations of good corresponded to acts of whoredom in the land, adulterers received the death penalty, Lev. 20:10; and the daughter of a priest, if she profaned herself by committing whoredom was to be burned with fire, Lev. 21:9; also no daughter in Israel was to be exposed to whoredom, Lev. 19:29. In like manner one who was illegitimate was not to come into the assembly of Jehovah, down to the tenth generation of his descendants, Deut 23:2; and a harlot’s reward was not to be brought into the house of Jehovah because it was an abomination, Deut. 23:18, 19.

[12] All this now shows fully what ‘committing adultery’ means – that in the external sense it means committing acts of adultery; in the internal representative sense it means worshipping idols and other gods by means of the kinds of things the Church possesses, consequently acts outwardly and inwardly idolatrous; but in the internal spiritual sense it means adulterations of good and perversions of truth. All this shows plainly why it is that adulterous actions are intrinsically disgusting and called abominations; that is to say, they are such because they correspond to the marriage of evil and falsity, which is the hellish marriage. It also shows conversely why genuine marriages are holy – that they are such because they correspond to the marriage of goodness and truth, which is the heavenly marriage. Indeed genuine conjugial love descends from the marriage of goodness and truth, and so from heaven, that is, from the Lord by way of heaven. But adulterous love springs from the marriage of falsity and evil, and so from hell, that is, from the devil.
* Sw. Here mentions two words – adulterari and moechari – each of which describes committing adultery and is so rendered in Scriptural quotations in this paragraph.
** lit. faces
*** lit. visit
**** lit. Against whom do you delight yourselves?
***** The Latin means she but the Hebrew means you, which Sw. has in another place where he quotes this verse
****** lit. from [being] after Jehovah
******* lit bloods

sRef Ex@20 @15 S0′ 8905. Verse 15 You shall not steal means that no one’s spiritual goods or possessions must be taken away from him, and that things which are the Lord’s must not be attributed to self.

sRef Ex@20 @15 S0′ sRef John@10 @3 S1′ sRef John@10 @13 S1′ sRef John@10 @4 S1′ sRef John@10 @1 S1′ sRef John@10 @8 S1′ sRef John@10 @2 S1′ sRef John@10 @5 S1′ sRef John@10 @10 S1′ sRef John@10 @7 S1′ sRef John@10 @9 S1′ sRef John@10 @11 S1′ sRef John@10 @6 S1′ sRef John@10 @12 S1′ 8906. ‘You shall not steal’ means that no one’s spiritual goods or possessions must be taken away from him, and that things which are the Lord’s must not be attributed to self. This is clear from the meaning of ‘stealing’ as taking spiritual goods or possessions away from someone. The reason why ‘stealing’ has these meanings is that wealth and riches in the spiritual sense are cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth, in general everything that composes the faith and charity, that is, the spiritual life a person has. Therefore taking these away from someone is what ‘stealing’ means in the spiritual sense. And since all spiritual goods or possessions, that is, everything composing faith and charity, come wholly from the Lord and not at all from man, ‘stealing’ also means attributing to self things which are the Lord’s. People who do this are also called ‘thieves’ and ‘robbers’ in John,

Truly I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the sheepfold but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who is entering by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. I am the door of the sheep. All who were before Me were thieves and were robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me he will be saved, and will go in and out, and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come in order that they may have life, and may have it abundantly. John 10:1-13.

‘Entering by the door into the sheepfold’ doing so through the Lord, for the Lord is ‘the door’, as He Himself says. ‘The sheep’ are those who have charity and consequently faith, and they enter the fold through the Lord when they acknowledge that He is the source of everything composing faith and charity; for then these flow in from Him. But to attribute them to others, especially to self, is to take them away, which is ‘to kill and destroy’ them. People who attribute entirely to themselves those things which are the Lord’s also assume that merit lies in works and consider themselves righteous; such people are dealt with in 1110, 1877, 2027, 2273, 2340, 2373, 2400, 3816, 4007 (end), 4174, 4943, 6388-6390, 6392, 6393, 6478. This then is ‘stealing’ in the spiritual sense, and it is what comes to mind with angels in heaven when a person reads in the Word about ‘stealing’; for angels understand the Word wholly on a spiritual level.

sRef Hos@7 @2 S2′ sRef Joel@2 @10 S2′ sRef Joel@2 @1 S2′ sRef Hos@7 @1 S2′ sRef Joel@2 @9 S2′ sRef Joel@2 @3 S2′ sRef Joel@2 @4 S2′ sRef Joel@2 @5 S2′ sRef Hos@7 @3 S2′ [2] ‘Stealing’ has a like meaning in Hosea,

When I healed Israel the iniquity of Ephraim was revealed, and the evils of Samaria; for they practiced a lie, and a thief came, a band [of robbers] encircles the house.* Now their own works surround them before My face; they make a king glad through their wickedness, and princes through their lies. Hosea 7:1-3.

And in Joel,

The day of Jehovah comes. Fire devours before him, and behind him a flame burns; like the garden of Eden is the land before him, but behind him there is a desert waste. Its appearance is like the appearance of horses, and like horsemen, so they run. Like the noise of chariots over the peaks of mountains [they leap]. They run about the city, they run on the wall, they climb up into the houses, they go in through the windows like a thief. The earth quaked before him, the heavens trembled. The sun and the moon were darkened, and the stars withdrew their shining. Joel 2:1-10.

This refers to the desolation of the Church, when falsities break in and destroy truths. These falsities are ‘the thieves that climb up houses and go in through the windows’. Will anyone fail to wonder why it says that the day of Jehovah will be ‘like the appearance of horses’, and that at this time ‘like horsemen, so they will run’, ‘they will run about the city, run on the wall, climb up into the houses, and go in through the windows’, and ‘the earth will quake, the heavens will tremble, the sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars will withdraw their shining’? The person who does not know anything about the internal sense and in his heart calls into doubt the holiness of the Word will say that these are simply words without anything of God concealed in them; and he will perhaps call the sayings meaningless. But the person who believes that the Word is most holy because it is Divine, and furthermore knows that there is an internal sense, in which the Church, heaven, and the Lord Himself are the subject, will profess that every word there carries weight. Therefore let a brief explanation be given of what the words and sayings there mean.

sRef Obad@1 @5 S3′ [3] ‘The day of Jehovah’ is the final state or final period of the Church, when there is no longer truth but falsity instead. ‘The fire’ which devours before him is the desire for evil, and ‘the fire’ which burns after him is the resulting desire for falsity. ‘The appearance of horses’ is intellectual powers that reason from falsity as if from truth; ‘the horsemen’ who run are reasoners; ‘chariots’ are matters of doctrine that uphold falsity; ‘the city’ is doctrine itself; ‘the wall’ on which they run is a false essential; ‘the houses’ which they will climb up are a person’s will; ‘the windows’ which they will go in through are intellectual concepts; ‘a thief’ is falsity which takes away truth; ‘the earth’ which will quake before him is the Church, and so are ‘the heavens’ which will tremble; ‘the sun’ is love to the Lord, ‘the moon’ faith in Him, which are said ‘to be darkened’ when they are no longer apparent; ‘the stars’ are cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth which will no longer possess light from faith and love, thus from heaven, meant by ‘withdrawing their shining’. From all this one may recognize what these words in general imply, and also in what sense that day or final state of the Church is called ‘a thief’ who will climb up houses and go in through the windows – falsity which will at that time take possession of the entire person, of both his will and his understanding, and so will take away all truth and goodness. ‘A thief’ has a like meaning in Obadiah,

The Lord Jehovih said to Edom, If thieves come to you, if those who overturn in the night – how you will have been cut off! – will they not steal that which is enough for themselves? Obad. verses 1, 5.

‘A thief’ or ‘one who steals’ has a like meaning in Zech. 5:1-4; Ps. 50:18-20; Matt. 6:19, 20.

sRef Ex@21 @16 S4′ sRef Ex@22 @4 S4′ sRef Ex@22 @2 S4′ sRef Ex@22 @3 S4′ sRef Ex@22 @1 S4′ sRef Deut@24 @7 S4′ [4] As all the regulations which the Lord commanded the children of Israel were founded on the laws of order which exist in heaven, that is, they sprang from the spiritual world and derived their essential nature from there, this was no less so with the laws laid down regarding thefts, such as the law,

Anyone who has stolen an ox and sells it shall repay five, or four if one of the flock. Exod. 21:37.**

Also these laws,

If a thief has been struck while breaking in, no blood [is required] for him; but if the sun has risen, blood [is required]. A thief must pay compensation or be sold. If [what he has stolen] is found in his hand he shall restore double. Exod. 22:2-4.

Anyone who steals a man and sells him – and he is found in his hand – shall surely die. Exod. 21:16.

If there is found a man who has stolen a soul from his brothers, from the children of Israel, and has made profit on him, when he has sold him, that thief shall be killed, so that you remove evil from the midst of you. Deut. 24:7.

‘Men from the children of Israel’ in the internal sense are those who are governed by the truths and forms of the good of faith. Accordingly in the abstract sense they are the truths and forms of good themselves, 5414, 5879, 5951, so that ‘stealing a man from the children of Israel’ means taking these away, and ‘selling him’ means alienating them and also reducing them to a state of servitude. For since truths and forms of the good of faith come from the Lord they exist in a state of freedom, and are subservient to none except the Lord alone; but when they are alienated they come into a state of servitude since they are subservient to some evil of self-love or love of the world, thus to some bodily desire. This is how that law [in Deut. 24:7] was derived and what it corresponds to; and since from being in freedom the Church’s truth and good is reduced to subservience, and so from being living is made dead, the punishment, which is the outcome, is death.
* lit a troop spreads itself out of doors
** Exod. 22:1 in English Bibles

sRef Ex@20 @16 S0′ 8907. Verse 16 You shall not answer as a witness of a lie against your neighbour, means that good must not be called evil, nor truth falsity, and conversely that evil must not be called good, nor falsity truth.

sRef Ex@20 @16 S0′ 8908. ‘You shall not answer as a witness of a lie against your neighbour’ means that good must not be called evil, nor truth falsity, and conversely that evil must not be called good, nor falsity truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘witness of a lie’ as the confirmation of falsity. For the meaning of ‘witness’ as confirmation, see 4197; and the meaning of ‘a lie’ as falsity of faith will be evident from what follows below. ‘Answering against the neighbour’ is speaking to someone in that manner; for ‘neighbour’ means any and every person, in particular everyone governed by good, and in the abstract sense good itself, 3419, 5025, 6704, 6706-6711, 6818, 8123, so that in the internal sense ‘you shall not answer as the witness of a lie against your neighbour’ means not saying what is false to anyone, that is, not saying that good is evil and truth is falsity, or vice versa.

[2] What this implies must be explained briefly. None who are ruled by self-love or by love of the world, that is, whose end in view is either to have high and honoured positrons or to possess wealth and gain, care when they tell and persuade others that something just is unjust or something unjust is just, and by doing this behave as ‘witnesses of a lie’. The reason why they are like this is that their will is in complete subjection to those loves and accompanying desires; it is completely possessed and dominated by them. At the same time the understanding, which is the other part of the mind, indeed has the ability to see what is just or unjust but has no wish to see it. For the will prevails over the understanding; it flows into and persuades it, and at length also makes it blind. Those same people possess no conscience, nor do they know that conscience consists in saying that something just is just, and for no other reason than because it is so, that is, from a love of what is just. People who are like this in the world are also like it in the next life, except for the difference that they do not then say something just is unjust. Instead they call the good of faith evil, and truth falsity, since what is just in dealings with people in the world corresponds to what is good and true in the spiritual world. This is done by them without conscience and also without any shame because it was something they had learned to do during their lifetime and grown accustomed to.

sRef John@8 @44 S3′ [3] Many times in the Word the expression ‘a lie’ is used, and wherever it occurs the falsity and evil of faith is meant in the internal sense. And ‘the witness of a lie’, who is also called ‘the witness of violence’, means confirming something false, whether before a judge, or before someone else, or before oneself by convincing oneself in one’s inner thinking, as in Exod. 23:1ff; Lev. 19:11, 12ff; Deut. 19:16-20. The fact that ‘a lie’ in the spiritual sense is the evil and falsity of faith is clear from the following places: In John,

You are from your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has not stood in the truth because the truth is not in him. When he speaks a lie he speaks from the things that are his own, for he is the teller of a lie and the father of it. John 8:44.

Here ‘a lie’ stands for falsity of faith, for it refers to the unwillingness of the Jews to acknowledge the Lord. ‘The devil’ in the spiritual sense here is falsity, and ‘the father of it’ is evil; for falsity springs from evil like son from father. The falsity that is the devil’s is the falsity of faith, the evil that is his is the evil of self-love and love of the world.

sRef Ezek@13 @6 S4′ sRef Nahum@3 @1 S4′ sRef Isa@16 @6 S4′ sRef Ezek@13 @7 S4′ sRef Zeph@3 @13 S4′ sRef Jer@9 @5 S4′ sRef Isa@28 @15 S4′ sRef Isa@30 @9 S4′ sRef Rev@22 @15 S4′ sRef Ezek@13 @9 S4′ sRef Jer@23 @32 S4′ sRef Ezek@13 @8 S4′ sRef Jer@50 @36 S4′ [4] In Isaiah,

Moab is exceedingly proud; his haughtiness, and his pride, and his anger – his lies are not firm. Isa. 16:6.

‘Lies’ stands for falsities of faith, since ‘Moab’ is those who, ruled by the evil of self-love, therefore falsify truths, 2468, 8315. In the same prophet,

We have made a covenant with death, and with hell we have shaped a vision. We have put our trust in a lie, and we have hidden in falsity. Isa. 28:15.

In the same prophet,

They were a rebellious people, lying sons, sons who did not wish to hear the law of Jehovah. Isa. 30:9.

In Jeremiah,

They deceive one another,* and do not speak the truth. They have taught their tongue to speak a lie Jer. 9:5.

In the same prophet,

Behold, I am against those that prophesy lying dreams** and tell them in order that they may mislead My people by their lies. Jer. 23:32.

In the same prophet,

O sword, [be] against the liars, that they may become foolish. Jer. 50:36.

In Ezekiel,

They have seen vanity and lying divination,*** saying, Jehovah has said! when Jehovah has not sent them. Therefore thus has the Lord Jehovih said, Because you speak vanity and see a lie, therefore behold, I am against you. Ezek. 13:6-9.

In Nahum,

Woe to the city of blood!**** It is all full of lies and plunder. Nahum 3:1.

In Zephaniah,

The remnant of Israel will not do iniquity or speak any lie; nor will a fraudulent tongue be found in their mouth. They will feed and rest. Zeph. 3:13.

In John,

Outside are dogs, and sorcerers, and fornicators, and murderers, and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices a lie. Rev. 22:15.

In these as in many other places ‘a lie’ stands for the falsity and evil of faith.
* lit. They deceive, a man his companion
** lit. dreams of a lie
*** lit. divination of a lie
**** lit. bloods

sRef Ex@20 @17 S0′ 8909. Verse 17 You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, nor his male slave nor his female slave, nor his ox nor his ass, nor anything that is your neighbour’s means that one must be on one’s guard against self-love and love of the world, and so one must take care to prevent the evils contained in the preceding commandments from becoming present in the will and consequently going out of it.

sRef Ex@20 @17 S0′ 8910. ‘You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, nor his male slave nor his female slave, nor his ox nor his ass, nor anything that is your neighbour’s’ means that one must be on one’s guard against self-love and love of the world, and so one must take care to prevent the evils contained in the preceding commandments from becoming present in the will and consequently going out of it. This is clear from the meaning of ‘coveting’ as a wanting that springs from an evil love. The reason why ‘coveting’ has this meaning is that all covetousness or craving exists as the result of some kind of love. For nothing is coveted unless there is a love of it, and therefore covetousness extends as a continuation from some kind of love, in this instance from self-love and love of the world. It is so to speak the life of what those loves breathe, for what an evil kind of love breathes is called covetousness or craving, whereas what a good kind breathes is called desire. The love itself belongs to one of two parts of the mind, which is called the will; for what a person loves, that he wills and intends. but covetousness belongs to both parts, to both the will and the understanding, that is, it is an attribute of the will within the understanding, to be precise. All this shows why it is that the words ‘you shall not covet the things that are your neighbour’s’ mean that one must take care to prevent them from becoming present in the will, since what takes possession of the will becomes the person’s own; for, to be sure, the will is the real person.

sRef Matt@15 @11 S2′ sRef Matt@15 @17 S2′ sRef Matt@15 @18 S2′ sRef Matt@15 @19 S2′ [2] The world believes that thought is the person. But there are two powers that constitute a person’s life – understanding and will – and thought belongs to the understanding, the affection inherent in love being what belongs to the will. Thought without the affection inherent in love does not in any way at all constitute a person’s life; but thought springing from such affection, that is, the understanding springing from the will, does constitute it. Those two powers are distinct from each other, which is evident to anyone who stops to reflect on the matter from the consideration that with his understanding a person can perceive that that thing is bad which his will desires, and that that thing is good which his will either does or does not desire. From all this it is plain that the will is the real person, not his thought, except so far as anything passes into it from the will. So it is that things which enter a person’s thought but do not pass on through it into his will do not render him unclean; only those which pass through thought on into the will do so. The reason why the latter render a person unclean is that he takes them to himself then and makes them his; for the will, as has been stated, is the real person. The things which become part of his will are said to go into his heart and to go out from there, whereas those which are merely part of his thought are said to go into the mouth and to go out by way of the bowels into the sewer, according to the Lord’s words in Matthew,

Not what enters the mouth renders a person unclean, but what comes out of the mouth, this renders the person unclean. Everything that goes into the mouth departs into the bowels and is cast out into the sewer. But the things which come out of the mouth come out of the heart, and these render a person unclean. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, ravishments, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. Matt. 15:11, 17-19.

[3] From these words as from all the others the nature of the Lord’s manner of speaking becomes clear. That is, its nature was such that internal or spiritual matters were meant, but they were expressed by means of external or natural things and in accordance with correspondences. For the mouth corresponds to thought, and so do all parts of the mouth, such as the lips, tongue, and throat, while the heart corresponds to the affection inherent in love, and so to the will. For the correspondence of the heart to these, see 2930, 3313, 3883-3896, 7542. Consequently ‘entering the mouth’ is entering thought, and ‘going out of the heart’ is going out of the will. ‘Departing into the bowels and being cast out into the sewer (or latrine)’ is going away into hell; for the bowels correspond to the way to hell, while the sewer or latrine corresponds to hell itself. Hell also in the Word is called ‘the latrine’. All this shows what is meant by ‘everything that goes into the mouth departs into the bowels and is cast out into the sewer’, namely that evil and falsity are introduced into a person’s thought by hell and are discharged back there again. Such evil and falsity cannot render a person unclean because they are discharged from him. For a person cannot help thinking what is evil, but he can refrain from doing it. As soon however as he receives evil from his thought into his will it does not go out but enters into him; and this is said ‘to enter the heart’. The things that go out from here are what render him unclean; for what a person desires in his will goes out into speech and action, so far as external restraints do not inhibit him, those restraints being fear of the law, and fear of the loss of reputation, position, gain, or life. From all this it is now evident that ‘you shall not covet’ means that one must take care to prevent evils from becoming present in the will and consequently going out of it.

sRef Matt@5 @27 S4′ sRef Matt@5 @28 S4′ [4] The fact that ‘covetousness’ is a craving or lusting on the part of the will, and so of the heart, is also clear from the Lord’s words in Matthew,

You have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that if anyone looks at a woman* so that he lusts after her he has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Matt. 5:27, 28.

‘Lusting for’ is used here to mean desiring in the will, and – but for the fears acting as external restraints – also doing. This is why it says that one who looks at a woman so that he lusts after her has committed adultery with her in his heart.

sRef Matt@5 @30 S5′ sRef Matt@5 @29 S5′ [5] Lusting after what is evil is also meant by ‘the right eye causing one to stumble’, and lusting after what is false by ‘the right hand causing one to stumble’ in the Lord’s words, again in Matthew,

If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you; for it will be better for you that one of your members perish, than that your whole body be cast into gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away from you; for it will be better for you that one of your members perish, than that your whole body be cast into gehenna. Matt. 5:29, 30.

From these words the Lord’s way of saying things is again clear. That is to say, He was speaking from the Divine, as in every other place in the Word, in such a way that He expressed inward and heavenly matters through outward or natural ones in accordance with correspondences. In this instance He expressed an affection for evil or lusting after it by ‘the right eye causing one to stumble’, and an affection for falsity or lusting after it by ‘the right hand causing one to stumble’. For the eye corresponds to faith, the left eye to the truth of faith, and the right eye to the good of faith, or in the contrary sense to the evil of faith, so that ‘the right eye causing one to stumble’ corresponds to lusting after what is evil, 4403-4421, 4523-4534. But the hand corresponds to the power that truth possesses, the right hand to the power of truth coming from good, or in the contrary sense the power of falsity coming from evil, so that ‘the right hand causing one to stumble’ corresponds to a lusting after it, 3091, 4931-4937, 8281. ‘Gehenna’ is the hell of lusts, cravings, or covetousness. Anyone may see that here ‘the right eye’ was not used to mean the right eye or that it was to be plucked out; also that ‘the right hand’ was not used to mean the right hand or that it was to be cut off, but that something other was meant. What this is cannot be known unless one knows what is really meant by ‘the eye’, in particular by ‘the right eye’, also what is meant by ‘the hand’, and in particular by ‘the right hand’, as well as what ‘causing to stumble’ really means. Nor can the meaning of these expressions be known except from the internal sense.

sRef Matt@15 @19 S6′ [6] Lusts, cravings, or covetous desires are what spring from an evil will, thus from a heart that is such; and according to the Lord’s words in Matthew 15:19, murders, adulteries, ravishments, thefts, false witness, blasphemies come out of the heart or will, that is, the kinds of evils contained in the preceding commandments of the Decalogue. In all this lies the reason for saying that this – ‘you must not covet the things which are your neighbour’s’ – means that one must take care to prevent the evils contained in the ”receding commandments from becoming present in the will and consequently going out of it. The reason why ‘you shall not covet the things which are your neighbour’s’ also means that one must be on one’s guard against self-love and love of the world is that all the evils composing covetousness well up from those loves as their source, see 2045, 7178, 7255, 7366 7377, 7488, 8318, 8678.
* Following the version of Sebastian Schmidt Sw. adds a word which implies that the woman is another man’s wife.

sRef Ex@20 @17 S0′ sRef Matt@5 @21 S0′ sRef Matt@5 @28 S0′ sRef Matt@5 @22 S0′ sRef Matt@5 @27 S0′ 8911. The things that have been stated so far show what the situation is with a person and his life. That is to say, they show that a person is such as his will is, and that he remains such after death since death is not the end to life but the continuation of it. Since therefore a person is such as his will is – because, as has been stated above, the will is the real person – being judged according to one’s deeds means being judged according to one’s will, since there is no disparity between will and deed. Though external restraints exist – fear of the law, and fear of the loss of position, gain, reputation, or life – to inhibit the deed, the deed is all along in the will, and the will all along in the deed. It is like endeavour and motion. Motion is nothing other than an extension of the endeavour; for as endeavour comes to an end, so does motion. Therefore there is nothing essential within motion apart from endeavour. Learned people know this, for it is a recognized and well-established idea. In the human being endeavour is the will and motion is action; and they are called such in the human being because in him endeavour and motion are living. Being judged according to one’s will is the same as being judged according to one’s love; it is also the same as being judged according to the ends one has in view in life, as well as being judged according to the way one lives. For a person’s will is his love, it is the end he has in view in life, and it is the very life itself within him. The truth of this is clear from the Lord’s words which have already been quoted – One who looks at a woman* in such a way that he lusts after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Matt. 5:27, 28. It is clear also from His saying that killing someone is not only performing that deed but also the desire to perform it, which is meant by being angry and reviling him with insults, Matt. 5:21, 22. Furthermore a person is indeed judged according to his deeds; yet no further questions are asked than these – How far did those deeds spring from his will? and What nature did his will give them?
* Following the version of Sebastian Schmidt Sw. adds a word which implies that the woman is another man’s wife.

sRef Ex@20 @17 S0′ 8912. A brief explanation must also be given as to what those things mentioned here which must not be coveted are used to mean in the internal sense – ‘house’, ‘wife’, ‘male slave’, ‘female slave’, ‘ox’, and ‘ass’. They are all the forms of the good of faith and all the truths of faith in their entirety which must not be taken away from anyone and must not be made to suffer harm. They are the same things as are meant in the internal sense by keeping the sabbath day holy, honouring father and mother, not killing, not committing adultery, not stealing, and not bearing false witness. All these, as has been shown in previous paragraphs, are in the internal sense such things as belong to love and faith. ‘House’ is used to mean all good in general, ‘wife’ all truth in general, ‘male slave’ the affection for spiritual truth, ‘female slave’ the affection for spiritual good, ‘ox’ the affection for natural good, and ‘ass’ the affection for natural truth. These are the things that must not be coveted, that is, must not be taken away from anyone or made to suffer harm. The reason why these things are meant in the internal sense is that this sense of the Word is for those in heaven; for those there do not understand the Word in a natural but in a spiritual way. That is, they do not understand it to mean a house, wife, male slave, female slave, ox, or ass, but the spiritual entities to which they correspond, which are forms of the good of love and truths of faith. In short the external or literal sense is for those who are in the world; but the internal sense is for those who are in heaven, and also for those who are in the world, yet only so far as they are at the same time in heaven, that is, so far as charity and faith reside with them.
* Following the version of Sebastian Schmidt Sw. adds a word which implies that the woman is another man’s wife.

sRef Ex@20 @18 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @19 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @20 S0′ 8913. Verses 18-20 And all the people saw the voices and torches,* and the voice of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and the people saw and were violently shaken, and stood afar off. And they said to Moses, Speak yourself to us, and we will hear; and do not let God speak to us, lest perhaps we die. And Moses said to the people, Do not fear, for God has come in order to test you, and in order that His fear may be before your faces, so that you do not sin.

‘And all the people saw the voices and torches’ means perception of God’s truths that spring from good. ‘And the voice of the trumpet’ means those same truths going through heaven. ‘And the mountain smoking means the good itself of truth, which cannot be perceived except in an outward form. ‘And the people saw and were violently shaken’ means the quivering that takes place when they are received. ‘And stood afar off’ means remoteness from internal things. ‘And they said to Moses’ means complaint. ‘Speak yourself to us, [and we will hear]’ means the reception of truth in an adjusted form, which – in that form – they will obey. ‘And do not let God speak to us’ means truth in an unadjusted form. ‘Lest perhaps we die’ means that this form will destroy the life of heaven with them. ‘And Moses said to the people’ means an informing. ‘Do not fear, for God has come in order to test you’ means that the life of heaven will not be destroyed, [but that they are tested] solely so that the existence and essential nature of that life may be known. ‘And in order that His fear may be before your faces, and you do not sin’ means consequent holy fear of the Divine, and preservation of spiritual life as a result.
* i.e. thunders and lightnings

sRef Ex@20 @18 S0′ 8914. ‘And all the people saw the voices and torches’ means perception of God’s truths that spring from good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘seeing’ as understanding and perceiving, dealt with in 2150, 2325, 2807, 3764, 3863, 3869, 4403-4421, 4567, 4723, 5400; from the meaning of ‘voices’, or claps of thunder, as God’s truths, dealt with in 7573, 8813; and from the meaning of ‘torches’, or lightning, as the brilliant flashes emitted by truths that spring from the good of love, which have a sharp and penetrating effect, dealt with in 8813.

[2] The expression ‘God’s truths that spring from good’ is used here to mean all the Ten Commandments which were declared from Mount Sinai amid thundering and lightning. These took place at that time because claps of thunder were signs of God’s truths, which are also for that reason called voices, while flashes of lightning were signs of the brilliant flashes that truths from good possess, which are also for that reason called torches or flames, ‘flames’ being Divine Truths emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good, see 6832.

sRef Matt@24 @31 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @18 S0′ 8915. ‘And the voice of the trumpet’ means those same truths – Divine Truths from good – going through heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the voice of the trumpet’ as the state of the angelic heaven which was round about the Divine, and as God’s truth from there, dealt with in 8815, 8823. From this one may see what the Lord’s words mean where He foretells the close of the age or final period of the Church, at which time,

The Lord will send angels with the loud voice of a trumpet, who will gather His elect from the four winds. Matt. 24:31.

People who do not know that all the Lord’s words also have heavenly and Divine things stored within them, that is, that they hold in them an internal sense, will suppose that when the last judgement is imminent angels are going to appear and announce it, and also that they will gather the elect with ‘the voice of a trumpet’. But ‘the voice of a trumpet’ is not used there to mean the sound of a trumpet but God’s truth in its inward form spreading through heaven, and the proclaiming of it, see 4060 (end) as well as 8815 and 8823.

sRef Ex@20 @18 S0′ 8916. ‘And the mountain smoking’ means the good itself of truth, which cannot be perceived except in an outward form. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the mountain’, in this instance Mount Sinai, as Divine Good united to Divine Truth in heaven, dealt with in 8805; and from the meaning of ‘smoking’ as in an outward form. The reason why ‘smoking’ means this is that Divine Truth or the Word in its inward form is like the light and like a flame, whereas in its outward form it is like a cloud and like smoke. This is so because God’s truth or the Word in its inward form is the nature of it as it exists in heaven, thus as it exists in the superior light of heaven, whereas the Word in its outward form is as it exists in the world, thus as it exists in the inferior light of the world; and the inferior light of the world compared with the superior light of heaven is like a cloud, or compared with its flame is like smoke. God’s truth or the Word in its inward form is its internal sense, and in its outward form is its external or literal sense. The fact that the latter sense – the literal – is called ‘the cloud’, see Preface to Genesis 18, and 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343, 6752, 8106, 8781; and the reason why it is called ‘smoke’ is that ‘smoke’ means obscurity of truth, 8819. The mountain was seen to be smoking before the eyes of the children of Israel not because the Divine was such there, but – since the way in which the Divine appears to anyone who beholds Him depends on the character of the individual – because the character of those who were beholding Him was such that they considered worship to consist wholly in outward things and not at all in inward realities, as a consequence of which they understood the Word solely according to its literal sense. Therefore the Divine, in respect of the truth which was being declared, could not appear to them other than as smoke, that is, as obscurity. This also explains why it says that they stood afar off, by which the fact that they were remote from internal things is meant. But more of these matters below.

sRef Ex@20 @18 S0′ 8917. ‘And the people saw and were violently shaken’ means the quivering that takes place when they – Divine Truths – are received. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being violently shaken’ as quivering that takes place, at this point the kind of quivering there is when Divine Truths are received. Regarding that quivering, see 5459, 8816.

sRef Ex@20 @18 S0′ 8918. ‘And stood afar off’ means remoteness from internal things. This is clear from the meaning of ‘standing a long way off’ as existing remotely, in this instance remotely from internal things, since it was Mount Sinai – by which heaven and the Divine there is meant, 8805 – that they stood away from. Whether you say remotely from the Divine, or from heaven, or from internal things, it amounts to the same thing, since heaven consists in internal things. For inwardly a person resides in the light of heaven, and outwardly in the light of the world; or what amounts to the same thing, a person’s soul or spirit resides in heaven, but his body in the world. Heaven is nearer the Divine than the world is, because there the Lord’s Divine is what reigns and is the All in all.

Before any further consideration is given to the meaning of ‘afar off’, it should be recognized that ‘afar off’ in the spiritual sense has no regard to spatial distance but to the Divine, and so to goodness and truth. Distance from actual goodness that emanates from the Divine produces appearances of spatial distances in heaven. Angelic communities appear distinct and separate there, indeed at a distance from one another; but this notion of space between them comes about as a result of their distance from goodness and truth which emanate, as has been stated, from the Lord’s Divine. This is bound to seem incomprehensible, indeed as something absurd, to many in the world. The reason for this is that a person’s thoughts and ideas are based on spatial distances and lengths of time, so much so that a person cannot engage in thought without them. Consequently if you take away lengths of time and spatial distances from a person’s thought he can grasp scarcely anything. Yet the thinking of angels in heaven is altogether free from anything temporal or spatial, so completely that their thoughts are a thousand times, indeed ten thousand times superior in intelligence and wisdom to man’s thoughts. And what is astounding, if with them an idea of a temporal or spatial origin intrudes, shadow and thick darkness immediately overtakes their minds, because they then fall from the superior light of heaven into the inferior light of the natural order, which to them is thick darkness.

[2] The fact that there are no spatial distances or periods of time in the next life, but states instead, or that appearances of them exist as a result of variations of state in respect of goodness and truth, see 2625, 2837, 3356, 3387, 3404, 4321, 4882, 5605, 7381. From this one may now see what ‘standing afar off’ means in the spiritual sense, namely remoteness from heaven where the Divine is, at this point remoteness from internal things, because as stated above, that nation which stood at that time a long way off from Mount Sinai was most remote from internal things. They were interested solely in outward things, and considered worship of God to consist wholly in them. That nation was also allowed to do this because they were then able to represent heavenly and Divine realities; for in order that these may be represented an outward form is necessary, and this may exist devoid of anything internal, 3147, 3670, 4208, 4281, 4288, 4307, 8588.

sRef Luke@16 @26 S3′ sRef Luke@16 @23 S3′ [3] ‘Afar off’ means remote from goodness and truth that come from the Lord, and so remote from internal things, in the following places as well: In Luke,

The rich man in hell lifting up his eyes saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Abraham said to him, Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass across from here to you cannot, nor can those who are there pass across to us. Luke 16:23, 25, 26.

‘Abraham’ here is not used to mean Abraham, for he is not known in heaven, but in the highest sense to mean the Lord, and in the relative sense to mean those in heaven who are governed by the good of love to and faith in the Lord, 1834, 1876, 1965, 1989, 2011, 3245, 3305 (end), 6098, 6185, 6276, 6804. Those in hell are said ‘to see afar off’ those in heaven because they are in a state extremely remote from goodness and truth. ‘A great gulf’ between them is the actual remoteness from good, which also produces the appearance of a gulf lying in between.

sRef Isa@43 @8 S4′ sRef Isa@13 @5 S4′ sRef Isa@49 @1 S4′ sRef Jer@12 @2 S4′ sRef Luke@17 @21 S4′ sRef Jer@23 @23 S4′ sRef Isa@43 @6 S4′ sRef Isa@33 @13 S4′ sRef Jer@8 @19 S4′ [4] Those who whenever they think rely on spatial ideas, as all people in the world do, inevitably envisage hell, and also heaven, to be a place far away from a person. But the truth of the matter is that hell and heaven are near a person; indeed they are in a person, hell being in a bad person, heaven in a good person. Everyone after death also enters that hell or that heaven he was in when in the world. But after death a change of state takes place, in that the hell which was not recognized in the world becomes recognizable, and the heaven which toe> was not recognized in the world becomes recognizable, the heaven being full of all happiness, and the hell of all unhappiness. The truth that heaven is within us is what the Lord teaches in Luke,

The kingdom of God is within you. Luke 17:21.

In Isaiah,

They are coming from a land far away, from the end of heaven. Isa. 13:5; Jer. 5:15.

In Isaiah,

Hear, you that are afar off what I have done; and know, you that are near, My strength. Isa 33:13.

In the same prophet,

I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Do not withhold. Bring My sons from afar and My daughters from the end of the earth. Bring forth the blind people who have eyes, and the deaf who have ears. Isa. 43:6, 8; 49:12.

In the same prophet,

Listen to Me, O islands, and hearken, O peoples from afar. Isa. 49:1; Jer. 31:10.

In Jeremiah,

Behold, the voice of the cry of the daughter of My people from a land far away, Is not Jehovah in Zion? Is not her king in her? Jer 8:19.

In the same prophet,

O Jehovah, You have planted them, and they have also taken root. You are near in their mouth but far away from their heart.* Jer. 12:2.

In the same prophet, I am a God near at hand, and not a God afar off. Jer. 23:23.

In all these places ‘afar off’ means remote from good.
* lit. reins or kidneys

sRef Ex@20 @19 S0′ 8919. ‘And they said to Moses’ means complaint. This is clear from the rest of this verse, for what they said are words of complaint.

sRef Ex@20 @19 S0′ 8920. ‘Speak yourself to us, [and we will hear]’ means the reception of truth in an adjusted form, which – in that form – they will obey. This is clear from the meaning of ‘speaking’ as influx and communication, dealt with in 2951, 3060, 4131, 5481, 5797, 6225, 7270, 8128, and therefore also as reception since what flows in and is communicated is received; and from the representation of Moses, the one who should speak, as the truth from God below heaven joined to God’s truth in heaven, thus the intermediary between the Lord and the people, dealt with in 8760, 8787, 8805. So it is that here ‘Moses’ is truth in an adjusted form.

[2] As regards truth in an adjusted form, it should be recognized that when God’s truth comes down by way of the heavens to people in the world, as the Word came down, it undergoes adjustment for all on its way down, both for those in heaven and for those on earth. But the form in which God’s truth exists in the heavens is completely different from that in which it exists in the world. In the heavens that truth is as it exists in the internal sense of the Word, in the world it is as it appears in the literal sense. Indeed in the heavens themselves it exists in diverse forms – in one form in the inmost or third heaven, in another in the middle or second heaven, and in yet another in the first or lowest heaven. The form that God’s truth takes – that is, the perception, thought, and utterance of it – in the inmost or third heaven is so superior to the form it takes in the middle or second heaven that it is not comprehensible there; it is so Divine and matchless. It contains countless things which cannot find utterance in the second heaven; it consists of nothing other than the changes of state which the affections inherent in love undergo. Yet the form God’s truth takes in the middle or second heaven is in like manner superior to the one it takes in the first or lowest heaven, and is even more superior to the form God’s truth takes in the world. So it is that the things which find utterance in those heavens are of a kind that no human mind has ever perceived or any ear has heard, as those who have been raised to heaven know from experience.

[3] People who have no knowledge of this suppose that those in the heavens think in the same way and speak in the same way as on earth. But they suppose this because they do not know that the interior aspects of a person belong to a higher level of existence than exterior ones do, or that the thought and speech of those in the heavens is celestial and spiritual, whereas on earth it is natural, the difference between the two being so great that words cannot describe it. But regarding those types of speech, see 1634-1650, 1757-1759, 1876, 2157, 2472, 2476, 3342-3345, 4104, 4609, 5225, 5287, 6040, 6982, 7002, 7089, 7131, 7191, 7381, 8343, 8733, 8734.

[3] From all this also it is evident that unless God’s truth or the Word appeared in an adjusted form it would be unintelligible. For if it were above people’s level of perception it would not pass into understanding or accordingly into faith. This is why God’s truth has been given to mankind in the form taken by the Word in the letter; for if it were to appear in the form in which it exists in heaven, it would be unintelligible to anyone in the world. As soon as anyone glanced at it and saw what was in it, it would be cast aside, since it would not consist in images such as belong to natural light. Furthermore it would be full of arcana which could not possibly find a place in a person’s way of thinking because they would be entirely at odds with the appearances and illusions derived from the world through the outward senses – not to mention the copious chain of deeper arcana which lie hidden within those arcana and cannot be expressed except by variations and changes in the state of heavenly light and flame, by means of which angelic speech and thought are carried on.

sRef Ex@20 @19 S0′ 8921. ‘And do not let God speak to us’ means truth in an unadjusted form. This is clear from what comes before; for ‘Moses’ means God’s truth below heaven joined to God’s truth in heaven, thus the intermediary between the Lord and the people, and therefore God’s truth in an adjusted form, as shown immediately above in 8920. Consequently ‘do not let God speak to us’ means God’s truth in an unadjusted form, since ‘God’ is used here to mean the Lord in respect of Divine Truth in heaven, 8805, and therefore Divine Truth itself. This also is the reason why the name ‘God’, not Jehovah, is used. Wherever God is used in the Word, the Lord in respect of Divine Truth is meant; but wherever Jehovah is used, the Lord in respect of Divine Good is meant, 2586, 2769, 2807, 2822, 3921 (end), 4295, 4402, 7091, 7268, 7873, 8301, 8867.

sRef Ex@20 @19 S0′ 8922. ‘Lest perhaps we die’ means that this form will destroy the life of heaven with them. This is clear from the meaning of ‘dying’ as dying spiritually, dealt with in 6119, thus being destroyed so far as the life of heaven is concerned. The fact that God’s truth in an unadjusted form has that effect is clear from what has been shown just above in 8920. For truth in an unadjusted form, as it exists in heaven, is too high for it to be understood, and what is too high to be understood is not received. And what is not received does not pass into faith at all, nor accordingly into the life of faith, which is the life of heaven since a person is regenerated, that is, receives the life of heaven, through God’s truth composing faith, 2046, 2063, 2189, 2979, 3155, 3876, 3877, 5893, 5912, 6247, 8635 8640, 8772.

sRef Ex@20 @20 S0′ 8923. ‘And Moses said to the people’ means an informing. This is clear from the meaning of ‘saying’ – in this instance Moses’ saying to the people – as an informing; for the things he said are pieces of information connected with the matter about which they complained. In other places ‘saying’ in like manner means an informing, when information or instructions are given regarding an enquiry that has been made, as in 7769, 7793, 7825, 8041.

sRef Ex@20 @20 S0′ 8924. ‘Do not fear, for God has come in order to test you’ means that the life of heaven will not be destroyed, [but that they are tested] solely so that the existence and essential nature of that life may be known. This is clear from the meaning of ‘not fearing’ – not fearing that they will die – as their having no fear that the life of heaven with them will be destroyed, 8922; and from the meaning of ‘testing you’ as teaching about the existence of the life of heaven and about its essential nature. The reason why ‘testing’ has this meaning is that all spiritual testing or temptation serves to teach about and strengthen such ideas with a person. For temptations exist to this end, that belief in truth and affection for truth may be implanted and enrooted, and after these an affection for good, so that a person receives new life, which is the life of heaven.

[2] Temptations are conflicts with evils and falsities. When a person is victorious in them he is strengthened, for he fights from truths and for truths against falsity and evil. The person is not at the time directly conscious of fighting from truths and for truths because the truths are present on the inner levels of his mind and therefore do not plainly enter his consciousness, which belongs to the outer levels. But truths are indeed what he fights from and fights for, as is evident from the fact that conflict exists, followed by victory, which is not possible except for the clashes of opposites with one another, those opposites being evil and good, and falsity and truth. [3] Yet it should be recognized that the person does not fight, but that the Lord fights on behalf of the person, and indeed against the hells, which endeavour at that time to take over and subdue the person, 840, 1661, 1692, 8159, 8168, 8172, 8175, 8176.

From all this it is evident that ‘Do not fear, for God has come in order to test you’ means that there should be no fear that the life of heaven will be destroyed, but that it happens to them so that they may be taught about and know of the existence of the life of heaven, and also its essential nature. But regarding temptations, see what has been stated and shown already in 2272, 2768, 3318, 3927, 3928, 4249, 4299, 4341, 4572, 5036, 5246, 5356, 6144, 6574, 6611, 6657, 6663, 6666, 6829, 8131, 8273, 8351, 8367, 8370 (end), 8403, 8567.

sRef Ex@20 @20 S0′ 8925. ‘And in order that His fear may be before your faces, and you do not sin’ means consequent holy fear of the Divine, and preservation of spiritual life as a result. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the fear of God’ as holy fear of the Divine, dealt with below; from the meaning of ‘faces’ as the interiors, dealt with in 1999, 2434, 3527, 4066, 4796, 4797, 5102, 5585, 5592, so that ‘the fear of God before their faces’ is holy fear of the Divine in a person’s interiors; and from the meaning of ‘in order that you do not sin’ as the preservation of spiritual life, since spiritual life is preserved by not sinning. ‘Sinning’ is doing and thinking what is evil and false intentionally and willingly, for things done intentionally and willingly are such as come out of the heart and render a person unclean, Matt. 15:11, 17-19, and consequently such as wipe out spiritual life with him, see above in 8910. Regarding holy fear, meant by ‘the fear of God’ in the Word, it should be recognized that this fear is love. That is, it is the kind of love young children feel towards parents, parents towards young children, married couples for each other, who fear to do whatever is displeasing, thus whatever injures love in any way. A fear like this is installed into a person’s love when he is being regenerated. And since this fear accords with his love, and can exist within his love, and does in actual fact exist within or united to his love, it is called holy fear; and it is a fear of sinning or acting contrary to the Commandments, thus contrary to the Lord. But this fear is different with each individual person, being determined by what his love is like and how much he has; see the things that have been shown regarding this in 2826, 3718, 3719, 5459, 7280, 7788.

sRef Ex@20 @23 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @22 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @23 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @21 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @21 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @21 S0′ 8926. Verses 21-23 And the people stood afar off; and Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was. And Jehovah said to Moses, Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, You have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven. You shall not make [to be] with Me gods of silver and gods of gold; you shall not make [them[ for yourselves.

‘And the people stood afar off’ means remoteness from inner truths. ‘And Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was’ means a joining even of the truth of spiritual good to God’s truth. ‘And Jehovah said to Moses’ means further instruction. ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel’ means those belonging to the spiritual Church. ‘You have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven’ means all things in the Word coming through influx from God by way of heaven. ‘You shall not make [to be] with Me gods of silver and gods of gold’ means that they are to avoid completely things which to outward appearances look like truths and forms of good but inwardly are falsities and evils. ‘You shall not make [them] for yourselves’ means that utmost care must be taken to avoid them.

sRef Ex@20 @21 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @21 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @23 S0′ 8927. ‘And the people stood afar off’ means remoteness from inner truths. This is clear from the meaning of ‘standing afar off’ as being remote from internal things, dealt with above in 8918.

sRef Ex@20 @21 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @21 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @23 S0′ 8928. ‘And Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was’ means a joining even of the truth of spiritual good to God’s truth. This is clear from the representation of ‘Moses’ as God’s truth below heaven joined to God’s truth in heaven, consequently an intermediary kind of truth – dealt with in 8760, 8787, 8805 – thus the truth of spiritual good (for such truth is God’s truth below heaven, which exists with the spiritual Church represented by the children of Israel; and Moses as the head of that Church represents this truth, 7014); from the meaning of ‘drawing near’ as a joining together, for drawing near the Divine is being joined to Him; and from the meaning of ‘the thick darkness’ as God’s truth as it exists with those who belong to the spiritual Church, and also as it existed with that people whom Moses was set over as leader. The reason why God’s truth is ‘thick darkness’ to both these is that neither of them is in any light as regards God’s truths.

[2] Let those who belong to the spiritual Church be dealt with first. Those who belong to it believe that they are in the light. Yet they are in obscurity, indeed in thick darkness, so far as God’s truth is concerned, as is clear from the consideration that they have no inner perception enabling them to see whether what the Church says is indeed the truth; they know it to be such only because the Church says it. What the Church says they firmly accept, whether it is false or true. And anyone devoid of any inner perception to see God’s truth is in thick darkness, or what amounts to the same thing, Divine Truth is for him thick darkness. Members of the spiritual Church do not know for example, and have no wish to know, of the existence of an internal sense in the Word; and if they do perhaps come to believe in its existence there, it will not be because they perceive it for themselves but because of some other influence inducing them to believe it.

[3] Members of the spiritual Church, to take another example, say that faith is the one and only means of salvation, even without charity and the good deeds of charity. They believe this because the Church says it. They do not arrive at that light of perception in which they may see for themselves that faith does not exist except where charity does, or that the one belongs to the other as one person does to another in marriage, and therefore that charity is the essential element of the Church, because of its coherence with good. This also shows what obscurity or thick darkness the spiritual Church is in. And being in such darkness they divide the Church into many different Churches, as many as the variant doctrines presenting the truths of faith, a situation which would never arise if they were in the light. For one who is in the light never doubts, skill less denies that love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour are the essential elements of the Church, or that all the truths which the Word contains, consequently all the truths of faith, are founded on them. He likewise never doubts any of the other truths which hang on this law and are called the truths of faith. But these matters have been shown more plainly in 2708, 2715, 2831, 2849, 2935, 2937, 3241, 3246, 6289, 6427, 6865, 6945, 7233. Those who belong to the spiritual Church do not arrive at even the outermost threshold of the wisdom or of the light in which those are who belong to the celestial Church, 2718, 3833, 6500.

[4] The second reason why it says that Moses entered thick darkness when he drew near God is that as their leader ‘Moses’ represented the Israelite and Jewish people, who were in darkness regarding internal truths, so thick that they were totally ignorant of them; for they considered all of worship and everything Divine to consist in external things. This is why the Divine was for them thick darkness; for as everyone well knows, the Divine never dwells in thick darkness but in light, since the Divine is light itself. When therefore the Divine is called ‘thick darkness’, it describes what He is so far as those who do not dwell in any light are concerned; for Divine Truths which compose the light of heaven do not appear to them to be anything else than such darkness, because they do not believe them, indeed they deny them. How the Divine appears to anyone is determined by the essential nature of the person’s life and faith. Consequently He appears as light to those who are in the light, and as thick darkness to those who are in thick darkness. The fact that the Israelite and Jewish people were such, see 3479, 3769, 4281, 4293, 4307, 4314, 4316, 4433, 4680, 4825, 4832, 4844, 4847, 4865, 4903, 6304, and that the Lord on Mount Sinai appeared to them in smoke, cloud, and thick darkness, in keeping with the essential nature of that people, 1861 (end), 6832, 8814, 8819.

sRef Ex@20 @23 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @21 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @22 S0′ 8929. ‘And Jehovah said to Moses’ means further instruction. This is clear from the meaning of ‘saying’ as instruction; for ‘saying’ includes what follows it, in this instance instruction, as also elsewhere, 6879, 6881, 6883, 6891, 7186, 7267, 7304, 7380, 8127.

sRef Ex@20 @23 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @21 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @22 S0′ 8930. ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel’ means those belonging to the spiritual Church. This is clear from the representation of ‘the children of Israel’ as those belonging to the spiritual Church, dealt with in 6426, 6862, 6868, 7035, 7062, 7198, 7201, 7215, 7223, 7957, 8234, 8805.

sRef Ex@20 @21 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @22 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @23 S0′ 8931. ‘You have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven’ means all things in the Word coming through influx from God by way of heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘speaking from heaven’, when done by Jehovah addressing members of the Church, who are represented by ‘the children of Israel’, 8930, as God’s truth, or the Word coming from God by way of heaven. For what is spoken by Jehovah is God’s truth, thus the Word existing within the Church; and what He speaks comes by way of heaven.

[2] It should be recognized that heaven does not exist in some fixed and exact location; that is, it is not up on high, as it is commonly thought to be. Rather heaven exists wherever the Divine is present. This being so, it exists with and within everyone possessing charity and faith, since charity and faith are what constitute heaven, because they are what come from the Divine. There also angels live. The truth that heaven is where the Divine, that is, the Lord, is present is evident from the fact that Mount Sinai, from which the Lord spoke, is called ‘heaven’ here. This also is the reason why ‘Mount Sinai’ means heaven, from which Divine Truth Rows, 8805.

[3] The reason why all things in the Word are meant is that Jehovah or the Lord now begins to reveal the Word that is to serve the human race in what they teach and the way they live, first through Moses and later on through the Prophets. In order therefore that people might know that the Word came from the Divine by way of heaven, the Lord Himself was willing to come down and declare the Ten Commandments vocally, and in doing this to show that everything else which comes after them in the law, that is, in the Word, came in the same way through influx from the Divine by way of heaven.

sRef Ex@20 @23 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @21 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @23 S0′ 8932. ‘You shall not make [to be] with Me gods of silver and gods of gold’ means that they are to avoid completely things which to outward appearances look like truths and forms of good but inwardly are falsities and evils. This is clear from the meaning of ‘making gods’ as worshipping, since someone who makes gods for himself does so in order to worship them; from the meaning of ‘silver’ as truth, and therefore in the contrary sense as falsity, and from the meaning of ‘gold’ as good, and therefore in the contrary sense as evil, both dealt with in 113, 1551, 1552, 2954, 5658, 6914, 6917, 7999. The reason why these are things which to outward appearances look like truths and forms of good, but inwardly are falsities and evils, is that the words ‘making them with Me’, that is, with Jehovah God, are used. Actual Divine Truth and Goodness reside on an inner level; they reside on an outer level as well, but then they are embodied in types or representative images. For the outward things composing a type or image stand for and represent inner realities. Outward things are falsities and evils when, separated from inner realities, they are held to be holy and are worshipped; and yet they still look like truths and forms of good because they represent those realities. These things are meant by ‘making [to be] with Jehovah God gods of silver and gods of gold’.

[2] This commandment follows immediately after the Ten Commandments because the Israelite and Jewish people were the sort that held outward things separated from inward realities to be holy and worshipped them as being altogether Divine, 3479, 3769, 4281, 4293, 4307, 4314, 4316, 4433, 4680, 4825, 4832, 4844, 4847, 4865, 4903, 6304, 6832, 8814, 8819. To gain more definite knowledge of what those things are which look to outward appearances like truths and forms of good but inwardly are falsities and evils, and what those things are like, take as examples all the ritual practices of the Jewish Church, such as sacrifices, burning incense, washings, and many other practices. Outwardly they were truths and forms of good, not in themselves but because they were types or images that stood for and represented inward truths and forms of good, which are aspects of love to the Lord and faith in Him. When the outward objects belonging to such practices were held to be holy, and especially when they were worshipped, as they were by the Jews and Israelites when they became idolaters and used them in the worship of strange gods, they no longer had any connection with the truths and forms of good which they stood for and represented, because inwardly they were falsities and evils.

[3] The situation was the same with all other things that were types or representative images of heavenly and Divine realities among that people. For as soon as outward things which represented inner realities were used in the worship of other gods they became idols worshipped by them or ‘gods of silver and gold which they made [to be] with Jehovah God’. For then those things looked to outward appearances like truths and forms of good, but inwardly they were falsities and evils.

sRef Isa@2 @20 S4′ sRef Isa@2 @21 S4′ [4] In general ‘gods of silver and gold’ are all the falsities and derivative evils in worship which are made to look like truth and good through wrong usages and misinterpretations of the Word, and at the same time through reasonings that are the product of self-intelligence. Such things are meant by ‘gods of silver and gold’ in the following places: In Isaiah,

On that day a person will cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold which they made for themselves to bow down to, to the moles and bats, to go into the clefts* of the rocks and into the fissures of the crags. Isa. 2:20, 21.

‘Moles and bats’ stands for those who are in darkness, that is, are steeped in falsities and derivative evils.

sRef Isa@31 @7 S5′ sRef Isa@40 @19 S5′ [5] In the same prophet,

On that day a man will cast aside his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your hands have made for you – a sin. Isa. 31:7.

‘Which your hands have made’ stands for things which are the product of self-intelligence. In the same prophet,

The craftsman casts a graven image, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts silver chains for it. Isa. 40:19.

‘Graven images’ are things which are products of the proprium or self, 8869. ‘Overlaying with gold’ stands for making things look to outward appearances like forms of good, ‘casting silver chains’ stands for making them seem to hang together as if linked to one another with truths, good being meant by ‘gold’ and truth by ‘silver’, see the paragraphs referred to above.

sRef Jer@10 @4 S6′ sRef Jer@10 @3 S6′ sRef Hos@13 @2 S6′ [6] Similarly in Jeremiah,

The customs** of the nations are vanity. Since indeed one cuts out wood from the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, he decorates it with silver and gold; they make it firm with pegs and hammers, so that it is not unsteady. Jer. 10:3, 4.

In Hosea,

The Ephraimites sin more and more, and make for themselves a molten image from silver, idols by their own intelligence, completely the work of craftsmen. Hosea 13:2.

‘Ephraim’ stands for the Church’s understanding, 5354, 6222, 6234, 6238, 6267; ‘a molten image made from silver’ stands for falsity that looks like truth, which is why it says ‘by their own intelligence’; and ‘completely the work of craftsmen’ stands for the fact that it is all brought about through reasonings which are a product of the proprium or self.

sRef Dan@5 @4 S7′ sRef Dan@5 @3 S7′ sRef Hab@2 @19 S7′ sRef Dan@5 @2 S7′ sRef Dan@5 @23 S7′ [7] In Habakkuk,

Woe to him who says to a piece of wood, Awake! or to a dumb stone, Wake up, this will teach! Behold, this is bound in gold and silver, but there is no spirit in the midst of it. Hab. 2:19.

‘A piece of wood’ stands for evil, ‘a stone’ for falsity. ‘Bound in gold and silver’ stands for applications used to give the appearance of what is good and true. In Daniel,

Belshazzar said, when he had properly tasted the wine, that they were to bring the vessels of gold and silver which his father Nebuchadnezzar had brought from the temple that [had been] in Jerusalem, in order that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. And they would drink wine, and praise the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone. Dan. 5:2-4, 23.

‘The vessels of gold and silver from the temple of Jerusalem’ represented the forms of good and the truths which belonged to the Church and to the Lord’s kingdom; ‘drinking wine from them’ meant desecrating them by means of evils and falsities, which are ‘the gods of gold and silver’.

sRef Deut@7 @25 S8′ sRef Deut@7 @26 S8′ sRef Ps@115 @5 S8′ sRef Ps@115 @4 S8′ [8] In David,

Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands They have a mouth, but they do not speak; they have eyes but do not see. Ps. 115:4, 5; 135:15, 16.

‘Silver and gold, which are idols’ stands for falsities and evils; ‘the work of human hands’ stands for the fact that they are the product of self-intelligence. In Moses,

You shall burn the graven images of the gods of the nations with fire; you shall not covet the silver and the gold that are on them, so that you take them to yourself; for it is an abomination to Jehovah your God. Therefore you shall not bring an abomination into your house, lest you become*** an accursed thing like it; you shall utterly abhor it. Deut. 7:25, 26.

‘Silver and gold on graven images’ stands for falsities and evils which are worshipped as truths and forms of good because they have been made to look like these.
* Reading scissuras (clefts) for fissuras (fissures)
** lit. statutes
*** Reading fias (you become) for fiat (it becomes)

sRef Ex@20 @21 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @23 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @23 S0′ 8933. ‘You shall not make [them] for yourselves’ means that utmost care must be taken to avoid them. This is clear from the consideration that this is a reiteration of what they must not do. A reiteration or repetition implies thoroughness, that is, that utmost care must be taken to avoid the thing.

sRef Ex@20 @24 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @25 S0′ sRef Ex@20 @26 S0′ 8934. Verses 24-26 An altar of soil* you shall make for Me, and shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your eucharistic offerings, your flocks and your herds; in every place where I shall put the memory of My name I will come to you and bless you. And if you make for Me an altar of stones, you shall not build it with hewn ones; for if you move your chisel over it you will profane it. And you shall not go up to My altar by steps, in order that your nakedness may not be revealed on it.

‘An altar of soil you shall make for Me’ means something which in a general way represents worship that springs from good. ‘And shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your eucharistic offerings’ means worship in particular according to each person’s state of spiritual life. ‘Your flocks and your herds’ means forms of good, internal and external. ‘In every place where I shall put the memory of My name’ means the state of faith in the Lord with each individual person. ‘I will come to you and bless you’ means God’s presence at that time, and influx. ‘And if you make for Me an altar of stones’ means a representative kind of worship in general that is composed of truths. ‘You shall not build it with hewn ones’ means that it must not be a product of self-intelligence. ‘For if you move your chisel over it’ means if a product of the proprium or self. ‘You will profane it’ means that no worship in that case exists. ‘And you shall not go up to My altar by steps’ means not raising themselves to more internal levels, that is, celestial ones. ‘In order that your nakedness may not be revealed on it’ means the mental picture of those things, which in that event is full of falsities, will then be disclosed.
* lit. the ground (humus)

8935. ‘An altar of soil you shall make for Me’ means something which in a general way represents worship that springs from good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘an altar’ as the chief representative of the Lord and consequently of the worship of Him, dealt with in 921, 2777, 2811, 4489, 4541; and from the meaning of ‘soil’ or ‘the ground’ as good. The reason why ‘the ground’ stands for good is that a Church which abides in good is meant by ‘the ground’, 566. This is why Adam was said to be formed from the ground, at Gen. 2:7; 3:19; for one who belonged to the celestial Church, that is, the Church itself abiding in good, was meant by him, 478, 479. Since there are two entities that inspire worship of the Lord – goodness and truth – worship springing from good was represented by an altar of soil, while worship springing from truth was represented by an altar of stones. Both kinds of altars are the subject here; and those two entities that inspire worship are called faith and charity. Worship springing from truth has connection with faith, and worship springing from good has connection with charity.

[2] As regards worship inspired by faith and worship inspired by charity, or that which springs from truth and that which springs from good, the situation is that before a person has been regenerated his worship consists of truth, but after he has been regenerated it consists of good. Before a person has been regenerated he is led by means of truth to good, that is, by means of faith to charity; but when he has been regenerated he abides in good and consequently in truth, that is, in charity and consequently in faith, 8516, 8539, 8643, 8648, 8658. These two kinds of worship are what the altars of soil and of stone represent. The reason why the altar is the chief representative of worship of the Lord is that burnt offerings and sacrifices were offered on it; and it was in these that the worship of God by the Hebrew nation, and subsequently by the Israelite and Jewish nation, chiefly consisted, 923, 1343, 2180, 2805, 2807, 2830, 3519, 6405.

8936. ‘And shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your eucharistic offerings’ means worship in particular according to each person’s state of spiritual life. This is clear from the meaning of ‘burnt offerings and sacrifices’ as all inward worship in general, and also all the varieties of it in keeping with the different kinds of celestial and spiritual realities that are involved, that is, the different forms of the good of love to the Lord and the different truths of faith in Him, 922, 923, 2165, 2180, 2805, 2807, 2930, 3519, 6405, thus in keeping with every state of spiritual life in particular. This accounts for the institution of so many different kinds of sacrifices; that is, in addition to the daily sacrifices there were those offered on sabbath days, at feasts, new moons, inaugurations, and consecrations, as well as those for all guilt, sin, cleansing, healing, and childbirth. It also accounts for the use according to the occasion of different living creatures, such as oxen, young oxen, lambs, rams, she-goats, and he-goats, each of which meant a different kind of good that belongs to spiritual life, 1823, 2180, 3519.

8937. ‘Your flocks and your herds’ means forms of good, internal and external. This is clear from the meaning of ‘flocks’ as internal forms of good, and from the meaning of ‘herds’ as external forms of good, both dealt with in 2566, 5913. The reason why ‘Hocks’ means internal forms of good is that to flocks belong lambs, sheep, kids, she-goats, rams, and he-goats, and these mean such things as are forms of innocence and forms of celestial and spiritual love in the internal man. And the reason why ‘herds’ means external forms of good is that to herds belong oxen, young oxen, and calves, and these mean such things as are forms of good and truth in the external man. For what was meant by ‘oxen’, see 2180, 2566, 2781; ‘young oxen’ and ‘calves’, 1824, 2830; ‘lambs’, 3519, 3994, 7840; ‘sheep’, 4169; ‘kids’ and ‘she-goats’, 3519, 4005, 4006, 4871; ‘rams’, 2830, 4170; and he-goats’, 4169 (end), 4769.

8938. ‘In every place where I shall put the memory of My name’ means the state of faith [in the Lord] with each individual person. This is clear from the meaning of ‘place’ as state, dealt with in 2625, 2837, 3356, 3387, 3404, 4321, 4882, 5605, 7381, so that ‘every place’ is the state of each individual or with each individual person. The reason why the state of faith is meant is that ‘the name of Jehovah’ means everything in its entirety through which the Lord is worshipped, thus all aspects of faith and charity, 2724, 3006, 6674. Consequently ‘putting the memory of the name of Jehovah God’ means [that state in] the person with whom – that is, in whose heart – charity and faith that come from the Lord are present. The meaning in the literal sense is that they were to sacrifice burnt offerings and eucharistic offerings, thus their flocks and herds, in Jerusalem, this being the place chosen by the Lord for them in which to worship Him, and so in which ‘He put the memory of His name’. A place is not meant however in the internal sense, but each individual person with whom charity and faith are present; for ‘place’ does not mean place in the internal sense but state, and ‘name’ does not mean name but faith and worship, so that a person who has attained a state in which faith is being received from the Lord is meant. In Jerusalem furthermore, the place in which the Lord was worshipped through the burnt offerings and eucharistic offerings, all things of the Church were represented. This is why ‘Jerusalem’ in the Word, and ‘the New Jerusalem’ in the Book of Revelation, means the Lord’s Church; and the Lord’s Church exists with each individual person in a state in which charity and faith received from the Lord are present. For a person is in himself the Church, and the many with whom the Church exists compose the Church collectively. From all this it is also evident that ‘in every place in which I shall put the memory of My name’ means the state of faith with each individual person.

8939. ‘I will come to you and bless you’ means God’s presence at that time, and influx. This is clear from the meaning of ‘coming to someone’, when said by Jehovah, as presence, as also in 5934, 6063, 6089; and from the meaning of ‘blessing’, when said by Jehovah, as being endowed with faith and charity, dealt with in 2846, 3406, 4981, 6091, 6099, 8674, thus also as flowing in since faith and charity flow in from the Lord with a person. These are the blessing in the internal sense, for they are what make a person blessed and happy eternally. While living in the world a person calls those things a blessing which make him blessed and happy temporally, that is, wealth and important positions. Temporal blessings however are not what are meant in the internal sense of the Word but eternal ones, in comparison with which the temporal are nothing at all. For there is no ratio between what is temporal and what is eternal; there is no ratio even between several thousands or several millions of years and what is eternal, since those years have an end whereas what is eternal has no end. Therefore what is eternal Is; for that which exists without end Is, since it has its Being from God, who is Infinite – the Infinite in relation to time being He who is Eternal. But the temporal by comparison Is not, because when it has reached its end it exists no longer. From this it is also evident that ‘a blessing’ in the spiritual sense is that which has Being from God within it, thus is those things which constitute eternal life, consequently things which are aspects of charity and faith.

sRef Matt@16 @26 S2′ [2] The truth that worldly blessing is nothing in comparison with heavenly blessing, which is eternal, is taught in the following way by the Lord in Matthew,

What does it profit a person if he gains the whole world but suffers the loss of his soul? Matt. 16:26.

But the person immersed in worldly and earthly interests does not understand this saying; for worldly and earthly interests have a stifling effect, and cause him not to believe even in the existence of eternal life.

[3] But I can positively declare that as soon as a person dies he is in the next life, living as a spirit among spirits, and that then he seems to himself and to all others there to be altogether like a person in the world, endowed with all the senses, internal and external, 1881. I can say too that therefore death of the body is merely a laying aside of such things as had enabled the person to serve and function in the world, and in addition that death itself is a continuation of life, though in another world which is not visible to the eyes of the earthly body but is visible there in light a thousand times brighter than midday light in the world. Since all this is known to me from actual experience which I have had over so many years and continue to have, I declare it positively. I have spoken to almost all those with whom I was acquainted in the world and who have died, to some two or three days after their decease; and I speak to them still. The majority of them have been extremely displeased that they had had no belief at all in the continuation of life after death. I have talked to those people not just for a day but over months and years. I have also been allowed to witness their succeeding or progressive states of life taking them either to hell or to heaven. Consequently let anyone who wishes to be happy for evermore know and believe that he is going to be alive after death; let him think about it and remember it, for it is the truth. Let him also know and believe that the Word is the one and only teacher of how a person should live in the world in order to be happy for evermore.

sRef Ex@20 @25 S0′ sRef Deut@27 @7 S1′ sRef Deut@27 @8 S1′ sRef Deut@27 @6 S1′ sRef Deut@27 @5 S1′ sRef Deut@27 @3 S1′ sRef Deut@27 @2 S1′ sRef Deut@27 @4 S1′ sRef Deut@27 @1 S1′ 8940. ‘And if you make for Me an altar of stones’ means a representative kind of worship in general that is composed of truths. This is clear from the meaning of ‘an altar’ as a representative of Divine worship in general, dealt with in 921, 2777, 2811, 4489; and from the meaning of ‘stones’ as truths, dealt with in 643, 1298, 3720, 3769, 3771, 3773, 3789, 3798, 6426, 8609. There is worship of the Lord that springs from good, and there is worship of Him that springs from truth. Worship of the Lord springing from good was represented by an altar of soil, and worship springing from truth by an altar of stone. Regarding the first and the second kinds of worship, see above in 8935. It was because an altar of stone was a sign of worship springing from truth that they were commanded to set up such an altar as soon as they crossed the Jordan and came into the land of Canaan, and to write on it the Commandments contained in the Law, that is, God’s truths from heaven. For by the Ten Commandments are meant all God’s truths in summary form. That altar is spoken of in Moses as follows,

When you cross the Jordan you shall set up for yourself large stones, and coat them with lime. Then you shall write on them all the words of the Law. Afterwards, you shall build there an altar to Jehovah your God, an altar of stones, which you shall not hew with any iron tool.* With whole stones you shall build the altar of Jehovah your God, and present** on it burnt offerings and eucharistic offerings. And you shall write on the stones of the altar the words of the Law, expressing them very plainly. Deut. 27:1-8; Josh. 8:30-32.

sRef Isa@27 @9 S2′ [2] The reason why they were to write the words of the Law on stones of the altar was that truths were meant by ‘stones’, and worship that springs from truths by ‘an altar of stones’. This was also the reason why the Ten Commandments, which were a sign of Divine Truths in their entirety, were inscribed on tablets of stone. The reason why it had to be done as soon as they crossed the Jordan was that the Jordan, which was the first and outermost boundary of the land of Canaan on the side where the wilderness lay, meant introduction into the Church or heaven, which is accomplished through cognitions or knowledge of truth and good, thus through truths from the Word, 4255. For all the rivers serving as boundaries of that land meant the first and outermost reaches of the Lord’s kingdom, 4116, 4240. By ‘the stones of the altar’ the truths of faith are also meant in Isaiah,

He will remove sin when He makes all the stones of the altar like chalk-stones scattered about. Isa. 27:9

This refers to the ruination of the Church. ‘The stones of the altar like chalk-stones scattered about’ stands for the truths of faith that inspire worship after something similar has happened to them. As regards altars in general, they were made out of soil, stones, bronze, wood, and also gold – out of bronze, wood, and gold because these materials served to mean good. For an altar of bronze, see Ezek. 9:2; for an altar of wood, Ezek. 41:22; and for an altar of gold, which was the altar of incense, 1 Kings 6:22; 7:48; Rev. 8:3. That ‘bronze’ means good, see 425, 1551; that ‘wood’ does so, 643, 2784, 2812, 3720, 8354; and that ‘gold’ does so as well, 113, 1551, 1552, 5658.
* lit. upon which you shall not strike iron
** lit. cause to come up

sRef Ex@20 @25 S0′

8941. ‘You shall not build it with hewn ones’ means that it must not be a product of self-intelligence. This is clear from the meaning of ‘hewn stones’ as the kinds of things which are products of self-intelligence, for ‘stones’ are truths, 8940, and chiselling or shaping them means producing or fashioning truths, or rather notions made to look like truths, out of the self, that is, out of self-intelligence. For the life in anything produced or fashioned by the self or self-intelligence is derived from the person; and such life is not life at all since the human self or proprium is nothing but evil, 210, 215, 694, 874-876, 987, 1047, 5660, 5786, 8480, whereas what is not derived from the self but from God does have life within it, since God is the source of all life. The subject here is worship of the Lord that springs from truth, for that kind of worship is meant by ‘an altar of stones’, 8940. .

[2] Truths that inspire worship of the Lord should be derived from nowhere
other than the Word; for in every single part the Word has life from God. When truths are derived from the self they have as their end in view rank and prominence over everyone in the world, and also earthly possessions and wealth above everyone. Consequently they hold within them self-love and love of the world, thus all evils in their entirety, 7488, 8318. But truths derived from the Word have eternal life as their end in view; they hold within them love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour, thus all forms of good in their entirety. When truths are produced out of the self or self-intelligence they are the masters over the truths which come from God; for they employ the latter to add strength to themselves. But it ought to be the other way round, that is to say, the truths from God ought to be the masters, and those that are products of self-intelligence to be the servants. Products of the self or self-intelligence are called truths, but they are not really truths; they look like truths solely to outward appearances. For the literal sense of the Word is employed, and reasonings are brought in, to make them look like truths; but inwardly they are falsities. What these things are exactly, and what they are like, see above in 8932.

[3] In the world there are two semblances of religion that exist as a result of self-intelligence. One is that in which self-love and love of the world is everything; in the Word this semblance of religion is called Babel. Inwardly it is profane on account of self-love and love of the world, while outwardly it is holy on account of the Word, which people have employed to add strength to their own ideas. The other semblance of religion is that in which the inferior light of the natural order is everything. Those with this kind of religion acknowledge nothing to be true which they do not apprehend. Some belonging to this seeming religion acknowledge the Word, yet they employ it to add strength to their own ideas; thus they treat it as their servant. Others however do not acknowledge the Word; instead they identify the Divine with the natural order. For the light in which they see, being the inferior light of the natural order, shines only within the natural order and cannot be made brighter by the superior light of heaven, because they cast aside the Word, the source of all enlightenment. Those belonging to both the latter and the former semblances of religion are in hell, because they are devoid of heavenly life, which they cannot receive because they have cast the Word aside. And those of them who have employed the Word to add strength to their own ideas have set no value at all on it in their hearts; yet because it has had power and authority among the common people they have used it to serve them in this way, in order that false notions fashioned by their own intelligence might thereby be validated. From all this one may see what is meant in the spiritual sense by the command that no altar of hewn stones was to be built.

sRef Amos@5 @11 S4′ sRef Lam@3 @9 S4′ sRef Lam@3 @8 S4′ sRef Isa@9 @10 S4′ sRef Isa@9 @9 S4′ [4] ‘Hewn stone’ means that which is a product of self-intelligence in the following places as well: In Isaiah,

In order that [all] the people may know, Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, on account of pride and arrogance of heart, saying, The bucks have fallen and we will build from hewn stone. Isa. 9:9, 10.

In Jeremiah,

Even if I cry and shout, He has shut out my prayers. He has fenced round my ways with hewn stone, He has overturned my paths. Lam. 3:8, 9.

In Amos,

Because you tread down the crushed, and seize from him the burden of grain, you will build houses of hewn stone, yet you will not dwell in them. Amos 5:11.

‘Hewn stone’ here stands for the kinds of things that self-intelligence produces in matters of faith.

sRef Josh@8 @31 S5′ sRef Josh@8 @30 S5′ [5] Since those things were meant by ‘hewn stone’, the altar first built in the land of Canaan by the children of Israel after they crossed the Jordan was built of unhewn stones; for crossing over Jordan represented introduction into the Lord’s kingdom, which is accomplished by means of the truths of faith. That altar is spoken of as follows in Joshua,

Joshua built an altar to Jehovah God of Israel on Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of Jehovah had commanded the children of Israel, An altar of whole stones over which no one has wielded any iron tool.* Josh. 8:30, 31; Deut. 27:1-8.

sRef 1Ki@6 @7 S6′ [6] The temple in Jerusalem likewise was built of whole, not hewn, stones. This is referred to in the first Book of Kings as follows,

As regards the house itself, when it was being built it was built of whole stone, as it had been brought [there]; for not a hammer or axe, [nor] any tool of iron, was heard in the house while it was being built. 1 Kings 6:7.

For by ‘the temple of the Lord’ was represented the Lord in respect of Divine Truth. The Lord Himself teaches that He was represented by the temple, in John 2:19, 21, 22; and the reason why He was represented in respect of Divine Truth was that Divine Truth was taught there. This also was why it was built of stones; for ‘stones’ meant Divine Truth, 8940. And it also explains why the Lord was called ‘the Stone of Israel’, 6426.

sRef Isa@40 @19 S7′ sRef Isa@40 @20 S7′ [7] From all this one may now see what was meant by the stone of the altar, and also what was meant by the stone of the temple, as well as what was meant by the requirement that they were to be whole stones, and not hewn, namely this: Religion should be composed of truths derived from the Lord, thus from the Word, and not from self-intelligence. Products of self-intelligence are also described in the following way in Isaiah,

The craftsman casts a graven image, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts silver chains for it. He seeks a skilled** craftsman to make ready a graven image. Isa. 40:19, 20.

‘A graven image’ stands for some religious fabrication that is a product of the proprium or self, put forward to be venerated as what is Divine, 8869. ‘The craftsman’ stands for those who from self produce and fashion things. Their attempt to make these things look like truths is described by ‘[a goldsmith! overlays it with gold, and casts chains made of silver’ and ‘he seeks a skilled craftsman’.

sRef Jer@10 @4 S8′ sRef Jer@10 @3 S8′ sRef Isa@44 @9 S8′ sRef Isa@44 @12 S8′ sRef Hos@13 @2 S8′ sRef Isa@44 @13 S8′ sRef Isa@44 @11 S8′ [8] In the same prophet,

Makers of the graven image, all are vanity. All his companions will be ashamed; and the workmen themselves … He fashions the iron with tongs, and works it with the coals, and forms it with sharp hammers; so he makes it with his strong arm.*** He fashions pieces of wood, stretches out a cord, and marks it off with a ruler. He makes it into its angles, and marks it out with a ring, so that he may make it in the form of a man (vir), according to the beauty of a human being, to dwell in the house. Isa. 44:9, 11-13.

This too describes a religious fabrication that is a product of self-intelligence. Something similar occurs in Jeremiah,

The customs**** of the nations are vanity. Since indeed one cuts out wood from the forest, the work of the hands of the workman using an axe, he decorates it with silver and gold; and they make it firm***** with pegs and hammers. Jer. 10:3, 4.

And also in Hosea,

Nonetheless they now sin more and more, and make for themselves a molten image from silver, idols by their own intelligence, completely the work of craftsmen. Hosea 13:2

A religious fabrication, produced out of self-intelligence and not derived from the Word, is meant in the internal sense by ‘idols’ and ‘strange gods’, by ‘molten images’ and ‘graven images’. Products of the self are nothing else; for in themselves they are dead, even though venerated as living.
* lit. upon which he has not moved iron
** lit. intelligent
*** lit the arm of his strength
**** lit statutes
***** The Latin means he makes firm but the Hebrew means they make firm, which Sw. has in other places where he quotes this verse.


sRef Ex@20 @25 S0′ 8942. ‘For if you move your chisel over it’ means if a product of the proprium or self. This is clear from the meaning of ‘chisel’ as counterfeit truth, thus a product of the self. For a chisel is a piece of iron used to carve and shape figures out of stones, and therefore the human self is meant here since this shapes things which are to compose religion, to make them look like the truth. Instead of the word ‘chisel’ some places elsewhere have ‘[a piece of] iron’, while others elsewhere have ‘axe’, as in Deut. 27:5; Josh. 8:30, 31; 1 Kings 6:7; Isa. 44:10-12; Hosea 13:2; Jer. 10:3, 4; and these tools mean such things as are implements of self-intelligence used for fabrication.

sRef Ex@20 @25 S0′ 8943. ‘You will profane it’ means that no worship in that case exists. This is clear from the meaning of ‘profaning’ as bringing about the nonexistence of any worship. For in itself the product of self- intelligence is devoid of life, indeed is spiritually dead, since the human proprium or self is nothing but evil. Consequently if the worship of God has its origin in the self that worship is no different at all from the worship of an idol or a graven or molten image, which have no spirit, that is, no life, within them. But what springs from the Word, only this can be of service for offering worship to God, since this is in itself living. For within the Word, in every single part, there is a spiritual sense, which deals with the Lord’s kingdom; and within that internal sense there is the Divine, since the Word in its inmost sense deals with the Lord alone. This is the source of the holiness and life of the Word; it derives them from no other source. The Word may be likened to a Divine human being; the literal sense is so to speak his body, while the internal sense is so to speak his soul, from which it is evident that the literal sense receives life through the internal sense. It seems as though the literal sense disappears or dies through the internal sense; but the contrary is the reality. It does not disappear, still less does it die; rather it receives life through the internal sense. From all this it is now clear that a true worship of God has its origin in things of the Word and not at all in those of self- intelligence. So it is that ‘if you move a chisel over the altar, you will profane it’ means that if you have fashioned such things as are to constitute the worship of God, and they are not products of the Word but of self-intelligence, no worship exists.

sRef Ex@20 @25 S0′ 8944. In the world it is thought that the human being can recognize from the light of natural evidence alone, that is, without revelation, most of what religion involves, such as the beliefs that there is a God, that He is to be worshipped, and also that He is to be loved, and in addition that a person will be alive after death. and many other beliefs dependent on these. However, those beliefs are the products of self-intelligence. Much experience has taught me that of himself a person knows nothing whatever about Divine realities, or about things belonging to celestial and spiritual life; without revelation he knows nothing about them. For a person is born into the evils of self-love and love of the world, and the nature of these is such that they seal off influx from the heavens and let through influx from the hells. This being so, they blind a person and place him in a negative frame of mind about the reality of the Divine, of heaven and hell, and of life after death. This is plainly evident from the learned people of the world, who through study of different branches of knowledge have developed the inferior light of this natural evidence of theirs to a higher degree than others. As is well known, these more than others deny the Divine, acknowledging natural forces instead. Also, when they speak from what is in their heart and not just from doctrine they deny life after death, also heaven and hell, consequently all things that are matters of faith, which they call bonds for the common people. This makes plain what light received from natural evidence without revelation is like. I have also been shown that in the next life many of those who have written books about natural theology, and from the inferior light of their natural evidence have skillfully substantiated the teachings of their Church, deny those same things at heart more than any others, and also deny the Word itself, which they try to destroy completely. For in the next life people’s hearts speak. I have also been shown that those same people are unable to receive anything of the influx from heaven, only that from the hells. All this makes plain what light received from natural evidence, without revelation, is like, and therefore what anything that is a product of self- intelligence is like.

[2] But there are two phenomena that might have placed the mind in doubt so far as this matter is concerned. The first is that people in ancient times who were gentiles nevertheless knew that there is a God, that He is to be worshipped, and that a person as to his soul is immortal. The second is that those things are also known by a large number of nations at the present day among whom no revelation exists. But in the case of the ancients, they did not know those things from the inferior light they received from natural evidence but from revelation that spread from the Church even to them. For the Lord’s Church had existed since most ancient times in the land of Canaan, 3686, 4447, 4454, 4516, 4517, 5136, 6516. From there such things as belonged to the worship of God spread to the nations round about and also to the neighbouring Greeks, and from the Greeks to the Italians or Romans. From the Church all these nations received the things they knew about a supreme deity, and about the immortality of the soul, which their learned men wrote about.

[3] As regards the nations at the present day who also know of God’s existence and of life after death, they have not come to possess that knowledge from the inferior light they receive from natural evidence. They possess it from their religion which has come down to them from ancient times and which was founded on such things as had spread in various ways from the Church, where revelation existed. This happened in the Lord’s Divine Providence. Furthermore those among them who from their religion acknowledge God above all things, and from their religion do what charity requires them to do for their neighbour, on receiving instruction in the next life accept the truths of faith and are saved, 258- 2604.

sRef Ex@20 @26 S0′ 8945. ‘And you shall not go up to My altar by steps’ means not raising themselves to more internal levels, that is, celestial ones. This is clear from the meaning of ‘going up by means of steps’ as raising oneself to higher or more internal levels (whether you say more internal or higher it amounts to the same thing, since more internal things are seen as higher ones, 2148, 3084, 4210, 4599); and from the meaning of ‘altar’ as the chief representative of the Lord, dealt with in 921, 2777, 2811. Thus ‘going up by steps to My altar’ means raising oneself to the Lord, consequently to more internal levels, which are celestial ones; for the Lord’s presence is greater on more internal levels. The term ‘celestial’ is used for things in the inmost heaven, but ‘spiritual’ for those in the middle heaven. For heaven is divided into two kingdoms – the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom. Those in the celestial kingdom are in the inmost or third heaven, and so are nearest the Lord; for they are governed by love to the Lord, possessing innocence and consequently wisdom in greater measure than all the rest. But those who are in the spiritual kingdom are in the middle or second heaven, and so are more remote from the Lord; and those there am governed by charity towards the neighbour, and through charity dwell with the Lord. Regarding those two kingdoms and the difference between them, see 2048, 2088, 2227, 2507, 2669, 2708, 2715, 2718, 3235, 3246, 3374, 3887, 4448, 4585, 4938, 4939, 5113, 5922, 6367, 6435, 7877.

[2] Let a brief explanation be given of what is implied by raising oneself towards more internal levels, that is, celestial ones, which is meant by ‘going up by steps to the altar’. No one in the next life is allowed to be raised into heaven to a level higher than that of the good which governs him. If he is raised to some higher level the foul things about him are revealed, that is, the evils he loves, and the resulting falsities; for the more internal something is, the purer and holier it is in heaven. Those whose state is not so pure are kept in a lower sphere in which impurities go unnoticed or are not apparent; for such people are governed by grosser good and guided by duller truth.

[3] Sometimes it happens that those coming into heaven have a strong desire to go to a more internal heaven, believing that by doing this they will experience greater joy. To the end that this strong desire which clings to them may be removed, they are indeed raised to a more internal heaven. But when they get there they start to feel anguished, on account of those evils they love which are then perceptible to them; they also become visibly disfigured on account of the falsities that spring from the evils residing with them. Having perceived these things they cast themselves down from the more internal heaven, and do not attain a calm and peaceful state until they return to the position they occupied previously. These are the things that are meant by ‘you shall not go up to My altar by steps, in order that your nakedness may not be revealed on it’.

[4] The same applies to those below heaven, if they have a strong desire to rise to heaven before they have been prepared for it. When they are raised there they feel torment almost hellish and seem to themselves to be like dead bodies. Their life becomes laboured, like that of those in the throes of death. Therefore they cast themselves down headlong from there, and after that no longer have any desire to rise above the state of life in which they live.

[5] It should be recognized that the Lord refuses heaven to no one in the next life, and that people can be allowed in as often as they wish. Heaven consists of communities of angels, who are governed by the good of love towards the neighbour and of love to the Lord. When introduced into heaven people are let into communities of such angels. But when the sphere of their life, that is, the life of their love, is out of agreement, conflict arises, as a result of which they feel anguished and cast themselves down from there. From this experience they learn about the life of heaven, and about the condition of their own life in comparison. They also learn from it that heaven does not become anyone’s simply by his being received or let in, as the common idea is in the world, and also that a person must live in such a way in the world that he becomes fit to be with those in heaven. But see what has already been stated and shown from experience previously regarding these matters, in 3938, 4225, 4226, 4299, 4674, 5057, 5058, 7186, 7519, 8794, 8797. These are the considerations which are meant by the regulation that they must not go up by steps to the altar, in order that their nakedness may not be revealed on it, and also by a similar regulation at Exod. 28:42, 43.

sRef Amos@9 @6 S6′ [6] The words ‘going up by steps’ are used because a raising to more internal levels is seen in the world of spirits – where celestial and spiritual realities are presented within forms similar to those in the world – as raising oneself by means of steps. I have often been allowed to see this representative sight. So it was too that in a dream Jacob saw angels going up to the Lord by the steps of a stairway, Gen. 28:12. Therefore also by ‘steps’ in the Word is meant going up to higher, that is, more internal levels, as in Ezekiel 40:6, 22, 26, 31, 34; and in Amos,

The Lord Jehovih Zebaoth builds His steps in the heavens. Amos 9:6.

sRef Ex@20 @26 S0′ 8946. ‘In order that your nakedness may not be revealed on it’ means the mental picture of those things, which in that event is full of falsities, will then be disclosed. This is clear from the meaning of ‘nakedness’ as being made destitute of truths, dealt with in 5433, thus a mental picture full of falsities; and from the meaning of ‘being revealed’ as being disclosed. The implications of all this have been explained immediately above in 8945. Those implications are that the character of any man, spirit, or angel’s life becomes apparent – both the life of his thought in regard to truths, and the life of his will in regard to forms of good – if he is raised to a more internal level in heaven. For the more internal the level in the heavens, the purer the good is and the purer the truth. In order therefore that falsities belonging to thought and evils belonging to the will may not be seen but remain hidden, people are held back on lower levels, where they are in dimmer light relatively. From all this also one may see what the words ‘no one can see ]Jehovah and live’ were used to mean. For Jehovah is pure love, and from Him radiates pure light; to be seen in these is to be destroyed. Therefore also the angels themselves in heaven are protected by a cloud, 6849; and therefore all in hell are veiled by thick mists, 3340, 8137, 8138, 8814, 8819, since mists are falsities.

8947. SPIRITS AND INHABITANTS OF THE PLANET SATURN

Spirits from that planet, and also the planet itself, appear out in front, a considerable distance away, on a level with the lower part of the knees. When one’s eye is opened in that direction a great number of spirits, all from that planet, come into view. They are visible on this side of that planet, and over to the right.

8948. I have also been allowed to talk to them and to know from this what they are like in comparison with others. They are upright and they are unassuming; and also, since they rate themselves as being relatively small, in the next life they are small in outward appearance. For there everyone’s appearance is determined by his frame of mind and life.

8949. In worship they are extremely humble; for in it they do not consider themselves to be anything at all. They worship our Lord, acknowledging Him as the one and only God. For the Lord sometimes appears to those who are on that planet in the form of an angel, and so as a human being; and at such times the Divine shines from His face and stirs their minds. When they reach the appropriate age inhabitants of the planet also talk to spirits, who teach them about the Lord, the way to worship Him, and the way to live.

8950. When any seek to lead astray the spirits belonging to that planet and to draw them away from faith in the Lord, or from humility before Him and from uprightness of life, those spirits say that they want to die. At the same time daggers are seen in their hands with which they seem to wish to strike their breast. When asked why they are doing this they say that they would rather die than be led away from the Lord. Spirits belonging to our planet sometimes make fun of them, pestering them with questions about why they behave in that way. To this however they reply that they know full well that they are not doing away with themselves, but that their action is an appearance flowing from the wishes of their mind, which are that they would rather die than be drawn away from worshipping the Lord.

8951. On that planet there are also those who refer to the light at night, which is considerable, as the Lord; but these are separated from the rest and are not tolerated among them. This light at night is shed by the large ring which encircles that planet at a distance, and by the moons that are called the satellites of Saturn.

8952. When asked about that large ring, which from our planet appears to rise over the horizon on that planet, and in varying positions, they said that it is not seen by them as a ring, only as snow-whiteness present in different directions in the sky.

8953. The inhabitants and spirits of that planet correlate with something in the human being which lies between spiritual perceiving and natural perceiving, though tending away from the natural and towards the spiritual. This explains why those spirits often seem to themselves to be borne away or caught up into heaven, and afterwards to be sent back, and so to alternate between the two. For whatever belongs to spiritual perceiving is in heaven, while whatever belongs to natural perceiving is under heaven.

8954. There are no cities or kingdoms there; instead people live divided up into families. Each family, that is, man and wife together with their children, is separate from another. And when the children marry they are separated from the parental home and take no further part in the care of it. Therefore spirits belonging to that planet appear as separate couples.

8955. All on that planet, unlike on ours, know that they will be alive after death. For this reason also their bodies are unimportant to them, except insofar as they need them for their life, which – they say – is to last and be of service to the Lord. Therefore also they do not bury the bodies of those who have died, but cast them away and cover them with branches of trees from the forest.

8956 .They also feel little anxiety about food and clothing. They eat various kinds of fruit and vegetables which their planet produces; and they are slightly clad, since they are girded with a coarse layer of skin which keeps out the cold.

8957. ‘Spirits and inhabitants of the planet Saturn’ is continued at the end of the next chapter.

8958. TEACHINGS ABOUT CHARITY

People who are being regenerated undergo temptations.

8959. Temptations are spiritual conflicts that take place in a person; they are conflicts between the evil present in him from hell and the good present in him from the Lord.

8960. Temptation is brought about by the evil spirits who dwell with a person in his evils and falsities. These spirits stir up his evils and accuse him; but the angels from the Lord who dwell in his goodness and truths call forth the truths of faith residing with him and defend him.

8961. The struggle in temptations is over dominion, involving the evil a person has from hell and the good he has from the Lord. The evil which desires to have dominion exists in the natural or external man, whereas the good exists in the spiritual or internal man. Consequently the struggle in temptations is also over the dominion of one over the other. If the evil is victorious, then the natural man has dominion over the spiritual; if the good is victorious, then the spiritual man has dominion over the natural.

8962. In those conflicts the truths of faith derived from the Word are used; these are what a person must employ in the fight against evils and falsities. If he employs any other truths than these he is not victorious because no others have the Lord within them.

8963. Since the truths of faith derived from the Word are used in conflict, a person is not allowed to be involved in conflict until he possesses cognitions or a knowledge of truth and good, and has acquired from them some spiritual life. Therefore those conflicts do not arise with a person until he has reached adulthood.

8964. No one who lacks the truths of faith :derived from the Word which have to be used in conflict, thus no one who is devoid of spiritual life derived from them, is ever allowed to be involved in conflict, because he suffers defeat. And if a person suffers defeat his state after temptation is worse than his state before it. Assuredly, evil has then gained power over good, and falsity over truth.

8965. Since at the present day faith is scarce, because the Church is in its final phase, few at the present day undergo any spiritual temptations. This accounts for the fact that there is hardly any knowledge of what they are and what they lead to.

8966. Temptations lead to stronger belief in the truths of faith, also to the implantation of them in a person, and their insinuation into the workings of his will, so that they become forms of the good of charity. For as stated already, a person employs the truths of faith when fighting against evils and falsities; and since during that conflict his mind is intent on truths, when he is victorious he strengthens his belief in them and implants them within himself. At the same time he regards as his enemy the evils and falsities which have made the attack, and casts them away from himself. Temptations also serve to subdue the cravings of self-love and love of the world and to make a person humble. That is, they serve to fit him to receive the life of heaven from the Lord, that life being the new life such as one who has been regenerated possesses.

8967. Since temptations serve to strengthen the truths of faith and to implant forms of the good of charity, and also to subdue cravings for evil, it follows that temptations are the means by which the spiritual or internal man gains dominion over the natural or external man, that is, the good of charity and faith gains dominion over the evil of self-love and love of the world. Once this has been accomplished the person becomes enlightened and enjoys a perception of what truth is and what good is, and also of what evil and falsity are. This brings him intelligence and wisdom, which increase daily after that.

8968. While a person is being led by means of the truths of faith towards the good of charity he undergoes temptations; but when he abides in the good of charity temptations come to an end, since he is now in heaven.

8969. In temptations a person ought to fight against evils and falsities as if in his own strength; yet he must believe that he does so in the Lord’s. If he does not believe this during actual temptation, because at the time it is not clear to him, he must nevertheless believe it afterwards. If after temptation a person does not believe that the Lord alone has fought for him and brought him victory, the temptation he has undergone is merely external. Such temptation does not extend into him deeply or cause anything of faith and charity to take root.

EXODUS 21

1 And these are the judgements which you shall set before them.

2 When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing.

3 If he comes in his body, he shall go out in his body;* if he is master of a woman,** his woman shall go out with him.

4 If his master has given him a woman and she has borne him sops or daughters, the woman and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out in his body***.

5 And if the slave says plainly, I love my master, my woman, and my children, I will not go out free;

6 His master shall bring him to God, and shall bring him to the door or to the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.

7 And when a man sells his daughter to be a female slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do****.

8 If she is bad***** in the eyes of her master, so that he does not betroth her, let her be redeemed. He shall have no power to sell her to a foreign people****** – he would be acting treacherously towards her.

9 And if he betroths her to his son, he shall deal with her according to the judgement of daughters*******.

10 If he takes another one for himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, and her marital rights.

11 And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for
nothing, for no silver.

12 Anyone striking a man – and he dies – shall surely die.

13 And one who did not lie in wait, and God caused it to happen at his hand – I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee.

14 And when a man acts from set purpose against his companion, to kill him with guile, you shall take him from My altar to die.

15 And anyone striking his father and his mother shall surely die.

16 And anyone stealing a man and selling him – and he is found in his hand – shall surely die.

17 And anyone cursing his father and his mother shall surely die.

18 And when men quarrel, and a man strikes his companion with a stone or a fist, and he does not die, and lies down in bed,********

19 If he rises up and walks outside on his staff, the striker shall be
innocent; but he shall pay for his cessation [from work]********* and thoroughly cure him.**********

20 And when a man strikes his male slave or his female slave with a rod,
and [the slave] dies under his hand, he shall certainly be avenged.

21 However, if [the slave] stands for a day or two,*********** he shall not be
avenged, since he is his silver.

22 And when men brawl and inflict a blow on a pregnant woman, and
her offspring come out, and no harm is done, [the one inflicting the blow]
shall surely be fined, as the master of the woman************ imposes on him; and he shall pay in accordance with the judges.*************

23 And if harm is done, you shall pay soul for soul,

24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

25 Burning for burning, wound for wound, blow for blow.

26 And when a man strikes the eye of his male slave, or the eye of his
female slave, and destroys it, he shall send him away free for his eye.

27 And if he strikes out the tooth of his male slave or the tooth of his
female slave, he shall send him away free for his tooth.

28 And when an ox strikes a man or a woman with its horn, and [the
person] dies, the ox shall surely be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten;
and the owner************** of the ox shall be guiltless.

29 And if the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past,*************** and this has been testified to its owner.************** and he does not keep it in, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and also its owner************** shall die.

30 If expiation has been imposed on him,**************** he shall pay for the
redemption of his soul according to all that has been imposed on him.

31 Whether it strikes a son with its horn or strikes a daughter with its
horn, according to this judgement it shall be done to him.

32 If the ox strikes a male slave with its horn, or a female slave, [the
owner] shall give their master thirty shekels of silver; and the ox shall be
stoned.

33 And when a man opens a pit, or when a man digs a pit, and does not
cover it, and an ox or an ass falls into it,

34 The owner************** of the pit shall make repayment; he shall give silver to its
owner,************** and the dead [animal] shall be his.

35 And when a man’s ox inflicts a blow on his companion’s ox, and it
dies, they shall sell the living ox, and divide the silver from it; and they
shall also divide the dead one.

36 Or if it is known that the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past,***************** and its owner****************** does not keep it in, he shall surely repay ox for ox; and the dead one shall be his.*******************

37 When a man steals an ox or a member of the flock, and slaughters it or
sells it, he shall repay five oxen for the ox, and four of the flock for the
member of the flock.
* i.e. If he comes in single, he shall go out single.
** i.e. if he is married
*** i.e. alone
**** lit. she shall not go out according to the going out of male slaves
***** i.e. one whom he does not find attractive enough for him to make her his concubine or ‘secondary wife’
****** lit. people of the foreigner
******* i.e. she shall have the same rights as a daughter
******** i.e. is confined to bed
********* i.e. recompense him for the time he has been unable to work
********** i.e. see to it that he makes a full recovery
*********** i.e. does not die within two days after being struck
************ i.e. the woman’s man or husband
************* i.e. as the judges determine
************** lit. lord or master
*************** lit. from yesterday three days ago
**************** i.e. If he must make atonement
***************** lit. from yesterday three days ago
****************** lit. lord or master
******************* In English versions of the Scriptures Exodus 21 ends here.

sRef Ex@21 @0 S0′ 8970. CONTENTS

This chapter deals in the internal sense with those who injure or destroy the truth of faith or the good of charity present with themselves or with others; it states what punishment is incurred, and how restoration is effected. Such matters are embodied in the judgements or laws there regarding slaves; regarding death or harm inflicted on companions, or on slaves; and also regarding oxen accustomed to gore, and regarding a pit.

8971. THE INTERNAL SENSE

Everyone within the Church is well aware that the Word is holy, indeed extremely holy. This holiness is not merely acknowledged but also perceived by those people who are guided by the truths of faith and lead a life in keeping with them; for the idea of its holiness is preserved in them all the while that they read the Word. But people who are not guided by the truths of faith and do not lead a life in keeping with them do not even acknowledge, let alone perceive any holiness at all in the Word. When they read it they see nothing more outstanding there than in any other kind of writing. And those of them who in their hearts deny the holiness of the Word also say to themselves, when they read it, that the works of human authors are more elegant, since they have been written, so far as their literal meaning is concerned, in a more elegant style. This has been made plainly evident to me through my actual experience of those in the next life who in their hearts denied that the Word was inspired by God. When they were told that the Word was holy and Divine as to every jot there and as to the smallest tattle of all there, they stood skill and marvelled at how this could come about. And when they were told in addition, and also shown convincingly, that everything in the Word contains a spiritual level of meaning that is not apparent in the letter, and that the angels in heaven see the Word on this level when a person reads the Word, they acknowledged it, because they had been shown it. But they said that they had not known it in the world, and that since they had not known it, they were blameless. However examination of these same people revealed that they had lived just as they liked, totally unchecked by conscience, and that in their hearts therefore they had denied the existence of God, heaven and hell, life after death, and all other matters of faith, and that this was the reason for their failing to acknowledge the holiness of the Word. It was in addition made plainly evident that all those who were guided by the truths of faith and led a life in keeping with them considered the Word to be holy; indeed they could perceive its holiness for themselves when they read it. All this served to convince them that the cause lay not in the Word but in themselves; for the interiors of those who lead a life of goodness are opened towards heaven, from which the holiness of the Word flows from the angels, whereas the interiors of those who lead a life of evil are closed in the direction of heaven and opened towards hell, from which the opposite flows in.

[2] Take for example the judgements or laws in this chapter regarding male slaves, female slaves, and oxen. Those who deny the holiness of the Word because they lead a life of evil will say that they do not see anything Divine in those judgements or laws, such as the law that a male slave who does not wish to go out free should be brought to the door or doorpost, and his master should pierce his ear with an awl, so that the slave should serve him forever; or the law that if a slave who has been struck lives a day or two the master who struck him should not be punished, since he is his silver; or else the law that a slave should go free for an eye or for a tooth; or the law that an ox accustomed to gore should be stoned; or any of the other laws there. Those who in their hearts deny the holiness of the Word view these laws as being out of keeping with the Word, and especially out of keeping with a declaration made by Jehovah Himself on Mount Sinai. They view everything else in the Word, in both the historical section and the prophetical part, in the same way. But the reason why they view them in that way is that heaven is closed to them on account of their life of evil, as a result of which they have a contrary perception. It is altogether different with those who lead a life of goodness.

[3] Where the holiness of the Word which flows in from heaven begins is clear from all that has been stated and shown up to now regarding the internal sense of the Word. It has been shown that the Word alone has an internal sense and that this sense deals with such things as belong to heaven, with such as belong to eternal life; and that inmostly it deals with the Lord alone. Thus it deals with holy things, indeed with truly Divine subjects – the most holy of all. It has been shown too that angels, who are present with a person when the Word is being read, possess this sense, consequently that holiness flows out from them, which is also perceived by those who lead a life of faith and charity. So far as the judgements or laws in this chapter regarding male slaves, female slaves, and oxen are concerned, they contain in the internal sense such laws of Divine order as have regard to those who are guided by the truth of faith, and also to those who injure or destroy aspects of faith and charity, or aspects of love to the Lord. And in the inmost sense they contain [matters involving] the Lord Himself. From all this anyone may recognize how holy those laws are within themselves, however much they seem not to be so in the letter.

sRef Ex@21 @1 S0′ 8972. Verse 1 And these are the judgements which you shall set before them means those more external truths such as must exist in a civic state where the Church is representative, which flow from the internal truths belonging to order in heaven. The fact that these things are meant by ‘the judgements that were to be set before the children of Israel’ is clear from the meaning of ‘judgements’ as truths, dealt with in 2235, 6397, 7206, 8685, 8695. The reason why ‘judgements’ are truths is that all judgement is effected by means of truths; therefore ‘executing judgement’ in the Word means executing truth, that is, judging in accordance with truths. But the plural ‘judgements’ means civil laws, thus those more external truths such as exist in a civic state. The words ‘where the Church is representative’ are added because these truths contain and embody within themselves the truths that belong to order in heaven, as may be recognized from the internal sense of them.

[2] The laws which the Lord delivered to the children of Israel and commanded them to keep were divided into commandments, judgements, and statutes. The term ‘commandments’ was given to those which were laws of life, ‘judgements’ to those which were laws of the civic state, and ‘statutes’ to those which were laws of worship. As regards judgements specifically, they are the kinds of laws that are contained in the present chapter and also some that follow. They served as laws in a Church in which inner realities, those of heaven and of the Church, were represented by outward things; but they do not serve as laws in a Church in which inner realities are no longer represented by outward things, as in the Christian Church. The reason for this is that inner realities have been revealed to people of this Church, and therefore inner realities are the channel through which contact is made with heaven, not outward things, as had been the situation before the Christian Church. Here is the reason why members of the Christian Church are not bound to adhere to the outward requirements of the laws called judgements and statutes, only to the inward ones. Holiness still remains within them because they hold holy truths within them, as also does every single command in the Word regarding the sacrifices. Although these are no longer prescriptive laws they remain holy constituents of the Word because of the Divine realities which they hold within themselves and which they represented. For when they are read by a Christian the Divine realities which are held within them and which were represented by them are discerned in heaven. They fill the angels with holiness, and at the same time the reader too through influx from the angels, especially if the reader himself is thinking at the same time about the Divine realities within them. From this it is evident that even the Old Testament Word is extremely holy.

sRef Ps@89 @31 S3′ sRef Deut@5 @31 S3′ sRef Deut@5 @30 S3′ sRef Ps@89 @30 S3′ sRef Ps@89 @32 S3′ sRef Deut@6 @1 S3′ sRef Deut@7 @11 S3′ [3] The fact that the laws which the Lord delivered to the children of Israel and commanded them to keep were divided into commandments that were laws of life, judgements that were laws of the civic state, and statutes that were laws of worship, is evident in Moses,

Jehovah said to Moses, Go, say to them, Go back into your tents. But you, stand here with Me, that I may tell you all the commandments, and statutes, and judgements which you shall teach them, so that they may do them. Deut. 5:30, 31.

In the same author,

Furthermore these are the commandments, statutes, and judgements which Jehovah your God commanded to teach you. Deut 6:1.

In the same author,

Therefore you shall keep the commandments and the statutes and the judgments which I am commanding you today, to do them. Deut. 7:11.

In David,

If his sons forsake My law and do not walk in My judgements, if they profane My statutes and do not keep My commandments, I will visit their transgression with the rod. Ps. 89:30-32.

sRef Deut@4 @1 S4′ sRef Deut@4 @8 S4′ sRef Ezek@5 @6 S4′ sRef Ezek@18 @9 S4′ sRef Ezek@5 @7 S4′ [4] Furthermore all the laws, in that they were those of a representative Church, were generally called judgements and statutes, as in Moses,

Now therefore, O Israel, hear the statutes and the judgements which I will teach you, that you may do them. What great nation [is there] that has righteous statutes and judgements, like all this law which I will set before you today? Deut 4:1, 8; 5:1.

In Ezekiel.

Jerusalem has changed My judgements into wickedness more than the nations, and My statutes more than the lands that are around her; for they have repudiated My judgements, and have not walked in My statutes. Ezek. 5:6, 7.

In the same prophet,

Let him* walk in My statutes and keep My judgements – to do the truth. Ezek. 18:9.

In addition to these there are many other places, such as Lev. 18:5; 19:37; 20:22; 25:18; 26:15; Deut. 26:17; Ezek. 11:12, 20; 20:11, 13, 25; 37:24.
* The Latin means them but the Hebrew means him

sRef Ex@21 @2 S0′ sRef Ex@21 @3 S0′ sRef Ex@21 @4 S0′ sRef Ex@21 @6 S0′ sRef Ex@21 @5 S0′ 8973. Verses 2-6 When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. If he comes in his body, he shall go out in his body;* if he is master of a woman,** his woman shall go out with him. If his master has given him a woman and she has borne him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out in his body***. And if the slave says plainly, I love my master, my woman, and my children, I will not go out free; his master shall bring him to God, and shall bring him to the door or to the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.

‘When you buy a Hebrew slave’ means those within the Church who are imbued with the truths of religious teachings and not with the good that accords with those truths. ‘He shall serve for six years’ means a state of labour and some conflict, and of consequent strengthening of truth. ‘And in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing’ means a state of strengthened truth without its works. ‘If he comes in his body’ means truth without delight. ‘He shall go out in his body’ means a state of truth without delight, also after conflict. ‘If he is master of a woman’ means truth together with delight linked to it. ‘His woman shall go out with him’ means a state of truth together with delight joined to it, also after conflict. ‘If his master has given him a woman’ means good attached by the spiritual to truth during conflict. ‘And she has borne him sons or daughters’ means truths and forms of good which are derived from that good. ‘The woman and her children shall be her master’s’ means that the good attached by the spiritual to truth, and the forms of good and the truths derived from that good, must not be assigned to truth as its own. ‘And he shall go out in his body’ means a state after conflict, which is solely one of strengthened and implanted truth. ‘And if the slave says plainly’ means thought then springing from the implanted truth. ‘I love my master, my woman, and my children’ means the delight in remembering forms of spiritual good. ‘I will not go out free’ means the delight of obedience. ‘His master shall bring him to God’ means the state he then enters in keeping with Divine order. ‘And shall bring him to the door or to the doorpost’ means a state in which strengthened and implanted truth communicates with spiritual good. ‘And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl’ means a representative sign of obedience. ‘And he shall serve him forever’ means into eternity.
* i.e. If he comes in single, he shall go out single.
** i.e. if he is married
*** i.e. alone

sRef Ex@21 @2 S0′ 8974. ‘When you buy a Hebrew slave’ means those within the Church who are imbued with the truths of religious teachings and not with the good that accords with those truths. This is clear from the meaning of ‘buying’ as acquiring to oneself and making one’s own, dealt with in 4397, 5374, 5397, 5406, 5410, 5426, 7999; and from the meaning of ‘a Hebrew slave’ as those within the Church who are imbued with the truths of religious teachings and not with the goodness of life that accords with those truths. For ‘a slave’ or ‘a servant’ has reference to those who are imbued with truth and not with complementary good, and in general to truth in relation to good, 3409. And ‘Hebrew’ has reference to things connected with the Church and to those connected with some servitude; for its reference to things connected with the Church, see 5136, 5236, 6675, 6684, and for its reference to those connected with some servitude, 1703, 1741, 5013.

Since the regulations that come next refer to male slaves and female slaves from the children of Israel, what they hold within them in the internal sense must be stated. Anyone can see that they contain the arcana of heaven, since they were declared and commanded by Jehovah on Mount Sinai to Moses orally, and since they follow very soon after the words of the Ten Commandments. Without such arcana they would be no more than civil and criminal laws like those of other nations on earth, which do not have any arcanum of heaven within them. But the arcana they contain are not evident except to angels in heaven. Consequently they do not become evident to people in the world except through the internal sense, because this sense teaches the way in which angels perceive the Word, and therefore teaches the arcana which the Word holds within itself. What those arcana are, and the nature of them, will be evident below from the explanation of specific details.

[2] So that a person may have a general idea of those things, a brief statement is needed to show what ‘Hebrew slaves’ in particular means in the internal sense. In the spiritual Church, which the children of Israel represented, there are two kinds of people. There are those who are imbued with the truth of faith but not with the complementary goodness of life, and there are those who are imbued with the good of charity and with the complementary truth of faith. Those imbued with the good of charity and complementary truth of faith constitute the truest part of the Church, being members of the internal Church. In the internal sense of the Word they are those called ‘the children of Israel’. They are intrinsically free, because they are imbued with good; for those who are led by the Lord through good are free, 892, 905, 2870-2893. Those however who are imbued with the truth of faith and not with the complementary goodness of life are members of the external spiritual Church. These are the ones who are meant in the internal sense of the Word by ‘Hebrew slaves’. The reason why these people are represented by slaves or servants is that relatively the things which belong to the external Church are nothing other than a body of servants. The same applies also to the relationship of the truth of faith-to the good of charity; for the truth of faith acts like a servant to lead a member of the Church into the good of charity.

[3] In addition it should be recognized that those who think that the all of the Church, thus the all of salvation, consists in the truth of faith and not in the good of charity, and also those who do good solely in a spirit of obedience and not out of love and affection, cannot be regenerated in the way that those people are who are imbued with the good of charity, that is, who do good out of love and affection. They can, it is true, be reformed, but not regenerated. The reformation of them is the subject in the internal sense at this point, in the laws regarding male slaves and female slaves. The arcana of that reformation are not known to anyone at the present day, the reason being that almost everywhere within the Church people are ignorant of what difference the truth of faith can make to salvation, and what difference the good of charity can make. Indeed people are ignorant of what charity is, and also that charity and faith must be married to each other if anything of the Church is to come into being in a person; for the marriage of goodness and truth constitutes the Church itself, because it is heaven within a person, 2173, 2618, 2728, 2729, 2803, 3132, 3155, 4434, 4823, 5194, 5502, 6179.

sRef Ex@21 @2 S0′ 8975. ‘He shall serve for six years’ means a state of labour and some conflict, and of consequent strengthening of truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘six years’ as states of labour and conflict. For the meaning of ‘six’ as labour and conflict, see 737, 900, 8888, and ‘years’ as states, 487, 488, 493, 893, 7839. The reason why strengthening of truth is also meant is that spiritual truth, which is called the truth of faith, is strengthened through labour and conflict. The words ‘some conflict’ are used because those imbued with the truth of faith and not with complementary goodness of life are not allowed to experience any serious conflict, that is, temptation, since they would go under; for the Lord cannot flow in through good with them and so cannot protect them from the evils and falsities which attack in temptations. They are merely external people, and whatever flows in from the Lord must do so by way of the internal man into the external. When people are not imbued with the good of charity, the internal man does not lie open; for good is what opens the internal man, and is what dwells there.

sRef Rev@21 @6 S0′ sRef Ex@21 @2 S0′ sRef Rev@22 @17 S0′ sRef Isa@55 @1 S0′ 8976. ‘And in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing’ means a state of strengthened truth without its works. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the seventh year’ as a state in which goodness and truth have been joined together (‘the seventh year’ is similar in meaning to the seventh day or the sabbath, by which goodness and truth joined together or the heavenly marriage is meant, thus a state of peace which comes after a state of servitude, see 8494, 8495, 8510, 8888, 8890, 8893), though here – since the subject is those imbued with truth and not with the complementary goodness of life – ‘the seventh year’ means a state of strengthened truth (the reason why this is meant is that with them goodness and truth are not joined together as they are with those who are imbued with the good of charity and who are meant in the representative sense by ‘the children of Israel’; instead of those two joined together there is strengthened truth); and from the meaning of ‘for nothing’ as without their works, for when they endure labour and some conflict, the truth of faith with them is strengthened by the Lord without any works of theirs. The same thing is meant by ‘for nothing’ in John,

To him who thirsts I will give from the spring of the water of life for nothing. Rev. 21:6.

In the same book,

Let him who hears say, Come! And let him who thirsts come. And let him who wishes take the water of life for nothing. Rev. 22:17.

And in Isaiah,

Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, I say, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Isa. 55:1.

‘Waters’ stands for truths from the Word, ‘wine’ for the truth of good from there, and ‘milk’ the good of truth.

sRef Ex@21 @3 S0′ 8977. ‘If he comes in his body’ means truth without delight. This is clear from the meaning of ‘body’ as truth by itself, thus truth without its delight; for ‘body’ is used here to mean a slave by himself without a woman, that is, without delight, since a woman linked to a slave is delight joined to truth, as will become evident from what follows below. The situation with this arcanum is that members of the external Church, who were represented by ‘Hebrew slaves’, are those who learn truth not because of any delight in it, only because it is the truth that is taught by the Church and is the means by which, they believe, they can be saved. This belief is what drives them to learn and know it. These are the ones who are meant in the internal sense by slaves who ‘come in their body and go out in their body’. With them no more than the strengthening of truth is accomplished. In the next life such people are at the entrance to heaven and not actually in heaven; they are called skin spirits because they correspond in the Grand Man to the skin, 5553-5559.

[2] But those imbued with truth to which delight has been joined are the ones who are meant here in the internal sense by slaves who come with a woman; for ‘woman’ means good when ‘man’ means truth. Here however delight is meant, since this exists in place of good in a member of the external Church. The good which such a person possesses does not spring from a spiritual origin but from a natural origin, for it savours of a delight to do the truth in life and to teach it for the sake of gain or important position, consequently for a selfish reason. This is why the word ‘delight’ is used and not ‘good’. To outward appearance it does indeed seem like good; but because it is natural good, that is, has a worldly origin, not a heavenly one, it is called delight.

[3] Good that springs from a spiritual origin however is meant in the internal sense by the woman whom a master gives to his slave. But it cannot be joined [to truth]; and that was why it was stipulated that when the slave went out the woman was to be the master’s, as also were her sons and daughters. For spiritual good is good not for the sake of gain or important positions but for the sake of the Church and the spiritual welfare of the neighbour. Such good cannot be joined to those confined to the outward things of the Church, since it is the genuine good of charity, springing out of love and affection. Those confined to the outward things of the Church cannot have any affection for the truths of faith without putting themselves first and the Church second. Though such people can indeed act in accordance with truths, thus can do good, they do not act from affection but out of obedience. These are the ones who are meant in the internal sense by those who wish to remain slaves forever.

[4] These are the arcana which the internal sense contains in these regulations regarding slaves, which can be grasped only by those imbued with the good of charity, and not at all by those imbued with the truth of faith without that good. The reason why is that those imbued with the good of charity are in the light of heaven, and from that light see things that exist in the light of the world. But those imbued with the truth of faith and not with the good of charity are in the light of the world, from which light things that exist in the light of heaven cannot be seen; for the light of heaven shines above, that is, on an inward level, whereas the light of the world shines below or on an outward level. Things on a lower or more external level can be seen from a higher or more internal one, but not the reverse; for heaven can flow into the world, but not the world into heaven, 3721, 5119, 5259, 5779, 6322.

sRef Ex@21 @3 S0′ 8978. ‘He shall go out in his body’ means a state of truth without delight, also after conflict. This is clear from the meaning of ‘body’ as truth without delight, dealt with immediately above in 8977; and from the meaning of ‘going out’ as after he has served for six years, that is, a state after conflict since the servitude lasting six years means a state of labour and conflict, 8975. The implications of all this are evident from what has been stated immediately above in 8977.

sRef Ex@21 @3 S0′ 8979. ‘If he is master of a woman’ means truth together with delight linked to it. This is clear from the meaning of ‘master’ as truth, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘a woman omen’ as good, but at this point as delight, also dealt with below. The reason why ‘master’ is truth is that ‘master’ in this instance is used to refer to the slave as the man (or husband) of a woman, and in the internal sense both ‘slave’ and ‘man (or husband) of a woman’ mean truth – regarding ‘slave’, see above in 8974, and regarding ‘man’, 3134, 3309, 3459, 7716. The reason why ‘a woman’ is delight is that ‘the woman (or wife) of a man’ in the internal sense means good, 915, 2517, 4823, 6014, 8337. But since a member of the external Church, who indeed possesses the truth of religious teachings but not its complementary good, is represented by a slave from the Israelite people, 8974; and since he does not do the truth for its own sake, or good for its own sake, but for reward, there lies within the truth or good he does the thought of self. This thought of self has no association with good, only with delight; for nothing else is called good in the spiritual sense except that which is a form of love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour. This good does, it is true, present itself also as delight in the natural man; but the spiritual within it is what causes it to be good.

[2] To know more about the nature of all this it should be kept in mind that the actions of a member of the internal Church spring from charity, thus from affection and love towards the neighbour, whereas the actions of a member of the external Church do not spring from the good of charity but from the truth of faith, thus not from affection and love towards the neighbour but from obedience because such actions are commanded. Consequently the member of the internal Church is free, whereas the member of the external Church in comparison is a slave; for one whose actions spring from love and affection acts in freedom, 2870-2893. But someone whose actions spring from obedience does not act in freedom, for acting in obedience is not freedom. This is the reason why one whose actions spring from the good of charity is a true member of the spiritual Church; he therefore is represented in the Word by Israel. Someone however whose actions do not spring from the good of charity but from the truth of faith is not a true member of the spiritual Church, but is in comparison one who serves him. He therefore was represented by the slave who was called ‘a Hebrew slave’ because he had been bought from the children of Israel.

sRef Ex@21 @3 S0′ 8980. ‘His woman shall go out with him’ means a state of truth together with delight joined to it, also after conflict. This is clear from the meaning of ‘going out’ – out of servitude – as a state after conflict, 8975; and from the meaning of ‘woman’ as conjoined delight, dealt with immediately above in 8979. From these places it is evident who exactly were represented here by ‘male slaves’, namely those imbued with faith composed of the teachings of their Church and not with the complementary good but with delight that is an imitation of that good. Their servitude with their master means their state before they can be introduced into heaven, whereas their going out from servitude means their state when they are received into heaven. But since they are imbued only with faith composed of the teachings of their Church and not with the complementary good, thus not with the truth of good, which is the faith of charity, they cannot be allowed any further into heaven than the entrance there. For those in the entrance to heaven are in contact with those in heaven through the truth of faith, and with those outside heaven through the delight joined to that truth. They serve just like the layers of skin or membranes that clothe the body, which through the sense of touch are in contact with the world and through the nervous system are in contact with the life of the soul present in the body. So it is that those in the entrance to heaven, who are represented by ‘Hebrew slaves’, are called skin spirits in the Grand Man, regarding whom see 5552-5559. But there are many genera and species of such spirits, just as there are of layers of skin or membranes in the body. There are those which cover the whole body; there are those which cover interior parts in general, such as the peritoneum, pleura, or pericardium; and there are those which serve specifically to cover the individual organs there. They are all relatively a body of servants.

sRef Ex@21 @4 S0′ 8981. ‘If his master has given him a woman’ means good attached by the spiritual to truth during conflict. This is clear from the meaning of ‘master’ here as the spiritual, for ‘master’ in this instance is used to refer to one who is a member of the children of Israel, and by ‘the children of Israel’ those who are true members of the spiritual Church are meant, that is, who do good from love and affection, or what amounts to the same thing, from charity (regarding ‘the children of Israel’, that they are members of the spiritual Church, see 6426, 6862, 6868, 7035, 7062, 7198, 7201, 7215, 7223, 7957, 8234, 8805, which being so, they mean in the abstract sense spiritual truths and forms of good, 5414, 5801, 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833, 5879), so that ‘master’ here means the spiritual; and from the meaning of ‘giving him a woman’ as attaching good to truth, for ‘giving’, when said in regard to a woman, means attaching. And ‘the slave’ is someone who is imbued with the truth of religious teachings and not with complementary good, 8974, while ‘the woman’ is delight, 8980, but at this point good, because this is given or attached to that truth by the spiritual. Everything is called good that comes from the spiritual, since the spiritual itself is the good of charity. For the meaning of ‘woman’ as good, see 915, 2517, 4823, 6014, 8337. During conflict is meant because it says that if his master had given him a woman she was to be the master’s after the servitude. From this it is evident that the woman was the slave’s during servitude but not after it thus during conflict but not after conflict; for servitude lasting six years means labour and conflict, 8975.

[2] Is there anyone who cannot see that this regulation holds an arcanum which no one can know unless it is disclosed to him? For in its outward form it appears contrary to God’s justice, that when a slave goes out of servitude the woman who has been given to him should remain the master’s, when yet a woman should be her husband’s forever. There are many other apparent injustices like these which Jehovah commanded the children of Israel, such as that they were to ask from the Egyptians vessels of gold and silver, and clothes, and in so doing were to plunder them, besides other similar actions, dealt with in their individual places. But although those regulations in their outward form appear, as has been stated, contrary to God’s justice, they are not really so; for they rise out of the laws of Divine order in heaven, and these are perfect laws of justice. But those laws cannot be seen unless the internal sense is used to disengage them from the sense of the letter. The law that this regulation rises out of is this: Spiritual good cannot be joined to those who are confined since early childhood to the external things of the Church; it can only be linked to them for as long as they undergo conflict, after which it departs.

[3] To bring this whole matter out into the open, for it is an arcanum, it must be discussed briefly. There are people who – although they have from early childhood thought little about eternal life, and so about the welfare of their soul, and have thought instead about worldly life and its prosperity – have nevertheless led a morally good life and have also believed the truths taught by their Church. When they reach maturer age there is no other way in which they can be reformed than by the linking of spiritual good during conflict. They do not however retain that good but merely use it to strengthen the truths they have been taught. The reason for this is that in their life before then such people have surrendered themselves to worldly kinds of love, and when these have become deeply rooted they do not allow spiritual good to be joined to truth; for those kinds of love are totally repugnant to this good. Nevertheless spiritual good can take hold in those people’s thinking when those kinds of love subside, as happens during anxiety, misfortunes, or sicknesses, and the like. At this time an affection to do good from charity enters in; but that affection merely serves to strengthen and root more deeply the truths they have been taught. It cannot however be joined to truth. The reason why is that this charitable affection entering in fills only the understanding part of the mind. It does not pass into the will part of it, and what does not pass into the will is not adopted by or accordingly joined to truth. For goodness and truth with a person come to be joined together when truth passes into the will, consequently when the person wills it and because he wills it does it. Then, for the first time, truth becomes good, or what amounts to the same thing, faith becomes charity.

[4] This cannot come about with those who have from early childhood surrendered themselves to worldly kinds of love and yet have been imbued with truth taught by their Church. For the will part of their mind is occupied by such love, which is the complete opposite of spiritual good and repels it. They allow it into solely the understanding part of their mind, that is, into their thought, when those kinds of love have become dormant, which happens, as stated above, during a state of sickness or misfortune, or during anxiety, consequently during labour and some conflict. This is the arcanum that lies concealed within this regulation; and since the regulation was for that reason representative of the law of Divine order regarding those imbued with the truth of religious teachings and not with the complementary good, in the representative Church it was in keeping with God’s justice, even in its outward form.

sRef Ex@21 @4 S0′ 8982. ‘And [she has borne him] sons or daughters’ means truths and forms of good which are derived from that good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘sons’ as truths, dealt with in 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2803, 2813, 3373, 3704, 4257; and from the meaning of ‘daughters’ as forms of good, dealt with in 489-491, 2362, 3024. The fact that they are derived truths and forms of good is self-evident, because ‘the woman’, the mother from whom they were born, means spiritual good, 8981, and ‘generations’ means derivatives in the internal sense, 1330, 3263, 3279.

sRef Ex@21 @4 S0′ 8983. ‘The woman and her children shall be her master’s’ means that the good attached by the spiritual to truth, and the truths and the forms of good derived from that good, must not be assigned to truth as its own. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the woman’ as spiritual good attached to truth during conflict, dealt with above in 8981; from the meaning of ‘the children’ as derived truths and forms of good, dealt with immediately above in 8982; and from the meaning of ‘shall be her master’s’ as that they must belong to the spiritual from which they spring, and not to truth. For ‘the master’ is the spiritual, 8981, and ‘the slave’ is truth without complementary good, 8974, which is why those things must not be assigned to this truth. ‘Man and woman’ in the internal sense means good and truth joined together; for marriage on earth represents the heavenly marriage, which is that of good and truth, and also conjugial love corresponds to this marriage, 2727-2759, 2803.

[2] But between a slave and a woman provided by his master there is no marriage, only a coupling together like that of man and concubine; and this coupling does not correspond to the heavenly marriage. Therefore also it is dissolved when the slave goes out; for then the woman and children become the master’s. The reason why their relationship is only a coupling is that the truth represented by ‘the slave’ exists in the external man, while the good represented by ‘the woman’ exists in the internal man; and the good belonging to the internal man cannot be joined to the truth belonging to the external man unless a joining together has taken place first in the internal man. Till then they cannot be joined together because the slave represents the merely external man, which does not possess compatible good and cannot have such assigned to it. What has been stated about human regeneration in 3321, 3469, 3493, 3573, 3616, 3882, 4353, shows how impossible it is for the good of the internal man to be joined to the truth of the external man unless a joining together has taken place first in the internal man; for regeneration involves the joining together of goodness and truth.

sRef Ex@21 @4 S0′ 8984. ‘And he shall go out in his body’ means a state after conflict which is solely one of strengthened and implanted truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘going out’ – out of servitude – as a state after conflict, dealt with above in 8980; and from the meaning of ‘in his body’ as with truth devoid of good, also dealt with above, in 8977, 8978. A state of strengthened and implanted truth is meant because ‘going out in the seventh year’ has that meaning, 8976, at this point because spiritual good, represented by ‘the woman’, has served to strengthen that truth and also to implant new truth, 8981.

sRef Ex@21 @5 S0′ 8985. ‘And if the slave says plainly’ means thought then springing from the implanted truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘saying’ as thought, dealt with in 7094, 7107, 7244; and from the meaning of ‘the slave’ as truth without complementary good, dealt with in 8974, at this point this truth when it has been strengthened and implanted, since it is speaking of that slave when about to go out, 8984. ‘The slave’ is said to mean truth, though a person imbued with truth devoid of complementary good is meant. The reason for saying that ‘the slave’ means truth and not a person imbued with such truth is that when angels speak they do so in the abstract, that is, without envisaging actual persons. For in heaven they think about matters without envisaging persons, because when their thought involves persons it brings to mind a community associated with the matter they are thinking about; and when this happens their thought is narrowed down to and becomes fixed on that community.

[2] In heaven thinking about a place leads to being present in that place, and their presence in that community would attract towards itself the thoughts of those within the community, and so would disrupt the inflow from the Divine there. It is quite different when they speak in the abstract about some matter; their thought then spreads out in every direction in accord with the heavenly form which the influx emanating from the Divine produces, without causing disruption in any community. For it reaches into communities’ general spheres, yet without having an effect on or unsettling anyone within the community, and so without impairing anyone’s freedom to think in accord with the inflow from the Divine. In short, abstract thought can pass through the whole of heaven without hindrance anywhere; but thought narrowed down to persons or places becomes fixed and static.

sRef Ex@21 @5 S0′ 8986. ‘I love my master, my woman, and my children’ means the delight in remembering forms of spiritual good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘loving’ here as the delight in remembering, dealt with below; from the meaning of ‘master’ as spiritual good from which [other forms of it spring], dealt with above in 8981; from the meaning of ‘woman’ as good attached by the spiritual, also dealt with above in 8981; and from the meaning of ‘children’ as forms of good and truths which are derived from that good, dealt with in 8982. Consequently ‘master, wife, and children’ in brief means spiritual forms of good. The reason why the delight in remembering those forms of good is meant by ‘loving’ is that those who were represented by ‘Hebrew slaves’ are people within the Church who are imbued with the truths of religious teachings and not with good in keeping with those truths, 8974, 8976. Such people cannot be filled with any affection for truth for the sake of good, only for the sake of delight. Therefore ‘loving’ here,* being used in reference to those people, means the delight in remembering.
* The Latin word translated loving is diligere, which alternatively may be rendered take delight in.

sRef Ex@21 @5 S0′ 8987. ‘I will not go out free’ means the delight of obedience. This is clear from the meaning of ‘going out free’ as a state after conflict, which is solely one of strengthened and implanted truth, dealt with above in 8976, 8980, 8984. For servitude which lasted for six years and is called ‘a week’, Gen. 29:27, 28, means labour or some conflict such as that undergone by those who are imbued with truths and not with complementary good, that is, those who are meant in the spiritual sense by ‘Hebrew slaves’. The character of these people is such that they are not able to be regenerated, only to be reformed. The expression to be regenerated is used in reference to those who allow the Lord to lead them by means of truths, called the truths of faith, to the good of spiritual life; but to be reformed is used in reference to those who cannot be led by means of the truths of faith to the good of spiritual life, only to the delight of natural life.

[2] Those who allow themselves to be regenerated act from affection when they act in accordance with the commandments of faith; but those who do not allow themselves to be regenerated, only to be reformed, act not from affection but from obedience. The difference is that those who act from affection do so from the heart, which means that they act in freedom, and also that they do what is true for its own sake, and what is good for its own sake, and in so doing exercise charity for their neighbour’s sake. But those who act from obedience do not act in that way from the heart, or therefore in freedom. If it seems to them that their actions do spring from the heart and are done in freedom, this is due to something of personal glory causing them to feel that way about their actions. Nor do they do what is true for its own sake or good for its own sake, but for the sake of the delight resulting from that glory. Thus they do not exercise charity towards the neighbour for the neighbour’s sake, but in order that they themselves may be seen and receive reward. From all this it is clear who exactly they are, and what they are like, who were represented by ‘the children of Israel’, and who exactly they are, and what they are like, who ho were represented by ‘Hebrew slaves’.

[3] But within the Church at the present day recognition of the difference between them has been lost. The reason for this is that faith, not charity, is declared to be and spoken of as the be-all of the Church at the present day. Yet few know what faith is. Most people think that faith consists in knowing the things taught by the Church and in firmly believing that they are true, but not in leading a life in keeping with them. A life in keeping with them is called by them the moral life, which they set apart from the teachings of the Church and term Moral Theology. The learned however think that faith is the confidence or assurance that they are saved through the Lord’s having suffered for them and redeemed them from hell. And they say that those possessing this confidence are saved, thus by faith alone. But they do not take into account the truth that the confidence belonging to faith cannot exist except with those who lead a charitable life.

[4] These are the reasons for the loss of the recognition of the difference between those imbued with the truths of faith and not with complementary goodness of life and those who are imbued with goodness of life complementing truths of faith. And since that recognition has been lost the things that are being said about those imbued with truths and not with good, who are meant by ‘Hebrew slaves’, inevitably appear to be far-fetched.

sRef Ex@21 @6 S0′ 8988. ‘[His] master shall bring him to God’ means the state he then enters in keeping with Divine order. This is clear from the meaning of ‘bringing to God’, when the subject is those who are imbued with truths and cannot be imbued with good, as causing them to enter a state in keeping with Divine order; for ‘bringing to’ means entering, and ‘God’ means Divine order, which is dealt with below. The fact that these things are meant is evident from the details contained in the rest of this verse. These describe the state of those imbued with truths and not with complementary good, that is to say, a state of everlasting obedience. For those living in this condition are in servitude compared with those imbued with good complementing truths. For being governed by good the latter’s actions spring from affection; and those who act from affection do so from the will, thus from themselves since whatever forms part of a person’s will is part of his true self; for indeed the essence (esse) of a person’s life is his will. But those whose actions spring from obedience act not from their own will, but from their master’s, thus not from themselves, but from another; therefore in comparison they are in servitude. Actions that spring from truths and not from good spring solely from the understanding, for truths have connection with the understanding and forms of good with the will; and actions that spring from the understanding and not from the will spring from that which stands outside and serves. The understanding has been given to a person in order that he may receive truths and introduce them into his will to become forms of good; for when truths become part of the will they are called forms of good.

[2] The condition however of one who serves the Lord by doing according to His commandments, and by being obedient in that kind of way, is not that of a slave; rather, it is that of one who is free. For perfect freedom consists for a person in being led by the Lord, 892, 905, 2870, 2872. The Lord breathes the good into the person’s will from which his actions spring; and although that good comes from the Lord, the person nevertheless has the feeling that his actions are from himself, that is, he does them in freedom. This freedom exists with all who abide in the Lord; and coupled with it there is indescribable happiness.

[3] The reason why ‘God’ here means Divine order is that in the Word the name ‘God’ is used where truth is referred to, and ‘Jehovah’ where good is referred to, 2769, 2807, 2822, 3921 (end), 4402, 7010, 7268, 8867. Therefore Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good is meant in the highest sense by ‘God’, and His Divine Good from which Divine Truth emanates is meant by ‘Jehovah’. The reason for this is that Divine Good is Essential Being (Esse), and Divine Truth is the Coming-into- Being (Existere) from it, since what emanates from something comes into being from it. The situation with good and truth in heaven or among angels is similar, and that in the Church among men is similar. Good there is the essential being, and truth is the coming-into-being from it. Or what amounts to the same thing love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour is the essential being of heaven and the Church, while faith is the coming-into-being from it. All this makes plain why it is that ‘God’ can also mean Divine order; for Divine Truth emanating from the Lord is what constitutes order in heaven, so completely that it is order itself. For more about Divine Truth’s being order, see 1728, 1919, 7995, 8700.

Therefore when man or angel receives Divine Truth from the Lord within good, there resides with him that order which exists in the heavens. As a consequence he is a heaven or kingdom of the Lord in particular; he is such in the measure that he is imbued with good from truths, and after this in the measure that he is endowed with truths from good. And – what is an arcanum – angels themselves appear in heaven in a human form that accords exactly with the truths present with them within good, together with beauty and brilliance which accord with the character of the good from truths. The souls of members of the Church present a similar appearance in heaven. The Divine Truth itself emanating from the Lord brings this about, as may be recognized from what has been shown at the ends of a number of chapters regarding heaven as the Grand Man, and its correspondence with individual aspects of a human being.

sRef Rev@21 @17 S4′ sRef Rev@21 @18 S4′ [4] This arcanum is what the following words are used to mean in John, in the Book of Revelation,

He measured the wall of the holy Jerusalem, a hundred and forty-four cubits, which is the measure of a man (homo), that is, of an angel. Rev. 21:17.

Will anyone ever understand these words if he does not know what the holy Jerusalem, its wall, measure, the number 144, and so ‘a man, that is, an angel’ all mean? By the new or holy Jerusalem is meant the Lord’s New Church, which is going to take the place of the Christian Church existing at the present time, 2117; by ‘the wall’ is meant the truths of faith which will defend that Church, 6419; by ‘measuring’ and ‘the measure’ is meant its state in respect of truth, 3104; by the number 144 is meant much the same as by 12, since 144 is the number that is the product of 12 multiplied by itself, and by these numbers all truths in their entirety are meant, see 7973. These meanings make plain what is meant by ‘the measure of a man, that is, of an angel’, namely actual truth emanating from the Lord in the form it assumes, which is that of a man-angel in heaven, as stated above. All this reveals the arcanum which the words quoted above embody; it reveals that they describe the truths of that Church which is going to take the place of the Christian Church existing at the present time. [5] The fact that they are truths from good is described in the very next verse, in these words,

The construction of its wall was jasper, but the city was pure gold, like pure glass. Rev. 21:18.

‘Jasper’ means truth such as that Church’s will be, for truths are meant by ‘stones’ generally, 1298, 3720, 6426, and truths that come from the Lord by ‘precious stones’, 643; and ‘gold’ means the good of love and wisdom, 113, 1551, 1552, 5658. Would anyone ever discern that such meanings are embodied in those words? Yet who can fail to see from them that countless arcana lie concealed in the Word, which are not at all made apparent to anyone except by means of the internal sense, and that this sense, like a key, is the means of opening up God’s truths as they exist in heaven, and therefore heaven and the Lord Himself, who is the All in all of the Word in its inmost sense?

sRef Ex@21 @6 S0′ 8989. ‘And shall bring him to the door or to the doorpost’ means a state in which strengthened and implanted truth [communicates] with spiritual good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the door’ as the means by which truth is introduced into good, dealt with in 2356, 2385, at this point strengthened and implanted truth, meant by a Hebrew slave after servitude lasting six years, 8976, 8984, and since ‘the door’ is the means of introduction it is also the means of communication (for a door is the means by which one room communicates with another); and from the meaning of ‘the doorpost’ as that truth linked to good, since a doorpost stands between two rooms, linking one to the other. For the meaning of ‘the doorpost’ as the truth of the natural, see 7847. Who can fail to see that this symbolic act carried out when slaves stayed on contains an arcanum, indeed a Divine one? For Jehovah declared and commanded it from Mount Sinai. People who do not think there is anything holier and more Divine in the Word than that which is seen in the letter must be astonished that these and many more things contained in the present and following chapters were declared vocally by Jehovih. For in the letter they appear to be simply the kinds of matters that nations’ civil laws deal with, as is the case with this law regarding slaves, which decrees that any of them who does not wish to go out of servitude should be brought to the door or to the doorpost, where his master should pierce his ear with an awl. In the sense of the letter this does not savour of what comes from God; even so, it is utterly Divine. But this is not evident unless made so by the internal sense. The internal sense is that those imbued with truths alone and not with complementary good, yet nevertheless with the delight in remembering forms of spiritual good, 8986, 8987, have some communication and link with spiritual good. [2] This was represented by the law that the slave’s ear should be pierced at the door or at the doorpost by his master; for the door is the means of communication, the doorpost is that which serves to link, the ear is obedience, and piercing it with an awl is a representative sign of the state in which he is to stay on. This is how these details are perceived by the angels present with a person who reads this command. The angels do not think of a door, of a doorpost, of an ear and the piercing of it, nor even of a slave, but instead they think of the communication and linking together mentioned above. For the understanding which angels have is of the latter kind of things, because they are in the light. And none except spiritual and heavenly matters occur to them, not natural and worldly ones such as the literal sense of the Word contains; for the literal sense of the Word is natural and worldly, whereas its internal sense is spiritual and heavenly. The former exists for men, the latter for angels; consequently the Word is the means through which heaven has communication with and is linked to mankind.

[3] To bring further out into the open the arcana contained in this procedure followed in the case of slaves staying on with their master, something must be said about why it is that ‘the door’ and ‘the doorpost’ mean the means of communication and of linking together. Angels and spirits possess dwelling-places, which are in appearance exactly like those in the world, 1116, 1626-1628, 1631, 4622. And – what is an arcanum – every single thing that appears in their dwelling-places is a sign of something spiritual; it also arises out of spiritual things which exist in heaven, and which are therefore present in their minds. Communication between truth and good is presented visually there as a door, and the linking together of them as a doorpost; and other things are presented as the actual rooms, porches, windows, and different kinds of adornment. Nobody at the present day, least of all one who is merely natural, is able to believe that these things are so, because they are not evident to people’s physical senses; and yet it is clear from the Word that such things were seen by prophets when their inner eyes were opened to see into heaven. I too have discerned and seen the same things a thousand times. I have also on many occasions heard them say, when their thoughts were being communicated to me, that the doors of their rooms were open, or when they were not being communicated, that their doors were shut.

sRef Mal@1 @10 S4′ sRef Mal@1 @9 S4′ sRef Zech@11 @1 S4′ sRef Isa@26 @20 S4′ [4] This explains why ‘doors’ are mentioned in the Word in places where communication is the subject, as in Isaiah,

Go away, my people, enter your bed chambers, and shut your door behind you. Hide yourself, so to speak, for a little moment, until the anger passes over. Isa. 26:20.

‘Shutting the door behind oneself, until the anger passes over’ stands for having no contact with evils, which are ‘the anger’, 3614, 5034, 5798, 6358, 6359, 6997, 8284, 8483. In Malachi,

Will He accept you favourably?* said Jehovah Zebaoth. Who even among you would rather shut the doors, and not kindle a light on My altar in vain? Mal. 1:9, 10.

‘Shutting doors’ stands for not communicating with sacred or Divine things. In Zechariah,

Open your doors. O Lebanon, that fire may consume your cedars. Zech. 11:1.

‘Opening doors’ stands for providing access or communication.

sRef Ps@84 @10 S5′ sRef Ps@24 @9 S5′ sRef Ps@24 @7 S5′ sRef Ps@78 @23 S5′ [5] In David,

He commanded the skies from above, He threw open the doors of the heavens. Ps. 78:23.

‘Throwing open the doors of the heavens’ stands for providing communication with the truths and forms of good which come from the Lord in the heavens. In the same author,

I have chosen to stand at the door in the house of my God rather than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. Ps. 84:10.

‘Standing at the door’ stands for communicating from the outside with good, which is ‘the house of God’, 3720. In the same author,

Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, O ancient doors,** so that the King of glory may come in. Ps. 24:7, 9.

‘Ancient doors being lifted up’ stands for opening and raising hearts to the Lord, who is ‘the King of glory’, and so providing communication, that is, enabling Him to flow in with the good of charity and the truth of faith. The Lord is called ‘the King of glory’, by virtue of the truth that radiates from good.

sRef Isa@45 @3 S6′ sRef Isa@45 @2 S6′ sRef Isa@45 @1 S6′ [6] In Isaiah,

Jehovah said to His anointed, to Cyrus – whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him, in order that I may ungird the loins of kings, to open doors before him, and gates may not be shut – I will go before you and make straight the crooked places. And I will give you the treasures of darkness, and the secret wealth of concealed places, that you may know that it is I, Jehovah, who called you by your name, the God of Israel. Isa. 45:1-3.

This refers to the Lord in respect of His Human, He being ‘Cyrus’ in the representative sense. ‘Opening doors before him’ is providing access to the Divine itself, which is why even in respect of His Human He is called ‘God’, in this instance ‘the God of Israel’

sRef Rev@3 @8 S7′ sRef Rev@3 @20 S7′ sRef Rev@4 @1 S7′ [7] In John,

Behold, I have set before you an open door which no one can shut; for you have a little strength, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name. Rev. 3:8.

‘Setting an open door’ stands for communication with heaven. In the same book,

After these things I saw, and behold, an open door in heaven. I heard, Come up here, in order that I may show you things which must take place after this. Rev. 4:1.

‘A door’ there plainly stands for communication, since a revelation which he was going to receive from heaven is the subject. From this it is also evident that communication is represented in heaven by a door, as stated above In the same book,

Behold, I stand at the door and knock If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. Rev. 3:20.

Here also ‘the door’ plainly stands for access to and communication with heaven where the Lord is, thus with the Lord.

sRef Matt@25 @12 S8′ sRef Matt@25 @11 S8′ sRef Matt@25 @10 S8′ [8] Similarly in Matthew,

The bridegroom came, and the virgins went in to the wedding feast and the door was shut. Eventually the remaining virgins came, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But He replying said, Truly, I say to you, I do not know you. Matt. 25:10-12.

What these words mean in the internal sense, see 4635-4638, where it is shown that ‘virgins’ are those within the Church. ‘Having oil in their lamps’ refers to those who have the good of charity within the truths of faith, and ‘not having oil in their lamps’ to those who have the truths of faith and not the good of charity in them. The door is said to be shut to the latter because they do not communicate with heaven, that is, through heaven with the Lord. Communication with heaven and through heaven takes place through the good of charity and love, but not through truths that are called the truths of faith devoid of good within them. This is why the latter are called ‘foolish virgins’, while the former are called ‘wise virgins’.

sRef Luke@13 @26 S9′ sRef Luke@13 @27 S9′ sRef Luke@13 @24 S9′ sRef Luke@13 @25 S9′ [9] In Luke,

Many will seek to enter and will not be able. Once the Householder has risen up and shut the door, then you will begin to stand outside and to knock at the door saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But He replying will say to you, I do not know where you come from. Then you will begin to say, We ate in Your presence and we drank; and You taught in our streets. But He will say to you, I do not know where you come from; depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity! Luke 13:24-27.

Here also ‘the door’ plainly stands for access and communication, as above. Those to whom the door is shut and who knock on it but are not let in are people imbued with the truths of faith received from the Word but not with the good of charity. All this is meant by their eating with the Lord and drinking, and by their hearing the Lord teaching in their streets, when yet they do not live the life of faith, for ‘workers of iniquity’ are those who do not live that life.

sRef John@10 @9 S10′ sRef John@10 @2 S10′ sRef John@10 @1 S10′ [10] In John,

Truly, truly I say to you, He who does not enter by the door into the sheepfold but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me he will be saved. John 10:1, 2, 9.

‘Entering by the door’ means passing through the truth of faith to the good of charity and love, thus to the Lord. For the Lord is Goodness itself, and the Truth that introduces too, thus also the door; for faith is received from Him.

[11] The use of ‘the door’ to mean the means of communication seems to be a metaphorical way of speaking, or a comparison. But in the Word they are not metaphors or comparisons; rather they are real correspondences. Even the comparisons made there involve the use of such things as are correspondential, as becomes clear from what has been stated regarding a door, namely that actual doors appear in heaven where angels and spirits reside, opening or shutting in accord with states of communication. So also with every other comparison.
* lit. Will he accept faces from you?
** lit. doors of the world

sRef Ex@21 @6 S0′ 8990. ‘And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl’ means a representative sign of obedience. This is clear from the meaning of ‘ear’ as obedience, dealt with in 2542, 3869, 4551, 4652-4660; and from the meaning of ‘piercing it with an awl’ – that is to say, onto the door or onto the doorpost – as affixing, or at this point pledging forever, since it refers to obedience; and this is why the words follow, ‘he shall serve him forever’, that is, be obedient to him forever. From this it is evident that his master’s piercing his ear with an awl, fixing it to the door or to the doorpost, is representative of obedience.

[2] The implications of all this may become clear from matters stated previously, where it has been shown that those imbued solely with truths and not with complementary good, that is, with faith and not with charity, are not free but slaves. Those whose actions spring from good or charity are free. They act from themselves; for actions that spring from good or charity spring from the heart, that is, from the will, and so from what is a person’s own, since what exists in a person’s will is his own and a deed springing from the will is said to go out of the heart. But those who are imbued solely with the truths of faith and not with the good of charity are slaves in comparison. They do not act from themselves since they have no good within themselves for actions to spring from; instead good is outside them, and they base their actions on it as often as they call it to mind. Those who stay like this through to the end of their lives remain permanently in this state after death. They cannot be brought to a state in which their actions spring from charitable affection, that is, from good; they can act only in obedience. In the Grand Man, which is heaven, they constitute those parts that serve more internal ones, like membranes and skins, 8977, 8980.

[3] All this shows what the situation is with faith alone, that is, with those who doctrinally place faith first and the good of charity second, indeed last. Those who place them in this order in the actual lives they lead are ‘Hebrew slaves’ in the representative sense; but those who place charity first, in the actual lives they lead, are free or ‘the children of Israel’ in the representative sense. From all this one may also conclude what the situation is with those who make salvation rest entirely on the truths of faith and not at all on the good of charity, that is to say, not at all on the actual life they lead. One may conclude that they cannot enter heaven; for good reigns in heaven, not truth without good, and truth is not truth, nor is faith faith, except with those imbued with good

[4] That his master’s piercing his ear with an awl, fixing it to the door, is representative of obedience is also evident from the consideration that fixing his ear to the door means causing him to attend to the things commanded by his master who is in the room, that is, to hear him at all times and obey his instructions. At this point the things which good wills and commands are meant in the spiritual sense, for spiritual good is represented by the slave’s master, 8981, 8986. Since ‘the ear’ means the hearing of obedience, there flows into human speech from an origin in the spiritual world the expression to tweak the ear, which stands for causing a person to pay attention and remember, and in like manner the expressions to hear and to hearken to someone, which stands for obeying him. For the inner meaning that very many words possess has sprung from correspondences from the spiritual world, as with expressions such as spiritual light and being enlightened by it which people use when speaking about matters of faith, and also spiritual fire and being animated by it when speaking about matters of love.

aRef Ex@38 @31 S5′ [5] The reason why piercing the ear was done with an awl was that ‘an awl’ has the same meaning as a pin or peg, namely affixing and joining onto, and in the spiritual sense pledging something. But an awl was a tool used by a servant, and therefore it served to represent the pledge of everlasting obedience by a slave. The meaning of ‘a pin’ or ‘a peg’ as affixing and joining onto is clear from the places where this object is mentioned, as in Isaiah 22:23; 33:20; 41:7; 54:2; Jer. 10:4; Exod. 27:19; 38:31; Num. 3:37; 4:32.

aRef Ecc@11 @3 S0′ sRef Ex@21 @6 S0′ 8991. ‘And he shall serve him forever’ means into eternity. This is clear from the meaning of ‘serving’ as obeying, for slaves are those who obey and masters those who give orders (the fact that those represented by ‘slaves’ are those who did what was good from obedience, not from charitable affection, is clear from things stated previously); and from the meaning of ‘forever’ as into eternity. In the sense of the letter ‘forever’ here means servitude with his master to the end of his life; but in the internal or spiritual sense it means into eternity, because it refers to the state after death. The expression ‘into eternity’ is used because those who do what is good from faithful obedience and not from charitable affection, who were represented by ‘slaves’, cannot ever be brought in the next life to a state of good, that is, so that their actions spring from good; for everyone’s life remains with them after death. What a person is like when he dies, so he continues to be, in keeping with the common saying, Where the tree falls, there it lies. Not that he continues to be what he is like around the time of death but what the whole course of his life has made him like when he dies. Therefore those who have learned during life in the world to do what is good solely from obedience, not from charity, remain the same into eternity. They are perfected in obedience, it is true, but they do not attain any degree of charity.

sRef Ex@21 @11 S0′ sRef Ex@21 @8 S0′ sRef Ex@21 @9 S0′ sRef Ex@21 @10 S0′ sRef Ex@21 @7 S0′ 8992. Verses 7-11 And when a man sells his daughter to be a female slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do.* If she is bad** in the eyes of her master, so that he does not betroth her, let her be redeemed. He shall have no power to sell her to a foreign people*** – he would be acting treacherously towards her. And if he betroths her to his son, he shall deal with her according to the judgement of daughters.**** If he takes another one for himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, and her marital rights. And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go out for nothing, for no silver.

‘And when a man sells his daughter to be a female slave’ means an affection for truth springing from natural delight. ‘She shall not go out as the male slaves do’ means a state unlike truth devoid of affection. ‘If she is bad in the eyes of her master’ means if the affection for truth springing from natural delight is not in agreement with spiritual truth. ‘So that he does not betroth her’ means so that it cannot be joined to it. ‘Let her be redeemed’ means alienation from those truths. ‘He shall have no power to sell her to a foreign people’ means that it must not pass to those who are not of the Church’s faith. ‘He would be acting treacherously towards her’ means that this would be contrary to the laws of Divine order. ‘And if he betroths her to his son’ means if it is in agreement with some derived truth, so that it can be joined to it. ‘He shall deal with her according to the judgement of daughters’ means that it will then be like a genuine affection for truth. ‘If he takes another one for himself’ means being joined to an affection for truth stemming from some other source. ‘He shalt not diminish her food, her clothing, and [her] marital rights’ means no deprivation of inner life meant by ‘food’, nor of outer life meant by ‘clothing’, thus no deprivation of the joining together meant by ‘right to be married’. ‘If he does not do these three things for her’ means the deprivation of those things. ‘She shall go out for nothing, for no silver’ means alienation from that [spiritual truth], without truth joined to it.
* lit she shall not go out according to the going out of male slaves
** i.e. one whom he does not find attractive enough for him to make her his concubine or ‘secondary wife’
*** lit. people of the foreigner
**** i.e. she shall have the same rights as a daughter

sRef Ex@21 @7 S0′ 8993. ‘And when a man sells his daughter to be a female slave’ means an affection for truth springing from natural delight. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a man’s daughter’ as an affection for truth, for an affection is meant by ‘daughter’, dealt with in 2362, 3963, while truth is meant by ‘a man’, 3134, as it also is by an Israelite, whom ‘a man’ refers to here, 5414, 5879, 5951, 7957, 8234; and from the meaning of ‘a female slave’ as an external or natural affection, dealt with in 2567, 3835, 3849. Consequently ‘a man’s daughter sold as a female slave’ means an affection for truth springing from natural affection and delight.

[2] By natural delight one should understand delight emanating from self-love and love of the world. The people with an affection for truth emanating from these kinds of love are those who learn the teachings of the Church, called the truths of faith, either for the sake of gain or for the sake of important positions, and not for the sake of the life they should lead. Since affections such as this do not emanate from spiritual good but from natural delight they are represented by the daughter of an Israelite man sold as a female slave or servant-girl. For whatever owes its origin to self-love or love of the world is not freedom but slavery. What freedom and slavery are, see 892, 905, 1947, 2870-2893, 6205. The nature of affection for truth arising from those kinds of love is described in the internal sense of what follows next.

[3] It should be borne in mind that a genuine affection for truth consists in willing and desiring to know the real truths of faith with a view to putting them to good use and for the sake of the life one should lead. But an affection for truth which is not genuine consists in willing and desiring truths for selfish reasons, that is, in order to acquire important positions and make monetary gain. Those with an affection for truth that has this origin do not care whether the truths they learn are genuine or not, provided that they are such as can be palmed off as truths. This being so, they confine themselves to endorsing the teachings of the Church in which they were born, regardless of whether those teachings are true or not. They are also in the dark so far as real truths are concerned; for worldly ends or gains, and selfish* ends or important positions make people completely blind.

[4] But those with a genuine affection for truth, that is, those who desire to know truths to put them to good use and for the sake of the life they ought to lead, they too keep to the teachings of the Church, until they reach the age when they begin to think for themselves. Then they examine the Scriptures and pray to the Lord for enlightenment; and when they receive it, their hearts rejoice. For they know that if they had been born where the teachings of the Church are different, indeed where the greatest heresy exists, then – if they had not examined Scripture from a genuine affection for truth – they would have remained in it, as for example they would have done if they had been born Jews, or they had been born Socinians. All this shows who exactly those people are, and what they are like, who have a genuine affection for truth, and who they are, and what they are like, who have an affection for truth that is not genuine. Those with a genuine affection for truth are meant in the representative sense by the daughters of Israelite men; but those with an affection for truth that is not genuine are meant in the representative sense by female slaves from among the daughters of Israel, who are the subject at present.
* lit. bodily

sRef Ex@21 @7 S0′ 8994. ‘She shall not go out as the male slaves do’ means a state unlike truth devoid of affection. This is clear from the meaning of ‘going out’ – out of servitude – as a state after conflict or labour, dealt with above in 8980, 8984; and from the meaning of ‘the male slaves’ as those imbued with truths and not complementary good, dealt with in 8974, thus those imbued with truth devoid of affection. From all this it is evident that ‘she shall not go out as the male slaves do’ means a state unlike truth devoid of affection.

[2] The implications of this must be stated briefly. There are those who are imbued with truth and no affection for it, and there are those who are imbued with an affection. The former were represented by male slaves from the children of Israel, the latter by female slaves, also from the children of Israel. But ‘female slaves’ did not represent those with a genuine affection for truth, only those with an affection that is not genuine, as may be seen from what has been shown immediately above in 8993.

[3] The difference between those imbued with truth devoid of affection, who were represented by the male slaves, and those imbued with an affection for truth, who were represented by the female slaves, is akin to the difference between knowing truth and willing truth. Knowing truth belongs solely to the understanding part of the mind, whereas willing truth belongs to the will part; consequently the difference is akin to that between knowledge and affection. Those imbued with a knowledge of truth and good, meant by male slaves or the men in the representative sense, have no affection for truth and good, only for the knowledge of them; consequently they are delighted with truths for the sake of knowing them. But those imbued with an affection for truth and good, meant by female slaves or the women in the representative sense, have no affection for the knowledge of truth and good, only for truths and forms of good themselves, as they hear and perceive them from others. This kind of affection exists generally with good women, but the affection for knowledge of truth exists generally with men.

aRef 1Cor@14 @34 S4′ aRef 1Tim@2 @12 S4′ aRef 1Cor@14 @35 S4′ [4] So it is that those who are spiritually perceptive have a liking for women with an affection for truths, but not for women who concentrate on gaining knowledge. For it is in keeping with Divine order for men to know things and for women purely to have an affection for them, so the women do not love themselves because of their knowledge but love men; and from this springs the desire for marriage. This also is why those of old said that women must keep silent in the Church. All this being so, factual and religious knowledge are represented by men, but affections by women; at this point affection for truth that pours out of the delights belonging to natural kinds of love is represented by female slaves. And because people with this kind of affection are of an entirely different disposition from those with an affection for knowledge, the situation with female slaves is entirely different from that with male slaves. So this is what is meant by ‘a female slave shall not go out as the male slaves do’. It should be recognized however that this is the situation among those who belong to the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, whereas among those who belong to His celestial kingdom the reverse applies. There husbands are the ones with affection, and wives are the ones with knowledge of good and truth; and this is what the desire for marriage springs from among them.

sRef Ex@21 @8 S0′ 8995. ‘If she is bad in the eyes of her master’ means if the affection for truth springing from natural delight is not in agreement with spiritual truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘female slave’, to whom the word ‘bad’ refers, as an affection springing from natural delight, dealt with in 8993, 8994, and from the meaning of ‘bad’, when it refers to that affection and its relationship with spiritual truth, as being not in agreement with, dealt with below; from the meaning of ‘in the eyes of’ as in the perception of, dealt with in 2789, 2829, 4083, 4339; and from the meaning of ‘master’ as spiritual truth, dealt with in 8981.

[2] The implications of all this must be stated. ‘A female slave’ is an affection for truth springing from the delights that belong to self-love and love of the world, as stated above in 8993, 8994; and this affection is able to be joined to spiritual truth. This may be recognized from the consideration that an affection for spiritual truth is an internal affection or one that resides in the internal man, whereas an affection for truth springing from natural delight resides in the external man. The internal affection that belongs to the spiritual man is joined unceasingly to the external affection that belongs to the natural man, yet in such a way that the internal affection for truth acts as master and the external affection as slave. For it is in keeping with Divine order that the spiritual man should be master over the natural man, 8961, 8967. When the spiritual man is master the person is looking upwards; this is represented by having the head in heaven. But when the natural man is master the person is looking downwards, which is represented by having the head in hell.

[3] To make this transparently clear something more must be stated. By the truths they learn and the good deeds they perform most people hope to acquire some gain from their country, or some important position. If these are regarded as the end in view, the natural man is the master and the spiritual man the slave. But if they are regarded not as the end, only as the means to the end, the spiritual man is the master and the natural man the slave, as accords exactly with the things stated in 7819, 7820. For when people consider gain or positron as the means to an end and not the end itself, they are not considering gain or position but the end, which is useful service. A person for example who desires wealth, and acquires it for the sake of useful service which he loves above all things, does not delight in wealth for its own sake; he delights in it for the sake of useful service. The spirit of useful service itself constitutes spiritual life in a person, and the wealth merely serves him as means, see 6933- 6938. From this one may also see what the natural man must be like if it is to be joined to the spiritual – it must regard gain and important positions, that is, wealth and eminence, as the means and not the end. What a person regards as the end constitutes the actual life within him, since he loves it more than all things. For what a person loves, that is his end in view.

[4] Anyone who does not know that a person’s end in view, or what amounts to the same thing, his love, constitutes the person’s spiritual life, consequently that a person is where his love is – in heaven if that love is heavenly, in hell if it is hellish – cannot grasp the situation in these matters. He may suppose that the delight belonging to natural kinds of love – self-love and love of the world – cannot be in agreement with spiritual truth and good. He may suppose this because he does not know that when a person is being regenerated he must be turned upside down, and that when he has been turned upside down he is positioned with his head in heaven, whereas before being turned upside down he was positioned with his head in hell. He was positioned with it in hell when he had the delights of self-love or love of the world as his end in view; but he is positioned with his head in heaven when he has those delights as the means to his end. For the person’s end or love, and this alone, has life. The means to the end however have no life of their own but receive life from the end; therefore the means in relation to the final end are called intermediate ends, which have life in the measure that they look to the final end, which is the chief one. So it is that, when a person has been regenerated, consequently when he has loving the neighbour and loving the Lord as his end, he has loving self and the world as the means. When a person is like this, when he looks to the Lord, he rates himself and also the world as nothing. If he does rate himself as something, it is in order that he may be able to serve the Lord. Before this however his attitude had been the opposite. Then he had been full of self-regard and had rated the Lord as nothing; or if had rated Him as something, it had been in order that gain or position might consequently come his way.

[5] All this makes clear the nature of the arcanum concealed in these regulations regarding female slaves from among the daughters of Israel, that is to say, the regulations that although they were slaves they were, if ‘good’, betrothed to their master who had bought them, or to his son; but if they were ‘bad’ they were not betrothed but either redeemed or sold, according to the contents of these verses. Betrothing even female slaves, or having them as concubines, was permitted in the representative Church, particularly in the Jewish and Israelite, because a wife represented the affection for spiritual truth, whereas a female slave represented the affection for natural truth, so that a wife represented the internal aspect of the Church with a person, but a female slave the external aspect. The latter was represented by Hagar who was betrothed to Abraham, and also by the two female slaves betrothed to Jacob.

[6] All this now shows what is meant in the internal representative sense by the regulation that ‘if she is bad’ a female slave cannot be betrothed. That is to say, ‘if she is bad’ means if the affection springing from natural delight – ‘a female slave’ – is not in agreement with the spiritual man. This lack of agreement is brought about primarily because that affection wishes to be the master and is of a disposition and mind that cannot be bent towards a love of the Lord. Furthermore the agreement or disagreement of the affection springing from natural delight with the spiritual is determined by the essential nature of them both; but a division of them into their numerous categories would be too long and tedious. A female slave or servant-girl may also mean an affirmative means that serves to join together the external man and the internal man, see 3913, 3917, 3931.

sRef Ex@21 @8 S0′ 8996. ‘So that he does not betroth her’ means so that it cannot be Joined to it. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being betrothed’ as being joined to; for they that are betrothed are joined together. In the internal sense the proper meaning of ‘being betrothed’ is the compatibility of minds or inclinations which precedes being joined together in marriage. And since in the spiritual world compatibility is conjunctive and incompatibility is disjunctive, ‘being betrothed’ here means being joined together.

sRef Ex@21 @8 S0′ 8997. ‘Let her be redeemed’ means alienation from those truths. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being redeemed’ by him who sold her, or by another – that is, being sold by her master – as alienation from that spiritual truth. For the meaning of ‘being sold’ as alienation, see 4098, 4752, 4758, 5886, and of ‘master’ as spiritual truth, 8981, 8995.

sRef Ex@21 @8 S0′ 8998. ‘He shall have no power to sell her to a foreign people’ means that it must not pass to those who are not of the Church’s faith. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the foreigner’ as those outside the Church, thus those who are not of the Church’s faith, dealt with in 2049, 2115, 7996; and from the meaning of ‘selling’ as alienating, dealt with immediately above in 8997. The implications of this are that those born within the Church and imbued since early childhood with the fundamental truths taught by the Church ought not to enter into marriages with those who are outside the Church and have therefore been imbued with ideas such as are not the Church’s. The reason why is that they are in no way joined to one another in the spiritual world; for in that world everyone’s association with others is determined by his good and from this by his truth. And since such are in no way joined together in the spiritual world, they ought not to be on earth; for essentially a marriage consists of one human mind and inclination joined to another’s, which derive spiritual life from the truths and forms of the good of faith and charity. Therefore also in heaven marriages on earth between people of different religions are thought to be detestable, and especially those between members of the Church and people outside the Church. This also was the reason why the Jewish and Israelite nation was forbidden to contract marriages with the nations [in Canaan], Deut. 7:3, 4, and why fornicating with them was utterly detestable, Num. 25:1-9.

[2] This is made even more plainly evident by the origin of conjugial love; that is, it springs from the marriage of goodness and truth, 2727-2759. Descending from this marriage, conjugial love is heaven itself within someone. But this is destroyed when the hearts and faith of two married to each other are not alike. This then is the reason why a female slave from among the daughters of Israel, that is, from the Church, was not to be sold to a foreign people, that is, to those outside the Church. For the latter would then betroth her, that is, be joined to her, and in so doing would profane things of the Church, which explains why doing such a thing to her is called ‘acting treacherously’.

sRef Ex@21 @8 S0′ 8999. ‘He would be acting treacherously towards her’ means that this would be contrary to the laws of Divine order. This is clear from the meaning of ‘acting treacherously’ as contrary to God’s truth, or what amounts to the same thing, contrary to the laws of Divine order. This meaning of ‘acting treacherously’ is evident from what had been introduced immediately above in 8998. In heaven the laws of Divine order are truths, for Divine order originates in Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, 8700, 8988. ‘Acting treacherously’ is a recurrent expression in the Word, meaning in the internal sense acting contrary to truth and good in heaven, or what amounts to the same thing, contrary to Divine order, as in Isa. 21:2; 33:1; 48:8; Jer. 3:20; 5:11; 12:1, 6; Hosea 5:7; 6:7; Mal. 2:10, 11, 14, 15; Ps. 78:57; 119:158.

sRef Ex@21 @9 S0′ 9000. ‘And if he betroths her to his son’ means if it is in agreement with [some] derived truth, so that it can be joined to it. This is clear from the meaning of ‘son’ as truth, dealt with in 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3373, 3704, 4257, at this point derived truth since ‘the master’, who is the father, means the main truth from which all the rest are derived, 8981; and from the meaning of ‘betrothing’ as being joined together, dealt with above in 8996.

sRef Ex@21 @9 S0′ 9001. ‘He shall deal with her according to the judgement of daughters’ means that it will then be like a genuine affection for truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘according to the judgement’ as with the same rights, for ‘the judgement’ means an external truth or a right such as exists in a civic state where the Church is representative, dealt with in 8972; and from the meaning of ‘daughter’ as an affection for truth, dealt with in 2362, 3024, 3963, at this point a genuine affection for truth, since ‘a female slave’ means an affection for truth springing from natural delight, 8993, and so an affection that is not genuine until betrothed either to master or to son. But when it has been betrothed, that is, joined to spiritual truth, meant by master and by son, it comes to be like a genuine affection; for then the natural is subordinated to spiritual truth, and when subordinated it is directed no longer by itself but by the spiritual truth under which it is subordinated. So it is that the natural comes to be like the spiritual, since it acts in unison with it; and also the life that spiritual truth possesses passes then into the natural and gives it life. But being betrothed or joined to a female slave is different from being joined to a daughter, in that the latter joining together takes place in the internal man but the former in the external man.

sRef Ex@21 @10 S0′ 9002. ‘If he takes another one for himself’ means being joined to an affection for truth stemming from some other source. This is clear from the meaning of ‘taking (or betrothing) another’ as being joined to, as in 8996; for in the spiritual sense marriage, which is implied here by betrothal, is the joining of the life of one to that of another. Divine order decrees that the life of the truths of faith and the life of the good of charity should be joined together; this is where all spiritual joining together begins, from which, as its origin, natural joining springs. ‘Taking another one’ means being joined to an affection for truth stemming from some other source, because ‘a female slave’, dealt with before, is an affection for truth springing from natural delight, 8993, and therefore ‘another one’ is an affection for truth stemming from some other source

[2] An idea of what an affection from some other source is may be gained from the consideration that every affection belonging to love is very broad and wide indeed, so broad that it extends far beyond all human understanding. Human understanding cannot go so far as to know even the genera of the varieties of such affection, still less the species making up the genera, and least of all the particular aspects and individual details of those aspects. For all that exists within the human being, especially that which belongs to affection or love there, is infinitely varied. This becomes perfectly clear from the consideration that the affection for what is good and true, an affection that belongs to love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour, constitutes the whole of heaven, and yet in respect of good those in the heavens, where millions live, are all different from one another. And they would still all be different even if multiplied into countless millions of millions. For it is not possible in the universe for one thing to be exactly like another and have separate existence. It must vary, that is, be different from another, if it is to be something by itself, see 684, 690, 3241, 3744, 3745, 3986, 4005, 4149, 5598, 7236, 7833, 7836, 8003. All this gives some idea of what one should understand by an affection from some other source, namely an affection which is different from another but can nevertheless be joined to the same spiritual truth. Such affections, which are represented by female slaves betrothed to the same man, belong to the same genus but different species, the difference between them being called a specific difference. Various examples could be used to illustrate these matters; but the general idea conveyed by the things that have just been said is better.

[3] So that the joining of such affections to the same spiritual truth, and their subordination to it, might be represented, it was permissible within the Israelite and Jewish nation for men to have a number of concubines. Abraham had them, Gen. 25:6, and so did David, Solomon, and others. For anything permitted among that nation existed because of what that thing represented; or to be more precise, it existed so that by means of outward things that nation might represent the inner realities of the Church, 3246. But when the inner realities of the Church were disclosed by the Lord, representations of inner realities through outward things came to an end; for now it was the inner realities – forms of faith and love – that were to be apprehended by a member of the Church and to be the means by which he worshipped the Lord. For this reason they were no longer permitted to have a number of wives, or concubines as well as wives, see 865, 2727-2759, 3246, 4837.

sRef Ex@21 @10 S0′ 9003. ‘He shall not diminish her food, her clothing, and [[her] marital rights’ means no deprivation of inner life meant by ‘food’, nor of outer life meant by ‘clothing’, thus no deprivation of the joining together meant by ‘marital rights’. This is clear from the meaning of ‘food’ as the sustaining of inner life, for in the spiritual sense ‘food’, both solid and liquid, is cognitions or the knowledge of good and truth, solid food being cognitions of good, 5147, and ‘drink’ cognitions of truth, 3168, 3772, so that ‘food’ is the things that nourish a person’s spiritual life, 5293, 5576, 5579, 5915, 8562; from the meaning of ‘clothing’ as the sustaining of outer life, for in the spiritual sense ‘clothing’ or garments are inferior factual knowledge, this knowledge being that which spiritually sustains a person’s outer life, 5248, 6918; from the meaning of ‘marital rights’ as a joining together; and from the meaning of ‘not diminishing’ as not depriving.

[2] The situation here is that a natural affection joined to a spiritual truth, which is meant by ‘a female slave betrothed to a son’, unceasingly needs to be sustained with life from the spiritual truth to which it has been joined; if the affection is not sustained from there it perishes. The situation with a person’s affection is just the same as with the person himself; if he is not sustained by food he dies. Interiorly furthermore a person is nothing other than affection, one who is good being interiorly an affection for good and consequently for truth, and one who is evil being an affection for evil and consequently for falsity. This is especially evident in a person when he becomes a spirit; the sphere of life which then wells out of him is either one of affection for good or one of affection for evil. Now he is nourished or sustained not with natural food and drink but with spiritual, which for an evil spirit is falsity arising from evil, but for a good spirit is truth springing from good. The nourishment that people’s minds receive in the world during their life in the body is nothing other. So it is that all kinds of food – bread, flesh, wine, water and many others – mean in the spiritual sense within the Word the kinds of food that constitute spiritual nourishment.

sRef Matt@26 @29 S3′ sRef Matt@4 @4 S3′ sRef Luke@22 @30 S3′ sRef John@6 @55 S3′ [3] All this also shows what one is to understand by the Lord’s words in Matthew,

Man does not live by bread only but by every word that goes out of the mouth of God. Matt. 4:4.

Also what one should understand by His words in Luke,

You will eat and drink at My table in My kingdom. Luke 22:30.

And in Matthew,

I tell you that I shall not drink from now on of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom. Matt. 26:29.

The Lord spoke these words after He had instituted the Holy Supper, in which the bread and wine are elements which denote love and faith, in the same way as flesh and blood do. From this it can be clearly seen what the Lord’s flesh and blood mean in John 6:49-58, especially in these words there,

My flesh is truly food, and My blood is truly drink. John 6:55.

In the Word ‘flesh’ means the good of love, see 3813, 7850, ‘blood’ the good of faith, 4735, 6978, 7317, 7326, 7846, 7850, 7877; and ‘bread’ and ‘wine’ have the same meanings, 2165, 2177, 3464, 3478, 3735, 3813, 4211, 4217, 4735, 4976, 5915, 6118, 6377.

sRef Ex@21 @11 S0′ 9004. ‘If he does not do these three things for her’ means the deprivation of those things. This is clear without explanation.

sRef Ex@21 @11 S0′ 9005. ‘She shall go out for nothing, for no silver’ means alienation from that [spiritual truth], without truth joined to it. This is clear from the meaning of ‘going out’ – out of servitude and from concubinage – as abandonment by the man, her master, and so alienation; and from the meaning of ‘for nothing, for no silver’ as without truth joined to it, ‘silver’ meaning truth, see 1551, 2954, 5658, 6112, 6914, 6917, 8932. The nature of all this is clear from what has been shown just above in 9003 namely this: A natural affection joined to a spiritual truth, meant by ‘a female slave betrothed to a son’, cannot survive at all unless it is sustained by the spiritual. Therefore if the affection is not sustained by this, the connection between them is broken and it is consequently alienated. The reason why this happens without the truth from the spiritual joined to that natural affection is that this affection goes on to be linked to another [truth]; but this cannot happen while truth from elsewhere is the source of its life. All this is meant by the words under consideration here because the situation with relationships in the spiritual world is such.

9006. Verses 12-15 Anyone striking a man – and he dies – shall surely die. And one who did not lie in wait, and God caused it to happen at his hand – I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee. And when a man acts from set purpose against his companion, to kill him with guile, you shall take him from My altar to die. And anyone striking his father and his mother shall surely die.

‘Anyone striking a man – and he dies’ means injury done to the truth of faith, and consequent loss of spiritual life. ‘Shall surely die’ means damnation. ‘And one who did not lie in wait’ means when it was not contemplated beforehand by the will. ‘And God caused it to happen at his hand’ means appearing as something happening by chance. ‘I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee’ means a state of blamelessness and so of freedom from punishment. ‘And when a man acts from set purpose against his companion’ means prior thought by a wicked will. ‘To kill him with guile’ means consequent malice* intent on depriving the neighbour of eternal life. ‘You shall take him from My altar to die’ means damnation even though he flees to worship the Lord, pleads for forgiveness, and promises to repent. ‘And anyone striking his father and his mother’ means blaspheming the Lord and His kingdom. ‘Shall surely die’ means damnation.
* The Latin adds the two words et aestum (and firey passion). Possibly et astum (and cunning) is intended.

sRef Ex@21 @12 S0′ 9007. ‘Anyone striking a man – and he dies’ means injury done to the truth of faith, and consequent loss of spiritual life. This is clear from the meaning of ‘striking’ as injuring by means of falsity, dealt with in 7136, 7146; from the meaning of ‘a man’ as the truth of faith, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘dying’ as loss of spiritual life, dealt with in 5407, 6119, 7494, no other kind of life being meant in the internal sense, though natural life is meant in the external sense. The reason why injury done to the truth of faith leads to the destruction of spiritual life is that good united to truth composes that life, and therefore when truth is snatched away good falls to the ground, and so does spiritual life.

[2] The reason why ‘a man’ means the truth of faith is that in heaven they do not focus their attention on the person or anything of the person, only on things in the abstract, that is, without envisaging any actual person, 4380 (end), 8343, 8985. Consequently they do not think of ‘a man’ when this expression is used in the Word, for a man is a person; instead they think of his power of mind which makes him a man, namely the power of understanding. And when they think of this they think of the truth of faith, since it belongs to that power of mind and not only enlightens it but also shapes it. Just as in heaven they think of someone’s power of understanding when ‘a man’ (vir) is used, so they think of his power of will when ‘a human being’ (homo) is used; for a human being is a human being by virtue of the will, whereas ‘a man’ is such by virtue of the understanding. And as the will is really the human being, ‘human being’ therefore means the good of love, since it belongs to the will, perfecting and composing it. For the meaning of ‘a man’ as the power of understanding and consequently the truth of faith, see 158, 265, 749, 1007, 2517, 3134, 3309, 3459, 4823, 7716; and for ‘a human being’ as the good of love, 768, 4287, 7523, 8547, 8988.

sRef Ex@21 @12 S0′ 9008. ‘Shall surely die’ means damnation. This is clear from the meaning of ‘surely dying’ as damnation, dealt with in 5407, 6119, 7494. The reason why ‘death’ means damnation is that with those who have been damned the truths of faith and forms of the good of charity have been wiped out. These are what constitute the most real kind of life a person has, for they are received from the Lord, who is the one and only source of life. When they have been wiped out their place is then taken by falsities and evils; and these, being the opposites of truths and forms of good which are the constituents of life, are therefore the constituents of death – spiritual death, which is damnation, hell, and eternal unhappiness. The reason why those immersed in evils and falsities, that is, those who are in hell, continue to be alive is that they were born human beings and consequently have the ability to receive life from the Lord. And they do receive life from the Lord, as much life as will enable them to think, reason, and speak, to make their evil look like good and their falsity like truth, and so to give the appearance of life.

sRef Ex@21 @13 S0′ 9009. ‘And one who did not lie in wait’ means when it was not contemplated beforehand by the will. This is clear from the meaning of ‘lying in wait’ as doing what has been thought up and so contemplated beforehand; for the ill that one lying in wait is going to do is contemplated in his mind beforehand. And since such ill done by him is contemplated beforehand it also has its origin in the will, for it comes forth from there. There are evils which come forth from a person’s will but are not contemplated beforehand, and there those which come forth from his will and are contemplated beforehand. Those from the will and contemplated beforehand are far worse than those uncontemplated beforehand. For the person sees that they are evils and is therefore able to desist from them, but has no wish to; and by failing to do so he establishes them firmly within himself. And firmly established evils take on a character that makes it almost impossible for them to be rooted out afterwards. For at this time he summons spirits from hell, who after that rarely depart.

[2] Evils that come forth from one part of the mind and not at the same time from the other, such as those from the understanding part and not at the same time from the will part, do not take root and become the person’s own. That alone takes root and becomes his own which passes from the understanding part into the will part, or what amounts to the same thing, from thought belonging to the understanding into affection belonging to the will, and from there into action. Things that enter the will are those which are said to enter the heart.

[3] Evils however which come forth solely from the will, thus not from prior thought about them, are those such as a person is prone to owing to heredity or owing to some previous activity resulting from hereditary inclinations. These evils are not ascribed to the person unless he has established them firmly in the understanding part of his mind, 966, 2308, 8806. But when they have been firmly established there they have been inscribed on the person, becoming properly his own; then they are attributable to him. But those evils cannot become firmly established with a person in the understanding part of his mind until he reaches adult life, that is to say, when he starts to think for himself and be wise. Till then he trusts not in himself but in teachers and parents.

All this shows what the meaning is of ‘one who did not lie in wait’, namely when it was not contemplated beforehand by the will.

sRef Ex@21 @13 S0′ 9010. ‘And God caused it to happen at his hand’ means appearing as something happening by chance. This is clear from ancient people’s idea of chance, which was that whatever happened was brought about by God; and this was why they expressed the idea of chance by saying that ‘God caused it to happen at someone’s hand’. Those who belonged to the ancient Churches knew that the Lord’s providence was present in every single thing, and that contingencies, that is, things which appeared to happen by chance, were providential. Simple people therefore who could see no difference between things that happened because He permitted them and those that happened because He was well pleased by them attributed to the Lord both good and evil, good because they knew that He was the author of everything good, but evil on account of the appearance. For when a person performs evil deeds, and by performing them turns away from the Lord, the appearance is that the Lord turns away; at this time the Lord appears to him to be behind, not in front of him. These then are the reasons why if anyone struck another by chance, that is, his will had not contemplated the deed beforehand, the words ‘God caused it to happen at his hand’ were used to express it.

The Lord’s providence is in every single thing, see 1919 (end), 4329, 5122 (end), 5155, 5195, 5894 (end), 6058, 6481-6487, 6489, 6491, 7004, 7007, 8478, 8717.

Contingencies or chance occurrences are providential, 5508, 6493, 6494.

Evil is attributed to the Lord, when in fact it originates in man, 2447, 5798, 6071, 6832, 6991, 6997, 7533, 7877, 7926, 8197, 8227, 8228, 8282, 8284, 8483, 8632.

sRef Ex@21 @13 S0′ 9011. ‘I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee’ means a state of blamelessness and so of freedom from punishment. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a place’ as a state, dealt with in 2625, 2837, 3356, 3387, 3404, 4321, 4882, 5605, 7381; and from the meaning of refuge, or a place to which one who killed another without premeditation or by chance might flee, as a state of blamelessness and so of freedom from punishment. For those who struck another by chance, that is, not from set purpose, thus not because of any previous contemplation of the deed or of an evil desire in the will, were not at all culpable. Therefore when they came to the place of refuge they were freed from punishment. By them were represented those who injure, but not from set purpose, someone’s truths and forms of the good of faith and as a result wipe out his spiritual life; for their state is one of blamelessness and freedom from punishment. This is true of those who have thorough trust in their religion, which however is full of falsity, and who use what it teaches to reason against the truth and good of faith, and to do this convincingly, as conscientious and consequently zealous heretics are sometimes accustomed to do.

sRef Num@35 @23 S2′ sRef Deut@19 @4 S2′ sRef Num@35 @22 S2′ sRef Num@35 @11 S2′ sRef Deut@19 @5 S2′ [2] The fact that they were represented [by those] who fled to places of refuge is clear in Moses,

You shall select suitable cities, which are to be cities of refuge for yourselves, so that one who strikes and kills a soul accidentally may flee there. If without premeditation, without enmity, he pushes him; or throws at him some implement without forethought; or [strikes him] with any stone from which he may die, while not seeing him, so that he causes it to fall onto him and he dies, though he was not his enemy and did not seek to harm him … Num. 35:11, 12, 22, 23.

And in the same author,

This is the case* with one who kills, who shall flee there so that he may live, when he has struck his companion unwittingly, when he did not hate him previously** – as when he goes with his companion into a forest to cut down timber, but when his hand with the axe in it is swung to cut down wood, the iron flies off the handle and hits his companion so that he dies,*** he shall flee to one of these cities so that he may live. Deut. 19:4, 5.

[3] This describes the state of one blameless and freed from punishment, who through the falsities of faith which he had believed to be truths, or through factual knowledge based on the illusions of the senses, has injured someone, and so has done harm to his internal or spiritual life. To convey this meaning such an accident or chance is described by an implement of some kind, and by a stone which he causes to fall onto his companion so that he dies, and also by the axe or iron coming off its handle, while both were cutting down timber in the forest. The reason why such details are used to describe the matter is that ‘an implement’ means some known fact, and ‘a stone’ a truth of faith or in the contrary sense a falsity; and in like manner ‘the iron of an axe’ and ‘cutting down timber’ means to argue about what is good, using what one’s religion teaches.

[4] Anyone may see that but for some hidden reason a killing that occurred accidentally would not have been described by the iron of an axe coming off its handle in a forest, for such an accident happens rarely, scarcely once in many years. But that accident has been described in such a way for the sake of the internal sense, which describes the harm done to a soul by another through the falsities of faith which, because his religion teaches them, he has believed to be truths. For anyone who causes harm through falsities which he believes to be truths does not do harm from set purpose or in spite of knowing better, because he acts in accord with his religious faith and therefore out of zeal. So that these things might be meant in the internal sense they are described, as has been stated, by those who kill companions accidentally, and by ‘a stone’, by ‘cutting down wood in a forest’, and by ‘the iron of the axe coming off its handle onto a companion during the process’. For ‘a stone’ is a truth of faith in the natural man, and in the contrary sense a falsity, see 643, 1298, 3720, 6426, 8609, 8941, and so is ‘iron’, 425, 426. ‘The iron of the axe coming away from its handle’ is truth separated from good, good being meant by ‘handle’ or ‘wood’, 643, 2812, 3720, 8354; ‘cutting down wood’ means placing merit in works, 1110, 4943, 8740; but ‘cutting down timber in a forest’ means discussing these and like matters, and also calling them into question; for ‘a forest’ means a religious system.

sRef Jer@46 @22 S5′ sRef Jer@46 @23 S5′ [5] Like matters are meant by ‘cutting down timber in a forest with axes’ in Jeremiah,

The mercenaries will go with strength, and they will come to her with axes, like those who cut down timber. They will cut down her forest, said Jehovah. Jer 46:22, 23.

Here ‘cutting down timber in a forest’ stands for acting in accord with false religious practices and destroying such things as constitute the Church. For the Church is called ‘a forest’, ‘a garden’, and ‘a paradise’; it is called ‘a forest’ by virtue of its knowledge, ‘a garden’ by virtue of its intelligence, and ‘a paradise’ by virtue of its wisdom, 3220, ‘trees’ being perceptions of goodness and truth, and also cognitions or knowledge of them, 103, 2163, 2722, 2972, 4552, 7690, 7692. And since ‘a forest’ means the Church in respect of its knowledge, thus of its external aspects, it also means religious practices.

sRef Isa@10 @19 S6′ sRef Ps@132 @6 S6′ sRef Ps@96 @12 S6′ sRef Isa@10 @18 S6′ sRef Isa@10 @17 S6′ sRef Isa@10 @34 S6′ [6] The Church in respect of its knowledge or external aspects is also meant by ‘a forest’, or ‘a wood’, in David,

The field will be exultant and everything in it; then all the trees of the wood will sing. Ps. 96:12.

In the same author,

Behold, we heard of Him in Ephrathah; we found Him in the fields of the wood. Ps. 132:6.

These words refer to the Lord. In Isaiah,

The light of Israel will be a fire, and his Holy (One a flame. It will burn the glory of his forest, and his Carmel; it will consume from the soul even to the flesh. As a consequence the remaining trees of the wood will be [so small] a number that a child may write them down. He will cut down the entangled boughs of the forest with an axe,**** and Lebanon will fall by a majestic one. Isa. 10:17-20, 34.

‘The forest’ stands for the Church in respect of its cognitions of truth, and ‘Carmel’ for the Church in respect of its cognitions of good, in the same way as ‘Lebanon’ and ‘Hermon’ do. ‘The trees of the wood’ stands, as above, for cognitions, and ‘being a number that a child may write down’ stands for the fewness of them, ‘entangled boughs of the forest’ standing for factual knowledge, 2831.

sRef Ezek@20 @47 S7′ sRef Ezek@20 @46 S7′ sRef Jer@21 @14 S7′ sRef Isa@37 @24 S7′ sRef Micah@7 @14 S7′ [7] In the same prophet,

You said, By the multitude of my chariots I will go up [to] the height of the mountains, the sides of Lebanon, where I will cut down the tallness of its cedars, the choice of its fir trees, After that I will come to its remotest height,***** the forest of its Carmel. Isa. 37:24.

In Jeremiah,

I will visit on you according to the fruit of your works, and I will kindle a fire in its forest. Jer. 21:14.

In Ezekiel,

Prophesy against the forest of the field towards the south, and say to the forest of the south, Behold, I will kindle in you a fire, and it will devour every tree. Ezek. 20:46, 47.

In Micah,

Guide****** Your people with Your staff, the flock of Your inheritance inhabiting alone a forest in the midst of Carmel. Micah 7:14.

Does anyone fail to see that in these places a forest is not meant by ‘a forest’, nor Lebanon and Carmel, which were forests, by ‘Lebanon’ and ‘Carmel’, but that some aspect of the Church is meant? What aspect of the Church it is however has lain hidden up to now because the internal sense has lain hidden. But how astonishing that in a world so learned as Europe – more learned than all the other continents – where the Word exists, in every detail of which the internal sense is present, there is no awareness of that sense! Yet it was known to the ancients in Chaldea, Assyria, Egypt, and Arabia, and from them in Greece, in whose books, symbols, and hieroglyphics such matters are still met with. The reason why awareness of that matter has perished is lack of belief that what is spiritual has any real existence.
* lit. word or matter
** lit. when he was not a hater of him yesterday and three days ago
*** lit. the iron is struck off the wood and finds his companion so that he dies
**** lit. iron
***** lit. the height of its end
****** lit. Feed or Pasture

sRef Ex@21 @14 S0′ 9012. ‘And when a man acts from set purpose against his companion’ means prior thought by a wicked will. This is clear from the meaning of ‘acting from set purpose’ as from prior thought, for one who is set on evil contemplates it before doing it. And since it is evil and he does it, it springs from his will; for doing evil has its origin there. But the falsity which is used to endorse, defend, and so promote that evil belongs to thought, and so comes from a wicked or warped understanding. The fact that a person is guilty when the evil he does springs from both parts of the mind, from the understanding and from the will, see above in 9009.

sRef Ex@21 @14 S0′ 9013. ‘To kill him with guile’ means consequent malice intent on depriving the neighbour of eternal life. This is clear from the meaning of ‘killing’ as taking faith and charity away from one’s neighbour and so depriving him of spiritual life, which is eternal life, dealt with in 6767, 8902; and from the meaning of ‘guile’ as malice owing to prior thought or premeditation by the will, that is, owing to set purpose. Evil deeds are performed as a result either of enmity, or of hatred, or of vengeance; and they are performed with guile or without guile. But those performed with guile are the worst because guile is like a poison which is infectious and destroys with hellish consumption; for it spreads through the entire mind, right through to its inmost recesses. The reason why is that a person full of guile has his mind on evil. He feeds and delights his understanding with it, and in so doing he destroys everything which is human, that is, which composes life belonging to the good of faith and of charity.

[2] Those who use guile while in the world to ensnare their neighbour in regard to worldly and earthly affairs use guile in the next life to ensnare their neighbour in regard to spiritual and celestial matters. And because they do it in a secret way they are banished to the hells behind the back, to a depth in keeping with the malevolence and harmfulness of their guile, and so are separated from those who are in front. These in front are called spirits, but those behind the back are called genii, 5035, 5977, 8593, 8622, 8625. Genii are not allowed near men as spirits are. For they enter affections belonging to the will, by acting in opposition to the good of love and charity, in so surreptitious a manner that it cannot possibly be detected; and in that way they destroy the truth of faith. In their own hells they place themselves out of sight to their companions; for those who have acted in concealment in the world can place themselves out of sight in the next life. When they make their appearance they look to one another like human beings; but when angels examine them they look like serpents. For they have the nature of serpents, and what goes out of them is like poison, indeed is spiritual poison. sRef Matt@23 @33 S3′ sRef Matt@23 @29 S3′ sRef Deut@32 @33 S3′ sRef Job@20 @16 S3′ sRef Isa@59 @5 S3′ sRef Ps@140 @3 S3′ sRef Ps@58 @2 S3′ sRef Ps@58 @4 S3′ sRef Ps@140 @2 S3′ [3] For this reason ‘poison’ in the Word means guile, and ‘poisonous serpents’, such as asps, adders, or vipers, means people full of guile, as in David,

In heart you work perversities. Their poison is like the poison of a serpent, like that of the deaf asp. Ps. 58:2, 4.

In the same author,

They think evil things in their heart. They make their tongue sharp, like a serpent; the poison of an asp is under their lips. Ps. 140:2, 3.

In Isaiah,

They lay eggs of the asp, and weave spider’s webs; he who eats from their eggs dies, and when anyone presses it out a viper is hatched. Isa. 59:5.

In Job,

He will suck the poison of asps, the tongue of a viper will kill him. Job 20:16.

In Moses,

Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel gall of asps. Deut. 32:33.

In Matthew,

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! How, O serpents, brood of vipers, will you escape the judgement of Gehenna? Matt. 23:29, 33.

[4] Guile is called hypocrisy when people speak in godly ways but are ungodly at heart, or when they have charity on their lips but hatred in their heart, or when they express innocence on their face and in their gestures but have cruelty in their soul and breast; consequently they are those who use innocence, charity, or godliness to deceive. It is they who are meant in the internal sense by ‘serpents’ and ‘vipers’, because when such people, as stated above, are examined in the light of heaven by angels they look like serpents and also vipers. They are those who conceal evils under truths, that is, who with guile twist truths in order to perform evil deeds; for they hide poison under their teeth, so to speak, and kill by means of it.

sRef Mark@16 @18 S5′ sRef Luke@10 @19 S5′ sRef Mark@16 @17 S5′ sRef Isa@11 @8 S5′ [5] But those who are led by the Lord, believing what is true and leading a good life, cannot suffer injury from their poisons, since they live in light received from the Lord, and in that light those full of guile are seen as serpents and their guile as poison. Their preservation by the Lord is meant by the Lord’s words to His disciples,

Behold, I give you the power to trample on serpents and scorpions. Luke 10:19.

In Mark,

These signs will follow believers: They will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly it will not hurt them. Mark 16:17, 18.

And in Isaiah,

A suckling will play over the viper’s hole. Isa. 11:8.

sRef Matt@12 @34 S6′ sRef Matt@12 @32 S6′ sRef Matt@12 @33 S6′ sRef Matt@12 @31 S6′ [6] People inwardly corrupted with spiritual guile, that is, with hypocrisy, are the ones who are meant by those speaking against the Holy Spirit, for whom there is no forgiveness, in Matthew,

I say to you, Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy of the Spirit will not be forgiven people. Indeed if anyone speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but he who speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the one to come. Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad. O brood of vipers, how can you speak good when you are evil? Matt. 12:31-34.

‘Speaking a word against the Holy Spirit’ means speaking well of things that belong to the Lord, to His kingdom and Church, and also to the Word, but thinking ill of them; and doing well in respect of them while desiring what is ill. For falsity then lies hidden within the truths they speak, and evil in the good deeds they perform, which is the hidden poison. This is why they are called ‘a brood of vipers’.

sRef Ps@5 @6 S7′ [7] In the next life an evil person is allowed to speak what is evil and also false, but not what is good and true, because all there are impelled to speak from the heart and not to have a divided mind. Those who do other than that are separated from the rest and hidden away in hells from which they can never come out. The fact that people such as these are meant by those speaking a word against the Holy Spirit is clear from the Lord’s words there, ‘Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad. How can you speak good when you are evil?’ The Holy Spirit is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, thus that which is holy and Divine, which is thereby blasphemed and profaned on an inward level.

sRef Matt@22 @11 S8′ sRef Matt@22 @13 S8′ sRef Matt@22 @12 S8′ [8] The reason why such blasphemy is not forgiven them is that hypocrisy or guile involving things that are holy and Divine corrupts a person inwardly and destroys everything of spiritual life with him, as stated above, at length so completely that there is no soundness anywhere in him. For the forgiveness of sins consists in evil being separated from good and cast away to the sides, 8393. But this cannot be done for someone with whom all good has been destroyed; and this is why it says, ‘It will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the one to come’. These are also the kind of people who are meant by the one who was not wearing a wedding garment, who was bound hand and foot and cast into outer darkness, Matt. 22:11-13; see 2132.

sRef Ps@32 @2 S9′ sRef Jer@9 @6 S9′ sRef Ps@120 @2 S9′ sRef Jer@9 @4 S9′ sRef Jer@9 @5 S9′ [9] The fact that ‘guile’ in the Word is hypocrisy is clear from the following places: In Jeremiah,

Take heed, a man of his companion, and put no trust in any brother, for every brother supplants wholly. They deceive, a man with his companion, and do not speak the truth; they have taught their tongue to speak a lie. Your habitation is in the midst of guile; on account of guile they have refused to know Me, said Jehovah. Jer. 9:4-6.

In David,

You will destroy those speaking a lie; Jehovah abhors the man of blood* and guile. Ps. 5:6.

In the same author,

Blessed is the person to whom Jehovah does not impute iniquity; only let there be no guile in his spirit. Ps. 32:2.

In the same author,

Deliver my soul from lying lips, from a guileful tongue.** Ps. 120:2.

Like examples occur in Ps. 52:4; Ps. 109:2.
* lit. bloods
** lit. from the lip of the lie, from the tongue of guile

sRef Ex@21 @14 S0′ 9014. ‘You shall take him from My altar to die’ means damnation even though he flees to worship the Lord, pleads for forgiveness, and promises to repent. This is clear from the meaning of Jehovah’s altar’ as the chief representative of worship of the Lord, dealt with in 921, 2777, 2811, 4541, 8935, 8940, and since the altar was representative of worship ‘fleeing to the altar’ means going to the Lord, pleading for forgiveness, and also promising to repent, for one action follows the other; and from the meaning of ‘dying’ as damnation, dealt with in 5407, 6119, 9008.

[2] The implications of all this may be recognized from what has been shown in paragraph 9013 above, to the effect that guile in spiritual things, that is, hypocrisy, is not able to be forgiven. The reason why is that guile is like poison that penetrates right through to the inward parts; it kills all of the faith and charity there, and destroys remnants, which are the truths and forms of the good of faith and charity stored away by the Lord in a person inwardly. And when these have been destroyed no spiritual life at all survives any longer. Regarding remnants, see 468, 530, 560-563, 660, 661, 798, 1050, 1738, 1906, 2284, 5135, 5342, 5344, 5897, 5898, 6156, 7560, 7564. Consequently when people full of guile plead with the Lord to be forgiven and promise to repent, meant by ‘fleeing to the altar’, their pleas and promises do not come at all from the heart but are made only with the lips. Therefore they are not heard, for the Lord looks on the heart, not on words separated and isolated from the heart. So it is that there is no forgiveness for them, because they are not capable of any repentance.

[3] The majority within the Church think that the forgiveness of sins involves wiping and washing them away, like the removal of dirt by water, and that after forgiveness people go about clean and pure. This idea reigns especially with those who attribute all of salvation to faith alone. But let it be known that the situation with the forgiveness of sins is altogether different from that being Mercy itself, the Lord forgives everyone their sins. Nevertheless they do not come to be forgiven unless the person sincerely repents, refrains from evils, and after that leads a life of faith and charity, doing so to the end of his life. When this happens the person receives spiritual life from the Lord, called new life. Then when with this new life he looks at the evils of his former life, turns away from them, and abhors them, his evils have for the first time been forgiven. For the person is now maintained in truths and forms of good by the Lord and held back from evils. This shows what the forgiveness of sins is, and that it cannot take place within an hour, nor within a year. The Church knows this to be so, for it says to those who attend the Holy Supper that their sins are forgiven if they begin a new life by refraining from evils and abhorring them.

[4] All this now shows what the situation is with hypocrites who through guile are inwardly eaten up by evils – they are incapable of repenting. For the actual remnants of goodness and truth present with them have been destroyed and lost, and everything of spiritual life with them. And being incapable of repenting they cannot be forgiven. This is meant by the law that those who kill their neighbour with guile must be taken from the altar to die.

sRef 2Sam@3 @29 S5′ sRef 2Sam@3 @27 S5′ [5] Their damnation was described by the following prophetic utterance made by David regarding Joab, who had killed Abner with guile,

There will always be in the house of Joab* one who suffers from a discharge, or is a leper, or supports himself with a rod, or falls by the sword, or lacks bread. 2 Sam. 3:27, 29.

‘One suffering from a discharge’ means profanation of the good of love; ‘a leper’ means profanation of the truth of faith, 6963; ‘one supporting himself with a rod’, or a person who is lame, means those with whom all good has been lost, 4302, 4314; ‘one falling by the sword’ means those constantly dying through falsities, 4499, 6353, 7102, 8294; and ‘one lacking bread’ means those deprived of all spiritual life, for ‘bread’ is the sustainment of spiritual life by means of good, 6118, 8410. Because such people were meant by ‘Joab’ he was killed by the command of Solomon at the altar to which he had fled, 1 Kings 2:28-32.
* lit There will not be cut off from the house of Joab

sRef Ex@21 @15 S0′ 9015. ‘And anyone striking his father and his mother’ means blaspheming the Lord and His kingdom. This is clear from the meaning of ‘striking’ as injuring by means of falsities, dealt with in 7136, 7146, 9007, but when used in reference to the Lord and His kingdom, blaspheming is meant by it; and from the meaning of ‘father’ as the Lord, and of ‘mother’ as His kingdom, dealt with in 8897, where the fourth commandment has been explained. That paragraph shows what ‘honouring father and mother’ is used to mean in the internal sense, namely loving the Lord and His kingdom, and therefore in the relative sense loving what is good and true. So also ‘striking father and mother’ in a relative sense means blaspheming what is good and true in the Church.

sRef Ex@21 @15 S0′ 9016. ‘Shall surely die’ means damnation. This is clear from the meaning of ‘dying’ as damnation, dealt with above in 9008.

9017. Verses 16, 17 And anyone stealing a man and selling him – and he is found in his hand – shall surely die. And anyone cursing his father and his mother shall surely die.

‘And anyone stealing a man and selling him’ means applying the truth of faith to evil, and alienating it. ‘And he is found in his hand’ means though there is still an acknowledgement of it. ‘Shall surely die’ means damnation. ‘And anyone cursing his father and his mother’ means complete rejection of the Lord and of His kingdom by those belonging to the Church, and so profanation of the Church’s goodness and truth. ‘Shall surely die’ means damnation.

sRef Ex@21 @16 S0′ 9018. ‘And anyone stealing a man and selling him’ means applying the truth of faith to evil, and alienating it. This is clear from the meaning of ‘stealing a man’ as applying the truth of faith to evil (for the meaning of ‘a man’, at this point a man who is an Israelite, as the truth of faith, see 5414, 5879, 5951, 7957, 9007, and for ‘stealing’ as the application of it to evil, 5135); and from the meaning of ‘selling’ as alienating, dealt with in 4098, 4752, 4758, 5886.

sRef Ex@21 @16 S0′ 9019. ‘And he is found in his hand’ means though there is still an acknowledgement of it – of the truth of faith. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being found in his hand’, when said in reference to the truth of faith, as an acknowledgement of it. For when such truth is acknowledged by a person and to some extent believed, ‘it is found’ with him, with him being meant by ‘in his hand’.

sRef Ex@21 @16 S0′ 9020. ‘Shall surely die’ means damnation, as above in 9008. The reason why they are damned who apply the truths of faith to evils and in so doing alienate them from themselves is that they have hitherto acknowledged them. If the truth of faith has been acknowledged, and then after that it is applied to evil, it is mixed together with falsity arising from evil, the result of which is profanation. For such mixing together is profanation, see the places referred to below in 9021. To make this matter more understandable, let an example serve to shed light on it. Take people who wish to direct according to their own will things that are the Lord’s, especially those things that belong to heavenly life with a person, to the end that they may have dominion over everyone and may gain the [whole] world. When they take some of the Lord’s words to support their desire they are thieves in a spiritual sense; for they are stealing truths from the Word and applying them to evils. They are evils because those people’s end in view is dominion and gain, not the salvation of souls. If up to now those truths which they begin to apply to evils have been acknowledged without a view to dominion and gain, such people profane them; for by applying them to evils they mix falsities arising from evils together with the truths. Such people cannot possibly escape damnation, since they deprive themselves of all spiritual life by what they do. That they deprive themselves of spiritual life is evident from the consideration that when they are left on their own, and they then think alone or talk among themselves, these people possess no belief in truths. They do not believe in the Lord, in heaven, or in hell. Even so they proclaim them with their lips more than others do, because an intense desire for dominion and gain drives them towards these things, as means to their ends. This is especially prevalent in Christian Gentilism where images of persons canonized as saints are on display for veneration, before which those people too genuflect and prostrate themselves but do so because of their guile, in order that they may deceive and convince others.

sRef Ex@21 @17 S0′ 9021. ‘And anyone cursing his father and his mother’ means complete rejection of the Lord and of His kingdom by those belonging to the Church, and so profanation of the Church’s goodness and truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘cursing’ as turning away and separating from, dealt with in 245, 379, 1423, 3530, 3584, 5071, and therefore also complete rejection, since one who turns away and separates from the Lord rejects Him in his heart; and from the meaning of ‘father and mother’ as the Lord and His kingdom, or in a relative sense goodness and truth that come from the Lord, dealt with in 8897, 9015. The reason why it is a rejection by those within the Church is that the commandments, judgements, and statutes which were declared by the Lord from Mount Sinai were intended specifically for the children of Israel, among whom a representative of the Church was at that time established, and who therefore served to mean the Church, 6426, 6637, 6862, 6868, 7035, 7062, 7198, 7201, 7215, 7223, 7957, 8234, 8805. So it is too that ‘cursing father and mother’ means profanation; for those within the Church who completely reject the Lord and the things of His kingdom and Church profane them. The fact that those within the Church can profane holy things, but not those outside the Church, see 1008, 1010, 1059, 2051, 3398, 3399, 3898, 4289, 4601, 6348, 6959, 6963, 6971, 8882. Consequently rejection of the Lord is not profanation among those who are outside the Church; it is not such among gentiles, Muslims, or Jews.

sRef Ex@21 @17 S0′ 9022. ‘Shall surely die’ means damnation, as above in 9008, 9016, 9020. How the specific things mentioned all hang together in the internal sense is evident from what has been stated and shown. For the internal sense deals in sequence with the rejection, the blasphemy, and the profanation of truth and good that come from the Lord. But no such sequence is seen in the external sense, for this sense deals with people committing diverse offences – with those who strike a man so that he dies, those who kill a companion with guile, those who strike father and mother, those who steal a man and sell him, and also those who curse father and mother. This is what the Word is like so far as specific statements are concerned; that is to say, in the internal sense matters follow one another in order, in a chain so to speak, even though in the external sense, that is, in the sense of the letter, they are diffuse and in many instances disconnected.

sRef Ex@21 @19 S0′ sRef Ex@21 @20 S0′ sRef Ex@21 @21 S0′ sRef Ex@21 @18 S0′ 9023. Verses 18-21 And when men quarrel, and a man strikes his companion with a stone or a fist, and he does not die, and lies down in bed,* if he rises up and walks outside on his staff, the striker shall be innocent; but he shall pay for his cessation [from work],** and thoroughly cure him***. And when a man strikes his male slave or his female slave with a rod, and [the slave] dies under his hand, he shall certainly be avenged. However, if [the slave] stands for a day or two**** he shall not be avenged, since he is his silver.

‘And when men quarrel’ means contention among them regarding truths. ‘And a man strikes his companion with a stone or a fist’ means the weakening of one [particular truth] by some factual truth or by some general truth. ‘And he does not die’ means, and it is not wiped out. ‘And lies down in bed’ means separated in the natural. ‘If he rises up and walks outside on his staff’ means strength of life in that truth. ‘The striker shall be innocent’ means being not guilty of evil. ‘But he shall pay for his cessation [from work]’ means making good again. ‘And thoroughly cure him’ means restoration. ‘And when a man strikes his male slave or his female slave with a rod’ means if anyone within the Church mistreats a factual truth or an affection for it from his own power. ‘And [the slave] dies under his hand’ means so that it is wiped out under his contemplation. ‘He shall certainly be avenged’ means the punishment of death. ‘However, if he stands for a day or two’ means a state of life remaining until it is full. ‘He shall not be avenged’ means no punishment of death. ‘Since he is his silver’ means that which has been acquired from the self.
* i.e. is confined to bed
** i.e. recompense him for the time he has been unable to work
*** i.e. see to it that he makes a full recovery
**** i.e. does not die within two days after being struck

sRef Ex@21 @18 S0′ 9024. ‘And when men quarrel’ means contention among them regarding truths. This is clear from the meaning of ‘quarrelling’ as contending, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘men’ as those who have intelligence and are guided by truths, and in the abstract sense intellectual concepts, and truths, dealt with in 3134, 9007. Consequently ‘quarrelling by men’ means contention regarding truths that takes place among those belonging to the Church, and in the abstract sense such contention taking place within oneself. For in the spiritual sense ‘quarrelling’ is contention regarding such things as are the concern of the Church, therefore regarding matters of faith. Nothing other than this is meant in the Word by ‘quarrelling’, because the Word is spiritual and deals with spiritual matters, that is, with those which have to do with the Lord, His kingdom in heaven, and His kingdom on earth, which is the Church. The fact that ‘quarrelling’ in the Word means contention regarding truths, and in general contention in support of truths against falsities, as well as defence against and deliverance from falsities, is evident from the following places:

sRef Jer@50 @34 S2′ sRef Jer@25 @31 S2′ sRef Jer@25 @32 S2′ [2] In Jeremiah,

A clamour is coming even to the end of the earth, because Jehovah’s quarrel is against the nations. Judgement will come in with all flesh; He will hand the wicked over to the sword. Behold, evil will go out from nation to nation, and a great tempest will be raised up from the sides of the earth. Jer 25:31, 32.

In these prophetic statements a perverted state of the Church is described. ‘A clamour’ is contention in support of falsities against truths and in support of evils against forms of good, ‘the earth’ being the Church. ‘Jehovah’s quarrel is against the nations’ is contention by the Lord in support of truths against falsities, and in support of forms of good against evils, thus also defence, ‘the nations’ being falsities and evils. ‘The sword’ is falsity engaged in conflict and conquering, ‘a great tempest’ is falsity reigning, and ‘the sides of the earth’ are the place where falsities arising from evil burst out.

sRef Lam@3 @58 S3′ sRef Micah@6 @1 S3′ sRef Isa@57 @16 S3′ sRef Ps@119 @154 S3′ sRef Hos@12 @2 S3′ [3] In the same prophet,

Jehovah will act for them in their quarrel*, that He may give rest to the land. Jer. 50:34.

‘Acting for them in their quarrel’ stands for defending truths against falsities and delivering, ‘the land’ standing for the Church, which has ‘rest’ when it is governed by good and consequently guided by truths. In the same prophet,

O Lord, You have acted for my soul in its quarrels,** You have delivered my life. Lam. 3:58.

‘Acting for the soul in its quarrels’ stands for defending and delivering from falsities. In David,

Act for me in my a, quarrel*** and redeem me; give me life according to Your word. Ps. 119:154.

Here also ‘acting in the quarrel’ stands for delivering from falsities. In Micah,

Quarrel with the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. Micah 6:1.

‘Quarrelling with the mountains’ stands for contending and defending against the haughty, and also against the evils of self-love. ‘The hills which will hear the voice’ are the humble and those who have charity. In Isaiah,

I will not quarrel eternally, nor will I be angry forever. Isa. 57:16.

‘Quarrelling’ stands for contending against falsities. In Hosea, Jehovah has a quarrel wit Judah. Hosea 12:2

Here the meaning is similar. There are other places in addition to these.
* lit. will quarrel their quarrel, i.e. will plead their cause
** lit. You have quarrelled my soul’s quarrels
*** lit. Quarrel my quarrel

sRef Ex@21 @18 S0′ sRef Isa@58 @4 S1′ 9025. ‘And a man strikes his companion with a stone or a fist’ means the weakening of one [particular truth] by some factual truth or by some general truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘striking’ as injuring, dealt with in 7136, 7146, 9007, at this point weakening since it refers to truths contained in factual knowledge; from the meaning of ‘a stone’ as truth, dealt with in 643, 1298, 3720, 3769, 3771, 3773, 3789, 3798, 6426, 8941 – truth on the lowest level of order, that is, within the natural, which is factual truth, 8609; and from the meaning of ‘a fist’ as general truth. For ‘the hand’ means the power that truth possesses, 3091, 4931, 7188, 7189, and therefore ‘the fist’ means full power from general truth. The expression ‘general truth’ describes what has been received and prevails in all parts. Consequently the words ‘striking with a fist’ mean with full force and power – in the spiritual sense exerted through truths that spring from good, and in the contrary sense through falsities that arise from evil. Those words are used in the latter sense in Isaiah,

Behold, you fast for quarrel and contention, to strike with the fist of wickedness. Isa. 58:4.

‘Striking with the fist of wickedness’ stands for doing so with full force exerted through falsities arising from evil.

[2] What it is to weaken some truth that the Church possesses by means of factual truth or general truth must be explained. The expression ‘factual truths’ is used to mean truths derived from the literal sense of the Word. General truths derived from there are those which have been accepted by ordinary people and as a result occur in everyday conversation. Such truths are very many, and prevail with much force. But the literal sense of the Word is for simple people, for those who are being introduced into more internal truths of faith and for those who do not understand internal ones. For that sense accords with what a person ruled by the senses sees, that is, it accords with that level of understanding. This explains why statements that are dissimilar, seemingly contradicting one another, appear many times there. In one place, for example, it may say that the Lord leads into temptation, in another that He does not; in one that the Lord repents, in another that He does not; in one that in His actions the Lord is moved by anger and wrath, in another by pure forbearance and mercy; in one that souls are presented for judgement immediately after death, in another at the time of the last judgement; and so on. Because such statements are derived from the literal sense of the Word they are called factual truths; and they are different from the truths of faith that compose the teachings of the Church. For the truths of faith arise out of the literal statements through explanation of them; for when they are explained a member of the Church is taught that such statements occur in the Word on account of people’s level of understanding and in accordance with the appearance. So it is also that in very many instances the teachings of the Church depart from the literal sense of the Word. It should be realized that the genuine teachings of the Church are what the expression ‘internal sense’ describes at this point; for the internal sense contains truths such as angels in heaven possess.

[3] Among the priests and the members of the Church there are those who teach and learn the Church’s truths from the literal sense of the Word, and there are those who teach and learn them from teachings drawn from the Word, called the Church’s doctrine of faith. The perception of the second group is very different indeed from that of the first; yet ordinary people cannot tell them apart because both groups speak from the Word in almost the same way. However those who teach and learn solely the literal sense of the Word without guidance from the teachings of the Church grasp no more than matters that concern the natural or external man, whereas those guided by genuine teachings drawn from the Word understand in addition the matters that concern the spiritual or internal man. The reason for this is that the Word in the external or literal sense is natural, but in the internal sense it is spiritual. In the Word the first is called ‘the cloud’, but the second ‘the glory in the cloud’, 5922, 6343 (end), 6752, 8106, 8781.

[4] From all this one may now see what is meant by contention among them regarding truths, and by a weakening of one [particular truth] by some factual truth or some general truth. A factual or a general truth is a truth derived from the literal sense of the Word, as has been stated; and since they are dissimilar and seemingly contradictory, sometimes they cannot do other than weaken the spiritual truths that constitute the teachings of the Church. They are weakened when doubt enters a person’s thinking because places in the Word say the opposite of one other. This state regarding the truths of faith as they exist with a person is the subject here in the internal sense.

sRef Ex@21 @18 S0′ 9026. ‘And he does not die’ means, and it is not wiped out. This is clear from the meaning of ‘dying’ as ceasing to be such, dealt with in 494, 6587, 6593, and therefore as being wiped out, at this point not being wiped out. Since the internal sense deals here with the agreement of the truths of faith with things stated in the literal sense of the Word, and since things stated in the literal sense of the Word cannot be wiped out, being truths on the lowest level of order, no reference is made here to a man who is struck and as a result dies, only to a man who is struck but does not as a result die. For things stated in the literal sense of the Word can, it is true, be weakened but they cannot be wiped out; and also after they have been weakened they can be separated, and then be restored by the use of explanations. This is what is meant by the regulations regarding a man who, having been struck by a companion, rises up and walks on his staff.

[2] A person who probes into the inner contents of the Word can see that there was some hidden reason – a reason beyond human understanding unless this is enlightened by the light of heaven – why the Lord stipulated that the striker should be guiltless if the one who had been struck rose from his bed and walked outside on his staff; and especially why the Lord stipulated that no vengeance should be taken on someone if he strikes his slave but the slave does not die within a day or two, because he is his silver (in spite of the fact that it is the taking of human being’s life, for one who is a slave is still a human being). But the hidden reason why the Lord made these stipulations is not evident except with the aid of the internal sense, in which the Church’s truths derived from the Word are the subject. What can happen to these truths is similar, for by a man quarrelling with and striking his companion, and also by a man striking his male or female slave, are meant the kinds of things to which those actions correspond in the spiritual sense, which are being explained here. Among the Israelite nation it was a representative Church that was established, that is, a Church in which the inner realities of heaven and the Church were to be represented by means of outward things. Therefore things were stipulated, indeed commanded, such as would cease to have any validity as laws once the Lord had disclosed and revealed the inner realities of the Church. Since then people have been required to lead an inward life, which is a life of faith and charity, as well as an outward life shaped by inner realities.

sRef Ex@21 @18 S0′ 9027. ‘And lies down in bed’ means separated in the natural. This is clear from the meaning of ‘lying down’ as being separated; and from the meaning of ‘bed’ as the natural, dealt with in 6188, 6226, 6463. The implications of this will be evident from what follows below.

sRef Isa@3 @1 S0′ sRef Ex@21 @19 S0′ sRef Ps@18 @19 S0′ sRef Ps@18 @18 S0′ 9028. ‘If he rises up and walks outside on his staff’ means strength of life in that truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘rising up’ as implying some kind of raising up, at this point of spiritual truth to agreement with factual truth; from the meaning of ‘walking’ as living, dealt with in 519, 1794, 8417, 8420; and from the meaning of ‘staff’ as strength. For ‘rod’ means the power that truth possesses, and so means strength, 4876, 4936, 6947, 7011, 7026; and ‘staff’ has a similar meaning, though it is used in reference to those who are not strong and well. The word is also used in this way in David,

They confronted me on the day of my ruin, but Jehovah was my staff and brought me out into a broad place. Ps. 18:18, 19.

‘The day of ruin’ stands for a state when the belief in truth is weak; ‘Jehovah was a staff’ stands for power then; and ‘bringing out into a broad place’ stands for leading into the truths of faith, for which meaning of ‘bringing out into a broad place’, see 4482. In Isaiah also,

The Lord Jehovah Zebaoth is taking away from Jerusalem and Judah rod and staff, the whole rod of bread, and the whole rod of water. Isa. 3:1.

‘Taking away rod and staff’ stands for removing the power and strength of life received from truth and good, ‘the rod of bread’ standing for the power received from good, and ‘the rod of water’ for the power received from truth. In the original language the noun ‘staff’ is derived from a verb meaning to lean on and be supported by, which is done in the spiritual world by means of truth and good.

sRef Ex@21 @19 S0′ 9029. ‘The striker shall be innocent’ means being not guilty of evil. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being innocent’ as not being guilty of evil, for the subject is those people who from a certain spiritual truth look at some factual truth (a spiritual truth being a truth from the Word that forms part of the teachings and belief of the Church, and a factual truth being a truth derived from the literal sense of the Word) and do not see agreement between the two, for whom the spiritual truth is therefore weakened and separated for a time, though they do not reject or banish it – these people being the ones who are said not to be guilty of evil; and from the meaning of ‘striking’ as weakening, as above in 9025.

sRef Ex@21 @19 S0′ 9030. ‘But he shall pay for his cessation [from work]’ means making good again. This is clear from the meaning of ‘[paying for] the cessation’ as making good again, at this point making good again the spiritual truth that has been weakened by the factual truth. Spiritual truth describes the truth which together with good constitutes the internal man’s life, whereas factual truth describes the truth which constitutes the external man’s life. The latter is derived from the literal sense of the Word, but the former from the internal sense of the Word, thus also from the genuine teachings that compose the Church’s faith, for these teachings are the teachings contained in the internal sense.

sRef Ex@21 @19 S0′ 9031. ‘And thoroughly cure him’ means restoration, that is to say, through explanation; for if statements in the literal sense of the Word are looked at on a more internal level, all are in agreement. The situation here is as it is with statements in the Word which speak of the sun’s rising or setting, though in reality it neither rises nor sets. However, it presents the appearance of doing so to inhabitants on earth, because of the earth’s daily rotation on its axis. This natural truth lies hidden within the former, which accords with the appearance presented to the eyes. If the truth had been stated in the Word contrary to that appearance, the common people would not have understood it; and what the common people do not understand they do not believe either. It is similar with the Sun of heaven, which is the Lord; this too is said to rise. But it is said to rise in the heart when a person is being regenerated, and also when he is governed by the good of love and faith; and it is said to set when a person is immersed in evil and in falsity arising from it. But in reality the Lord is always where the sun is rising, for which reason also He is called the Sunrise or the East, and never where it is setting. Nor does He turn away from anyone; rather a person turns away from Him, which is the reason for the appearance that the Lord turns His face away, and even brings about what is ill. Therefore also such a thing is said of Him in the Word; and that too is a truth, though it is an apparent truth, and so does not conflict with the former. From all this one may now see what ‘thoroughly curing’ means in the internal sense, namely the restoration of spiritual truth, which is brought about by correct explanation of factual truth, or truth belonging to the literal sense of the Word.

[2] The situation is just the same with every truth that belongs to the literal sense. In natural light, which a person who perceives things on a sensory level possesses, that truth is seen as it is actually stated in the Word. For the literal sense is natural and is for those who perceive things on a sensory level. But when the same truth is presented in the light of heaven it is seen according to the internal sense; for this sense is spiritual and is for those whose perception lies on a heavenly level, because the things that belong to natural light vanish in the light of heaven. Natural light is like gloom or like a cloud, but heavenly light is like the glory and brightness after the cloud has been removed. Therefore also the literal sense of the Word is called ‘a cloud’ and the internal sense ‘the glory’, see Preface to Genesis 18, and 4391, 5922, 6343, 8106, 8443, 8781.

sRef Isa@53 @5 S3′ sRef Isa@19 @22 S3′ [3] The reason why ‘thoroughly curing’ means restoring in the spiritual sense is that ‘sickness’ and ‘illness’ mean poor health of the internal man. The internal man is in poor health when its life, which is spiritual life, is sick, that is, when the person turns aside from truth to falsity and from good to evil. When this happens that life is sick; and when the person turns away completely from truth and good that life dies. But its death is called spiritual death, which is damnation. This being the situation with the life of the internal man, such things as constitute sicknesses and death in the natural world refer, when spoken of in the Word, to sicknesses of spiritual life and to the death of that life. So too with curings or healings from sickness, as in Isaiah,

Jehovah strikes Egypt striking and curing, as a consequence of which they turn themselves towards Jehovah; and He will be entreated by them, and He will cure them. Isa. 19:22.

In the same prophet,

But He was pierced because of our transgressions, bruised because of our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are cured.* Isa 53:5.

These words refer to the Lord.

sRef Jer@46 @11 S4′ sRef Ezek@47 @12 S4′ sRef Jer@33 @6 S4′ sRef Jer@3 @22 S4′ [4] In Jeremiah,

Return, O perverse children, I will cure you of backsliding.** Jer. 3:22.

In the same prophet,

Behold, I will bring curing and remedy to it;*** and I will cure them and reveal to them the abundance of peace, and truth. Jer. 33:6.

In the same prophet,

Go up to Gilead, and take balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt! In vain you have multiplied medicaments; there is no curing for you. Jer. 46:11.

And in Ezekiel,

Beside the river there is rising up upon its bank, on this side and on that, [every] tree for food, whose leaf does not fall, and whose fruit does not fail it is reborn monthly, for its waters flow out from the sanctuary, wherefore its fruit is for food, and its leaf for medicaments. Ezek. 47:12.

‘Fruit for food’ stands for the good of love and charity, which serves to nourish spiritual life, and ‘leaf for medicaments’ for the truths of faith which serve to refresh and restore that life. For the meaning of ‘fruit’ as the good of love and charity, see 3146, 7690; and for the meaning of ‘leaf’ as the truth of faith, 885.

[5] Since sicknesses and illnesses, also curings and medicaments, mentioned in the Word do not refer to natural life but to another kind of life distinct and separate from natural life, it is evident to anyone who ponders on the matter for a while that a person possesses another kind of life, which belongs to his internal man. Those who think materialistically of the life a person has do not believe that he has any life other than that of the body which is the life of the external or natural man. They wonder what the life of the internal man may be, indeed what the internal man may be. If they are told that this life is the life of faith and charity, and that the internal man is the person’s spirit which lives after death, and which in essence is the real person, they wonder all the more. And those of them who live solely for the body and not for the soul, thus who are altogether natural people, understand nothing of what they are told about the life of faith and charity or about the internal man. For when they think, they see things altogether in natural light and not at all in spiritual light, on account of which also after death their thought remains materialistic. They live then ‘in the shadow of death’, that is, steeped in falsities arising from evil; they are in utter darkness and are blind to the light of heaven.
* lit. and in His wound curing has been given to us
** lit. cure your turnings away
*** lit. I will cause curing and remedy to go up to it

sRef Ex@21 @19 S0′ 9032. These last two verses have dealt with spiritual truth – which is truth derived from the Word that composes the teachings and belief of the Church – when it has been weakened by factual truth, which is truth as stated in the literal sense of the Word. But since the common belief is that truth composing the teachings and belief of the Church is one and the same as truth as stated in the literal sense of the Word, let an example serve to shed light on the matter. One genuine truth taught by the Church is that charity towards the neighbour and love to the Lord make the Church with a person, and that these kinds of love are instilled by the Lord through faith, that is, through the truths of faith obtained from the Word, so that faith alone does not make the Church. A person who has embraced this truth and goes to the Word finds it corroborated everywhere. Yet when he comes up against words that speak about faith without any mention at the same time of love, he hesitates and starts to have doubts about the truth he has been taught to believe. As a consequence that truth is for a time weakened and separated from the rest which he still believes and does not doubt.

sRef Mark@16 @16 S2′ [2] Let the Lord’s words in Mark about faith serve as an illustration.

One who believes and is baptized will be saved; but one who does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16:16.

Because these words refer to faith and not at the same time to love the mind may hesitate and have doubts about the truth it has been taught, which is that heavenly love instilled through the truths of faith makes the Church. But when this factual truth – that is, truth as it is stated in the literal sense of the Word – is looked at on a more internal level, it is seen to be in agreement nevertheless with the truth as religious teachings present it. For in the internal sense ‘being baptized’ means being regenerated, 4255, 5120 (end), and being regenerated is being led into the good of love and charity by means of the truths of faith, 8548-8553, 8635-8640, 8742 8747 From this it is clear that the truth as stated in the literal sense of the Word agrees with the truth as presented in religious teachings, provided that what is meant spiritually by ‘being baptized’ is understood. And the reason why it says that ‘one who does not believe will be condemned’ is that an unbeliever cannot be baptized, that is, be regenerated, nor therefore be introduced into the Church, let alone become a Church. For baptism is the symbol of regeneration, and so of introduction into the Church, which is accomplished [by introduction] into good by means of truths from the Word.

[3] From all this it is now evident how to understand the things that are meant in the internal sense when it says that a man striking his companion with a stone or a fist – and the companion does not die, but lies down in bed – shall be innocent if the companion rises up and walks on his staff, but that he must pay for his cessation [from work], and thoroughly cure him. The meaning in the internal sense is that if a truth contained in the teachings and belief of the Church has been weakened by a factual truth which is derived from the literal sense of the Word, weakened but not wiped out, it is to be made good again and restored, which is accomplished by right explanation.

sRef Ex@21 @19 S0′ sRef Matt@10 @28 S0′ 9033. The last two verses have dealt with the weakening of spiritual truth, that is, truth contained in the teachings and belief of the Church. But the two verses which follow next deal with the weakening of factual truth, which belongs to the literal sense of the Word, by spiritual truth, which is contained in the teachings and belief of the Church. This, it is true, appears to be a similar matter to that in the previous paragraph; but it is not similar. Therefore let an example again be used to clarify it. One spiritual truth or genuine truth contained in the teachings and belief of the Church is that the Lord punishes no one, since He is Mercy itself, and therefore whatever He does, He does because He is merciful and in no way at all because He is angry and vengeful. And yet the Lord says in Matthew,

Do not fear those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather, fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in Gehenna. Matt. 10:28.

Here it says that God should be feared because He is able to destroy body and soul in Gehenna, when in fact He destroys no one; but it is still a truth. Therefore it must not be dispensed with, that is, denied, because if it is denied, faith in the Word perishes. And if that perishes a person cannot have any spiritual life within himself, for spiritual life comes to a person from the Word through faith.

[2] The truth of the matter is this: It is a law of Divine order that good holds within itself its own reward, which is heaven. So too evil holds within itself its own punishment, which is hell. The first law begins in the Lord, since the Lord intends good to all; but not so the second, since the Lord intends ill to none. It nevertheless comes about, not because of the Lord but because of the person immersed in evil, thus because of evil itself. Yet such ill is attributed to the Lord in the literal sense of the Word, because He appears to be the cause of it. Therefore since it is an apparent truth it must not be denied, that is, must not be disposed of; for faith in the Word, simple people’s faith, would thereby be disposed of, see 2447, 6071, 6991, 6997, 7533, 7632, 7643, 7679, 7710, 7877, 7926, 8197, 8227, 8228, 8282, 8483, 8631, 8632, 9010.

sRef Ex@21 @20 S0′ 9034. ‘And when a man strikes his male slave or his female slave [with a rod]’ means if anyone within the Church mistreats a factual truth or an affection for it from his own power. This is clear from the meaning of ‘striking’ as mistreating, for ‘striking’ refers to inflicting any kind of hurt; from the meaning of ‘a man’, here a man from among the children of Israel, as a member of the Church and therefore one in possession of spiritual truth, which is truth derived from the Word and contained in the teachings and belief of the Church, dealt with in 6426, 6637, 6862, 6868, 7035, 7062, 7198, 7201, 7215, 7223, 7957, 8234, 8805; from the meaning of ‘male slave’ as factual truth, which is truth belonging to the Word, as stated in its literal sense, dealt with below; from the meaning of ‘a female slave’ as a natural affection, thus an affection for known facts, since these reside in the natural, dealt with in 1895, 2567, 3835, 3849, 8993, 8994; and from the meaning of ‘a rod’ as the power of the natural, dealt with in 4876, 4936, 6947, 7011, 7026, at this point a person’s own power, since it is speaking in regard to a slave who had been bought. From all this it is evident that ‘when a man strikes his male slave or his female slave’ means if anyone within the Church mistreats a factual truth in the Word or an affection for it.

[2] The reason why ‘a male slave’ means truth belonging to the literal sense of the Word is that in general ‘a slave’ means lower or more external things, because these things serve higher or more internal ones, 2541, 5161, 5164, 5936, 7143. From this general meaning ‘a slave’ means the natural, because this serves the spiritual, 3019, 3020, 5305, 7998; and following on from this it means factual truth belonging to the literal sense of the Word, for this truth serves spiritual truth belonging to the internal sense. Truth belonging to the internal sense of the Word is the same as genuine truth contained in the teachings that compose the Church’s faith.

[3] In what way truth belonging to the literal sense of the Word serves spiritual truth must be stated briefly. A member of the Church first of all learns truth from the literal sense of the Word. This is general truth suited to the understanding of the external man, who dwells in natural light. That truth is received by an external route, which is that of hearing, and is stored in the external man’s memory, where there are also various pieces of knowledge gained from the world, 2469-2494. Later on matters stored in this memory come under the vision or gaze of the internal man, who sees things in the light of heaven. The internal man selects and summons from among them truths that are in agreement with the good which flows in from the Lord by way of the soul and which the person has accepted. There the Lord joins the truths to the good. The truths joined in that way in the internal man are called spiritual truths, and the good to which the truths have been joined is called spiritual good. This good, given form by the truths, constitutes the person’s spiritual life. The actual truths there are called the truths of faith, and the good is called the good of charity. The good in which the truths have been implanted in that way is the Church with that person.

[4] From all this one may see how truths belonging to the literal sense of the Word serve to give form to spiritual truths, in general to give form to faith and charity which compose spiritual life – life which consists in being fired by an affection for truths because they lead to good, then by an affection for the good that the truths lead to, and finally by an affection for truths that flow from that good.

sRef Matt@25 @34 S0′ sRef Ex@21 @20 S0′ 9035. ‘And [the slave] dies under his hand’ means so that it is wiped out under his contemplation. This is clear from the meaning of ‘dying’ as being wiped out, as above in 9026; and from the meaning of ‘under his hand’ as under his contemplation, for ‘the hand’ means the power which spiritual truth possesses, 5327, 5328, 7011, thus the power of contemplation, for such power comes from truth and is discernment. Truths as stated in the literal sense of the Word which have been stored away in the natural man’s memory form so to speak a field there for the contemplation of the internal man into whom light from heaven flows. From this field the internal man chooses such things as are in agreement with the good in him, as stated above, just as a person’s eye selects from a cultivated field such things growing there as will help him to perform his duties in life.

sRef Ex@21 @20 S0′ 9036. ‘He shall certainly be avenged’ means the punishment of death. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being avenged’ or ‘taking vengeance’ as the punishment of death, in this instance spiritual death, which is damnation, since truth as stated in the literal sense of the Word is wiped out, and belief in the Word along with it. For the implications of this, see above in 9033, and also below in 9039.

sRef Ex@21 @21 S0′ 9037. ‘However, if he stands for a day or two’ means a state of life remaining until it is full. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a day’ as a state of life, dealt with in 893, 2788, 3785, 4850; and from the meaning of ‘two days’ as a succeeding state, 1335, thus a complete state, that is to say, of contemplation. For when one day is mentioned in the Word, or one week, one month, or one year, a whole period of time or a state is meant, 2906. And when ‘or two’ is added it means remaining until it is full.

sRef Ex@21 @21 S0′ 9038. ‘He shall not be avenged’ means no punishment of death. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being avenged’ as the punishment of death, as above in 9036.

sRef Ex@21 @21 S0′ 9039. ‘Since he is his silver’ means that which has been acquired from the self. This is clear from the meaning of ‘silver’ as truth, dealt with in 1551, 2954, 5658, 6112, 6914, 6917, at this point truth that has been acquired by the self since it refers to a slave who has been bought. The words ‘truth that has been acquired by the self’ describe that which a person believes to be the truth – even though it is not the truth – because he has drawn it from preconceptions adopted by the self. This is what truth is like with those who explain the Word without having been enlightened by the light of heaven, that is, who read it without an affection for truth for the sake of goodness of life, since they are unenlightened. If this truth is disposed of after full contemplation of it, there is no punishment of death, that is, no damnation, because it is not a spiritual Divine truth. But if it is disposed of before full contemplation, there is damnation, for it is a casting aside of the truth of faith itself. What has become part of anyone’s faith, even though not the truth, must not be cast aside without full contemplation of it. If it is cast aside before this the tender beginnings of spiritual life in the person are rooted out. For this reason also the Lord never breaks this kind of truth with a person, but so far as is possible He bends it.

[2] Let an example serve to shed light on this. Take someone who believes that the glory and consequently the joy of heaven consist in domination over many, and who uses this accepted idea to explain the Lord’s words which declare that the slaves who had earned ten minas and five minas were to have power over ten cities and over five cities, Luke 19:11-26, using also the Lord’s words to the disciples, that they would sit on thrones and would judge the twelve tribes of Israel, Luke 22:30. If that person disposes of his faith, which is a belief in truth he has acquired from the literal sense of the Word, before full contemplation of it, he causes the loss of his spiritual life. But if after full contemplation he uses other words to explain what the Lord said – the Lord’s words that whoever has the wish to be the greatest must be the least, and whoever has the wish to be the first must be the slave of all, Matt. 20:26-28; Mark 10:42-44; Luke 22:24-27 – then if he disposes of his belief that heavenly glory and joy come out of having dominion over many, he does not cause any loss of his spiritual life. For by ‘the cities’ over which those who had earned the mines were to have power are meant the truths of faith, 2268, 2449, 2712, 2943, 3216, and therefore intelligence and wisdom; and the same things are meant by ‘the thrones’ on which the disciples were going to sit, 2129, 6397.

[3] Those in heaven who by virtue of the truths of faith excel others in intelligence and wisdom are also so humble that they ascribe the whole of their power to the Lord and none whatever to themselves. Therefore they find no glory or joy at all in dominating, only in serving. And when this is their state they excel others in dominion, and also in glory and joy; but they do so not because of any wish to dominate, as has been stated, only because of a desire springing from love and charity, which is a desire to serve others. For the Lord flows in with power with those who are humble, but not with those who are haughty, because the humble accept His influx whereas the haughty reject it, 7489, 7491, 7492.

sRef Ex@21 @24 S0′ sRef Ex@21 @26 S0′ sRef Ex@21 @25 S0′ sRef Ex@21 @27 S0′ sRef Ex@21 @22 S0′ sRef Ex@21 @23 S0′ 9040. Verses 22-27 [And] when men brawl and inflict a blow on a pregnant woman, and her offspring come out, and no harm is done, [the one inflicting the blow] shall surely be fined, as the master of the woman* imposes on him; and he shall pay in accordance with the judges.** And if harm is done, you shall pay soul for soul, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, blow for blow. And when a man strikes the eye of his male slave, or the eye of his female slave, and destroys it, he shall send him away free for his eye. And if he strikes out the tooth of his male slave or the tooth of his female slave, he shall send him away free for his tooth.

‘And when men brawl’ means serious contention between truths. ‘And inflict a blow on a pregnant woman’ means injuring the good that is being formed out of truth. ‘And her offspring come out’ means if in spite of this it is made stronger in the natural. ‘And no harm is done’ means that thus no injury is caused there. ‘[The one inflicting the blow] shall surely be fined’ means amendment. ‘As the master of the woman imposes on him’ means till it agrees with the truth that goes with the good. ‘And he shall pay in accordance with the judges’ means according to what is right. ‘And if harm is done’ means injury. ‘You shall pay soul for soul’ means the law of order that you shall do to your neighbour as you wish him to do to you, and therefore that it shall be done to you as you do to another, ‘soul’ meaning spiritual life. ‘Eye for eye’ means if anything [is injured by them] in the inner part of the understanding. ‘Tooth for tooth’ means if anything [is injured] in the outer part of the understanding. ‘Hand for hand’ means if anything of the power of spiritual truth [is injured]. ‘Foot for foot’ means if anything of the power of natural truth [is injured]. ‘Burning for burning’ means if anything of love and affection present in the inward part of the will [is injured]. ‘Wound for wound’ means if anything of love and affection present in the outward part of the will [is injured]. ‘Blow for blow’ means if anything of affection in the understanding is wiped out or injured. ‘And when a man strikes the eye of his male slave’ means if the internal man injures the truth of faith in the external or natural man. ‘Or the eye of his female slave’ means if he injures an affection for truth there. ‘And destroys it’ means so that it wipes it out.*** ‘He shall send him away free for the eye’ means that it cannot serve the internal man any longer. ‘And if he strikes out the tooth of his male slave or the tooth of his female slave’ means if it destroys truth or the affection for it on the level of the senses. ‘He shall send him away free for his tooth’ means that it cannot serve the internal man any longer.
* i.e. the woman’s man or husband
** i.e. as the judges determine
*** Reading ut exstinxerit (so that it wipes out), as in 9060, for si destruxerit (if it destroys)

sRef Ex@21 @22 S0′ 9041. ‘And when men brawl’ means serious contention between truths. This is clear from the meaning of ‘brawling’ as serious contention; and from the meaning of ‘men’, at this point from among the children of Israel, as those who belong to the Church and know its truths, in the abstract sense as the Church’s truths, dealt with above in 9034.

sRef Ex@21 @22 S0′ 9042. ‘And inflict a blow on a pregnant woman’ means injuring the good that is being formed out of truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘inflicting a blow’ as injuring; and from the meaning of ‘a pregnant woman’ as forming good out of truth. The reason why this is meant by ‘a pregnant woman’ is that a person’s regeneration, which is the generation of spiritual life with him, is meant in the internal sense by the generation of his natural life received from his parents. When a person is born anew he is first conceived, then carried in the womb so to speak, and finally born. And since regeneration or the generation of spiritual life consists in the joining together of truth and good, that is, of faith and charity, ‘carrying in the womb’ means developing truth into good. From this one may see what ‘a pregnant woman’ means, namely a state in which good is being formed out of truths.

The womb means the place in which truth and good have been conceived and are lying, see 4918, 6433.

‘Being in the womb, and ‘going out of the womb’ mean being regenerated, 4904, 8043.

‘Generations and ‘births’ are those of faith and charity, 613, 1145, 1255, 2020, 2584, 6239.

sRef Jer@31 @8 S2′ [2] A state in which good is being formed out of truths is again meant by ‘a pregnant woman’, in Jeremiah,

Behold, I am bringing them from the north land, and I will gather them from the furthest parts of the earth, among them the blind one and the lame, the pregnant one and her who is giving birth, together. Jer. 31 :8.

This refers in the internal sense to a new Church established by the Lord. In that sense ‘bringing them from the north land’ means bringing them away from obscurity of faith, 3708; ‘the furthest parts of the earth’ from which they will be gathered are the places where the Church’s truth and good begin, ‘the earth’ being the Church, 566, 662, 1066, 1067, 1262, 1413, 1607, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118 (end), 2928, 3355, 4535, 4447, 5577, 8011, 8732, and ‘the furthest parts of it’ being the places where its first and outermost boundaries are. ‘The blind one’ means those who have no knowledge of truth but accept the truth when taught it, 2383, 6990; ‘the lame’ means those who are governed by good, but not by genuine good because they have no knowledge of truth, 4302; ‘the pregnant one’ means those with whom good is being given form by means of truths; and ‘her who is giving birth’ means those leading a life of faith realized in action, 3905, 3915, 3919. It may be recognized that things of this nature are meant there from the further consideration that otherwise it would have been superfluous and pointless to mention ‘the blind one and the lame, the pregnant one and her who is giving birth, together’.

sRef Ex@21 @22 S0′ 9043. ‘And her offspring come out’ means if in spite of this it is made stronger in the natural. This is clear from the meaning of ‘coming out’ – when it refers to good that is being formed out of truths – as the passing of that good from the internal or spiritual man into the external or natural man, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘offspring’ as forms of good that have developed out of truths and then been acknowledged because they are both known and perceived and thereby been made stronger. For ‘bearing offspring’ in the spiritual sense means acknowledging in faith and action, 3905, 3915, 3919, 6585. The situation is that a person who is conceived anew, carried so to speak in the womb, and born – that is, who is being regenerated – first of all takes in from the teachings of the Church or from the Word matters of faith and charity. These are stored away at this time among items of knowledge in the memory that belongs to the external or natural man. From there they are summoned into the internal man and stored away in the memory belonging to the internal man. Regarding both these memories a person possesses, see 2469 2494. This is the beginning of spiritual life with a person; but the person is not as yet regenerate. For him to be regenerate his external or natural man must be subservient, and as a result must be in agreement with his internal man.

A person has not been regenerated until his external or natural man has also been regenerated, see 8742-8747.

The external man is regenerated by the Lord by means of the internal, 3286, 3321, 3493, 4588, 5651, 6299, 8746.

The whole person has been regenerated when his natural has been, 7442, 7443.

[2] Now seeing that aspects of regeneration are expressed in the Word by the phases of a person’s generation or birth from his parents in the world, one may recognize from the process of regeneration described above what is understood or meant in the spiritual sense by ‘conception’, ‘being carried in the womb’, ‘going out of the womb’, and ‘offspring’. That is to say, ‘going out of the womb’ means passing from the internal man into the external or natural man; and ‘offspring’ means spiritual good, or the good of charity springing from the truths of faith, that comes from the internal man and is present in the external or natural. When good is present in the natural, then the person is new. Good now constitutes his life, and truths emanating from good constitute his outward form He is like an angel, for good constitutes angels’ life and truths their outward form, which is the human form. But this makes no sense to the natural man.

sRef Ex@21 @22 S0′ 9044. ‘And no harm is done’ means that thus no injury is caused there – in the natural. This is clear without explanation.

sRef Ex@21 @22 S0′ 9045. ‘[The one inflicting the blow] shall surely be fined’ means amendment. This is clear from the meaning of ‘fining’ as amending; for a fine is imposed for the sake of amendment.

sRef Ex@21 @22 S0′ 9046. ‘As the master of the woman imposes on him’ means till it agrees with the truth that goes with the good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘as he imposes on him’, when it refers to a fine, as amendment to the point of satisfaction, thus to the point at which there is agreement, dealt with below; from the meaning of ‘the master’ – ‘the master of the woman’, that is, her man or husband – as truth; and from the meaning of ‘the woman’ as good. For ‘the master of a woman’, or her man, in the spiritual sense of the Word means truth, and ‘the woman’ good, because the marriage of a man to a woman represents the marriage of truth and good, 915, 2517, 4510, 4823. ‘Amendment till it agrees’ is used to mean compensating for injury caused through premature birth, in the spiritual sense through the delivery of good springing from truths or the sending out of such good from the internal man into the external or natural man in a way that is not right and orderly. The compensation has been paid or the restoration made when agreement is reached; and this is reached when the external or natural man does not act independently but under the direction of the internal or spiritual man. For the internal must reside within the external, or the spiritual within the natural, as the soul does within its body. When this comes about the external or natural receives its life from the life of the internal, which is the new life or the life a regenerated person has.

sRef Ex@21 @22 S0′ 9047. ‘And shall pay in accordance with the judges’ means according to what is right. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the judges’ as those who decide and settle matters on the basis of what is fair and right, and therefore ‘paying in accordance with the judges’, or as the judges estimate, means according to what is right, thus neither more nor less. If overpayment or likewise underpayment has been made they shall adjust to the right amount.

sRef Ex@21 @23 S0′ 9048. ‘And if harm is done’ means injury. This is clear without explanation.

sRef Ex@21 @23 S0′ 9049. ‘You shall pay soul for soul’ means the law of order that you shall do to your neighbour as you wish him to do to you, and therefore that it shall be done to you as you do to another. This is clear from the fact that paying soul for soul, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, and so on, means having done to you what you would do to another. The reason why this law was given to the children of Israel was that a similar law exists in the spiritual world. Anyone there who does good to another with all his heart receives good in like measure; and therefore one who does evil to another with all his heart receives evil in like measure. For good done with all one’s heart carries its own reward together with it, and evil done with all one’s heart carries its own punishment together with it. So it is that heaven is the reward for good people, and hell the punishment for evil ones. Considerable experience has allowed me to know that this is so. The situation with both groups is as follows. With someone who does good with all his heart good is flowing in from heaven on every side into his heart and soul and inspiring him greatly to act as he does. At the same time love and affection for the neighbour to whom he does the good is increasing, and with this love and affection a delight that is heavenly delight, beyond description. The reason why all this happens is that the good of love from the Lord reigns everywhere in heaven, flowing in unceasingly in the same measure as it is being given out to another. Similarly with someone evil who does evil to another with all his heart. Evil on every side is flowing in from hell into his heart and spurring him on greatly to act as he does. At the same time selfish love and affection is increasing, and with them the delight born of hatred and vengeance against those unsubmissive to him. The reason why all this happens is that the evil of self-love reigns everywhere in hell, flowing in unceasingly in the same measure as it is given out to another. When this happens those who punish are immediately present, and they deal roughly with the evil-doer. In this way evil along with its delight is kept in check.

[2] These things are so because the laws of order in the next life are not learned from books and then stored away in the memory, as they are with people in the world. Rather they are laws written on the heart, laws of evil on the heart of those who are evil, and laws of good on the heart of those who are good. For everyone takes with him into the next life that which has been fixed in his heart by his life in the world, that is to say evil in the case of evil people and good in the case of good ones.

sRef Matt@7 @12 S3′ [3] The law of order from which these things follow is that which the Lord has taught in Matthew,

All things whatever you wish people to do to you, do also to them; this is the Law and the Prophets. Matt. 7:12; Luke 6:31.

Order arises out of Divine Truth which comes from the Lord. In heaven the laws of order are truths springing from good, but in hell they are truths separated from good. They are said to be separated not on account of what the Lord does but of what man does. Good is separated when it is unreceived.

sRef Matt@5 @42 S4′ sRef Matt@5 @38 S4′ sRef Matt@5 @41 S4′ sRef Matt@5 @40 S4′ sRef Lev@24 @22 S4′ sRef Matt@5 @39 S4′ sRef Lev@24 @18 S4′ sRef Lev@24 @19 S4′ sRef Lev@24 @21 S4′ sRef Lev@24 @20 S4′ [4] The law called the law of retaliation is set out in Leviticus as follows,

Whoever strikes the soul of a beast shall make restitution, soul for soul. If a man has caused disfigurement in his neighbour as he has done, so shall it be done to him – fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. As he has caused disfigurement in a person, so shall it be paid out to him. One striking a beast shall make restitution, and one striking a human being shall be killed. Lev. 24:17-21.

Since evil carries its own punishment with it the Lord says that one should not resist evil. At the same time He explains what this law means for those in the spiritual world who are governed by good, in their relations with those ruled by evil, in the following words in Matthew,

You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I say, Evil is not to be resisted. But whoever smacks you on your right jaw, turn the other to him also. And if anyone wishes to drag you to court and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to everyone asking from you, and from him desiring to receive a loan from you, do not turn away. Matt. 5:38-42.

sRef John@12 @40 S5′ sRef Luke@8 @10 S5′ [5] Who can fail to see that these words should not be taken literally? Who is going to turn his left jaw to one who has smacked him on the right jaw? Who is going to give his cloak to one who wishes to take away his tunic? Who is going to give what he has to all who ask for it? And who will not resist evil? But these words cannot be understood by anyone who does not know what the right jaw and the left, tunic and cloak, a mile, a loan, and all the rest are being used to mean. The subject in these verses is spiritual life or the life of faith, not natural life, which is the life of the world. In this chapter and the next the Lord reveals things of a more internal nature that belong to heaven; but He has done so by means of the kinds of things that exist in the world. He used such things in order that worldly-minded people might not understand them, only heavenly-minded people. And the reason why the worldly-minded people should be prevented from understanding was so that they would not profane the more internal truths of the Word; for by profaning these truths those people would cast themselves into the most horrible hell of all, which is the hell of profaners of the Word. This explains why the Lord has said in Luke,

To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to everyone else in parables, that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not hear. Luke 8:10.

And in John,

Isaiah said, He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they should see with their eyes and understand with their heart, and should be converted and I should heal them. John 12:40.

It says ‘lest I heal them’ because those who are healed but then go back to falsities and evils commit profanation. These are the ones who are meant in Matthew 12:43-45.

[6] But what the Lord’s words quoted above are used to mean in the internal sense must be stated now. They refer in the internal sense to those who wish to use falsities to destroy the truths of faith, that is, to destroy the spiritual life with a person when he is undergoing temptation, or suffering persecution, and with good spirits when they are subject to molestations from evil spirits. ‘The jaw’ means an affection for interior truth, ‘the right jaw’ being an affection for truth derived from good; ‘smacking’ means the act of injuring that affection; ‘tunic’ and ‘cloak’ mean truth in an outward form, 4677, 4741, 4742; ‘dragging to court’ means trying to destroy; ‘mile’ means that which leads to truth, for ‘mire’ is similar in meaning to ‘way’, which means that which leads to truth, see 627, 2333, 3477; and ‘giving a loan’ means informing, which shows what ‘giving to all who ask’ means, namely declaring everything composing one’s belief in the Lord. The reason therefore why ‘evil should not be resisted’ is that evil can have no harmful effect at all on those governed by truth and good, for they are protected by the Lord.

[7] These are the things that lie concealed beneath those words spoken by the Lord, which being so, the Lord says simply, ‘You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth’, quoting no further than this. He goes no further because ‘an eye’ means more internal truth of faith, and ‘a tooth’ more external truth of faith, as will be seen below. This shows in what way the Lord used words when He was in the world, that is to say, in the same way as they were used everywhere in the Old Testament Word – at the same time both for angels in heaven and for people in the world. For in itself His speech was Divine and heavenly, since it sprang from the Divine and came by way of heaven. But to present the truths He spoke He used such things as corresponded to them in the world. What such things correspond to is taught by the internal sense.

sRef Micah@5 @1 S8′ sRef Ps@3 @7 S8′ sRef Isa@30 @28 S8′ [8] The fact that ‘smacking the jaw’ or striking it means destroying truths is evident from places in the Word in which the expression ‘striking the jaw’ is used. And since in the genuine sense it means the destruction of truth, in the contrary sense it means the destruction of falsity, in which sense it occurs in David,

You will strike all my enemies on the jaw, You will break the teeth of the wicked. Ps 3:7.

In Micah,

With a rod they will strike the judge of Israel on the jaw. Micah 5:1.

And in Isaiah,

The bridle of one that leads astray will be on the jaws of peoples. Isa. 30:28.

‘The face’ means the affections, 4796, 4797, 4799, 5102, 5695, 6604. Consequently parts of the face mean such things as belong to the affections and correspond to the functions and uses they perform. The eye for example corresponds to the understanding of truth, the nostrils to the perception of truth, and parts of the mouth – the jaws, lips, throat, or tongue – to such things as belong to the utterance of truth, 4796 4805.

sRef Ex@21 @23 S0′ 9050. The fact that ‘soul’ means spiritual life is clear from the meaning of ‘soul’ as a person’s life – the life of his faith, which is spiritual life. Various places in the Word use the expression ‘heart and soul’, and in those places ‘heart’ means the life of love and ‘soul’ the life of faith. A person has two mental powers for receiving life from the Lord, one being called the will, the other the understanding. Love belongs to the power called the will, for forms of the good of love compose its life; but faith belongs to the power called the understanding, for the truths of faith compose its life. Yet these two powers of life with a person nevertheless make one; and when they make one matters of faith are also aspects of love because they are loved, and aspects of love in turn are also matters of faith because they are believed. This is the kind of life that all in heaven possess.

[2] The reason why in the Word the life of love, or what amounts to the same thing, the will, is called ‘the heart’, and why the life of faith, or what amounts to the same thing, the understanding, is called ‘the soul’, is this: Those in the Grand Man or heaven who are governed by love to the Lord and are called celestial angels constitute the province of the heart, and those governed by faith in the Lord and from this by charity towards the neighbour constitute the province of the lungs, see 3635, 3883-3896. So it is that ‘the heart’ in the Word means love, which is the life of the will, while ‘the soul’ means faith, which is the life of the understanding, 2930, 7542, 8910. For ‘soul’ in the original language is derived from a word that means breathing, which is the function of the lungs.

[3] The reason why faith belongs to the understanding is that this mental power is enlightened by the Lord when the person receives faith, so that he has light, or discernment of truth, in such things as are matters of faith when he reads the Word. And the reason why love belongs to the will is that this mental power is kindled by the Lord when the person receives love, so that he has the fire of life and keen perception of good.

sRef Deut@10 @12 S4′ sRef Deut@26 @16 S4′ sRef Matt@22 @37 S4′ sRef Deut@6 @5 S4′ [4] All this shows what the proper meaning of ‘the heart’ is in the Word and what the proper meaning of ‘the soul’ is, as in the following places: In Moses, You shall love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Deut. 6:5, 6.

In the same author,

You shall love Jehovah your God, and serve Him, with all your heart and with all your soul. Deut. 10:12; 11:13.

In the same author,

You shall keep the statutes and judgements, and observe them, with all your heart and with all your soul. Deut 26:16.

In the Gospels,

Jesus said, You shall love the Lord your God with an your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and your thought. Matt 22:37; Mark 12:30, 32; Luke 10:27.

‘Heart’ stands for the life of love, and ‘soul’ for the life of faith. ‘Strength’ stands for those things that emanate from the life of love, and so from the heart or will, and ‘thought’ stands for those that emanate from the life of faith, and so from the soul or an enlightened understanding.

sRef Jer@32 @41 S5′ sRef Isa@44 @20 S5′ [5] Similarly in Isaiah,

A deceived heart causes him to go astray, so that he does not rescue his soul and say, Is there not a lie in my right hand? Isa. 44:20.

In Jeremiah,

I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in the land in truth, with all My heart and with all My soul. Jer. 32:41.

This refers to Jehovah, that is, to the Lord. ‘Heart’ is attributed to Him because of His Divine Goodness, which is the good of love or mercy with a person, and ‘soul’ because of His Divine Truth, which is the truth of faith with him.

[6] Few within the Church at the present day know that these things are meant by ‘the hears’ and ‘the soul’ in the Word. They do not know them because they have not considered that a person has two powers of mind that are distinct from each other, that is to say, the will and the understanding, and that these two powers must constitute a single mind if the person is to be truly human. Nor have they considered that all things in the whole of creation, both in heaven and in the world, have connection with goodness and truth, and that these must be joined together if they are to be anything or be productive. The outcome of their ignorance of these things has been that they have separated faith from love; for one who is ignorant of those universal laws cannot know that faith has connection with truth and love with good, or that unless faith and love have been joined together they are not anything. Faith without love is not faith, and love without faith is not love. Love receives its specific quality from faith, and faith its life from love, so that faith without love is dead, whereas faith together with love is living. The truth of this becomes clear from every detail in the Word, for where faith is dealt with, so too is love, in order that the marriage of good and truth, that is, heaven, and in the highest sense the Lord, may be present in every single detail there. Regarding the existence of that marriage, see 683, 793, 801, 2516, 2712, 4138 (end), 5138, 5502, 6343, 7945, 8339. From all this it is now evident why it is that a member of the Church has not up to now known what is meant in the Word by ‘the heart’ and what by ‘the soul’.

sRef Isa@58 @10 S7′ sRef Isa@29 @8 S7′ sRef Deut@24 @6 S7′ [7] The meaning of ‘the soul’ in the Word as the life of faith becomes perfectly clear from places where ‘the soul’ is mentioned, as in the following: In Moses,

No one shall take* as a pledge the mill or the milling stone, for he is taking the [person’s] soul as a pledge. Deut. 24:6.

It says that he takes the soul as a pledge if he takes the mill because in the internal sense ‘the mill’ means matters of faith, 7780. In Isaiah,

It will be as when a hungry man dreams – as if he were eating – but when he wakes up his soul is fasting; or as when a thirsty man dreams – as if he were drinking – but when he wakes up, behold, he is faint, and his soul is craving. Isa. 29:8.

‘A fasting soul’ and ‘a craving soul’ stand for the desire to learn the forms of good and the truths of faith. In the same prophet,

If you bring out for the hungry your soul** and satisfy the afflicted soul … Isa. 58:10.

‘Bringing out for the hungry your soul’ stands for teaching the truths of faith to one who desires them, and ‘satisfying the afflicted soul’ stands for teaching the good of faith.

sRef Jer@31 @25 S8′ sRef Jer@4 @30 S8′ sRef Jer@31 @12 S8′ [8] In Jeremiah,

If you clothe yourself in twice-dyed and deck yourself with ornaments of gold, if you widen your eyes with stibium,*** in vain will you make yourself beautiful; your lovers will abhor you, they will seek your soul. Jer. 4:30.

Here ‘soul’ stands for the life of faith, and therefore for the faith itself present with a person since it composes his spiritual life. The fact that faith is what ‘soul’ is used to mean is evident from the details of the verse. In the same prophet,

They will come and sing on the height of Zion, and converge towards the goodness of Jehovah, towards wheat, and towards new wine, and towards oil, and towards the young**** of the flock and of the herd; and their soul will become like a watered garden. I will water the weary soul, and every soul that sorrows [I will replenish]. Jer. 31:12, 25.

‘Soul’ stands for the life of faith present with a member of the Church, who is said to become like a garden because ‘a garden’ means intelligence, which consists of the truths of faith, 100, 108, 2702; and the soul is said to be watered because ‘being watered’ means receiving instruction.

sRef Lam@5 @9 S9′ sRef Ezek@27 @13 S9′ [9] In the same prophet,

In peril of our souls we acquire our bread, because of the sword of the wilderness. Lam. 5:9.

‘Peril of souls’ is the risk of loss of belief and therefore of spiritual life; for ‘the sword of the wilderness’ is falsity engaged in conflict against the truths of faith, 2799, 4499, 6353, 7102, 8294. In Ezekiel,

Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were your merchants; untie the souls of men (homo) and vessels of bronze, they traded for you.***** Ezek. 27:13.

‘The souls of men’ stands for the more internal truths of faith derived from good, ‘vessels of bronze’ for the more external truths of faith derived from good. ‘Vessels’ are the more external truths or factual knowledge containing truths, 3068, 3079, and ‘bronze’ is the good of the natural, 425, 1551. Without the knowledge that ‘the souls of men’ means faith no one could understand what is meant by trading ‘with the souls of men and with vessels of bronze’.

sRef Ps@69 @1 S10′ sRef Ezek@47 @9 S10′ sRef Jonah@2 @5 S10′ [10] In the same prophet,

Every living soul that creeps, wherever the [two] rivers come to, will live; as a result the fish become very many, for these waters go there, and become fresh. Ezek. 47:9.

This refers to the new temple, that is, to the new spiritual Church from the Lord. ‘Living soul that creeps’ stands for factual knowledge embodying the truths of faith; ‘the fish’ which as a result are many are known facts, 40, 991; and ‘the rivers’ stands for matters of intelligence, which consists of the truths of faith, 2702, 3051. Again no one could know without the internal sense what might be meant by the fish which become many as a result of the rivers going there. In David,

Make me safe, O God, for the waters have come even to my soul. Ps. 69:1.

And in Jonah,

The waters surrounded me, even to my soul. Jonah 2:5.

‘Waters’ here stands for falsities, and also for temptations caused by falsities that have been introduced, 705, 739, 756, 790, 8137, 8138, 8368.

sRef Jer@6 @8 S11′ sRef Rev@16 @3 S11′ sRef Jer@5 @9 S11′ sRef Jer@5 @29 S11′ [11] In Jeremiah,

Jehovah has said, Will not My soul be avenged on a nation which is like this? Jer. 5:9, 29.

In the same prophet, Take warning,****** O Jerusalem, lest My soul turn from you, and I reduce you to a waste.

Since ‘soul’ is attributed to the Lord it stands for Divine Truth. In John,

The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of one dead, from which every living soul died in the sea. Rev. 16:3.

‘The sea’ stands for known facts in their entirety, 28; ‘blood’ stands for the truths of faith derived from good, and in the contrary sense for truths of faith that have been falsified and rendered profane, 4735, 6978, 7317, 7326. Therefore ‘living soul’ stands for life from faith.

sRef Luke@21 @19 S12′ sRef Matt@6 @25 S12′ sRef Matt@10 @39 S12′ [12] In Matthew,

Do not be anxious for your soul, what you are going to eat or what you are going to drink. Matt. 6:25.

‘Soul’ stands for the truths of faith, ‘eating and drinking’ for receiving instruction in the goodness and truth of faith; for the internal sense at this point refers to spiritual life and the nourishment of that life. In the same gospel,

Whoever wishes to find his soul will lose it, and whoever loses his soul for My sake will find it. Matt. 10:39.

‘Soul’ stands for the life of faith, such as believers possess, and in the contrary sense for the life that is not that of faith, such as unbelievers possess. In Luke,

In your patience possess your souls. Luke 21:19.

‘Possessing their souls’ stands for the things of faith and consequently of spiritual life. ‘Soul’ has a similar meaning in very many other places.
* lit. He shall not take, reading Non … accipiet for Non … accipies (You
shall not take)
** i.e. If you bring food out of store for the hungry
*** lit. break open the eyes with stibium. Stibium was a cosmetic used for blackening the eyelids and eyebrows, thereby making the eyes look brighter or more open.
**** lit. the sons
***** lit. they gave your trading
****** lit. Admit castigation

sRef Ex@21 @24 S0′ 9051. ‘Eye for eye’ means if anything is injured by them in the inner part of the understanding. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the eye’ as the understanding, in this instance the inner part of it, the life of which is the life of faith. A person’s understanding has an outer part and an inner part The outer part of his understanding is where thought that enters his awareness is, whereas the inner part is where thought that does not enter his awareness is, though it enters that of the angels. This part of the understanding is what the Lord enlightens when a person receives faith, for it exists in the light of heaven and holds within it a person’s spiritual life. This is not made plainly evident to the person while in the world, but it is made so to that person in the next life when he becomes an angel among angels in heaven. In the meanwhile that life lies hidden within the thought belonging to the outer part of the understanding, producing there the holiness and reverence for the Lord, for love and faith in Him, for the Word, and for everything else that is the Church’s. The reason why ‘the eye’ means the understanding is that the eye corresponds to the understanding; for the understanding sees in the light of heaven, but the eye sees in the light of the world. The things that the former eye, that is, the understanding, sees are spiritual, and its field of vision is the factual knowledge contained in the person’s memory. But the things which the physical eye sees are earthly, and its field of vision consists in every object that appears in the world. Regarding ‘the eye’, that in the spiritual sense it means the understanding, and also faith since faith composes the life of the inner part of the understanding, see 2701, 4403-4421, 4523-4534.

sRef Matt@6 @22 S2′ sRef Mark@9 @47 S2′ sRef Matt@6 @23 S2′ sRef Matt@5 @29 S2′ [2] Anyone who does not know that ‘the eye’ is used in the Word to mean the understanding cannot know what the meaning is of the things which the Lord spoke concerning the eye in the Gospels, first of all these,

If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes, to be cast into the Gehenna of fire. Matt. 5:29; Mark 9:47.

Everyone recognizes that the eye should not be plucked out even if it does cause a person to stumble, and that no one enters the kingdom of God with only one eye. But ‘the right eye’ means falsity in a person’s belief about the Lord; this is what must be plucked out. Then there are these things spoken by the Lord,

The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light. If your eye is evil your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! Matt. 6:22, 23; Luke 11:34.

Nor is ‘the eye’ used here to mean the eye, but an understanding composed of the truth of faith. This is why the eye is called ‘the lamp of the body’ and why the Lord says, ‘If the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!’ For ‘darkness’ in the spiritual sense is falsities constituting faith, 1839, 1860, 4418, 4531, 7688, 7711.

sRef Matt@7 @4 S3′ sRef Matt@7 @3 S3′ sRef John@9 @6 S3′ sRef Matt@7 @5 S3′ sRef John@9 @7 S3′ [3] There are these words too spoken by Him,

Why do you notice the speck which is in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank that is in your own eye? Matt. 7:3-5.

‘Noticing a speck in a brother’s eye’ means seeing something erroneous in a person’s understanding of truth; ‘the plank in one’s own eye’ is huge evil of falsity, since ‘wood’ in the internal sense means good and in the contrary sense evil, 643, 2784, 2812, 3720, 8354. Good is also represented in the next life by a plank, which is why those who pretend to have good within themselves are seen carrying a plank, walking in safety as they do so. If ‘eye’ and ‘plank’ did not have these meanings, would ‘seeing a plank in an eye’ have any meaning at all? If it is not known that ‘eye’ in the Word means the understanding of truth, which is faith, neither can it be known what is implied by the Lord’s action when He healed the blind man,

He spat on the ground and made clay with His saliva, and said to him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam. John 9:6, 7.

Since all the Lord’s miracles, like all Divine miracles, had to do with those things that belong to the Lord’s kingdom and the Church, 7337, 8364, so did this miracle too.

sRef Ex@21 @24 S0′ 9052. ‘Tooth for tooth’ means if anything [is injured] in the outer part of the understanding. This is clear from the meaning of ‘tooth’ as the outer part of the understanding, and therefore as natural truth since this composes the life of that part of the understanding. The reason why ‘the teeth’ have this meaning is that like a mill they grind and so prepare the food which will serve as nourishment for the body, at this point the food which will serve as nourishment for the soul. The food that nourishes the soul is intelligence and wisdom; this food is first received, ground, and prepared by cognitions or knowledge of truth and good in the natural – intelligence and wisdom being what spiritual and celestial food is called, see 56-58, 680, 1480, 4792, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5576, 5579, 5915, 8562, 9003. From this one may see why it is that ‘the teeth’ means the outer part of the understanding. What this outer area is becomes clear from what has been shown immediately above in 9051 regarding the inner area of the understanding.

sRef Gen@49 @12 S2′ [2] ‘The teeth’ means natural truth, which belongs to the outer part of the understanding, and in the contrary sense falsity destroying that truth, as is clear from the following places in the Word Natural truth is meant in Moses,

His eyes will be redder than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk. Gen. 49:12.

These words too mention both eyes and teeth together. They refer to Judah, by whom the Lord’s Divine Celestial is meant, 6363. ‘His eyes’ means the Lord’s Divine Intellect, 6379, and ‘his teeth’ the Lord’s Divine Natural, 6380, thus also Divine Truth in His Natural.

sRef Matt@25 @30 S3′ sRef Ps@3 @7 S3′ sRef Ps@57 @4 S3′ sRef Amos@4 @6 S3′ [3] In Amos,

I gave you emptiness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places. Amos 4:6

‘Emptiness of teeth’ stands for scarcity of truth, and ‘lack of bread’ for scarcity of good.

All this makes plain what the gnashing of teeth is among those in hell, Matt. 8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 25:30; Luke 13:28. It is the clash of falsities with the truths of faith, 4424 (end); for as has been stated, ‘the teeth’ in the contrary sense means falsity destroying truth, as in David,

Rise up, O Jehovah; save me, O my God! For You will strike all my enemies on the jaw, You will break the teeth of the wicked. Ps. 3:7.

‘Breaking the teeth of the wicked’ stands for breaking the falsities that the wicked use to destroy truths. In the same author,

As to my soul, I lie in the midst of lions; their teeth are a spear and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword. Ps. 57:4.

‘The teeth of lions’ stands for falsities destructive of truths, ‘lions’ being falsities arising from evil in their power, 6367, 6369.

sRef Ps@58 @6 S4′ sRef Rev@9 @7 S4′ sRef Rev@9 @8 S4′ sRef Joel@1 @7 S4′ sRef Joel@1 @6 S4′ [4] In the same author,

O God, destroy their teeth in their mouth; tear out* the molars of the young lions. Ps. 58:6.

A nation has come up over My land, strong and innumerable; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and it has the molars of a fierce lion. It has turned My vine into a waste, and My fig tree into froth. Joel 1:6, 7.

‘Teeth’ and ‘molars’ stand for falsities destructive of the Church’s truths. ‘Vine’ is the spiritual Church, 1069, 5113, 6376, and ‘fig tree’ is its natural good, 217, 4231, 5113. The fact that ‘teeth’ has that meaning is also evident from their being attributed to a nation which will lay waste. In John,

The shapes of the locusts were like horses prepared for war. They had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’. Rev. 9:7, 8.

‘The locusts’ are those who are steeped in external falsities, 7643, from which it is evident that again ‘teeth’ are falsities destructive of truths.
* lit. overthrow

sRef Ex@21 @24 S0′ 9053. ‘Hand for hand’ means if anything of the power of spiritual truth is injured or wiped out by them. This is clear from the meaning of ‘hand’ as the power that comes from truth, 3091, 3387, 4931-4937, 6292, 6947, 7188, 7189, 7518, 7673, 8050, 8153, 8281, [in particular] the power that comes from spiritual truth, 5327, 5328, 7011.

sRef Ex@21 @24 S0′ 9054. ‘Foot for foot’ means if anything of the power of natural truth [is injured]. This is clear from the meaning of ‘foot’ as the natural, dealt with in 2162, 3147, 3761, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952, [in particular] the power of natural truth, 5327, 5328.

sRef Ex@21 @25 S0′ 9055. ‘Burning for burning’ means if anything of love and affection present in the inward part of the will [is injured]. This is clear from the meaning of ‘burning’ as injuring or wiping out the good of love. The reason for saying ‘in the will’ is that the good of love belongs to the will, whereas the truth of faith belongs to the understanding, 9050, 9051. And the reason for saying ‘the inward part’ of the will is that ‘wound’, dealt with below, means an injuring or the wiping out of an aspect of love present in the outward part of the will. Here, as in the previous paragraphs, injuries done both in the internal man and in the external man are dealt with. For injuring the inner part of the understanding is meant by ‘eye’ and injuring the outer part by ‘tooth’, and injuring the power of truth in the internal man is meant by ‘hand’ and injuring the power in the external man by ‘foot’, as has been shown; thus injuring the will in the internal man is meant by ‘burning’ and injuring the will in the external man by ‘wound’.

[2] A person has inward and outward parts of his will, just as he has inward and outward parts of his understanding, which are dealt with in 9050, 9051. The inward part of his will resides where the inward part of his understanding resides, and the outward part of his will resides where the outward part of his understanding resides. They must be joined together; for where truth resides, so does good, and where good resides, so does truth. Truth without good is not truth, and good without truth is not good. For good is the essential being (esse) of truth, and truth is the manifestation (existere) of good; and the situation with a person’s understanding and his will is the same, in that the understanding is dedicated to receiving truth and the will to receiving good. From this it is evident that when a person is being regenerated the Lord gives him a new understanding through the truths of faith, and a new will through the good of charity, and that both must be present and also joined together if the person is to be regenerate.

sRef Isa@3 @24 S3′ [3] The reason why ‘burning’ means injuring the good of love is that love is meant by ‘fire’, 934, 2446, 4906, 5071, 5215, 6314, 6832, 6834, 6849, 7324 (end), 7575, 7852; and what injures the good of love is evil desire blazing up from self-love. For this desire is called ‘burning’, 1297, 5215. Evil desire is also meant by ‘branding’ in Isaiah,

Instead of fragrance there will be rottenness, and instead of a girdle, a falling apart, and instead of well-set hair, baldness, and instead of a robe, a girding of sackcloth, branding instead of beauty. Isa 3:24.

This refers to ‘the daughter of Zion’, by which the celestial Church, that is, the Church governed by love to the Lord, is meant, 2362, 6729. ‘Branding’ here is evil desire stemming from self-love.

[4] Anyone who does not know that there is an internal sense in the Word thinks that the proud adornments worn by the daughters of Zion as described in verses 16-24 of that chapter mean such adornments, and that because of such things among the daughters of Zion the Jewish and Israelite people were to be punished and – as said in verses 25, 26 – to fall by the sword. But the reality is altogether different from this. The spiritual and celestial beauties of the Church are what are meant by those adornments. It becomes clear to anyone who reads the Word that ‘the daughter of Zion’ is not used in the Word to mean the daughter of Zion, provided that he turns to and considers those places in the Prophets where Zion and the daughter of Zion are mentioned. From these he will see that the daughter of Zion is the Church.

sRef Isa@1 @6 S0′ sRef Ex@21 @25 S0′ 9056. ‘Wound for wound’ means if anything of love and affection present in the outward part of the will [is injured]. This is clear from the meaning of ‘wound’ as injury done to love and affection; and since love is injured it is an injury done to the will, because love belongs to the will. The reason why it is an injury done to the outward part of the will is that ‘burning’ means injuring an affection present in the inner part of the will, dealt with immediately above in 9055. In the Word a distinction is drawn between ‘wounds’ and ‘blows’; ‘wounds’ has reference to injuries done to good, and ‘blows’ has reference to injuries done to truth, as in Isaiah,

From the sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness in it, [but] wounds and scars and recent blazes. They are not pressed out, nor bound up, nor softened with oil. Isa. 1:6.

‘Wounds’ has reference here to good that has been destroyed, and ‘blows’ to truth that has been destroyed.

sRef Ex@21 @25 S0′ sRef Rev@13 @12 S1′ 9057. ‘Blow for blow’ means if anything of affection in the understanding is wiped out or injured. This is clear from the meaning of ‘blow’ as the wiping out or injuring of affection in the understanding, that is, of affection for truth. ‘Blow’ is expressed in the original language by a word that means a bruise resulting from a gathering of blood or corrupted blood; and ‘blood’ in the internal sense is the truth of faith derived from the good of love and in the contrary sense truth that has been falsified and rendered profane, 4735, 6978, 7317, 7326. ‘A blow’ therefore is truth that has been injured or wiped out. ‘Blows’ or ‘plagues’* have the same meaning in Revelation 9:20; 11:6; 13:12; 15:1, 6, 8; 16:21; 18:8; also in Jeremiah 30:12, 14, 17; Ezekiel 7:2; Zechariah 14:12-15; Psalm 38:5; and in Luke 10:30-35, where it speaks about the one who fell among thieves, who inflicted blows on him, and left him half dead, and about a Samaritan who bandaged his blows, poured in oil and wine, lifted him onto his own animal, and brought him to an inn.

[2] A person with an understanding of the internal sense of the Word can know why the Lord said that a Samaritan bandaged the victim’s blows, poured in oil and wine, and set him on his own animal. In the internal sense ‘a Samaritan’ means someone with an affection for truth; ‘bandaging blows’ means healing that affection when it has been injured; ‘pouring in oil and wine’ means introducing the good of love and the good of faith; and ‘lifting onto his animal’ means supporting with his own power of understanding. Thus those words were used to describe charity towards the neighbour, in a natural way for the benefit of people in the world and in a spiritual way for the benefit of angels in heaven – in a natural way in the sense of the letter, and in a spiritual way in the internal sense. The reason why ‘a Samaritan’ is someone with an affection for truth is that in the Word ‘Samaria’ means that affection. For the meaning of ‘oil’ as the good of love, see 886, 3728, 4582; of ‘wine’ as the good of faith, 1798, 6377; of ‘an animal’ as the power of understanding, 2761, 2762, 2781, 3217, 5321, 5741, 6125, 6401, 6534, 7024, 8146, 8148. The Lord spoke in this manner, but few understand it; for they think that such details were mentioned by Him merely in order to make up some story that was a parable. But in that case they would not be words from God. Words from God all hold within themselves such things as tell of the Lord, of heaven, and of the Church, in every tiny detail, see above in 9049 (end).
* The Latin word plaga is sometimes rendered blow, at other times plague.

sRef Ex@21 @26 S0′ 9058. ‘And when a man strikes the eye of his male slave’ means if the internal man injures the truth of faith in the external [or natural] man. This is clear from the meaning of ‘striking’ as injuring, as before; from the meaning of ‘a man’, here a man from among the children of Israel, as a member of the Church and therefore one in possession of spiritual truth – which is the truth of faith, dealt with above in 9034 – thus as the internal man, since the truth of faith resides in the internal man and composes its life, which is called spiritual life (the term ‘internal man’ is used by virtue of its relationship to the external, meant by ‘male slave’); from the meaning of ‘the eye’ as the inner part of the understanding and therefore the truth of faith, dealt with in 9051; and from the meaning of ‘male slave’ as factual truth present in the external man, dealt with in 1895, 2567, 3835, 3849, 8993, 8994, thus also the external or natural man, 5305, 7998, 8974. The literal sense speaks of ‘a man’ and ‘male slave’, so that two people are meant; but in the internal sense, in which ‘a man’ is the internal man and ‘male slave’ is the external man, they exist in one person. The reason for this is that the internal sense does not focus its attention on persons, only on spiritual realities, 5225, 5287, 5434, 8343, 8985, 9007.

sRef Ex@21 @26 S0′ 9059. ‘Or the eye of [his] female slave’ means, [if it injures] an affection for truth there. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the eye’ as the understanding part of the mind and therefore the truth of faith, as immediately above in 9058; and from the meaning of ‘female slave’ as an affection for natural truth, dealt with in 2567, 3835, 3849, 8993.

sRef Ex@21 @26 S0′ 9060. ‘And destroys it’ means so that it wipes it out. This is clear from the meaning of ‘destroying’, when used in reference to the truth of faith, meant by ‘the eye’, as wiping out.

sRef Ex@21 @26 S0′ 9061. ‘He shall send him away free for the eye’ means that it cannot serve the internal man any longer. This is clear from the meaning of ‘sending away free’ as releasing from service; and from the meaning of ‘for the eye which he had destroyed in the slave’ as because of the truth of faith that has been wiped out in the external or natural man. For ‘the eye’ means the understanding part of the mind and therefore the truth of faith, 9051, 9058; ‘destroying’ means wiping out, 9060; and ‘male slave’ means the external or natural man, 9058. The nature of all this cannot be known by anyone unless he knows about the nature of the internal man’s relationship with the external man. The internal man cannot live a spiritual life unless the external man is in agreement, which being so a person cannot be regenerated unless the natural man also is regenerated. From this it follows that if the truth of faith in the natural or external man has been wiped out the latter cannot serve the internal man any longer.

[2] It is like the relationship between outward sight and inward sight. If outward sight has been impaired it can no longer serve inward sight; for if objects are distorted by outward sight, internal sight can gain only a distorted vision by means of it. Or it is like the situation with all other parts of the body that are controlled by the will, such as the arms, hands, fingers, and feet. If these are deformed, then the will can perform only clumsy actions by means of them. It is similar with the natural or external man’s service to the internal man. If the factual truths in the external or natural man have been distorted or wiped out, the internal man cannot see the truth, and so cannot think about it and perceive it except in a distorted or false manner. From all this it is evident why the natural man must be regenerated if a person is to be regenerated. On these matters see also what has been shown previously in 3286, 3321, 3469, 3493, 3573, 3620, 3623, 3679, 4588, 4618, 4667, 5165, 5168, 5427, 5428, 5477, 6299, 6564, 8742-8747, 9043.

sRef Ex@21 @27 S0′ 9062. ‘And if he strikes out the tooth of his male slave or the tooth of his female slave’ means if it destroys truth or the affection for it on the level of the senses. This is clear from the meaning of ‘tooth’ as the outer part of the understanding, and therefore truth in the natural, dealt with above in 9052, at this point truth on the lowest level of the natural, that is, the level of the senses, since it is speaking about a male slave and a female slave; from the meaning of ‘female slave’ as an affection for that truth, also dealt with above, in 9059; and from the meaning of ‘striking out’ as destroying. What the sensory level is, and what it is like, see 4009, 5077, 5081, 5084, 5089, 5094, 5125, 5128, 5580, 5767, 5774, 6183, 6201, 6310, 6311, 6313, 6315, 6316, 6564, 6598, 6612, 6614, 6622, 6624, 6948, 6949, 7693.

sRef Ex@21 @27 S0′ 9063. ‘He shall send him away free for his tooth’ means that it cannot serve the internal man any longer. This is clear from the meaning of ‘sending away free’ as releasing from service, thus not serving any longer, as above in 9061; and from the meaning of ‘tooth’ as the level of the senses, dealt with immediately above in 9062. The situation in these matters may be recognized from what has been shown just above in 9061 regarding the condition of the internal man when the external man has been injured. Its condition is similar when the sensory level has been injured, for this is the lowest level in the natural man. This level too must be regenerated if a person is to be regenerated completely, see 6844, 6845, 7645. It is clear to anyone that these regulations concerning the eye or the tooth of a male slave or a female slave contain arcana which nobody can see without the help of the internal sense. For without some hidden reason why would it be stipulated that slaves should be released and go free because of an eye or because of a tooth, but not because of other parts of the body if they were badly damaged? But that hidden reason is made evident when one knows what is meant in the spiritual sense by ‘eye’ and by ‘tooth’. And when one knows that, the reason for the stipulation comes to light.

9064. Verses 28-36 And when an ox strikes a man or a woman with its horn, and [the person] dies, the ox shall surely be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; and the owner* of the ox shall be guiltless. And if the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past,** and this has been testified to its owner’ and he does not keep it in, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and also its owner’ shall die. If expiation has been imposed on him***, he shall pay for the redemption of his soul according to all that has been imposed on him. Whether it strikes a son with its horn or strikes a daughter with its horn, according to this judgement it shall be done to him. If the ox strikes a male slave with its horn, or a female slave, [the owner] shall give their master thirty shekels of silver; and the ox shall be stoned. And when a man opens a pit, or when a man digs a pit, and does not cover it, and an ox or an ass falls into it, [the owner] of the pit shall make repayment; he shall give silver to its owner,**** and the dead [animal] shall be his. And when a man’s ox inflicts a blow on his companion’s ox, and it dies, they shall sell the living ox, and divide the silver from it; and they shall also divide the dead one. Or if it is known that the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past,***** and its owner**** does not keep it in, he shall surely repay ox for ox; and the dead one shall be his.

‘And when an ox strikes a man or a woman with its horn’ means if an affection for evil in the natural injures the truth or the good of faith. ‘And [the person] dies’ means to the extent that it destroys it. ‘It shall surely be stoned’ means the punishment for destroying the truth or good of faith. ‘And its flesh shall not be eaten’ means that this evil must not by any means be made one’s own but must be cast away. ‘And the owner of the ox shall be guiltless’ means that the evil is not attributable to the internal man, because it has come from the will but not from the understanding. ‘And if the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past’ means if the affection for evil has existed for a long time. ‘And this has been testified to its owner’ means, and this evil has passed into the understanding. ‘And he does not keep it in’ means failure to restrain it. ‘And it kills a man or a woman’ means if it then destroys the truth or the good of faith. ‘The ox shall be stoned’ means the punishment for destroying truth. ‘And also its owner shall die’ means damnation of the internal man. ‘If expiation has been imposed on him’ means in order that he may be made free from damnation. ‘He shall pay for the redemption of his soul’ means painful experiences of repentance. ‘According to all that has been imposed on him’ means according to the nature of the affection for evil springing from the understanding. ‘Whether it strikes a son with its horn or strikes a daughter with its hoary’ means an assault made by an affection for evil on truths and forms of the good of faith that are derived from interior things. ‘According to this judgement it shall be done to him’ means that the punishment will be similar. ‘If the ox strikes a male slave with its horn, or a female slave’ means if the affection for evil destroys truth or good in the natural. ‘[The owner] shall give their master thirty shekels of silver’ means that the internal man shall restore it completely. ‘And the ox shall be stoned’ means the punishment for destroying truth and good in the natural. ‘And when a man opens a pit’ means if anyone receives falsity from another. ‘Or when a man digs a pit, land does not cover it]’ means, or if the person himself fabricates it. ‘And an ox or an ass falls into it’ means, which perverts good or truth in the natural. ‘The owner of the pit shall make repayment’ means that the one with whom the falsity resides shall make amends. ‘He shall give silver to its owner’ means by means of truth with him whose good or truth in the natural has been perverted. ‘And the dead [animal] shall be his’ means that the evil or falsity will remain with him. ‘And when a man’s ox inflicts a blow on his companion’s ox’ means two truths with dissimilar affections, and the affection with one injures that with the other. ‘And it dies’ means so severely that the good affection perishes. ‘They shall sell the living ox’ means that the affection with the one which has injured the affection with the other shall be alienated. ‘And divide the silver from it’ means that its truth will be dispersed. ‘And they shall also divide the dead one’ means that the injuring affection as well will be dispersed. ‘Or if it is known that the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past’ means if it has been known previously that its affection is such. ‘And its owner does not keep it in’ means, and if it is not held in bonds. ‘He shall surely repay ox for ox’ means restoration to the full. ‘And the dead one shall be his’ means for the injuring affection.
* lit. lord or master
** lit. from yesterday three days ago
*** i.e. If he must make atonement
**** lit. lord or master
***** lit. from yesterday three days ago

sRef Ex@21 @28 S0′ 9065. ‘And when an ox strikes a man or a woman with its horn’ means if an affection for evil in the natural injures the truth or the good of faith. This is clear from the meaning of ‘striking with the horn’ as injuring, for ‘the horn’ means the power of falsity arising from evil, 2832, and ‘striking’ means injuring; from the meaning of ‘an ox’ as an affection for good in the natural, dealt with in 2180, 2566, 2781, 2830, 5913, 8937, and therefore in the contrary sense as an affection for evil in the natural; from the meaning of ‘a man’ as the truth of faith, dealt with in 9034; and from the meaning of ‘a woman’ as the good of faith, dealt with in 4823, 6014, 8337.

sRef Ex@21 @28 S0′ 9066. ‘And [the person] dies’ means to the extent that it destroys it. This is clear without explanation.

sRef Ex@21 @28 S0′ 9067. ‘It shall surely be stoned’ means the punishment for destroying the truth or good of faith. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being stoned’, dealt with in 5156, 7456, 8575, 8799.

sRef Ex@21 @28 S0′ 9068. ‘And its flesh shall not be eaten’ means that this evil must not by any means be made one’s own but must be cast away. This is clear from the meaning of ‘eating’ as being made one’s own and being joined to, dealt with in 2187, 2343, 3168, 3513 (end), 3596, 3832, 4745, 5643, 8001, so that ‘not being eaten’ means not being made one’s own but being cast away (the reason why it must not be made one’s own but must be cast away is that it is the kind of evil that destroys the truth and good of the Church’s faith); and from the meaning of ‘flesh’ as the good of heavenly love, and in the contrary sense the evil of self-love, dealt with in 3813, 7850, 8409, 8431.

sRef Ex@21 @28 S0′ sRef John@9 @41 S1′ sRef John@9 @40 S1′ 9069. ‘And the owner of the ox shall be guiltless’ means that the evil is not attributable to the internal man, because it has come from the will but not from the understanding. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the owner of the ox’ as the internal or spiritual man, for ‘the ox’ means an affection for evil in the natural or external man, 9065, and therefore ‘the owner of the ox’ is the internal man (here the owner or master of the external or natural man is meant, for the internal man has the power to be master over affections for evil in the natural man, and also is the master when the natural has been made subject to it, as it is with those who have been regenerated); and from the meaning of ‘guiltless’ as free from blame. The reason is said to be that the evil has come from the will but not from the understanding; for evil coming from the will but not at the same time from the understanding does not damn a person. The person does not see it, or for that reason stop to consider whether it is evil, and is not therefore aware of it. Such evil is evil due to heredity, present before the person has been taught that it is evil, and also after he has been taught, but present only in outward life or that of the body, and not at the same time in inward life, which is that of the understanding. For seeing and understanding that it is evil and continuing to do it makes a person guilty, as the Lord teaches in John,

The Pharisees said, Are we also blind? Jesus said to them. If you were blind you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see’, therefore your sin remains. John 9:40, 41.

[2] No one is punished for hereditary evils, only for those properly his own, see 966, 1667, 2307, 2308, 8806. Such is the nature of the evil meant by an ox striking a man or a woman with its horn before its owner knows that it is accustomed to gore. The next verse refers to evil that a person is aware of. This is meant by an ox accustomed to gore, whose owner knows what it is like but does not keep it in, the consequent punishment for which is that the ox shall be stoned and the owner shall die, unless expiation is imposed on him.

sRef Ex@21 @29 S0′ 9070. ‘And if the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past’ means if the affection for evil has existed for a long time. This is clear from the meaning of ‘an ox accustomed to gore’ as an affection for evil, dealt with above in 9065; and from the meaning of ‘in the past’ as the previous state and time, dealt with in 6983, 7114, thus that which has existed previously and for a long time.

sRef Ex@21 @29 S0′ 9071. ‘And this has been testified to its owner’ means, and this evil has passed into the understanding. This is clear from the meaning of ‘having been testified’ as having been made known, and therefore as having passed into the understanding; for evil that has been made known passes into the understanding. The understanding is a person’s inward sight; and the will without that sight is blind. Therefore when evil that belongs to the will passes into the understanding it goes from thick darkness into light.

sRef Ex@21 @29 S0′

9072. ‘And he does not keep it in’ means failure to restrain it. This is clear from the meaning of ‘keeping in’, when it refers to evil belonging to the will that has passed into the light of the understanding, as curbing or restraining. For a person has been given an understanding to enable him to see evil and so restrain it. .

sRef Ex@21 @29 S0′ 9073. ‘And it kills a man or a woman’ means if it then destroys the truth or the good of faith. This is clear from the meaning of ‘killing’ as destroying; and from the meaning of ‘a man’ as the truth of faith, and of ‘a woman’ as the good of faith, as above in 9065.

sRef Ex@21 @29 S0′ 9074. ‘The ox shall be stoned’ means the punishment for destroying truth, as above in 9067.

sRef Ex@21 @29 S0′ 9075. ‘And also its owner shall die’ means damnation of the internal man. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the owner of the ox’ as the internal man, dealt with above in 9069; and from the meaning of ‘dying’ as damnation, also dealt with above, in 9008. The reason why an ox was to be stoned and its owner to die if he knew that the ox was accustomed to gore, yet did not keep it in, lies with the spiritual meaning of this judgement or law, which is this: A person who is aware of an evil in himself and does not restrain it is guilty; for he approves it and in so doing snuffs out the light of truth, and along with it he crushes the seed of a belief in the truth the moment it is implanted. And when this has been snuffed out good from the Lord is not received. As a result the internal man cannot be opened and consequently endowed with spiritual life, which is the life of the truth and good of faith. When this is a person’s state he leads a natural life, which is that of the external man. But this life without spiritual life is dead, the result of which is damnation, 7494.

sRef Ex@21 @30 S0′ 9076. ‘If expiation has been imposed on him’ means in order that he may be made free from damnation. This is clear from the meaning of ‘expiation’ as in order that he may be free from damnation. For acts of expiation were imposed on those who did not do evil on purpose or with guile. Those acts were various, and when one was performed it was called ‘a redeeming of the soul’, since life was redeemed by means of it. But those outward things were signs of inward ones; that is to say, ‘an expiation’ meant deliverance from damnation, and ‘redeeming’ consequently meant amendment of spiritual life through active repentance. Since ‘expiation’ meant deliverance from damnation, therefore it also meant being pardoned of sins, and so being cleansed.

sRef Ex@21 @30 S0′ 9077. ‘He shall pay for the redemption of his [soul]’ means painful experiences of repentance. This is clear from the meaning of ‘redeeming’ as giving something in place of it, in order that it may be delivered. ‘Redemption’ has various meanings; what these are, see 2954, 2959, 2966, 6281, 7205, 7445, 8078-8080. The reason why ‘the redeeming of the soul’ here means painful experiences of repentance is that the subject is deliverance from damnation. But a person cannot be delivered from damnation except through the removal of evil, and the removal of evil cannot be accomplished except through active repentance, which involves a change in the life one leads; and these things are accomplished through spiritual temptations, which are the painful experiences of repentance. Regarding deliverance from damnation, or what amounts to the same thing, deliverance from sins, that it is the removal of evil, and that this is accomplished by repentance involving a change of life, see 8389-8394, 8958-8969, which is accompanied by temptations, 8958-8969.

sRef Ex@21 @30 S0′ 9078. ‘According to all that has been imposed on him’ means according to the nature of the affection for evil springing from the understanding. This is clear from what has just been stated about expiation and redemption; for evil which had been seen in the understanding and not restrained was that which had to be expiated and redeemed by something equivalent answering to it, thus redeemed according to the nature of the affection for evil springing from the understanding.

sRef Ex@21 @31 S0′ 9079. ‘Whether it strikes a son with its horn or strikes a daughter with its horn’ means an assault made by an affection for evil on truths and forms of the good of faith that are derived from interior things. This is clear from the meaning of ‘striking with the horn’ as injuring, as above in 9065, thus an assault; and from the meaning of ‘a son’ as the truth of faith, and of ‘a daughter’ as the good of faith, dealt with in 489-491, 533, 1147, 2362, 2623. The reason why they are truths and forms of the good of faith which are derived from interior things is that interior things are like parents, from which forms of good and truths are born like sons and daughters. For the forms of good and the truths with a person who has been regenerated are interrelated like different generations. Some come in the parent’s place, some in that of the children, some in that of the sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, some in that of the grandsons and granddaughters, and so on. They are interrelated therefore through blood relationships and relationships by marriage; and there are families of them with many lines of descent.

[2] The communities of heaven are arranged in this kind of order; so too are the truths and forms of good with a person who is being regenerated, which also is why he becomes a heaven in miniature. Furthermore, and this is an arcanum, the forms of good and the truths with a person love one another, and in accordance with that love they acknowledge one another, and accordingly exist in association with one another. This has its origin among angelic communities, in which angels love one another, acknowledge one another, and live in association with one another, depending on how similar and close together their forms of good are. And what is amazing, when people governed by a similar good come together, even if they have never seen one another before, it is as though they have seen one another since early childhood. It is from this origin that the forms of good and the truths present with a person link themselves to one another according to the form heaven takes, producing a likeness of heaven in him. But the Lord is the source of all this, both in heaven and in an angelic person, that is, in a person who is being regenerated and becoming an angel.

sRef Ex@21 @31 S0′ 9080. ‘According to this judgement it shall be done to him’ means that the punishment will be similar. This is clear without explanation.

sRef Deut@33 @17 S0′ sRef Ezek@34 @21 S0′ sRef Ps@44 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@21 @32 S0′ sRef Ps@44 @4 S0′ 9081. ‘If the ox strikes a male slave with its hoary, or a female slave’ means if the affection for evil destroys truth or good in the natural. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a male slave’ as truth in the natural, dealt with in 3019, 3020, 5305, 7998; from the meaning of ‘a female slave’ as an affection for truth there, dealt with in 1895, 2567, 3835, 3849, 8993, 8994; and from the meaning of ‘striking with the horn’ as destroying. The words ‘striking with the horn’ in the Word refer to the destruction of falsity by the power of truth, and in the contrary sense to the destruction of truth by the power of falsity. They do so because ‘a horn’ means the power of truth that springs from good, or the power of falsity that springs from evil, 2832, as in Ezekiel,

You push with side and shoulder, and strike with your horns all the weak [sheep]. Ezek. 34:21.

This refers to those who with all their force and power destroy the Church’s truths and forms of good by means of fallacious reasonings based on sensory evidence, ‘pushing with side and shoulder’ meaning with all their force and power, 1085, 4931-4937. From this it is evident why the words ‘striking with the horn’ are used in Moses,

The firstborn of his cattle has honour, and his horns are unicorn horns.* With these he will strike the peoples together to the ends of the earth. Deut. 33:17.

This occurs in Moses’ prophetic utterance concerning Joseph, in which ‘Joseph’ in the internal sense means the Lord’s Divine Spiritual, and in
the representative sense His spiritual kingdom ‘Unicorn horns’ means forms of power received from the good and truth of faith; ‘striking the peoples’ means destroying falsities by means of truths; and ‘to the ends of the earth’ means on every side where the Church is. In David,

You Yourself are my King. O God; through You we will strike our enemies with the horn. Ps. 44:4, 5.

‘Striking enemies with the horn’ again means destroying falsities by means of the power of the truth and good of faith. Who can fail to see that in these places the words ‘striking with the horn’ would not have been used, since the action is performed by human beings, but for the meaning of ‘horn’ as power?
* i.e. horns that are high and powerful, like the horn of a unicorn

sRef Ex@21 @32 S0′ 9082. ‘[The owner] shall give their master thirty shekels of silver’ means that the internal man shall restore it completely. This is clear from the meaning of ‘thirty shekels of silver’ as complete restoration of what has been damned, by means of truth. For ‘silver’ is truth derived from good, 1551, 2954, 5658, 6112, 6914, 6917, 7999, 8932; ‘thirty’ is what is complete, 5335, 7984; and ‘the owner’ who shall restore is the internal man, 9069, that is, truths of faith from the Word, since these compose the life of the internal man.

sRef Ex@21 @32 S0′ 9083. ‘And the ox shall be stoned’ means the punishment for destroying truth and good in the natural. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being stoned’ as the punishment for the destruction of the truth and good of faith, dealt with in 5156, 7456, 8575, 8799. The reason for its being in the natural is that the ox was to be stoned, and by ‘the ox’ is meant an affection for evil in the natural that has caused the destruction.

sRef Ex@21 @33 S0′ 9084. ‘And when a man opens a pit’ means if anyone receives falsity from another. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a pit’ as falsity, dealt with in 4728, 4744, 5038; and from the meaning of ‘opening’, when it refers to falsity, as receiving, at this point receiving from another since ‘or when a man digs a pit’ follows, which means receiving from oneself or fabricating oneself.

sRef Ex@21 @33 S0′ 9085. ‘Or when a man digs a pit, [and does not cover it]’ means, or if the person himself fabricates it. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a pit’ as falsity, and from the meaning of ‘digging’ as receiving from oneself or fabricating oneself, both dealt with immediately above in 9084.

sRef Ex@21 @33 S0′ 9086. ‘And an ox or an ass falls into it’ means, which perverts good or truth in the natural. This is clear from the meaning of ‘falling’ as perverting, dealt with below; from the meaning of ‘an ox’ as an affection for evil in the natural, thus evil there, dealt with above in 9065; and from the meaning of ‘an ass’ as truth in the natural, dealt with in 2781, 5492, 5741, 7024, 8078. The fact that ‘falling into a pit’ – when these words refer to good and truth in the natural, which are meant by ‘an ox and an ass’ – means perverting is evident from the contents of the next verse. These describe amendment made through truth, which can be accomplished with forms of good or truths that have been perverted, but not with those which have been wiped out. For when good or truth is perverted it still remains, but is misrepresented. ‘Falling’ also means slipping through error.

sRef Matt@15 @14 S2′ sRef Luke@14 @5 S2′ [2] Because this was meant by ‘falling into a pit’, the Lord therefore said,

Which of you, having an ass or an ox that has fallen into a well, will not immediately pull it out on the sabbath day? Luke 14:5.

The Lord said this when He healed someone with dropsy on the sabbath day. In that Church the sabbath day was the holiest because it was a sign of the heavenly marriage, which is the joining together of goodness and truth from the Lord, 8495, 8510. This explains why healings were performed by the Lord on the sabbath day; for healing implied the healing of spiritual life, and dropsy implied the perversion of truth and good, so that the healing of perverted truth implied amendment and restoration. All the Lord’s miracles implied and were signs of states of the Church, 8364, as is true of all Divine miracles in general, 7337. So it is then that the Lord said, ‘Which of you, having an ass or an ox that has fallen into a well, will not immediately pull it out on the sabbath day?’ by which in the spiritual sense what has just been stated was meant. For whatever the Lord spoke He spoke from the Divine; and since it came from the Divine every detail has an internal sense within it, 9049, 9063 (end). ‘A well’ in what He said is similar in meaning to ‘a pit’, namely falsity, 1688. And since ‘a pit’ means falsity the Lord also said, when talking about the falsities of the Church,

When the blind leads the blind both fall into a pit. Matt. 15:14.

‘The blind’ is someone with wrong ideas, and ‘falling into a pit’ means perverting truth. These words were used to make a comparison; but all comparisons in the Word were drawn from among objects used as signs of spiritual things, 3579, 8989.

sRef John@6 @63 S3′ [3] There are people who believe that the Divine holiness which the Word contains lies hidden on a level no higher than the meaning apparent in the letter. Such people’s vision of holiness in these words spoken by the Lord and in everything else in the Word arises solely from their belief that everything there is Divinely inspired, and that the things which no one can explain are arcana known only to God. But people who do not share that belief spurn the Word, solely because of its style, which is in appearance less polished than a style adopted to conform to the spirit of the age, such as that adopted by very many ancient and modern authors. But let these people know that Divine holiness lies in each and every detail of the Word. It consists however in this, that each and every detail has the Lord as its subject, also His kingdom and Church. All its details are extremely holy because they are Divine, received from the Lord, and so hold eternal life within them, as accords with the Lord’s words in John,

The words that I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life. John 6:63.

But the things that are Divine and holy are clearly visible to angels in heaven because they do not understand the Word in a natural way according to the literal sense, only in a spiritual way according to the internal sense. The latter sense could also be understood by people in the world if they were to lead an angelic life, that is to say, a life of faith and love. The things contained in the internal sense of the Word are one and the same as those which the genuine teachings of the Church present. Those which the genuine teachings of the Church present are the Lord, faith in Him, love to Him, and a love of the good that comes from Him, which love is charity towards the neighbour, 6709, 6710, 8123. Those who lead this angelic life, and no others at all, are enlightened by the Lord and see the holy things of the Word; see Preface to Genesis 18.

sRef Ex@21 @34 S0′ 9087. ‘The owner of the pit shall make repayment’ means that the one with whom the falsity resides shall make amends. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the owner of the pit’ as the one with whom the falsity resides, ‘the pit’ meaning falsity, see 9084, 9086; and from the meaning of ‘making repayment’ as making amends. The reason why ‘making repayment’ means making amends is that ‘a fine’ means amendment, 9045, and ‘the silver’ he was to pay means the truth by means of which the amendment was accomplished, dealt with in what follows next.

sRef Ex@21 @34 S0′ 9088. ‘He shall give silver to its owner’ means by means of truth with him whose good or truth in the natural has been perverted. This is clear from the meaning of ‘silver’ as truth, dealt with in 1551, 2048, 5658, 6112, 6914, 6917, 7999, and of ‘giving silver’ as redeeming by means of truth 2954; and from the meaning of ‘its owner’ – the owner of the ox or ass that fell into the pit – as the one whose good or truth in the natural has been perverted. For ‘ox’ is good in the natural, and ‘ass’ the truth there, 9086; and ‘falling into a pit’ means perverting them, 9086.

[2] The situation here is that if good or truth is perverted by falsity, then what has been perverted must be amended by means of truth, within the Church by means of truth from the Word, or from teachings drawn from the Word. The reason why it must be done this way is that truth teaches what evil is and what falsity is, and thereby a person sees and acknowledges them; and when he sees and acknowledges them amendment can be accomplished in him, since the Lord enters into those things with a person that the person knows, not into those he does not know. He does not therefore amend evil or falsity until the person has learned that it is evil or falsity. So it is that those who have to do the work of repentance must see and acknowledge their evils, and accordingly lead the life of truth, 8388-8392. The situation is similar with purification from the evils of self-love and love of the world. Purification from those loves cannot at all be accomplished except by means of the truths of faith, because these teach that all sinful desires spring from those loves. This explains why circumcision among the Israelite and Jewish nation was performed with a knife made of flint; for circumcision was a sign of purification from those foul loves, and the knife of flint with which it was performed was a sign of the truth of faith, 2799 (middle), 7044. By means of the truths of faith also a person is regenerated, 8635-8640, 8772. This was meant by the washings used in former times for ritual cleansings; and the same thing is also meant at the present day by the waters of baptism. For the waters are a sign of the truths of faith, by means of which evils are removed, 739, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 7307, 8568, and baptism is a sign of regeneration, 4255, 5120 (end).

[3] From all this it is evident how false the thinking is of those who believe that a person’s evils or sins are wiped away as dirt on the body is washed away by water, that the interiors of those who were washed with water in former times according to the rules of the Church were cleansed, and also that people at the present day are saved through undergoing baptism. In actual fact the washings in former times did no more than represent the cleansing of people interiorly, and baptism is only the sign of regeneration. The waters there mean the truths of faith by means of which a person is cleansed and regenerated, for by means of those truths are evils removed. Baptism is for those within the Church, because they have the Word, where the truths of faith, the means by which a person is regenerated, are to be found.

sRef Ex@21 @34 S0′ 9089. ‘And the dead [animal] shall be his’ means that the evil or falsity will remain with him. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the dead’ – when the words refer to good or truth in the natural, which is meant by ‘an ox or an ass’ – as evil or falsity, for when good dies evil replaces it, and when truth dies falsity replaces it (since ‘the dead’ means evil and falsity, those who will what is evil and believe what is false are called ‘the dead’, 7494); and from the meaning of ‘being his’ as remaining with him. The situation in all this is that if anyone uses falsity to destroy good or truth present with himself or with others he does so from evil, thus from the will by means of the understanding, for all evil belongs to the will and all falsity to the understanding. What is done through both parts of the mind remains, since it permeates the whole of the person’s life. It is different if the evil comes from the will and not at the same time from the understanding, 9009. All this shows why it was stipulated that ‘the dead [animal] shall be his’.

sRef Ex@21 @35 S0′ 9090. ‘And when a man’s ox inflicts a blow on [his] companion’s ox’ means two truths with dissimilar affections, and the affection with one injures that with the other. This is clear from the meaning of ‘inflicting a blow’ as injuring truth, dealt with above in 9057; from the meaning of ‘an ox’ as an affection for good, and in the contrary sense an affection for evil in the natural, also dealt with above, in 9065; and from the meaning of ‘a man’ as truth, dealt with in 9034, so that ‘man’ and ‘companion’ mean two truths. The reason why dissimilar affections are what are meant is that they are oxen, by which affections are meant, that injure each other. For things which are dissimilar injure each other, but not those which are not dissimilar.

[2] Those unacquainted with the nature of representatives and correspondences may be astonished to learn that ‘an ox’, being a beast, can mean an affection for good or an affection for evil present with a person But let them know that all beasts mean such things as belong to some affection or inclination. This is very well known in the spiritual world, for various kinds of beasts frequently make their appearance there, such as oxen’ young bulls, cows, horses, mules, asses, sheep, she-goats, kids, and lambs; also evil beasts, such as tigers, panthers, bears, dogs, pigs, and serpents, as well as beasts seen nowhere on our planet; and in addition various kinds of birds.

[3] The idea that such creatures make their appearance there lies far beyond the belief of those who suppose that nothing exists apart from what they see with their bodily eyes. But these same people also refuse to believe in the existence of spirits or angels, even more so in the idea that they appear to themselves as persons, see one another, talk to one another, and touch one another. Their incredulity is due to their thinking so much on the level of the senses and the body that they suppose their bodies alone are living. This is why, as has been stated, the idea of such creatures lies far beyond their belief. But I have not only seen such sights thousands of times; I have also been told where the creatures I have seen come from, and what they are signs of. I have also accordingly been told that, when presented visually in animal forms, affections for good in the natural appear as harmless oxen, and affections for evil as harmful oxen, and that all other affections are presented in the forms of other animals. So it is that different kinds of beasts are the signs of the various kinds of affections in a person to which they correspond. But regarding these matters see what has been shown already in 142, 143, 246, 714-716, 719, 1823, 2179, 2180, 2781, 2805, 2807, 2830, 3218, 3519, 5198, 7523.

sRef Ex@21 @35 S0′ 9091. ‘And it dies’ means so severely that the good affection perishes. This is clear from the meaning of ‘dying’ as perishing; and from the meaning of ‘the ox that has died from the blow struck by the other ox’ as a good affection, dealt with immediately above in 9090.

sRef Ex@21 @35 S0′ 9092. ‘They shall sell the living ox’ means that the affection with the one which has injured the affection with the other shall be alienated. This is clear from the meaning of ‘selling’ as alienating, dealt with in 4098, 4752, 4758, 5886; and from the meaning of ‘the living ox’ as the affection with the one truth which has injured the affection with the other truth, dealt with above in 9090.

sRef Ex@21 @35 S0′ 9093. ‘And divide the silver from it’ means that its truth will be dispersed. This is clear from the meaning of ‘dividing’ as banishing and dispersing, dealt with in 6360, 6361; and from the meaning of ‘silver’ as truth, dealt with in 1551, 2048, 5658, 6112, 6914, 6917, 7999. The reason why ‘dividing’ means dispersing is that if things existing in association are divided they are also scattered, as when a person destroys his mind by dividing it. For the human mind consists of two parts existing in association; one part is called the understanding, the other part is called the will. A person who divides these two parts scatters what belongs to each part individually; for one part must receive its life from the other, and therefore when one perishes, so does the other. It is similar when someone divides truth from good, or what amounts to the same thing, faith from charity; when anyone does this he destroys both. In short, all the things which ought to be a single whole perish if they are divided.

sRef Matt@24 @51 S2′ sRef Matt@24 @50 S2′ sRef Luke@16 @13 S2′ [2] This division is meant by the Lord’s words in Luke,

No one can serve two masters; either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will prefer the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Luke 16:13.

That is, it is not possible to serve the Lord through belief in Him and at the same time serve the world by loving it, thus to acknowledge truth and at the same time to do evil. Anyone who behaves in this way has his mind divided, as a result of which it is destroyed. From all this it is evident why it is that ‘dividing’ means dispersing; and the same is clearly the meaning in Matthew also,

The master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and in an hour he does not know. And he will divide him and assign him his part with the hypocrites. Matt. 24:50, 51.

‘Dividing’ here means separating and removing from forms of good and truths, 4424, thus dispersing them.

sRef Gen@49 @7 S3′ [3] In Moses,

Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is hard.* I will divide them in Jacob, and will scatter them in Israel. Gen. 49:7.

These words occur in Israel’s prophetic utterance regarding Simeon and Levi. ‘Simeon’ and ‘Levi’ here represent those steeped in faith separated from charity, 6352; and ‘Jacob’ and ‘Israel’ represent the external and the internal Church, also the external and the internal man, 4286, 4598, 5973, 6360, 6361. ‘Dividing them in Jacob’ means banishing them from the external Church, and ‘scattering them in Israel’ from the internal Church, thus dispersing the Church’s forms of good and its truths residing with them.

sRef Dan@5 @2 S4′ sRef Dan@5 @3 S4′ sRef Dan@5 @28 S4′ sRef Dan@5 @25 S4′ sRef Dan@5 @4 S4′ [4] It is also evident that ‘dividing’ has this meaning from the words written on the wall when Belshazzar king of Babel, together with his nobles, wives, and concubines, drank wine out of the vessels of gold and of silver that had belonged to the Temple in Jerusalem, Dan. 5:2-4, 25, 28. What was written said, ‘Numbered, numbered, weighed, and divided,’ ‘divided’ here meaning separated from the kingdom. Those verses show how all things at that time were representative. They describe the profanation of goodness and truth, which is meant by ‘Babel’. Profanation is meant by ‘Babel’, see 1182, 1283, 1295, 1304-1308, 1321, 1322, 1326. Forms of the good of love, also the truths of faith, received from the Lord, are meant by ‘the vessels of gold and silver’, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917. Profanation is meant by drinking out of them, and by praising then the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone (as verse 4 says there), which are a string of evils and falsities, 4402 (end), 4544, 7873, 8941. ‘The Temple in Jerusalem’ from which the vessels had come means in the highest sense the Lord, and in the representative sense His kingdom and Church, 3720. Belshazzar’s kingdom when it had been divided was a sign of the dispersion of goodness and truth, and his being killed that very night a sign of deprivation of the life of truth and good, which is damnation. For ‘being divided’ is being dispersed; ‘king’ is the truth of good, 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148, the same thing being meant by ‘kingdom’, 1672, 2547, 4691; ‘being killed’ means being deprived of the life of truth and good, 3607, 6767, 8902; and ‘the night’ in which he was killed is a state of evil and falsity, 2353, 7776, 7851, 7870, 7947. From this it is evident that all things there were representative.

sRef John@19 @24 S5′ sRef Matt@27 @35 S5′ aRef Matt@27 @51 S5′ sRef John@19 @23 S5′ sRef Ps@22 @18 S5′ [5] It says in David,

They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing cast lots. Ps. 22:18.

And in Matthew,

They divided the garments (the Lord’s), casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was said by the prophet. Matt. 27:35.

Also in John,

The soldiers took the garments and made four parts; and the tunic. The tunic was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said regarding it Let us not divide it, but cast lots for it, whose it may be – so that the Scripture might be fulfilled. John 19:23, 24.

The person who reads these things, knowing nothing about the internal sense of the Word, is unaware of any arcanum that lies concealed within them, when in fact every detail holds a Divine arcanum. The arcanum was that Divine Truths had been dispersed by the Jews. For the Lord was Divine Truth, which is why He is called the Word in John 1:1 and the following verses, ‘the Word’ being Divine Truth. His garments represented truths in the outward form they take, His tunic truths in their inward form; and the dividing of the garments represented the dispersing of the truths of faith by the Jews. For the meaning of ‘garments’ as truths in the outward form they take, see 2576, 5248, 5954, 6918, and for that of ‘tunic’ as truth in its inward form, 4677. Truths in their outward form are truths as they exist in the literal sense of the Word, but truths in their inward form are truths as they exist in the spiritual sense of the Word. ‘Dividing the garments into four parts’ meant total dispersion, in the same way that dividing does in Zechariah 14:4, and elsewhere. Dividing into two parts – as it says in Matt. 27:51; Mark 15:38, regarding the veil of the Temple – has a like meaning. The splitting apart of the rocks also at that time, Matt. 27:51, represented the dispersing of all matters of faith; for ‘rock’ means the Lord in respect of faith, and therefore means faith received from the Lord, 8581.
* i.e. cruel

sRef Ex@21 @35 S0′ 9094. ‘And they shall also divide the dead one’ means that the injuring affection as well will be dispersed. This is clear from the meaning of ‘that which is dead’ as evil and falsity, dealt with above in 9008, so that ‘a dead ox’ means an affection for evil and falsity in the natural, thus an injuring affection since evil causes injury by means of falsity; and from the meaning of ‘dividing’ as dispersing, as above in 9093. It is not easy to explain in a way that can be understood the nature of the matters contained in the internal sense of this verse. They are such as can be comprehended by angels, but only to some extent by men. For angels see the arcana of the Word in light that flows from the Lord; and in that light countless things are made visible which cannot be put into words, or even into mental pictures that a person could assimilate while living in the body. The reason for this is that with people in the world the light of heaven flows into the light of the world and so into such things there as either eliminate, reject, or darken and thereby weaken the light of heaven, such things being worldly and bodily cares, especially those that flow from self-love and love of the world. This is the reason why the perceptions belonging to angelic wisdom are for the most part beyond description and also beyond comprehension. [2] However, a person enters into such wisdom after the body has been cast aside, that is, after death, but only the person who, when in the world, received the life of faith and charity from the Lord. The ability to receive that wisdom is held within the good of faith and charity. Much experience too has allowed me to know that the things which angels see and think about in the light of heaven are beyond description. When I have been raised into that light I have seemed to myself to understand everything the angels spoke there. But when I was brought down from there to the light of the external or natural man and in that light wished to recall the things I had heard there, I could not put them into words or even find ideas in my mind to embrace them, except for a few, and even these few in a dim manner. From all this it is evident that the things seen and heard in heaven are such as eye has never seen or ear heard.

[3] This is what the things that lie concealed inmostly in the internal sense of the Word are like. The situation is similar with the contents of the internal sense in this verse and the next. The things there which are capable of being explained and understood are these: All the truths present with a person possess life from affections belonging to some love or other. Truth without life from that source is like a sound emitted by the mouth without an idea behind it, or like a sound made by a mechanical man. From this it is evident that the life of a person’s understanding comes from the life of his will, consequently the life of truth from the life of good, since truth occupies the understanding and good the will. If therefore two truths exist which do not receive their life from the same general affection but from dissimilar affections, they are inevitably dispersed since they clash with each other. And when truths are dispersed, the affections they belong to are dispersed as well. For there is a general affection, which brings all the truths present with a person together under it; and that general affection is good. These are the things that are capable of being stated regarding what is meant in the internal sense by two men’s oxen, one of which inflicts a blow on the other ox, which as a result dies, and now by the stipulation that the living ox shall be sold, the silver shall be divided, and the dead ox too.

[4] Is there anyone belonging to the Church who does not know that every detail of the Word is Divine? But can anyone see anything Divine in these laws regarding oxen and asses falling into a pit, and regarding oxen striking with their horn, if they are considered and explained only on the level of the sense of the letter? Yet those laws are Divine, even on this level, if at the same time they are considered and explained on the level of the internal sense, because on this level every detail of the Word refers to the Lord, His kingdom and Church, thus to things that are Divine. For if anything is to be Divine and holy it must refer to Divine and holy subjects; the subject to which it refers makes it such. The worldly and civil regulations, such as the judgements, statutes, and laws declared by the Lord from Mount Sinai and contained in this chapter of Exodus and those that follow, are Divine and holy through inspiration. But inspiration is not dictation; rather it is influx from the Divine. What flows in from the Divine passes through heaven, where it is celestial and spiritual. But when it enters the world it becomes worldly, yet holds within itself what is celestial and spiritual. From this it is evident where the Divinity of the Word springs from and where it resides in the Word, and what inspiration is.

sRef Ex@21 @36 S0′ 9095. ‘Or if it is known that the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past’ means [if] it has been known previously that [its] affection is such. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being known’, or having been testified, as having passed into the understanding, as above in 9071, for what passes into it from the will is that which becomes known; and from the meaning of ‘that the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past’ as that the affection has previously been such, also as above, in 9070.

sRef Ex@21 @36 S0′ 9096. ‘And its owner does not keep it in’ means, and if it is not held in bonds. This is clear from the meaning of ‘keeping in’ as holding in bonds, that is to say, the affection for evil in the natural, which would otherwise injure the truth of faith The reason why ‘keeping in’ means holding in bonds is that ‘becoming known’ means passing into the understanding, 9095, and the understanding is what sees evil. What is seen can be restrained and held in bonds, not by the understanding but by the Lord through the understanding; for the Lord flows into things residing with a person that are known to him, not into those unknown to him. Holding in bonds is used to mean halting and restraining, ‘bonds’ in the spiritual sense meaning nothing other than affections belonging to love, since they are what lead a person and what restrain him. If affections for evil lead him, there must be affections for truth springing from good that will restrain him. Internal bonds with a person are affections for truth and good; these are also called the bonds of conscience. But external bonds are affections belonging to self-love and love of the world; for these lead a person in external matters. If these affections come down from internal bonds, which are affections for truth and good, they are good, for then the person loves self and the world not for their own sake but for the sake of good services performed by self and the world, 7819, 7820, 8995. But if those affections do not come down from such bonds they are bad and are called evil desires, for then the person loves self and the world for their own sake.

sRef John@8 @31 S2′ sRef John@8 @36 S2′ sRef John@8 @32 S2′ sRef John@8 @34 S2′ [2] From all this one may now know what the terms ‘internal bonds’ and ‘external bonds’, which have been mentioned frequently, are used to mean. But bonds so called are not bonds except in relation to opposites. For when an affection belonging to the love of good moves a person to do something he acts in freedom; but when an affection belonging to the love of evil moves a person he seems to himself to act in freedom, yet does not act in freedom because he is moved by evil desires coming from hell. He alone is free who has an affection for good, because he is led by the Lord. This also the Lord teaches in John,

If you remain in My word, truly you are My disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. Everyone committing sin is a slave of sin. If the Son makes you free, you will be truly free. John 8:31, 32, 34, 36.

‘Freedom’ consists in being led by the Lord, and ‘servitude’ in being led by evil desires coming from hell, see 892, 905, 2870-2893, 6205, 6477, 8209; for the Lord imparts to a person affections for good and a loathing of evil, so that for that person, doing good is freedom and doing evil is complete servitude. Anyone who believes that Christian freedom extends beyond these boundaries is very much in error.

sRef Ex@21 @36 S0′ 9097. ‘He shall surely repay ox for ox’ means restoration to the full. This is clear from the meaning of ‘repaying’ as restoring, to the full being meant by ‘surely repaying’; and from the meaning of ‘ox’ as an affection in the natural, dealt with above in 9065.

9097a ‘And the dead one shall be his’ means for the injuring affection. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the dead one’ – the dead ox – as an affection for evil; for ‘that which is dead’ means evil and falsity, in keeping with what has been stated above in 9089. The nature of the things contained in the internal sense of this verse may be deduced from the explanation above in 9094.

sRef Ex@22 @1 S0′ 9098. Verse 37* When a man steals an ox or a member of the flock, and slaughters it or sells it, he shall repay five oxen for the ox, and four of the flock for the member of the flock.

‘When a man steals an ox or a member of the flock’ means whoever takes away from someone his good, exterior or interior. ‘And slaughters it’ means [if] he wipes it out. ‘Or sells it’ means, or if he alienates it. ‘He shall repay five oxen for the ox’ means the corresponding punishment, carried to a great degree. ‘And four of the flock for the member of the flock’ also means the corresponding punishment, carried out in full.
* In English versions of the Scriptures Exodus 22 begins here.

sRef Ex@22 @1 S0′ 9099. ‘When a man steals an ox or a member of the flock’ means whoever takes away from someone his good, exterior or interior. This is clear from the meaning of ‘stealing’ as taking away from someone his spiritual possessions or goods, dealt with in 5135, 8906; from the meaning of ‘an ox’ as an affection for good in the natural, thus exterior good, dealt with in 2180, 2566, 2781, 2830, 5913, 8937; and from the meaning of ‘a member of the flock’ as interior good. For members of the flock mean forms of interior good, and members of the herd forms of exterior good, 2566, 5913, 6048, 8937.

sRef Ex@22 @1 S0′ 9100. ‘And slaughters it’ means [if] he wipes it out. This is clear without explanation.

sRef Ex@22 @1 S0′ 9101. ‘Or sells it’ means, or if he alienates it. This is clear from the meaning of ‘selling’ as alienating, dealt with in 4098, 4752, 4758, 5886, 6143.

sRef Ex@22 @1 S0′ 9102. ‘He shall repay five oxen for the ox’ means the corresponding punishment, carried to a great degree. This is clear from the meaning of ‘five’ as something, dealt with in 4638, 5291, and also much or a great amount, 5708, 5956; and from the meaning of ‘repaying’ as amendment, 9087, and as restoration, 9097. The reason why it also means punishment is that when good that has been alienated has to receive amendment, or has to be restored, a person undergoes hard experiences. For either he is abandoned to his evil, thus also to the punishment accompanying evil since evil carries punishment with it, 8214, or he is brought into temptations by means of which evil is tamed and removed, which is the punishment meant here by ‘repaying’. It is the corresponding punishment because the evil incurred as punishment and the evil of the wrong-doing correspond, 1857, 6559, 8214.

sRef Ex@22 @1 S0′ 9103. ‘And four of the flock for the member of the flock’ also means the corresponding punishment carried out in full. This is clear from the meaning of ‘four’ as joined together, for ‘four’ is similar in meaning to ‘two’ because four is the product of two times two (for the meaning of ‘two’ as joined together, see 5194, 8423, and therefore also ‘four’, 1686, 8877), from which it follows that those numbers also mean to the complete amount, since what has been joined together is complete; and from the meaning of ‘a member of the flock’ as interior good, dealt with just above in 9099. The corresponding punishment is meant by ‘repaying’, at this point ‘four of the flock for one member of the flock’, 9102. Interior good is what charity in the interior man is called, exterior good being charity in the exterior man. The latter good must receive life from the former, for the good of charity in the interior man is the good of spiritual life, and the good of charity in the exterior man is the good of natural life from the spiritual. This exterior good enters a person’s feelings as delight, but not so interior good. Instead this enters his awareness that it ought to be so, and enables his mind to feel contented. In the next life however interior good too enters into a person’s feelings.

[2] No one can know the reason why five oxen were to be used in repayment for an ox, and four of the flock for the member of the flock, unless he knows what ‘theft’ is in the spiritual sense, and also what ‘an ox’ and ‘a member of the flock’ are. What these things mean has been explained, namely taking away and alienating exterior and interior good, the taking away being done by evil and the alienation by falsity. Consequently punishment and the restoration of them are meant by ‘five’ end ‘four’; for all numbers in the Word serve to mean spiritual things, see 575, 647, 648, 755, 813, 1963, 1988, 2075, 2252, 3252, 4264, 4495, 4670, 5265, 6175, at this point things having to do with restoration. That is to say, the number ‘five’ refers to restoration of exterior good to a great degree, and the number ‘four’ to restoration of interior good in full. The reason why interior good must be restored completely is that this good constitutes a person’s spiritual life; and unless his spiritual life is restored completely the exterior good constituting his natural life cannot be restored; for the latter life is restored by means of the former, as may be recognized from a person’s regeneration. The external man is regenerated by means of the internal, see 9043, 9046, 9061; but good in the external or natural man cannot be restored completely because the blow it has been struck remains there as a scar that becomes hardened. These are the things implied by those numbers.

[3] Something further must be said briefly about the restoration of the exterior good constituting a person’s natural life by means of the interior good constituting his spiritual life. The natural level of a person’s mind sees things in the light of the world, the light that is called natural illumination. A person acquires this illumination through objects entering his awareness by means of sight and hearing, that is, by impressions of objects received from the world. Thus the person sees those objects with his mind’s eye almost exactly as his physical eye sees them. Initially the objects that he is made aware of through those senses are all a pleasure and delight to him. Later on, when still a young child, he makes distinctions among the objects that are a delight to him, and thereby learns to discriminate, gradually doing so more and more accurately. When the light from heaven flows into these things the person begins to see them spiritually, discriminating initially between the ones that are useful and those that are not useful. As a consequence he starts to see the truth clearly; for that which he sees to be useful he sees to be true, and that which he does not see to be useful he sees to be not true. This ability to see truth increases as the inflowing light from heaven grows brighter, until eventually he discriminates not only between truths, but even between truths within these truths. And this he does ever more clearly, as the communication between the internal man and the external man is improved and opened up; for the light of heaven flows in from the Lord through the internal man into the external. From this the person now has perception; nevertheless this is still not spiritual perception.

[4] Spiritual perception does not grow out of natural truths but out of spiritual truths, spiritual truths being what are called the truths of faith. The reason why spiritual perception grows out of these truths is that the light of heaven is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord. It is the light that shines for the angels’ eyes; it also shines in their understanding and imparts intelligence and wisdom to them, in varying amounts, depending on its reception within good. Therefore, if spiritual perception is to grow a person must have cognitions or knowledge of spiritual things in his natural, and such knowledge of spiritual things must come from revelation. When the light of heaven flows into them it flows into what are its own; for as has been stated, that light is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, see 1053, 1521-1533, 1619-1632, 2776, 3138, 3167, 3195, 3222, 3223, 3341, 3636, 3643, 4180, 4302, 4408, 4415, 4527, 5400, 6032, 6313, 6608. This is how a person acquires intelligence and wisdom in such matters as belong to eternal life; and they increase in the measure that such light – that is, in the measure that the truths of faith – are received within good, the good being charity.

[5] The fact that the natural or external man is regenerated, and also undergoes amendment and is restored by means of the internal, may be recognized from what has now been stated. Things in the external or natural man receive life from the light of heaven; for this light is living, because it emanates from the Lord, who is Life itself. They do not receive their life from natural light, since this light is in itself dead. If therefore things in natural light are to have life there must be an inflow of the living light, coming from the Lord through the internal man. This inflow adjusts itself to cognitions of truth present in the natural that are analogous and correspond, and to other things there that can serve. From this it is evident that a person’s external or natural must be regenerated by means of his internal; and the good in the natural that has been taken away or alienated has to be amended and restored by the same means.

9104. SPIRITS AND INHABITANTS OF THE PLANET SATURN – continued

Certain spirits from our planet travelled over to spirits belonging to the planet Saturn, who, as stated above, are positioned a considerable distance away, since they appear at the extremity of our solar system. Such a journey is completed in an instant, because distances in the next life are appearances, produced by the differences that lie between one state of life and another, 2625, 2837, 3356, 3387, 3404, 4321, 4882, 5605, 7381, and because a state in which there is a desire to talk to another brings people together. So it is that those who have had some connection with one another in the world, either through love, friendship, or respect, come together in the next life when they desire it But afterwards they are separated to the extent that their states of life are dissimilar.

9105. After the spirits belonging to Saturn had spoken to those belonging to our planet, they spoke to me from there through intermediary spirits. They said they were astonished that they should be approached so many times by spirits from our planet who ask them which God they worship. And when they realize that spirits belonging to our planet are asking such things they reply that they are insane; for nothing can be more insane than to ask which God someone worships, when yet there is only one God for everyone in the universe. They add that what makes them even more insane is their not knowing that the Lord is that one and only God, and that He rules the whole of heaven and consequently the whole world. For whoever rules heaven also rules the world, since the world is ruled through heaven.

9106. They also said that another kind of spirits who move around in troops frequently approach them, desiring to know what things are like among them, and by various methods they elicit from them the things they know. They said that these spirits are not insane, except in their wishing to know so many things for no other purpose than that they may know them. Afterwards they were told that those spirits come from the planet Mercury. Knowledge and the resulting intelligence alone delight such spirits, rather than the useful services that result from them, unless the useful services are also a matter of knowledge to them, 6811, 6815, 6921-6932, 7069-7079, 7170-7177.

9107. Experience has allowed me to know plainly in what way the spirits belonging to our planet and the spirits belonging to Saturn are different, and at the same time to know how the spiritual or internal man and the natural or external man conflict and clash with each other when the latter is without faith or charity. For in the Grand Man spirits belonging to Saturn correlate with something which lies between spiritual perceiving and natural perceiving, though tending away from the natural and towards the spiritual, 8953, whereas the spirits belonging to our planet correlate with natural or bodily perceiving. This being so, the latter correlate with the external man, but the former with the internal. How great the conflict and clash between them is when the external or natural man does not receive spiritual life through faith in and love to the Lord has been shown to me by the following experience.

9108. Spirits belonging to the planet Saturn came into view from a long way off, and at the same time a large number of spirits from our planet were present. When the latter saw them they became as if insane, and started to molest them, pouring out shameful remarks about faith and also about the Lord. Full of such abuse, they also threw themselves among them and in their insane frame of mind tried to do them harm. The spirits belonging to Saturn however were completely unafraid, because they were protected and also felt calm in mind. But the spirits from our planet, while in among them, began to find it difficult to breathe, and consequently to be in agony, as a result of which they hurled themselves out, one this way and another that, and so disappeared.

9109. The bystanders recognized from all this what the external or natural man separated from the internal is like when entering the spiritual sphere, which is the internal man’s sphere of life (surrounding everyone there is a sphere emanating from the life of his love, see 1048, 1053, 1316, 1504-1512, 4464, 5179, 6206 (end), 7454); they recognized that then the external man is insane. The reason for the insanity is that the natural man separated from the spiritual receives wisdom solely from the world, and none at all from heaven. But anyone who receives wisdom solely from the world does not believe anything apart from what he perceives with the senses; and what he believes he is led to believe by the illusions of the senses, consequently by falsities. To him therefore spiritual things are nothing, so completely nothing that he can scarcely bear to hear the word ‘spiritual’ used. Therefore also he does not apprehend what ‘the internal man is, nor consequently does he believe in the existence of an internal man. This explains why such people are insane when held in a spiritual sphere. It is different while they are living in the world; during that time either they think in natural ways about spiritual things, or they turn away their ear, that is, they hear but pay no attention. Such people also suffer pain and blindness when they are raised into a spiritual sphere, see 8797.

9110. The same experience also proved that the natural man cannot enter, that is, cannot come up into the spiritual man. But when a person who has faith and consequently leads a spiritual life is engaged in thought, the spiritual man comes down into – that is, it engages in thought within – the natural man. For influx, when it takes place, is spiritual; that is, it passes from the spiritual world into the natural world, but not vice versa. Physical influx is altogether contrary to order and unnatural, thus is impossible, see 3721, 5119, 5259, 5779, 6322, 8237. This explains why, when the natural man separated from the internal comes into a sphere of spiritual life, he is seized first with blindness, then with insanity, and finally with agony. So it is also that those in hell do not dare to look towards heaven, 4225, 4226, 8137, 8265, 8945, 8946.

9111. At the end of the next chapter something will be said about spirits belonging to the Moon, and also about why the Lord was willing to be born on our planet and not on another.

9112. 22

TEACHINGS ABOUT CHARITY

What conscience is must be stated next. Conscience in a person is formed from the beliefs that his religion has given him, depending on how deeply he accepts them.

9113. Conscience in a member of the Church is formed by the truths of faith received from the Word, or from religious teachings drawn from the Word, according to his acceptance of them in his heart. For when a person has a knowledge of the truths of faith and understands them in his own particular way, and then wills and does them, conscience takes shape in him. Acceptance in the heart is acceptance in the will, for a person’s will is what is called the heart.

9114. So it is that when people who have conscience speak they speak from the heart, and when they act they act from the heart. They also have an undivided mind, since they act in accordance with what they believe to be true and good, indeed in accordance with what they understand to be so. Consequently those who are more enlightened than others in the truths of faith and whose perception is clearer can be endowed with a more perfect conscience than those who are less enlightened and whose perception is dim.

9115. The people with conscience are those who have received a new will from the Lord. That will itself is their conscience; therefore acting contrary to conscience is acting contrary to their new will. And since the good of charity composes the new will it also composes conscience.

9116. Since conscience is formed by the truths of faith, as stated above in 9113, even as the new will and charity are formed by them, it also follows that acting contrary to the truths of faith is acting contrary to conscience.

9117. Since faith and charity that come from the Lord compose a person’s spiritual life, it also follows that acting contrary to conscience is acting contrary to that life.

9118. Now since acting contrary to conscience is acting contrary to the new will, contrary to charity, and contrary to the truths of faith, consequently contrary to the life that comes to a person from the Lord, it is evident that a person feels calm and at peace, experiencing inner bliss, when he acts according to conscience, but uneasy, indeed anguished when he acts contrary to conscience. This feeling of anguish is what is called the pangs of conscience.

9119. Human conscience involves a sense of what is good or a sense of what is right. A sense of what is good is conscience as it exists with the internal man, while a sense of what is right is conscience as it exists with the external man. The sense of what is good consists in being moved by an inward affection to act in accordance with what faith prescribes, whereas the sense of what is right consists in being moved by an outward affection to act in accordance with civil and moral laws. Those having a sense of what is good have as well a sense of what is right; but those having merely a sense of what is right possess the ability to acquire a sense of what is good, and do also acquire it after instruction.

9120. Let examples also demonstrate what conscience is. If someone has in his possession another person’s goods without that person’s knowing it, which makes it possible for him to keep them without fear of the law, loss of position, or loss of reputation, and yet he returns those goods to the other person because they are not his own, he has conscience. He does what is good for its own sake, and what is right for its own sake. Or if someone has the opportunity to attain an eminent position, and then, on seeing that another who seeks it is more useful to the country, yields the position to that other person for the sake of the country’s good, he has conscience. And so on with all other examples.

9121. From these examples one may deduce what people who do not have conscience are like; they are recognized as being the opposite. Those among them who for the sake of some kind of gain make what is wrong look like what is right, and what is bad look like what is good, and vice versa, do not have conscience. Those among them who know that what they do is wrong or bad, but still do it, do not know what conscience is; and if they are taught what it is they have no wish to know it. This is what people who do everything for selfish and worldly reasons are like.

9122. Those who have not acquired conscience in the world cannot acquire conscience in the next life. So they cannot be saved, since there is no field established in them for heaven to come into and act on, that is, for the Lord to do so through heaven, so that He may draw them to Himself. For conscience is the field of activity and receptacle for heaven to come into. Consequently in the next life people such as these pass into communities of those who love self and the world above all things, that is, who are in hell.

EXODUS 22

2* If a thief is caught digging through** and is struck, and he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him.***

3 If the sun has risen on him, there shall be bloodguilt for him – [the thief] must surely make repayment; if he has nothing, he shall be sold for his theft.

4 If the theft is certainly found in his hand, whether it is ox or ass, or member of the flock,**** [and they are] alive, he shall repay double.

5 When a man devastates a field or a vineyard, sending in his beast of burden and causing devastation***** in another’s field, he shall make repayment from the best of his own field or from the best of his own vineyard.

6 When fire breaks out and catches hold of thorns, and a stack of grain is consumed, or standing grain, or a field, the one kindling what is kindled shall surely make repayment.

7 When a man delivers to his companion silver or vessels for safe keeping, and it is taken away by theft out of the man’s house, if the thief is caught he shall repay double.

8 If the thief is not caught, the master of the house shall be brought to God****** [to see] whether or not he has put his hand into his companion’s property.*******

9 For every matter of transgression – [whether it is] for an ox, for an ass, for a member of the flock, for clothing, [or] for anything that is lost, about which one says, This is it – the case******** of both parties shall come even to God,****** and the one whom God condemns********* shall repay double to his companion.

10 When a man delivers to his companion an ass, or an ox, or a member of the flock, or any beast for safe keeping, and it dies or is broken,********** or is led away captive, and no one sees it,

11 An oath of Jehovah shall be between them both, [to see] whether or not its owner has put his hand into his companion’s property******* and taken it; and [the other man] shall not make repayment.

12 But if it has indeed been taken away from him by theft, he shall make repayment to its owner.

13 If it has been torn to pieces, he shall bring it [as] witness;*********** he shall not make repayment for what has been torn.

14 And when a man borrows something from his companion, and it is broken********** or dies, its owner not being with it, he shall surely make repayment.

15 If its owner is with it, he shall not make repayment; if he is a hired servant he shall come in his hire.

16 When a man persuades a virgin who is not betrothed and lies with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife.

17 If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay silver according to the dowry of virgins.

18 A sorceress you shall not keep alive.

19 Anyone lying with a beast shall surely die.

20 He who sacrifices to the gods shall be utterly destroyed – except to Jehovah alone.

21 And a sojourner you shall not afflict and shall not oppress, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.

22 Any widow or orphan you shall not afflict.

23 If you do indeed afflict him, and if he surely cries out to Me, I will surely hear his cry.

24 And My anger will blaze up, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives will become widows, and your sons orphans.

25 If you lend silver to My people, to the needy one with you, you shall not be like a money-lender to him; you shall not charge him interest.

26 If you ever take your companion’s clothing as a pledge you shall restore it to him even at the going in of the sun.

27 For this is his only covering; it is his clothing for his skin, in which he may sleep; and it shall be, when he cries out to Me, that I shall hear, for I am merciful.

28 You shall not revile God, and you shall not curse a governor of your people.

29 You shall not be slow [to offer] the firstfruits of your grain and the firstfruits of your wine. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me.

30 You shall do the same with your oxen, [and] with your flock. Seven days it shall be with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.

31 And men of holiness shall you be to Me. And you shall not eat flesh torn in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.************
* Exod. 22:1 in English versions of the Scriptures is Exod. 21:37 in Hebrew and Latin Bibles.
** i.e. breaking into a house at night by making a hole in its walls
*** lit. there shall not be bloods for him
**** lit. from ox even to ass, even to member of the flock
***** lit. and sends in his beast of burden and devastates
****** i.e. the judges
******* lit. work
******** lit. word or matter
********* The verb here in the Latin and in the Hebrew is plural. The subject of the verb in the Latin is singular (Deus); but the Hebrew word (Elohim), though plural in form and therefore sometimes used to mean gods, is more often the proper name God. In this particular instance Elohim is taken to mean the judges, i.e. those who act on behalf of God.
********** i.e. is injured
*********** The Latin means he shall bring the witness (i.e. evidence) to him but the Hebrew seems to mean he shall bring it [as] witness.
************ lit. a dog

sRef Ex@22 @0 S0′ 9123. CONTENTS

The internal sense of this chapter deals with different ways in which harm is done to the truth of faith and the good of charity, and with making amends and undertaking restoration for them. It also deals with the help that should be offered if they are wiped out. Later on the chapter deals with instruction in the truths of faith, and finally with a person’s state of life when the good of charity is present in him.


sRef Ex@22 @3 S0′ sRef Ex@22 @1 S0′ sRef Ex@22 @4 S0′ sRef Ex@22 @3 S0′ sRef Ex@22 @2 S0′ sRef Ex@22 @2 S0′ 9124. THE INTERNAL SENSE

Verses 2-4 If a thief is caught digging through* and is struck, and he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him.** If the sun has risen on him, there shall be bloodguilt for him – [the thief] must surely make repayment; if he has nothing, he shall be sold for his theft. If the theft is certainly found in his hand, whether it is ox or ass, or member of the flock,*** [and they are] alive, he shall repay double.

‘If a thief is caught digging through’ means if it is not apparent that good or truth is being taken away. ‘And is struck, and he dies’ means if in this situation harm is done to it, so great that it is wiped out. ‘There shall be no bloodguilt for him’ means that he is not guilty of the violence done. ‘If the sun has risen on him’ means if he sees it clearly from a more internal level. ‘There shall be bloodguilt for him’ means that he is guilty. ‘[The thief] must surely make repayment’ means making amends and undertaking restoration for the truth or good that has been taken away. ‘If he has nothing’ means if nothing remains. ‘He shall be sold for his theft’ means alienation. ‘If the theft is certainly found in his hand’ means if any truth or good is left by means of which restoration can be made. ‘Whether it is ox or ass’ means whether it is exterior good or truth. ‘Or member of the flock’ means or it is interior truth and good. ‘[And they are] alive’ means which have spiritual life within them. ‘He shall repay double’ means restoration to the complete amount.
* i.e. breaking into a house at night by making a hole in its walls
** lit. there shall not be bloods for him
*** lit. from ox even to ass, even to member of the flock

sRef Ex@22 @2 S0′ 9125. ‘If a thief is caught digging through’ means if it is not apparent that good or truth is being taken away. This is clear from the meaning of ‘digging through’ as perpetrating evil in concealment, and – when said of a thief – as taking away good or truth by means of falsity arising from evil so as not to be seen, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘a thief’ as one who takes away good and truth, dealt with in 5135, 8906, 9018, 9020, and in the abstract sense as truth or good that has been taken away. The term ‘abstract sense’ is used because angels, who see the internal sense of the Word, think in abstraction from persons, 5225, 5287, 5434, 8343, 8985, 9007. The Word too in its internal sense has spiritual realities instead of worldly objects, without any narrowing down to persons or places.

sRef Ezek@8 @8 S2′ sRef Amos@9 @2 S2′ sRef Job@24 @17 S2′ sRef Ezek@8 @7 S2′ sRef Job@24 @15 S2′ sRef Job@24 @16 S2′ sRef Jer@2 @34 S2′ [2] As regards the meaning of ‘digging through’ as perpetrating evil in concealment, and – when said of a thief – as taking away good or truth by means of falsity arising from evil so as not to be seen, all this is evident from the consideration that a distinction is drawn here between a theft committed by digging through and a theft committed when the sun has risen, spoken of in the next verse. That ‘digging through’ has this meaning is also clear from places in the Word in which the expression occurs, as in Jeremiah,

Yes, in your skirts the blood of poor innocent souls is found. I have found those things not by digging through but on them all. Jer. 2:34.

This refers to foul kinds of love and the evils resulting from them. ‘I have found those things not by digging through’ stands for not discovering them by investigating secretly. Therefore it says those things are ‘on them all’, that is, they are visible everywhere. In Ezekiel,

He brought me to the door of the court, where I looked, and behold, a hole in the wall. He said to me, Dig, now, through the wall. I therefore dug through the wall, and behold, a door. Ezek. 8:7, 8.

This refers to the abominations of the house of Israel which they performed secretly. ‘Digging through the wall’ means going in secretly and seeing what they do. In Amos,

If they dig through into hell, from there My hand will take them. Or if they mount up into heaven, from there I will throw them down. Amos 9:2.

‘Digging through into hell’ means hiding oneself there, and so among falsities arising from evil. Hell consists in falsity arising from evil, since that falsity reigns there. The falsities there are called darkness, within which they hide away from the light of heaven; for they flee from the light of heaven, which is Divine Truth from the Lord. In Job,

The eye of the adulterer watches for twilight, saying, No eye will see me. And he will put on a covering for his face. He digs through* houses in the darkness. In the daytime they mark [them] for themselves; they do not acknowledge the light. For the morning is the same to them as the shadow of death, since they acknowledge the terrors of the shadow of death. Job 24:15-17.

Here ‘digging through houses’ plainly stands for secretly plundering another’s goods. For it says that ‘he digs through houses in the darkness’; that he watches for twilight, so that no eye may see him; that he puts a covering on his face; they do not acknowledge the light; also that the morning is the shadow of death to them.

sRef John@10 @1 S3′ sRef Rev@3 @3 S3′ sRef John@10 @2 S3′ sRef Rev@16 @15 S3′ sRef Luke@12 @39 S3′ [3] The use of ‘digging through a house’ to mean secretly taking away another’s good has its origin in representatives in the next life. There when angels are talking about falsity secretly destroying good, this destruction appears as the digging through of a wall when it is represented on a lower level, where the things angels talk about are manifested in visual images. On the other hand, when angels are talking about truth approaching good and linking itself to it, that approach is represented as an open door through which people enter. This is why the Lord, who spoke in accordance with representatives in heaven and in accordance with correspondences, says in John,

Truly, truly, I say to you, He who does not enter by the door into the sheepfold but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. John 10:1, 2.

And in Luke,

Know this, that if the householder had known at what hour the thief was coming he would certainly have been awake and would not have permitted his house to be dug through.** Luke 12:39.

Here also ‘the thief’ is one who destroys forms of the good of faith by means of falsities. ‘Digging through a house’ means carrying out such destruction secretly, since it is done when the householder is not awake. So it is also that coming like a thief means coming without being recognized, because he does not come through the door but by some other way. In John,

If you are not awake I will come upon you like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you. Rev. 3:3.

And in the same book,

Behold, I am coming like a thief; blessed is he who is awake. Rev. 16:15.

‘Coming like a thief’ means coming without being recognized and unexpectedly.
The Lord is spoken of in such a way because the meaning is that the door in a person is closed by falsity arising from evil.
* or He breaks into
** or to be broken into

sRef Ex@22 @4 S0′ sRef Ex@22 @2 S0′ 9126. ‘And is struck, and he dies’ means if in this situation harm is done to it, so great that it is wiped out. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being struck’, when said of truth or good, as being injured or suffering harm, as in 9034, 9058; and from the meaning of ‘dying’ as being wiped out. The reason why truth and good are meant here is that ‘the thief’ or ‘the theft’ means that which has been taken away, thus good and truth, as also in the words that follow in verse 4, If the theft is certainly found in his hand, whether it is ox or ass, or member of the flock, [and they are] alive … ‘Ox’, ‘ass’, and ‘member of the flock’ mean exterior and interior forms of good and truths; and they are called ‘the theft’ because they are in the thief’s hand. The like applies to silver and vessels in verse 7, in that these as well mean interior and exterior truths. ‘The thief’ has the same meaning as ‘the theft’ because in the abstract sense, in which things are understood in abstraction from a person, ‘the thief’ is the theft, that is, the truth or good that has been taken away, see immediately above in 9125.

sRef Ex@22 @2 S0′ 9127. ‘There shall be no bloodguilt for him’ means that he is not guilty of the violence done. This is clear from the meaning of ‘blood’ in the highest sense as Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good, and in the internal sense springing from this as the truth of good, dealt with in 4735, 6378, 6978, 7317, 7326, 7846, 7850, 7877. Consequently ‘shedding blood’ means doing violence to God’s truth or the truth of good, and also to good itself. For anyone who does violence to truth does it also to good, since truth is wedded so closely to good that one is never without the other. Therefore if violence is done to one it is also done to the other. From all this it is evident that ‘there shall be no bloodguilt for him’ means not being guilty of the violence done to truth or to good.

[2] A person who has no knowledge of the internal sense of the Word can only think that ‘blood’ in the Word means blood, and that ‘shedding blood’ simply means killing someone. But the internal sense does not deal with the life of a person’s body, only with that of his soul, that is, with his spiritual life, which will go on living forever. This life is described in the Word, in the sense of the letter, by means of such things as constitute the life of the body, namely flesh and blood. And since a person’s spiritual life springs from and is maintained by the good that belongs to charity and the truth that belongs to faith, the good belonging to charity is meant in the internal sense of the Word by ‘flesh’ and the truth belonging to faith by ‘blood’. In an even more internal sense the good belonging to love to the Lord is meant by ‘flesh’ and the good belonging to love towards the neighbour by ‘blood’. In the highest sense however, in which solely the Lord is the subject, ‘flesh’ is the Lord’s Divine Good, thus the Lord Himself in respect of Divine Good, while ‘blood’ is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, thus the Lord in respect of Divine Truth. These things are understood in heaven by flesh and blood when a person reads the Word. And the same things are understood when the person attends the Holy Supper, though in this the bread is the flesh and the wine is the blood; for ‘the bread’ has exactly the same meaning as flesh and ‘the wine’ exactly the same meaning as blood.

sRef Ezek@39 @21 S3′ sRef Ezek@39 @19 S3′ sRef Ezek@39 @22 S3′ sRef Ezek@39 @20 S3′ sRef Rev@19 @18 S3′ sRef Ezek@39 @17 S3′ sRef Ezek@39 @18 S3′ sRef Rev@19 @17 S3′ [3] But those who think only on the level of the senses, as most people in the world do at the present day, do not understand any of this. Therefore let them keep to the faith they have, so long as they believe that the Holy Supper and the Word have a holiness within them because they come from God. Maybe they do not know where that holiness lies; even so, let those who are endowed with some inner degree of perception, that is, who can think on a level above the senses, consider whether ‘blood’ is used to mean blood and ‘flesh’ to mean flesh in Ezekiel,

Son of man, thus said the Lord Jehovih, Say to every bird of the air, to every wild animal of the field, Assemble and come, gather yourselves from all around to My sacrifice which I am sacrificing for you, a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, so that you may eat flesh and drink blood. You will eat the flesh of the mighty, and [drink] the blood of the princes of the earth. And you will drink blood till you are drunk, from My sacrifice which I will sacrifice for you. You will be glutted at My table with horse and chariot, and with the mighty, and with every man of war. Thus will I set My glory among the nations. Ezek. 39:17-21.

Also in John, in Revelation,

I saw an angel standing in the sun, who called out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds flying in the middle of heaven, Gather yourselves together to the supper of the great God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and those seated on them, and the flesh of all, free men and slaves, small and great. Rev. 19:17, 18.

It is obvious that in these places ‘flesh’ is not used to mean flesh or ‘blood’ to mean blood.

The same applies then to the Lord’s ‘flesh’ and ‘blood’ in John,

The bread which I shall give is My flesh. Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood you will have no life in you. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is truly food, and My blood is truly drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. This is the bread which came down from heaven. John 6:50-58.

The Lord’s flesh is the Divine Good of His Divine Love, and His blood is Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Good. This may be recognized from the consideration that they are the food which nourishes a person’s spiritual life.

sRef John@6 @57 S4′ sRef John@6 @50 S4′ sRef John@6 @58 S4′ sRef John@6 @55 S4′ sRef John@6 @56 S4′ sRef John@6 @54 S4′ sRef John@6 @52 S4′ sRef John@6 @53 S4′ sRef John@6 @51 S4′ [4] This explains why He goes on to say, ‘My flesh is truly food, and My blood is truly drink’, and also, ‘This is the bread which came down from heaven’. And since a person is joined to the Lord through love and faith, He also says, ‘He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him’. But as stated above, this matter can be understood only by those who are able to think on a level above the bodily senses, in particular by those who believe in and love the Lord, because the Lord raises them from the life of their bodily senses up to the life of their spirit. That is, He raises them from the light of the world into the light of heaven, the light in which conceptions of things that are material, that is, impressions in the mind that are acquired by the body fade from view.

sRef Joel@2 @30 S5′ sRef Joel@2 @31 S5′ sRef Rev@16 @3 S5′ sRef Rev@16 @4 S5′ sRef Isa@59 @3 S5′ sRef Ezek@16 @9 S5′ sRef Jer@2 @34 S5′ sRef Isa@59 @7 S5′ sRef Rev@6 @12 S5′ sRef Isa@4 @4 S5′ sRef Ezek@16 @6 S5′ sRef Ezek@22 @6 S5′ sRef Ezek@22 @9 S5′ sRef Ezek@22 @4 S5′ sRef Ezek@22 @3 S5′ sRef Ezek@22 @2 S5′ sRef Lam@4 @14 S5′ sRef Lam@4 @13 S5′ sRef Rev@8 @8 S5′ [5] Anyone therefore who knows that ‘blood’ means God’s truth coming from the Lord can also see that ‘shedding blood’ in the Word does not mean killing or taking a person’s physical life but killing or taking the life of his soul, that is, destroying his spiritual life, which consists of faith in and love to the Lord. When ‘blood’ is used to refer to blood shed unlawfully it means God’s truth destroyed by falsities arising from evil, as is evident in the following places: In Isaiah,

When the Lord will have washed the excrement of the daughters of Zion and washed away the blood* of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgement and by a spirit of purging … Isa. 4:4.

In the same prophet,

Your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity. Their feet run to evil, and they hasten to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity. Isa. 59:3, 7.

In Jeremiah,

Yes, in your skirts the blood of poor innocent souls is found. Jer. 2:34.

In the same prophet,

… for the sins of the prophets, the iniquities of the priests who shed in the midst of Jerusalem the blood of the righteous. They went astray blind in the streets, they are defiled with blood. Things which have no power they touch with their garments. Lam. 4:13, 14.

In Ezekiel,

I passed by you and saw you weltering in your blood,* and I said, Live in your blood;* I indeed said to you, Live in your blood.* I washed you with water and washed away your blood* from upon you, and anointed you with oil. Ezek. 16:6, 9.

In the same prophet,

You, son of man, will you dispute with the city of blood?* Declare to her all her abominations. By your blood which you have shed you have become guilty, and by the idols which you have made you are defiled. Behold, the princes of Israel, each according to his power,** have been among you and have shed blood. Men of intrigue have been among you, [ready] to shed blood, and among you have eaten on the mountains. Ezek. 22:2-4, 6, 9.

In Joel,

I will give portents in heaven and on earth, blood and fire, and a column of smoke. The sun will be turned into thick darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day [of Jehovah] comes. Joel 2:30, 31.

And in John,

The sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the full moon became like blood. Rev. 6:12.

In the same book,

The second angel sounded, and so to speak a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third part of the sea became blood. Rev. 8:8.

In the same book,

The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of one dead, from which every living soul died in the sea. The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and into the fountains of water, and blood was made. Rev. 16:3, 4.

sRef Matt@27 @24 S6′ sRef John@19 @34 S6′ sRef Matt@23 @35 S6′ sRef John@19 @35 S6′ sRef Matt@27 @25 S6′ [6] In these places ‘blood’ is not used to mean the life-blood of the human body when it has been shed, but the blood of spiritual life, which is God’s truth, when violence has been done to it by falsity arising from evil. ‘Blood’ has a similar meaning in Matthew,

On you will come the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel even to the blood of Zechariah, whom you killed between the temple and the altar. Matt. 23:35.

These words mean that from earliest times down to the present the Jews had been doing violence to the truths of the Word, to such an extent that they were unwilling to accept any inner, heavenly truth at all. Therefore they did not accept the Lord either. The shedding of His blood by them was a sign of their total rejection of God’s truth; for the Lord was Divine Truth itself, which is the Word made flesh, John 1:1, 14. Their total rejection of God’s truth that came from the Lord and was the Lord is meant by the following in Matthew,

Pilate washed his hands before the people, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this righteous person; you yourselves see [to it]. And answering, all the people said, His blood be on us and on our children. Matt. 27:24, 25.

This accounts for the following incident described in John,

One of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. He who has seen has testified, and the testimony is true; and he knows that he is saying things that are true, so that you may believe. John 19:34, 35.

The reason why water also came out is that ‘water’ means God’s truth in its outward form, the kind of truth that the letter consists of. For the meaning of ‘water’ as truth, see 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 8568.

sRef Rev@12 @11 S7′ [7] All this also shows what is meant by being made pure by the Lord’s blood, namely accepting the truth of faith from Him, 7918, 9088. Thus it also shows what is meant by the following in John, in Revelation,

They conquered the dragon by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their*** testimony. Rev. 12:11.

‘The blood of the Lamb’ is Divine Truth that comes from the Lord, as also is ‘the word of their testimony’. ‘The blood of the lamb’ is innocent blood, for ‘a lamb’ means innocence, 3519, 3994, 7840. God’s truth emanating from the Lord in heaven has innocence at the centre of it; for none other than those possessing innocence have any feeling for it, 2526, 2780, 3111, 3183, 3495, 3994, 4797, 6013, 6107, 6765, 7836 (end), 7840, 7877, 7902.
* lit. bloods
** lit. arm
*** The Latin means His but the Greek means their, which Sw. has in other places where he quotes this verse.

sRef Ex@22 @3 S0′ 9128. ‘If the sun has risen on him’ means if he sees it clearly – the theft that is being committed – from a more internal level. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the sun rising’ as its being seen in light, thus its being seen clearly, at this point that good or truth is being taken away, meant by ‘the theft’, 9125. The reason why ‘if the sun has risen’ has this meaning is that ‘the thief caught digging through’, spoken of in the previous verse, means good or truth being taken away secretly, thus without its being seen, 9125. The reason for saying seen from a more internal level is that such an action is seen by the internal man.

[2] Since it is an important matter, something must be stated about what seeing from a more internal level implies. A person sees within himself whether what he thinks and intends, and consequently what he speaks and does, is good or bad, and therefore whether it is true or false. This is not at all possible unless the person sees from a more internal level. Seeing from a more internal level takes place when things are seen by the internal man within the external. This is like the sight of the eye; the eye cannot see things within itself, only those outside it. This then is how a person sees the good and the bad he has within himself. Nevertheless one person’s sight of this is better than another’s, and some have no sight of it whatever. The ones with sight of it are those who have received from the Lord the life of faith and charity; for this life is internal life or the life of the internal man. Because truth resides with these people by virtue of their faith, and good by virtue of their charity, they can see the evils and falsities present in themselves; for evil can be seen from good, and falsity can be seen from truth, but not the other way round. The reason for this is that good and truth are in heaven and the light of heaven, whereas evil and falsity are in hell and the darkness of hell. From this it is evident that those immersed in evil and as a result in falsity cannot see good or truth; they cannot even see the evil and falsity present within themselves. Nor consequently can they see from a more internal level.

[3] But it should be recognized that seeing from a more internal level is seeing from the Lord; for the situation with sight is the same as it is with everything that comes into being. Nothing brings itself into being; rather it springs from what is prior to or higher than itself, and so finally from the First and Highest. The First and Highest is the Lord. Anyone who understands this can also understand that all of the life present in a person comes from the Lord; and, since charity and faith constitute that most real life a person can have, that all of the charity and all of the faith come from the Lord. A person endowed with greater power of thought and perception than others can also understand from all this that the Lord sees every single thing, even the smallest things present in a person. Evil and falsity however do not spring into being from what is higher than themselves but from what is lower; consequently they do not spring from the Lord but from the world, since the Lord is above whereas the world is below. Therefore the internal man with those immersed in evil and as a result in falsity is closed above and open below. This is why they see all things in an upside down manner – the world as everything and heaven as nothing. They are also for this reason seen by angels to be upside down, feet upwards and head downwards. This is what all in hell look like.

sRef Ex@22 @3 S0′ 9129. ‘There shall be bloodguilt for him’ means that he is guilty. This is clear from the meaning of ‘blood’ as violence done to good or truth, thus being guilty of that violence, spoken of above in 9127.

sRef Ex@22 @3 S0′ 9130. ‘[The thief] must surely make repayment’ means making amends and undertaking restoration for the truth or good that has been taken away. This is clear from the meaning of ‘making repayment’ as amendment and restoration, dealt with in 9087, 9097.

sRef Ex@22 @3 S0′ 9131. ‘If he has nothing’ means if nothing remains, nothing of the good or truth that has been taken away. This is clear from the meaning of ‘his (the thief’s) having nothing’ as nothing remaining of the good or truth that has been taken away. For the meaning of ‘the theft’ as the good or truth that has been taken away, see 9125; and the fact that ‘the thief’ has the same meaning as ‘the theft’, 9125, 9126.

sRef Ex@22 @3 S0′ 9132. ‘He shall be sold for his theft’ means alienation. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being sold’ as alienation, dealt with in 4752, 4758, 5886, at this point the alienation of the good or truth that has been taken away, and of which nothing remains, 9131; and from the meaning of ‘for his theft’ as making amends and undertaking restoration with some other good or truth in place of that which has been taken away, meant by ‘making repayment’, 9130. For the thief was sold in order that repayment might be made for the theft.

What this verse implies is that when a person can see that good or truth with him is being taken away by falsity arising from evil he is guilty of the violence done to them, since he knows full well what he is doing. For when a person knows full well what he is doing his deeds spring from his will and at the same time from his understanding, and so from his entire person since a person is a person by virtue of both those powers of mind. And a deed springing from both springs from falsity that arises out of evil – from falsity because it springs from the understanding, and from evil because it springs from the will. This is what makes the person guilty.

A person makes that his own which comes from his understanding and at the same time from his will, see 9009, 9069, 9071.
A person becomes guilty if he does not use his power of understanding to restrain evil in his will when he sees it, 9075.

sRef Ex@22 @4 S0′ 9133. ‘If the theft is certainly found in his hand’ means if any truth or good is left by means of which restoration can be made. This is clear from the meaning of ‘certainly being found’ – when it refers to good or truth that has been taken away, meant by ‘the theft’ – as being left; from the meaning of ‘in his hand’ as in his power (‘hand’ means power, see 878, 3387, 4931-4937, 5327, 5328, 5544, 6947, 7011, 7188, 7189, 7518, 7673, 8050, 8153, 8281; and the fact that ‘in his hand’ also means what resides with him will be seen below); and from the meaning of ‘the theft’ as the good or truth that has been taken away, dealt with in 9125. From all this it is evident that ‘if the theft is certainly found in his hand’ means if any good or truth is left. The reason why by means of which restoration can be made is also meant is that restoration for the good or truth that has been taken away is the subject in the present verse. The situation is that when a general affection for good remains there is always something left by means of which restoration can be made to replace some particular form of good that has been taken away; for it is on the general form of good that particular forms of it and particular truths depend, see
920, 1040, 1316, 4269, 4325 (end), 4329, 4345, 4383, 5208, 6115, 7131. The reason why ‘in his hand’ is whatever resides with him is that ‘the hand’ means power, and whatever is within a person’s power resides with him, and what is not in his power does not reside with him. This also is the reason why ‘hand’, especially ‘right hand’, is used to mean the person himself. From all this one may see what is meant by ‘sitting on the right hand of the Father’ when said of the Lord, that He is everything residing with the Father, and so is the Father Himself. The same thing is meant in the Lord’s teaching in John 14:8-11; 17:10, 11, about His being in the Father, and the Father in Him, and about all things that are His being the Father’s, and all that are the Father’s being His.

sRef Ex@22 @4 S0′ 9134. ‘Whether it is ox or ass’ means whether it is exterior good or truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘ox’ as the good of the natural, dealt with in 2180, 2566, 2781, 2830, 5913, 8397; and from the meaning of ‘ass’ as the truth of the natural, dealt with in 2781, 5492, 5741. The good of the natural is exterior good, and the truth of the natural is exterior truth.

sRef Ex@22 @4 S0′ 9135. ‘Or member of the flock’ means or it is interior truth and good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘member of the flock’ as spiritual truth and good, thus interior truth and good, dealt with in 6016, 6045, 6049. Some places in the Word use the expression ‘flocks’, while others use ‘members of the flock’. In the internal sense interior forms of good, and truths derived from them, are meant by ‘flocks’, whereas interior truths, and forms of good springing from them, are meant by ‘members of the flock’. No one however can know the difference between them unless he knows the nature of a person’s two states, the prior state and the subsequent state, when he is being regenerated. The prior state is one in which he is led by means of the truths of faith to the good of charity; the subsequent state is one in which he is governed by the good of charity and from this by the truths of faith. The prior state brings a person into the Church in order that he may come to have the Church within him; and when he comes to have the Church within him he is in the subsequent state. Forms of good and truths residing with him in the subsequent state are meant by ‘flocks’, but truths and forms of good residing with him in the prior state are meant by ‘members of the flock’. This explains why at this point truths are mentioned first and forms of good second. Regarding the two states of a person who is being regenerated, or what amounts to the same thing, who comes to have the Church within him, see 7923, 7992, 8505, 8506, 8510, 8512, 8516, 8643, 8648, 8658, 8685, 8690, 8701, 8772, 8995, 9088, 9089.

[2] Those forms of good and those truths are called exterior which are in the external or natural man, and those are called interior which are in the internal or spiritual man. The reason why the latter are interior and the former exterior is that heaven is the source of the internal man’s wisdom, but the world is the source of the external man’s; for heaven is present with a person internally and the world externally. The words ‘whether it is ox or ass, or member of the flock’ are used to mean all exterior good and truth, and all interior truth and good. Furthermore the development of good in the external man is towards truth, in the internal man from truth towards good, in keeping with Divine order in heaven.*
* In his rough draft Sw. goes on to say that a description of this arcanum would be long and tedious.

sRef Ex@22 @4 S0′ 9136. ‘[And they are] alive’ means which have spiritual life within them. This is clear from the meaning of ‘life’ as spiritual life, which is the life of faith and charity, dealt with in 5407, 5890; consequently those that are ‘alive’ are ones that have spiritual life within them.

sRef Ex@22 @4 S0′ 9137. ‘He shall repay double’ means restoration to the complete amount. This is clear from the meaning of ‘double’ as to the complete amount, dealt with in 9103; and from the meaning of ‘making repayment’ as making restoration, dealt with in 9087.

sRef Ex@22 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@22 @6 S0′ 9138. Verses 5, 6 When a man devastates a field or a vineyard, sending in his beast of burden and causing devastation* in another’s field, he shall make repayment from the best of his own field or from the best of his own vineyard. When fire breaks out and catches hold of thorns, and a stack of grain is consumed, or standing grain, or a field, the one kindling what is kindled shall surely make repayment.

‘When a man devastates a field or a vineyard’ means a stripping away of the Church’s goodness and truth by evil desires. ‘Sending in his beast of burden’ means if he does it with little self-awareness. ‘And causing devastation in another’s field’ means consuming interconnected forms of good. ‘He shall make repayment from the best of his own field or from the best of his own vineyard’ means undertaking restoration with forms of good and with truths that are still intact. ‘When fire breaks out’ means anger arising from an affection for evil. ‘And catches hold of thorns’ means which spreads into falsities. ‘And a stack of grain is consumed’ means harm done to accepted truths and forms of the good of faith. ‘Or standing grain, or a field’ means or to truths and forms of the good of faith in the process of being conceived. ‘The one kindling what is kindled shall surely make repayment’ means undertaking restoration for the things taken away by the anger arising from an affection for evil.
* lit. and sends in his beast of burden and devastates

sRef Ex@22 @5 S0′ 9139. ‘When a man devastates a field or a vineyard’ means a stripping away of the Church’s goodness and truth by evil desires. This is clear from the meaning of ‘devastating’ as a stripping away by evil desires, dealt with below in 9141; from the meaning of ‘a field’ as the Church in respect of good, dealt with in 2971, 3766, 4982, 7502, thus the Church’s good; and from the meaning of ‘a vineyard’ as the Church in respect of truth, thus the Church’s truth. The reason why ‘a field’ is the Church in respect of good is that the products of a field, such as wheat and barley, mean forms of good in the Church, internal and external ones, 3941, 7602, 7605; and the reason why ‘a vineyard’ is the Church in respect of truth is that ‘wine’, which is the product of a vineyard, means the truth of good, 1071, 6377.

[2] The origin of these meanings of ‘a field’ and ‘a vineyard’ lies in representatives in the spiritual world. For fields full of wheat and barley appear before the eyes of spirits when angels in a higher heaven are talking about an assembly of people governed by good; and vineyards full of grapes appear, together with winepresses in them, when angels are talking about an assembly of people governed by the truth of good. Those representatives are not due to the existence of such fields and vineyards on earth; rather, they are due to correspondences, in that wheat and barley, or bread made from them, nourish the body just as the good of love and charity nourishes the soul, and in that wine serving as drink nourishes the body just as the truth and good of faith nourish the soul. This is the reason why in the Word the good of love and the truth of faith are called food and drink; indeed in this sense they are heavenly food and drink, 56-58, 680, 681, 1973, 1974, 4459, 4792, 5147, 5293, 5576, 5579, 5915, 8562.

sRef Jer@12 @10 S3′ sRef Isa@3 @14 S3′ sRef Jer@12 @11 S3′ [3] The fact that ‘a vineyard’ means the Church in respect of the good and truth of faith, which is called a spiritual Church, is clear from places in the Word in which a vineyard is mentioned, as in Jeremiah,

Many shepherds have destroyed My vineyard, they have trampled down My field; they have rendered the field of [My] delight into a lonely wilderness. They have made it (the vineyard) into a solitary place. Jer. 12:10, 11.

Here ‘vineyard’ and ‘field’ plainly stand for the Church; and since the Church is the Church by virtue of the truth and good of faith and charity, it is evident that in these verses ‘vineyard’ is the Church in respect of truth and ‘the field’ the Church in respect of good. In Isaiah,

Jehovah enters into judgement with the elders of His people and with its princes. You set alight the vineyard. Isa. 3:14.

Here also ‘vineyard’ plainly stands for the Church in respect of the good and truth of faith; for ‘the elders’ with whom Jehovah will enter into judgement are the Church’s forms of good, 6524, 6525, and ‘the princes’ are its truths, 5044.

sRef Isa@5 @1 S4′ sRef Isa@5 @2 S4′ [4] In the same prophet,

I will sing to my beloved a song of my friend regarding His vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard in a horn of a son of oil,* which he surrounded [with an enclosure], and planted with the choicest vine. Isa. 5:1, 2ff.

This refers to the Lord, who is the ‘beloved’ and ‘friend’. ‘The vineyard’ is His spiritual Church, ‘the choicest vine’ is that Church’s good of faith, and ‘a horn of a son of oil’ is that Church’s good of faith growing out of the good of love. The person who knows nothing whatever about the internal sense of the Word cannot possibly know what ‘a vineyard in a horn of a son of oil’ means. Nevertheless this expression has a meaning lying hidden within it such as no words can express. They contain a full description of the Lord’s spiritual kingdom linked to His celestial kingdom, that is, of the second heaven to the third, consequently a full description of the good of faith in the Lord, which is the spiritual kingdom’s, linked to the good of love to the Lord, which is the celestial kingdom’s. ‘The vineyard’ is the spiritual kingdom; ‘in a horn’ is in power, thus in that kingdom, ‘a son of oil’ being the external level of the good of love in the celestial kingdom. The celestial kingdom, which is the Lord’s inmost heaven, is called the olive or an olive-grove, for ‘oil’ means the good of celestial love, 886, 4582, 4638. It should be recognized that the Lord’s kingdom on earth is the Church. As regards the existence of two kingdoms, the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom, and the fact that the spiritual kingdom constitutes the second heaven and the celestial kingdom the third, see 3887, 4138, 4279, 4286; and with regard to their being linked together, 6435.

sRef Isa@27 @3 S5′ sRef Rev@14 @19 S5′ sRef Amos@5 @18 S5′ sRef Amos@5 @17 S5′ sRef John@15 @3 S5′ sRef John@15 @2 S5′ sRef John@15 @1 S5′ sRef John@15 @5 S5′ sRef John@15 @4 S5′ sRef Isa@27 @2 S5′ [5] In the same prophet,

On that day, a vineyard of unmixed wine;** respond to it. I Jehovah am guarding it; every moment I will water it. Isa. 27:2, 3.

‘A vineyard of unmixed wine’ stands for the spiritual Church. In Amos,

In all vineyards there will be wailing; I will pass through you. Woe to you desiring the day of Jehovah! What will the day of Jehovah be for you? It will be one of darkness, and not of light. Amos 5:17, 18.

This refers to the final period of the Church, when the good and truth of faith do not exist any longer, that final period being meant by ‘the day of Jehovah, which will be one of darkness, and not of light’. This is why it says, ‘In all vineyards there will be wailing’. In John, in Revelation,

The angel sent his sickle into the earth and harvested the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. Rev. 14:18, 19.

‘Harvesting the vine of the earth’ means devouring the Church’s truth and good, ‘the earth’ being the Church. From all this one may now see why it is that the Lord likened the kingdom of heaven so many times to a vineyard, as in Matthew 20:1ff; 21:28, 29, 33-41; Mark 12:1-13; and why it is that the Lord called Himself ‘the vine’ in John,

As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; apart from Me you cannot do anything. John 15:1ff.

‘The vine’ is faith in the Lord, and for that reason is the Lord in respect of faith. For the Lord is faith because faith originates in Him; no faith is faith except that which originates in Him. So it is also that ‘the vine’ means faith that is faith in Him.
* i.e. on a very fertile hill
** i.e. a vineyard of grapes that produce strong wine. Some English versions follow a textual variation meaning a delightful vineyard.

sRef Ex@22 @5 S0′ 9140. ‘Sending in his beast of burden’ means if he does it with little self-awareness. This is clear from the meaning of ‘beast of burden’ as a bodily desire or appetite. The reason why there is little self-awareness is that when such a desire or appetite reigns in a person he scarcely uses his power of reason and so has little awareness about himself. All beasts, whatever their genus and species, mean affections; gentle and useful beasts mean good affections, while savage and useless beasts mean evil affections, 45, 46, 142, 143, 714-719, 1823, 2180, 2781, 3218, 3519, 5198, 7523, 7872, 9090. When an animal is called ‘a beast of burden’ it means merely bodily affections, which in themselves possess little reason; for the more that a person’s actions spring from the body, the less they do so from reason. This is because the body lives in the world and so is remote from heaven, where true reason resides. Furthermore the word in the original language for a beast of burden is formed from another meaning brutish and stupid, and so having little awareness, as in Isaiah 19:11; in David, Ps. 49:10; 73:22; in Jeremiah 51:17; and elsewhere.

sRef Ex@22 @5 S0′ 9141. ‘And causing devastation in another’s field’ means consuming interconnected forms of good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘devastating’ as a stripping away, thus a consuming, by evil desires, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘in another’s field’ as interconnected forms of good. ‘Field’ means the Church, and the crop in the field means forms of good, 9139, so that the crop ‘in another’s field’ means forms of good which are adjacent and interconnected with one another. For the forms of good present with a person are like generations on earth, and therefore stand at different distances from one another and vary in their interconnections, 9079. Those that are not in the same household or together in the same family, but are nevertheless related, are what ‘being in another’s field’ is used to mean.

[2] The reason why ‘devastating’ means a stripping away, and so a consuming, by evil desires is that the proper meaning of the actual word used in the original language to denote ‘devastating’ is setting alight and burning, and so also feeding on and consuming. And since this is what the word is derived from, ‘causing devastation’ here means consuming, which is done by evil desires; for evil desires in a person are consuming fires. There is present in everyone the fire of life and the light of life; the fire of life is his love, and the light of life is his belief. The love of good, that is, love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour, compose the fire of life in a good person and in an angel of heaven, and the love of truth and belief in truth compose the light of life in them. But the love of evil, that is, self-love and love of the world, compose the fire of life in a bad person and in a spirit in hell, and the love of falsity and belief in falsity compose the inferior light of life in them. In the Word however the love of evil is called a burning fire, because it burns up and consumes those things that are forms of the love of good and truth. For this meaning of a burning fire, see 1297, 1861, 5215, 9055.

sRef Ezek@39 @9 S3′ sRef Ezek@39 @10 S3′ sRef Isa@30 @33 S3′ sRef Isa@3 @14 S3′ [3] The fact that a consuming by evil desires is meant by the actual word used in the original language is evident from the following places: In Isaiah,

Jehovah will enter into judgement with the elders of His people and with their princes. You have consumed (set alight) the vineyard. Isa. 3:14.

In the same prophet,

The breath of Jehovah like a river of brimstone consumes it (sets it
on fire). Isa. 30:33.

‘A river of brimstone’ means falsities streaming from the evils of self-love and love of the world, 2446.

[4] In Ezekiel,

The inhabitants of the cities of Israel will go out, and they will set alight and burn the weapons, both shield and buckler, together with bow and arrows, and hand-staff, and spear; they will set fire to them for seven years, that they may not bring wood from the field nor cut down any from the forests. Ezek. 39:9, 10.

This serves to describe the consumption and devastation of good and truth by evil desires. But is anyone going to recognize this unless he knows what is meant by the inhabitants of the cities of Israel, also what is meant by weapons, shield, buckler, bow and arrows, by hand-staff and spear, by seven years, and by wood from the field and from the forests? ‘The inhabitants’ are forms of good, see 2268, 2451, 2712; ‘the cities’ are truths, and therefore matters of doctrine drawn from the Word, 2268, 2449, 2943, 3216, 4492; and ‘Israel’ is the Church, 4286, 6426, 6637. Therefore ‘the inhabitants of the cities of Israel’ are forms of good that belong to matters of doctrine taught by the Church, and in the contrary sense these things when they have been turned into evils and falsities. ‘Shield’, ‘buckler’, and ‘the bow’s arrows’ are truths belonging to religious teachings drawn from the Word, which serve to protect against falsities arising from evil, 2686, 2709, 6422. ‘Hand-staff’ is the power of truth derived from good, 4876, 7026;* and ‘spear’ in like manner means power, though that which is more internal. ‘Seven years’ is a complete state, thus to completeness, 6508, 8976, so that ‘setting fire to for seven years’ is a complete consumption by evil desires. ‘Wood from the field’ is the Church’s more internal forms of good, 3720, 8354, ‘the field’ being the Church, 2971, 3766, 7502, 7571; and ‘wood from the forests’ is more external forms of good, 3220, 9011 (end). When aware of all this a person can then know that these words spoken by the prophet describe the consuming of all things of the Church by evil desires, until none at all of the internal or of the external Church’s good or truth is left, meant by ‘they will set fire to them for seven years, that they may not bring wood from the field nor cut down any from the forests’.

sRef Mal@4 @1 S5′ [5] A further use of the same word to describe the consumption of the Church’s good and truth occurs in Malachi,

Behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, in which all who are sinning insolently, and everyone who performs wickedness, will be stubble; and the day that is coming will consume (set fire to) them, said Jehovah Zebaoth, who will leave them neither root nor branch. Mal. 4:1.

‘The day that is coming’ is the final period of the Church, when self-love and love of the world are going to reign and to consume all the Church’s truths and forms of good, until none at all is left in a person inwardly or outwardly. These things are meant by the statement that ‘He will leave them neither root nor branch’; ‘the root’ of good and truth exists in a person inwardly, and ‘the branch’ in him outwardly. From all this it is now evident that ‘devastating’ means a consuming by evil desires, in the same way as it does elsewhere in the Word.
* The Latin words rendered hand-staff mean literally rod of the hand.

sRef Ex@22 @6 S0′ 9142. ‘He shall make repayment from the best of his own field or from the best of his own vineyard’ means undertaking restoration with forms of good and with truths that are still intact. This is clear from the meaning of ‘field’ as the Church’s good, and from the meaning of ‘vineyard’ as the Church’s truth, both dealt with above in 9139 (the words ‘the best’ denote that which remains intact after consumption); and from the meaning of ‘making repayment as undertaking restoration, dealt with in 9087.

sRef Ex@22 @6 S0′ sRef Isa@42 @25 S0′ sRef Isa@66 @15 S0′ sRef Ps@2 @12 S0′ sRef Deut@9 @19 S0′ sRef Isa@33 @14 S0′ sRef Ps@18 @8 S0′ sRef Deut@4 @24 S0′ sRef Deut@9 @15 S0′ sRef Zeph@3 @8 S0′ 9143. ‘When fire breaks out’ means anger arising from an affection for evil. This is clear from the meaning of ‘fire’ as love, at this point the love of evil and an affection for it, dealt with just above in 9141. The term ‘affection for evil’ is used because an extension from love is meant by an affection. The reason why ‘fire’ means anger arising from an affection for evil is that anger has its origin in that affection. For when that which a person loves is attacked fiery passion erupts and so to speak burns in him. This is the reason why anger is described in the Word as ‘fire’ and is said to be ‘burning’, as in David,

Smoke went up out of His nose, and fire out of His mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from Him. Ps. 18:8.

In the same author,

Kiss the Son lest He be angry, for His anger will shortly blaze up. Ps. 2:12.

In Isaiah,

Who among us will dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us will dwell with the hearths of eternity? Isa. 33:14.

In the same prophet,

He poured out on him the wrath of His anger; He set him on fire round about, and he made no acknowledgement; He burned him, and yet he did not take it to heart. Isa. 42:25.

In the same prophet,

Behold, Jehovah will come in fire, and His chariots will be like a whirlwind, to requite in the wrath of His anger; and His rebuke [will come] in flames of fire. Isa. 66:15.

In Moses,

I looked back and came down from the mountain, when the mountain was burning with fire. I was extremely afraid on account of the anger and wrath with which Jehovah was angry with you.* Deut. 9:15, 19.

In these and many other places ‘fire’ is used to describe anger. And ‘anger’ is attributed to Jehovah, that is, to the Lord; but in fact it resides with man, 5798, 6997, 8284, 8483. The Lord appeared on Mount Sinai to the Israelite people in a way suited to the kind of people they were, therefore in fire, smoke, and thick darkness, see 6832. But it should be remembered that anger is fire bursting out from an affection for evil, whereas zeal is fire bursting out from an affection for good, 4164, 4444, 8598. Therefore ‘fire’ is also used to describe zeal, in Moses,

Jehovah your God is a devouring fire, a zealous** God. Deut. 4:24.

And in Zephaniah,

I will pour out onto them all the wrath of My anger, because in the fire of My zeal the whole earth will be destroyed. Zeph. 3:8.

‘The zeal of Jehovah’ is love and mercy, but it is called anger because it is seen by the evil as anger when they incur the punishment of their evil, 8875.
* The Latin means us but the Hebrew means you.
** or jealous

sRef Ex@22 @6 S0′ 9144. ‘And catches hold of thorns’ means which spreads into falsities. This is clear from the meaning of ‘catching hold of’, when said of anger that arises from an affection for evil, as spreading into and thus setting alight; and from the meaning of ‘thorns’ as falsities, dealt with below. But something must be stated first about what is implied in all this. The loves present with a person are the fires of his life, 9055. Evil loves – self-love and love of the world – are consuming fires; they consume the forms of good and the truths which true life comprises. Those fires compose the life of a person’s will, and the light from those fires composes the life of his understanding. As long as the evil fires are kept shut up in the will, the understanding dwells in light and consequently discerns what is good and true. But when those fires spill out their light into the understanding the light previously there is dispelled and the person’s discernment of what is good and true is dimmed. The situation grows worse, as self-love and love of the world, which those fires are, take hold more and more, so that eventually they smother and snuff out all truth, and good along with it.

[2] When those loves are attacked fire breaks out of the will into the understanding and produces a flame there. This flame is what is called anger. This is why a person is said to flare up, blaze up, and be inflamed, when he is angry. This flame assails the truths and forms of good present in the understanding and not only hides them but also consumes them. Furthermore, and this is an arcanum, when that evil fire bursts out of the will into the understanding part of the mind, this part is closed above and opened below, that is, closed where it looks towards heaven and opened where it looks towards hell.

sRef Isa@9 @19 S3′ sRef Ps@18 @8 S3′ sRef Isa@9 @18 S3′ [3] So it is that whenever an evil person blazes up in anger evils and falsities that produce the flame are entering in. It is like a fibre in the body. If it is pricked with the point of a needle it instantly pulls itself in and closes up, and in so doing prevents the wound from going any deeper and harming life where it exists essentially. Also, when presented in a visual shape falsity appears as something pointed. An evil person’s state when he is angry is also similar to smoke which on a touch of fire bursts into flame; for falsity arising from evil and present in the understanding is like smoke, and anger is like smoke that has been set alight. They also correspond to one another. So it is that in the Word ‘smoke’ means falsity and ‘its flame’ means anger, as in David,

Smoke went up out of His nose, and fire out of His mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from Him. Ps. 18:8.

And in Isaiah,

Wickedness burns like a fire, it devours brier and thorn, and kindles the entangled boughs of the wood; and they rise in a column of smoke,* through the wrath of Jehovah Zebaoth. Isa. 9:18, 19.

‘Smoke’ here is falsity which, when set alight, gives rise to anger. For the meaning of ‘smoke’ as falsity, see 1861.

[4] From all this one may now see what is meant in the internal sense by ‘When fire breaks out and catches hold of thorns, and a stack of grain is consumed, or standing grain … ‘, namely, If an affection for evil bursts out into anger and spreads into falsities belonging to evil cravings, and consumes the truths and forms of the good of faith … Anyone who stops to think can see that there is some reason for this law that lies hidden on a more internal level and is not apparent. For nowhere else is a law laid down regarding fire catching hold of thorns and then consuming a stack of grain or standing grain; such an occurrence is extremely rare. But it is an everyday occurrence for the fire of wickedness and of anger to seize on and set alight the falsities of cravings and thereby to consume the Church’s truths and forms of good.

sRef Isa@32 @13 S5′ sRef Isa@33 @11 S5′ sRef Isa@33 @12 S5′ [5] The fact that ‘thorns’ are the falsities of cravings is clear from the following places: In Isaiah,

Over the land of My people the thorn, and the prickle, is coming up. Isa. 32:13.

‘The land’ is the Church, ‘the thorn or the prickle’ falsities and the evils stemming from them. In the same prophet,

[As to] your spirit, a fire will devour you. Thus will the people be burnt into lime; [they will be like] thorns cut down which are burned in the fire. Isa. 33:11, 12.

‘Thorns which are burned in the fire’ stands for falsities which catch fire and consume truths and forms of good.

sRef Hos@2 @6 S6′ sRef Hos@2 @5 S6′ sRef Ezek@28 @24 S6′ [6] In Ezekiel,

No more will there be for the house of Israel a pricking brier and a painful thorn. Ezek. 28:24.

‘A pricking brier’ stands for falsity belonging to the cravings of self-love, ‘thorn’ for falsity belonging to the cravings of love of the world. In Hosea,

Their** mother has committed whoredom. Therefore I am hedging up your way with thorns, and she will not find her paths. Hosea 2:5, 6.

‘Ways’ and ‘paths’ stand for truths, and ‘thorns’ for falsities instead of them.

sRef Hos@10 @8 S7′ sRef Ps@118 @12 S7′ sRef Matt@7 @16 S7′ [7] In the same prophet,

The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will be destroyed. Thistle and thorn will grow up on their altars. Hosea 10:8.

‘Thistle and thorn’ stands for evil and falsity laying waste the forms of good and the truths of worship. In David,

They have surrounded me like bees, they quench as it were a fire of thorns.*** Ps. 118:12.

‘A fire of thorns’ stands for a craving for evil. In Matthew,

By their fruits you will know them. Do people gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? Matt. 7:16.

‘Gathering grapes from thorns’ stands for obtaining forms of the good of faith and of charity from the falsities of cravings, ‘grapes’ being those forms of good, see 1071, 5117, 6378.

sRef Mark@4 @7 S8′ sRef Mark@4 @19 S8′ sRef Mark@4 @18 S8′ sRef Jer@4 @3 S8′ [8] In Mark,

Some seed fell among thorns; but the thorns grew up and choked it, so that it did not bear fruit. Those who are sown among the thorns are the ones who hear the word; but the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the cravings entering in that are centred on other things, choke the word, so that it becomes unfruitful. Mark 4:7, 18, 19.

Here an explanation is given of what is meant by ‘being sown among thorns’, and so of what is meant by ‘thorns’. The same things are meant by ‘sowing among thorns’ and ‘reaping thorns’ in Jeremiah,

Thus said Jehovah to the man of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns. Jer. 4:3.
They have sown wheat and reaped thorns. Jer. 12:12, 13.

[9] The falsities of cravings, meant by ‘thorns’, are falsities that support worldly concerns and worldly desires; for these falsities more than others catch fire and flare up because they are the product of bodily cravings that a person feels. For this reason they also close the internal man, leaving the person wholly devoid of wisdom so far as salvation of the soul and eternal life are concerned.

sRef John@19 @19 S10′ sRef John@19 @3 S10′ sRef John@1 @1 S10′ sRef John@19 @5 S10′ sRef John@19 @20 S10′ sRef John@19 @2 S10′ sRef John@1 @14 S10′ [10] The crown woven from thorns which was placed on the Lord’s head when He was crucified, and when He was hailed as King of the Jews and He said, ‘Behold the Man!’,**** John 19:2, 3, 5, represented God’s truth as it was at that time in the Jewish Church, namely truth smothered by the falsities of cravings. ‘The King of the Jews’, as they hailed Him then, meant God’s truth. ‘King’ in the Word means the truth from God, see 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 6148; and ‘the Anointed’, who is the Messiah in Hebrew and the Christ in Greek, has a similar meaning, 3004, 3008, 3009, 3732(end). In the highest sense ‘Judah’ is used to mean the Lord in respect of Divine Good, in the internal sense the Lord in respect of the Word, and so in respect of teachings drawn from the Word, 3881. And when, after such a crown had been placed on His head, the Lord said, ‘Behold the Man!’, He meant, ‘Behold Divine Truth as it is in the Church at the present day!’ For ‘Man’ is Divine Truth going forth from the Lord in heaven. So it is that heaven is the Grand Man, owing both to influx and to correspondence, as has been shown at the ends of a number of chapters, see 1276, 1871, 2996, 2998, 3624-3649, 3741-3750, 7396, 8547, 8988. So it is also that the Lord’s celestial Church was called Man, 478, 479, this Church being the one that the Jews represented, 6363, 6364, 8770. All this shows what was meant by ‘the crown of thorns’, and by being hailed ‘King of the Jews’, also what was meant by ‘Behold the Man’ as well as by the inscription over the cross, ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews’, John 19:19, 20. It meant the way in which Divine Truth or the Word was regarded and was treated by the Jews, among whom the Church existed. All the things that the Jews did to the Lord when He was about to be crucified were signs of the states of those belonging to the Church so far as God’s truth or the Word was concerned, see 9093(end). That the Lord was the Word is clear in John,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. John 1:1, 14.

‘The Word’ is Divine Truth.
* lit. they raise themselves with a raising of smoke
** The Latin means Your but the Hebrew means Their, which Sw. Has in another place where he quotes this verse.
*** i.e. a fire consuming thorns
**** The words Behold the Man (Ecce Homo) are generally thought to have been spoken by Pilate. The Greek at John 19:5 states simply And he said, Behold the Man.

sRef Ex@22 @6 S0′ 9145. ‘And a stack of grain is consumed’ means harm done to accepted truths and forms of the good of faith. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a stack’ as accepted truth and good of faith. The reason why ‘a stack’ has this meaning is that it is grain which has already been gathered in, and ‘standing grain’ means the truth and good of faith while they are being conceived, which is the subject in the very next paragraph.

sRef Ex@22 @6 S0′ 9146. ‘Or standing grain, or a field’ means the truth and good of faith in the process of being conceived. This is clear from the meaning of ‘grain’ as the truth of faith, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘a field’ as the Church in respect of good, thus the Church’s good, dealt with above in 9139. The reason why ‘grain’ means the truth of faith is that grain crops, such as wheat and barley, and bread made from them, mean the Church’s forms of good, 3941, 7602. The Church’s forms of good are those of charity towards the neighbour and of love to the Lord. These forms of good are the being and soul of faith; for they are what cause faith to be faith and give it life. The reason why ‘standing grain’ is the truth of faith in the process of being conceived is that it has not yet been gathered into stacks or stored away in barns. Therefore when grain is standing or still shooting up it is the truth of faith in the process of being conceived.

sRef Hos@8 @7 S2′ sRef Hos@8 @4 S2′ [2] Much the same is meant by ‘standing grain’ in Hosea,

Israel has made a king, and not by Me; they have made princes, and I did not know. Their silver and their gold they have made into idols. Because they sow the wind, they will reap the whirlwind. He does not have any standing grain; the ears will yield no flour. If they do yield it, aliens will swallow it up. Hosea 8:4, 7.

This refers to the Church’s truths and forms of the good of faith when they have been reduced to nothing by hollow and false ideas. The fact that these things are the subject is evident from the train of thought, but what is actually being said about them is evident only from the internal sense. For in this sense ‘a king’ is used to mean the Church’s truth of faith in its entirety, see 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 6148, and ‘princes’ to mean primary truths, 1482, 2089, 5044; and from all this one may see what is meant by the words ‘Israel has made a king, and not by Me; they have made princes, and I did not know’, ‘Israel’ being the Church, 4286, 6426, 6637. By ‘silver’ is meant in the internal sense the truth of good, and in the contrary sense the falsity of evil, 1551, 2954, 5658, 6112, 6914, 6917, 8932, by ‘gold’ is meant good, and in the contrary sense evil, 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 8932, and by ‘idols’ is meant worship consisting of falsities and evils, 8941; and from all this one may see what is meant by ‘their silver and their gold they have made into idols’. ‘The wind’ which they sow means senseless ideas; ‘the whirlwind’ which they will reap means the resulting turmoil in the Church; ‘the standing grain’ which he does not have any of means the truth of faith in the process of being conceived; ‘the ears’ which will yield no flour means sterility; and ‘aliens’ who will swallow it up means falsities that will consume it.

sRef Ex@22 @6 S0′ 9147. ‘The one kindling what is kindled shall surely make repayment’ means undertaking restoration for the things taken away by the anger arising from an affection for evil. This is clear from the meaning of ‘making repayment’ as undertaking restoration, dealt with in 9087, [9097;] and from the meaning of ‘fire which breaks out’ as anger arising from an affection for evil, dealt with in 9143, so that ‘kindling’ means taking away or consuming by that anger, and ‘what is kindled’ means what is taken away or consumed.

sRef Ex@22 @14 S0′ sRef Ex@22 @15 S0′ sRef Ex@22 @13 S0′ sRef Ex@22 @9 S0′ sRef Ex@22 @8 S0′ sRef Ex@22 @7 S0′ sRef Ex@22 @11 S0′ sRef Ex@22 @12 S0′ sRef Ex@22 @10 S0′ 9148. Verses 7-15 When a man delivers to his companion silver or vessels for safe keeping, and it is taken away by theft out of the man’s house, if the thief is caught he shall repay double. If the thief is not caught, the master of the house shall be brought to God* [to see] whether or not he has put his hand into his companion’s property.** For every matter of transgression – [whether it is] for an ox, for an ass, for a member of the flock, for clothing, [or] for anything that is lost, about which one says, This is it – the case*** of both parties shall come even to God,* and the one whom God condemns**** shall repay double to his companion. When a man delivers to his companion an ass, or an ox, or a member of the flock, or any beast for safe keeping, and it dies or is broken, or is led away captive, and no one sees it, an oath of Jehovah shall be between them both, [to see] whether or not its owner has put his hand into his companion’s property** and taken it; and [the other man] shall not make repayment. But if it has indeed been taken away from him by theft, he shall make repayment to its owner. If it has been torn to pieces, he shall bring it [as] witness;***** he shall not make repayment for what has been torn. [And] when a man borrows something from his companion, and it is broken****** or dies, its owner not being with it, he shall surely make repayment. If its owner is with it, he shall not make repayment; if he is a hired servant he shall come in his hire. ‘When a man delivers to his companion silver or vessels for safe keeping’ means truths derived from good, and factual knowledge that accords with them, in the memory. ‘And it is taken away by theft out of the man’s house’ means the loss of them from there. ‘If the thief is caught’ means recollection. ‘He shall repay double’ means restoration to the complete amount. ‘If the thief is not caught’ means, if there is no recollection of what has been taken away. ‘The master of the house shall be brought to God’ means enquiring of good. ‘[To see] whether or not he has put his hand into his companion’s property’ means whether it has entered into that good. ‘For every matter of transgression’ means any harm whatever and any loss whatever. ‘[Whether it is] for an ox, for an ass, for a member of the flock’ means [any harm done to] good or truth, exterior or interior, [or else any loss of them]. ‘For clothing’ means [any harm done to or else loss of] truth on the level of the senses. ‘[Or] for anything that is lost, about which one says, This is it’ means anything uncertain. ‘The case of both parties shall come even to God, and the one whom God condemns’ means enquiry made and decision reached through truth. ‘Shall repay double to his companion’ means making amends to the complete amount. ‘When a man delivers to his companion an ass, or an ox, or a member of the flock, or any beast for safe keeping’ means truth and good, exterior and interior, in the memory, and anything there belonging to an affection for them. ‘And it dies or is broken’ means loss or harm. ‘Or is led away captive’ means removal. ‘And no one sees it’ means which the mind is not aware of. ‘An oath of Jehovah shall be between them both’ means enquiry made through truths from the Word regarding every single aspect of these things. ‘[To see] whether or not its owner has put his hand into his companion’s property and taken it’ means being joined together under [the influence of] good. ‘And [the other man] shall not make repayment’ means that no harm has been done. ‘But if it has indeed been taken away from him by theft’ means if loss has taken place. ‘He shall make repayment to its owner’ means restoration, to replace it. ‘If it has been torn to pieces’ means if harm is done for which the person is not blameworthy. ‘He shall bring it [as] witness’ means confirmation of this. ‘He shall not make repayment for what has been torn’ means that there shall be no punishment. ‘And when a man borrows something from his companion’ means truth from a different stock. ‘And it is broken or dies’ means harm done to it or the annihilation of it. ‘Its owner not being with it’ means if the good of that truth does not exist along with [the general good]. ‘He shall surely make repayment’ means undertaking restoration. ‘If its owner is with it, he shall not make repayment’ means that if the good of truth is present along with it no restoration is required. ‘If he is a hired servant’ means if for the sake of beneficial gain. ‘He shall come in his hire’ means being submissive and subservient.
* i.e. the judges
** lit. work
*** lit. word or matter
**** The verb here in the Latin and in the Hebrew is plural. The subject of the verb in the Latin is singular (Deus); but the Hebrew word (Elohim), though plural in form and therefore sometimes used to mean gods, is more often the proper name God. In this particular instance Elohim is taken to mean the judges, i.e. those who act on behalf of God.
***** The Latin means he shall bring the witness (i.e. evidence) to him but the Hebrew seems to mean he shall bring it [as] witness.
****** i.e. is injured

sRef Ex@22 @7 S0′ 9149. ‘When a man delivers to his companion silver or vessels for safe keeping’ means truths derived from good, and factual knowledge that accords with them, in the memory. This is clear from the meaning of ‘silver’ as truth derived from good, dealt with in 1551, 2954, 5658, 6914, 6917, 7999, 8932; from the meaning of ‘vessels’ as factual knowledge, dealt with in 3068, the reason why accordant factual knowledge is meant being that all spiritual truths are stored within known facts as their vessels, 3079, and all factual knowledge accords with the truths it contains; and from the meaning of ‘for safe keeping’ as for retention in the memory. For in the spiritual sense, in which truths and factual knowledge are the subject, ‘being placed in safe keeping’ means being held in the memory, since this is where they are placed in safe keeping. ‘A man’s delivery of something to his companion for safe keeping’ means storing it in his own memory; for when the sense of the letter speaks of two different persons, as it does here of a man and of a companion, one person is meant in the internal sense. For the two truths – or else truth and the factual knowledge that accords with it – can exist within a person as man and companion.

sRef Ex@22 @7 S0′ 9150. ‘And it is taken away by theft out of the man’s house’ means the loss of them from there. This is clear from the meaning of ‘theft’ as taking away the kinds of things that compose a person’s spiritual life, and therefore taking away the truths and factual knowledge meant by ‘silver and vessels’, 9149; and from the meaning of ‘house’ as the place where something is stored. So it is that ‘house’ has various meanings, such as the Church, what is good there, also a person, as well as both levels of the human mind, the natural level and the rational; but at this point it means the memory, because truths and factual knowledge reside in it as in their own house. Regarding ‘house’ and its various meanings, see 3128, 3142, 3538, 3652, 3720, 3900, 4973, 4982, 5023, 5640, 6690, 7353, 7848, 7929.

sRef Ex@22 @7 S0′ 9151. ‘If the thief is caught’ means recollection. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being caught’, when said of truths and factual knowledge taken away out of the memory, as recollection; and from the meaning of ‘the thief’ as that which has been taken away, for ‘thief’ has the same meaning as ‘theft’, 9125, 9126.

sRef Ex@22 @7 S0′ 9152. ‘He shall repay double’ means restoration to the complete amount. This is clear from the meaning of ‘making repayment’ as undertaking restoration, dealt with in 9087, [9097;] and from the meaning of ‘double’ as to the complete amount, dealt with in 9103. The present verse and those that follow down to verse 14 deal in the internal sense with a person’s loss of the truth of faith, and so with his loss of spiritual life, and the restoration of it; for the truths of faith are the means by which a person is brought to the good of charity and made spiritual. But these matters dealt with in the internal sense of the verses that come immediately after this are for the most part unknown to a person. The reason for this is that people do not know what spiritual life is, nor therefore that this life is life on a more internal level, distinct and separate from natural life, which is that on a more external level. Nor do people know that the Lord imparts spiritual life to a person through his acceptance of the truth of faith within the good of charity. So it is that the matters stated regarding the loss of that life and the restoration of it fall into thick darkness in a person because they are among things he knows nothing about. Yet such matters constitute angelic wisdom, for they are suited to the light in which angels live. When therefore a member of the Church in whom the good of faith is present reads the Word, the angels attach themselves to the person and take delight in him because they delight in the wisdom which flows into them from the Lord through the Word. In this way heaven is linked to mankind; and without the Word that link would not exist. For the nature of the Word is such that not even a tittle or a jot of it in the original language fails to touch angels’ affections and link the angels to mankind. I can positively declare this to be so because I have been shown it from heaven.

sRef Ex@22 @8 S0′ 9153. ‘If the thief is not caught’ means, if there is no recollection of what has been taken away. This is clear from the meaning of ‘if the thief is caught’ as, if there is a recollection of what has been taken away, dealt with just above in 9151, at this point no recollection of it since it says ‘if he is not caught’.

sRef Matt@24 @17 S0′ sRef Ex@22 @8 S0′ 9154. ‘The master of the house shall be brought to God’ means enquiring of good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being brought to God’ as being brought forward for enquiry to be made, dealt with below in 9160; and from the meaning of ‘the master of the house’ as good which is enquired of. The reason why ‘the master of the house’ means good is that the subject is truths and factual knowledge that have been taken away from the memory, meant by ‘the silver and the vessels which were delivered to someone for safe keeping but were taken away by theft’, 9149, 9150. Since those truths and factual knowledge belong to good and exist in good ‘the master of the house’, to whom the objects belong and with whom they reside, means good. Good is called ‘the master’ because truths and factual knowledge belong to good as their master, and good is also called ‘the house’ because truths and factual knowledge exist within good as their house. For the meaning of ‘the house’ as good, and the fact that truths reside in that house, see 3652, where the Lord’s words in Matthew are explained,

Let him who is on the roof of the house not go down to take anything out of the house. Matt. 24:17.

[2] The implications of this – that good should be enquired of regarding truths and factual knowledge that have been taken away from the memory – are that the good present with a person is that which receives all truths into itself. For good receives its specific quality from truths; and in the measure that truths have good within them and also around them they have life. This is like a fibre or like a vessel in a living creature. In the measure that the fibre has spirit* in it and in the measure that the vessel has blood in it they have life; and a blood vessel likewise has life in the measure that it has around itself fibres with spirit in them. A similar situation exists with truth and good. Truth without good is like a fibre without spirit, and like a vein or an artery without blood, the nature of which anyone can see, namely something devoid of life and so devoid of any use within a living creature. The situation is similar when faith is devoid of charity. Since good receives its specific quality from truths, as has been stated, good also receives its form from them; for where there is form, specific quality is present, and where there is no form no specific quality is present. Again it is like the situation with spirit and blood in a living creature. Spirit is circumscribed by its fibres and so receives form through them, while blood receives form through its vessels. From all this it is evident that truth without good has no life in it, and that good without truth possesses no specific quality, consequently that faith without charity is not faith that is alive. By faith here faith composed of truth is meant, and by charity life consisting of good.

[3] All this shows how to understand the explanation that if truths and factual knowledge have been taken away, enquiry should be made of good. That is to say, it shows that when a person is governed by good, that is, by an affection for doing good, he recollects all the truths that have entered into good, but when he turns away from good the truths disappear, for falsity arising from evil is that which takes them away as if by theft. But truths that have disappeared are recollected once again when a person comes back to an affection for good or for truth through the life he leads. Anyone who stops to reflect can recognize the truth of this from his own experience and from what takes place with others. All this makes plain what is meant by enquiring of good regarding truths and factual knowledge that have been taken away from a person’s memory or mind.
* See 4227:3.

sRef Ex@22 @8 S0′ 9155. ‘[To see] whether or not he has put his hand into his companion’s property’ means whether it has entered into that good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘whether or not he has put his hand’ as whether good has made them subject to its own control and power; and from the meaning of ‘into his companion’s property’ as truth and factual knowledge that have been taken away, for the silver and vessels, which have been delivered to someone for safe keeping but have been taken away, are what ‘companion’s property’ refers to. For the meaning of ‘silver and vessels’ as truths and factual knowledge, see above in 9149. From this it is evident that ‘whether or not the master of the house has put his hand into his companion’s property’ means whether good has made truths and factual knowledge subject to its own control and power – the truths and factual knowledge that have been taken away – thus whether these had previously entered into good, according to what has been shown immediately above in 9154. For the meaning of ‘hand’ as power, see 878, 3387, 4931-4937, 5296, 6292, 7188, 7189, 7518, 7673, 8153, and for ‘in the hand’ as that which resides with and within someone, 9133.

sRef Ex@22 @9 S0′ sRef Ps@51 @2 S1′ sRef Ps@51 @3 S1′ 9156. ‘For every matter of transgression’ means any harm whatever and any loss whatever. This is clear from the meaning of ‘transgression’ as everything that is contrary to the truth of faith, thus that injures it or wipes it out, therefore any harm whatever done to it and any loss whatever of it. In the Word evils are sometimes called sins, sometimes iniquities, and sometimes transgressions; but what the specific meaning of each of them is, is not evident except from the internal sense. The word transgressions is used for deeds contrary to the truths of faith, the word iniquities for deeds contrary to the good of faith, and the word sins for deeds contrary to the good of charity and love. The first two kinds of deeds spring from a perverted understanding, the last from a wicked will, as in David,

Wash me from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is constantly before me. Ps. 51:2, 3.

‘Iniquity’ stands for evil contrary to the good of faith, ‘sin’ for evil contrary to the good of charity and love, and ‘transgression’ for evil contrary to the truths of faith. Since ‘transgression’ is evil which springs from a perverted understanding, and so is recognized from the truths of faith, the words ‘I acknowledge my transgressions’ are used.

sRef Ps@25 @7 S2′ sRef Micah@1 @13 S2′ sRef Ps@25 @6 S2′ sRef Isa@50 @1 S2′ sRef Micah@1 @5 S2′ [2] In the same author,

Remember Your mercies, O Jehovah, and Your loving-kindnesses. Do not remember the sins of my youth,* nor my transgressions. Ps. 25:6, 7.

‘Sins’ stands for evils springing from a wicked will, and ‘transgressions’ for evils springing from a perverted understanding. In Isaiah,

Behold, because of iniquities you have been sold, and because of transgressions your mother has been put away. Isa. 50:1.

‘Iniquities’ stands for evils contrary to the Church’s good of faith, and ‘transgressions’ for evils contrary to its truths of faith, ‘mother’ being the Church, which is said to be put away when it departs from faith. In Micah,

On account of the transgression of Jacob all this [will happen], and on account of the sin of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? She was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion; for in you the transgressions of Israel were found. Micah 1:5, 13.

Here ‘sin’ in a similar way means something contrary to the good of charity and love, and ‘transgression’ something contrary to the truth of faith; for ‘Samaria’ means a Church whose faith is perverted, as likewise does ‘Israel’ in this instance.

sRef Isa@57 @4 S3′ sRef Isa@57 @5 S3′ sRef Ps@5 @10 S3′ [3] Since transgressions are offences against the truths of faith, the word ‘transgressions’ also describes going over to the other side and defecting. The same word is used in the original language to describe these actions, as is evident in David,

On account of the multitude of their transgressions overthrow them, for they rebel against You. Ps. 5:10.

The word ‘rebel’ is used when people defect and go over to the other side. And in Isaiah,

Are you not those born of transgression, the seed of a lie, who inflamed yourselves among the gods under every green tree, who slaughter children in the rivers? Isa. 57:4, 5.

‘Transgression’, it is plainly evident from these words, means evil contrary to the truths of faith. ‘Those born of transgression’ are falsities which destroy the truths of faith. For this reason they are also called ‘the seed of a lie’, falsity being meant by ‘a lie’, 8908. For the same reason they are said ‘to be inflamed among the gods under every green tree’, which means in the internal sense worship arising out of falsities, falsities being meant by ‘the gods’, 4402 (end), 4544, 7873, 8867, and the perception of falsity because of a perverted understanding being meant by ‘green tree’, 2722, 4552. And for still the same reason it says ‘you slaughter children in the rivers’, by which the annihilation of the truths of faith by falsities is meant; for ‘slaughtering’ means annihilating, ‘children’ means the truths of faith, 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 2813, 3373, and ‘the rivers’ means falsities, 6693.
* lit. childhood

sRef Ex@22 @9 S0′ 9157. ‘[Whether it is] for an ox, for an ass, for a member of the flock’ means any harm done to good or truth, exterior or interior, or else any loss of them. This is clear from the meaning of ‘ox and ass’ as exterior good and truth, and from the meaning of ‘member of the flock’ as interior truth and good, all dealt with above in 9135.

sRef Ex@22 @9 S0′ 9158. ‘For clothing’ means [any harm done to or else loss of] truth on the level of the senses. This is clear from the meaning of ‘clothing’ as truth, dealt with in 4545, 4763, 5319, 5954, 6914, 6917. In general ‘clothing’ means more external or lower truth that covers more internal or higher truths, 297, 2576, 5248, 6918; here therefore truth on the level of the senses is meant, this being the most external or lowest level, 5081, 5125, 5767, 6564, 6614. The meaning of ‘clothes’ as truths has its origin in representatives in the next life; for spirits and angels all appear dressed in clothes that are in keeping with the truths of faith they possess, 165, 5248, 5954.

sRef Ex@22 @9 S0′ 9159. ‘[Or] for anything that is lost, about which one says, This is it’ means anything uncertain. This is clear from the meaning of ‘what is lost’ as something that has undergone harm or loss; and from the meaning of ‘about which one says, This is it’ as something uncertain. For the assertion ‘This is it’ implies the question of whether something is so or not, and that the matter has therefore been subjected to investigation and decision.

sRef Ex@22 @9 S0′ 9160. ‘The case of both parties shall come even to God, and the one whom God condemns’ means enquiry made and decision reached through truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the case shall come even to God’ as enquiry made through truth, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘condemning’ as reaching a decision and sentencing the one who transgressed. The reason why ‘the case shall come even to God’ means enquiry made through truth is that ‘to God’ implies to the judges who were to enquire into the matter in the light of truth. This also explains the use of the plural in ‘the one whom God condemns’.* In the original language God is indeed called El, which is singular, but more often Elohim, which is plural, and the reason for this is that among the angels in heaven the Divine Truth emanating from the Lord is divided into a multitude of different forms. For as many as the angels are, so many are the recipients of God’s truth, each one receiving it in their own way, 3241, 3744-3746, 3986, 4149, 5598, 7236, 7833, 7836. This explains why the angels are called gods, 4295, 4402, 7268, 7873, 8301, and also judges, because judges were not to base their judgements on any ideas of their own but on those which were the Lord’s. They were also to base judgements on the Law of Moses, thus on the Word received from the Lord. At the present day also judgements are based on what is the Lord’s when they accord with truths and spring from conscience.

sRef Ex@22 @8 S2′ sRef Ex@4 @16 S2′ sRef 1Sam@9 @9 S2′ sRef Ex@7 @1 S2′ [2] The Lord is called ‘God’ in the Word by virtue of Divine Truth that emanates from Him, and ‘Jehovah’ by virtue of Divine Good, 4402, 6303, 6905, 7268, 8988. For this reason wherever good is the subject in the Word the name ‘Jehovah’ is used, and wherever truth is the subject the name ‘God’ is used, 2586, 2769, 2807, 2822, 3921 (end), 4402, 7268, 8988; and so ‘God’ means truth, 4287, 7010, 7268. All this now shows what is meant in verse 8 by ‘if the thief is not caught, the master of the house shall be brought to God’, and in the present verse by ‘the case of both parties shall come even to God, and the one whom God condemns shall repay’, as well as what is meant by ‘God’ in the following places,

Aaron will speak for you to the people; and it will happen, that he will be for you as a mouth, and you will be for him as God. Exod. 4:16.

‘Moses’ is Divine Truth or the Law, and ‘as a mouth’ is the teachings drawn from it that Aaron represented, see 7010. Also,

Jehovah said to Moses, See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother will be your prophet. Exod. 7:1.

See 7268. And in the first Book of Samuel,

Formerly in Israel, when a man went to enquire of God, he said this, Come, and we will go to the seer. For one called a prophet at the present day was formerly called a seer. 1 Sam. 9:9.

‘A seer’ or ‘a prophet’ is God’s truth, and teachings based on it regarding truth and good, 2534, 7269.
* The verb here in the Latin and in the Hebrew is plural. The subject of the verb in the Latin is singular (Deus); but the Hebrew word (Elohim), though plural in form and therefore sometimes used to mean gods, is more often the proper name God. In this particular instance Elohim is taken to mean the judges, i.e. those who act on behalf of God.

sRef Ex@22 @9 S0′ 9161. ‘Shall repay double to his companion’ means making amends to the complete amount. This is clear from the meaning of ‘repaying’ as making amends, dealt with in [9087,] 9097; and from the meaning of ‘double’ as to the complete amount, dealt with in 9103.

sRef Ex@22 @10 S0′ 9162. ‘When a man delivers to his companion an ass, or an ox, or a member of the flock, or any beast for safe keeping’ means truth and good, exterior and interior, in the memory, and anything there belonging to an affection for them. This is clear from the meaning of ‘ass’, ‘ox’, and ‘member of the flock’ as truth, exterior and interior, dealt with above in 9135; from the meaning of ‘beast’ as an affection for good and truth, dealt with in 45, 46, 142, 143, 246, 714-716, 719, 1823, 2179, 2180, 2781, 3218, 3519, 5198, 7424, 7523, 9090; and from the meaning of ‘being delivered for safe keeping’ as being stored and held in the memory, dealt with above in 9149, ‘man’ [and] ‘companion’ being not two different persons but two [forms of truth] within a single person, 9149.

sRef Ex@22 @10 S0′ 9163. ‘And it dies or is broken’ means loss or harm. This is clear from the meaning of ‘dying’ as being wiped out and lost; and from the meaning of ‘being broken’ as suffering harm. In the Word ‘a break’ and ‘being broken’ mean being dispersed or else suffering harm. This has its origin in the spiritual world, where all things without exception are joined together, all according to the way in which God’s truth coming from the Lord is received by them, and so according to the way in which the order imposed on every single thing by God’s truth emanating from the Lord is received by them, 8700, 8988. Therefore also the truths residing with a person are connected to one another according to the way in which they are received within good; and the truths interconnected in this way make a single whole. Consequently when these as a whole are broken, the truths together with the good are dispersed; but when they are partially broken, the truths that are there are dispersed. For when they exist in connection with one another, they depend on one another for their existence, but when they are broken they pull away from one another. So it is that in the Word ‘being broken’ means being dispersed, as is also meant by ‘being divided’, 9093, or else it means suffering harm. sRef Ezek@30 @22 S2′ sRef Isa@8 @15 S2′ [2] That is to say, being dispersed is meant when the whole is broken, but suffering harm when part is broken, as is evident from the following places in the Word: In Isaiah,

Many among them will trip, and fall, and be broken. Isa. 8:15; 28:13.

‘Tripping’ stands for stumbling and as a consequence sliding from truths into falsities; ‘falling and being broken’ stands for being dispersed, dispersed as a whole in this instance. In Ezekiel,

Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, I will break [both] his arms, the strong one and the broken one. Ezek. 30:22.

‘Pharaoh king of Egypt’ stands for known facts which pervert and destroy the truths and forms of the good of faith, 6651, 6679, 6683, 6692. ‘Breaking the arms’ stands for dispersing the powerfulness of those facts and so dispersing the facts themselves, 4932. ‘The strong one and the broken one’ stands for those which have not suffered harm and offer resistance, and those which have suffered harm and offer no resistance.

sRef Ex@12 @46 S3′ sRef Isa@38 @13 S3′ sRef Jer@17 @18 S3′ sRef Lam@3 @4 S3′ sRef Luke@20 @17 S3′ sRef Luke@20 @18 S3′ [3] In Luke,

It is written, The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner. Whoever falls onto that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind [him] to powder. Luke 20:17, 18.

‘The stone’ stands for the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, 6426. Since ‘being broken’ refers to truths that come from Him, it stands for being dispersed and so destroyed. This happens to the things that compose spiritual life, as well as to the truths, and occurs among people who deny the Lord and refuse to accept truths that come from Him, these people being the ones who reject the stone. In Jeremiah,

Bring on them the day of evil, break [them] with doubled breaking. Jer. 17:18.

‘Breaking with doubled breaking’ stands for destroying completely.

sRef Isa@30 @26 S4′ sRef Jer@6 @14 S4′ sRef Jer@6 @13 S4′ sRef John@19 @33 S4′ sRef John@19 @36 S4′ sRef Jer@8 @21 S4′ [4] In Isaiah,

I have settled myself down until the morning. Like a lion, so He breaks all my bones. From day until night You will make an end of me. Isa. 38:13.

In Jeremiah,

He has aged my flesh and my skin, and broken my bones. Lam. 3:4.

In Moses,

You shall not take out of the house any of the flesh of the Passover lamb, nor break a bone of it. Exod. 12:46.

‘Breaking the bones’ means destroying the truths from God that exist on the last and lowest level of order, truths on which more internal truths and forms of good rest and by means of which these are supported. If the truths on the lowest level are destroyed, the ones built on top of them also fall to the ground. Truths on the lowest level are truths belonging to the literal sense of the Word, which hold within themselves truths belonging to the internal sense and which those in the internal sense rest on like pillars on their plinths. For the meaning of ‘bones’ as truths, see 3812, 6592, 8005. All this shows what was represented and meant by the following things said about the Lord in John,

They came to Jesus. When they saw that He was dead they did not break His legs. This was done in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, You shall not break a bone of His. John 19:33, 36.

The reason for this was that He was Divine Truth itself both on the first and on the last levels of order.

sRef Ps@60 @2 S5′ sRef Amos@9 @11 S5′ sRef Lev@22 @22 S5′ sRef Isa@22 @9 S5′ sRef Lev@21 @19 S5′ sRef Zech@11 @16 S5′ sRef Nahum@3 @19 S5′ sRef Lev@21 @17 S5′ [5] In Isaiah,

Jehovah will bind up the break of His people,* and will heal the wound of their stroke. Isa. 30:26.

In Jeremiah,

From the prophet even to the priest, everyone deals falsely;** and they heal what is broken in My people with something that is no good.*** Jer. 6:13, 14.

In the same prophet,

Because the daughter of My people is broken**** I am broken, I am dressed in black. Jer. 8:21.

In David,

You have made the earth tremble; You have broken it to pieces; heal its breaks. Ps. 60:2.

In Zechariah,

I will raise up a shepherd in the land; he will not heal one that is broken, he will not support one that is standing. Zech. 11:16.

In Nahum,

There is no scar for your break;***** your stroke is severe.****** Nahum 3:19.

In these places ‘break’ means harm done to the truths and forms of the good of faith, thus harm done to the Church, while ‘healing’ means making amends and undertaking restoration. Something similar was meant by the regulation which prevented a man with a broken foot or a broken hand from approaching and offering the bread of God, Lev. 21:17, 19, and by that which prevented what was broken from being offered to Jehovah on the altar, Lev. 22:22, for ‘what was broken’ meant that which had been destroyed. That which has suffered harm is also meant by ‘a breach’, as in Isaiah,

You saw that the breaches of the city******* of David were very many. Isa. 22:9.

And in Amos,

On that day I will raise up the tent of David that is fallen down, and I will close up its breaches; I will restore its destroyed places, and I will build them as in the days of old. Amos 9:11.

‘The city******* of David’ and ‘the tent of David’ stand for the Lord’s Church, for ‘David’ in the prophetical part of the Word is the Lord, 1888.
* i.e. the hurt done to His people
** lit. does or performs a lie
*** lit. the break of My people through a thing of no weight
**** lit. Over the break of the daughter of My people
***** i.e. There is no sign that healing has taken place
****** lit. hopeless
******* The Latin means house but the Hebrew means city, which Sw. Has in another place where he quotes this verse.

sRef Ex@22 @10 S0′ sRef Jer@22 @22 S0′ sRef Jer@48 @47 S0′ sRef Jer@48 @46 S0′ sRef Luke@21 @24 S0′ 9164. ‘Or is led away captive’ means removal. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being led away captive’, when it has reference to the good or truth present with a person, as removal. The situation here is that when truth that springs from good reigns in a person the truth he believes in the most strongly lies in the middle, and the truths he believes in less strongly are stationed further and further away from the middle, ending with those about which he is in doubt. Bordering the truths are falsities, but they are not part of that sequence of truths. Nor do they stand upright pointing to heaven in the way that the truths springing from good do, but are bent over pointing downwards, and in the measure that they arise from evil they look towards hell. But when falsity supplants truth order is turned upside down; the truths move away to the sides and form the outer circle, and the falsities arising from evil occupy the middle. This shows what removal is used to mean, regarding which see also 3436, 6084, 6103. The reason why that kind of removal is meant by ‘being led away captive’ is that when falsities take truths captive they lead them away in that manner. Such things are also meant by ‘being taken captive’ and ‘being led away captive’ in Jeremiah,

The wind will feed on all your shepherds, and your lovers will be led away into captivity. Jer. 22:22.

In the same prophet,

Woe to you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh have perished, for your sons have been led away into captivity, and your daughters into captivity. Yet I will bring back the captives* of Moab in the last days. Jer. 48:46, 47.

‘Sons’ who have been led away into captivity are truths, and ‘daughters’ are forms of good. And in Luke,

They will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken captive among all the gentiles;** and at length Jerusalem will be trodden underfoot by the gentiles.** Luke 21:24.

This refers to the close of the age, which is the final period of the Church. ‘Falling by the edge of the sword’ means being destroyed by falsities, ‘the sword’ being falsity engaged in conflict against truth, 2799, 4499, 6353, 7102, 8294. ‘The gentiles’ among whom they will be taken captive and by whom the Church will be trodden underfoot are evils that give rise to falsities, see 1259, 1260, 1849, 1868, 6306; and ‘Jerusalem’ which will be trodden underfoot then is the Church, 2117, 3654.
* lit. the captivity
** or the nations

sRef Ex@22 @10 S0′ 9165. ‘And no one sees it’ means which the mind is not aware of. This is clear from the meaning of ‘seeing’ as understanding, also possessing faith, dealt with in 2325, 2807, 3863, 3869, 4403-4421, 5114, 5400. And since the understanding is the eye of the mind, ‘seeing’ also means that which the mind is aware of. At this point that which the mind is not aware of is meant since the words used are ‘no one sees it’.

sRef Ex@22 @11 S0′ 9166. ‘An oath of Jehovah shall be between them both’ means enquiry made through truths from the Word regarding every single aspect of these things. This is clear from the meaning of ‘an oath’ as confirming through truths, dealt with in 2842, 3037, 3375, so that ‘an oath of Jehovah’ means doing so through truths from the Word, for the Word contains Jehovah’s truths, that is, God’s truths; and from the meaning of ‘them both’ as in every single aspect, for in the internal sense ‘between both’ does not mean between two but in every single aspect. ‘Two’ means things joined together to make a single whole, 1686, 3519, 5194, 8423, thus all that composes the whole, or every single aspect of it. This is what those in heaven perceive ‘two’ to be; and the reason why they do so is that when a discussion takes place among angels regarding two truths at variance with each other, a scene in which two spirits are arguing with each other presents itself on the level below. And since these spirits are the subordinates of a number of communities, every single aspect of one truth appears with one spirit, and every single aspect of the other truth with the other spirit. From this the angels perceive how the two are able to be linked together. I have been allowed to know from experience that this is what happens. So it is that when the words ‘them both’ are used in reference to truths they mean in every single aspect. This also is the reason why ‘two’ means something complete, 9103.

sRef Matt@5 @34 S2′ sRef Matt@5 @33 S2′ sRef Matt@5 @35 S2′ sRef Matt@5 @37 S2′ sRef Matt@5 @36 S2′ [2] The reason why it was permissible among the Israelite and Jewish nation to swear by Jehovah was that they were not internal, only external people, and when they engaged in the worship of God they did so on an external and not an internal level. The fact that they were like this, see 4281, 4293, 4429, 4433, 4680, 4844, 4847, 4865, 4903, 6304, 8588, 8788, 8806. When the confirmation of a truth comes down into the external man separated from the internal, it is effected by means of an oath; but not so when it comes down into the external by way of the internal. For in the internal man truth appears in its own light, but in the external without the internal truth appears in darkness. This explains why the celestial angels, who inhabit the inmost or third heaven, being in the highest degree of light do not even confirm truths by the use of reasons. Still less do they engage in argument and reasoning about truths; they simply say Yes or No, which they do by virtue of an ability received from the Lord to perceive and see them.

[3] This explains why the Lord has said the following regarding oaths,

You have heard that it was said, You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord your oaths. But I say to you, You shall not swear at all, neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne, nor by the earth, for it is His footstool, nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your words be, Yes, yes; No, no; anything beyond this is from evil.* Matt. 5:33-37.

These words imply that confirmation of God’s truths should come from the Lord and not from man, which it does when people are internal and not external. For people who are external confirm truths by means of oaths, but those who are internal do so by means of reasons, while those who are even more internal do not confirm them at all but simply say It is so, or It isn’t so. Those who are external are called natural people, those who are internal are called spiritual people, and those even more internal are called celestial people. The last of these – celestial people – have the ability, received from the Lord, to perceive intuitively whether something is true or not, see 2708, 2715, 2718, 3246, 4448, 7877. All this shows what was implied when the Lord said, You shall not swear at all, and also Let your words be Yes, yes; No, no. But why He also said that they were not to swear by heaven, by the earth, by Jerusalem, or by their head, and that any words beyond ‘Yes, yes; No, no’ are from evil, must be explained.

[4] Swearing by heaven means doing so by Divine Truth, thus by the Lord there. Heaven is heaven not by virtue of the angels regarded in themselves but by virtue of the Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, thus by virtue of the Lord Himself, within them; for the Divine within them is what enables them to be angels of heaven and be called angels of heaven. This explains why those in heaven are said to be ‘in the Lord’, why the Lord is the All in every single thing of heaven, and also why angels are God’s truths, being recipients of God’s truth emanating from the Lord.

Heaven is heaven and is called heaven by virtue of what is Divine and the Lord’s there, see 552, 3038, 3700. Angels are God’s truths, 4295, 4402, 7268, 7873, 8301. Something of the Lord is meant by an angel in the Word, 1925, 2821, 3039, 4085, 4295, 6280.

Since heaven is the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, it says ‘you shall not swear by heaven, for it is God’s throne’. ‘God’s throne’ is Divine Truth which emanates from the Lord, 5313, 6397, 9039.

[5] Swearing by the earth however is doing so by the Church, thus by Divine Truth there. For just as heaven is the Lord by virtue of Divine Truth that emanates from Him, so too is the Church, the Church being the Lord’s heaven or His kingdom on earth. For the meaning of ‘earth’ in the Word as the Church, see 662, 1066, 1262, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118 (end), 2928, 3355, 4447, 4535, 5577, 8011, 8732. And since ‘the earth’ is the Church, the place where what is Divine and the Lord’s below heaven exists, it says ‘you shall not swear by the earth, for it is God’s footstool’. ‘Footstool’ means God’s truth below heaven, which is truth as it exists in the literal sense of the Word; for on this sense God’s truth in heaven, which is the Word in the internal sense, rests and so to speak stands. Truth as it exists in the literal sense is meant by ‘footstool’ in David, in Ps. 99:5; 132:7; in Isaiah 60:13; and in Jeremiah, in Lamentations 2:1.

[6] Swearing by Jerusalem however is doing so by teachings that present truth drawn from the Word. For in a broad sense ‘Jerusalem’ is the Church, 2117, 3654; but when the words ‘the earth’, meaning the Church, are used, followed by ‘Jerusalem’, ‘Jerusalem’ then means the Church’s teachings, consequently teachings that present God’s truth drawn from the Word. This is why it is called ‘the city of the great [King, who is] God’, for ‘city’ in the internal sense of the Word means teachings that present the truth, see 402, 2449, 2943, 3216, 4478, 4492, 4493.

[7] Swearing by his head however means a person’s doing so by the truth which he himself believes to be the truth and makes part of his faith; for this as it resides with him constitutes ‘his head’, and it is also what is meant by ‘the head’ in Isaiah 15:2; 29:10; in Ezekiel 7:18; 13:18; 16:12; 29:18; in Matthew 6:17; and elsewhere. Therefore it also says, ‘for you cannot make one hair white or black’. ‘Hair’ means truth belonging to the external or natural man, 3301, the kind that exists with those who believe the truth not because they perceive it to be the truth but because the teachings of the Church declare it to be so. And since they know the truth on no other grounds than this it says that they are not to swear by it because they cannot make a hair white or black. ‘Making a hair white’ means declaring on one’s own authority that truth is truth, and ‘making a hair black’ declaring on one’s own authority that falsity is falsity. For ‘white’ is said in reference to truth, 3301, 3993, 4007, 5319, and therefore ‘black’ in reference to falsity.

[8] From all this one may now see what is meant by the command not to swear at all, not by heaven, nor by the earth, nor by Jerusalem, nor by one’s head, namely that a person should not use what is his own to confirm God’s truth but what is the Lord’s with him. Therefore it also says finally, Your words shall be Yes, yes; No, no; anything beyond this is from evil. Those who have the ability, which comes from the Lord, to perceive and see truth confirm it in this way alone, even as angels of the inmost or third heaven do, the ones who are called celestial angels, spoken about above. The reason why any words beyond ‘Yes, yes; No, no’ are from evil is that anything beyond them does not come from the Lord but from a person’s proprium or self, thus from evil, since a person’s proprium is nothing but evil, see 210, 215, 874-876, 987, 1023, 1044, 1047, 3812 (end), 4328, 5660, 8941, 8944. All this again shows in what way the Lord spoke, that is to say, in such a way that every single word contained an inner meaning, since He spoke from the Divine. Thus He spoke for the benefit of angels at the same time as for men; for angels perceive the Word according to its inner meaning.
* or from the evil one

sRef Ex@22 @11 S0′ 9167. ‘[To see] whether or not its owner has put his hand into his companion’s property and taken it’ means being joined together under [the influence of] good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘whether or not he has put a hand into his companion’s property’ – when said in reference to truth and good, exterior and interior – as whether these have entered into it, dealt with above in 9155, thus whether those things have been joined together under [the influence of] good (as regards being joined together under [the influence of] good, see 9154); and from the meaning of ‘owner’ or ‘master’ as good, dealt with in 9154, so that ‘whether or not its owner has taken it’ means whether good has made those things its own by being joined to them. The reason why ‘owner’ means good is that with a spiritual person good occupies the first place and truth the second; and that which occupies first place is the owner. Furthermore the character of the good determines the way in which all the truths present with a person are arranged, as a house by the owner or ‘lord’.*

sRef Rev@19 @16 S2′ sRef Rev@17 @14 S2′ sRef Mal@3 @1 S2′ sRef John@13 @13 S2′ sRef Deut@10 @17 S2′ sRef John@13 @14 S2′ [2] This explains why ‘lord’ in the Word is used to mean the Lord in respect of Divine Good, and ‘god’, ‘king’, and ‘master’ to mean the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, as in Moses,

Jehovah your God, He is God of gods, and Lord of lords. Deut. 10:17.

In John,

The Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings. Rev. 17:14.

In the same book,

He has on His robe and on His thigh the name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. Rev. 19:16.

The fact that the Lord is called ‘God’ in respect of Divine Truth, see 2586, 2769, 2807, 2822, 4402, 7268, 8988, and also that He is called ‘King’ in respect of Divine Truth, 2015 (end), 3009, 3670, 4581, 4966, 5068, 6148. And from this it is evident that the Lord is called ‘Lord’ in respect of Divine Good; for when truth is referred to in the Word, good as well is referred to, 683, 793, 801, 2516, 2618, 2712, 2803, 3004, 4138 (end), 5138, 5502, 6343, 8339 (end). In John,

You call Me Master and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. I your Lord and Master have washed your feet. John 13:13, 14.

Here again the Lord is called ‘Lord’ by virtue of Divine Good, and ‘Master’ by virtue of Divine Truth. In Malachi,

Suddenly there will come to His temple the Lord whom you are seeking, and the angel of the covenant in whom you delight. Mal. 3:1.

In these words which refer to the Lord’s Coming He is called ‘the Lord’ by virtue of Divine Good, and ‘the angel’ by virtue of Divine Truth, 1925, 2821, 3039, 4085, 4295, 6280.

sRef Matt@6 @24 S3′ [3] This explains why in the Old Testament when people entreat the Lord they very often say Lord Jehovih, by which ‘O Good Jehovah’ is meant, 1793, 2921, and why in the New Testament the name Lord is used instead of Jehovah, 2921. From all this one can also see what the following words in Matthew are used to mean,

No one can serve two lords, for either he will hate the one and love the other … Matt. 6:24.

‘Two lords’ are good and evil. For a person must be governed by good or else by evil; he cannot be governed by both simultaneously. Many truths can reside with him, but they are truths arranged under the influence of one good. Good constitutes heaven with a person, whereas evil constitutes hell. He must have heaven within himself or hell, not both, or something half-way in between. All this now shows what ‘lord’ or ‘owner’ is used to mean in the Word.
* The Latin word rendered owner is dominus, which in other contexts is usually rendered lord. The phrase also involves a play on words which might be rendered as a house by a householder (sicut a domino domus).

sRef Ex@22 @11 S0′ 9168. ‘And [the other man] shall not make repayment’ means that no harm has been done. This is clear from the meaning of ‘making repayment’ as making amends and also undertaking restoration, dealt with in 9087, 9097, so that ‘not making repayment’ means not undertaking restoration and making amends, because no harm has been done.

sRef Ex@22 @12 S0′ 9169. ‘But if it has indeed been taken away [from him] by theft’ means if loss has taken place. This is clear from the meaning of ‘theft’ as the taking away of good or truth, dealt with in 9125, thus the loss of them.

sRef Ex@22 @12 S0′ 9170. ‘He shall make repayment to its owner’ means restoration, to replace it. This is clear from the meaning of ‘making repayment’ as undertaking restoration, dealt with in 9087; and from the meaning of ‘owner’ or ‘lord’ as good, dealt with just above in 9167, so that ‘he shall make repayment to its owner’ means restoring truth to good, to replace that which has been taken away.

sRef Ex@22 @13 S0′ 9171. ‘If it has been torn to pieces’ means if harm is done for which the person is not blameworthy. This is clear from the meaning of ‘what has been torn’ as harm done by falsities arising from evil for which a person is not blameworthy, dealt with in 4171, 5828.

sRef Ex@22 @13 S0′ 9172. ‘He shall bring it [as] witness’ means confirmation of this. This is clear from the meaning of ‘witness’ as confirmation, dealt with in 4197.

sRef Ex@22 @13 S0′ 9173. ‘He shall not make repayment for what has been torn’ means that there shall be no punishment, that is to say, for harm done for which the person is not blameworthy. This is clear from the meaning of ‘what has been torn’ as harm done for which a person is not blameworthy, as just above in 9171; and from the meaning of ‘making repayment’ as punishment, dealt with in 9102, at this point as no punishment since it says ‘he shall not make repayment’.

sRef Ex@22 @14 S0′ 9174. ‘And when a man borrows something from his companion’ means truth from a different stock. This is clear from the meaning of ‘borrowing’ as receiving truth from a source other than self, thus from a different stock. The reason why ‘borrowing’ or ‘asking of another’ has this meaning is that in the spiritual world the only forms of good asked of others or imparted by others are ones that belong to intelligence and wisdom. Many other forms, it is true, are presented to view, indeed countless others; but these are appearances arising from those that belong to intelligence and wisdom. From this it is evident that ‘borrowing’ means being taught by another and so receiving truths or knowledge of truth and good from a source other than self. But this matter needs further explanation. A person is said to receive truths from self when he deduces them from the truths already present with him, at which time he combines these already present with those he deduces. But when he does this he entertains no other truths than those which are subject to and accord with the same good; for good is what arranges truths into order and links them together. Good is like the soul in a person, and truths are like those things with which the soul clothes itself and through which it acts. Just as every single thing in a person derives its life from his soul, as is well known, so the truths of faith receive theirs from the good of love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour. If that good does not compose a person’s soul but the good of self-love or of love of the world, the person is not a human being but a wild animal. Furthermore in the next life he looks in the light of heaven like a wild animal, though in his own light, which becomes thick darkness when the light of heaven enters in, he looks like a human being. It should be borne in mind however that it is the Lord who arranges truths to accord with the good of a person’s life.

[2] But a person is said to receive truths from another source when he is taught by another. If they are not subject to and do not accord with the good that governs him they are, it is true, stored in his memory among factual knowledge, yet they do not become his, that is, part of his belief, because they spring from a different stock. These truths are the subject in the present verse and the one that follows it.

sRef Luke@6 @35 S3′ sRef Luke@6 @34 S3′ sRef Matt@5 @42 S3′ sRef Ps@37 @21 S3′ [3] When ‘borrowing’ and ‘lending’ are mentioned in the Word, receiving instruction and giving it in a spirit of charity and affection are meant, as in Matthew,

Give to everyone asking from you, and from him desiring to receive a loan from you, do not turn away. Matt. 5:42.

Here it is evident that ‘asking’ was not used to mean asking, for the words are ‘give to everyone asking’; neither were ‘desiring a loan’ and ‘receiving it’ so used. For if a person gave to everyone who asked, and also to everyone desiring to receive a loan, he would be deprived of all his goods. But since the Lord spoke from the Divine, ‘asking’ and ‘desiring a loan’, and ‘giving’ and ‘receiving a loan’, were used to mean the communicating of heavenly goods, that is, of cognitions or knowledge of good and truth. The nature of this communication is such that the more an angel stirred by charity and affection imparts them to another, the more the general good flows into him from heaven, that is, from the Lord, 6478. Thus an angel who gives to him who asks is not deprived of goods but enriched with them. The like applies when a person stirred by charity and affection does good to another. But real charity consists in giving to good people, and mistaken charity consists in giving to bad people the things they ask for and desire, 8120, as accords with these words in David,

The wicked borrows and does not repay, whereas the righteous shows mercy and gives. Ps. 37:21.

In Luke,

If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what thanks do you have? Rather, love your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing from it; then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Highest. Luke 6:34, 35.

[4] Here also ‘lending’ is used to mean being stirred by charity and affection to do good, thus to communicate the good things of heaven, and also to impart the good things of the world, yet to impart them with the good things of heaven in view. Charity and affection are present when good things are communicated without thought of reward, but charity and affection are absent when they are communicated with reward as the end in view, see 2373, 2400, 3816, 3956, 4943, 6388-6390, 6392, 6393, 6478, 8002. ‘Loving enemies’ and ‘doing good’ to bad people are aspects of charity and affection; but enemies are loved and good is done to them when they are given instruction and also when by suitable means they are corrected by them, 8121.

sRef Ps@112 @6 S5′ sRef Deut@28 @12 S5′ sRef Ps@112 @5 S5′ sRef Deut@28 @1 S5′ [5] The exercise of charity is also meant by ‘lending’ in Moses,

If you obey the voice of Jehovah and take care to do His commandments, you shall lend to many peoples, but you shall not borrow. Deut. 28:1, 12.

‘Lending to many peoples’ means abounding in forms of good that belong to intelligence and wisdom and communicating them from that abundance, while ‘not borrowing’ means having no need of them from others, since all things are imparted to a person by the Lord. In David,

A good man who has mercy and lends will maintain his cause* in judgement; for he will never be moved. Ps. 112:5, 6.

‘Having mercy and lending’ is used to describe the state of those governed by real charity. A similar description occurs in Ps. 37:21, in addition to other places.
* lit. words

sRef Ex@22 @14 S0′ 9175. ‘And it is broken or dies’ means harm done to it or the annihilation of it. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being broken’ as suffering harm, dealt with in 9163; and from the meaning of ‘dying’ as being annihilated.

sRef Ex@22 @15 S0′ 9176. ‘Its owner not being with it’ means if the good of that truth does not exist along with the general good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘owner’ as good, dealt with in 9167; and from the meaning of ‘not being with it’ as not existing along with the general good. The implications of this are made clear by what has been shown above in 9154 regarding truths in good, namely that all truths in general are arranged into order under good. But in the present verse borrowed truths are the subject, that is, truths received from another, see 9174. These truths are either accompanied or not accompanied by their own good. Those accompanied by their own good are truths which stir a person’s affections when he hears them, whereas those unaccompanied do not stir his affections then. Truths accompanied by their own good are meant by borrowed things that are broken or die, when the owner is with them; but truths unaccompanied by their own good are meant by borrowed things that are broken or die, when the owner is not with them.

[2] It is indeed possible to provide a description of these truths, but it will be unintelligible except to those who are in the light of heaven coming from the Lord. All others who see things solely in the light of the world, that is, in natural illumination, will find those things incomprehensible, because such people are in thick darkness so far as heavenly realities are concerned. And if they did seem to themselves to comprehend them, they would do so with the help of illusions and material ideas which do more to obscure things and put them in the shade than to cast light on them. It is enough to know simply that the truths of faith joined to their own good or not joined to it are the subject. Truths not joined to it are those that are learned from others but sink in no further than the memory, where they remain as factual knowledge. There is no perception of them as there is of the truths arranged in general under good. From all this one can know to a small extent what those things are like in which angelic wisdom consists; for angels not only comprehend the nature of them but also countless details about them. Thus they comprehend things which man does not even know to exist, let alone know anything about. For angels dwell in the light of heaven, and the light of heaven holds within it an infinite number of things, since the light of heaven is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord.

sRef Ex@22 @15 S0′ 9177. ‘He shall surely make repayment’ means undertaking restoration. This is clear from the meaning of ‘making repayment’ as undertaking restoration, dealt with in 9087, [9097.]

sRef Ex@22 @15 S0′ 9178. ‘If its owner is with it, he shall not make repayment’ means that if the good of truth is present along with it no restoration is required. This is clear from the meaning of ‘if the owner is with it’ as if the good of truth is present along with it, dealt with above in 9176; and from the meaning of ‘making repayment’ as undertaking restoration, as immediately above in 9177, so that ‘not making repayment’ means not undertaking restoration.

sRef Ex@22 @15 S0′ 9179. ‘If he is a hired servant’ means if for the sake of beneficial gain. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a hired servant’ as one who does good for the sake of beneficial gain or for the sake of reward, dealt with in 8002, thus in the abstract sense as beneficial gain or reward.

sRef Ex@22 @15 S0′ 9180. ‘He shall come in his hire’ means being submissive and subservient. This is clear from the meaning of ‘coming in one’s hire’ as submitting oneself and being subservient. The implications of this are as follows: There are people who learn and absorb truths from the Word, or from the teachings of the Church, or else from others whoever they may be, even from themselves by drawing their own conclusions. But these people do so for the sake of gain, that is, to earn important positions or wealth, or else to merit heaven. Such people are meant in the internal sense by ‘hired servants who shall come in their hire’, that is, who must submit themselves and serve. So far as one who belongs to the Church is concerned, forms of gain occupy the last place, not the first; and when they occupy the last place they are servants, but if they occupy the first they are masters. The person who sees gain as that which occupies first place is someone turned upside down, and is also represented in the next life as someone turned upside down with his head in hell. But the person who sees charity and faith, thus the Lord and the neighbour, as that which occupies first place is someone who is the right way up and stands the right way up in the next life with his head in heaven. This shows what is meant by good that is done for the sake of reward, and that this good must be submissive and subservient, meant by ‘If he is a hired servant he shall come in his hire’.

sRef Ex@22 @17 S0′ sRef Ex@22 @16 S0′ 9181. Verses 16, 17 When a man persuades a virgin who is not betrothed and lies with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife. If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay silver according to the dowry of virgins. ‘When a man persuades a virgin who is not betrothed’ means good that has not been joined to truth. ‘And lies with her’ means a wrongful joining together. ‘He shall surely endow her to be his wife’ means a token of consent on his side to a rightful joining together. ‘If the father utterly refuses to give her to him’ means if interior good does not allow the joining together. ‘He shall pay silver according to the dowry of virgins’ means another kind of truth which consents instead.

sRef Ex@22 @16 S0′ 9182. ‘When a man persuades a virgin who is not betrothed’ means good that has not been joined to truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘persuading’, when said in reference to a man and a virgin, as his enticing her to be joined to him; from the meaning of ‘a man’ as truth, dealt with in 3134, 7716, 9007; from the meaning of ‘a virgin’ as the Church in respect of good, dealt with in 3081, 4638, thus the good which the Church is; and from the meaning of ‘being betrothed’ as being joined to. Something brief must be stated here about the law regarding a wrongful joining together, which is the subject at present – about where the cause and origin of that law lie. The cause of all the laws laid down for the children of Israel lies in heaven; and the laws of order there are the origin from which they spring. The laws of order in heaven all spring from Divine Truth and Goodness which emanate from the Lord, and therefore are laws concerning the good of love and the truth of faith. Goodness and truth joined together in heaven is called the heavenly marriage; and this marriage is represented in marriages on earth. It is also meant in the Word by marriages. From this one can see what is implied by wrongful joinings together, and also by cases of whoredom or adultery. The present two verses deal with a wrongful joining together which later on is either made rightful or else dissolved. A wrongful joining together which later on is made rightful is the subject in the present verse, and a wrongful joining together which later on is dissolved is the subject in the next.

[2] A wrongful joining together is one that takes place not as a result of a desire for marriage, but as a result of some other desire, such as an interest in good looks, monetary gain, or personal status, or else it is one that takes place as a result of sexual lust. Any such joining together is wrongful initially; it is wrongful because they are external attractions that draw the two people together and not at the same time internal ones. Nevertheless those external attractions may subsequently serve as the means towards a rightful joining together, which takes place when the two people are of one mind. They may also be the means of preventing a subsequent joining together from taking place if the two people are not of one mind. This is a matter commonly known in the world.

[3] A rightful joining together, which is a joining of minds, takes place when similar goodness and similar truth exist with both persons; for goodness and truth constitute a person’s life, goodness and truth on the level of private and public behaviour constituting the life of the external man, and goodness and truth on a spiritual level constituting the life of the internal man. It should be recognized that a person’s life springs from no other source than goodness and truth; for everything the person loves is called good, and everything the person believes is called truth. Or what amounts to the same thing, everything the person wills is called good, and everything the person understands is called truth. From this it is evident that a rightful joining together takes place when truth exists with one person in a marriage and the good which complements that truth exists in the other person. For when this is their relationship the heavenly marriage, which is a marriage of goodness and truth, is represented in the two of them. So it is that conjugial love descends from that marriage, see 2727-2759, 2803, 3132, 4434, 4835.

[4] From all this, mentioned by way of introduction, anyone may recognize the nature of the joinings together dealt with in the present verse and the one following. Betrothal before marriage has been a custom since ancient times; it represented a first joining together, which is that of the internal man without the external. The actual marriage following it represented a second joining together, which is that of the internal man together with the external. For when a person is being regenerated by forms of the good and the truths of faith, the internal man is regenerated first and the external man afterwards, since the external man is regenerated from the internal, 3286, 3321, 3493, 3882, 8746.

sRef Jer@2 @2 S5′ [5] This shows what is meant in the Word by ‘betrothal’ and ‘being betrothed’, and also what is meant by ‘bridegroom’ and ‘bride’. It shows that ‘betrothal’ means the joining together of truth and good in the internal man, and that where the Lord and the Church are the subject ‘bridegroom’ means good and ‘bride’ truth, as in the following places: In Jeremiah,

I have remembered for you the mercy of your youth, the love of your betrothals, when you went out after Me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. Jer. 2:2.

This refers to the Ancient Church and its establishment by the Lord. ‘The love of betrothals’ is the affection belonging to spiritual life that is received from the truths of faith and the good of love. A state of desire, when they were still without knowledge of those truths and lacked that good, is meant by ‘going out after Me in the wilderness’ and ‘in a land not sown’.

sRef Hos@2 @18 S6′ sRef Hos@2 @19 S6′ [6] In Hosea,

I will make for them a covenant on that day with the wild animals of the field, and with the birds of the air, and the creeping things of the earth. And I will abolish* the bow, and the sword, and war from the land. And I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in judgement, and in mercy and in compassion.** Hosea 2:18, 19.

This refers to the establishment of a new Church. ‘Making a covenant with the wild animals of the field, with the birds, and with the creeping things of the earth’ means a joining together which the Lord accomplishes by means of the goodness and truth, internal and external, present with a person.

‘A covenant’ is a joining together, 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 6804, 8767, 8778. ‘The wild animals of the field’ are the life derived from good, 841, 908. ‘The birds’ are the life of truth, 40, 745, 776, 991, 3219, 5149, 7441. ‘The creeping things of the earth’ are the forms of good and the truths among the sensory perceptions of the external man, 746, 909.

‘Abolishing the bow, the sword, and war’ means destroying the teachings and powers of falsity.

‘The bow’ is teachings that present falsity, 2686, 2709.
‘The sword’ is falsity engaged in conflict against truth, 2799, 4499, 6353,
7102.
‘War’ is the conflict itself, or spiritual conflict, 1664, 2686, 8273.
‘Abolishing’ these means destroying them.

[7] ‘Betrothing in righteousness and in judgement’ means being joined to the Lord in goodness and truth – ‘betrothing’ is joining to oneself, and ‘righteousness’ has reference to good, ‘judgement’ to truth, 2235. ‘Betrothing in mercy and in compassion’ means doing so out of love towards those governed by good, and in love towards those guided by truths – the Lord’s ‘mercy’ has reference to His love towards those who lack good but nevertheless desire it, and His ‘compassion’ to His love towards those who have no knowledge of truth but nevertheless desire it. From all this it is evident that ‘betrothal’ means the joining together by the Lord of goodness and truth present with a person. Anyone can see that matters such as these are meant in those verses in Hosea, for when their contents are looked at in nothing brighter than natural light it is evident that Jehovah does not make a covenant with the wild animals of the field, the birds, and the creeping things of the earth, but with those possessing the goodness and truth of faith, thus with the goodness and truth present with a person, and therefore that such matters lie within this prophetic utterance.

sRef Mal@2 @11 S8′ [8] In Malachi,

Judah has acted faithlessly, for he has profaned the holiness of Jehovah, for he loved and betrothed to himself the daughter of a foreign god. Mal. 2:11.

‘Betrothing the daughter of a foreign god’ means being joined to the evil of falsity, ‘a foreign god’ being falsity, 4402 (end), 4544, 7873.

sRef Rev@21 @9 S9′ sRef Isa@61 @10 S9′ sRef Rev@21 @2 S9′ [9] As regards the meaning of ‘bridegroom’ as good, where the Lord and the Church are the subject, and of ‘bride’ as truth, this may be seen in Isaiah,

Jehovah has clothed me with the garments of salvation, with the robe of righteousness has He covered me, as a bridegroom puts on his priestly tiara, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.*** Isa. 61:10.

In John,

I saw the Holy City, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Rev. 21:1, 2.

In the same book,

The angel said, Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife. Rev. 21:9; 22:17.

Here ‘bride’ stands for the Church.

sRef Matt@9 @15 S10′ [10] In Matthew,

Jesus said to John’s disciples, Can the sons of the wedding mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. Matt. 9:15; Luke 5:34, 35.

The expression ‘the sons of the wedding’ refers to those who adhere to the truths of the Church and receive good, good which comes from the Lord being ‘the bridegroom’. ‘The sons of the wedding do not mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them’ implies that they are in a state of bliss and happiness, and so are with the Lord, when they adhere to the truths joined to their good. ‘They will fast when the bridegroom is taken away from them’ implies that they are in a state of unhappiness when good is no longer joined to the truths. The latter state is the final state of the Church, whereas the former is the first state.

[11] Something similar is meant in Matthew 25:1-12 by the bridegroom, whom the ten virgins went out to meet. For the virgins who had oil in their lamps are people who have good within their truths; but the virgins who did not have oil in their lamps are people who do not have good within their truths, see 4638, ‘oil’ being the good of love, 886, 3722, 4582.

sRef John@3 @29 S12′ sRef John@3 @28 S12′ [12] In John,

John said, I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before Him. He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears Him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. John 3:28, 29.

‘The bride’ stands for the truth that composes the Church’s faith, and ‘the bridegroom’ for the good that composes the Church’s love, both of which come from the Lord, and so stand for a member of the Church with whom good has been joined to truths. ‘The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears’ stands for faith consisting of truth, and ‘who rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice’ stands for an affection for the truth composing faith. All this also shows what is meant in the internal sense by the joy and voice of the bridegroom and the bride in Isaiah 62:5; Jeremiah 7:34; 16:9; 25:10; 33:11; Rev. 18:23, namely heaven and the happiness that result from the joining together of goodness and truth present with man and angel.
* lit. break
** lit. compassions
*** lit. vessels

sRef Ex@22 @16 S0′ 9183. ‘And lies with her’ means a wrongful joining together. This is clear from the meaning of ‘lying with a virgin who has [not] been betrothed’ as a wrongful joining together. For ‘being betrothed’ means a joining of the internal man, whereas ‘lying with’ means a joining of the external man, dealt with immediately above in 9182.

sRef Ex@22 @16 S0′ 9184. ‘He shall surely endow her to be his wife’ means a token of consent on his side to a rightful joining together. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a dowry’ and ‘endowing’ as a token of consent, dealt with in 4456; and from the meaning of ‘to be a wife’ as to establish a rightful joining together, for taking a woman to be his wife means being rightfully joined to her. In the spiritual sense a wrongful joining together exists when truth is joined to an affection that springs from a delight in gain or from a delight in the attainment of important positions; this kind of affection is present in people if they learn the Church’s truths for the sake of those delights. Yet that joining together does no harm to those who later on are regenerated by the Lord, since those affections remain with them, but become subordinate to and serve an affection for truth learned for the sake of the good that belongs to useful service and to life. Those earlier affections occupy the last place, though they were seen previously to occupy the first. For when a person is being regenerated the order of his life is turned around, and in this way a wrongful joining together is turned into a rightful one.

sRef Matt@6 @33 S2′ [2] The reason why this change in a person can come about is that the truths of faith enter by way of hearing, thus through the external man, and the external man has no taste for anything except things of the world and of self, that is, delights that arise from gain and important positions. But when the internal man has been opened through regeneration, good flows in from the Lord by way of the internal man, and that good adopts and joins to itself the truths of faith which have entered through the external man. The more they are joined together, the more order is turned around, that is, what has been occupying the first place is now put in the last. When this happens the Lord draws towards Himself all aspects of life within a person, so that they face upwards. Then those things that are the Lord’s and heaven’s are seen by the person as ends, and the Lord Himself as the end of all ends, while the former things, the delights that go with gain and important positions, are seen as means to that end. It is well known that the means have their life solely from the end in view, and without that end have no life. Thus when the delights that go with gain and important positions have become the means the life they have is the life that comes from heaven, that is, from the Lord by way of heaven, the end for the sake of which they exist being the Lord. When the order of life in a person is like this, gain and important positions are a blessing to him; but if that order is turned around they are a curse to him. The truth that all things are a blessing when heavenly order exists in a person is the Lord’s teaching in Matthew,

Seek first the kingdom of heaven and its righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matt. 6:33.

sRef Ex@22 @17 S0′ 9185. ‘If the father utterly refuses to give her to him’ means if interior good does not allow the joining together. This is clear from the meaning of ‘refusing’ as not allowing; from the meaning of ‘giving her to him’ – to be his wife – as a rightful joining together, dealt with immediately above in 9184; and from the meaning of ‘father’ as good, dealt with in 3703, 3704, 5581, 5902, 6050, 7499, 8328, 8897. Interior good is meant because from interior good as the father and interior truth as the mother exterior truths and forms of good are conceived and born, which the Word therefore calls sons and daughters.

sRef Ex@22 @17 S0′ 9186. ‘He shall pay silver according to the dowry of virgins’ means another kind of truth which consents instead. This is clear from the meaning of ‘silver’ as truth, dealt with in 1551, 2954, 5658, 6112, 6914, 6917; from the meaning of ‘paying’ as a substitution instead of the former, for the one who pays a dowry and does not take the virgin gives something else for her; and from the meaning of ‘the dowry of virgins’ as a token of consent to a joining together, dealt with just above in 9184. This token is truth that consents to, is in agreement with, interior good; for the dowry was fifty pieces of silver given to the young woman’s father, Deut. 22:29, thus truths that lead into a full joining together. For ‘silver’ means truth, as shown immediately above, and ‘fifty’ means to the full, 2252, at this point some other truths instead of the former, which consent to, and are in agreement with, good.

[2] The situation in all this has been shown above; but let the following be added. To turn a wrongful joining together into a rightful one the good that flows in from the Lord by way of the internal man must join to itself the truth that enters by way of the external man, that is, through the external man’s hearing. If this truth does not accord with that good, then another kind of truth which does accord or consents to be joined must be substituted.

[3] It would be possible to give examples to throw light on this subject; but since the notion of goodness and truth joined together lies in thick darkness, because people have separated the good of love from the truths of faith, thrown it back behind truths, and virtually turn their backs on it, no examples will help to make the subject clearer. As a rule the internal sense of the Word and thus matters of angelic wisdom fail to be apprehended by anyone unless he knows and understands that every single thing in heaven has a connection with goodness and truth, and that nothing there comes into being except from one joined to the other. So it is that those who separate one from the other are in the dark, that is to say, who separate the truth of faith from the good of charity, as do those who say that a person is saved by faith alone, or by the confidence that accompanies faith. Because they attribute everything to faith and nothing to charity, they cannot apprehend anything at all of the heavenly matters contained in the internal sense of the Word. For they walk in darkness as regards knowledge of good, thus also in darkness as regards knowledge of goodness and truth joined together, consequently as regards knowledge of truth itself since it is enveloped in the same darkness. This accounts for the existence of so many and such great delusions and heresies. People who are in the light as regards knowledge of truths are the few who have been taught the truth and live it out.

[4] Let those who subscribe to faith alone recognize that all the ideas in the thinking of angels who inhabit the second heaven and are called spiritual spring from truths that have become forms of good through the life those angels lead. Let them recognize also that all the ideas in the thinking of angels who inhabit the third heaven and are called celestial spring from good, and that these angels are consequently in possession of wisdom itself, the marvels of which wisdom will in the Lord’s Divine mercy be described elsewhere.

sRef Ex@22 @18 S0′ sRef Ex@22 @20 S0′ sRef Ex@22 @19 S0′ 9187. Verses 18-20 A sorceress you shall not keep alive. Anyone lying with a beast shall surely die. He who sacrifices to the gods shall be utterly destroyed – except to Jehovah alone. ‘A sorceress’ means those with whom something of the Church has been joined to falsities arising from the evil of self-love. ‘You shall not keep alive’ means the deprivation of spiritual life. ‘Anyone lying with a beast’ means being joined to the evils that belong to the desires of self-love. ‘Shall surely die’ means damnation. ‘He who sacrifices to the gods’ means worship composed of falsities arising from evil. ‘Shall be utterly destroyed’ means being cast out. ‘Except to Jehovah alone’ means that the Lord, who is the one and only God, is to be worshipped.

sRef Ex@22 @18 S0′ 9188. ‘A sorceress’ means those with whom something of the Church has been joined to falsities arising from the evil of self-love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘sorceries’ as falsities arising from the evil of self-love which have been joined to such things as belong to the Church. There are two things that compose heaven and so compose spiritual life with a person – the truth of faith in the Lord and the good of love to Him. And there are two things that compose hell and so compose spiritual death with a person – the falsity of faith and the evil of self-love. The second two have been joined together with those in hell and constitute the hellish marriage, whereas the first two are joined together with those in heaven and constitute the heavenly marriage. So far as possible the Lord withholds a person from joining truth and good to falsity and evil, since such a joining together is profanation. Even so, a large number of those who belong to the Church cannot be withheld, the reason for this being that from the time they were young children they have absorbed from the Word and from teachings drawn from the Word such things as belong to the Church. Some of these people have embraced them and made them matters of their own faith; and then having reached adult life when they start to think for themselves and not rely on others as they had done previously, they have set no value on those things which have become matters of their faith and instead of them have seized on and also embraced falsities. These are the ones who have within themselves joined truths to falsities; for once truths have become matters of faith they remain and cannot be rooted out, and after that falsities which become matters of faith join themselves to those truths.

[2] This joining together is what is meant in the internal sense by ‘sorceries’. The reason why those falsities are falsities arising from the evil of self-love is that all evil wells up chiefly from that love; and when evil wells up, so too does falsity since they cling to each other. From this it is evident that no spiritual life exists with such people because it has been destroyed by falsities arising from evil. To the extent that they have joined those falsities to truths these people have wiped out the spiritual life they have within themselves. And since they have thus become dead instead of living it says ‘you shall not keep them alive’.

sRef Isa@47 @12 S3′ sRef Isa@47 @13 S3′ sRef Isa@47 @14 S3′ sRef Isa@47 @8 S3′ sRef Isa@47 @9 S3′ sRef Isa@47 @11 S3′ sRef Isa@47 @10 S3′ [3] The fact that this kind of joining together is meant in the Word by ‘sorceries’ is evident in Isaiah,

You said,* A widow I shall not sit, nor shall I know loss of children. But these two things will come to you in a moment in one day – loss of children and widowhood – on account of the multitude of your sorceries, on account of the extremely great abundance of your magic. You have trusted in your wickedness; you have said, No one sees me. Your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, when you said in your heart, I am, and there is no one else like me. Therefore evil will come upon you, which you will not know how to ward off, and calamity will befall you, which you will not be able to expiate. Devastation will come upon you suddenly, [which] you will not know. Persist now in your magic, and in the multitude of your sorceries, in which you have laboured from your youth. You are wearied with the multitude of your counsels. Let those who search the sky, those who gaze at the stars, and those who know about new moons now stand up and save you from those things that will come upon you. Behold, they have become as stubble, the fire has burned them; they do not save themselves from the power of the flame.** Isa. 47:8-14.

[4] ‘Sorcerers’ are people who join falsities arising from the evil of self-love to the truths of faith, and in so doing perish. This is evident from the details of these verses when seen in the internal sense; for such people are described there. The annihilation of their spiritual life is described by ‘widowhood and loss of children’, ‘widowhood’ being the deprivation of truth and of the good resulting from it, and ‘loss of children’ being the deprivation of truth and good. The origin of falsity – that it arises from the evil of self-love – is described by the following words, ‘Your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, when you said in your heart, I am, and there is no one else like me’. And the evil itself of self-love is described by ‘Behold, they have become as stubble, the fire has burned them; they do not save themselves from the power of the flame’, ‘the fire’ and ‘the flame’ being self-love. The fact that spiritual life has been completely annihilated is described by ‘Evil will come upon you, which you will not be able to ward off, and calamity will befall you, which you will not be able to expiate’. They are called ‘those who search the sky, those who gaze at the stars, and those who know about new moons’ because they are interested in external things and not in anything internal. Such people see things from the external man’s point of view and nothing from the internal man’s; thus they see things in inferior, natural light and nothing in superior, spiritual light. For ‘the sky’, ‘the stars’, and ‘new moons’ in the internal sense mean religious and factual knowledge, in this instance when seen from a worldly and not a heavenly point of view.

sRef Nahum@3 @4 S5′ sRef 2Ki@9 @22 S5′ sRef Micah@5 @11 S5′ sRef Micah@5 @12 S5′ [5] The fact that ‘sorceries’ means this kind of falsities is also evident in Micah,

I will cut off the cities of your land and pull down all your fortifications; I will cut off sorceries from your hand, and you will have no soothsayers. Micah 5:11, 12.

‘The cities of your land’ are the false teachings of their Church, which are called ‘sorceries’ because they destroy the truths of faith. In Nahum,

… because of the multitude of the acts of whoredom of a harlot with goodly grace,*** the mistress of sorceries, the seller of nations in her acts of whoredom, and of families in her sorceries. Nahum 3:4.

‘The acts of whoredom’ are perversions of truth, ‘sorceries’ falsities resulting from them. Similarly in the second Book of Kings,

Jehoram said to Jehu, Is all well,**** Jehu? And he said, All well?***** when the harlotries of Jezebel your mother, and her many sorceries are still with us! 2 Kings 9:22.

sRef Mal@3 @5 S6′ sRef Mal@3 @1 S6′ [6] People are sorcerers when they rely on their own ideas to teach them, and when they trust themselves alone to such an extent that they love themselves and wish to be worshipped as deities. This is also evident from places which openly refer to the Coming of the Lord, who will teach them and cast out sorcerers. For anyone who is going to learn about the truths and forms of the good of faith must rely on the Lord to teach him and not at all on his own ideas. This is why the following is stated in Malachi,

Behold, I am sending My angel, who will prepare the way before me. And suddenly there will come to His temple the Lord whom you seek, and the angel of the covenant in whom you delight. And I will draw near to you to judgement; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against adulterers, and against those who swear falsely. Mal. 3:1, 4, 5.

‘The sorcerers’ stands for those who rely on their own ideas to teach them and in so doing destroy truths received from the Lord. ‘Adulterers’ stands for those who destroy forms of good, and ‘those who swear falsely’ for those who corroborate falsities. The fact that the Lord is the one who will cast them out is self-evident, for it says that ‘there will come to His temple the Lord, and the angel of the covenant’.

sRef Deut@18 @11 S7′ sRef Deut@18 @15 S7′ sRef Deut@18 @18 S7′ sRef Deut@18 @16 S7′ sRef Deut@18 @9 S7′ sRef Deut@18 @19 S7′ sRef Deut@18 @10 S7′ sRef Deut@18 @12 S7′ [7] Also in Moses,

When you come to the land which Jehovah [your] God will give you, there shall not be found among you anyone who makes [his] son or his daughter pass through the fire, practises divination, or enquires of the hells, or is a foreteller of the future, or is a sorcerer, or is an enchanter, or enquires of a familiar spirit, or is a soothsayer, or is one who seeks the dead. For everyone doing these things is an abomination to Jehovah; and because of these abominations Jehovah your God is driving them out before you. Jehovah your God will raise up for you from the midst of you, from your brothers, a Prophet like me; Him you shall obey. Jehovah said in Horeb, I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from the midst of their brothers; and I will put My words in His mouth, that He may speak to them all that I command Him. Therefore it will happen, that a man who does not obey My words which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him. Deut. 18:9-19.

[8] ‘Practisers of divination’, ‘foretellers of the future’, ‘sorcerers’, and all the others mentioned here, mean in the internal sense those who destroy the Church’s truths and forms of good by a wrong use of factual knowledge (that is, who do so by relying on their own intelligence) and who destroy them by falsities arising from the evils of self-love and love of the world (that is, who are moved to learn and teach by a desire for gain and important positions, not by any affection for the truth of faith or for goodness of life). And since all falsities contained in religious teachings and all evils of life are the outcome of this, these verses speak of a Prophet who is going to come and teach them. The Church knows that this Prophet is the Lord, and Jews and gentiles at that time knew it too, as is evident in Matthew 21:11; Luke 1:76; 7:16; 13:33; Mark 6:4. People are taught by the Lord when they read the Word not for any selfish or worldly reason but for goodness and truth’s own sake; for they are enlightened then. But when they read it for a selfish or worldly reason they are blind. ‘A prophet’ means one who teaches, and in the abstract sense withdrawn from ideas of persons means doctrinal teachings, 2534, 7269, thus the Lord in respect of the Word or Divine Truth.
* The Latin means She said but the Hebrew means You said.
** lit. save their soul from the hand of the flame
*** The Latin means cause but the Hebrew means grace, which Sw. Has in another place where he quotes this verse.
**** lit. Is it peace?
***** lit. What, peace?

sRef Ex@22 @18 S0′ 9189. ‘You shall not keep alive’ means the deprivation of spiritual life. This is clear from the meaning of ‘keeping alive’ or ‘bestowing life’ as imparting spiritual life, dealt with in 5890, so that ‘not keeping alive’ means depriving of spiritual life. The fact that people deprive themselves of spiritual life if they join falsities arising from the evil of self-love to the truths of faith, such people being meant by ‘sorcerers’, see immediately above in 9188.

sRef Ex@22 @19 S0′ 9190. ‘Anyone lying with a beast’ means being joined to the evils that belong to the desires of self-love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘lying with’ as being joined to; and from the meaning of ‘a beast’ as a good affection with people who are good, and an evil affection with those who are evil, dealt with in 45, 46, 142, 143, 246, 714, 715, 719, 776, 2781, 3518, 3519, 5198, 7424, 7523, 7872, 9090, thus evil desires, at this point the desires of self-love. The term ‘evil desires’ is used to mean evil affections.

sRef Ex@22 @19 S0′ 9191. ‘Shall surely die’ means damnation. This is clear from the meaning of ‘dying’ as damnation, dealt with in 5407, 6119, 9008.

sRef Ex@22 @20 S0′ 9192. ‘He who sacrifices to the gods’ means worship composed of falsities arising from evil. This is clear from the meaning of ‘offering sacrifice’ as worship, worship being meant by ‘offering sacrifice’ because sacrifices were the chief forms of worship among the Israelite and Jewish people, 923, 6905, 8680, 8936; and from the meaning of ‘the gods’ as falsities, dealt with in 4402(end), 4544, 7873, 8941. The expression ‘worship composed of falsities arising from evil’ is used since it is the opposite of worship composed of truths springing from good. For the guidelines of all worship are religious teachings, which to the extent that they spring from good are truths, and to the extent that they arise from evil are falsities. The truths derive the essence and the life that is theirs from the good, while on the other hand the falsities derive the death that is theirs from the evil.

[2] The implications of all this are that there are some people who possess authentic truths, some who possess unauthentic truths, and some who possess falsities. And yet those who possess the authentic truths are often damned, while those who possess the unauthentic truths, and those too who possess falsities, are often saved. To most people this will seem to be paradoxical, but it is nevertheless the truth. Actual experience has proved it to me. I have seen in hell those who were more learned than others in truths derived from the Word and from the teachings of their Church, both prelates and others. On the other hand I have seen in heaven those who possessed unauthentic truths, and even those who possessed falsities, both Christians and gentiles. sRef Dan@12 @3 S3′ sRef Matt@13 @43 S3′ [3] The reason why the former were in hell was that in doctrine they had indeed possessed truths, but in life they had been steeped in evils. And the reason why the latter were in heaven was that in doctrine they had indeed possessed unauthentic truths, but in life they had nevertheless been governed by good. Some spirits who had arrived recently in the next life and to whom I was allowed to speak were amazed that those who were more learned than others in the Word and in the teachings of their Church should be among the damned. They had supposed that these would be leading lights in heaven, in accordance with the following words in Daniel,

Those who have intelligence will shine like the brightness of the expanse, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and into eternity. Dan. 12:3.

But I told those spirits that ‘those who have intelligence’ are people who possess truth and teach truths, and ‘those who turn others to righteousness’ are people who are governed by good and lead others to good, and that this was why the Lord said,

The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Matt. 13:43.

The word ‘righteousness’ has reference to good, so that ‘the righteous’ are those governed by good, see 2235.

sRef Matt@25 @12 S4′ sRef Matt@7 @22 S4′ sRef Luke@13 @27 S4′ sRef Matt@25 @11 S4′ sRef Matt@7 @23 S4′ sRef Luke@13 @26 S4′ [4] I went on to tell those spirits that people who are learned in doctrine but evil in the life they lead are the ones to whom the Lord was referring in Matthew,

Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy through Your name, and through Your name cast out demons, and do many mighty works in Your name? But then I will confess to them, I do not know you; depart from Me, you workers of iniquity. Matt. 7:22, 23.

And in Luke,

Then you will begin to say, We ate in Your presence and we drank; You taught in our streets. But He will say, I say to you, I do not know where you come from; depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity. Luke 13:26, 27.

The same people were also meant by the foolish virgins who had no oil in their lamps, who are spoken of in Matthew,

Finally those virgins came, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But He replying said, Truly I say to you, I do not know you. Matt. 25:11, 12.

‘Having oil in their lamps’ means having good within truths that belong to the Church’s faith, 4638, ‘oil’ being the good of love, see 886, 4582.

sRef Luke@13 @30 S5′ sRef Luke@13 @29 S5′ sRef Matt@8 @11 S5′ sRef Matt@8 @12 S5′ [5] I also told those spirits that those who possess unauthentic truths, and indeed those who as a result of their ignorance possess falsities, yet are governed by good and therefore desire to know the truth, were meant by the Lord in Matthew,

I say to you that many will come from the east even to the west and will recline with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast into outer darkness. Matt. 8:11, 12.

And in Luke,

They will come from the east and the west, and from the north and the south, reclining in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last. Luke 13:29, 30.

The fact that gentiles who are governed by good, even though as a result of their ignorance they possess unauthentic truths, are received into heaven, see 2589-2604, 2861, 2863, 3263, 4190, 4197.

[6] From all this it now becomes clear that ‘those who sacrifice to the gods’ means people whose worship consists of falsity arising from evil, and that they are the ones who ‘shall be utterly destroyed’, that is, cast out. Falsities arising from evil are evils in an outward form, for when evil steps out into the light and dons an outward form it is called falsity. So it is that if people are ruled by evil in the life they lead, then even though in doctrine they possess truths, they are still steeped in falsities arising from their evil. The truth of this is plain to see in the next life. When those people are left to themselves, then evil that goes against the truths they have known and claimed to believe in governs their thinking, that is, falsities compose it. Those same people behave in a similar way in the world if left to themselves; for then their thoughts are such that those people either pervert truths or deny truths, in order to justify the evils of their life.

sRef Matt@23 @27 S7′ [7] But people who are governed by good yet possess unauthentic truths, and even people who possess falsities because they know no better (of whom there are very many within the Church, and also very many outside it, called gentiles), do indeed regard their falsities as truths. But since these falsities proceed from good and those people bend them towards good, there is nothing harmful about them, as there is about falsities that arise from evil. And since falsities arising from good are gentle and yielding, those people are capable of receiving truths, and do indeed receive them when given instruction by angels. These falsities may be compared to food that looks bad but is nevertheless palatable, whereas falsities arising from evil may be compared to bad-looking food that is rotten inside. Truths that arise from evil however may be compared to food that looks good yet contains what is harmful, or if hypocrisy is present is poisonous, as the Lord teaches in Matthew,

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you make yourselves like white-washed sepulchres, which outwardly do indeed appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and of all uncleanness. Matt. 23:27.

sRef Ex@22 @20 S0′ sRef Deut@13 @13 S1′ sRef Deut@13 @17 S1′ sRef Deut@13 @16 S1′ sRef Deut@13 @14 S1′ sRef Deut@13 @15 S1′ 9193. ‘Shall be utterly destroyed’ means being cast out. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being utterly destroyed’, when it refers to people whose worship is that of falsities arising from evil, as being cast out, that is to say, cast out of the Church. The fact that casting such falsities out of the Church, and so rooting them out, is meant by their being ‘utterly destroyed’, is evident in Moses,

If men of belial* have gone out of your midst, and have urged the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, whom you have not known – if it is true and certain,** that [this] abomination has been committed in the midst of you – you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword. You shall utterly destroy it and everyone who is in it, and also the beasts in it, with the edge of the sword. You shall bring together all the spoil from it into the middle of the street, and shall burn the city with fire, and all the spoil from it, the whole of it, to Jehovah your God, so that it may be a heap forever and not be built ever again. Do it so thoroughly that nothing of what is given to utter destruction sticks in your hand. Deut. 13:13-17.

sRef Deut@7 @26 S2′ sRef Deut@7 @25 S2′ sRef Deut@7 @24 S2′ sRef Deut@7 @2 S2′ [2] The fact that falsity arising from evil is what ‘that which is given to utter destruction’ means is evident from the details of these verses in the internal sense. ‘Cities’ which were to be utterly destroyed are religious teachings, in this instance false teachings, 2712, 2943, 3216. ‘The edge of the sword’ with which they were to strike man and beast is truth fighting against and destroying falsity that arises from evil, 2799, 4499, 7102, 8294. ‘The street’ into the middle of which the spoil was to be brought is truth presented by religious teachings and in the contrary sense falsity presented by them, 2336. ‘Fire’ with which the spoil was to be burned along with the city is the evil of self-love, 1297, 2446, 5071, 5215, 6314, 6832, 7324. From all this it is evident that ‘utter destruction’ means being cast out of the Church and being rooted out. Therefore also it was commanded that the nations in the land of Canaan should be utterly destroyed, Deut. 7:2, 24-26. For the nations had originally constituted the Church in that land, which also was why they had altars and in addition offered sacrifices, 3686, 4447, 4516, 4517, 5136, 6306, 6516, 8054. But when they turned representative worship – the worship of the Ancient Church – into idolatrous worship, and in so doing falsified truths and adulterated forms of good, 8317, the command came for them to be given to utter destruction, not only people but also cities and what was in them.

[3] The command came because everything there represented falsities arising from evil. The cities represented the actual teachings presenting falsity; the beasts represented evil affections; the gold and silver of those people represented evils and falsities; and so on with everything else. The worship of the Ancient Church had consisted first and foremost in worshipping God in human form, that is, in worshipping the Lord. But then they turned aside from good to evil and began to worship the actual objects that had served to represent Him, such as the sun, moon, and stars, also groves and pillars, and God in the form of various kinds of idols. Thus they worshipped external objects separated from anything of an internal nature; and this is brought about when the internal man has been closed. What closes the internal man is a life of evil; for good is that through which the Lord flows in and opens the internal man, and therefore evil is that which closes this. Once the internal man has been closed truths are turned into falsities; and when they remain they serve solely the evils of self-love and love of the world. Internal worship consists first and foremost in acknowledging the Lord, the one and only God, and in acknowledging that He is the source of everything good and true. People in the Church who do not acknowledge Him cannot be governed by good, nor thus by truth; and the ones to acknowledge Him are those who possess faith and at the same time lead a good life, but not those who lead a bad life, 8878. Acknowledging and worshipping the Lord consists in living according to His commandments, that is, leading the life of faith and of charity, see 8252-8257. The life of faith lies in doing His commandments in a spirit of obedience, and the life of charity lies in doing them out of love.
* A Hebrew word implying those who are worthless
** lit. if [it is] truth, and the thing certain

sRef Ex@22 @20 S0′ 9194. ‘Except to Jehovah alone’ means that the Lord, who is the one and only God, is to be worshipped. This is clear from the meaning of ‘offering sacrifice’, at this point ‘to Jehovah alone’, as worship, dealt with above in 9192. The reason why ‘to Jehovah’ means to the Lord is that in the Word ‘Jehovah’ is used to mean no one other than the Lord, see 1343, 1736, 2921, 3023, 3035, 4692, 5663, 6303, 6905, 8864. The Divine, which He called the Father, is the Divine Good within Himself, 2803, 3704, 7499, 8897. Thus the Lord is the one and only God, 1607, 2149, 2156, 2329, 2447, 2751, 3194, 3704, 3712, 3938, 4577, 4687, 5321, 6280, 6371, 6849, 6993, 7014, 7182, 7209, 8241, 8724, 8760, 8864, 8865.

sRef Ex@22 @24 S0′ sRef Ex@22 @22 S0′ sRef Ex@22 @21 S0′ sRef Ex@22 @23 S0′ 9195. Verses 21-24 And a sojourner you shall not afflict and shall not oppress, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. Any widow or orphan you shall not afflict. If you do indeed afflict him, and if he surely cries out to Me, I will surely hear his cry. And My anger will blaze up, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives will become widows, and your sons orphans.

‘And a sojourner you shall not afflict and shall not oppress’ means that those who wish to receive instruction in the truths and forms of the good of faith must not be molested with falsities of faith* or evils of life. ‘For you were sojourners in the land of Egypt’ means that they had been protected from falsities and evils when they were molested by those from hell. ‘Any widow’ means those who have good that is without truth, and still have a desire for truth. ‘Or orphan’ means those who possess truth but not as yet good, and still have a desire for good. ‘You shall not afflict’ means that they are not to be defrauded of them. ‘If you do indeed afflict him’ means if they are defrauded of them. ‘And if he surely cries out to Me’ means pleading to the Lord for help. ‘I will surely hear their cry’ means that they are to receive help. ‘And My anger will blaze up’ means the state of those who do that thing. ‘And I will kill you with the sword’ means that they deprive themselves of goodness and truth through falsities. ‘And your wives will become widows’ means that forms of good with them will perish. ‘And your sons orphans’ means that at the same time truths will do so.
* Reading fidei (of faith) instead of doctrinae (of doctrine) cp 9196

sRef Ex@22 @21 S0′ 9196. ‘And a sojourner you shall not afflict and shall not oppress’ means that those who wish to receive instruction in the truths and forms of the good of faith must not be molested with falsities of faith or evils of life. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a sojourner’ as one who wishes to receive instruction in things of the Church, thus who wishes to receive instruction in truths and forms of the good of faith, and who receives them and lives in accordance with them, dealt with in 1463, 8007, 8013 (‘a sojourner’ has this meaning because ‘sojourning’ means receiving instruction as well as living, 2025, 3672, 6095); and from the meaning of ‘[not] afflicting’, when it refers to those who wish to receive instruction in the truths and forms of the good of faith, as not molesting with falsities of faith; and from the meaning of ‘[not] oppressing’, when it refers to these same people, as not molesting with evils of life. For those who molest such people with falsities afflict them, and those who molest them with evils oppress them.

sRef Ex@22 @21 S0′ 9197. ‘For you were sojourners in the land of Egypt’ means that they had been protected from falsities and evils when they were molested by those from hell. This is clear from what was stated about the affliction and oppression of the children of Israel in Egypt, about the protection of them, and at length about their being brought out from there, in Chapters 7-11, 13, 14 of Exodus. There it was shown that affliction and oppression of the children of Israel in Egypt meant molestation by those from hell, before the Lord’s Coming, of faithful believers who belonged to the spiritual Church, and that protecting the children of Israel and bringing them out of the land of Egypt meant the protection and deliverance by the Lord – when He was in the world, and when He rose again – of those who belonged to the spiritual Church. But to explain these particular matters again here would take far too long. See what has been shown about them in the Chapters of Exodus mentioned above, in particular what appears in 6854, 6914, 7035, 7091, 7474, 7828, 7932, 8018, 8054, 8099, 8159, 8321.

sRef Luke@4 @24 S0′ sRef Luke@4 @26 S0′ sRef Luke@4 @25 S0′ sRef Ex@22 @22 S0′ 9198. ‘Any widow’ means those who have good that is without truth, and still have a desire for truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a widow’ as good that is without truth and nevertheless has a desire for truth. The reason why ‘a widow’ has this meaning is that ‘a man’ (vir) means truth and his ‘wife’ (mulier) good, so that when this man’s wife has become a widow she means good that is without truth. But in an even more internal sense than this ‘a widow’ means truth that is without good, the reason being that in that sense ‘a husband’ (maritus) means good and his ‘wife’ (uxor) truth, see 3236, 4510, 4823. In this sense the Lord by virtue of His Divine Good is called ‘Husband’ and ‘Bridegroom’, while His kingdom and Church by virtue of its acceptance of Divine Truth that emanates from the Lord is called ‘wife’ and ‘bride’, 9182. But since the subject now is not the Lord’s celestial Church but His spiritual Church, ‘a widow’ means one who has good but not truth, and still has a desire for truth. It is similar with ‘an orphan’. In the inmost or celestial sense ‘an orphan’ means those who have good and a desire for truth. See what has been introduced and explained in 4844 regarding the meaning of ‘a widow’ and ‘an orphan’ in the celestial sense. To this let what the Lord says in Luke about the widow in Zarephath be added,

Truly I say to you that no prophet is accepted in his own country. In truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, while there was a great famine over the whole land; yet Elijah was sent to none of them, except to Zarephath of Sidon, to a woman – a widow. Luke 4:24-26.

[2] Since the Divine was the source of all the things spoken by the Lord they have an inner meaning; and the subject in that inner meaning is the Lord Himself, also His kingdom and the Church. Therefore what the Lord meant on that level of meaning by the things He said about the widow in Zarephath of Sidon may be seen if brought out into the open.

No prophet is accepted in his own country

This means that the Lord and Divine Truth that comes from Him are less well received and loved in people’s hearts within the Church than outside it. The Lord spoke these words to the Jews, among whom the Church existed at that time; and as is well known, the Lord was less well received there than by gentiles who were outside the Church. The situation is similar in the Church at the present day, which takes its name Christian from Him. In this Church the Lord is indeed received in what it teaches; yet few accept Him by acknowledging Him in their heart, fewer still doing so with love and affection. The acceptance of Him by gentiles outside the Church who have been converted is different. They worship and adore Him as their one and only God; they declare with their lips and contemplate in their hearts that they acknowledge Him as their God, since He has appeared in human form, 5256. A contrary attitude exists within the Church. Here, because He was born a human being, there is scarcely any acknowledgement of Him as God in people’s hearts. They make His Humanity like their own, even though they know that His Father was Jehovah and not a human being. All this shows what ‘No prophet is accepted in his own country’ has been used to mean in the internal sense. In this sense ‘a prophet’ means the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, and so in respect of the teachings of the Church. For the meaning of ‘a prophet’ as one who teaches, and in the abstract sense as doctrinal teachings, and – when it is used in reference to the Lord – as Divine Truth or the Word, see above in 9188 (end).

[3] There were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah

In the internal sense this means the situation at that time, when God’s truth coming from the Word was acknowledged in the Church. ‘Widows’ are those who have good that is without truth, as stated above; ‘Elijah’ is the Lord in respect of the Word, ‘the days of Elijah’ being the situation or state at that time, when God’s truth coming from the Word was received; and ‘Israel’ is the Church.

‘Elijah’ represented the Lord in respect of the Word, see Preface to Genesis 18, and 2762, 5247 (end), 8029. ‘Days’ are states, 893, 2788, 3462, 3785, 4850, 6110, 8426. ‘Israel’ is the Church, 4286, 6426, 6637, 8805.

[4] When the heaven was closed for three years and six months

This means the internal Church completely laid waste, ‘the heaven’ meaning the internal aspect of the Church, and ‘three years and six months’ meaning to completeness. For the meaning of ‘the heaven’ as the internal aspect of the Church, see 1733, 1850, 3355, 4535. It is said to be ‘closed’ when it has been laid waste and exists no longer. As regards the meaning of ‘three years and six months’ as to completeness, this is clear from the meaning of ‘1260 days’ in Revelation 11:3 and 12:6 – this number of days making up three years and six months – as to completeness or right to the end. It is clear likewise from the meaning of ‘three days and a half’, Rev. 11:9-11, and also of ‘a time and times and half a time’ in Rev. 12:14, and in Daniel 12:7 too, as to completeness or right to the end.

[5] While there was a great famine over the whole land

This means the external Church also laid waste, for ‘a famine’ is an absence and want of truth and good, 3364, 5277, 5279, 5281, 5300, 5360, 5376, 5415, 5576, 6110, 7102, and ‘the land’ or ‘the earth’ is the external Church, 1262, 1413, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118 (end), 3355, 4535, 5577, 8011, 8732.

Yet Elijah was sent to none of them

This means the Lord in respect of the Word, thus the Lord’s Word, not sent to others, because it would not have been received elsewhere, ‘Elijah’ being, as stated above, the Lord in respect of the Word.

sRef 1Ki@17 @10 S6′ sRef 1Ki@17 @9 S6′ sRef 1Ki@17 @15 S6′ sRef 1Ki@17 @11 S6′ sRef 1Ki@17 @14 S6′ sRef 1Ki@17 @13 S6′ sRef 1Ki@17 @12 S6′ sRef 1Ki@17 @16 S6′ [6] Except to Zarephath of Sidon, to a woman – a widow

This means sent only to those who have good and a desire for truth. The description ‘Zarephath of Sidon’ is used because ‘Sidon’ means cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth, 1201. The fact that ‘a woman – a widow’ means one who has good and a desire for truth is evident from this, and especially from what is recorded about her in the first Book of Kings,

Elijah came to Zarephath of Sidon, to a woman – a widow – to sustain him. He told her to bring him a little water to drink, and then to bring him a small piece of bread in her hand. She said that she had a tiny amount of flour in a jar, and a tiny amount of oil in a flask, to make just a cake for herself and her son. Elijah said, Make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and make one for yourself and your son after that. She did so; and the jar of flour was not used up, and the flask of oil did not fail. 1 Kings 17:9-15.

[7] Obedience, and the desire that good has for truth, is described by her giving the prophet water, as she had been commanded to do, and then by her making a cake for him first from the little she had, and for herself and her son after that. Consequent enrichment in the good of truth is meant when it says that the pot of flour was not used up and the flask of oil did not fail.

‘Water’ in the internal sense is truth, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 8568. ‘Flour’ is truth derived from good, 2177. ‘Oil is the good of love, 886, 4582, 4638. ‘A cake’ made from these ingredients is truth joined to its own good, 7978.

From all this it is plain that ‘a widow’ means one who has good and a desire for truth. Good and its desire for truth is described by her charity towards the prophet, greater than towards herself and her son, ‘a prophet’ being teachings that present truth, as has been shown above.

[8] All that has been said here shows what the Word is like, that it conceals within itself the arcana of heaven, which are not visible in the letter. But every detail of what the Lord spoke when He was in the world, and of what He spoke before that through prophets, contains heavenly and Divine matters on a level altogether above the sense of the letter. And not only individual words contain those matters, but even the individual letters of words, indeed the individual parts of each letter. But is there anyone who believes this to be so? Yet it is most certainly so; it has been proved to me beyond all doubt, as in the Lord’s Divine mercy will be shown elsewhere.

sRef Ex@22 @22 S0′ sRef Ps@68 @5 S1′ 9199. ‘Or orphan’ means those who possess truth but not as yet good, and still have a desire for good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘orphan’ as those who possess truth and have a desire for good. Such people are meant by ‘orphans’ because sons bereft of father and mother, that is, those deprived of interior goodness and truth, are orphans. For ‘father’ in the Word means interior good, and ‘mother’ truth joined to that good, 5581; but ‘sons’ means truths derived from them. For the meaning of ‘sons’ as truths, see 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2813, 3373, 6583. The fact that sons and not daughters are meant here by ‘orphans’ is evident from verse 24 below, where it says, And your sons will be orphans. The reason why sons who are orphans are those who desire good is that the Lord then stands in place of their father, according to the following words in David,

A father of the orphans, and a judge of the widows, is God in the habitation of His holiness. Ps. 68:5.

sRef John@14 @25 S2′ sRef John@14 @26 S2′ sRef John@14 @18 S2′ sRef John@14 @16 S2′ sRef John@14 @17 S2′ [2] ‘Orphans’ are those who have received instruction in the Church’s truths of faith which come from the Word, and who are then led by means of those truths to good. This is also evident from the Lord’s words in John,

I will ask the Father to give you another Paraclete, to remain with you forever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, because He remains with you and is among you. I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you. These things I have spoken to you, while I remain with you; but the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, He will teach you all things. John 14:16-18, 24-26.

[3] Every detail of these verses makes it clear that those are ‘orphans’ who possess truths and have a desire for good. ‘The Paraclete’ is used to mean Divine Truth, which the Lord was when He was in the world and which has emanated from Him ever since He glorified His Human and went away from the world. Therefore He says that He will send the Paraclete and that He Himself will come. ‘Sending the Paraclete’ means enlightening and instructing them in the truths of faith, and ‘coming to them’ means leading them on to good. This is why He says, I will not leave you orphans. As has been stated, ‘the Paraclete’ is used to mean Divine Truth, which the Lord was when He was in the world and which has emanated from Him ever since He glorified His Human and went away from the world. This was something the Lord taught plainly several times; yet those who identify persons in the Godhead and not essences united into one do not grasp it. For the explanation of the Word and the understanding of it by a person depend on the ideas he already has. The same applies to places where the Lord says that He is in the Father, and the Father is in Him; that the Father and He are One; also that all that is His is the Father’s, and all that is the Father’s is His, John 10:30; 14:1-11, 20; 16:15; 17:11.

sRef John@1 @2 S4′ sRef John@16 @7 S4′ sRef John@1 @1 S4′ sRef John@14 @6 S4′ sRef John@7 @39 S4′ sRef John@1 @3 S4′ sRef John@1 @14 S4′ [4] But let these truths stated above receive further explanation.

The Paraclete is used to mean Divine Truth

This is evident from the Lord’s actual words; for the Paraclete is called ‘the Spirit of truth’ by Him, and also He says, ‘the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, will teach you all things’.

The Lord was Divine Truth when He was in the world

This too is evident from the Lord’s words there; for He says that He will send ‘another Paraclete’ (that is, another in place of Himself), who will be the Spirit of truth, and – referring to Himself – that they know Him ‘because He remains with you and is among you’. He also says, I tell you the truth. If I do not go away the Paraclete will not come to you; but if I go away I will send Him to you, John 16:7. Another place, John 7:39, states, ‘This He said concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified’. And other places again state that He is the way and the truth, John 14:6; also that He is the Word, that God is the Word, and that the Word became flesh, John 1:1-3, 14, ‘the Word’ being Divine Truth. For more about the Lord’s being Divine Truth when He was in the world, see 3195, 4687, 4727, 6716, 6864, 7499, 8127, 8724.

sRef John@16 @14 S5′ sRef John@16 @8 S5′ sRef John@16 @15 S5′ sRef John@16 @13 S5′ [5] Divine Truth has emanated from the Lord ever since He glorified His Human and went away from the world This too is evident from the Lord’s words, ‘When I go away I will send the Spirit of truth to you’ (‘sending’ means going out and emanating from, 2397, 4710), and also ‘When He comes He will guide you into all truth;* for He will not speak from Himself, but whatever He hears He will speak. He will glorify Me, for He will receive from what is Mine and declare it to you’, John 16:7, 13-15.

When the Lord went away from the world His Human became Divine Good as well as Divine Truth, see 3704, 3712, 3737, 3969, 4577, 5704, 6864, 7014, 7499, 8241, 8724, 8760, 9167. And since then Divine Truth has emanated from Divine Good, which He Himself is, as the light of all creation emanates from the sun, 3636, 3643, 3969, 5704, 7083, 8127. The references listed above in 9194 may be added to these.
* The Latin means He will teach you in all truth but the Greek means He will guide you into all truth, which Sw. has in other places where he quotes this verse.

sRef Ps@146 @9 S0′ sRef Deut@26 @12 S0′ sRef Deut@26 @13 S0′ sRef Jer@22 @3 S0′ sRef Ps@146 @7 S0′ sRef Ps@146 @8 S0′ sRef Ezek@22 @7 S0′ sRef Ezek@22 @6 S0′ sRef Deut@24 @17 S0′ sRef Deut@10 @18 S0′ sRef Ex@22 @22 S0′ 9200. ‘You shall not afflict’ means that they are not to be defrauded of them. This is clear from the meaning of ‘afflicting’, when it has reference to those who wish to receive instruction in truths and to be led to good, as defrauding, in this instance as not defrauding them since it says ‘you shall not afflict’. Various places in the Word mention these three together, the sojourner, the orphan, and the widow, for example in David,

Jehovah who guards the sojourner, [and upholds] the orphan and the widow. Ps. 146:7-9.

In Jeremiah,

Do not defraud the sojourner, the orphan, and the widow. Jer. 22:3.

In Ezekiel,

In you they have dealt with the sojourner by means of acts of oppression; in you they have defrauded the orphan and the widow. Ezek. 22:6, 7.

In Moses,

Do not turn aside the judgement of the sojourner, the orphan, and the widow. Deut. 24:17; 27:19.

In the same author,

What remains in fields, olivegroves, and vineyards shall be for the sojourner, the orphan, and the widow. Deut. 24:19-22; 26:12, 13.

In the same author,

Jehovah executes judgement for the orphan and the widow, and loves the sojourner. Deut. 10:18.

The three are similarly mentioned together in the present chapter,

A sojourner you shall not afflict and shall not oppress; any widow or orphan you shall not afflict.

When these three are mentioned together in this way they present for the angels a single meaning, namely that among people in the Church good and truth should be joined together as true order requires; that is, they should be joined in a reciprocal manner – truth to good, and good to truth. For the sojourner is used to mean those who wish to receive instruction in things of the Church, widows to mean good joined to truth, and orphans truth joined to good; that is, they are joined together in a reciprocal manner. It is similar with all other things mentioned in the Word. When the internal sense of those things is explained they seem to be diffuse; but with the angels they combine and present one entire meaning, indeed one complete idea.

sRef Ex@22 @23 S0′ 9201. ‘If you do indeed afflict him’ means if they are defrauded of them. This is clear from the meaning of ‘afflicting’ as defrauding, as immediately above in 9200.

sRef Ex@22 @23 S0′ 9202. ‘And if he surely cries out to Me’ means pleading to the Lord for help. This is clear without explanation. The reason why ‘crying out’ is used in the Word to express pleading intensely is that the pleas, even if they are silent, of those whose pleading springs from the heart are heard in heaven as a cry. This happens when people are only thinking, and more so when they breathe a heartfelt sigh. This reality was represented in the representative Church by a crying out, which then came to be a ritual observance among the Jews. The situation is similar with teachers. If they teach from the heart they are heard in heaven as people crying out. Not only thoughts speak in heaven, but more especially affections for what is good and true. I have been led to know from experience that affections speak there, and that if they are fervent they cry out; this however is something which in the Lord’s Divine mercy will be dealt with elsewhere. But affections for what is evil and false are not heard at all in heaven, even though a person may be moved by them to plead and cry out at the top of his voice, while at the same time he presses the palms of his hands tightly together, and raises them together with his eyes towards heaven. Those affections are heard in hell, and also as cries if they are fervent.

sRef Ex@22 @23 S0′ 9203. ‘I will surely hear their cry’ means that they are to receive help. This is clear without explanation.

sRef Ex@22 @24 S0′ 9204. ‘And My anger will blaze up’ means the state of those who do that thing. This is clear from the meaning of ‘anger’ – when attributed to Jehovah, that is, to the Lord – as leniency and mercy, dealt with in 6997, 8875. But the reason why the state of those who do that thing is meant here, that is to say, the state of those who afflict and oppress a sojourner, widow, or orphan, is that the anger actually resides with them, though at the time it seems to reside with the Lord.

Anger is attributed in the Word to the Lord when in fact it resides with man, see 6997, 8284, 8483, 8875.

As a general rule evil that is attributed to the Lord resides with those immersed in evil, 1861, 2447, 6071, 6832, 6991, 7533, 7632, 7643, 7679, 7710 (end), 7926, 8197, 8227, 8228, 8282.

sRef Ex@22 @24 S0′ 9205. ‘And I will kill you with the sword’ means that they deprive themselves of goodness and truth through falsities. This is clear from the meaning of ‘killing’ – when it refers to people who defraud those in possession of good or of truth, who are meant by ‘widows, orphans, and sojourners’ – as depriving them of such things, for ‘killing’ means depriving of spiritual life, see 3607, 6767, 8902; and from the meaning of ‘the sword’ as truth engaged in conflict with falsity and destroying it, and in the contrary sense falsity engaged in conflict with truth and destroying it, dealt with in 2799, 4499, 6353, 7102, 8294. Therefore ‘killing with the sword’ here means depriving of forms of good and of truths through falsities.

sRef Ex@22 @24 S0′ 9206. ‘And your wives will become widows’ means that forms of good with them will perish. This is clear from the meaning of ‘wives’ (mulier) as forms of good, dealt with in 6014, 8337, the reason why they mean forms of good being that the marriage of a man (vir) and a woman (mulier) represents truth and good joined together (‘a man’ means truth, and ‘a woman’ good, see 4510, 4823); and from the meaning of ‘widows’ as those who have good but not truths, and still have a desire for truths, 9198. But those who have no desire for truths are meant here, since the evil who afflict widows are the subject. So it is that ‘widows’ is used here to mean those with whom forms of good perish.

[2] The situation is that the good of people who have good but no desire for truth is not real good, because truths are what make good real good. For good receives its specific quality from truths, see 9154. Good joined to truth is what is meant by spiritual good; therefore when truth perishes with a person, so too does good, and conversely when good perishes, so too does truth. For the bond between them is severed and dissolved, see 3804, 4149, 4301, 4302, 5835, 6917, 7835, 8349, 8356. Consequently good is recognized from this, that it has a desire and an affection for truth for the sake of good and useful service, thus for life’s sake. Regarded in itself, the actual desire or affection for truth for life’s sake is an affection for being joined to it. It is like food or bread that desires water or wine for the sake of combining with it; for combined with each other they provide nourishment. It is also like heat and light. Light combined with heat causes all things on the planet to spring forth and grow up; but if the combination is dissolved that which has sprung forth and grown up dies.

[3] As it is with good, so it is with all delight, pleasantness, sweetness, agreement, and harmony; these joys are such not of themselves but by virtue of the things they hold within them. Good and truth joined together make them such and determine their specific character. But what it is within them that has connection with good and what with truth is something that people who have understanding may recognize if they ponder on the matter; for everything whatever in the world, and everything whatever in heaven, thus in the whole of creation, has connection with good and with truth. Everything that has sprung forth from them has connection with both at the same time, thus with both joined together. This explains why all things were likened by the ancients to marriages, see 54, 55, 1432, 5194, 7022, and why every detail of the Word has the marriage of goodness and truth within it, 683, 793, 801, 2516, 2712, 4138 (end), 5138, 5502, 6343, 7945, 8339 (end).

sRef Ex@22 @24 S0′ 9207. ‘And your sons orphans’ means that at the same time truths will do so, that is to say, will perish. This is clear from the meaning of ‘orphans’ as those who possess truth but not as yet good, and still have a desire for good, dealt with in 9199, at this point those who have truth but no desire for good, thus those with whom truths perish; for it is speaking about evil people whose sons will become orphans. The fact that truths perish with those who have no desire for good is evident from what has been stated immediately above in 9206 regarding goodness and truth when joined together. But something further must be stated regarding that joining together. Truths that have been joined to good always hold within them a desire to do good, and at the same time to be joined more closely to good by doing it. Or what amounts to the same thing, those who possess truths always have a desire to do good and to join it thereby to their truths. People therefore who think that they are in possession of truths but who have no desire to do good do not in fact possess truths; that is, they have no belief in them, however much they imagine they do have. [2] Their condition is portrayed by the Lord when He speaks of ‘salt’, in Matthew,

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt is tasteless, by what will it be made salty? It no longer has any use, except to be thrown outdoors and trodden down by people. Matt. 5:13, 14.

The Lord says these things to the disciples and to the people. By ‘the salt of the earth’ He means the Church’s truth that has a desire for good, and by ‘tasteless salt’ He means truth devoid of any desire for good. The fact that such truth is worthless is portrayed by the idea of salt which has become tasteless and no longer has any use, except to be thrown outdoors and trodden down by people. Having a desire for good means having a desire to do good and thereby be joined to good.

sRef Mark@9 @49 S3′ sRef Matt@5 @13 S3′ sRef Mark@9 @50 S3′ [3] In Mark,

Everyone will be salted with fire, and every sacrifice will be salted with salt. Salt is good; but if the salt becomes tasteless, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and seek* peace with one another. Mark 9:49, 50.

‘Being salted with fire’ means good that has a desire for truth, and ‘being salted with salt’ truth that has a desire for good. ‘Tasteless salt’ is truth devoid of any desire for good; ‘having salt in oneself’ means possessing that desire.

sRef Luke@14 @34 S4′ sRef Luke@14 @33 S4′ sRef Luke@14 @35 S4′ [4] In Luke,

Any of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be My disciple. Salt is good; but if the salt is made tasteless, by what will it be seasoned? It is fit neither for the land nor for the dunghill; people throw it outdoors. Luke 14:33-35.

Here ‘salt’ in a similar way stands for truth that has a desire for good, and ‘tasteless salt’ for truth that is devoid of any desire for good, ‘unfit for the land or for the dunghill’ standing for its total inability to serve any use, good or bad. People possessing such truth are called the lukewarm, as is evident from the words immediately before, stating that a person cannot be the Lord’s disciple if he does not renounce all his possessions, that is, if he does not love the Lord above all things. For those loving the Lord and also themselves equally are the ones who are called the lukewarm and who are unfit to serve any use, good or bad.

sRef Lev@2 @13 S5′ [5] In Moses,

Every offering of your minchah shall be salted with salt; you shall not leave the salt of the covenant of your God off your minchah.** On all your offerings you shall offer salt. Lev. 2:13.

Salt in every offering was a sign that truth’s desire for good and good’s desire for truth should be present in all worship. This also explains why this salt is called ‘the salt of God’s covenant’; for ‘a covenant’ is a joining together, 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 2037, 6804, 8767, 8778, and ‘salt’ is the desire for the joining together.

sRef Luke@17 @31 S6′ sRef Luke@17 @32 S6′ [6] When each desires to be joined to the other, that is, good to truth and truth to good, they look towards each other. But when truth tears itself away from good, they turn away from each other and look backwards or behind themselves. This is what is meant in Luke by Lot’s wife who had become a pillar of salt,

Whoever will be on the housetop with his vessels in the house, let him not come down to take them away; and whoever is in the field likewise, let him not return to the things behind him. Remember Lot’s wife. Luke 17:31, 32.

This means looking behind oneself or backwards, see 3652, 5895 (end), 5897, 7857, 7923, 8505, 8506, 8510, 8516.

[7] One reason why ‘salt’ means the desire truth possesses is that salt renders land fertile and makes food tasteful, and another reason is that salt contains a fiery property and at the same time a conjunctive power, even as truth contains a burning desire for good and at the same time a conjunctive power. ‘A pillar of salt’ is a separation from truth, for ‘salt’ in the contrary sense means truth that has been destroyed and laid waste, as in Zephaniah 2:9; Ezekiel 47:11; Jeremiah 17:6; Psalm 107:33, 34; Deuteronomy 29:23; Judges 9:45; 2 Kings 2:19-22.

These matters have been introduced so that people may know what truth’s desire for good is, and what good’s desire for truth is, meant by ‘orphan’ and ‘widow’.
* lit. cultivate
** lit. you shall not cause to cease the salt of the covenant of your God upon your minchah

sRef Ex@22 @25 S0′ sRef Ex@22 @27 S0′ sRef Ex@22 @26 S0′ 9208. Verses 25-27 If you lend silver to My people, to the needy one with you, you shall not be like a money-lender to him; you shall not charge him interest. If you ever take your companion’s clothing as a pledge you shall restore it to him even at the going in of the sun. For this is his only covering; it is his clothing for his skin, in which he may sleep; and it shall be, when he cries out to Me, that I shall hear, for I am merciful.

‘If you lend silver to My people, to the needy one with you’ means giving instruction to those who have no knowledge of truth and still have a desire to learn it. ‘You shall not be like a money-lender’ means that it must be done in a spirit of charity. ‘You shall not charge him interest’ means that therefore it must not be done for the sake of gain to be acquired from it. ‘If you ever take your companion’s clothing as a pledge’ means if factual knowledge of truth is dispersed by illusions that are a product of sensory impressions. ‘You shall restore it to him even at the going in of the sun’ means that it is to be restored before the arrival of a state of shade induced by delights belonging to external kinds of love. ‘For this is his only covering’ means because sensory impressions lie on a level below more internal things. ‘It is his clothing for his skin’ means that they also clothe relatively external things. ‘In which he may sleep’ means resting on them. ‘When he cries out to Me’ means pleading to the Lord. ‘I shall hear’ means help. ‘For I am merciful’ means that such help comes wholly from Him, out of mercy.

sRef Ex@22 @25 S0′ 9209. ‘If you lend silver to [My] people, to the needy one with you’ means giving instruction to those who have no knowledge of truth and still have a desire to learn it. This is clear from the meaning of ‘silver’ as truth, dealt with in 1551, 2048, 2954, 5658, 6112, 6914, 6917, 7999, 8932; from the meaning of ‘lending’ as communicating the good things of heaven in a spirit of charity and affection, dealt with in 9174, thus giving instruction; from the meaning of ‘people’ as those in possession of truths, in this instance those with no knowledge of truth since the people referred to are ‘needy’ (for the use of the word ‘people’ to mean those in possession of truths, see 1259, 1260, 2928, 3295, 3581, 7207); and from the meaning of ‘the needy one’ as those who have no knowledge of truth and still have a desire to learn it. For they are people in spiritual need and should be given instruction.

[2] The Word talks frequently about aiding the poor and needy. People in possession of external truths who have not yet been brought to internal truths believe that anyone at all in need of any kind of help should be aided, especially beggars who call themselves the poorest of all. Those who give such aid in a spirit of obedience, because they are commanded to act in that way, do well; for through that outward action they are brought to the inward aspect of charity and mercy. The inward aspect of charity and mercy consists in seeing clearly who exactly they are who should receive aid, what their character is, and in what way each is to be given it. Those who are brought eventually to the inward aspect of charity and mercy know that the inward aspect consists in desiring the welfare of and aiding the internal man, thus with gifts such as are beneficial to spiritual life, and that the outward aspect consists in aiding the external man, thus with gifts such as are beneficial to bodily life. But care must nevertheless always be taken to ensure that when aid is given to the external man, it is at the same time beneficial to the internal; for no one who aids the external but harms the internal is exercising charity. Therefore when one kind of aid is offered, the other must be kept in sight.

sRef Luke@7 @20 S3′ sRef Luke@7 @22 S3′ [3] The outward aspect of charity is what the external or literal sense of the Word describes when it says that aid should be given to the poor and needy, but the inward aspect of charity is what the internal or spiritual sense of the Word describes. For in the spiritual sense the internal man who is in a state of poverty and need and should be aided is meant, because in that sense ‘the poor and needy’ is used to mean those who lack good and have no knowledge of truth, and still have a desire for them. How these people are to be helped the letter of the Word also teaches, especially the Word taught by the Lord Himself when He was in the world. At that time the Lord revealed such things as have to do with the internal man, as is evident throughout the Gospels. Nevertheless He spoke in such a way that every detail had at the same time an inner meaning, intended for angels and at the same time for those in the internal Church. For the inner meaning contains such things as the authentic teachings of the Church present.

[4] Let what the Lord said to the disciples sent by John the Baptist to ask whether He was the One who must come serve to exemplify this,

Go and report to John the things you have seen and heard, that the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the poor have the gospel preached to them. Luke 7:20, 22.

These words were spoken for the external man and at the same time for the internal man. For the external man they declared that such miracles were being performed, for the internal man that the Church is being established among the kind of people who in a spiritual sense are blind, lame, lepers, deaf, and poor, thus among gentiles who have no knowledge of good or truth, and still have a desire for them. For ‘the blind’ describes those who have no knowledge of truth, 6990; ‘the lame’ those who are governed by good, but not genuine good because they have no knowledge of truth, 4302; ‘lepers’ those who are unclean, and still have a desire to be made clean; and ‘the deaf’ those without any belief in truth because they have no perception of it.

sRef Ps@72 @4 S5′ sRef Ps@72 @3 S5′ sRef Ps@72 @2 S5′ sRef Ps@70 @5 S5′ sRef Ps@40 @17 S5′ [5] But ‘the poor’ describes those who do not possess the Word and so know nothing about the Lord, and still have a desire to receive instruction, which is why it says that the gospel is preached to them. By ‘the poor and needy’ are meant in the internal sense those outside the Church who have no knowledge of truth because they do not possess the Word, but nevertheless have a desire to receive instruction, and who by virtue of what they do know are governed still by a little good; also those within the Church who for one reason or another are ignorant of truth, but are still moved by some good to desire it. All this is clear from places in which ‘the poor and needy’ are mentioned in the Word, as in David,

I am needy and poor; make haste to me, O God! [You are] my help and my deliverer, O Jehovah. Ps. 70:5.

These words were spoken by David who was not poor and needy, from which it is evident that spiritual poverty and need were meant. Similar words occur elsewhere,

I am needy and poor, O Lord; remember me. [You are] my help and my deliverer. Ps. 40:17.

In the same author,

The king will judge Your people in righteousness, and Your needy ones in judgement.* The mountains will bring peace to the people, and the hills, in righteousness. He will judge the needy ones of the people, save the children of the poor, and break in pieces the oppressor. Ps. 72:2-4.

‘Needy ones’ here are those who are in spiritual need and for that reason are hungry, that is, they have a desire to receive instruction in truths.

sRef Ps@35 @10 S6′ sRef Isa@58 @7 S6′ sRef Ps@10 @9 S6′ sRef Isa@58 @6 S6′ sRef Isa@49 @13 S6′ sRef Zeph@3 @12 S6′ [6] In the same author,

Let all my bones say, O Jehovah, who is like You, delivering the needy from him who is too strong for him, and the needy and poor from those who despoil him? Ps. 35:10.

‘Bones’ are factual knowledge of truth, 8005. ‘The needy’ here stands for those with little truth, and ‘the poor’ for those with little good, who are molested by evils and falsities. Because of such molestation ‘the needy’ in the original language are also ‘the afflicted’; for ‘being afflicted’ means being molested by falsities, 9196. Similarly in the same author,

The wicked lies in wait** to catch the needy; he catches the needy and draws him into his net. Ps. 10:9.

In Isaiah,

Is not this the fast, to break bread for the hungry, and to bring into the house needy outcasts? Isa. 58:6, 7.

In the same prophet,

Jehovah has comforted His people, and will have mercy on His needy ones. Isa. 49:13.

In Zephaniah,

I will leave in your midst a needy and lean people, who hope in the name of Jehovah. Zeph. 3:12.

In these places ‘the needy’ are those who have no knowledge of truth and desire to receive instruction.
* The Latin means God will judge His people in righteousness, and His needy ones in judgement but the Hebrew means He [i.e. the king] will judge Your people in righteousness, and Your needy ones in judgement.
** Following Sebastian Schmidt Sw. adds two words here meaning in the tent, but the Hebrew does not support the inclusion of those words.

sRef Matt@25 @40 S0′ sRef Ex@22 @25 S0′ 9210. ‘You shall not be like a money-lender’ means that it must be done in a spirit of charity. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a money-lender’ as someone who does good for the sake of gain; for a money-lender entrusts money to another for the sake of interest and gives help to another for the sake of reward. And since real charity does not have gain or reward as the end in view, but the neighbour’s good, ‘you shall not be like a money-lender’ means that the thing must be done in a spirit of charity. Anyone who does not know what Christian charity is may think that it consists not only in giving to the needy and poor but also in doing good to his fellow citizen, country, or Church for any reason whatever, that is, with no matter what end in view. But he should recognize that the end is what gives all of a person’s deeds their true character. If the end or intention is to do good for the sake of reputation, in order to acquire important positions or else monetary gain, the good that he does is not good because it is done for the sake of self and thus also originates in self. But if the end is to do good for his fellow citizen’s, country’s, or Church’s sake, thus for his neighbour’s sake, the good he does is good since it is done for the sake of good itself, which in general is the real neighbour, 5025, 6706, 6711, 6712, 8123, and so is also done for the Lord’s sake since such good does not have its origin in the person but in the Lord, and what originates in the Lord is the Lord’s. This is the good that is meant by the Lord in Matthew,

Insofar as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers you did it to Me. Matt. 25:40.

[2] As it is with good, so it is also with truth. Those who do the truth for its own sake do it also for the Lord’s sake since it comes from Him. Doing truth for its own sake is doing good; for truth becomes good when it passes from the understanding into the will, and from the will goes out into actions. Doing good in this manner is Christian charity. People who do good in the spirit of Christian charity may sometimes look for reputation earned as a result of doing it, so as to obtain an important position or else monetary gain. But their attitude is altogether different from that of anyone for whom these things are his end in view. For they regard what is good and right as the essential, one and only thing that matters, and accordingly rank it in highest position. As for monetary gain in comparison with this, or an important position, or reputation for the sake of them, they regard as non-essential, and accordingly rank it in lowest position. When the eyes of people such as these are fixed on what is right and good they are like soldiers fighting in battle for their country. During it they give no thought at all to their life, nor thus to their status or their assets in the world, which compared with what they are doing are of no importance to them. But those who rank self and the world at the top are the kind of people who do not even see what is right and good, because their eyes are fixed on themselves and on gain.

sRef Matt@6 @24 S3′ [3] All this shows what doing good for a selfish or a worldly reason is, what doing good for the Lord’s or for the neighbour’s sake is, and what is the difference between them. The difference is as great as that between two opposites, thus as great as that between heaven and hell. Furthermore those who do good for their neighbour’s or for the Lord’s sake are in heaven; but those who do it for a selfish or a worldly reason are in hell. For those who do good for their neighbour and the Lord’s sake love the Lord above all things and their neighbour as themselves – commandments which are ‘the first of all the commandments’, Mark 12:28-31. But those who do everything for selfish and worldly reasons love themselves above all things, thus more than God; and they not only despise their neighbour but also hate him if he does not make common cause with them and align himself with them. This is the meaning of the Lord’s teaching in Matthew,

No one can serve two lords, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will cling to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Matt. 6:24.

There are people who do serve both; but they are called ‘lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, who are spewed out’, Rev. 3:15, 16. All this now shows what money-lenders who took interest represented, namely those who do good for the sake of gain. sRef Deut@23 @19 S4′ sRef Deut@23 @20 S4′ [4] It makes plain the origin of this prohibition, that they were not to be like a money-lender, charging a brother interest, as again declared elsewhere in Moses,

You shall not charge your brother interest on silver, interest on food, interest on anything on which it is charged. A foreigner you shall charge interest, but your brother you shall not charge interest; so that Jehovah your God may bless you in everything to which you set your hand* in the land which you are entering to possess it. Deut. 23:19, 20; Lev. 25:36-38.

‘Charging a brother interest on silver’ means lending truths, that is, giving instruction in them, for the sake of gain, ‘charging interest on food’ hiring out forms of the good of truth for the sake of gain; for ‘silver’ means truth, 1551, 2954, 5658, 6914, 6917, and ‘food’ the good of truth, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5576, 5410, 5426, 5487, 5582, 5588, 5655, 5915, 8562. The reason why those who do not charge it are blessed by Jehovah in everything to which they set their hand in the land is that their affection is for goodness and truth, so that the happiness which angels in heaven possess is theirs; for that affection, or the good of that love, holds heaven within it for a person, 6478, 9174. The reason why foreigners could be charged interest was that those who do not acknowledge anything of goodness or truth and are unreceptive of them are meant by ‘foreigners’, 7996, that is, they are those who do good solely for the sake of gain. These must serve a person, for in comparison they are servants or slaves, 1097. In David,

He walks blameless and does righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart. He does not lend his silver at interest, and does not take a bribe** against the innocent. He who does this will never be moved. Ps. 15:2, 5.

‘Lending his silver at interest’ means teaching for the sake solely of gain, thus doing good for the sake of reward. Something similar occurs in Ezekiel,

A righteous man who executes judgement and righteousness does not lend at interest and does not take increase. Ezek. 18:5, 8.

In the same prophet,

He who withdraws his hand from the needy, does not take interest or increase, executes My judgements, [and] walks in My statutes will surely live. Ezek. 18:17.

In the same prophet,

In you they have taken bribes** to shed blood; you have taken interest and increase, and seized gain of your companions by violence. Ezek. 22:12.

These things are said about ‘the city of blood’, by which falsity destroying truth and good is meant, 9127. ‘Taking interest and increase’ means doing good for the sake of gain and reward, thus not in a spirit of charity. In true charity there is no thought of earning a reward, see 2371, 2373, 2400, 4007, 4174, 4943, 6388-6390, 6392, 6478.
* lit. in every sending out of your hand
** lit. a gift

sRef Ex@22 @25 S0′ 9211. ‘You shall not charge him interest’ means that therefore it must not be done for the sake of gain to be acquired from it. This is clear from the meaning of ‘charging someone interest’ as doing good for the sake of gain, dealt with immediately above in 9210, at this point not doing it for the sake of gain since it says ‘you shall not charge him interest’. From this law about increase and interest the situation with the laws the Israelite people had which were called ‘judgements’ can be seen. That is, it can be seen that they came to an end along with the sacrifices and every other ritual observance, when the Lord came into the world and disclosed the more internal things within acts of worship, and in general the more internal things of the Word. The more internal things within that law are that good done to the neighbour should come from the heart, and that people should believe that there is no merit at all in deeds which spring from self, only in deeds which spring from the Lord present with them. For only the Lord has earned merit, and only He is righteousness; and when a person believes this he does not attach any merit or reward at all to deeds springing from self but ascribes all good deeds to the Lord. And since the Lord in His Divine mercy is the real doer of that good the person ascribes everything to mercy alone. So it is also that one who is led by the Lord has no thought whatever of reward, and yet from the heart does good to the neighbour. [2] These are the more internal things from which the law among the Israelite and Jewish nation about lending things at interest comes down. When therefore a person is acquainted with those more internal things that law comes to an end along with the others like it which were referred to as judgements. For the Israelite and Jewish nation was confined to the outward forms that represented internal things. Consequently that law was binding on that nation then, but it is not binding on Christians, to whom the more internal things have been revealed by the Lord. Those who belong to the Church at the present day see this to be so, and this is why laws that have to do with charging interest are altogether different at the present day. Even so, the holiness of that law does not therefore come to an end, as though this part of the Word has been abrogated; for its holiness remains by virtue of the more internal things it holds within it. These more internal holy things continue to stir angels’ affections when this part of the Word is read. But let people beware of thinking that the laws of life such as are contained in the Ten Commandments and elsewhere throughout the Old Testament have been abrogated; for those laws have been firmly established in an inward as well as an outward form, because the two are inseparable.

sRef Ex@22 @26 S0′ 9212. ‘If you ever take your companion’s clothing as a pledge’ means if factual knowledge of truths is dispersed by illusions that are a product of sensory impressions. This is clear from the meaning of ‘taking as a pledge’ as receiving a token for goods that are supplied, for ‘a pledge’ is a token for goods that are being lent. When spiritual things are understood instead of these, supplying goods means giving instruction in truths, and the token or pledge in this instance means truth on the level of the senses. For ‘the clothing’ here which is given as a pledge means the lowest level of the natural, which is that of the senses. Since illusions abound on this level and illusions wipe out truths, ‘taking your companion’s clothing as a pledge’ means the dispersing of truths by illusions that are a product of sensory impressions. The fact that these things are meant is clear from the whole train of thought in the internal sense.

[2] In general ‘clothing’ means everything that clothes another, and so whatever is relatively more external. Consequently the external or natural man is called the clothing in relation to the internal or spiritual man. In a similar way truth is called the clothing in relation to good, because truth clothes good; likewise factual knowledge of truth in relation to the truth of faith which belongs to the internal man. Sensory perception, which constitutes the lowest level of life with a person, is the clothing in relation to factual knowledge of truth.

‘Clothes’ are lower things that cover higher ones, or what amounts to the same thing, exterior things that cover interior ones, see 2576, 5248. In general they are truths, 4545, 4763, 5319, 5954, 6914, 6917, 9093, factual knowledge of truths, 6918, or truths on the level of the senses, 9158. Sensory perception constitutes the lowest level of life with a person, 4009, 5077, 5125, 5128, 5767, 5774, 6201, 6313, 7442, 7693, and sensory perception is subject to illusions, 5084, 5089, 6201, 6948, 6949, 7442.

[3] The meaning of ‘clothes’ as truths owes its origin to representatives in the next life. There angels and spirits appear dressed in clothes in keeping with the state of faith or truth that is theirs, and their clothes are varied in keeping with the changes which that state undergoes. Those governed by authentic truth appear dressed in white garments, and those governed by truths springing from good in shining ones. But those governed purely by good, as angels of the inmost heaven are, called celestial angels, appear naked. So it is then that clothes are truths, and that truths are meant in the Word by ‘clothes’, as may be seen from places referred to above. To these places let the following in the Gospels be added:

sRef Matt@17 @2 S4′ [4] In Matthew,

When Jesus was transfigured His face shone like the sun, and His garments became [white] as the light. Matt. 17:2.

‘Face’ in the Word means the interiors, in particular the affections, 358, 1999, 2434, 3527, 3573, 4066, 4796, 4797, 5102, 5695, 6604, 6848, 6849, and ‘God’s face’ Goodness itself, 222, 223, 5585. ‘The sun’ means God’s love, 2441, 2495, 3636, 3643, 4060, 4321 (end), 4696, 7083, 8644. From this it is evident what the meaning is when it says that the Lord’s face shone like the Sun, namely that His interiors were the Good of Divine Love. ‘His garments became [white] as the light’ means Divine Truth radiating from Him, which also appears in heaven as the light, 1521, 1619-1632, 3195, 3222, 3485, 3636, 3643, 4415, 5400, 8644.

sRef Matt@21 @1 S5′ sRef Matt@21 @5 S5′ sRef Judg@5 @9 S5′ sRef Matt@21 @7 S5′ sRef Judg@5 @10 S5′ sRef Matt@21 @8 S5′ [5] In the same gospel,

When Jesus drew near to Jerusalem they brought the she-ass and the colt and laid their garments on them and set Him on them. But a very great crowd spread their garments on the road, while others were breaking off branches from trees and spreading them on the road. Matt. 21:1, 7, 8.

Riding on a she-ass and her colt was a representative sign of the Supreme Judge and King, see 2781, as also is evident from what comes before in verse 5,

Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold, your King is coming to you, meek, seated on a she-ass, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.

It is also evident in Mark 11:1-12; in Luke 19:28-41; in John 12:12-16; and in Zechariah 9:9, 10, where it says of the Lord that He would ride on an ass, and on a young ass, a son of she-asses. There He is called a King, and in addition it says that His dominion will be from sea even to sea, and from the River even to the ends of the earth. The fact that the supreme judge rode on a she-ass, and his sons on young asses, see Judg. 5:9, 10; 10:3, 4; 12:14; and that the king rode on a she-mule, and the king’s sons on mules, 1 Kings 1:33, 38, 44, 45; 2 Sam. 13:29.

[6] When the disciples laid their garments on the she-ass and her colt, it represented the recognition that truths in their entirety were the foundation on which the Lord as supreme Judge and King rested; for the disciples represented the Lord’s Church in respect of truths and forms of good, see 2129, 3488, 3858 (end), 6397, and their garments truths themselves, 4545, 4763, 5319, 5954, 6914, 6917, 9093. This same recognition was likewise represented when the crowd spread their garments, also the branches of trees, on the road. Another reason why they spread them on the road was that ‘the road’ means the truth by means of which a member of the Church is led, see 627, 2333, 3477. And the reason why they also spread the branches of trees was that ‘trees’ meant perceptions and also cognitions or knowledge of truth and good, 2682, 2722, 2972, 4552, 7692, so that their branches are the truths themselves. Those actions were also performed then because it was customary for the chief persons among the people to lay their garments on supreme judges and kings’ she-asses and mules when they rode in pomp on them, and for the people themselves to spread their garments on the road, or the branches of trees instead. For in heaven judgeship consists in Divine Truth derived from Good, and kingship in Divine Truth, 1728, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148.

sRef Luke@5 @36 S7′ [7] In Luke,

No one adds a piece of a new garment onto an old garment; in doing so he splits the new, and the binding from the new is unsuitable for the old.
Luke 5:36.

The Lord used this comparison to describe the truth of the new Church and the truth of the old Church; for ‘garment’ means truth. Sewing on one or binding it to the other means destroying both; for the truth of the new Church is interior truth, thus truth for the internal man, whereas the truth of the old Church is exterior truth, thus truth for the external man. The latter kind of truth prevailed in the Jewish Church, for by means of external things this Church represented internal ones, whereas the Church of today has knowledge of the internal truths that were represented then, because the Lord has revealed them. The fact that these truths are not suited to external ones in such a way that they can exist together is what the words used by the Lord serve to mean. From all this also it is evident that ‘garment’ means the Church’s truth.

sRef John@21 @18 S8′ [8] In John,

Jesus said to Peter, Truly, truly I say to you, When you were a boy you girded your loins and walked where you wished. But when you are old you will stretch out your hands, [and] another will gird your loins and lead you where you do not wish. John 21:18.

No one without knowledge of the internal sense can see what these words imply; plainly, they contain arcana. In the internal sense ‘Peter’ means the Church’s faith, see the Prefaces to Genesis 18 and 22, and 3750, 6000, 6073 (end), 6344 (end). Consequently Peter when he was a boy means the nature of the Church’s faith as it is initially, and Peter when he would be old means the nature of the Church’s faith as it is finally. From this it is evident what ‘when you were a boy you girded your loins and walked where you wished’ means, namely that the Church’s faith as it is initially is faith composed of truth derived from good, thus faith composed of charity towards the neighbour and of love to the Lord. And at this time a member of the Church in doing what is good acts freely, because his actions spring from the Lord. For aspects of the good of love are meant by ‘the loins’, 3021, 3294, 4280, 4575, 5050-5062, so that ‘girding the loins’ means clothing good with truths; and living is meant by ‘walking’, 519, 1794, 8417, 8420, so that ‘walking where one wishes’ means leading a life that is free. Those people lead a life that is free, or act freely, whose faith springs from love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour; for they are led by the Lord, 892, 905, 2870-2893, 6325, 9096. ‘When you are old you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird your loins and lead you where you do not wish’ means that the Church’s faith as it is finally will be none at all, at which time falsities that arise from evil springing from self-love and love of the world will take the place of faith and enslave it. This is the arcanum which these words spoken by Lord contain and which can be seen only from their internal sense. All this shows once again the kind of way in which the Lord spoke, namely in such a way that an inner meaning might be present within every detail, to the end that heaven might be joined to the world by means of the Word. For without the Word, that is, without Divine Truth that has been revealed, they are not joined together; and if they are not so joined the human race perishes.

sRef Ex@22 @26 S0′ 9213. ‘You shall restore it to him even at the going in of the sun’ means that it is to be restored before the arrival of a state of shade induced by delights belonging to external kinds of love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the going in (or setting) of the sun’ as a state of shade induced by delights belonging to external kinds of love. The situation here is that in heaven there are successive changes of heat with things that compose the good of love, and changes of light with those that constitute the truth of faith, thus successive changes in love and faith. In hell too there are successive changes; but they are their opposites, because there they are changes in the love of evil and belief in falsity. Those successive changes correspond to the successive changes of seasons of the year on earth, which are spring, summer, autumn, winter, and spring again, and so on. But in the spiritual world there are states instead of seasons; for the changes are not those of heat and light, but of love and faith. It should be realized however that those successive changes are not the same for one person as they are for another; rather they are different with each individual person, depending on the person’s state of life acquired in the world. Sunset in heaven corresponds to a state of shade that comes over the truths of faith, and to a state of coldness that overtakes the good of love to the Lord and towards the neighbour. In such states those there enter into the delights that belong to external kinds of love, delights which put faith in the shade; for when an angel or a spirit is amid things of an external nature he is also in shade; but when amid those of an internal nature he experiences the delights and bliss that belong to heavenly kinds of love, and at the same time experiences the loveliness of faith, or is in the light of truth. These states are what spring seasons and summer seasons on earth correspond to. From all this it may now be seen why it is that ‘the going in (or setting) of the sun’ means a state of shade induced by delights belonging to external kinds of love. Regarding these successive changes, see what has been shown already in 5097, 5672, 5962, 6110, 7083, 8426, 8615, 8644, 8812.

[2] The things stated above show what people should understand by the explanation that factual knowledge of truths which has been dispersed by illusions that are a product of sensory impressions is to be restored before the arrival of a state of shade induced by delights belonging to external kinds of love, meant by ‘If you take your companion’s clothing as a pledge you shall restore it to him even at the going in of the sun’. They should understand that truths removed by illusions are to be restored while the person is still in the light of truth; for while in that light he can regain them and also dispel the falsities that illusions have introduced. But he cannot do so when in a state of shade induced by delights belonging to external kinds of love, because those delights turn truths away, and the shade does not receive them. So the illusions cling to the person and are adopted as his own. The reason why external delights or those of the external man are like this is that they attach themselves to the world, and are also aroused and so to speak brought alive by its heat. It is different with internal delights or bliss, or those of the internal man. These attach themselves to heaven, and are also aroused and brought alive by its heat, which is love coming from the Lord.

sRef Deut@24 @6 S3′ sRef Deut@24 @11 S3′ sRef Deut@24 @17 S3′ sRef Deut@24 @13 S3′ sRef Deut@24 @12 S3′ sRef Deut@24 @10 S3′ [3] This judgement or law is delivered elsewhere in Moses in the following words, No one shall take* as a pledge the mill or the milling stone, for he takes the [person’s] livelihood** as a pledge. Deut. 24:6.

‘The mill’ means the kinds of things that are of service in acquiring faith, and charity after that, 7780, and ‘the soul’ means the life of faith springing from charity, 9050, from which it is evident what ‘not taking the mill as a pledge, for one takes the soul as a pledge’ means. In the same author,

You shall not turn aside the right of the sojourner or of the orphan, nor shall you take a widow’s clothing as a pledge. Deut. 24:17.

‘Taking a widow’s clothing as a pledge’ means taking away by any means at all the truths which good has a desire for. ‘Clothing’ means truth, as above in 9212, and ‘a widow’ someone in possession of good who has a desire for truths, or in the abstract sense good that has a desire for truths, 9198. For if truth is taken away, good together with its desire perishes.

[4] Still in the same author,

If you lend your companion something you shall not go into his house to get the pledge. You shall stand outside; but the man to whom you lend shall bring the pledge outdoors. If the man is needy you shall not lie down upon his pledge; you shall surely restore the pledge to him at the going down of the sun, in order that he may lie down in his own clothing and bless you; and it shall be righteousness before your God. Deut. 24:10-13.

The law that the lender should stand outside and the pledge be brought out to him means the proper manner of response to truths that have been communicated; for ‘lending’ means communicating, 9174, and ‘taking a pledge’ means response. Nobody can know that these things are meant except from the kinds of things that take place in the next life, thus unless he knows what ‘going into a house’ means, what ‘standing outside’ means, and so what ‘bringing outdoors’ means.

[5] In the next life those who go into another’s house and talk together in the same room communicate their thoughts to everyone there in such a way that they are fully convinced that they themselves are the authors of those thoughts. But if they stand outside, the thoughts are indeed perceived by them, but as if another, not they, were the author of them. This is an everyday occurrence in the next life. Those therefore who share the same opinion or feel the same way about something are seen together in the same house; and this is all the more true if they are seen together in the same room of the house. But when a difference of opinion arises among the same people, all disappear from before the eyes of those with whom they differ. Appearances such as these occur everywhere and unceasingly in the next life. The reason why they do so is that likeness of thought links people together and leads to their presence with one another; for thought is inward sight, and distances between places in that life do not exist in the way they do in the world.

[6] All this shows what ‘not going into the house but standing outside to receive the pledge’ means, namely not putting pressure on another or playing on his emotions to get him to corroborate truths known to oneself, but to listen to and accept his responses as they are in his own mind. For those who put pressure on another or play on his emotions to get him to corroborate truths known to themselves make this other person think or speak not from himself but from them. And when anyone thinks and speaks from another the truths present with him are thrown into disorder; nor is he improved by this, unless he is the kind of person who is still ignorant of those truths. All this makes plain once again that the Word in every detail contains matters that correspond to the kinds of things that exist in the spiritual world.
* lit. He shall not take, reading Non…accipiet for Non…accipies (You shall not take)
** lit. the soul

sRef Ex@22 @27 S0′ 9214. ‘For this is his only covering’ means because sensory impressions lie on a level below more internal things. This is clear from the meaning of ‘covering’ or ‘clothing’ as the level of the senses, dealt with above in 9212. The fact that the sensory level lies below more internal things, because it is the lowest level of a person’s life, may also be seen in that paragraph.

sRef Ex@22 @27 S0′ 9215. ‘It is his clothing for his skin’ means that they also clothe relatively external things. This is clear from the meaning of ‘clothing’ as the sensory level in general or things on that level, as above; and from the meaning of ‘skin’ as that which is relatively external, which also clothes more internal things but still exists within those on the sensory level. What ‘the skin’ means, and who exactly correspond to the skin in the next life, see 3540, 5552-5559, 8977, 8980. The natural degree of the human mind has a rather internal level, a relatively external or middle level, and an outermost level. The more internal level of the natural is in contact with heaven; the middle or relatively external level is in contact on one side with the more internal, and through this with heaven, and on the other side with the outermost, and through this with the world, see 4009, 4570, 5118, 5126, 5497, 5649, 5707. The outermost level of the natural is that of the senses, which is meant here by ‘clothing’. This level receives impressions of objects in the world and thereby serves more internal things. It is called ‘his only covering’ because it is the last and lowest and so is general to all, the relatively external or middle level of the natural being the one meant by ‘skin’. From this it is evident that ‘his clothing for his skin’ means that the sensory level also clothes relatively external things. The fact that the sensory level is the last and lowest of a person’s life, and so is a general covering, see 4009, 5077, 5125, 5128, 5767, 5774, 6201, 6313, 7442, 7693.

sRef Ex@22 @27 S0′ 9216. ‘In which he may sleep’ means resting on them. This is clear from the meaning of ‘sleeping’ as resting, in this instance on the external and sensory level, meant by ‘clothing’, 9212; for it says that it is clothing ‘in which he may sleep’. How the explanation that more internal things find rest on the sensory level should be understood must be stated. The sensory level is the last and lowest of a person’s life, as has been shown above. What is lowest contains all the more internal levels and is general to them all; for they terminate in it and accordingly rest on it. It is like the skin, for example, which is the outermost covering of the body. The body and all things in it terminate in the skin, because it contains them and they accordingly rest on the skin. In a similar way it is like the peritoneum within the body. Because it contains the abdominal organs, these rest on it and are also linked to it all round. Or equally it is like the pleura’s relationship to the organs in the chest.

[2] A similar situation exists with all the things that compose a person’s actual life, with those for instance that are connected with his understanding and those that are connected with his will. These too follow one another in order from more internal things to relatively external ones. The relatively external ones are factual knowledge together with its delights, while the outermost things are those of the senses, which are in contact with the world through sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. The more internal things rest on them since they terminate in them. These are the matters that are meant in the spiritual sense by ‘the covering’ or ‘the clothing in which he may sleep’. The reason why things on the level of the senses are meant by ‘the clothing’ or ‘the covering’ lies in correspondences; for as stated above in 9212, spirits and angels appear dressed in garments in keeping with their truths of faith. Those governed by truths springing from good appear in shining ones, as for instance those at the Lord’s tomb did, Luke 24:4; Matt. 28:3, and also in ones of fine, white linen, as for instance those referred to in Rev. 19:14 did; and others appear in garments of various colours.

[3] Furthermore it should be realized that all things without exception proceed in successive stages from their first or inmost level to their terminations on the last and lowest and rest on them. Each thing at a prior or more internal stage in order has its own connection with terminations on the lowest level. Therefore if things on the lowest level are dispelled those on interior levels are also scattered. This also explains why there are three heavens. The inmost or third heaven flows into the middle or second heaven; the middle or second heaven flows into the first or lowest heaven, which in turn flows into and resides with mankind. Consequently the human race constitutes the lowest level of order; in it heaven terminates and on it heaven rests. This being so, the Lord in His Divine [Love and Care] always provides for the presence among the human race of a Church in which truth revealed by God exists; such truth on our planet is the Word. By means of this a continuous link exists between the human race and the heavens. This is why every detail of the Word has within it an internal sense which exists for heaven’s benefit and whose nature is such that it joins angels’ minds to those of people on earth in so firm a bond that they act as one. All this goes to show yet again the nature of a situation in which interior things rest on those at the lowest level.

sRef Ex@22 @27 S0′ 9217. ‘When he cries out to Me’ means pleading to the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘crying out to Jehovah’ as pleading to the Lord, as above in 9202.

sRef Ex@22 @27 S0′ 9218. ‘I shall hear’ means help, as also above, in 9203.

sRef Ex@22 @27 S0′ 9219. ‘For I am merciful’ means that such help comes wholly from Him, out of mercy. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being merciful’, since it refers to the Lord, as the truth that help comes wholly from Him. The reason why out of mercy is meant is that everything done by the Lord is an act of mercy. The Lord in His Essential Being (Esse) is Divine Love; and love, when it is shown towards those in a state of wretchedness, is called mercy. Thus His Love as it is shown to the whole human race is called mercy; for the human race is set fast in a state of misery, since the human self or proprium is nothing but evil, 210, 215, 874-876, 987, 1581, 5660, 5786, 8480.

sRef Ex@22 @30 S0′ sRef Ex@22 @31 S0′ sRef Ex@22 @28 S0′ sRef Ex@22 @29 S0′ 9220. Verses 28-31 You shall not revile God, and you shall not curse a governor of your people. You shall not be slow [to offer] the firstfruits of your grain and the firstfruits of your wine. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. You shall do the same with your oxen, [and] with your flock. Seven days it shall be with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me. And men of holiness shall you be to Me. And you shall not eat flesh torn in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.*

‘You shall not revile God’ means that God’s truths are not to be blasphemed. ‘And you shall not curse a governor of your people’ means that teachings presenting the truth are not to be, either. ‘And you shall not be slow [to offer] the firstfruits of your grain and the firstfruits of your wine’ means that since all the good and the truth of faith come from the Lord they are to be ascribed to Him, not to self. ‘The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me’ means all the matters of faith that [are acquired] through them. ‘You shall do the same with your oxen, [and] with your flock’ means extending to exterior good and interior good. ‘Seven days it shall be with its mother’ means their first state with truths. ‘On the eighth day you shall give it to Me’ means that in the initial phase of the following state when they lead a life of good they dwell with the Lord. ‘And men of holiness shall you be to Me’ means a state of life then composed of good. ‘And you shall not eat flesh torn in the field’ means that falsified good of faith must not be joined [to oneself]. ‘You shall throw it to the dogs’ means that these things are unclean.
* lit. a dog

sRef Ex@22 @28 S0′ 9221. ‘You shall not revile God’ means that God’s truths are not to be blasphemed. This is clear from the meaning of ‘reviling’ as blaspheming; for blasphemers are those who revile. The reason why ‘God’s truths are not to be blasphemed’ is meant is that in the internal sense ‘God’ means Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, and consequently when the subject in the Word is truth the Lord is called ‘God’, but when good is the subject He is called ‘Jehovah’, 2769, 2807, 2822, 3921 (end), 4287, 4402, 7010, 7268, 8988, 9160. And truths are therefore meant by ‘angels’, since they are recipients of God’s truth from the Lord, 4295, 4402, 7268, 7873, 8192, 8301, 8867, and also by ‘judges’, 9160.

sRef Ex@22 @28 S0′ 9222. ‘And you shall not curse a governor of your people’ means that teachings presenting the truth are not to be, either – not to be blasphemed. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a governor (or prince)’ as the Church’s primary truths, dealt with in 5044; from the meaning of ‘people’ as those governed by truths taught by doctrine, dealt with in 1259, 1260, 2928, 3295, 3581, 7207; and from the meaning of ‘cursing’ as blaspheming. What connection these prohibitions have with each other is evident from the internal sense; for ‘not reviling God’ means not blaspheming God’s truth, and ‘not cursing a governor’ means not blaspheming teachings that present the truth, God’s truth being the Word, and the Church’s teachings being truth drawn from the Word.

Let the nature of blasphemy against God’s truth be stated briefly here. God’s truth is the Word and teachings drawn from the Word. Those who repudiate it in their heart blaspheme it even though they praise and declare it with their lips. Hidden within repudiation lies blasphemy, which also bursts out into the open when they are left to think by themselves, especially in the next life. For there when external [restraints] have been removed people’s hearts speak.

[2] Those who blaspheme or repudiate the Word cannot receive anything at all of the truth or good of faith. For the Word teaches the existence of the Lord, of heaven and hell, of life after death, of faith and charity, and of many other things, about which no one would have any knowledge whatever without the Word or revelation, 8944. Therefore those who repudiate the Word cannot receive anything taught by the Word; for when it is read or heard by them it is met with a negative attitude of mind that either annihilates truth or turns it into falsity.

[3] First of all therefore with a member of the Church comes belief in the Word; and this is the chief characteristic of one who is guided by the truth of faith and governed by the good of love. But with those who are steeped in the evils of self-love and love of the world non-belief in the Word is the chief characteristic; for when they think about it they instantly reject it and also blaspheme it. If anyone were to see how great the blasphemies are against the Word, and what they are like, with those who are steeped in the evils of those kinds of love he would be horrified. While in the world the person is unaware of their existence, since they lie concealed behind the ideas of his conscious thought, and it is this that comes out into speech with other people. Even so they are revealed in the next life, where they appear horrible.

[4] There are two kinds of blasphemies – those that come out of the understanding but not at the same time out of the will, and those that come out of the will by way of the understanding. The second kind are the ones which are so horrible, not the first. Those that come out of the will by way of the understanding spring from evil of life, whereas those that come solely out of the understanding and not at the same time out of the will spring from falsity of doctrine or from the illusions of the outward senses that deceive a person set fast in a state of ignorance. These things have been stated in order that people may know the nature of blasphemy against God’s truth, that is, the Word, and against teachings drawn from it, meant by ‘reviling God and cursing a governor of the people’.

sRef Ex@22 @29 S0′ 9223. ‘[And] you shall not be slow [to offer] the firstfruits of your grain and the firstfruits of your wine’ means that since all the good and the truth of faith come from the Lord they are to be ascribed to Him, not to self. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the firstfruits’ as those things which must occupy first place, thus which are the chief of them all, dealt with below; from the meaning of ‘grain’ as the good of the truth of faith, dealt with in 5295, 5410, 5959, and from the meaning of ‘wine’ as the truth of good, thus the truth of the good of faith, dealt with in 1798, 6377; and from the meaning of ‘not being slow’, when it has reference to the good and truth of faith, as ascribing from affection, since that which is done not slowly but swiftly is done from love and affection, 7695, 7866. The reason why ascribing to the Lord is meant is that the firstfruits, like the firstborn also, were given to Jehovah, and by Jehovah to Aaron and his seed, ‘Jehovah’ being used in the Word to mean the Lord, 1736, 2921, 3023, 3035, 5663, 6303, 6945, 6956, 8274, 8864. Consequently since the firstfruits of grain and wine are forms of the good and the truths of faith, the meaning is that they are to be ascribed to the Lord since they come from Him. For the truth that everything composing a person’s thought and will flows in, and the truth that all goodness and truth come from the Lord, see 2886-2888, 3142, 3147, 4151, 4249, 5119, 5147, 5150, 5259, 5482, 5649, 5779, 5854, 5893, 6027, 6982, 6985, 6996, 7004, 7055, 7056, 7058, 7270, 7343, 8321, 8685, 8701, 8717, 8728, 8823, 8864, 9110, 9111; and the same truths from experience, 6053-6058, 6189-6215, 6307-6327, 6466-6495, 6598-6626.

[2] The firstfruits that were to be offered to the Lord were the firstfruits of the harvest and the firstfruits of vintage,* also the firstfruits of shearing, and the firstfruits of fruit too. The firstfruits of the harvest were parched and fresh ears of grain, also a sheaf that was to be waved, and afterwards products of the threshing-floor, which were cakes, while the firstfruits of vintage were the firstfruits of wine, must, and oil. In addition to these there were the firstfruits of shearing the flock, and also the firstfruits of fruit, which were offered in a basket. In addition also all the firstborn were offered to the Lord, though the firstborn of human beings were redeemed, as also were the firstborn of animals that were not offered in sacrifices, such as those of asses, mules, horses, and the like. Firstfruits and firstborn were offered to Jehovah and were given by Jehovah to Aaron and his seed because Aaron and his sons, who served in the office of high priest, represented the Lord. In the present verse ‘the firstfruits of grain and of wine’ is used to mean all the firstfruits of harvest and vintage that have been referred to immediately above. For the words used in the original language are ‘the fullness of grain’ and ‘the tear of wine’, ‘fullness’ being the harvest when it has ripened and also been gathered in, and ‘tears’ drops of fluid that trickle down.

[3] What was represented specifically by firstfruits – for all the religious laws and practices which the Lord commanded the children of Israel represented internal aspects of the Church – becomes clear when the particular products whose firstfruits were offered are considered in the internal sense. ‘Grain’ means the good of faith and ‘wine’ the truth of faith, as may be seen in the places referred to above. Giving firstfruits to Jehovah was a sign that the ascription of every good and truth of faith to the Lord and not to self was the first thing of the Church. Ascribing them to the Lord consists in knowing, acknowledging, and believing that they spring from the Lord and in no way at all from self; for as shown above, faith comes entirely from the Lord. The reason why ‘the firstfruits’ have this meaning is that firstfruits were offerings and gifts which were thanksgivings for the fruits of the earth. They were the acknowledgement of blessings from Jehovah, that is, from the Lord, and therefore the acknowledgement that all things came from Him. In the internal sense they are the acknowledgement [that He is the Source] of every good and truth of faith, which are meant by harvest, grain, oil, must, wine, wool, and fruit, whose firstfruits were given. Regarding these ‘firstfruits’, see Exod. 23:19; 34:26; Lev. 23:10, 11, 20; Num. 15:19-21; 18:12, 13; Deut. 18:4; 26:1-11; and ‘firstfruits’ have a similar meaning in Ezekiel 20:40 and Micah 7:1, 2.
* i.e. the time or season when grapes and other fruits such as olives are harvested

sRef Ex@22 @29 S0′ 9224. ‘The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me’ means also all the matters of faith that [are acquired] through them – that they are to be ascribed to the Lord and not to self. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the firstborn of sons’ as all matters of faith the Church possesses, dealt with in 2435, 6344, 7035, 7039, 7778, 8042; and from the meaning of ‘giving to Me’ as ascribing to the Lord, ‘Jehovah’ being used in the Word to mean the Lord. All matters of faith, meant by ‘the firstborn of sons’, are beliefs which spring from the good of charity; for faith comes into being from this good. Whether truths are acquired from the Word or from the teachings of the Church, they cannot by any means become matters of faith without the presence of good in which they can be implanted. The reason for this is that the understanding part of the mind is that which receives truths first, for it sees them and introduces them into the will; and when those truths are in the will they are in the person, the will being the person’s true self. Anyone therefore who supposes that faith is faith with a person before the person wills it, and does it because he wills it, is very much mistaken. Nor before this do the truths of faith themselves have life in them. All that which belongs to the will is called good, because it is loved; thus truth becomes good, or faith becomes charity, when it is in the will.

[2] There are two controversies which have bothered the Church since earliest times. The first is whether faith is the firstborn of the Church or whether charity is; and the second is whether faith separated from charity brings salvation. The reason why these two controversies arose was that before a person has been regenerated he discerns the truths that are to become matters of faith but not the good that is the good of charity. For the truths of faith enter by the external route, that is to say, through hearing; they deposit themselves in the memory, and from there they appear in the understanding. But the good of charity flows in by the internal route – through the internal man from heaven, that is, from the Lord by way of heaven. Therefore it does not come to be discerned until the truths called matters of faith start to be loved for the sake of performing good and useful service and leading a good life, which happens when they come to belong to the will. This now explains why faith was declared to be the firstborn of the Church, and also why people attributed to it the rights of the firstborn, that is, the rights of priority and superiority over the good of charity, when in actual fact the good of charity is prior and higher, and the truth of faith only apparently so, see 3325, 3494, 3539, 3548, 3556, 3563, 3570, 3576, 3603, 3701, 4925, 4926, 4928, 4930, 4977, 5351, 6256, 6269, 6272, 6273.

[3] The reason why those who belong to the Church have been in the dark in regard to these matters is that they have failed to perceive that all things in the universe have connection with truth and good, and to be anything must have connection with both. They have also failed to perceive that in the human being there are two mental powers, the understanding and the will, and that truth has connection with the understanding and good with the will, and that without the connection with both nothing is made a person’s own. Because these considerations have lain in the dark, and yet the ideas composing a person’s thought are based on such considerations, the error could not be made plain to the natural man. Yet if it had at some time been made plain, members of the Church would have seen from the Word as in broad daylight that the Lord Himself had countless things to say about the good of charity, that this good ranks first in the Church, and that faith does not exist anywhere else than within that good. The good of charity consists in doing good because one wills it. They would also have seen the errors that teachings upholding faith separated from charity bring in with them. One such error is the idea that a person is able to will evil and believe truth, consequently that truth is in agreement with evil. Another is the idea that faith can cause the life of heaven to exist with a person who has the life of hell in him, therefore that one life can be transformed into the other, so that those in hell can be raised to heaven and lead among angels a life contrary to their former life. People entertaining such errors do not take into consideration the fact that if anyone leads a life contrary to the life already acquired in the world he is deprived of his life. Anyone who tries to do so is like those who are in the throes of death and end their life in dreadful torment. Errors like these and very many others are what the teachings upholding faith separated from charity bring in with them.

sRef Ex@22 @30 S0′ 9225. ‘You shall do the same with your oxen, [and] with your flock’ means extending to exterior good and interior good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘oxen’ as exterior good, and from the meaning of ‘flock’ as interior good, both dealt with in 5913, 8937, 9135.

sRef Ex@22 @30 S0′ 9226. ‘Seven days it shall be with its mother’ means their first state with truths. This is clear from the meaning of ‘seven days’ as the first state of those who are being regenerated, ‘days’ being states, 23, 487, 488, 493, 893, 2788, 3462, 3785, 4850, 5672, 5962, 8426, 9213, and ‘seven’ being from start to finish, thus what is complete, 728, 6508; and from the meaning of ‘mother’ as the Church in respect of truth, thus also the Church’s truth, dealt with in 289, 2691, 2717, 3703, 4257, 5581, 8897. From all this it follows that ‘seven days it shall be with its mother’ means the first state in its completeness or the whole of it from start to finish, during which a person is governed by truths. The implications of all this will be stated in the next paragraph.

sRef Ex@22 @30 S0′ 9227. ‘On the eighth day you shall give it to Me’ means that in the initial phase of the following state when they lead a life of good they dwell with the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the eighth day’ as the initial phase of the following state, dealt with in 2044, 8400 (end); and from the meaning of ‘giving to Jehovah’ as giving to the Lord since ‘Jehovah’ is used in the Word to mean the Lord, 1736, 2921, 3023, 3035, 5663, 6303, 6945, 6956, 8274, 8864. The reason why when they lead a life of good they dwell with the Lord is meant is that the internal sense deals with both states experienced by a person who is being regenerated. The first state is when the person is led by means of the truths of faith towards the good of charity, and the second state is when he has come into that good. Since the person then dwells with the Lord, these things are therefore meant by ‘you shall give it to Me’.

A person has two states while being regenerated, the first when he is led by means of the truths of faith towards the good of charity, and the second when he has come into the good of charity, see 7923, 7992, 8505, 8506, 8510, 8512, 8516, 8643, 8648, 8658, 8685, 8690, 8701.
A person is in heaven and so dwells with the Lord when he has come into the good of charity, 8516, 8539, 8722, 8772, 9139.

[2] Something more must be stated briefly concerning the nature of these two states with a person who is being regenerated. It has been shown already in 9224 that truths which are called matters of faith enter by the external route with a person, and that good which is the good of charity and love enters by the internal route. The external route lies through hearing into the memory, and from the memory into the person’s understanding, the understanding being a person’s inward sight. The truths which are to become matters of faith enter by the external route to the end that they may be introduced into the will and so be made the person’s own. The good which flows in from the Lord by the internal route flows into the will, for the will is the person’s inward self. The good coming from the Lord meets, in the outer reaches of the will, the truths that have entered by the external route, and by joining itself to them causes the truths to be converted into good. And to the extent that this takes place order is turned around, that is, the person is not led by truths but by good, consequently is led by the Lord.

[3] From all this one may see the way in which a person is raised from the world to heaven when being regenerated. For everything that enters through hearing enters in from the world; and the things that have been deposited in the memory, then come from the memory and present themselves to the understanding, are seen in the light of the world, which is called natural illumination. But the things which enter the will or come to belong to the will are in the light of heaven, the light of heaven being the truth of good from the Lord. When these things go out of the will into actions they go back into the light of the world; but they now take on in this light a completely different appearance. For initially the world was present within each one of those things, but afterwards heaven is present within each one. These considerations also show why a person is not in heaven until he does truths because he wills them, and so because he has charity and affection for them.

sRef Ex@22 @30 S0′ sRef Isa@30 @26 S1′ 9228. The fact that ‘seven’ means a whole period from start to finish, thus what is complete, is clear from a large number of places in the Word, as in Isaiah,

The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, on the day when Jehovah will bind up the hurt* of His people. Isa. 30:26.

This refers to the salvation of faithful believers and their intelligence and wisdom in the Lord’s kingdom. ‘The moon’ is faith received from the Lord, thus belief in the Lord, and ‘the sun’ is love derived from the Lord, thus love to the Lord, 30-38, 1521, 1529-1531, 2441, 2495, 3636, 3643, 4060, 4321 (end), 4696, 5377, 7078, 7083, 7171, 8644. ‘The light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days’ means a complete state of intelligence and wisdom because of love to and belief in the Lord.

sRef Ezek@39 @12 S2′ sRef Ezek@39 @9 S2′ sRef Ezek@39 @10 S2′ [2] In Ezekiel,

The inhabitants of the cities of Israel will go out, and they will set alight and burn the weapons, both shield and buckler, together with bow and arrows, and hand-staff, and spear; they will set fire to them for seven years, that they may not bring wood from the field nor cut down any from the forests. And they will cleanse the land in seven months. Ezek. 39:9, 10, 12.

This refers to the destruction of falsity. ‘The weapons’ that are listed here are falsities used by those who are evil to fight against the Church’s truths. ‘Setting fire to them for seven years’ means complete destruction brought about by the desires of self-love and love of the world. ‘In order that they may bring no wood from the field or cut down any from the forests’ means when no good at all survives, neither in the internal man nor in the external. ‘Cleansing the land in seven months’ means the complete restoration of goodness and truth within the Church. It has been shown in very many places that ‘weapons’ are truths fighting against falsities, and in the contrary sense falsities fighting against truths; that ‘bow and arrows’ means teachings that present truth, and in the contrary sense teachings that present falsity; that ‘hand-staff’ means the power of truth, and in the contrary sense the power of falsity; that ‘setting alight and burning’ means laying waste through the desires of self-love and love of the world; that ‘wood from the field’ means the Church’s forms of interior good, and ‘wood from the forests’ factual knowledge of goodness and truth; and that ‘the land’ means the Church. Anyone can see that different things are meant here from those which present themselves in the letter, as when it says that they will burn the weapons, and set them alight for seven years, in order that they may bring no wood from the field or cut down any from the forests. People do indeed know that things of a holy and Divine nature are meant, because the Word is holy and comes from God. But they cannot by any means know which things of a holy and Divine nature are contained in these words unless they know what the meaning is of ‘weapons’, ‘seven years’ and ‘seven months’, ‘wood from the field’ and ‘wood from the forests’. From this it is evident that without knowledge gained from the internal sense those prophetic utterances are completely unintelligible.

sRef Ps@119 @164 S3′ sRef Ps@79 @12 S3′ sRef Rev@15 @1 S3′ sRef Rev@5 @1 S3′ sRef Lev@26 @18 S3′ sRef Lev@26 @21 S3′ sRef Lev@26 @24 S3′ sRef Lev@26 @28 S3′ sRef Rev@15 @7 S3′ sRef Rev@1 @4 S3′ sRef Rev@15 @6 S3′ sRef 1Sam@2 @5 S3′ sRef Dan@9 @25 S3′ [3] In David,

Seven times in the day I praise You over the judgements of Your righteousness. Ps. 119:164.

In the same author,

Repay [our] neighbours sevenfold into their bosom. Ps. 79:12.

‘Sevenfold’ means completely. The meaning is similar in Moses, where it says that they would be punished sevenfold if they went against commandments and statutes, Lev. 26:18, 21, 24, 28. Anyone who does not know that ‘seven’ means a whole period from start to finish, and therefore what is complete, will suppose that ‘seven weeks’ in Daniel means seven lengths of time,

Know and perceive that from the going forth of the Word to restore and to build Jerusalem until the Messiah, the Prince, there will be seven weeks. Dan. 9:25.

But ‘seven weeks until the Messiah, the Prince’ means what is said of the Lord, namely that He will come in the fullness of time, so that ‘seven weeks’ means a whole period. From this it is evident that the seven spirits before God’s throne, Rev. 1:4, the book sealed with seven seals, Rev. 5:1, and the seven angels holding ‘the seven bowls, which are the seven last plagues, Rev. 15:1, 6, 7; 21:9, do not mean seven spirits, seven seals, or seven angels, bowls, and plagues, but all things even to completeness. The statement in 1 Sam. 2:5 that the barren has borne seven in like manner does not mean seven but a great amount, even to a complete amount.

sRef Lev@8 @33 S4′ sRef Ex@29 @37 S4′ sRef Dan@4 @25 S4′ sRef Ex@29 @35 S4′ sRef Ex@29 @30 S4′ sRef Lev@8 @34 S4′ sRef Luke@17 @4 S4′ sRef Dan@4 @23 S4′ sRef Matt@12 @43 S4′ sRef Dan@4 @16 S4′ sRef Matt@12 @44 S4′ sRef Job@2 @13 S4′ sRef Dan@4 @32 S4′ sRef Matt@12 @45 S4′ [4] Because ‘seven’ had this meaning it was stipulated that a priest at his initiation should wear the garments for seven days, Exod. 29:30; that his hands should be filled for seven days,** Exod. 29:35; that the altar should be sanctified for seven days, Exod. 29:37; and that those initiated into the priesthood should not depart from the tent [of meeting] for seven days, Lev. 8:33, 34. So too with the reference to the unclean spirit going out of a person and returning with seven others, Matt. 12:43-45; Luke 11:26; also where it says that if a brother sins seven times in a day and is seven times converted he is to be forgiven, Luke 17:4; and that the heart of Nebuchadnezzar was changed from [that of] a human being and the heart of a beast was given to him while seven times passed by, Dan. 4:15, 25, 32. For the same reasons also Job’s friends sat down with him on the earth seven days and seven nights and spoke nothing to him, Job 2:13. Seventy in a similar way means that which is complete, see 6508, as also does a week, 2044, 3845. From all this it now becomes clear that ‘the eighth day’ means the initial phase of the following state.
* lit. break
** i.e. his consecration should continue for seven days

sRef Ex@22 @31 S0′ 9229. ‘And men of holiness shall you be to Me’ means a state of life then composed of good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘men of holiness’ as those who are led by the Lord, for the Divine which emanates from the Lord is holiness itself, 6788, 7499, 8127 (end), 8302, 8806. Consequently those who receive that emanation in faith and also in love are called holy ones. Anyone who imagines that a person is holy from any other source, or that anything present with a person is holy apart from that which comes and is received from the Lord is very much mistaken; for that which is the person’s own, and is called his proprium, is evil.

The human proprium is nothing but evil, see 210, 215, 694, 874-876, 987, 1047, 4328, 5660, 5786, 8480, 8944.

To the extent that a person can be withheld from his proprium, the Lord can be present with him, and therefore to the same extent holiness resides with him, 1023, 1044, 1581, 2256, 2388, 2406, 2411, 8206, 8393, 8988 (end), 9014.

sRef John@20 @22 S2′ sRef John@17 @19 S2′ [2] The truth that the Lord is the Only Holy One, and that nothing is holy except that which emanates from the Lord, and so that which a person receives from the Lord, is evident from everywhere in the Word, as in John,

I make Myself holy, that they also may be made holy in the truth. John 17:19.

‘Making Himself holy’ means making Himself Divine by His own power. Consequently those who receive Divine Truth emanating from the Lord in faith and life are said to be ‘made holy in the truth’.

sRef Gen@2 @7 S3′ [3] This also explains why after the Resurrection, when the Lord spoke to the disciples, He breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit, John 20:22. ‘Breathing on (or into)’ was a sign that represented the imparting of life through faith and love, as also in Genesis,

Jehovah breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man (homo) became a living soul. Gen. 2:7.

Other examples like this may be seen elsewhere, such as Ps. 33:6; 104:29, 30; Job 32:8; 33:4; John 3:8. Therefore also the Word is said to be inspired because it comes from the Lord, and those who wrote the Word have been called ‘inspired’. Breathing, and so breathing on or inspiring, corresponds to the life of faith, see 97, 1119, 1120, 3883-3896. This explains why the term spirit in the Word is derived from the word for wind, and holiness from the Lord is called Jehovah’s wind, 8286, and why the Holy Spirit is the holiness emanating from the Lord, 3704, 4673 (end), 5307, 6788, 6982, 6993, 8127 (end), 8302, 9199.

sRef John@1 @33 S4′ sRef Rev@15 @4 S4′ sRef Luke@1 @35 S4′ sRef Dan@4 @13 S4′ sRef Luke@3 @16 S4′ [4] So also it says in John 1:33 that the Lord baptizes with the Holy Spirit, and in Luke 3:16 that He baptizes with the Holy Spirit and with fire. ‘Baptizing’ in the internal sense means regenerating, 4255, 5120 (end), 9088; ‘baptizing with the Holy Spirit’ means regenerating by means of the good of faith; and ‘baptizing with fire’ means regenerating by means of the good of love, ‘fire’ being the good of love, see 934, 4906, 5215, 6314, 6832, 6834, 6849, 7324. In John,

Who is not going to fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. Rev. 15:4.

In Luke the angel telling Mary about the Lord said,

That which is holy will be born from you. Luke 1:35.

And in Daniel,

I saw in the visions of my head while on my bed, and behold, a vigilant and holy one came down from heaven. Dan. 4:13.

In these places ‘that which is holy’ and ‘a holy one’ stand for the Lord.

[5] Because the Lord alone is holy He is called in the Old Testament the Holy One of Israel, the Redeemer, the Saviour, and the Regenerator, as in Isa. 1:4; 5:19, 24; 10:20; 12:6; 17:7; 29:19; 30:11, 12, 15; 31:1; 37:23; 41:14, 16, 20; 43:3, 14; 45:11; 47:4; 48:17; 49:7; 54:5; 55:5; 60:9, 14; Jer. 50:29; 51:5; Ezek. 39:7; Ps. 71:22; 78:41; 89:18. This is why the Lord in heaven, and consequently heaven itself, is called the dwelling-place of holiness, Jer. 25:30; 31:23;* Isa. 63:15; the sanctuary,** Ezek. 11:16; 24:21; and also the mountain of holiness, Ps. 3:4. It is also why the middle of the tent [of meeting], where the ark containing the law was, was called The Holy of Holies, Exod. 26:33, 34; for the law in the ark in the middle of the tent [of meeting], represented the Lord in respect of the Word. For the law is the Word, 6752, 7463.

[6] All this shows why it is that the angels are called holy in Matt. 25:31; Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26; Ps. 149:1; Dan. 8:13; also the prophets, Luke 1:70; and the apostles too, Rev. 18:20. Not that they are holy by their own virtue but that the Lord, who alone is holy and the only source of holiness, makes them so. For truths are meant by ‘the angels’, because they are those who receive truth from the Lord, 1925, 4085, 4295, 4402, 7268, 7873, 8192, 8301; teachings which present the truth that comes through the Word from the Lord are meant by ‘the prophets’, 2534, 7269; and all the truths and forms of the good of faith in their entirety which come from the Lord are meant by ‘the apostles’, 3488, 3858 (end), 6397.

sRef Ex@30 @29 S7′ sRef Ex@30 @28 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @13 S7′ sRef Ex@30 @27 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @14 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @16 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @17 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @15 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @21 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @22 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @10 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @6 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @5 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @8 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @7 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @9 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @4 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @2 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @1 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @12 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @11 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @3 S7′ sRef Ex@30 @26 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @23 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @37 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @20 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @21 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @22 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @27 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @26 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @25 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @44 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @28 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @29 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @35 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @34 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @24 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @18 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @36 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @19 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @32 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @30 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @31 S7′ sRef Ex@29 @33 S7′ [7] Consecrations*** among the Israelite and Jewish people took place in order that the Lord who alone was holy might be represented, and in order that holiness, which He alone is the source of, might be represented. This is the reason for the consecration of Aaron and his sons, Exod. 29:1ff; Lev. 8:10, 11, 13, 30; the consecration of their garments, Exod. 29:21ff; the consecration of the altar in order that it might be most holy,**** Exod. 29:37ff; the consecration of the tent of meeting, the ark of the Testimony, the table, all the vessels, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and its vessels, and the laver and its base, Exod. 30:26ff.

sRef Matt@23 @19 S8′ sRef Matt@23 @17 S8′ [8] The truth that the Lord is the real Holiness that was represented is evident also from the Lord’s words in Matthew when they are seen in the internal sense,

Fools and blind! Which of the two is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold holy? And which of the two is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy? Matt. 23:17-19.

‘The temple’ represented the Lord Himself, and so did ‘the altar’, while ‘the gold’ was a sign of the good that comes from the Lord, and ‘the gift’ or a sacrifice was a sign of things constituting faith and charity that come from the Lord.

The Lord was represented by ‘the temple’, see 2777, 3720, and by ‘the altar’, 2777, 2811, 4489, 8935, 8940. ‘Gold’ was a sign of good that comes from the Lord, 1551, 1552, 5658, and ‘a sacrifice’ a sign of worship springing from faith and charity that come from the Lord, 922, 923, 2805, 2807, 2830, 6905, 8680, 8682, 8936.

[9] From all this it is now evident why it is that the children of Israel were called a holy people in Deut. 26:19 and elsewhere, or as in the present verse men of holiness. That is to say, they were so called because every single aspect of their worship represented Divine realities that are the Lord’s, and celestial and spiritual things of His kingdom and Church. On this account they were called holy in a representative sense; they themselves were not holy on that account, because representatives had regard to the holy things that were represented, not to the person who represented them, see 665, 1097 (end), 1361, 3147, 3881 (end), 4208, 4281, 4288, 4293, 4307, 4444, 4500, 6304, 7048, 7439, 8588, 8788, 8806.

sRef Rev@11 @8 S10′ sRef Matt@27 @52 S10′ sRef Matt@27 @53 S10′ [10] On that account also was Jerusalem called holy, and Zion the mountain of holiness in Zech. 8:3 and elsewhere, as well as in Matthew,

And the tombs were opened, and many bodies of dead holy ones were raised; and coming out of their tombs after the Lord’s resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. Matt. 27:52, 53.

Here Jerusalem is called ‘the holy city’, when in fact, quite to the contrary, it was unholy because the Lord was crucified there at that time, for which reason it is called ‘Sodom and Egypt’ in John,

Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. Rev. 11:8.

Yet it is called holy, because it means the Lord’s kingdom and the Church, 402, 2117, 3654. The appearance of ‘dead holy ones’ there, an event witnessed by some in vision, was a sign of the salvation of people who belonged to the spiritual Church, and of the raising of those people to the Holy Jerusalem, which is heaven – the people who had been kept up to that time on the lower earth, spoken of in 6854, 6914, 7091, 7828, 7932, 8049, 8054, 8159, 8321.
* Jer. 31:23 refers to a dwelling-place of righteousness [and] mountain of holiness, to be exact
** i.e. an especially holy place
*** i.e. dedicating persons or things to holy functions or purposes
**** lit. the holiness of holinesses

sRef Ex@22 @31 S0′ 9230. ‘And you shall not eat flesh torn in the field’ means that falsified good of faith must not be joined [to oneself]. This is clear from the meaning of ‘flesh’ as good, dealt with in 7850, 9127; from the meaning of ‘the field’ as the Church in respect of good, thus the Church’s good, dealt with in 2971, 3766, 7502, 7571, 9139, 9141; from the meaning of ‘torn’ as something destroyed by falsities, thus also something falsified, dealt with in 5828; and from the meaning of ‘eating’ as making one’s own and joining [to oneself], dealt with in 2187, 3168, 3513 (end), 3596, 4745, 5643, 8001. From these meanings it is evident that ‘you shall not eat flesh torn in the field’ means that the Church’s good, or the good of faith, if it has been falsified, is not to be made one’s own or joined [to oneself].

[2] A brief statement must be made here about what the good of faith is and what the truth of faith is. The good of faith is a term that denotes everything of the Church that has to do with life and service inspired by teachings of the Church that compose its faith, in short, everything that has to do with willing those things and doing them in a spirit of obedience; for the Church’s truths of faith become, through people’s willing them and doing them, forms of good. But the truth of faith is a term that denotes everything which does not as yet have useful service as its end in view or does not exist for the sake of its use in life. Consequently it is something a person comes to know and retain in the memory, then grasps with his understanding, and goes on to teach. As long as the Church’s truths go no further than the understanding they are merely items of knowledge and known facts, and in contrast to forms of good stand outside the person himself. For the human memory and understanding are like the hall outside a room, and the will is so to speak the actual room, the will being the person himself. This shows what the truth of faith is and what the good of faith is. But the good that a person does in the first state, while he is being regenerated, is called the good of faith, whereas the good that he does in the second state, which is when he has been regenerated, is called the good of charity. When therefore a person doing good is governed by the good of faith, he does good in a spirit of obedience; but when someone doing good is governed by the good of charity, he does good out of affection. Regarding those two states with a person who is being regenerated, see 7923, 7992, 8505, 8506, 8510, 8512, 8516, 8643, 8648, 8658, 8685, 8690, 8701, 9224, 9227.

sRef Ex@22 @31 S0′ 9231. ‘You shall throw it to the dogs’ means that these things are unclean. This is clear from the meaning of ‘dogs’ as those who render the good of faith unclean by means of falsifications. For all beasts in the Word mean the affections and inclinations such as exist with a human being; gentle and useful beasts mean good affections and inclinations, but fierce and useless ones mean bad affections and inclinations. The reason why such things are meant by beasts is that the external or natural man is endowed with affections and inclinations similar to those that beasts possess, and also with similar appetites and similar senses. But the difference is that the human being has within himself what is called the internal man. And the internal man is so distinct and separate from the external that it can see things that arise in the external, rule them, and control them. The internal man can also be raised to heaven, even up to the Lord, and so be joined to Him in thought and affection, consequently in faith and love. Furthermore the internal man is so distinct and separate that it is parted from the external after death and lives on for evermore. These characteristics mark the human being off from beasts. But they are not seen by people who look at things on merely the natural level and the level of the senses; for their internal man is closed towards heaven. They draw no distinction therefore between the human being and a beast other than this, that the human being has the ability to speak; and even this is considered to be of little importance by those seeing things on merely the level of the senses.

sRef Matt@15 @26 S2′ sRef Matt@15 @27 S2′ [2] The reason why ‘dogs’ means those who render the good of faith unclean by means of falsifications is that dogs eat unclean things, and also yap and bite people. This also explains why nations outside the Church who were steeped in falsities arising from evil were called dogs by the Jews and considered to be utterly worthless. The fact that they were called ‘dogs’ is evident from the Lord’s words addressed to the woman who was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician, whose daughter was troubled grievously by a demon,

It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs. But she said, To be sure, Lord, but even the dogs eat from the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Matt. 15:26, 27; Mark 7:26-28.

Here it is self-evident that those outside the Church are meant by ‘the dogs’, and those within the Church by ‘the children’.

sRef Luke@16 @19 S3′ sRef Luke@16 @21 S3′ sRef Luke@16 @20 S3′ [3] Similarly in Luke,

There was a certain rich man (homo) who was clothed in purple and fine linen and indulged himself splendidly every day. But there was a poor one whose name was Lazarus, who was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be filled with the crumbs falling from the rich one’s table. Furthermore the dogs came and licked his sores. Luke 16:19-21.

‘The rich one clothed in purple and fine linen’ means those within the Church, ‘the purple and fine linen’ with which he was clothed being cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth that come from the Word. ‘A poor one’ means those within the Church with whom there is little good because they have no knowledge of truth, but who nevertheless have had a desire to receive instruction, 9209. He was referred to as Lazarus after the Lazarus whom the Lord raised from the dead, about whom it says that the Lord loved him, John 11:1-3, 36; that he was His friend, John 11:11; and that he sat at the table with the Lord, John 12:2. ‘His wish to be filled with the crumbs falling from the rich one’s table’ meant his desire to learn a few truths from those within the Church possessing them in abundance. ‘The dogs that licked his sores’ are those outside the Church who are governed by good, though not the authentic good of faith; ‘licking the sores’ is curing them as best they can.

sRef Rev@22 @15 S4′ sRef Deut@23 @18 S4′ sRef Matt@7 @6 S4′ [4] In John,

Outside are dogs, sorcerers, and fornicators. Rev. 22:15.

‘Dogs, sorcerers, and fornicators’ stands for those who falsify the good and truth of faith. They are said ‘to be outside’ when they are outside heaven or the Church. The fact that good which has been falsified, and so made unclean, is meant by ‘the dogs’ is also evident in Matthew,

Do not give what is holy to the dogs; do not cast your pearls before swine. Matt. 7:6.

In Moses,

You shall not bring a harlot’s reward, or the price of a dog, into Jehovah’s house for any vowed offering, because both are an abomination to your God. Deut. 23:18.

‘A harlot’s reward’ stands for falsified truths of faith, ‘the price of a dog’ for falsified forms of the good of faith. For the meaning of ‘whoredom’ as falsification of the truth of faith, see 2466, 2729, 4865, 8904.

sRef Ps@22 @16 S5′ sRef Ps@22 @20 S5′ [5] In David,

Dogs have surrounded me, the assembly of the wicked has encompassed me, piercing my hands and my feet. Deliver my soul from the sword, my only one from the power* of the dog. Ps. 22:16, 20.

‘Dogs’ here stands for those who destroy forms of the good of faith, who are therefore called ‘the assembly of the wicked’. ‘Delivering one’s soul from the sword’ means rescuing it from falsity that lays waste the truth of faith, ‘the sword’ being the falsity that lays waste the truth of faith, see 2799, 4499, 6353, 7102, 8294, and ‘soul’ the life of faith, 9050. From this it is also evident that ‘delivering my only soul from the power of the dog’ means rescuing it from falsity that lays waste the good of faith. When it was said that people were to be dragged and eaten by dogs, 1 Kings 14:11; 16:4; 21:23, 24; 2 Kings 9:10, 36; Jer. 15:3, the meaning was that they would be destroyed by unclean things. When people compared themselves to dead dogs, 1 Sam. 24:14; 2 Sam. 3:8; 9:8; 16:9, the meaning was that they would be considered utterly worthless ones who were to be cast out. What more is meant by ‘dogs’, see 7784.
* lit. hand

9232. MOON SPIRITS

Some spirits appeared overhead, and I heard voices coming from there which sounded like thunder; for their voices boomed just like thunder coming from the clouds after flashes of lightning. I assumed that it was a huge number of spirits who had been taught to use their voices to emit such a sound. But some quite ordinary spirits who were present with me laughed at them, which amazed me very much. The reason for their laughter soon became clear. It was that the spirits who boomed like thunder were not many but few, and also that they were small, like children, and that although they had previously terrified these other spirits by making such sounds they had been unable to do any harm whatever.

9233. So that I might know what they were like, some were sent down from the place on high where they boomed thunderously; and what was astonishing, one was carrying the other on his back. In this way the two drew near to me. Their faces did not appear to be unattractive, but they were longer than the faces of any other spirits. In height they were like children seven years old, but they had more powerful bodies; so they were midgets. I was told by angels that they came from the moon.

9234. The one carried by the other was let down and came to me, positioning himself on my left beneath the elbow. From there he spoke, saying that they boom in that way like thunder when they use their voices. By doing this they frighten spirits who wish to do them harm, some of whom they put to flight; and this enables them to go in safety wherever they wish. So that I might know for certain that the sound they made was of such a nature, that spirit went away from me to some others, though not completely out of sight, and boomed in a similar way. They went on to show me that their voice came up from the abdomen, like belching, to produce that booming sound.

9235. I realized that this characteristic of theirs arose from the fact that the inhabitants of the moon do not use their lungs to speak with, as the inhabitants of other planets do, but their abdomen, and so a collection of air there. This they do because the moon is not surrounded by an atmosphere like that around other planets.

9236. I have been told that the inhabitants of the moon correlate in the Grand Man with the shield-shaped or xiphoid cartilage, to which the ribs are attached in front and from which a white connective tissue comes down, which serves as a support to the abdominal muscles.

9237. Spirits and angels know that even the moon has inhabitants, for they often talk to them, and that the moons or satellites around the planet Jupiter and the planet Saturn are likewise inhabited. Those who have not seen them or talked to them nevertheless have no doubt that there are people on those moons also, since they are equally terrestrial bodies. And where a terrestrial body exists, so does the human being; for the human being is the end for the sake of which a terrestrial body exists, and the Supreme Being has created nothing without that end in view. Anyone who thinks rationally can see that the end for which creation exists is the human race, in order that heaven may be formed from it. The angels also say that a terrestrial body without the human race cannot remain in existence, since it is for the sake of the human being that God provides everything on such a body.

9238. At the end of the next chapter something will be said about why the Lord wished to be born on our planet and not on another.

9239. 23

TEACHINGS ABOUT CHARITY AND FAITH

People speak of believing in God and of believing the things that come from God. Believing in God is faith which saves; but believing the things that come from God is faith which by itself, without belief in God, does not save. For believing in God implies knowing those things and doing them, whereas believing the things that come from God implies knowing but not yet doing them. Those who are truly Christian know and do them, and in that way believe in God, whereas those who are not truly Christian know them but do not do them. The Lord calls the latter ‘foolish’ but the former ‘wise’, Matt. 7:24, 26.

9240. The learned within the Church call the faith which saves assurance and confidence, by which they mean the sure and confident faith that God the Father sent His Son to reconcile the human race to Himself and so to save those possessing that faith.

sRef John@1 @12 S0′ sRef John@1 @13 S0′ 9241. But the situation with assurance and confidence, as faith itself is called, is that people ruled by self-love and love of the world, that is, by evils and the falsities that arise from them, cannot possess that faith since their heart is not turned towards God, but towards self and the world. But those governed by charity towards the neighbour and love to the Lord can possess such faith since their heart is turned towards the Lord. This is also what the Lord teaches in John,

As many as received Him, to them He gave power to be sons of God, to those believing in His name, who were born, not of blood*, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man (vir), but of God. John 1:12, 13.

‘People born of blood, the will of the flesh, and the will of man’ are those who are ruled by evil and falsity that spring from self-love and love of the world; and ‘people born of God’ are those who are governed by the good of charity and faith that come from the Lord, see 5826.
* lit. bloods

9242. The confidence which in a pre-eminent sense is called faith seems to be a spiritual confidence even with the evil when their lives are in danger or when they are sick. But because in these circumstances their thought about the state of their life after death springs from fear of hell or from a selfish desire for heaven, they do not possess the confidence of faith. For that which springs from fear does not come from the heart; and that which springs from self-love comes from an evil heart. Therefore when such people’s lives cease to be in danger or when they recover from sickness they resume their old life, the life which was devoid of the confidence that is faith. From all this it is evident that faith which is called confidence can exist only with those who are governed by charity towards the neighbour and by love to the Lord.

9243. The faith meant by belief in the things that come from God, that is, truths that come from the Word, does not exist with those who are ruled by evils springing from self-love or from love of the world; for selfish or worldly love either rejects, annihilates, or perverts the truths of faith, 7491, 7492. From this it is again evident that these people do not possess the confidence of faith; for anyone who does not believe the truths that come from God cannot believe in God, since belief in God consists of truths that come from God.

9244. All who are governed by heavenly love have confidence that the Lord saves them. For they believe that the Lord came into the world to impart eternal life to those who believe and lead lives in keeping with what He taught and prescribed; that He regenerates those people and so makes them fit for heaven; and that He alone does this without a person’s aid, out of pure mercy. This is what believing in the Lord means.

sRef John@3 @19 S0′ sRef John@3 @21 S0′ sRef Luke@6 @47 S0′ sRef Luke@6 @46 S0′ sRef John@3 @20 S0′ sRef Luke@6 @48 S0′ sRef Luke@6 @49 S0′ 9245. The fact that those alone possess faith who lead lives in keeping with the prescriptions of faith is the Lord’s teaching in John,

Light has come into the world, but men preferred darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. Everyone who performs evil deeds hates the light and does not come to the light lest his deeds should be exposed. He however who does the truth comes to the light, so that his deeds may be clearly seen, because they have been wrought in God. John 3:19-21.

‘Coming to the light’ means attaining faith in the Lord, thus attaining faith from the Lord. The like is taught by Him in Luke,

Why do you call Me, Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say? Everyone who comes to Me, and hears My words and does them, is like a man building a house, who laid the foundation upon rock. But one who hears and does not do [them] is like a man building a house on ground without a foundation. Luke 6:46-end.

‘Those who do the Lord’s words’ are people who love their neighbour and love the Lord; for one who loves also does, John 14:20, 21, 23, 24; 15:9-17.

EXODUS 23

1 You shall not take up a report of vanity;* do not put your hand with the wicked to be a witness of violence.**

2 You shall not follow a multitude into evil things;*** and you shall not respond**** in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert [justice].

3 And you shall not show partiality towards***** a poor man in his dispute.

4 When you meet your enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him.

5 When you see the ass of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would cease from removing [it] for him,****** you shall surely remove [it] with him.*******

6 You shall not turn aside******** the judgement of your needy one in his dispute.

7 You shall keep yourself well away from the word of a lie;********* and do not kill the innocent and the righteous, for I will not justify the wicked.

8 And you shall not accept a gift,********** for a gift********** blinds those whose eyes are open and perverts the words of the righteous.

9 And a sojourner you shall not oppress; and you know the soul of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.

10 And six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce.

11 And in the seventh you shall let it rest, and let it lie fallow;*********** and the needy of your people will eat, and whatever is left by them************ the wild animal of the field will eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard, with your olive grove.

12 Six days you shall do your work,************* and on the seventh day you shall cease, in order that your ox and your ass may rest, and your female slave’s son and the sojourner may draw breath.**************

13 And all that I have said to you you shall keep. And you shall not mention the name of other gods; it shall not be heard on your lips.***************

14 Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year.

15 You shall keep the feast of unleavened bread (seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time of the month Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; and My face shall not be seen empty-handed****************);

16 And the feast of the harvest of the firstfruits of your labours, which you have sown in the field; and the feast of ingathering at the end***************** of the year, when you have gathered in [the fruit of] your labours from the field.

17 Three times in the year all your males shall be seen at the face of the Lord Jehovah.

18 You shall not sacrifice the blood of My sacrifice with anything made with yeast;****************** and the fat of My feast shall not remain through the night until morning.

19 The first of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of Jehovah your God. You shall not cook a kid in its mother’s milk.

20 Behold, I send an angel before you to keep you safe on the way, and to bring you to the place which I have prepared.

21 Take notice of his face, and hear his voice, lest you provoke him, for he will not bear your transgression; for My name is in the middle of him.

22 For if you indeed hear his voice and do all that I speak, I will act as enemy to your enemies and will act as adversary to your adversaries.

23 When My angel goes before you, and brings you to the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, and I cut them off,

24 You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; for you shall utterly destroy them and completely break to pieces their pillars.

25 And you shall serve Jehovah your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will remove sickness from the midst of you.

26 None will suffer miscarriage or be barren******************* in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.

27 I will send My terror before you and throw into confusion all the people to whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their necks towards you.********************

28 And I will send the hornet before you, and it will drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you.

29 I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest perhaps the land becomes desolate and the wild animal of the field multiplies against you.

30 Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you become fruitful and inherit the land.

31 And I will set your boundary from the Sea Suph even to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness even to the River;********************* for I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will drive them out********************** from before you.

32 You shall not make a covenant with them and their gods.

33 They shall not dwell in your land, lest perhaps they cause you to sin against Me when you serve their gods; for it will be a snare to you.
* i.e. accept and spread a report that has no truth in it
** i.e. a malicious witness
*** lit. You shall not be after many towards evil things
**** i.e. testify
***** i.e. not have respect for
****** i.e. hold back from helping him to lift the burden from the animal
******* i.e. help him lift the burden
******** i.e. pervert or overturn
********* i.e. Have nothing to do with a false charge against someone
********** i.e. a bribe
*********** lit. leave off [with] it, and leave it alone
************ lit. and their residue
************* lit. works
************** i.e. may be refreshed
*************** lit. mouth
**************** i.e. no one shall come without a gift or offering to the Lord
***************** lit. the going out
****************** lit. upon that which has been fermented (or made with yeast)
******************* lit. There will not be the miscarrying one and the barren one
******************** lit. I will give all your enemies to you [as to] the neck
********************* i.e. the Euphrates
********************** The Latin means I will drive them out but the Hebrew means you will drive them out.

sRef Ex@23 @0 S0′ 9246. CONTENTS

This chapter deals in the internal sense with falsities in doctrine and evils in life that people must steer clear of; and when they do so truths in doctrine and forms of good in life, by means of which a member of the Church is regenerated by the Lord, are implanted.


sRef Ex@23 @3 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @1 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @2 S0′ 9247. THE INTERNAL SENSE

Verses 1-3 You shall not take up a report of vanity*; do not put your hand with the wicked to be a witness of violence.** You shall not follow a multitude into evil things;*** and you shall not respond**** in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert [justice]. And you shall not show partiality towards***** a poor man in his dispute.

‘You shall not take up a report of vanity’ means not listening to false ideas. ‘Do not put your hand with the wicked’ means not obeying malevolent feelings. ‘To be a witness of violence’ means not affirming such things as are contrary to the good of charity. ‘You shall not follow a multitude into evil things’ means not being associated with such things. ‘And you shall not respond in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert [justice]’ means not being associated with those who turn forms of good and truths into falsities and evils, and vice versa. ‘And you shall not show partiality towards a poor man in his dispute’ means that no favour must be shown towards the falsities that exist with those who have no knowledge of truth.
* i.e. accept and spread a report that has no truth in it
** i.e. a malicious witness
*** lit. you shall not be after many towards evil things
**** i.e. testify
***** i.e. not have respect for

sRef Ezek@13 @9 S0′ sRef Ezek@13 @7 S0′ sRef Ezek@13 @6 S0′ sRef Ezek@13 @8 S0′ sRef Ezek@12 @24 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @1 S0′ 9248. ‘You shall not take up a report of vanity’ means not listening to false ideas. This is clear from the meaning of ‘taking up a report’ as hearing and doing, thus listening, for to express the idea of a report the original language uses a word that means hearing; and from the meaning of ‘vanity’ as falsity, in particular falsity in doctrine and religious practice, as becomes clear from the following places: In Ezekiel,

No more will there be any vision of vanity or flattering divination in the midst of the house of Israel. Ezek. 12:24.

‘A vision of vanity’ stands for a false revelation. In the same prophet,

They have seen vanity and lying divination.* Because you speak vanity and see a lie, therefore behold, I am against you, that My hand may be against the prophets who see vanity and divine a lie. Ezek. 13:6-9.

‘The prophets’, of whom it says here that they see vanity and divine a lie, means teachers, and in the abstract sense doctrinal teachings, 2534, 7269. Furthermore prophets are spoken of as seeing things, which also is why they were called ‘seers’ in ancient times, 1 Sam. 9:9; and they are spoken of as divining them too. sRef Jer@18 @15 S2′ sRef Lam@2 @14 S2′ sRef Hos@12 @11 S2′ sRef Ezek@21 @29 S2′ sRef Zech@10 @2 S2′ [2] When ‘seeing’ or ‘vision’ is attributed to the prophets, revelation in regard to doctrine is meant in the internal sense; and when ‘divining’ or ‘divination’ is attributed to them, revelation in regard to life is meant. And since ‘vanity’ means falsity in doctrine and ‘a lie’ falsity in life, the words ‘they have seen vanity and lying divination’ are used. In the same prophet,

What they see for you is vanity, and what they divine for you is a lie. Ezek. 21:29.

In Zechariah,

The teraphim speak iniquity, and the diviners see a lie, and they speak dreams of vanity.** Zech. 10:2.

In Jeremiah,

The prophets have seen vanity. Lam. 2:14.

The fact that ‘vanity’ means falsity in doctrine and religious practice is also evident in Hosea,

They have become vanity; in Gilgal they sacrifice bulls. Hosea 12:11.

In Jeremiah,

My people have forgotten Me; they have burned incense to vanity. Jer. 18:15.

The like may be seen elsewhere, such as Isa. 5:18; 30:28; 59:4; Ps. 12:2; 119:37, 38; 144:7, 8.
* lit. divination of a lie
** i.e. they tell false dreams

sRef Ex@23 @1 S0′ 9249. ‘Do not put your hand with the wicked’ means not obeying malevolent feelings. This is clear from the meaning of ‘putting the hand’ as obeying (for ‘the hand’ means power, 878, 3387, 4931-4937, 5327, 5328, 6292, 7188, 7189, 7518, 7673, 8153, 8281), and as what resides with a person, thus the person himself to the extent that he has power within him, 9133, so that ‘putting one’s hand with someone’ means making common cause with him, which – when malevolence motivates it, meant by ‘the wicked – is obeying, since malevolence is persuasive and leads a person on; and from the meaning of ‘the wicked’ as one who is malevolent, and in the abstract sense malevolence. The term ‘in the abstract sense’ is used because angels, who understand the spiritual sense of the Word, that is, who perceive the Word on a spiritual level, think and speak in the abstract, without envisaging any actual person, 4380 (end), 8343, 8985, 9007; with them the idea of a person is converted into that of some reality, 5225, 5287, 5434.

sRef Ex@23 @1 S0′ 9250. ‘To be a witness of violence’ means not affirming such things as are contrary to the good of charity. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a witness’ as confirmation, dealt with in 4197, 8908; and from the meaning of ‘violence’ as the destruction of the good of charity, dealt with in 6353, so that ‘being a witness of violence’ means affirming things contrary to the good of charity.

sRef Ex@23 @2 S0′ 9251. ‘You shall not follow a multitude into evil things’ means not being associated with such things, that is to say, with those mentioned above, namely listening to false ideas, obeying malevolent feelings, and affirming such things as are contrary to the good of charity. These are the ‘evil things’ that are meant. ‘Following after a multitude’ means being with many, thus being associated with them. For the original language speaks of ‘being after’, ‘going after’, and ‘walking after’, which are used to mean being with and following, and so being associated with, as in Jer. 7:9; 11:10; 1 Sam. 17:13; 1 Kings 14:8; Deut. 4:3; 8:19; and elsewhere.

sRef Ex@23 @2 S0′ 9252. ‘[And] you shall not respond in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert [justice]’ means not being associated with those who turn forms of good and truths into evils and falsities, and vice versa. This is clear from the meaning of ‘responding in a dispute’ as answering in regard to what is just and fair, and what is good and true, about which there is contention, dealt with in 9024*, for ‘answering’ means giving an opinion and expressing a judgement; from the meaning of ‘turning aside after many’ as conforming with many and so being associated with them; and from the meaning of ‘perverting’ as turning truth into falsity and good into evil, and vice versa.
* The word rendered dispute here in Chapter 23 is rendered quarrel in 9024.

sRef Ex@23 @3 S0′ 9253. ‘And you shall not show partiality towards a poor man in his dispute’ means that no favour must be shown towards the falsities that exist with those who have no knowledge of truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a poor man’ as those who possess few truths, and also possess falsities owing to lack of knowledge. But those among them who are governed by good wish to be taught truths, whereas those who are ruled by evil have no wish to be taught them. For the falsities with those governed by good can be bent towards truths and at length be dispelled, but the falsities with those ruled by evil cannot be bent towards truths and so cannot be dispelled. Regarding such poor persons it says that ‘you shall not show partiality towards them in their dispute’, that is, you shall show no favour towards their falsities; for ‘showing partiality towards’ means showing favour towards, and ‘dispute’ means truth contending with falsity, and falsity with truth.

‘The poor’ are those who possess few truths, also falsities owing to lack of knowledge, see 9209. Falsities with those who are governed by good are soft and bendable, but with those who are ruled by evil are not soft or bendable, 4736, 6359, 8051, 8149, 8298, 8311, 8318 (end).

sRef Ex@23 @9 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @6 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @8 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @7 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @4 S0′ 9254. Verses 4-9 When you meet your enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him. When you see the ass of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would cease from removing [it] for him,* you shall surely remove [it] with him.** You shall not turn aside*** the judgement of your needy one in his dispute. You shall keep yourself well away from the word of a lie;**** and do not kill the innocent and the righteous, for I will not justify the wicked. And you shall not accept a gift,***** for a gift***** blinds those whose eyes are open and perverts the words of the righteous. And a sojourner you shall not oppress; and you know the soul of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.

‘When you meet your enemy’s ox or his ass going astray’ means unauthentic good and unauthentic truth with those who are outside the Church. ‘You shall surely bring it back to him’ means teaching and correcting. ‘When you see the ass of one who hates you lying under its burden’ means falsity that does not accord with the Church’s good, as a result of which they will perish. ‘And you would cease from removing [it] for him’ means not receiving truth. ‘You shall surely remove [it] with him’ means nevertheless exhorting and striving hard to correct. ‘You shall not turn aside the judgement of your needy one in his dispute’ means not destroying the small amount of truth with those lacking in knowledge. ‘You shall keep yourself well away from the word of a lie’ means detesting falsity arising from evil. ‘And do not kill the innocent and the righteous’ means detesting the destruction of good, interior and exterior. ‘For I will not justify the wicked’ means that such malevolence is contrary to Divine righteousness. ‘And you shall not accept a gift’ means detesting any kind of gain. ‘For a gift blinds those whose eyes are open’ means that gain prevents truths from being seen. ‘And perverts the words of the righteous’ means that it causes things which are seen to look like the truths of good. ‘And a sojourner you shall not oppress’ means that those with a desire to receive instruction in the Church’s truths must not be molested with evils of life. ‘And you know the soul of a sojourner’ means their desire and life. ‘For you were sojourners in the land of Egypt’ means that they were protected from falsities and evils when they were molested by those from hell.
* i.e. hold back from helping him to lift the burden from the animal
** i.e. help him lift the burden
*** i.e. pervert or overturn
**** i.e. Have nothing to do with a false charge against someone
***** i.e. a bribe

sRef Ex@23 @4 S0′ 9255. ‘When you meet your enemy’s ox or his ass going astray’ means unauthentic good and unauthentic truth with those who are outside the Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘enemy’ as those outside the Church, who are the subject below; from the meaning of ‘ox’ as the external man’s good, and from the meaning of ‘ass’ as the external man’s truth, both dealt with in 2781, 9135 – but unauthentic good and truth, such as exists with those outside the Church, who are meant by ‘enemy’. The reason why those outside the Church are meant by ‘enemy’ is that they have a different idea of what the good and truth of faith are, because they do not possess the Word and therefore do not know anything about the Lord or about Christian faith and charity that come from the Lord alone. Consequently their truth of faith is not authentic, neither is their good of charity. Therefore also they do not live together in the next life with those who belong to the Church but are separated from them. All in the next life are formed into communities according to their good and the truth flowing from it, for these are what compose spiritual life and link people together.

[2] However, those in heaven do not regard people outside the Church as enemies; rather they teach them and bring them to Christian good, which is also welcomed by those of them who in the world have led dutiful and obedient lives, in some kind of charity towards one another that is prescribed by their religion. But the sense of the letter of the Word calls them ‘enemies’ on account of their lack of spiritual agreement, which is, as has been stated, their different idea of what the truth of faith and the good of charity are. See what has been shown from experience regarding the state and condition in the next life of nations outside the Church, in 2589-2604, 2861, 2863, 4190, 4197. The requirement to regard these very people as friends, and to teach and correct them, is the meaning in the internal sense of the words you shall surely bring it back, which the next paragraph deals with.

[3] Only this needs to be added here, that in the Word various kinds of beasts mean affections and inclinations such as the human being shares in common with beasts, and in the spiritual sense affections for goodness and truth, internal and external, see 45, 46, 142, 143, 246, 714, 715, 776, 2179, 2180, 2781, 3218, 3519, 5198, 9090; and that beasts were therefore used in sacrifices in accordance with their spiritual meaning, 1823, 2180, 2805, 2807, 2830, 3519. Consequently this law of personal conduct stating that an enemy’s oxen and asses going astray should be brought back to him means in the spiritual sense such things as are characteristic of the Church, thus such as are feelings of mutual love or charity towards those whose ideas are different from the Church’s truths.

sRef Matt@5 @46 S0′ sRef Matt@5 @47 S0′ sRef Matt@5 @43 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @4 S0′ sRef Matt@5 @44 S0′ 9256. ‘You shall surely bring it back to him’ means teaching and correcting. This is clear from the meaning of ‘bringing back’, when it refers to those outside the Church who are governed by unauthentic good and truth, as teaching and correcting; for this is how they are ‘brought back’. Doing good to those outside the Church is also meant by the Lord’s words in Matthew,

You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say to you, Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? And if you salute only your brothers, what more are you doing [than others]? Matt. 5:43-47.

Here also ‘enemies’ and ‘those who hate’ in the spiritual sense mean those who have a different idea of what forms of good and the truths of faith are, in general those who are outside the Church, since the Jewish nation considered them to be adversaries whom they were allowed to consign to slaughter and to kill with impunity. It is evident that they are meant in the spiritual sense by ‘enemies’, since it says, ‘If you salute only your brothers, what more are you doing [than others]?’ For all were called brothers who were born of Jacob, thus who were within the Church.

[2] To enlarge on the subject of those outside the Church, called the gentiles, they are indeed subject to falsities in doctrine, which however is due to lack of knowledge because they do not possess the Word. Nevertheless when they have received instruction they have a clearer perception and consequently a more internal perception of what heavenly life means for a person than Christians have. The reason for this is that they have not set themselves firmly against the truths of faith as very many Christians have done. Consequently their internal man is not closed but is as it is with young children, open to and receptive of truth. For those who have set themselves firmly against the truths and forms of the good of faith, as all who lead an evil life do, close their internal man above and open it below.

[3] As a result of this the attention of the internal man is focused solely on things below, that is, on the external or natural man, and through this on things that exist in the world, round about their body, and on this planet. And when this is so, they look downwards, that is, towards hell. With people like this the internal man cannot be opened towards heaven unless the negative rejections of truth or positive acceptances of falsity which have closed it are banished; and these must be banished while they are in the world. This cannot be accomplished except by a complete turning around of their life, thus over a number of years. For falsities line up in rows, make a continuous chain from one to another, and form the actual natural mind and the way it sees things that belong to the Church and to heaven. Consequently all matters of faith and charity, that is, everything taught by the Church or contained in the Word, in general everything heavenly and Divine is thick darkness to those people, and conversely everything worldly and earthly is light. From this it is evident that destroying falsities with such people means destroying the life they have, and that if they are to possess a new kind of life falsities must be gradually rooted out and truths and forms of good implanted instead. And these must in a similar way form a continuous chain from one to another and be lined up in rows. This is what is meant by a complete turning around of their life that cannot take place except over a number of years. Therefore anyone who imagines that a person can be made new in an instant is much mistaken.

[4] But those who have not set themselves firmly against the forms of good and the truths of faith – those for instance who are outside the Church and yet have lived in some kind of faith and charity in accord with their religion – have not been able to close their internal man through negative rejections of truth and positive acceptances of falsity that are contrary to the truth of faith founded on the Word. Therefore also – if not in the world, nevertheless in the next life – their internal can be opened above, that is, in the direction of heaven and of the Lord. And at the same time all the earthly and worldly ideas they have brought with them from their life in the world are raised up, in order that they may all look upwards together. These then bring them into a condition to receive the truths of faith from the Lord and forms of the good of charity, to have intelligence and wisdom conferred on them, and so to be endowed with eternal happiness. Such is the condition of all who lead a good life in accord with their religion. For this reason the Lord’s Church is spread throughout the whole world. But the Lord’s Church on earth is like the Grand Man in heaven, whose heart and lungs are where the Word exists, and the remaining members and internal organs, which depend for their life on the heart and lungs, are where the Word does not exist.

sRef Isa@42 @6 S5′ sRef Isa@11 @10 S5′ sRef Isa@9 @3 S5′ sRef Isa@42 @7 S5′ sRef Isa@9 @2 S5′ [5] All this also goes to show why it is that a new Church is always established among gentile nations who are outside the Church, 2986, 4747, which takes place when the old Church has closed heaven to itself, as stated above. So it is that the Church was transferred from the Jewish people to gentile nations, and also that the Church at the present day is now being transferred to gentiles. sRef Isa@55 @4 S6′ sRef Luke@2 @30 S6′ sRef Luke@2 @32 S6′ sRef Luke@2 @31 S6′ sRef Isa@60 @4 S6′ sRef Isa@55 @5 S6′ sRef Isa@60 @3 S6′ sRef Isa@60 @5 S6′ [6] The fact that the Church is transferred to gentile nations who acknowledge the Lord is clear from very many places in the Word, such as the following: In Isaiah,

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; those dwelling in the land of the shadow of death, upon them has the light shone out. You have multiplied the nation; for them You have made joy great. Isa. 9:2, 3.

In the same prophet,

It will happen on that day, that the nations will seek the root of Jesse, which is standing as an ensign of the peoples; and His rest will be glory. Isa. 11:10.

In the same prophet,

I Jehovah have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand, because I will guard You, and give You to be a covenant of the people,* a light of the nations, to open the blind eyes, to bring the bound out of prison, out of the dungeon-house those who sit in darkness. Isa. 42:6, 7.

In the same prophet,

Lo, I have given Him as a witness to the peoples, a Prince and Lawgiver to the peoples.** Lo, You will call a nation You do not know, and a nation that did not know You will run to You, on account of Jehovah Your God, and because of the Holy One of Israel. Isa. 55:4, 5.

In the same prophet,

Nations will walk to Your light, and kings to the brightness of Your rising. Lift up Your eyes round about; they all gather together and they come towards You. Your sons come from far, and Your daughters are carried at the side by nurses. Then You will see and abound, and Your heart will be astounded and enlarge itself because the abundance of the sea will be turned to You, the armies of the nations will come to You. Isa. 60:3-5.

In Simeon’s prophecy regarding the Lord after His birth, in Luke,

My eyes have seen Your*** salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light for revelation to the gentiles.**** Luke 2:30-32.

sRef Matt@21 @42 S7′ sRef Luke@13 @30 S7′ sRef Matt@21 @43 S7′ sRef Luke@13 @29 S7′ [7] All these places, in which the Lord is the subject, declare that gentile nations will come to Him. They come to Him when they acknowledge Him as their God; and what is amazing, such nations worship the one and only God manifested in human form. When therefore they learn about the Lord they receive and acknowledge Him; and a new Church cannot be established among any others. The fact that the Church is established among such nations is further evident from the following words that are the Lord’s, in Matthew,

Have you not read in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected has become the corner-stone?***** Therefore I say to you, The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits [of it]. Matt. 21:42, 43.

‘The stone’ is the Lord, 6426, ‘the builders’ are those who belong to the Church. And the fact that these will be last and the gentile nations first is evident from His words in Luke,

They will come from the east and the west, and from the north and the south, reclining in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last. Luke 13:29, 30.
* The Latin means for the people but the Hebrew means of the people, which Sw. has in some other places where he quotes this verse.
** The Latin means nations but the Hebrew means peoples, which Sw. has in some other places where he quotes this verse.
*** The Latin means God’s but the Greek means Your, which Sw. has in other places where he quotes this verse.
**** or nations
***** lit. the head of the corner

sRef Ex@23 @5 S0′ sRef Isa@65 @11 S0′ 9257. ‘When you see the ass of one who hates you lying under its burden’ means falsity that does not accord with the Church’s good, as a result of which they will perish. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the ass’ as true factual knowledge, and so in the contrary sense false factual knowledge, dealt with in 2781, 5492, 5741, 8078; from the meaning of ‘one who hates’, when used in reference to what is false, as that which is contrary to the Church’s good, thus that which is not in accord with it (for ‘hatred’ in the spiritual sense is repugnance and dissension between truths and falsities, and between forms of good and evils, 3605, 4681, 4684); and from the meaning of ‘lying under a burden’ as perishing. From these meanings it is evident that ‘the ass of one who hates you lying under its burden’ means falsity that does not accord with the Church’s good, as a result of which they will perish.

sRef Ex@23 @5 S0′ 9258. ‘And you would cease from removing [it] for him’ means not receiving truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘ceasing from removing’ as not giving instruction and correcting, at this point not being able to receive instruction, and so not receiving truth since what is said refers to falsity which does not accord with the Church’s good, and that falsity is such. The fact that ‘removing’ has this meaning in the spiritual sense is evident from this consideration, that words are used with reference to the matter under discussion. Thus ‘removing’ is used in the sense of the letter with reference to the burden under which the ass lies, and in the internal sense with reference to the falsity that is not in accord with the Church’s good. In the internal sense therefore not removing from falsity by means of correction is meant, thus also not receiving truth brought about through such correcting or removing. There are falsities which are in accord with the Church’s good, and there are falsities which are not in accord with it. The falsities that are in accord are ones which have good lying hidden within them, and which for that reason can be brought by the good nearer to truths. But the falsities that are not in accord with the Church’s good are ones which have evil lying hidden within them, and which for that reason cannot be brought nearer to truths.

[2] As regards the good which lies within authentic truths, or else within unauthentic truths, which have been called falsities immediately above, and as regards the evil within falsities and even within truths, that good or evil is like the reproductive germ of life in the seed of a fruit. When the fruit starts to grow all its fibres fix their attention on the germ in the seed; they nourish it with juice passing through them and form it. But once it has been formed the fibres forsake it and convey the juice away from the seed. As a consequence the flesh of the fruit deteriorates and goes rotten, and then it serves the germ as its soil. The same applies to the seed itself when the germ in it begins a new phase of development in the ground. The germ of life in new shoots corresponds to the good within a person; the seed itself corresponds to the inward parts of his being; and the flesh around the seed corresponds to the outward parts. When the inward part of a person is formed anew or regenerated, the factual knowledge and truths belonging to the external man are like the fibres of a fruit through which juice is transported to the inward part. And afterwards, when the person has been regenerated, they are separated and serve as the soil [for the inward part]. Something similar happens in the person’s inward part to which the seed corresponds. The good which has been formed in that manner gives rise to a new person, just as the germ within the seed develops into a new tree or new shoot. In this way all things are made new, after which they multiply and remain fruitful for evermore. So it is that the new person becomes like a garden, a paradise garden, to which also he is compared in the Word.

sRef Matt@13 @32 S3′ sRef Matt@13 @31 S3′ [3] This is the meaning of the Lord’s words in Matthew,

The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a person took and sowed in his field, which is the smallest of all seeds. But when it has grown it is the greatest of all plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches. Matt. 13:31, 32.

These words make clear what the situation is with authentic truths and unauthentic truths which have good within them, namely this: When the good has been formed it gives rise to truths such as are in accord with good. Even if they are unauthentic truths they are accepted as though they were authentic ones because they savour of good; for they derive their very being and life from it. Good germinates and develops by means of truths, and while it is developing it is constantly endeavouring to give birth to new good which holds a like ability to germinate. It acts in much the same way as the seed’s reproductive germ does in a new shoot or tree when this comes up out of the ground and exists to produce new fruit and new seeds. But there are endless varieties, the different natures of which are determined by the kinds of good that have been formed through a charitable life led in keeping with the commandments of faith.

sRef John@15 @4 S4′ sRef John@15 @5 S4′ sRef John@15 @6 S4′ sRef Matt@7 @20 S4′ sRef Matt@7 @17 S4′ sRef Matt@7 @18 S4′ sRef Matt@7 @19 S4′ [4] By contrast one can see also what the situation is with falsities which have evil within them, namely that they are like trees which bear bad fruit, which must be uprooted and thrown into the fire, in accordance with the Lord’s words in Matthew,

Every good tree bears good fruit, but a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them. Matt. 7:17-20; 12:33.

And in John,

Jesus said, As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you cannot do anything. If a person does not abide in Me he will be cast forth as a branch and be withered; and they gather it and throw it into the fire, and it is burned. John 15:4-6.

From this it is evident that all good which is going to bear any fruit begins in the Lord, and unless it comes from Him it is not good.

sRef Ex@23 @5 S0′ 9259. ‘You shall surely remove [it] with him’ means nevertheless exhorting and striving hard to correct. This is clear from the meaning of ‘removing’, when used in reference to falsity which is not in accord with the Church’s good, as correcting, as above in 9258, at this point striving hard to correct and exhorting since such falsity is not easily corrected. The falsities which are not in accord with the Church’s good are all those that are contrary to the Lord, and to the good of love to Him and to the good of charity towards the neighbour. Something else which shows that the kinds of things which have now been explained lie concealed within these two laws or judgements is the fact that people hardly ever find themselves in the situations described in the literal sense. That is to say, they hardly ever meet an enemy’s ox or ass going astray, or see the ass of one who hates them lying under its burden. These situations would not therefore have been important enough for them to be included among the laws and judgements declared from Mount Sinai; but the truths they hold within themselves place them among the chief judgements. For they hold within them the truth that even the gentiles were to be loved, taught the truths of faith, and led to correct their life. But these truths within these laws could not be disclosed to the Israelite and Jewish people because they were interested only in things of an external nature and not in anything internal, and because they had received it from their fathers that they should hate and therefore regard as enemies and adversaries all who were not related to them as brothers, that is, who were not born from Jacob. Regarding what the Jews were like, see 4307, 4314, 4316, 4317, 4429, 4433, 4444, 4825, 4903, 6304, 8588, 8788, 8806, 8871.

sRef Ex@23 @6 S0′ 9260. ‘You shall not turn aside the judgement of your needy one in his dispute’ means not destroying the small amount of truth with those lacking in knowledge. This is clear from the meaning of ‘turning aside’ as perverting and so destroying; from the meaning of ‘the judgement’ as that which is upright and true, dealt with in 2235, 2335, 5068, 6397, 7206, 8685, 8695, 8972; from the meaning of ‘needy one’ as those who have only a small amount of truth owing to lack of knowledge and still have a desire to receive instruction, dealt with in 9209; and from the meaning of ‘dispute’ or ‘quarrel’ as contention, dealt with in 5963, 9024. ‘In his dispute’ here means in his cause involving the small amount of truth which he contends for.

sRef Ex@23 @7 S0′ 9261. ‘You shall keep yourself well away from the word of a lie’ means detesting falsity that arises from evil. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a lie’ as falsity arising from evil, dealt with in 8908, 9248, falsity arising from evil being meant since it is the falsity people should keep well away from because it derives its essential nature from evil, and evil and good are contrary to each other because evil comes from hell and good comes from heaven, where it is received from the Lord (but falsity which does not arise from evil, being falsity due to lack of knowledge, is not the same, see 1679, 2863, 4551, 4552, 4729, 4736, 6359, 7272, 7574, 8149, 8311, 8318 (end), 9258); and from the meaning of ‘keeping oneself well away from’ as detesting. The origin of this meaning of ‘keeping well away from’ as detesting lies with things seen in the spiritual world, where people’s differences, disagreements, and detestations in regard to aspects of spiritual life keep them apart from one another. For in that world people seen together in the same place are in a like state in regard to their feelings and consequently their thoughts. But as soon as there is disagreement among them they are separated and kept apart from one another, as far away as the degree of disagreement determines. This is what happens because in the spiritual world extensions of space, like periods of time, are states also, and therefore distances are differences between states. Nevertheless states manifest themselves visually there as extensions of space, and the differences between them as distances. Regarding extensions of space and distances, and also periods of time, that they are states, see 1273-1277, 1376-1381, 2625, 3356, 3387, 3404, 3638-3641, 4321, 4882, 7381, 9104. Yet nevertheless there appear to be extensions of space and distances, but such appearances are the direct product of the changes of the state which things on more internal levels undergo, 5605. From all this it is now evident that ‘keeping well away from’ in the internal sense means detesting.

sRef Ex@23 @7 S0′ 9262. ‘And do not kill the innocent and the righteous’ means detesting the destruction of good, interior and exterior. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the innocent’ as a person governed by interior good, and so in the abstract sense as interior good, dealt with below; from the meaning of ‘the righteous’ as a person governed by exterior good, and in the abstract sense as exterior good, since ‘righteous’ has reference to the good of love towards the neighbour, but ‘innocent’ to the good of love to the Lord – the good of love towards the neighbour being exterior good, and the good of love to the Lord being interior good; and from the meaning of ‘killing’ as destroying. The fact that ‘righteous’ means the good of love towards the neighbour will also be seen below. But the reason why ‘the innocent’ means the good of love to the Lord is that people endowed with innocence are those who love the Lord; for innocence consists in the acknowledgement in a person’s heart that left to himself he intends nothing but evil and perceives nothing but falsity, and that all good of love and all truth of faith come from the Lord alone. No others can acknowledge these things in their heart except those who have been joined to the Lord in love. Such people inhabit the inmost heaven, which is accordingly called the heaven of innocence. Therefore the good that is theirs is interior good; for the Divine Good of Love coming from the Lord is that which inhabitants of the heaven of innocence receive. Therefore also they appear naked and also look like young children. So it is that innocence is represented by nakedness and also by early childhood. For its representation by nakedness, see 165, 213, 214, 8375; and by early childhood, 430, 1616, 2280, 2305, 2306, 3183, 3494, 4563, 4797, 5608 (end).

[2] From all that has just been stated regarding innocence it may be seen that what is Divine and the Lord’s cannot be received except within innocence. This being so, good is not good unless there is innocence within it, 2526, 2780, 3994, 6765, 7840, 7887, that is, unless there is the acknowledgement that from the self nothing but evil and falsity arises and that from the Lord comes all goodness and truth. Believing the former about the self, and believing the latter about the Lord and also desiring it to be so, are what constitutes innocence. Therefore the good of innocence is God’s goodness itself coming from the Lord and residing with a person. So it is that ‘the innocent’ means a person governed by interior good and in the abstract sense means interior good.

sRef Deut@21 @6 S3′ sRef Deut@21 @5 S3′ sRef Deut@21 @4 S3′ sRef Deut@21 @2 S3′ sRef Deut@21 @3 S3′ sRef Deut@21 @9 S3′ sRef Deut@21 @7 S3′ sRef Deut@21 @1 S3′ sRef Deut@21 @8 S3′ [3] Because ‘the innocent’ or ‘innocence’ means Divine Good coming from the Lord, shedding innocent blood was a thoroughly atrocious crime. And when it had been committed the whole land was under damnation until the crime had been expiated, as becomes clear from the process of investigation and absolution from guilt if someone had been found slain in the land. That process is spoken of in Moses as follows,

When one is found slain in the land, lying in the field, and it is not known who smote him, then your elders and your judges shall come out and they shall measure [the distance] to the cities which are around the one slain. It shall be however, that in the city nearest to the one slain the elders of this city shall take an ox’s heifer by means of which no work has been done, which has not pulled in the yoke; and the elders of this city shall bring the heifer down to a barren valley which is neither tilled nor sown, and there they shall break the heifer’s neck in the valley. Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, and all the elders of this city standing by the one slain. They shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck has been broken in the valley; and they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, and our eyes have not seen it; expiate Your people Israel whom You have redeemed, O Jehovah, and do not set innocent blood in the midst of Your people Israel. In this way the blood will be expiated for them. But you shall put away the innocent blood from the midst of you, if you do what is right in the eyes of Jehovah. Deut. 21:1-10.

Anyone can see that this process of investigation and absolution from guilt when innocent blood had been shed in the land holds within it the arcana of heaven, of which people cannot have any knowledge at all unless they know what is meant by ‘one slain, [lying] in the field’, by ‘an ox’s heifer by means of which no work has been done, and which has not pulled in the yoke’, by ‘a barren valley which is neither tilled nor sown’, by ‘breaking the neck of the heifer in the valley’, by ‘washing hands over the heifer’, and by all the other details of the process. Unless everything laid down had meant those arcana it would have been totally unsuitable for the Word that has been dictated by God and inspired in every word and part of a letter. For without its deeper meaning such a process would have been an observance which had nothing holy about it, indeed which had scarcely any value.

[4] But exactly which arcana lie within it is nevertheless evident from the internal sense, that is, if it is known that ‘one slain in the land, lying in the field’ means truth and good wiped out in the Church where good exists; that ‘the city nearest to the one slain’ means the truth taught by the Church whose good has been wiped out; that ‘an ox’s heifer by means of which no work has been done, and which has not pulled in the yoke’ means the good of the external or natural man, who has not as yet, through enslavement to evil desires, drawn falsities into his faith and evils into his life; that ‘a barren valley which is neither tilled nor sown’ means the natural mind that is not cultivated with truths or forms of the good of faith owing to lack of knowledge; that ‘breaking its neck in the valley’ means purification, on account of absence of blame because it was due to lack of knowledge; and that ‘washing the hand’ means being absolved from that atrocious crime. Once these things are known it is evident that ‘shedding innocent blood’ means wiping out Divine Truth and Good that come from the Lord, thus the Lord Himself as He exists with a member of the Church.

[5] It should be recognized that this entire process represented in heaven the kind of crime that had no blame attached to the commission of it because it was due to ignorance that had innocence within it and was therefore as something not evil. Each detail within that process, even the smallest, represented some essential aspect of the reality portrayed by the whole. But which aspect each one represented is clear from the internal sense.

‘One who has been slain’ is truth and good that have been wiped out, see 4503.
‘The land’ is the Church, 662, 1066, 1067, 1262, 1413, 1607, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118 (end), 2928, 3355, 4447, 4535, 5577, 8011, 8732.
‘The field’ is the Church in respect of good, thus the Church’s good, 2971, 3310, 3766, 4982, 7502, 7571, 9139.
‘The city’ is teachings presenting the truth, thus the truth taught by the Church, 402, 2268, 2449, 2712, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493.
‘Ox’ is the good of the external or natural man, 2180, 2566, 2781, 9134, so that ‘a heifer’ is good in its infancy, 1824, 1825.

[6] ‘No work had been done by it, and it had not pulled in the yoke’, it is evident, means that up to then it had not, owing to lack of knowledge, served falsities and evils; for ‘working’ and ‘pulling in the yoke’ mean serving.

‘A valley’ is the lower mind, which is called the natural mind, 3417, 4715; ‘a barren valley’ is that mind when devoid of truths and forms of good, 3908; so that ‘a valley which is neither tilled nor sown’ is the natural mind not yet cultivated with truths and forms of good, thus which is still lacking in knowledge, ‘the seed with which it is sown’ being the truth of faith, 1025, 1447, 1610, 1940, 2848, 3038, 3373, 3671, 6158.

‘Breaking the neck’ is expiation, because the slaughter of various beasts, like the offering of sacrifice, meant expiation.

‘Washing the hand’ means purification from falsities and evils, 3147; here therefore it means purification from that atrocious crime; for ‘shedding blood’ in general means violence done to goodness and truth, 9127, so that ‘shedding innocent blood’ means wiping out what is Divine residing with a person and comes from the Lord, thus the Lord Himself residing with that person; for truth and good residing with a person are the Lord Himself since they come from Him.

sRef Ps@73 @13 S7′ sRef Ps@94 @20 S7′ sRef Jer@2 @34 S7′ sRef Ps@94 @21 S7′ [7] The like is meant by ‘shedding innocent blood’ in Deut. 19:10; 27:25; Isa. 59:3, 7; Jer. 2:34; 7:6; 19:4; 22:3, 17; Joel 3:19; Ps. 94:21. ‘One who is innocent’ means in the proximate sense someone who is blameless and also free from evil, to which people also bore witness in former times by washing their hands, Ps. 26:6; 73:13; Matt. 27:24; John 18:38; 19:4. The reason for this is that good which comes from the Lord and resides with a person is blameless and free from evil; this good is the good of innocence in the internal sense, as has been shown. But good that is blameless and free from evil as it exists in the external man, which is exterior good, is called ‘righteous’, as also in David,

The throne of perdition will not be linked to You – those who gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous and condemn innocent blood. Ps. 94:20, 21.

sRef Ex@23 @7 S0′ 9263. The expressions the righteous, righteousness, and justifying* occur many times in the Word; but what they mean specifically is not yet known. Their specific meaning is not yet known because up to now no one has known that all the different expressions in the Word are used to mean such things as belong to the internal Church and such as belong to heaven, thus such things as belong to the internal man since the internal aspect of the Church, also heaven, has a place in the internal man. Nor has anyone known that these interior things in the Word are different from its exterior ones, that is, from those in the letter. They are as different as spiritual things are from natural ones or heavenly things from earthly ones, the difference between which is so great that to the natural man there seems to be scarcely any similarity at all, when yet they are in perfect accord with one another. Since none of this has been known no one has been able to know what ‘the righteous’, ‘righteousness’, and ‘justifying’ denote in the Word on its spiritual and heavenly level of meaning. Leaders of the Church suppose that the righteous and the justified are those who have learned the truths of faith from the teachings of the Church and from the Word, and from this knowledge are given the trust or assurance that they are saved through the Lord’s righteousness, and that the Lord acquired righteousness by fulfilling all things of the Law, also merit because He endured the Cross, thereby making atonement for and redeeming mankind. By this faith alone, they suppose, is a person justified; and they also suppose that people such as this are the ones whom the Word calls ‘the righteous’.

[2] These however are not the ones whom the Word calls ‘the righteous’ but those who are governed by the good of charity towards the neighbour, received from the Lord. For the Lord alone is righteous, since He alone is Righteousness; and therefore in the measure that a person receives good from the Lord, that is, in the measure that what composes the Lord’s essential nature resides with him, he is righteous and has been justified. The Lord became Righteousness through making His Human, by His own power, Divine. This Divine virtue residing with a person who receives it is the Lord’s Righteousness with him. And it is the true good of charity towards the neighbour; for the Lord is within the good of love and through this within the truth of faith, the Lord being Divine Love itself.

sRef Matt@25 @39 S3′ sRef Matt@25 @46 S3′ sRef Matt@25 @38 S3′ sRef Matt@25 @40 S3′ sRef Matt@25 @37 S3′ [3] The good of charity towards the neighbour is exterior good, which is meant by ‘the righteous’, whereas the good of love to the Lord is interior good, which is meant by ‘the innocent’, dealt with immediately above in 9262. The fact that the good of love towards the neighbour, received from the Lord, is meant by ‘righteous’ in the proper sense may be recognized from places in the Word in which the expressions ‘the righteous’, ‘righteousness’, and ‘being justified’ occur, such as in Matthew,

Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, When did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You? But the King answering will say to them, Truly I say to you, Insofar as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers you did it to Me. And the righteous will go into eternal life. Matt. 25:37-40, 46.

sRef Matt@13 @49 S4′ sRef Luke@14 @14 S4′ [4] Here those people are called ‘the righteous’ who have performed the good deeds of charity towards the neighbour that are recounted in this passage. The fact that those good deeds of charity constitute the Lord’s presence with them is explicitly stated in the words, ‘Insofar as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers you did it to Me’, see 4807-4810, 4954-4959, 5063-5071. Those people are also called ‘the sheep’, for those governed by the good of charity from the Lord are meant by ‘sheep’, 4169, whereas ‘the goats’, who are on the left and are damned, means those who adhere to faith separated from charity, 4169 (end), 4769. The same people are meant by ‘the righteous’ elsewhere in Matthew,

The angels will come out and separate the evil from the midst of the righteous. Matt. 13:49.

And in Luke,

You will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous. Luke 14:14.

sRef Dan@12 @3 S5′ sRef Matt@13 @43 S5′ [5] This shows what the meaning is of the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father,** Matt. 13:43, namely people governed by the good of love, received from the Lord. For the Lord is the Sun in the next life; and the good of love flows from the Lord as the Sun there, see 1053, 1521, 1529-1531, 2441, 2495, 3636, 3643, 4060, 4321 (end), 4696, 5097, 7078, 7083, 7171, 7173, 7270, 8487, 8812. This is why the Lord is called the Sun of Righteousness in Mal. 4:2. In Daniel,

Those who have intelligence will shine like the brightness of the expanse, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars for ever and ever. Dan. 12:3.

‘Those who have intelligence’ are people with whom the truth and good of faith are present, ‘those who turn [many] to righteousness’ are people who lead others by means of the truth and good of faith to the good of charity. ‘Shining like the stars’ means having an intelligent understanding of truth and a wise discernment of good, as a result of which they possess eternal happiness; for ‘the stars’ are cognitions or knowledge of truth and good, which lead on to intelligence and wisdom, 2495, 2849, 4697.

sRef Ps@37 @26 S6′ sRef Ps@37 @28 S6′ sRef Ps@37 @18 S6′ sRef Ps@37 @17 S6′ sRef Ps@37 @27 S6′ sRef Ps@37 @16 S6′ sRef Ps@37 @29 S6′ sRef Ps@37 @21 S6′ sRef Ps@37 @34 S6′ sRef Ps@37 @30 S6′ sRef Ps@37 @31 S6′ sRef Ps@37 @25 S6′ sRef Ps@37 @23 S6′ sRef Ps@37 @32 S6′ sRef Ps@37 @19 S6′ sRef Ps@37 @22 S6′ sRef Ps@37 @33 S6′ sRef Ps@37 @20 S6′ sRef Ps@37 @24 S6′ [6] ‘A righteous person’ is described in David as follows,

Jehovah upholds the righteous. The righteous shows mercy and gives. The righteous shows mercy all the day and lends. The righteous will possess the land and dwell in it forever. The mouth of the righteous utters*** wisdom and his tongue speaks judgement. The law of his God is in his heart. Ps. 37:16-34.

These are good deeds of charity, which are those of ‘the righteous’. The fact that these good deeds of charity are inspired by the Lord, so much so that they are the Lord’s with a person, is well known to the Church. ‘A righteous person’ is also described in Ezekiel 18:5-9, 21; 33:15ff.

sRef Matt@10 @41 S7′ sRef Matt@23 @35 S7′ sRef Matt@5 @6 S7′ sRef Matt@13 @17 S7′ sRef Matt@23 @29 S7′ [7] All this shows what it is that ‘the righteous’ and ‘righteousness’ mean in the following places: In Matthew,

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matt. 5:6.

In the same gospel,

He who welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in a righteous person’s name will receive a righteous person’s reward. Matt. 10:41.

In the same gospel,

Many prophets and righteous people desired to see what you see, but did not see it. Matt. 13:17.

In the same gospel,

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous. On you will come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel … Matt. 23:29, 35.

‘The prophets’ stands for those who teach the truths and forms of the good of faith, and in the abstract sense for doctrinal teachings that compose faith, 2534, 7269; and ‘the righteous’ stands for those who lead a charitable life, and in the abstract sense for the good of charity. Abel, who is called ‘righteous’, represented the good of charity, see 342, 374.

sRef Isa@56 @1 S8′ sRef Isa@60 @21 S8′ sRef Isa@57 @1 S8′ sRef Isa@45 @8 S8′ sRef Isa@45 @19 S8′ [8] In Isaiah,

The righteous has perished, and no man takes it to heart; and holy men are taken away,**** and no one understands. For because of evil the righteous is taken away.***** Isa. 57:1.

In the same prophet,

Your people will all be righteous; they will possess the land forever. Isa. 60:21.

In the same prophet,

Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain with righteousness; let the earth open, in order that [its inhabitants] may bring forth the fruit of salvation, and let righteousness spring up together. I Jehovah am speaking righteousness, declaring ways that are right.****** Isa. 45:8, 19.

‘Righteousness’ stands for what comes out of the good of love, ‘ways that are right’ for what comes out of the truths of faith. In the same prophet,

Thus said Jehovah, Keep judgement and do righteousness, for My salvation is near [to come], and My righteousness to be revealed. Isa. 56:1.

‘Judgement’ means the truth that belongs to faith, and ‘righteousness’ the good that belongs to charity, which is why it says ‘do righteousness’. The fact that ‘righteousness’ is the good of charity received from the Lord is what the words ‘My righteousness is near to be revealed’ are used to mean.

sRef Ezek@33 @19 S9′ sRef Jer@22 @15 S9′ sRef Jer@22 @3 S9′ sRef Ezek@33 @14 S9′ sRef Ezek@33 @16 S9′ sRef Jer@22 @13 S9′ [9] Many times also, in other places, the words ‘judgement and righteousness’ are used, ‘judgement’ meaning truth and ‘righteousness’ meaning good, as in Jeremiah,

Thus said Jehovah, Do judgement and righteousness, and deliver the plundered out of the hand of the oppressor. Woe to him who builds his house in unrighteousness, and his upper rooms not in judgement! Did not your father eat and drink, and do judgement and righteousness? Then it was well with him. Jer. 22:3, 13, 15.

‘Judgement’ stands for those things that are matters of truth, and ‘righteousness’ for those that are aspects of good. In Ezekiel,

If the wicked person turns away from his sin and does judgement and righteousness, all his sins which he has committed will not be remembered; he has done judgement and righteousness, he will surely live. When the wicked turns away from his wickedness and does judgement and righteousness he will live because of these. Ezek. 33:14, 16, 19.

Other places similar to these include Isa. 9:7; 16:5; 26:7, 9; 33:5, 15; 56:1; 58:2; Jer. 9:24; 23:5; 33:15; Hosea 2:19, 20; Amos 5:24; 6:12; Ps. 36:5, 6; 119:164, 172. The words ‘judgement and righteousness’ are used because wherever truth is dealt with in the Word, so too is good, on account of the heavenly marriage in every detail of the Word, which is the marriage of goodness and truth, spoken of in 683, 793, 801, 2173, 2516, 2712, 4138 (end), 5138, 5502, 6343, 7945, 8339. Since righteousness is associated with good and judgement is associated with truth, other places again use the words righteousness and truth, such as Zech. 8:8; Ps. 15:2; 36:5, 6; 85:11, 12.
* Three closely related Latin words are used here – justus, justitia, and justificare. The first is sometimes rendered just, at other times righteous; the second is sometimes rendered justice, at other times righteousness; and the third is sometimes rendered justify, at other times make righteous.
** The Latin means like the sun in heaven but the Greek means like the sun in the kingdom of their father, which Sw. has in other places where he quotes this verse.
*** lit. meditates
**** lit. and men of holiness are collected up
***** lit. collected up
****** lit. telling of or pointing out rectitudes

sRef Luke@16 @15 S0′ sRef Matt@12 @37 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @7 S0′ 9264. ‘For I will not justify the wicked’ means that such malevolence is contrary to Divine righteousness. This is clear from the meaning of ‘justifying’ as declaring innocent and acquitting, but in this instance not acquitting since it says ‘I will not justify’ (that ‘justifying’ can also mean declaring innocent and acquitting is evident from the legal meaning of the word, as well as from the following in Matthew,

By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. Matt. 12:37.

And in Luke,

You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. Luke 16:15);

and from the meaning of ‘the wicked’ as malevolence, dealt with above in 9249. Malevolence, which is spoken of here as being contrary to Divine righteousness, consists in destroying good, interior and exterior, meant by ‘killing the innocent and the righteous’, who are the subject just above in 9262, 9263. Such good is destroyed when Divine Truth and Good received from the Lord are disowned. When a person disowns them they are annihilated, and so is the Lord Himself, the Source from whom all good that is good comes and all truth that is true. When they have been annihilated the person no longer has any spiritual life or consequently any salvation. They – truth and good – are annihilated when people disown what is Divine and the Lord’s, and also when they disown the Word since this is Divine Truth received from the Lord and concerning the Lord. Disowning this, when one has previously acknowledged it and accepted it in faith, and so annihilating it, is the sin against the Holy Spirit which is not forgiven, Matt. 12:31. For the Holy Spirit is Divine Truth and Good, being the Holiness which emanates from the Lord, 9229. The same thing is also meant by ‘shedding innocent blood’, dealt with just above. The truth that such malevolence is not forgiven because it is contrary to Divine righteousness is meant by ‘I will not justify the wicked’.

sRef Ex@23 @8 S0′ sRef Luke@16 @13 S0′ 9265. ‘And you shall not accept a gift’ means detesting any kind of gain. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a gift’ as anything worldly that is loved, whether it is riches, positions, reputation, or something else that gratifies the natural man, for these worldly things generally are called gain and in the internal sense are what is meant by ‘a gift’ which blinds and perverts; and from the meaning of ‘not accepting’ as detesting, for unless such gain is detested it is still looked for and accepted. It is detested when what is heavenly and Divine is loved more than what is worldly and earthly; for to the extent that one is loved the other is hated, as accords with the Lord’s words in Luke,

No slave can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other … You cannot serve God and mammon. Luke 16:13.

‘Hating’ means detesting, for detestation is a feeling of hatred, and hatred is the opposite of love, which is why it says ‘or he will love the other’. From all this it is evident that ‘you shall not accept a gift’ means detesting any kind of gain.

sRef Ex@23 @8 S0′ sRef Deut@16 @19 S0′ 9266. ‘For a gift blinds those whose eyes are open’ means that gain prevents truths from being seen. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a gift’ as any kind of gain, dealt with immediately above in 9265; from the meaning of ‘blinding’, when it refers to truths, as preventing them from being seen; and from the meaning of ‘those whose eyes are open’, or those who can see, as those who have a knowledge of truths and can see clearly what the truth is. For ‘seeing’ means knowing, understanding, and acknowledging truths, and also possessing faith, 897, 2150, 2325, 2807, 3764, 3863, 3869, 4403-4421, 5114, 5286, 5400, 6805, 8688, 9128. This explains why ‘those whose eyes are open’ are elsewhere called ‘the wise’,

A gift* blinds the eyes of the wise. Deut. 16:19.
* i.e. a bribe

sRef Ex@23 @8 S0′ 9267. ‘And perverts the words of the righteous’ means that it causes things which are seen to look like the truths of good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘perverting the words of the righteous’ as causing things to look like the truths of good; for real things themselves, thus truths, are meant by ‘the words’, and people governed by good are meant by ‘the righteous’, 9263. The reason why truths are meant by ‘the words’ is that in the original language ‘a word’ means that which is something and has real existence, and from this means also the truth; for everything that has being (esse), which gives it real existence, has connection with the truth. This also is why Divine Truth is called the Word.

sRef Ex@23 @9 S0′ 9268. ‘And a sojourner you shall not oppress’ means that those with a desire to receive instruction in the Church’s truths must not be molested with evils of life. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a sojourner’ as one who desires to receive instruction in the Church’s truths, dealt with in 8007, 8013, 9196; and from the meaning of ‘oppressing’ as molesting with evils of life, dealt with in 9196.

sRef Ex@23 @9 S0′ 9269. ‘And you know the soul of a sojourner’ means their desire and life. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the soul’, when it refers to those with a desire to receive instruction in the truths of faith, who are meant by ‘sojourners’, as their desire and life. ‘The soul’ means the life that belongs to faith, 9050, and desire is the actual force at work within that life, for it springs from the affection for good, and the affection for good gives the truth of faith its life.

sRef Ex@23 @9 S0′ 9270. ‘For you were sojourners in the land of Egypt’ means that they were protected from falsities and evils when they were molested by those from hell. This is clear from what has been shown in 9197, where the same words occur.

sRef Ex@23 @11 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @12 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @13 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @10 S0′ 9271. Verses 10-13 And six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce. And in the seventh you shall let it rest, and let it lie fallow;* and the needy of your people will eat, and whatever is left by them** the wild animal of the field will eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard, with your olive grove. Six days you shall do your work,*** and on the seventh day you shall cease, in order that your ox and your ass may rest, and your female slave’s son and the sojourner may draw breath.**** And all that I have said to you you shall keep. And you shall not mention the name of other gods; it shall not be heard on your lips.*****

‘And six years you shall sow your land’ means the first state, when a member of the Church receives instruction in the truths and forms of the good of faith. ‘And gather in its produce’ means forms of the good of truth that result from it. ‘And in the seventh you shall let it rest, and let it lie fallow’ means the second state, when the member of the Church is governed by good, and so enjoys peace and serenity. ‘And the needy of your people will eat’ means being joined through the good of charity to those who possess few truths and still have a desire to receive instruction. ‘And whatever is left by them let the wild animal of the field eat’ means being joined through them to those immersed in the delights that go with external truth. ‘In like manner you shall do with your vineyard, with your olive grove’ means that this is to be so with spiritual good and with celestial good. ‘Six days you shall do your work’ means a state of labour and conflict, when a person is governed by external delights that must be joined to things that are internal. ‘And on the seventh day you shall cease’ means a state of good, when the person is governed by internal things, and his peace and serenity then. ‘In order that your ox and your ass may rest’ means the peace and serenity that external forms of good and truths enjoy at the same time. ‘And your female slave’s son and the sojourner may draw breath’ means the state of life of those governed by truths and forms of good outside the Church. ‘And all that I have said to you you shall keep’ means that they should carry out the commandments, judgements, and statutes. ‘And you shall not mention the name of other gods’ means that they should not base their thinking on teachings that present what is false. ‘It shall not be heard on your lips’ means that they should not obey them or in any way affirm them.
* lit. leave off [with] it, and leave it alone
** lit. and their residue
*** lit. works
**** i.e. may be refreshed
***** lit. mouth

sRef Deut@32 @13 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @10 S0′ 9272. ‘[And] six years you shall sow [your] land’ means the first state, when a member of the Church receives instruction in the truths and forms of the good of faith. This is clear from the meaning of ‘six years’ as the first state of a person who is being regenerated, dealt with below in 9274; and from the meaning of ‘sowing the land’ as a time when the seeds of the truth and good of faith are implanted. The reason why ‘sowing the land’ has this meaning is that everything involving the field, what is sown in it, and what it produces means such things as belong in general to the Church and in particular to a member of the Church, that is, to a person regenerated by means of the truth of faith and the good of charity received from the Lord. This is why ‘the field’ and ‘the ground’ in the Word mean those within the Church who receive the truths and forms of the good of faith, just as the field receives seeds, and therefore also why the field, seed, sowing, harvest, produce, grain and wheat, bread made from them, and everything else involving the field are mentioned many times in the Word.

[2] Anyone unacquainted with the true nature of the heavenly state inevitably supposes that those things as they are mentioned in the Word are no more than metaphorical ways of speaking and comparisons; yet they are true correspondences. For when angels talk about the Lord’s regeneration of a person by means of the truths of faith and forms of the good of charity, there appear at the same time in the world of spirits below them fields, crops, fallow land, and also harvests. The reason for their appearance is their correspondence. Anyone acquainted with this is also able to see that such things have been created in the world in accordance with correspondences; for the whole natural order – that is, all the sky together with the sun, moon, and stars, and the earth together with every object in its three kingdoms – corresponds to such things as exist in the spiritual world, 2993, 5116, 5377, so that the natural order is a theatre which is representative of the Lord’s kingdom, 3483, from which all things in the natural world derive their existence, 2987, 2989-2991, 3002, 8211. All this shows how it comes about that what belongs to the field – that is, what is sown in the field and what is harvested from the field – means things of the Church in general and in particular. Even comparisons made in the Word involve the use of things that are correspondential, see 3579, 8989.

sRef Isa@17 @11 S3′ sRef Isa@17 @10 S3′ [3] The fact that ‘sowing the land (or the field)’ means teaching and learning about the truths and forms of the good of faith which belong to the Church, and the fact that ‘the produce’ means resulting forms of the good of truth may be seen from many places in the Word, as in Isaiah,

Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, therefore you will plant pleasant plants;* but you will plant out the land** with the vine-sprig of the foreigner. In the day you will cause your plant to grow, and in the morning your seed to flourish. The harvest will be a heap on the day of possession; but the grief will be desperate. Isa. 17:10, 11.

Here such things as grow on earth are mentioned, but holy things of the Church are plainly meant by them. That is to say, ‘planting pleasant plants’ means such things as delight the affections, and ‘planting out the land with the vine-sprig of the foreigner’ teaching unauthentic truths.

sRef Jer@4 @4 S4′ sRef Jer@4 @3 S4′ [4] In Jeremiah,

Thus said Jehovah to the man of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to Jehovah, and remove the foreskins of your heart. Jer. 4:3, 4.

‘Sowing among thorns’ means teaching and learning truths which however are choked and rendered unfruitful by ‘the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and cravings’, as the Lord teaches in Mark 4:7, 18, 19. This is why it says that they were ‘to circumcise themselves to Jehovah and to remove the foreskins of their heart’, that is, to purify themselves from the kinds of things that choke the truths and forms of the good of faith and render them unfruitful. For this meaning of ‘circumcising’, see 2039, 2056, 2632, 3412, 3413, 4462, 7045. Sowing wheat and reaping thorns in Jeremiah 12:13 has a similar meaning.

sRef Micah@6 @15 S5′ sRef Micah@6 @13 S5′ [5] In Micah,

I am tired of striking you, of laying you waste because of your sins. You will sow but not reap; you will tread olives but not anoint yourself with oil, and tread the new wine but not drink wine. Micah 6:13, 15.

‘Sowing and not reaping’ stands for receiving instruction in the truths of faith but to no further effect. ‘Treading olives but not anointing themselves with oil’ stands for receiving instruction in goodness of life but still failing to lead a good life. ‘Treading the new wine but not drinking wine’ stands for receiving instruction in truths flowing from good but still not making them their own. That such aspects of the Church or of heaven are meant by these words is evident from those that come before them, namely the words stating that they were laid waste in that way because of their sins. For one who is wicked and a sinner receives instruction but he does no more than store it away among items of knowledge in his memory which he draws on in his quest for reputation, position, and riches, thus which he uses to serve an evil end and purpose. As a consequence the truths and forms of good which the person has learned about forfeit the life of heaven, becoming dead and eventually lethal.

sRef Isa@30 @24 S6′ sRef Isa@32 @20 S6′ sRef Isa@30 @25 S6′ sRef Isa@27 @6 S6′ sRef Isa@30 @20 S6′ sRef Isa@30 @22 S6′ sRef Isa@30 @21 S6′ sRef Isa@30 @26 S6′ sRef Isa@30 @23 S6′ [6] In Isaiah,

Blessed are you who sow beside all waters, who send forth the foot of the ox and the ass. Isa. 32:20.

‘Sowing beside all waters’ stands for receiving instruction in any truths whatever that can be put to useful service, ‘sending forth the foot of the ox and the ass’ for receiving instruction in external kinds of goodness and truth. In the same prophet,

Those who are to come Jacob will cause to take root. Israel will blossom and flower, so that the face of the earth may be filled with produce. Your teachers will not be compelled to flee away any more; and your eyes will be looking at your teachers, and your ears will hear the word behind you, saying, This is the way, go in it. Then Jehovah will give rain for your seed with which you will sow the land, and bread of the produce of the earth; and there will be fatness and wealthiness. On that day they will feed your livestock in a broad grassland. And oxen and asses tilling the land will eat pure fodder. The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, on the day when Jehovah will bind up the hurt*** of His people, and will heal the wound of their stroke. Isa. 27:6; 30:20-26.

[7] When it says that Jehovah would give rain for the seed with which [the people] would sow the land, and bread of the produce of the earth, that they would feed their livestock in a broad grassland, that oxen and asses tilling the land would eat pure fodder, that the light of the moon would be as the light of the sun, and that the latter would be sevenfold, such things as have to do with the Church are meant. This is plainly evident to anyone who gives thought to the matter, as is the fact that receiving instruction in the truths and forms of the good of faith is meant. For it says, ‘Your eyes will be looking at your teachers, and your ears will hear the word, saying, This is the way, go in it’, and ‘teachers’ are those who give instruction, while ‘the way’ in which they were to go is the truth that doctrine teaches and the good in which life consists. But the specific meaning of each individual statement is evident from the meaning of ‘rain’, ‘seed’, ‘produce’, ‘the land’, ‘livestock’, ‘a broad grassland’, ‘oxen and asses tilling the land’, and ‘the fodder they were to eat’, as well as from the meaning of ‘the light of the moon and of the sun’, and also of ‘sevenfold’ and ‘seven days’. And since such things as have to do with the Church are meant by them, that is, matters of doctrine and of life, it follows that this will take place ‘on the day when Jehovah will bind up the hurt of His people, and will heal the wound of their stroke’ – ‘the hurt of the people’ being falsity in doctrine that gradually creeps in owing to the dishonesty of teachers, to evil cravings, and to other causes, and ‘the wound of their stroke’ being consequent evil in life.

sRef Lev@26 @3 S8′ sRef Zech@8 @12 S8′ sRef Zech@8 @13 S8′ sRef Lev@26 @4 S8′ [8] Since everything among the Israelite and Jewish people was representative of heavenly and Divine realities, so too were fields and their produce, also vineyards, olive groves, and all cultivated areas, as well as herds and oxen, and in addition mountains, hills, valleys, rivers, and all else that met their eye. In this also lay the reason why, whenever they kept and carried out statutes and judgements, they were made rich in those earthly things, according to the promises made in various places in the Word, for example in Moses,

If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments and do them, I will give you rain in its season, and the land will give its produce, and the tree of the field will give its fruit. Lev. 26:3, 4.

And in Zechariah,

The vine will give its fruit, and the land will give its produce, and the heavens will give their dew. Consequently it will happen, that just as you were a curse among the nations, you will be a blessing. Zech. 8:12, 13.

sRef Deut@32 @15 S9′ sRef Deut@32 @22 S9′ sRef Deut@11 @16 S9′ sRef Deut@11 @17 S9′ sRef Deut@32 @17 S9′ [9] But the opposite happened to them when they worshipped other gods, for then they no longer represented heavenly and Divine realities but hellish and devilish ones; and for this reason the land was no longer fertile or productive, but was consumed and laid waste, in accordance with the following in Moses,

If you serve other gods Jehovah’s anger will be aroused against you; He will close heaven so that there is no rain and the land does not give its produce. Deut. 11:16, 17.

And in the same author,

When Jeshurun became fat he kicked, and forsook God. They sacrifice to demons, to gods they have not known. Therefore a fire has flared up in My anger, and will burn right down to the lowest hell, and will consume the land and its produce. Deut. 32:15, 17, 22.

sRef Ps@107 @37 S10′ sRef Ps@107 @36 S10′ sRef Ps@107 @35 S10′ [10] All this shows what it is that ‘sowing the land’ and ‘its produce’ means, and also where they derive that meaning from, as well as showing what it is they mean in the following places: In David,

Jehovah turns a wilderness into a pool of water, and parched land into streams of water. He makes the hungry dwell there, that they may sow fields and plant vineyards, and yield a fruitful harvest.**** Ps. 107:35-37.

In the same author,

All the peoples will acclaim You. The land will give its produce; God will bless us. Ps. 67:5-7.

In Moses,

Jehovah causes His people to ride on the heights of the land, and He feeds [them] with the produce of the fields; He causes them to suck honey out of the stony crag and oil out of the stony rock. Deut. 32:13.
* lit. plants of pleasant [plants]
** lit. you will plant it out
*** lit. the break
**** lit. and make fruit of produce

sRef Ex@23 @10 S0′ 9273. ‘And gather in its produce’ means forms of the good of truth that result from it. This is clear from the meaning of ‘gathering in’ as making one’s own after receiving instruction; for when ‘sowing’ means giving instruction and receiving instruction in the truths of faith, as shown immediately above, ‘gathering in’ means making them one’s own. A person makes them his own when truths which have been matters of doctrine become part of his life; and when they become part of his life they are called forms of the good of truth. These are what ‘produce’ serves to mean here.

sRef Ex@23 @11 S0′ 9274. ‘And in the seventh you shall let it rest, and let it lie fallow’ means the second state, when the member of the Church is governed by good, and so enjoys peace and serenity. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the seventh year’ or ‘the sabbath’ as the time when a person is governed by good and is led by the Lord through good, dealt with in 8495, 8510, 8890, 8893; from the meaning of ‘letting the land rest’, or not sowing it, as not being led by truths as before; and from the meaning of ‘letting it lie fallow’ as enjoying peace and serenity. Also, the sabbath was representative of a state of peace in which [goodness and truth] are joined together, see 8494; for letting the land rest and lie fallow represented the rest, serenity, and peace enjoyed by those who are governed by good received from the Lord. Regarding the two states of a person who is being regenerated and coming to have the Church within him, the first being a time when he is led by the truths of faith towards the good of charity, and the second being a time when he is governed by the good of charity, see 7923, 7992, 8505, 8506, 8512, 8513, 8516, 8539, 8643, 8648, 8658, 8685, 8690, 8701, 8772, 9139, 9224, 9227, 9230.

[2] These two states of a person who is being regenerated and coming to have the Church within him have not been known up to now, the chief reason for this being that members of the Church have not drawn a clear distinction between truth and good, nor therefore between faith and charity. Another reason is that they have had no clear idea of the two powers of mind a person has – the understanding and the will – nor any clear idea that the function of the understanding is to see truths and forms of good, and that of the will to be stirred by affection for them and to love them. Consequently it was not possible for them to know that the first state of a person who is being regenerated consists in learning truths and seeing them, and the second state in willing and loving them, and that a person has made them his own only when he desires and loves those he has learned and seen. For the will is the person’s true self, and the understanding is its servant. Had people known these things they could then have known and come to see clearly that a person who is being regenerated is endowed by the Lord with both a new understanding and a new will, and that unless he is endowed with both he is not a new person; for understanding is no more than the seeing of things that a person desires and loves, and so is simply a servant, as has been stated. And if people had known this they could consequently have known that the first state of a person who is being regenerated consists in being led by means of truths towards good, and the second state in being led by means of good. They could have known that in this second state order is turned around, that the person is now led by the Lord, and that therefore the person is now in heaven and so enjoys peace and serenity. sRef Lev@25 @5 S3′ sRef Lev@25 @4 S3′ sRef Lev@25 @3 S3′ sRef Luke@17 @31 S3′ sRef Luke@17 @32 S3′ sRef Lev@25 @11 S3′ sRef Matt@24 @18 S3′ sRef Matt@24 @17 S3′ sRef Matt@24 @16 S3′ [3] This state is what is meant by the seventh day, by the seventh year, and also by a jubilee – which are the sabbath, and the sabbath of sabbaths – and by the land’s resting in those years, in keeping with the following in Moses,

Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather in its produce; but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of sabbaths for the land, a sabbath to Jehovah. You shall not sow your field, and you shall not prune your vineyard. What grows of its own accord of your harvest you shall not reap. Lev. 25:3-5.

And in reference to a jubilee,

In the year of a jubilee you shall not sow, nor shall you reap what grows of its own accord, nor shall you harvest the unattended* vines. Lev. 25:11, 12.

The person who does not know anything about those two states cannot know either about very many things contained in the Word; for in the Word, especially the prophetical part, the first state is depicted clearly and so is the second. Indeed that person cannot understand the internal sense of the Word, nor even much that is contained in its literal sense, such as the following predictions by the Lord regarding the final period of the Church at the present day, which is there called ‘the close of the age’, in Matthew,

Then let those who are in Judea flee into the mountains; let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house; and let him who is in the field not return to take his clothes. Matt. 24:16-18.

And in Luke,

On that day, whoever will be on the housetop with his vessels in the house, let him not come down to take them away; and whoever is in the field, let him likewise not return to the things behind him. Remember Lot’s wife. Luke 17:31, 32.

The second state is described in these places, together with a warning not to go back from it to the first, see 3650-3655, 5895 (end), 5897 (end), 8505, 8506, 8510, 8512, 8516.

sRef Deut@22 @10 S4′ sRef Deut@22 @11 S4′ sRef Deut@22 @9 S4′ sRef Deut@22 @8 S4′ [4] The fact that those states are distinct and separate from each other is also implied by the following words in Moses,

When you build** a new house you shall make a parapet for your roof. You shall not sow your vineyard and your field with mixed seed. You shall not plough with an ox and an ass together. You shall not wear a garment made of wool and flax mixed together.*** Deut. 22:8-11; Lev. 19:19.

These laws serve to mean that anyone who is in the state of truth, that is, in the first state, cannot be in the state of good, that is, in the second state, nor vice versa, the reason being that one state is the inverse of the other. For in the first state a person looks from the world to heaven, but in the second from heaven to the world. In the first state truths come from the world by way of the understanding into the will, where they become forms of good because they are loved. But in the second state the forms of good so created come from heaven by way of the will into the understanding, where they appear in the form of faith. This faith is saving faith, because it comes out of the good of love, that is, comes from the Lord by way of the good of love; for this faith is charity in outward form.
* lit. separated
** lit. make
*** lit. a mixed garment of wool and flax together

sRef Ex@23 @11 S0′ 9275. ‘And the needy of your people will eat’ means being joined through the good of charity to those who possess few truths and still have a desire to receive instruction. This is clear from the meaning of ‘eating’ as communicating and being joined together, dealt with in 2187, 3596, 5643, 8001; from the meaning of ‘the needy’ as those who have few truths owing to lack of knowledge and still have a desire to receive instruction, dealt with in 9253; and from the meaning of ‘people’, at this point the people of Israel, as those who belong to the Church, dealt with in 4286, 6426, 6637, 8805. From these meanings it is evident that ‘the needy of your people will eat’ means joining the Church to those who possess few truths and still have a desire to receive instruction. The reason why the words ‘being joined through the good of charity’ are used is that such good joins people together, which is the subject dealt with in the very next paragraph.

sRef Ex@23 @11 S0′ 9276. ‘And whatever is left by them let the wild animal of the field eat’ means being joined through them to those immersed in the delights that go with external truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘whatever is left by them’, that is to say, by ‘the needy of the people’, as that which is left and so remains after them, but at this point that which is received through them since the subject is the Church’s being joined to those who possess few truths, and also here being joined to those immersed in the delights that go with external truth (the Church is joined to the latter through the former, as will be seen below); from the meaning of ‘eating’ as communicating and being joined together, dealt with immediately above in 9275; and from the meaning of ‘the wild animal of the field’ as those immersed in the delights that go with external truth. For in the Word affections for truth and good are meant by ‘beasts’, affections for internal truth and good being meant by ‘beasts belonging to the flock’, and affections for external truth and good being meant by ‘beasts belonging to the herd’. But ‘wild animals’ are the kinds of affections that are drawn towards most external truth; for these affections compared with internal ones are ‘wild animals’, since they are the affections that belong to the level of the senses, and are called lowly pleasures and delights. They are delights that go with truth and not so much with good, the reason for this being that the senses, which are in direct contact with the world through the body, derive scarcely anything from spiritual good; for bodily and worldly kinds of love reside especially on the sensory level.

Affections for truth and good are meant in the Word by ‘beasts’, see 45, 46, 142, 143, 246, 714, 715, 719, 776, 1823, 2180, 2781, 3218, 3519, 5198, 9090.
Affections for internal truth and good are meant by ‘beasts belonging to the flock’, and affections for external truth and good by ‘beasts belonging to the herd’, 5913, 8937, 9135.
The senses are in contact with the world, being the most external powers of the mind, 4009, 5077, 5089, 5094, 5125, 5128, 5767, 6183, 6201, 6310, 6311, 6313, 6315, 6318, 6564, 6598, 6612, 6614, 6622, 6624, 6844, 6845, 6948, 6949, 7442, 7693, 9212, 9216.

From all that is shown in these places one can see what the sensory level of a person’s mind compared with more internal levels is like, namely like a wild animal.

[2] The present verse deals in the internal sense with those who are governed by the good of charity, then with those who possess few truths and still have a desire to receive instruction, and after that with those who are immersed in the delights that go with external truth. These three groups of people constitute the Church. Those governed by the good of charity constitute the internal part of the Church, whereas those who possess few truths and still wish to receive instruction, thus who derive from good an affection for truth, constitute the external part of the Church. But those immersed in the delights that go with external truth are the most external; they so to speak form the perimeter and enclose the Church.

[3] Heaven is joined to the human race, that is, the Lord coming by way of heaven is joined to it, through those who are governed by the good of charity, thus through the good of charity since the Lord is present within that good. For essentially that good is the Lord, because it emanates from Him. Through that good the Lord joins Himself to those who have an affection for truth; for the affection for truth is derived from good, and good emanates from the Lord, as has been stated. Through these people in turn the Lord is present with those immersed in the delights that go with external truth; for their delights spring for the most part from self-love and love of the world and derive little at all from spiritual good. Such is the manner in which heaven makes contact with people, that is, such is the manner in which the Lord coming by way of heaven makes contact with them; such therefore is the manner in which He is joined to them.

[4] That such is the manner in which the Lord makes contact with and is joined to the human race is clear from the consideration that the manner in which influx takes place with every member of the Church is such. The expression ‘member of the Church’ is used to mean one who is governed by the good of charity and consequently by the truths of faith received from the Lord; for charity from which faith springs is the Church itself present with a person, since charity and faith come from the Lord. The Lord flows into that good, which is the internal level of a person, then through that good into the affection for truth, which is his external level, and on through that affection into the delights that go with external truth, which are present on the most external levels.

[5] What applies to the individual member of the Church also applies to the Church as a whole, that is, to all collectively who constitute the Lord’s Church. The reason why this should be so is that in the Lord’s eyes the entire Church is like a human being; for the Lord’s heaven, with which the Church acts as one, is in His eyes seen as one total human being, as becomes clear from what has been shown regarding heaven as the Grand Man at the ends of a number of the chapters explaining Genesis. This being so with the Church, the same is so with the individual member of the Church; for the individual member of the Church is a miniature heaven, Church, and Lord’s kingdom.

[6] The Church also resembles an actual human being in this respect, that a person has two fountains of life, namely The Heart and The Lungs. It is well known that when human life begins the first part to develop is the heart and that the second is the lungs, and that from these two as fountains of life every other part of the body receives life. The heart of the Grand Man, that is, of heaven and the Church, is composed of those who are governed by love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour, and so, considered without reference to persons, consists in love of the Lord and love of the neighbour. But the lungs in the Grand Man, or heaven and the Church, are composed of those who are governed by charity towards the neighbour, which comes from the Lord, and from this by faith, and so, considered without reference to persons, consists in charity and faith coming from the Lord. The remaining organs and members in the Grand Man however are composed of those who are governed by external forms of good and external truths, and so, considered without reference to persons, consist in external forms of good and external truths, by means of which internal truths and forms of good can be brought in. Just as the heart, then, flows first into the lungs, and subsequently from itself through these into the organs and members of the body, so too the Lord flows through the good of love into internal truths, and through these into external truths and forms of good.

[7] From all this it may be seen that the existence of the Church on earth is absolutely vital, and that without the Church the human race would perish; for it would be like a person at the time of death, when the lungs and heart stop working. For this reason the Lord sees to it that there always exists on earth a Church in which the Lord has made Himself known through Divine Truth received from Him, such Divine Truth on our planet being the Word. Scarcely anyone at the present day believes that this is so, because no one believes that human life comes wholly from the Lord by way of heaven. For it is supposed that life exists innately in a person and can continue to do so without connection with heaven, that is, with the Lord through heaven. But that supposition is utterly false.

[8] All this now shows how to understand the idea of being joined through the good of charity to those who possess few truths and still have a desire to receive instruction, and being joined through them to those immersed in the delights that go with external truth, meant by the law about letting the land rest and letting it lie fallow in the seventh year, when the needy of their people would eat, and whatever was left by these the wild animal of the field would eat. But see what has been shown already regarding matters that are mentioned above:

In the Lord’s eyes heaven is seen as one total human being and for this reason heaven is called the Grand Man, 1276, 2996, 2998, 3624-3649, 3741-3751, 4218-4228.

[9] The same applies to the Lord’s Church, for the Lord’s kingdom on earth is the Church, which acts as one with the Lord’s kingdom in heaven, 4060, 7396, 9216.
The individual member of the Church has heaven and the Church within him, 1900, 1902, 3624-3631, 3634, 3884, 4292, 4523, 4524, 4625, 6013, 6057.
Those who are governed by love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour constitute the province of the heart in the Grand Man, and those who are governed by charity and from this by faith coming from the Lord constitute the province of the lungs, 3635, 3883-3896.
Human life flows in wholly from the Lord by way of heaven, 2536, 2706, 2886-2889, 2893, 3001, 3318, 3484, 3742, 3743, 4151, 5846, 5850, 5986, 6053-6058, 6189-6215, 6307-6327, 6466-6495, 6598-6626, 6982, 6985, 6996, 7004, 7055, 7056, 7058, 7147, 7270, 7343, 8321, 8685, 8701, 8717, 8728, 9110, 9111, 9216.
Heaven exists in connection with mankind, 9216.
Without the Church on earth the human race would perish, 468, 637, 2853, 4545.

sRef Ex@23 @11 S0′ 9277. ‘In like manner you shall do with your vineyard, with your olive grove’ means that this is to be so with spiritual good and with celestial good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘vineyard’ as the spiritual Church, dealt with in 1069, 9139, and so spiritual good, which is the good of charity towards the neighbour, since this good constitutes the spiritual Church; and from the meaning of ‘olive grove’ as the celestial Church, and so celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord, since this good constitutes the celestial Church. What the spiritual Church and its good are, and what the celestial Church and its good are, and also what the difference is, see 2046, 2227, 2669, 2708 (end), 2715, 2718, 2935, 2937, 2954, 3166, 3235, 3236, 3240, 3246, 3374, 3833, 3887, 3969, 4138, 4286, 4493, 4585, 4938, 5113, 5150, 5922, 6289, 6296, 6366, 6427, 6435, 6500, 6647, 6648, 7091, 7233, 7474, 7977, 7992, 8042, 8152, 8234, 8521.

sRef Deut@28 @40 S2′ sRef Deut@28 @39 S2′ sRef Micah@6 @15 S2′ [2] The fact that ‘olive grove’ means the celestial Church and so celestial good is clear from places in the Word in which ‘the olive tree’ is mentioned, such as in Moses,

You will plant and dress vineyards, but you will not drink wine or gather [the fruit], for the worm will devour it. You will have olive trees within all your borders, but you will not anoint yourself with oil, because your olive tree will be shaken bare. Deut. 28:39, 40.

This describes the curse if other gods were worshipped and if statutes and judgements were not kept. ‘Olive trees within all the borders’ are forms of the good of celestial love within the whole Church, which come from the Lord through the Word. ‘Not being anointed with oil’ stands for nevertheless remaining untouched by that good. ‘The olive tree will be shaken bare’ stands for a warning that this good will perish. Something similar occurs in Micah,

You will tread olives but not anoint yourself with oil, and tread the new wine but not drink wine. Micah 6:15.

sRef Hab@3 @17 S3′ sRef Zech@4 @3 S3′ sRef Zech@4 @11 S3′ sRef Zech@4 @14 S3′ sRef Amos@4 @9 S3′ [3] In Amos,

I struck you with blight and mildew; your very many gardens, and your vineyards, and your fig trees, and your olive trees the caterpillar devoured. Yet you did not return to Me. Amos 4:9.

‘Vineyards’ stands for forms of the good of faith, ‘olive trees’ for forms of the good of love. Being punished for not welcoming those forms of good is meant by the caterpillar devouring the olive trees. In Habakkuk,

The fig tree will not blossom, neither will there be any produce on the vines; the olive crop will fail,* and the field will not produce food. Hab. 3:17.

‘The fig tree’ stands for natural good, ‘the vine’ for spiritual good, ‘the olive’ for celestial good, and ‘the field’ for the Church. In Zechariah,

Two olive trees are beside the lampstand, one on the right of the bowl and one on the left of it. These are the two sons of pure oil, standing beside the Lord of the whole earth. Zech. 4:3, 11, 14.

‘Two olive trees beside the lampstand’ stands for celestial and spiritual good, which are to the right and to the left of the Lord. ‘The lampstand’ means the Lord in respect of Divine Truth.

sRef Judg@9 @11 S4′ sRef Judg@9 @12 S4′ sRef Judg@9 @7 S4′ sRef Judg@9 @10 S4′ sRef Judg@9 @9 S4′ sRef Judg@9 @8 S4′ sRef Judg@9 @14 S4′ sRef Judg@9 @15 S4′ sRef Judg@9 @13 S4′ [4] In the Book of Judges,

Jotham said to the citizens of Shechem who made Abimelech king, The trees went out to anoint a king over them; and they said to the olive tree, Reign over us. But the olive tree said to them, Shall I stop producing my oil** which God and men honour in me, and go to sway*** over the trees? And the trees said to the fig tree, You come [and] reign over us. But the fig tree said to them, Shall I stop producing**** my sweetness and my good fruit, and go to sway*** over the trees? Then the trees said to the vine, You come [and] reign over us. But the vine said to them, Shall I stop producing**** my new wine, cheering God and men, and go to sway*** over the trees? And all the trees said to the thornbush, You come [and] reign over us. And the thornbush said to the trees, If you are in truth anointing me as king over you, come and take refuge***** in my shade. But if not, let fire come out of the thornbush and devour the cedars of Lebanon. Judg. 9:7-16.

None can know what is implied specifically by the things said here unless they know what ‘the olive tree’, ‘the fig tree’, ‘the vine’, and ‘the thornbush’ mean. ‘The olive tree’ means the internal good of the celestial Church, ‘the fig tree’ the external good of that Church, 4231, 5113, ‘the vine’ the good of the spiritual Church, but ‘the thornbush’ spurious good. The things that are said therefore imply that the people, who are ‘the trees’ here, did not want celestial good or spiritual good to ‘reign over them’, but spurious good, and that the people chose the spurious in preference to celestial or spiritual good. The ‘fire’ coming out of the spurious good is the harmfulness of evil cravings, ‘the cedars of Lebanon’ which it would devour being the truths of good.

sRef 1Ki@6 @32 S5′ sRef 1Ki@6 @26 S5′ sRef 1Ki@6 @27 S5′ sRef 1Ki@6 @23 S5′ sRef 1Ki@6 @33 S5′ sRef 1Ki@6 @25 S5′ sRef 1Ki@6 @24 S5′ sRef 1Ki@6 @29 S5′ sRef 1Ki@6 @31 S5′ sRef 1Ki@6 @30 S5′ sRef 1Ki@6 @28 S5′ [5] Since ‘the olive tree’ was a sign of the good of love received from the Lord and offered to the Lord, the cherubs in the middle of the house or temple were made of olive wood, as were the doors to the sanctuary, 1 Kings 6:23-33. For ‘the cherubs’, and also ‘the doors of the sanctuary’, were signs of the Lord’s protection and providence, guarding against access to Him except through the good of celestial love. This was why they were made of olive wood. All this shows why it was that the tabernacle and the altar were anointed with oil, also the priests, and at a later time the kings, and why it was that olive oil was used in lamps. For ‘oil’ was a sign of the good of love from the Lord, see 886, 3728, 4582, 4638, and ‘anointing’ was a sign that they should accordingly represent the Lord.
* lit. the work of the olive will lie (i.e. prove false)
** lit. Shall I cause my fatness to cease
*** lit. move myself
**** lit. Shall I cause to cease
***** lit. come and trust

sRef Ex@23 @12 S0′ 9278. ‘Six days you shall do your work’ means a state of labour and conflict, when a person is governed by external delights that must be joined to things that are internal. This is clear from the meaning of ‘six days’ that come before the seventh, as states of labour and conflict, dealt with in 737, 900, 8510, 8888, 8975, the labour and conflict during them being meant by ‘the work’ that will be done on those days. ‘The work’ done during the six days and ‘the rest’ on the seventh day mean the things experienced by a person in his first state and in his second while being regenerated, and also those experienced by him after he has been regenerated. Regarding a person’s first and second states while he is being regenerated, see above in 9274; and regarding the things experienced by him after he has been regenerated, 9213. The purpose of these experiences is that external things may be joined to internal ones; for there is an external man, which is also called natural, and there is an internal man, which is called spiritual. The external man is in contact with the world, and the internal with heaven.

[2] Divine order demands that heaven should rule the world with a person and not the world rule heaven with him; for when heaven rules a person, the Lord rules him, but when the world rules a person, the hells rule him. The natural disposition which a person is born with is such that he loves the world and self more than heaven and the Lord; and since this is the opposite of Divine order, an inversion must take place through regeneration. It takes place when the things that belong to heaven and the Lord are loved more than those which belong to the world and self. This is the reason why a person who has been regenerated, and also one who is in heaven, passes through two states that alternate with each other, in one of which external things prevail and in the other internal ones prevail; for by means of this alternation of states the external things are brought into agreement with the internal and at length made subordinate to them.

[3] When the external things prevail the person experiences labour and conflict; for he is immersed in the kind of life which savours of the world and into which the hells enter from every side, unceasingly endeavouring to engage in molestation, indeed to exercise control over the things of heaven with the person. But the Lord unceasingly protects and delivers him. This is the reason for the labour and conflict which are meant by the six days of the week in which work must be done. When however the internal things prevail, then – because the person is in heaven with the Lord – the labour and conflict come to an end, and he enjoys peace and serenity, in which also a joining together takes place. These blessings are what are meant by ‘the seventh day’. The more internal aspects of the human being have been created in the image of heaven and the more external in the image of the world, so that the human being is a miniature form of heaven, also of the world, thus a microcosm, as the ancients called him, see 6057. So it is that Divine order demands that the Lord coming by way of heaven should rule the world with a person, and not at all vice versa.

[4] The nature of the labour and conflict experienced by the person when external things prevail may be recognized from this, that his state at that time is such that he is stirred by the world and indifferent towards heaven, unless it appears to him as the world does. But then the light by which he sees is so dim that he can only suppose that external things flow into internal ones, consequently that the eye sees or the ear hears by itself, that objects seen or heard by them are what produce thoughts and shape the understanding part of the mind, and that this gives him the ability to believe in and love God all by himself, and so to see heaven from the world. He cannot be easily led away from this illusion until he has been raised from external things to internal ones, and so to the light of heaven. Then he begins to perceive that things belonging to the world with him, thus those belonging to the body and its senses, see and act by means of influx from heaven, that is, from the Lord coming by way of heaven, and not at all by themselves. This goes to show why it is that a person thinking on the level of the senses supposes that his life is derived entirely from the world and the natural order, that there is no hell nor any heaven, and finally that there is no God. As a consequence he derides everything of the Church so far as he himself is concerned but is all in favour of it so far as the simple are concerned, as the means in addition to laws to keep them in check.

[5] From all this people may know what is meant by a situation in which external things prevail and not at the same time internal ones, and that when external things prevail a person feels indifferent towards what belongs to heaven or what belongs to the Lord and sees it in only dim light. They may also know who exactly in the world are the intelligent and wise, namely those who are governed by the Church’s truth and good because they are recipients of wisdom from heaven, and who exactly are the stupid and foolish, namely those who are not governed by the Church’s truth or good because the world is their only source of knowledge. And those among them who use worldly knowledge to set themselves firmly against the Church’s truth and good are more foolish and stupid than the rest, no matter how much they suppose themselves to excel others in intelligence and wisdom and call people simple if they lead a good life based on the truths taught by doctrine. But such people’s simplicity is wisdom in angels’ eyes; and after death they are raised by the Lord into angelic wisdom.

sRef Matt@13 @13 S6′ sRef John@14 @19 S6′ sRef Matt@13 @14 S6′ sRef John@14 @17 S6′ [6] The Lord also teaches that this is so, in Matthew,

Therefore I speak in parables, because those who see do not see, and those who hear do not hear, nor do they understand. Matt. 13:13, 14.

In John,

I will send the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. Yet a little while, the world will see Me no longer. John 14:17, 19.

The world’s inability to receive the Spirit of truth ‘because it neither sees Him nor knows Him’ means that it will not acknowledge the Lord with faith in the heart, because external things belonging to the world will obscure [Him]. This being so, is there anyone at the present day who worships Him as the Lord of the whole of heaven and of earth, Matt. 28:18? Yet all who are in heaven, and so with whom internal things prevail, see the Lord as their only God.

sRef Ex@23 @12 S0′ 9279. ‘And on the seventh day you shall cease’ means a state of good, when the person is governed by internal things, and [his] peace and serenity then. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the seventh day’, or the sabbath, as a time when a person is governed by good and is led by the Lord by means of good, dealt with in 8495, 8510, 8890, 8893; and from the meaning of ‘ceasing’, or resting from work, as peace and serenity then. Regarding this state, see what has been stated and shown above in 9274, 9278.

[2] But a brief statement must be made to show why it is that when a person is governed by good he is governed by internal things. A PERSON’S EXTERNALS HAVE BEEN CREATED SO AS TO CONFORM TO AN IMAGE OF THE WORLD, BUT HIS INTERNALS TO CONFORM TO AN IMAGE OF HEAVEN, see 6057. Therefore also his externals receive things that belong to the world, but his internals those that belong to heaven. A person’s externals belonging to the world are gradually opened up as he progresses from early childhood on into adult life; so are his internals. But the externals are opened up by things belonging to the world, whereas the internals are opened up by those belonging to heaven. Areas of the mind opened up in this way are of two kinds, those in the understanding and those in the will. Those in the understanding are opened up by things connected with truth, and those in the will by things connected with good; for everything in the whole created order, both in the world and in heaven, has connection with truth and good. The things connected with truth are called matters of knowledge and discernment, but those connected with good are called matters of love and affection. This shows exactly what those things are which open up a person’s life and what they are like.

[3] As regards the internal man, which has been created so as to conform to an image of heaven, as has been stated, discernments of the truth and good of faith received from the Lord, and therefore of faith in the Lord, are what open up the areas in the understanding there. And affections for truth and good, which are attributes of love received from the Lord, and therefore of love offered to the Lord, are what open up the areas in the will, consequently form heaven and so an image of the Lord with him; for heaven is an image of the Lord. So it is that heaven is called the Grand Man, see 1276, 2996, 2998, 3624-3649, 3741-3751, 4218-4228, and that the human being has been created so as to conform to an image of heaven and an image of the world, 3628, 4523, 4524, 6013, 6057, and a person who has been regenerated and an angel are heaven and the Church in their smallest form, 1900, 3624ff, 3634ff, 3884, 4040, 4041, 4292, 4625, 6013, 6057, 6605, 6626, 8989. From all this it becomes clear why it is that when a person is governed by good he is governed by internal things. But regarding the opening up of a person’s internals and externals, more will in the Lord’s Divine mercy be stated further on.

sRef Ex@23 @12 S0′ 9280. ‘In order that your ox and your ass may rest’ means the peace and serenity that external forms of good and truths enjoy at the same time. This is clear from the meaning of ‘resting’, when it refers to the seventh day or the sabbath, as peace and serenity, as immediately above in 9279; and from the meaning of ‘ox’ as external good, and of ‘ass’ as external truth, dealt with in 2781, 9135, 9255.

Beasts were signs of affections and inclinations such as the human being shares in common with them, see 45, 46, 142, 143, 246, 714, 715, 776, 2179, 2180, 2781, 3218, 3519, 5198, 5913, 8937, 9090, 9135.
Beasts were used in sacrifices in accordance with their spiritual meaning, 1823, 2180, 2805, 2807, 2830, 3519.
All things existing in the world, in its three kingdoms, were representative of the spiritual and celestial realities of the Lord’s kingdom, 1632, 1881, 2758, 2987-3003, 3213-3227, 3483, 3624-3649, 4939, 5116, 5427, 5428, 5477, 8211.
All things have a correspondence, 2987-3003, 3213-3226, 3337-3352, 3472-3485, 3624-3649, 3745-3750, 3883-3896, 4039-4055, 4218-4228, 4318-4331, 4403-4420, 4523-4533, 4622-4634, 4652-4660, 4791-4806, 4931-4952, 5050-5062, 5171-5189, 5377-5396, 5552-5573, 5711-5727, 8615.

[2] These references have been drawn together to enable it to be seen that not merely all beasts but also all objects in the world have a correspondence, and that in accordance with their correspondences they all represent and serve to mean spiritual and celestial realities, and in the highest sense Divine realities that are the Lord’s. And from this the character of the ancient Churches, called representative Churches, may be seen. This character was such that each one of their sacred observances served to represent things that are the Lord’s and belong to His kingdom, thus aspects of love to Him and belief in Him. In those times heaven was joined to a member of the Church by means of these observances, since internal aspects were presented in heaven. The Word of the Lord has also been given to the same end, for every detail in it, even to the smallest part of a letter, has a correspondence and spiritual meaning. Through the Word alone therefore is heaven linked to mankind.

[3] No one at the present day knows that this is so. Consequently when the natural man reads the Word and seeks to discover where its Divinity lies, but does not find it in the letter on account of its very ordinary style, he at first begins to disparage it and then to reject the idea that it has been dictated by God and sent down to mankind by way of heaven. The natural man does not know that the Word is Divine by virtue of its spiritual sense, which is not visible in the letter but is nevertheless present within the letter; nor does he know that this sense is presented in heaven when someone on earth reads it devoutly, and that the subject in that sense is the Lord and His kingdom. These are the Divine things which make the Word Divine and through which holiness flows from the Lord by way of heaven, even into the literal sense and into the actual letters. But as long as a person does not know what anything spiritual is he cannot know either what the spiritual sense is, nor thus what correspondence is. And as long as a person loves the world more than heaven, and self more than the Lord, he has no wish to know these things and understand them. Yet they were the source of all intelligence among the ancients, and they are also the source of wisdom among the angels. Hidden mysteries, which numerous diviners have vainly toiled to track down in the Word, lie in those things alone.

sRef Ex@23 @12 S0′ 9281. ‘And your female slave’s son and the sojourner may draw breath’ means the state of life of those governed by truths and forms of good outside the Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘female slave’s son’ as those with an affection for external truth, for ‘son’ means truth, 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3373, 3704, 4257, and ‘a female slave’ means an external affection, 1895, 2567, 3835, 3849, 7780, 8993; from the meaning of ‘the sojourner’ as those who wish to receive instruction in the Church’s truths and forms of good, dealt with in 1463, 8007, 8013, 9196, the reason why ‘female slave’s son and the sojourner’ here means those outside the Church being that the preceding words in the present verse have referred to those within the Church, and therefore those outside the Church are meant by ‘a female slave’s sons’ and those not born within the Church by ‘sojourners’ (the former are such because they are the offspring of an inferior marriage, the latter because they descend from an alien stock); and from the meaning of ‘drawing breath’ as the state of life in respect of the truths and forms of the good of faith. ‘Drawing breath’ means that state of life because the lungs, whose function is breathing, correspond to the life of faith springing from charity, which is spiritual life, 97, 1119, 3351, 3635, 3883-3896, 9229.

sRef Isa@44 @6 S2′ [2] The human being breathes outwardly and he breathes inwardly; outwardly he draws breath from the world, but inwardly from heaven. When a person dies he ceases to breathe outwardly, but his inward breathing, which is soundless and is undetectable by him while he lives in the world, continues. This breathing is regulated altogether by his affection for truth, thus by the life of his faith. Those without any faith at all, as those in hell are, do not draw breath from an inner source but from an outward one, thus from an opposite direction. Therefore also when they come near an angelic community, which draws breath from an inner source, they start to be suffocated and to become like deathmasks, 3894. As a result of this they hurl themselves headlong back into their hell, where they regain their former manner of breathing that is the opposite of the heavenly manner.

sRef John@20 @22 S3′ sRef John@3 @8 S3′ [3] Since breathing corresponds to the life of faith, this life is also meant by anima – a word for soul or breath, 9050 – because of the animation or life-giving power that lies in breathing. Breathing is referred to additionally as spiritus – which also means ‘spirit’ – in such phrases as ‘taking a breath’ and ‘letting out breath’, and therefore also the word for spirits in the original language comes from a word for ‘wind’, and in the Word they are compared to wind, as in John,

The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its voice; but you do not know where it comes from, or where it goes away to. So is everyone who is born from the spirit. John 3:8.

From this also it is evident what the meaning is when it says that after the Resurrection, when the Lord spoke to the disciples, He breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit, John 20:22.

sRef Lev@18 @4 S0′ sRef Lev@18 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @13 S0′ 9282. ‘And all that I have said to you you shall keep’ means that they should carry out the commandments, judgements, and statutes. This is clear from the meaning of ‘all that Jehovah said to them’ as all laws of life, laws of worship, and laws of the civic state (laws of life are called ‘commandments’, those of worship are called ‘statutes’, and those of the civic state are called ‘judgements’, 8972); and from the meaning of ‘keeping’ or observing as carrying out, for when anyone carries them out they are observed. Since those laws of life, laws of worship, and laws of the civic state are not anything with a person as long as they are confined to his understanding, and are only something with him when they are present in his will, it is stated everywhere in the Word that they must be carried out, for carrying them out belongs to the will. But knowing, understanding, acknowledging, and believing belong to the understanding; yet they do not have any being with the person until they become part of his will, and there is no manifestation of them with him until they become part of an understanding rooted in the will. For having being consists in willing, and manifestation in acknowledging and believing as a result of willing. Things that have no such being or manifestation with a person are not properly his own. They stand outside, not as yet received into the house. So they make no contribution at all towards the person’s eternal life. For such things if they have not become part of his life are dispelled in the next life; the only things to remain will be those which are in his heart, that is, in his will and from there in his understanding. This being so, it is stated everywhere in the Word that commandments and statutes must be carried out, as in Moses,

You shall carry out My judgements and keep My statutes, to go in them. Therefore you shall keep My statutes and My judgements, which if a person carries them out, he will live by them. Lev. 18:4, 5.

It is also stated in Matt. 5:19; 7:24-27; 16:27; John 3:21; and very many times elsewhere.

sRef Ex@23 @13 S0′ 9283. ‘And you shall not mention the name of other gods’ means that they should not base their thinking on teachings that present what is false. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the name’ as everything belonging to religious teachings and everything belonging to worship in their entirety, dealt with in 2724, 3237, 6887, 8274, 8882, at this point everything belonging to teachings that present what is false since falsities are meant by ‘other gods’, 4544, 7873, 8867; and from the meaning of ‘mentioning’ as thinking. ‘Mentioning’ means thinking because mentioning is done by the mouth, and aspects of thought are meant by the utterances of the mouth. The reason for this is that a person’s speech flows from his thought; for a person possesses thought which speaks and thought which does not speak. Thought which speaks is that which makes one with the words uttered. Thought which does not speak is that which makes one with the thought which does speak, and so with words that are uttered, in those who are honest and righteous, but not so in those who are dishonest or unrighteous. For thought which does not speak is a higher or more internal degree of understanding in a person, springing from his actual will. But thought which speaks is a lower or more external degree of understanding, formed from the higher or more internal in order to present or else feign before the world ideas of what is right and fair and ideas of what is good and true.

[2] All this demonstrates what the person who is honest and righteous is like and what the person who is dishonest or unrighteous is like. That is to say, it demonstrates that with the person who is honest and righteous the internal man has come to conform to an image of heaven, and the external man to an image of the world subordinated to heaven, 9279; but with the person who is dishonest or unrighteous the internal man has come to conform to an image of hell, and the external man to an image of heaven subordinated to hell, because he uses his external man to make a pretence of heavenly things, and employs rational concepts received from heaven to sanction evil cravings and also to deceive. From all this it is evident that opposite states of life exist with the righteous and the unrighteous.

sRef Ex@23 @13 S0′ 9284. ‘It shall not be heard on your lips’ means that they should not obey them or in any way affirm them. This is clear from the meaning of ‘hearing’ as obeying, dealt with in 2542, 3869, 4652-4660, 5017, 7216, 8361; and from the meaning of ‘not being on the lips’ – when it refers to teachings that present what is false, meant by ‘the name of other gods’ – as not affirming. The reason why the name of other gods was not to be mentioned or to be heard on their lips was in order that heavenly and Divine things which were the Lord’s might be represented by all the statutes, judgements, and commandments that were decreed. And those things were indeed represented as long as they uttered Jehovah’s name and worshipped Him; for then what was Divine and the Lord’s was present, and heaven with Him. But when they uttered the name of other gods and worshipped them hellish things were represented, for spirits from hell were present, who wished to be worshipped as gods. This is the unceasing desire of those in hell, because self-love and love of the world reign there, see 3881 (end).

sRef Ex@23 @14 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @17 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @16 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @18 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @19 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @15 S0′ 9285. Verses 14-19 Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year. You shall keep the feast of unleavened bread (seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time of the month Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; and My face shall not be seen empty-handed*); and the feast of the harvest of the firstfruits of your labours, which you have sown in the field; and the feast of ingathering at the end** of the year, when you have gathered in [the fruit of] your labours from the field. Three times in the year all your males shall be seen at the face of the Lord Jehovah. You shall not sacrifice the blood of My sacrifice with anything made with yeast;*** and the fat of My feast shall not remain through the night until morning. The first of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of Jehovah your God. You shall not cook a kid in its mother’s milk.

‘Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year’ means enduring worship of the Lord and thanksgiving on account of deliverance from damnation. ‘You shall keep the feast of unleavened bread’ means worship and thanksgiving on account of purification from falsities. ‘Seven days’ means a holy state then. ‘You shall eat unleavened bread’ means making good purified from falsities their own. ‘As I commanded you’ means in keeping with the laws of order. ‘At the appointed time of the month Abib’ means from the beginning of a new state. ‘For in it you came out of Egypt’ means deliverance from molestation by falsities. ‘And My face shall not be seen empty-handed’ means the reception of good out of mercy, and thanksgiving. ‘And the feast of the harvest of the firstfruits of your labours, which you have sown in the field’ means worship of the Lord and thanksgiving on account of the implanting of truth in that good. ‘And the feast of ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in [the fruit of] your labours from the field’ means the worship of a thankful mind on account of the implanting of good after that, and so on account of regeneration and complete deliverance from damnation. ‘Three times in the year all your males shall be seen at the face of the Lord Jehovah’ means the Lord’s constant appearance and presence in like manner in the truths of faith as well. ‘You shall not sacrifice the blood of My sacrifice with anything made with yeast’ means that worship of the Lord arising from the Church’s truths must not be mingled together with falsities arising from evil. ‘And the fat of My feast shall not remain through the night until morning’ means the good of worship, which does not originate in the self but comes from the Lord and is always new. ‘The first of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of Jehovah your God’ means that every truth of good and every good of truth is holy because it comes from the Lord alone. ‘You shall not cook a kid in its mother’s milk’ means that the good of innocence belonging to a later state must not be joined to the truth of innocence belonging to an earlier state.
* i.e. no one shall come without a gift of offering to the Lord
** lit. the going out
*** lit. upon that which has been fermented (or made with yeast)

sRef Ex@23 @14 S0′ 9286. ‘Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year’ means enduring worship of the Lord and thanksgiving on account of deliverance from damnation. This is clear from the meaning of ‘keeping a feast’ or ‘holding a feast’ as worshipping the Lord with gladness of mind on account of deliverance from damnation, dealt with in 7093; and from the meaning of ‘three times in the year’ as a state complete right to its end, for ‘three’ means complete from the beginning to the end, 2788, 4495, 7715, 9198, and ‘year’ a whole period, 2906, 7839, 8070. At this point therefore complete and whole deliverance is meant; for ‘the feast of unleavened bread’ means purification from falsities, ‘the feast of harvest’ means the planting of truth in good, and ‘the feast of ingathering’ means the implanting of good from there. Thus complete deliverance from damnation is meant by these feasts; for when a person has been purified from falsities, and after this has been brought by means of truths into good, and is at length governed by good, he is in heaven with the Lord and has accordingly undergone complete deliverance.

[2] The consecutive stages of deliverance from damnation are like the consecutive stages of regeneration; for regeneration is deliverance by the Lord from hell and being led by Him into heaven. For a person who is being regenerated is first purified from falsities, after that the truths of faith he knows are planted in the good of charity, and finally that good itself is implanted in him. When all this has been done the person has been regenerated and he is then in heaven with the Lord. Therefore the three feasts in the year also meant worship of the Lord and thanksgiving on account of regeneration. Because these feasts were established on account of the everlasting remembrance of those things, the worship and thanksgiving are called enduring; for the most important things in worship should endure forever. The things which should endure forever are those which have been inscribed not only on the memory but also on the actual life that is led. When this is so they are said to reign universally with a person, see 5949, 6159, 6571, 8853-8858, 8865.

sRef Ex@23 @15 S0′ 9287. ‘You shall keep the feast of unleavened bread’ means worship and thanksgiving on account of purification from falsities. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the feast’ as worship of the Lord and thanksgiving on account of deliverance from damnation, dealt with immediately above in 9286; and from the meaning of ‘unleavened bread’ as purification from falsities, for ‘yeast’ means falsity, 7906, 8051, so that what has been made without yeast or is ‘unleavened’ means good purified from falsities, 2342, 8058. Regarding this feast, which was also called the Passover, see below in 9292, 9294.

sRef Ex@23 @15 S0′ 9288. ‘Seven days’ means a holy state then. This is clear from the meaning of ‘seven’ as that which is holy, dealt with in 395, 433, 716, 881, 5265, 5268; and from the meaning of ‘days’ as states, dealt with in 23, 487, 488, 493, 2788, 3462, 3785, 4850, 5672, 5962, 7680, 8426, 9213.

sRef Ex@23 @15 S0′ 9289. ‘You shall eat unleavened bread’ means making good purified from falsities their own. This is clear from the meaning of ‘eating’ as making one’s own, dealt with in 3168, 3513 (end), 3596, 4745; and from the meaning of ‘what is unleavened’ as good purified from falsities, dealt with just above in 9287.

sRef Ex@23 @15 S0′ 9290. ‘As I commanded you’ means in keeping with the laws of order. This is clear from the meaning of ‘commanding’, when done by the Lord, as Divine Truth emanating from Him, for that Truth contains and teaches the commandments that have to do with life and with worship. This Divine Truth constitutes order itself in the heavens, and truths compose the laws of that order, 1728, 1919, 2258, 2447, 5703, 7995, 8700, 8988. From this it is evident that ‘as I commanded you’ means in keeping with the laws of order.

sRef Ex@23 @15 S0′ 9291. ‘At the appointed time of the month Abib’ means from the beginning of a new state. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the month Abib’ as the beginning of a new state, dealt with in 8053.

sRef Ex@23 @15 S0′ 9292. ‘For in it you came out of Egypt’ means deliverance from molestation by falsities. This is clear from the things stated and shown regarding the departure of the children of Israel out of Egypt, in 7107, 7110, 7126, 7142, 7220, 7228, 7240, 7278, 7317, 8866, 9197. In these places it may be seen that the time spent by the children of Israel in Egypt meant the molestation by those from hell of the spiritual, that is, of those who belonged to the Lord’s spiritual Church, and their protection by the Lord, and that their departure from Egypt meant deliverance from that molestation, on account of which the Passover, which is ‘the feast of unleavened bread’, was established, see 7093 (end), 7867, 7995.

sRef Ex@23 @15 S0′ 9293. ‘And My face shall not be seen empty-handed’ means the reception of good out of mercy, and thanksgiving. This is clear from the meaning of ‘Jehovah’s face’ as good, mercy, and peace, dealt with in 222, 223, 5585, 7599; and from the meaning of ‘not being seen empty-handed’, or not coming without a gift, as bearing witness because good has been received, and thanksgiving. For gifts which were offered to Jehovah meant the kinds of things that are offered to the Lord by a person from the heart and are accepted by the Lord. The situation with those gifts is as it is with all a person’s deeds. A person’s deeds are merely acts performed by the body, and when regarded in isolation from his will are no more than variously regulated, so to speak articulated movements, not unlike the movements of a machine, and so are lifeless. But deeds regarded together with the will are not like those movements. Rather they are outward expressions of the will displayed before the eyes, for deeds are nothing other than witness-bearers to such things as compose the will. They also derive their soul or life from the will. Therefore something similar may be said of deeds as of movements, namely that nothing in deeds has life apart from the will, just as nothing in movements has life apart from endeavour. Mankind also knows this to be so, for someone endowed with intelligence pays no attention to a person’s deeds, only to his will, the source, the means, and the reason for the deeds. Indeed someone endowed with wisdom scarcely notices the deeds but rather sees in the deeds what his will is like and how great it is. The same applies to gifts, in that in them the Lord looks on the will. So it is that by ‘gifts’ offered to Jehovah, that is, to the Lord, such things as are present in the will or the heart are meant, ‘the heart’ being what the Word calls a person’s will. From all this it is also evident how to understand the teaching in Matt. 16:27 that everyone will receive judgement in the next life according to his deeds or works, namely that he will receive it according to what is in his heart and consequently his life.

sRef Ps@40 @6 S2′ sRef Deut@10 @17 S2′ sRef Matt@5 @24 S2′ sRef Ps@40 @8 S2′ sRef Matt@5 @23 S2′ [2] It is evident from the Word that such things are meant by ‘gifts offered to Jehovah’, as in David,

Sacrifice and gift You have not desired; burnt offering and sin-sacrifice You have not sought. I have delighted to do Your will, O My God. Ps. 40:6, 8.

In Moses,

Jehovah your God, He is God of gods, and Lord of lords, who shows no partiality* and does not accept a gift.** Deut. 10:17.

And in Matthew,

If you offer your gift on the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, you shall leave the gift there before the altar, and go away. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Matt. 5:23, 24.

From this it is evident that gifts offered to the Lord served to bear witness to things offered from the heart, which are those of faith and charity. ‘Being reconciled to a brother’ means charity towards the neighbour.

sRef Matt@2 @11 S3′ [3] In the same gospel,

Wise men from the east came, and they offered gifts to the new-born Lord – gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matt. 2:1, 11.

‘Gold, frankincense, and myrrh’ means all forms of the good of love and faith offered to the Lord, ‘gold’ being forms of the good of love, ‘frankincense’ forms of the good of faith, and ‘myrrh’ forms of both in external things. The reason why ‘wise men from the east’ offered them was that among some in the east there remained from ancient times the knowledge and wisdom of the people of old, which consisted in their understanding and seeing heavenly and Divine realities within things in the world and on earth. For it was well known to the ancients that all things had a correspondence and were representative, and therefore had a spiritual meaning, as is also evident from the gentiles’ oldest books and their monuments. This was how they knew that gold, frankincense, and myrrh meant the forms of good that should be offered to God. They knew also from their prophecies, which were those of the Ancient Church and which have been spoken of in 2686, that the Lord would come into the world, at which time a star would appear to them, about which also Balaam, who likewise was one of ‘the sons of the east’, prophesied, Num. 24:17 – see 3762. ‘A star’ furthermore means cognitions or knowledge of internal goodness and truth, which come from the Lord, 2495, 2849, 4697.

sRef Ps@72 @10 S4′ sRef Ps@72 @11 S4′ [4] In David,

The kings of Tarshish and of the islands will bring a gift, the kings of Sheba and Seba will bring a present; and all kings will bow down [to Him], and all nations will serve Him. Ps. 72:10, 11.

These things were said in reference to the Lord. ‘Bringing a gift’ and ‘bringing a present’ mean the good of love and faith. For ‘Tarshish’ means doctrinal teachings about love and faith, 1156; ‘Sheba and Seba’ cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth, 1171, 3240; ‘kings’ the Church’s truths, 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148; and ‘nations’ the Church’s forms of good, 1159, 1258-1260, 1416, 1849, 4574, 6005, 8771; from all of which meanings it is evident what ‘all kings will bow down and all nations serve’ is used to mean.

sRef Isa@66 @19 S5′ sRef Isa@66 @20 S5′ [5] In Isaiah,

They will announce My glory among the nations. At that time they will bring all your brothers from all nations as a gift to Jehovah, on horses, and in chariots, and in covered wagons, and on mules, and on fast runners,*** to My holy mountain, Jerusalem, even as the children of Israel bring their gift in a clean vessel to the house of Jehovah. Isa. 66:19, 20.

A person unacquainted with the internal sense of the Word may think that these things were said of the Jews who were to be brought in such a manner to Jerusalem by gentile nations. But forms of the good of love to and faith in the Lord are what those prophetic words describe and what ‘a gift’ is used to mean. ‘Horses’, ‘chariots’, ‘covered wagons’, ‘mules’, and ‘fast runners’ on or in which they were to be brought mean intellectual concepts, doctrinal teachings, and factual knowledge of truth and good, as is evident from the meaning of these carriers – for example, from that of ‘horses’, 2760-2762, 3217, 5321, 6125, 6401, 6534, 8029, 8146, 8148; from the meaning of ‘chariots’, 5321, 5945, 8146, 8148, 8215; and from the meaning of ‘mules’, 2781.

sRef Mal@3 @3 S6′ sRef Mal@3 @4 S6′ [6] In Malachi,

He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and purge them like gold, and like silver, in order that they may bring to Jehovah a gift in righteousness. Then the gift of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to Jehovah, as in the days of old, and as in former years. Mal. 3:3, 4.

Since ‘a gift offered to Jehovah’ means the good of love and faith, it speaks here of their ‘bringing to Jehovah a gift in righteousness’ and of a gift ‘acceptable to Jehovah’. ‘Purifying the sons of Levi and purging them like gold and silver’ means purifying goodness and truth from evils and falsities, ‘the sons of Levi’ being those who have faith and charity, thus who belong to the spiritual Church, 3875, 4497, 4502, 4503, and ‘Judah’ being the good of celestial love, thus those with whom that good exists, 3654, 3881.
* lit. does not accept faces
** i.e. a bribe
*** i.e. dromedaries or swift camels

sRef Ex@23 @16 S0′ 9294. ‘And the feast of the harvest of the firstfruits of [your] labours, which you have sown in the field’ means worship of the Lord and thanksgiving on account of the implanting of truth in that good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the feast’ as worship of the Lord and thanksgiving, dealt with above in 9286, 9287; from the meaning of ‘the harvest’ as truth when it becomes fruitful, thus its implantation in good; from the meaning of ‘the firstfruits (or the beginnings) of labours’ as the things which come at the end of instruction and at the start of life, dealt with below; from the meaning of ‘sowing’ as giving instruction, dealt with in 9272; and from the meaning of ‘the field’ as the Church in respect of good, and so the Church’s good, dealt with in 2971, 3500, 3766, 7502, 9139, 9141. From these meanings it is evident that ‘the feast of the harvest of the firstfruits of labours, which you have sown in the field’ means worship of the Lord and thanksgiving because truth has been planted in good.

[2] The fact that these things are meant by this second feast is clear from what has been stated above in 9286, namely that three feasts were established on account of people’s deliverance from damnation, thus on account of their regeneration since it is through regeneration that a person is delivered from hell and brought to heaven. On this account the first feast, which was called the feast of unleavened bread, means purification from falsities; this second feast therefore means the planting of truth in good; and the third feast the implantation of good. For when a person is being regenerated he is first purified from falsities that arise from the evil of self-love and love of the world. That purification is accomplished by his being taught about evil, hell, and damnation, also about good, heaven, and eternal happiness, as a result of which he allows himself to be held back from evil deeds, intentions, and thoughts. When the ground has been prepared in that way, the truths of faith are sown in it, for they are not received before that. But the truths that are sown must be planted in good, for they have no ground anywhere else nor can they take root anywhere else. They are planted in good when a person wills truth, loves it, and does it. This state of regeneration or deliverance from damnation is meant by this feast, which is called ‘the feast of the harvest of the firstfruits of labours’, for ‘the harvest’ means truths when productive of good.

[3] When truths have been planted in good a person is no longer led by the Lord by means of truths but by means of good. This comes about when he wills good and does good from love and affection, that is, from charity. This state of regeneration or deliverance from damnation is meant by the third feast, which is called the feast of ingathering.

[4] These three feasts were also called the feast of Passover, the feast of weeks, and the feast of tabernacles; regarding these, see Exod. 34:18-22; Lev. 23:1-end; Deut. 16:1-end. By these three feasts the same things were represented as by the children of Israel being brought out of the land of Egypt, by their being brought into the land of Canaan, and by their dwelling in it. By the children of Israel being brought out of the land of Egypt the same thing was represented as by the first feast, called the Passover. This may be seen to be so from what has been shown regarding the Passover in 7093(end), 7867, 7995. For the bringing out of the children of Israel, on account of which that feast was established, meant the deliverance of those belonging to the spiritual Church from falsities by which they were molested, 7240, 7317, 9197.

[5] By the children of Israel being brought into the land of Canaan the same thing, namely the planting of truth in good, was represented as by this second feast, which was called ‘the feast of the harvest of the firstfruits of labours’ and also ‘the feast of weeks’. For ‘the land of Canaan’ is the Church in respect of good, and so the Church’s good, 1607, 3038, 3481, 3686, 3705, 4240, 4447, 4517, 5136, 6516, and ‘the children of Israel’ – in the abstract, without envisaging actual persons – are spiritual truths, 5414, 5879, 5951.

[6] By the dwelling of the children of Israel in the land of Canaan the same thing, namely the implantation of good and so life in heaven, was represented as by the third feast, which was called ‘the feast of ingathering’ of the fruits of the earth, and of ingathering from the threshing-floor and the press, also ‘the feast of tabernacles’.

From all this it is now evident why three feasts were established, namely for the reason that the human race, which wishes to receive new life from the Lord, is brought out of hell and into heaven, which is accomplished by the Lord through His Coming into the world.

sRef Ex@23 @16 S0′ sRef Lev@23 @10 S1′ sRef Lev@23 @11 S1′ sRef Lev@23 @12 S1′ sRef Lev@23 @21 S1′ sRef Lev@23 @13 S1′ sRef Lev@23 @19 S1′ sRef Lev@23 @20 S1′ sRef Lev@23 @15 S1′ sRef Lev@23 @14 S1′ sRef Lev@23 @16 S1′ sRef Lev@23 @18 S1′ sRef Lev@23 @17 S1′ 9295. This second feast, which was called ‘the feast of the harvest of the firstfruits of works’, also ‘of the firstfruits of wheat’ as well as ‘the feast of weeks’, means the planting of truth in good. This is clear from the establishment of it, spoken of in Moses as follows,

Say to the children of Israel, When you have come into the land which I am giving you, and you reap its harvest, you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, who shall wave the sheaf before Jehovah, so that you may be acceptable; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. And you shall offer on that day a he-lamb* as a burnt offering, also a minchah and a drink-offering. But you shall not eat bread or parched ears or green ones until that very day. After this you shall count for yourselves from the day after the sabbath, from the day you bring the sheaf of the wave-offering, seven sabbaths shall there be complete. Until the day after the seventh sabbath you shall count fifty days, and offer a new gift to Jehovah. You shall bring from your dwellings the bread of the wave-offering; it shall be baked with yeast, as firstfruits to Jehovah. Besides the bread you shall offer seven lambs, one young bull, and two rams, as a burnt offering, together with their minchah and drink-offering. Lev. 23:10-21; Deut. 16:9-12.

[2] No one can know what the meaning is of these details except from their internal sense. In that sense the seeds which are sown in the field are truths of faith which are planted in good. Harvest means their growing ripe when forms of good develop from them; for wheat and barley are forms of good, and ears containing them are truths accordingly linked to good. A sheaf is an ordered sequence and bringing together of such truths; for the truths have been arranged into sheaf-like groups. Waving means giving life to, for truths with a person are not living ones until they are rooted in good. The priest who waved the sheaf, that is, who gave life to forms of the good of truth, represented the Lord; for He is the Source of life in its entirety. Doing this on the day after the sabbath meant the holiness of goodness and truth joined together. Their not being permitted before then to eat bread, parched ears, or green ones meant not making the life of good their own before then, bread being the good of love, parched ears the good of charity, green ones the good of truth, and eating making one’s own. The requirement that from then seven sabbaths were to be counted until the feast, which therefore was held on the fiftieth day, meant a complete planting of truth in good until the first phase of a new state. Bread made with yeast which was offered then meant good not as yet completely purified. The waving of it meant giving it life. The burnt offering of the lambs, young bull, and rams, together with minchah and drink-offerings meant worship of the Lord that has all the essential characteristics of that good. These are the things that are meant by this feast and what happened then. And from all this it is evident that a second state in deliverance from damnation was meant, which was a state when truth was planted in good.

[3] Since this feast was called the feast of the firstfruits of harvest one needs to know what ‘harvest’ means in the Word. In a broad sense ‘the field’ that contains the harvest means the whole human race or the whole world, in a less broad sense the Church, in a narrower sense a member of the Church, and in an even narrower sense the good present in a member of the Church since this good receives the truths of faith as the field receives seeds. From the meaning of ‘the field’ it is evident what ‘harvest’ means. That is to say, in the broadest sense it means the state of the whole human race in respect of its reception of good through truth, in a less broad sense the state of the Church in respect of the reception of the truths of faith in good, in a narrower sense the state of a member of the Church in respect of that reception, and in a still narrower sense the state of good in respect of the reception of truth, and so the planting of truth in good.

sRef Matt@13 @37 S4′ sRef Matt@13 @39 S4′ sRef Matt@13 @38 S4′ [4] All this shows what ‘harvest’ means in the following places, as in Matthew,

He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world; the seed is the sons of the kingdom; the tares are the sons of the kingdom of the evil one;** the enemy who sows them is the devil; but the harvest is the close of the age, while the harvesters are the angels. Matt. 13:37-39.

‘The good seed’ is the truths of faith received from the Lord; ‘the Son of Man’ is the Lord in respect of the Church’s truths; ‘the world’ which ‘the field’ stands for is the entire human race; ‘the sons of the kingdom’ whom ‘the seed’ stands for are the Church’s truths of faith; ‘the sons of the kingdom of the evil one’ whom ‘the tares’ stand for are the Church’s falsities of faith; ‘the devil’ whom ‘the enemy’ stands for and who sows them is hell; ‘the close of the age’ which ‘the harvest’ stands for is the final state of the Church in respect of the reception of the truths of faith in good; and ‘the angels’ whom ‘the harvesters’ stand for are truths from the Lord. That such things are meant by those words spoken by the Lord may be recognized from their internal sense indicated throughout this explanation of them. All this also shows the manner in which the Lord spoke when He was in the world, namely by the use of images that carried a spiritual meaning, and the reason why He did so was in order that the Word might exist not only for the world but also for heaven.

sRef Joel@1 @11 S5′ sRef Rev@14 @16 S5′ sRef Rev@14 @15 S5′ sRef Joel@1 @9 S5′ sRef Joel@1 @10 S5′ [5] In Revelation,

An angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, Thrust in*** your sickle and reap, for the hour of harvesting has come for you; for the harvest of the earth has become dry. The one sitting on the cloud therefore thrust**** his sickle into the earth, and the earth was harvested. Rev. 14:15, 16.

‘The harvest’ here also stands for the final state of the Church in respect of the reception of the truths of faith in good. In Joel,

The priests have been mourning, the ministers of Jehovah. The field has been devastated, the land has been mourning because the grain has been laid waste, the new wine has failed, the oil languishes. Farmers have been put to shame, vinedressers have wailed over the wheat and over the barley, for the reason that the harvest of the field has perished. Joel 1:9-11.

This describes the ruination of the Church in respect of truths of faith and forms of the good of charity by means of such things as belong to the field, vineyard, and olive-grove. The Church itself is ‘the field’, and its final state, which the Lord called ‘the close of the age’, is ‘the harvest’.

sRef Joel@3 @13 S6′ sRef Isa@23 @1 S6′ sRef Jer@51 @33 S6′ sRef Isa@23 @3 S6′ sRef Isa@23 @2 S6′ sRef Jer@50 @16 S6′ [6] In the same prophet,

Send out the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down, for the winepress is full, the vats overflow – for great is their wickedness. Joel 3:13.

Here also ‘the harvest’ means the close of the age or final state of a Church laid waste. In Jeremiah,

Cut off the sower from Babel, and the one handling the sickle in the time of harvest. Jer. 50:16.

In the same prophet,

The daughter of Babel is like a threshing-floor; it is time to thresh her. Only a little while, and the time of harvest comes [to her]. Jer. 51:33.

‘The time of harvest’ stands for the final state of the Church there.

[7] In Isaiah,

Wail, O ships of Tarshish! For Tyre has been laid waste, so that there is no house nor anyone to go in. The inhabitants of the island are silent, O merchant of Sidon passing over the sea; they have replenished you. And through the great waters the seed of Shihor is the harvest of the Nile, her produce, to be the merchandise of nations. Isa. 23:1-3.

The holy things of the Church that are described in these verses cannot be known to anyone except from the internal sense. Everyone knows that the holy things of heaven and of the Church are present throughout the Word, and that for this reason the Word is holy. The literal sense of those verses describes things connected with the commerce of Tyre and Sidon, but without a holy and more internal sense those descriptions are not holy. What their meaning is in this more internal sense is evident if they are brought to the surface. ‘Ships of Tarshish’ are doctrinal teachings about truth and good; ‘Tyre and Sidon’ are cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth; ‘no house, so that there is not anyone to go in’ means that there is no longer any good in which truth can be planted; ‘the inhabitants of the island who are silent’ are more remote forms of good; ‘the seed of Shihor’ is true factual knowledge; and ‘the harvest of the Nile, her produce’ is good resulting from that knowledge, outside the Church.
* lit. son of a lamb
** The Latin means the sons of that of the evil one. Sw. derives this wording from the Latin Bible of Sebastian Schmidt. The Greek means simply the sons of the evil one.
*** lit. Send
**** lit. sent

sRef Ex@23 @16 S0′ sRef Lev@23 @39 S1′ sRef Deut@16 @15 S1′ sRef Deut@16 @13 S1′ 9296. ‘And the feast of ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in [the fruit of] your labours from the field’ means the worship of a thankful mind on account of the implanting of good after that, and so on account of regeneration and complete deliverance from damnation. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the feast’ as worship of the Lord and thanksgiving, dealt with above in 9286, 9287, 9294, and so the worship of a thankful mind; from the meaning of ‘ingathering’, when speaking of the implanting of truth in good, as the implanting of good itself; from the meaning of ‘the end of the year’ as the end of labours; and from the meaning of ‘when you have gathered in [the fruit of] your labours from the field’ as the enjoyment and use of all that has been planted in good. For not only products of the field are meant by ‘labours’ but also those of the vineyard and the olive-grove, so that the fruits of the earth are meant, as is evident from the description of this feast in Moses,

You shall celebrate the feast of tabernacles seven days, when you gather in from your threshing-floor, and from your winepress. And Jehovah your God will bless you in all your produce, and in all the labour of your hands. Deut. 16:13, 15.

And elsewhere,

On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the earth, you shall keep the feast of Jehovah seven days. Lev. 23:39.

[2] Since this feast means worshipping the Lord with a thankful mind on account of the implanting of good, and so on account of complete deliverance from damnation, what the implanting of good is must first be explained here. It has been shown in various places already that a person has two powers of life – the understanding and the will – and that the understanding is dedicated to receiving truth and the will to receiving good. For there are two realities to which all things throughout creation, both in heaven and in the world, have connection, namely truth and good. From this it is also evident that these two realities compose a person’s life, that the truth of faith and the good of charity compose his new life, and that unless they have both been implanted in the person he has no new life. In what way the truth of faith is sown and implanted in a person is well known in the Church, but in what way the good of charity is, is not as yet so well known. When a person is a young child he receives good from the Lord, that good being the good of innocence as it exists with young children. This good composes the first beginnings of a new will with a person, and it develops in the next period of life in the measure that he leads an innocent life among those of his own age, behaves properly in life and does what he is told by parents and teachers. It develops more fully however with those who subsequently allow themselves to be regenerated. This the Lord foresees, and according to the state of their subsequent life He makes provision for it. For in every present moment the Lord foresees what is bad and provides what is good; He does so from the moment the person is conceived even into eternity. At a later stage, when the person has grown up and starts to think from self, then to the extent that he is carried away by the delights of self-love and love of the world that new will, that is, first beginnings of a new will, is closed, and to the extent that he is not carried away by those delights it is opened and also perfected.

[3] But in what way it is perfected through the implanting of truth must be stated next. That new will, which is formed from the good of innocence, is the dwelling-place by means of which the Lord comes in and resides with a person, rousing the person to will what is good, and from willing good to doing it. This influx is effective with a person to the extent that he refrains from evils. It gives him the ability to know, see into, reflect on, and have an understanding of truths and forms of good. The truths and forms of good occur on the level of both private and public life, and he receives that ability according to his delight in service. After this the Lord flows by way of that good into the truths the person knows from the teachings of the Church; He then summons from his memory the kinds of truths that may help him serve usefully in life, implanting those truths in the good and perfecting it. So it is that the good present with a person depends entirely on his service in life. If that service is rendered for his neighbour’s benefit, that is, for the good of fellow-citizen, country, Church, heaven, and for the Lord, then that good is the good of charity. But if his service in life is rendered solely for the sake of self and the world, then those first beginnings of a new will are closed. Below them a will is formed from the evils of self-love and love of the world, and arising from this an understanding from falsities. This will is closed above and open below, that is, it is closed in heaven’s direction and open in the world’s. All this shows in what way truths are planted in good and give it form. It also shows that when a person is governed by good he is in heaven with the Lord; for as stated above, the new will, where the good of charity resides, is the Lord’s dwelling-place and is therefore heaven with a person. And the new understanding extending from it is so to speak a tabernacle or booth through which people pass in and out.

sRef Lev@23 @40 S4′ sRef Lev@23 @39 S4′ sRef Lev@23 @43 S4′ sRef Lev@23 @44 S4′ sRef Lev@23 @41 S4′ sRef Lev@23 @42 S4′ sRef Deut@16 @13 S4′ sRef Deut@16 @16 S4′ sRef Deut@16 @14 S4′ sRef Deut@16 @15 S4′ [4] These kinds of things in general and in particular were represented by this feast, which was a feast of ingathering of the fruits of the earth, and was called the feast of tabernacles. The establishment of this feast, spoken of in Moses as follows, shows that this is so,

On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the earth, you shall keep the feast of Jehovah seven days; on the first day there shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day a sabbath. And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of a fine tree,* fronds of palm trees, and the bough of a thick tree, and willows of the powerful stream; and you shall be glad before Jehovah your God seven days. You shall dwell in tabernacles seven days. All native Israelites shall dwell in tabernacles, that your generations may know that I caused the children of Israel to dwell in tabernacles when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. Lev. 23:39-44.

And elsewhere,

You shall celebrate the feast of tabernacles seven days, when you gather in from your threshing-floor, and from your press. You shall be glad in your feast, you and your son and your daughter and your male slave and your female slave and the Levite and the sojourner and the orphan and the widow who are within your gates. And you will be altogether glad. Deut. 16:13-15.

[5] The state when good has been implanted by the Lord through truth, thus the state when heaven resides with a person, was represented by this feast. This is evident from the internal sense of all that is mentioned in these passages, which is this: The fifteenth day of the seventh month means the end of the former state and the beginning of a new state. (That this is the meaning of the fifteenth, see 8400, and also of the seventh, 728, 6508, 8976, 9228.) The fruit of the earth, which had been gathered in by then, means the good of charity, 43, 55, 913, 983, 2846, 2847, 3146, 7690, 7692. Gathering in from the threshing-floor and from the press has a similar meaning. For grain, which is a product of the threshing-floor, is the good of truth, 5295, 5410; wine, which is a product of the press, is truth derived from good, 6377; and oil, which is also a product of the press, is good which is a source of truth, 886, 3728, 4582, 4638. A sabbath on the first day and a sabbath on the eighth day mean the joining of truth to good, and in a reciprocal manner the joining of good to truth, the sabbath meaning truth and good joined together, 8495, 8510, 8890, 8893, 9274. The reason why the eighth day too was called a sabbath is that eighth meant the beginning of a new state, 2044, 8400 (end).

[6] The fruit of a fine tree which they were to take on the first day meant festivity and joy because good had been implanted, which is why the words you shall be glad before Jehovah follow; fronds of palm trees meant internal truths of that good, 8369; the bough of a thick (or tangled) tree meant relatively external truths of good, or known facts, 2831, 8133; and willows of the powerful stream meant rather more external truths, which belong to impressions received by the bodily senses. The tabernacles in which they were to dwell seven days means the holiness of love received from the Lord and offered in return to the Lord, 414, 1102, 2145, 2152, 3312, 3391, 4391, 4599, also the holiness of union, 8666. Native Israelites means those governed by the good of charity, and therefore also means – in the abstract sense – that good, 3654, 4598, 5801, 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833, 6426, 7957. The rejoicing of all at that time meant the joy such as that felt by those who are governed by good received from the Lord, thus such as that felt by those in heaven. For one who is governed by the good of charity received from the Lord is in heaven with the Lord. These are the things on account of which that feast was established.
* lit. a tree of honour

sRef Ex@23 @17 S0′ 9297. ‘Three times in the year all your males shall be seen at the face of the Lord Jehovah’ means the Lord’s constant appearance and presence in like manner in the truths of faith as well. This is clear from the meaning of ‘three times in the year’ as complete and continuous, dealt with in 4495, 9198; from the meaning of ‘being seen’ as appearance and presence, dealt with in 4198, 5975, 6893; from the meaning of ‘males’ as the truth of faith, dealt with in 2046, 7838; and from the meaning of ‘face’, when attributed to Jehovah or the Lord, as the Divine Good of Divine Love, which is Mercy, dealt with in 222, 223, 5585, 7599. And since the Divine Good of Divine Love is Jehovah or the Lord Himself, ‘being seen at the face of the Lord Jehovah’ has the same meaning as being seen by the Lord. The Lord is indeed One who sees a person and establishes His presence with him, enabling the person to see Him; thus no one sees the Lord from himself but from the Lord present with him.

[2] How to understand the Lord’s constant appearance and presence in the truths of faith as well must be stated briefly. The Lord’s presence with a person is in the good residing with him, since good composes his life but not truth except in the measure that it derives from good. Consequently, as stated above in 9296, the Lord’s dwelling-place is in the good of innocence with a person. When therefore a person has been regenerated the Lord is present not only in the good residing with him but also in the truths deriving from the good; for the truths now receive their life from the good and are the outward form in which good exists and through which the essential nature of the good can be recognized. These truths are what constitute the person’s new understanding, which makes one with his new will. For as stated already, all things have connection with truth and with good, and a person’s understanding is dedicated to truths, but his will to good, from which the truths derive. From this it is evident how to understand the Lord’s appearance and presence then in the truths of faith as well. These are the things that are meant by the requirement that three times in the year every male was to be seen at the face of the Lord Jehovah. The reason why it says ‘males shall be seen’ is that the truth of faith is meant by ‘a male’; and the reason why it says ‘at the face of the Lord Jehovah’ is that ‘Jehovah’ means the Divine Being (Esse), and ‘the Lord’ the Divine Coming-into-Being (Existere) that arises from that Being. Consequently being (esse) on the human level is good, and coming-into-being (existere) that arises from it is truth.

[3] In the Church it is said that faith comes from the Lord; but it should be recognized that faith which is rooted in charity comes from the Lord, not faith separated from charity. Faith separated from charity springs from the self and is called faith that is no more than persuasion, which is dealt with under Teachings About Charity and Faith in the preliminary section of the next chapter. A person can know whether his faith comes from the Lord or from the self, for the faith of anyone who is influenced by truths solely for the sake of a reputation for being learned, which will bring him position and wealth, and not for the sake of leading a good and useful life, is no more than persuasion that comes from the self and not from the Lord.

[4] There are also theoretical truths of faith and there are practical ones. The person who considers theoretical truths for the sake of practical ones and sees how the theoretical fit in with the practical, the person who therefore sees how the two combine to result in a good and useful life and feels an affection for them both with this end in view, he has the faith that comes from the Lord. The reason for this is that the useful life, which is his end in view, consists in the good that resides with him; and it is that life which gives form to all things, the truths of faith being the means. It is transparently evident from those in the next life that this is so. All without exception there are restored to the state of good which was theirs or to the state of evil which was theirs, thus to what had moved them to serve a useful life, that is, to what had been their end in view, or what they had loved above all things and what had therefore been the actual delight of their life. Everyone is restored to this. The truths or the falsities that have made one with that service remain. In addition to these many more are acquired which combine with those truths or falsities, giving the usefulness greater solidity and definite shape. So it is that spirits and angels are the outward forms of whatever use they serve. Evil spirits are forms of evil use; these are in hell. Good spirits or angels are forms of good use; these are in heaven. This also explains why the moment they are present spirits can be recognized for what they are. Their truths of faith can be recognized from their face and from the beautiful way it is shaped. Their actual good, or their usefulness, can also be recognized from the fire of love in their face which enhances its beauty, as well as from the sphere emanating from them. From all this it is again made clear what the Lord’s presence in the truths of faith is.

sRef Ex@23 @18 S0′ 9298. ‘You shall not sacrifice the blood of My sacrifice with anything made with yeast’ means that worship of the Lord arising from the Church’s truths must not be mingled together with falsities arising from evil. This is clear from the meaning of ‘sacrificing’ and ‘sacrifice’ as worship of the Lord, dealt with in 922, 923, 2180, 2805, 2807, 2830, 3519, 6905, 8680, 8936; from the meaning of ‘something made with yeast’ as something falsified and falsity arising from evil, dealt with in 2342, 7906, 8051, 8058; and from the meaning of ‘blood’ as truth derived from good, thus the Church’s truth, dealt with in 4735, 6978, 7317, 7326, 7846, 7850, 7877, 9127. From these meanings it is evident that ‘you shall not sacrifice the blood of My sacrifice with anything made with yeast’ means that worship of the Lord arising from the Church’s truths must not be mingled together with falsities arising from evil. What falsity arising from evil and falsity not arising from evil are, see 1679, 2408, 4729, 6359, 7272, 8298, 9258.

[2] The reason why truths derived from good, which are the Church’s truths, must not be mingled together with falsities arising from evil is that they are in total disagreement. They are opposites, which causes them to clash, as a result of which either good perishes or evil is put to flight; for good comes from heaven, that is, from the Lord by way of heaven, and evil from hell. Truths may, it is true, exist with the evil, and also falsities with the good; but truths present with the evil are not mingled together with falsities arising from evil present with them as long as they reside solely in the memory, serving as the means to evil. As long as this is so the truths are devoid of life. But if the truths are falsified to lend support to evil, which is also brought about by perverse interpretation, they are mingled together. This leads to the profanation of truth, the nature of which, see 1008, 1010, 1059, 1327, 1328, 2051, 2426, 3398, 3399, 3402, 3489, 4601, 6348, 6595, 6959, 6963, 6971, 8394, 8943, 9188.

sRef Lev@2 @11 S3′ [3] The fact that accompanying a sacrifice with something made with yeast was forbidden is evident from the following law regarding a minchah, which was burned on the altar together with a sacrifice, the words of that law in Moses being,

Every minchah which you bring to Jehovah shall be made without yeast; no yeast nor any honey shall be used along with the fire-offering you burn to Jehovah. Lev. 2:11.

From all that has been said it is clear that the profanation of truth is meant by this law. It also explains why the words ‘the blood of [My] sacrifice’ are used and not simply ‘the sacrifice’; for ‘the blood’ is truth derived from good.

sRef Ex@23 @18 S0′ 9299. ‘And the fat of My feast shall not remain through the night until morning’ means the good of worship, which does not originate in the self but comes from the Lord and is always new. This is clear from the meaning of ‘remaining through the night’ as that which originates in the self, for ‘the night’ in the Word means evil and falsity, 221, 709, 6000, 7776, 7851, 7870, 7947, thus also the self since the human self or proprium is nothing other than evil and falsity, 210, 215, 694, 874-876, 987, 1023, 1044, 4328, 5660, 5786, 8480; from the meaning of ‘the fat’ as the good of love, dealt with in 353, 5943, at this point the good of love present in worship since the words that are used are ‘the fat of [My] feast’ and worship is meant by ‘a feast’, 9286, 9287, 9294; and from the meaning of ‘morning’ as the Lord and His coming, as becomes clear from what has been shown regarding ‘the morning’ in 2405, 2780, 5962, 8426, 8427, 8812, so that ‘the morning’ here, where the good of worship originating not in the self is referred to, means that which comes from the Lord and is always new.

sRef Ex@23 @19 S0′ 9300. ‘The first of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of [Jehovah] your God’ means that every truth of good and every good of truth is holy because it comes from the Lord alone. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the firstfruits of the ground’ as the truth that the Church’s forms of good and its truths must be attributed to the Lord alone (for these are meant by ‘the firstfruits’, see 9223, and the Church by ‘the ground’, 566, 1068), the expression ‘the first of the firstfruits’ being used because that truth must be paramount, since forms of good and truths receive their life from the Lord, that is, they receive it from the Lord when they are attributed to Him; and from the meaning of ‘bringing into the house of God’ as bringing them to the Lord, in order that they may be holy (for ‘the house of God’ is the Lord, see 3720, and everything holy comes from the Lord, 9229). From all this it is evident that ‘the first of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of your God’ means that every truth of good and every good of truth is holy because it comes from the Lord alone.

[2] The terms ‘truth of good’ and ‘good of truth’ are used because in the case of a person who is being regenerated, and especially of one who has been regenerated, truths emanate from good, and forms of good emanate from truth. For the truths compose the life of his understanding, and the good the life of his will. And with the person who has been regenerated understanding and will form a mind that is one, communicating reciprocally with each other; the truths which belong to the understanding communicate with the good which belongs to the will, and the good belonging to the will with the truths belonging to the understanding. There is a mutual flow from one to the other, scarcely any different from the flow of the blood from the heart into the lungs, and from them into the heart again, then from the left side of the heart into the arteries, and from these back again through veins into the heart. One can form an idea similar to this regarding the reciprocal flow of the good and truth with a person from his understanding into his will and from his will into his understanding. The reason why the heart and lungs can give us an idea especially of the reciprocal activity of the truth of faith and the good of charity in the understanding and the will is that the lungs correspond to the truths belonging to faith and the heart to the good belonging to love, 3635, 3883-3896. So it is also that ‘the heart’ in the Word means the life of the will, and ‘the soul’* the life of faith, 9050.

[3] The reason why those two organs can help us to form an idea regarding truths belonging to the understanding and good belonging to the will is that all things which are aspects of faith and of love are accompanied by ideas formed from such things as a person knows. For without ideas formed from things that can be known and things that can be perceived by the senses a person has no ability to think. And a person thinks properly, even about aspects of faith and love, when he does so from objects that correspond; for correspondences are natural truths in which spiritual truths are reflected as in a mirror. Therefore to the extent that ideas in the mind regarding spiritual realities are conceived of but not by means of those correspondences, they are formed either from the illusions of the senses or from absurdities. What a person’s ideas are like regarding aspects of faith and of love is transparently evident in the next life, for people’s ideas there are plainly perceptible.

[4] The statement that the truths of faith belong to a person’s understanding and the good of charity to his will may seem to be nonsensical to people who say and are convinced that having a belief in matters of faith is all that is necessary. This is because the natural man and his power of understanding has no grasp whatever of things of that nature, and because faith comes not from a person himself but from the Lord. But those same people nevertheless acknowledge and believe that a person is enlightened by truths and inspired by good when he reads the Word, and that when he is enlightened he perceives what is or is not the truth. They also speak of those who excel others in uncovering truths from the Word as the enlightened. From this it is evident that those who are enlightened see and perceive within themselves whether something is the truth or not; what is then enlightened within them is their understanding, and what is then inspired within them is their will. But if that which enlightens them is the authentic truth of faith and that which inspires them is the authentic good of charity, it is the internal man’s understanding that is enlightened and the internal man’s will that is inspired. The situation is different if the truth of faith, or the good of charity, is unauthentic. [5] People governed by these, and even those ruled by falsities and evils are indeed able to give their assent to the Church’s truths; yet they have no inner ability to see and perceive whether they really are truths. So it is that most people keep to the teachings of the Church in which they were born but go no further than giving their assent to them. They would assent even to extremely heretical beliefs such as those of Socinianism or Judaism if they had been born from parents holding such beliefs. From all this it is evident that the understanding is enlightened in the case of those with an affection for truth arising from good but not in the case of those with an affection for truth arising from evil. In the case of those with an affection for truth arising from good the internal man’s understanding is enlightened and the internal man’s will is inspired, whereas in the case of those with an affection for truth arising from evil the internal man’s understanding is not enlightened nor is the internal man’s will inspired, for the reason that they are natural men and women. As a consequence of this they maintain that the natural man has no ability to grasp any thing which is a matter of faith.

[6] The fact that the understanding is what is enlightened by the truths of faith and the will is what is inspired by the good of charity in the case of those with an affection for truth arising from good, who are therefore more internal or spiritual men and women, is evident from the same kind of people in the next life. Those who are there are able to understand all matters of faith and to will all that constitutes charity, as they themselves also clearly perceive. Consequently intelligence and wisdom beyond description are theirs; for after they have cast aside the body they enjoy that more internal understanding which was being enlightened in the world and that more internal will which was being inspired in the world. But they could not perceive during that time how they were being enlightened and inspired because during that time their thinking took place within the body and was founded on such things as belong to the world. From all this it is now clear that the truths of faith compose the life of the understanding and the good of charity composes the life of the will, that is, that the understanding ought to be present in those things which are matters of faith and the will in those which are aspects of charity. Or what amounts to the same thing, those two powers of mind are what faith and charity from the Lord flow into; and these are received according to the state of those powers. Thus the Lord’s dwelling-place with a person is nowhere else than within those powers.

[7] An idea of what more there is to all this may be gained from what has been stated about the internal man and the external man in 6057, 9279, namely this: The internal man has been created so as to conform to an image of heaven, but the external man so as to conform to an image of the world; and those whose internal man has not been opened up see nothing from a heavenly point of view. And what they see from a worldly point of view regarding heaven is thick darkness, as a consequence of which they cannot have any spiritual idea about such things as are matters of faith and charity. As a result of this furthermore they fail so completely even to see what Christian good is, that is, what charity is, that they entirely suppose that the life of heaven consists solely in truths, which they call the truths of faith, and also that this life can be imparted to anyone at all with whom the assurance of faith exists though not the life of faith.

[8] How blind these people are regarding the life of faith, which is charity, is plainly evident from the consideration that they pay no attention whatever to thousands of things taught by the Lord Himself regarding goodness of life, and that when they read the Word they instantly toss them away behind the back of faith, thereby concealing them from themselves and from others. So it is also that anything which has to do with good, that is, with charity and its works, is banished by them from the teachings of the Church to that lower body of teachings which they call moral theology, and which they regard as natural, not spiritual. But in reality the life of charity remains after death, and faith only in the measure that it accords with that life, that is, thought regarding the truths of faith remains in the measure that there is a will to do good in accordance with them. Those who have faith that arises out of good are able to use any factual knowledge whatever to corroborate things for themselves and thereby make their faith stronger, see 2454, 2568, 2588, 4156, 4293, 4760, 5201, 6047, 8629.
* The word for soul also means breath.

sRef Ex@23 @19 S0′ 9301. ‘You shall not cook a kid in its mother’s milk’ means that the good of innocence belonging to a later state must not be joined to the truth of innocence belonging to an earlier state. This is clear from the meaning of ‘cooking’ as joining together, dealt with in 8496; from the meaning of ‘a kid’ as the good of innocence, dealt with in 3519, 4871; and from the meaning of ‘milk’ as the truth of innocence, dealt with in 2184, 3183, so that ‘mother’s milk’ is the truth of earlier innocence. From these meanings it is evident that ‘you shall not cook a kid in its mother’s milk’ means that the good of innocence of a later state must not be joined to the truth of innocence of an earlier state. This is the heavenly arcanum from which that law springs; for all the laws and all the judgements and statutes which were given to the children of Israel contain heavenly arcana, to which they also correspond. But how this arcanum should be understood – that the good of innocence belonging to a later state must not be joined to the truth of innocence belonging to an earlier state – must be stated briefly. The innocence belonging to an earlier state is the innocence that exists with young children and older ones, but the innocence belonging to a later state is the innocence that exists with grown up and elderly people who are governed by the good of love to the Lord. The innocence that exists with young children and older ones is external and resides in thorough ignorance, whereas the innocence of elderly people is internal and resides in wisdom. Regarding the difference between the two, see 2305, 2306, 3183, 3494,* 4797.

[2] The innocence which resides in wisdom consists in a person’s knowing, acknowledging, and believing that all by himself he cannot understand anything at all or will anything at all, and therefore in his refusal to try and understand or will anything all by himself, only in the power of the Lord; and also this, that whatever he thinks he understands all by himself is false, and whatever he thinks he wills all by himself is evil. This state of life is that of the innocence of a later state, which is that of all in the third heaven, called the heaven of innocence. This is why they are filled with wisdom, for what they understand and what they will comes from the Lord. But the innocence which resides in ignorance, such as that present with young children and older ones, consists in believing that everything they know and think, and also everything they will, is theirs within them, and that therefore everything they say and do comes from themselves. They have no idea that these are illusions. The truths that go with this innocence are based for the most part on the illusions of the outward senses, which however must be dispelled as a person advances towards wisdom. From this brief explanation it may be recognized that the good of innocence belonging to a later state must not be joined to the truth of innocence belonging to an earlier state.
* The Latin reads 3495. Possibly 3494, 3994, 3995 is intended.

sRef Ex@23 @27 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @26 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @25 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @23 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @22 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @24 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @29 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @30 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @28 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @20 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @21 S0′ 9302. Verses 20-30 Behold, I send an angel before you to keep you safe on the way, and to bring you to the place which I have prepared. Take notice of his face, and hear his voice, lest you provoke him, for he will not bear your transgression; for My name is in the middle of him. For if you indeed hear his voice and do all that I speak, I will act as enemy to your enemies and will act as adversary to your adversaries. When My angel goes before you, and brings you to the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, and I cut them off, you shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; for you shall utterly destroy them and completely break to pieces their pillars. And you shall serve Jehovah your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will remove sickness from the midst of you. None will suffer miscarriage or be barren* in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days. I will send My terror before you and throw into confusion all the people to whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their necks towards you.** And I will send the hornet before you, and it will drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you. I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest perhaps the land becomes desolate and the wild animal of the field multiplies against you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you become fruitful and inherit the land.

‘Behold, I send an angel before you’ means the Lord’s Divine Human. ‘To keep you safe on the way’ means His providence and protection from falsities arising from evil. ‘To bring you to the place which I have prepared’ means being brought into heaven by Him according to goodness of life and of faith. ‘Take notice of his face’ means holy fear. ‘And hear his voice’ means obedience to the commandments received from Him. ‘Lest you provoke him’ means turning away from Him through falsities arising from evil. ‘For he will not bear your transgression’ means because those falsities are repugnant to truths springing from good. ‘For My name is in the middle of him’ means that from Him comes all the good of love and truth of faith. ‘For if you indeed hear his voice’ means learning and accepting the commandments of faith. ‘And do all that I speak’ means an obedience springing from faith and love. ‘I will act as enemy to your enemies’ means that the Lord will turn away all falsities arising from evil. ‘And will act as adversary to your adversaries’ means that He will turn away all evils from which falsities arise. ‘When My angel goes before you’ means a life in keeping with the Lord’s commandments. ‘And brings you to the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, and I cut them off’ means when the Lord provides protection against the evils and falsities molesting the Church, and removes them. ‘You shall not bow down to their gods’ means that falsities arising from evil must not be worshipped. ‘Nor serve them’ means that neither must they be obeyed. ‘Nor do according to their works’ means that evils of life must not be pursued. ‘For you shall utterly destroy them’ means that evils must be completely removed. ‘And completely break to pieces their pillars’ means that the same must be done to falsities of worship. ‘And you shall serve Jehovah your God’ means worship of the Lord alone. ‘And He will bless your bread and your water’ means the increase of the good of love and of the truth of faith. ‘And I will remove sickness from the midst of you’ means protection from falsifications of truth and adulterations of good. ‘None will suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land’ means that forms of good and truths will develop in their proper order, in continuous progression. ‘I will fulfill the number of your days’ means all the way to a state of completeness. ‘I will send My terror before you’ means the terror felt, on account of truths springing from good, by those immersed in evils arising from falsity. ‘And throw into confusion all the people’ means the dismay of all falsities. ‘To whom you come’ means because of the Lord’s presence. ‘And I will make all your enemies turn their necks towards you’ means the flight of falsities and their damnation. ‘And I will send the hornet before you’ means the dread felt by those who are steeped in falsities arising from evil. ‘And it will drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you’ means the flight of falsities arising from evils. ‘I will not drive them out from before you in one year’ means no hurried flight or removal of them. ‘Lest perhaps the land becomes desolate’ means a deficiency in that case, and little spiritual life. ‘And the wild animal of the field multiplies against you’ means an inrush of falsities arising from the delights of self-love and love of the world. ‘Little by little I will drive them out from before you’ means a removal effected gradually according to order. ‘Until you become fruitful’ means in keeping with the increase of good. ‘And inherit the land’ means when governed by good, thus when regenerated.
* lit. There will not be the miscarrying one and the barren one
** lit. I will give all your enemies to you [as to] the neck

sRef Ex@23 @20 S0′ sRef Isa@63 @9 S1′ sRef Mal@3 @1 S1′ sRef Mal@3 @2 S1′ 9303. ‘Behold, I send an angel before you’ means the Lord’s Divine Human. This is clear from the meaning of ‘sending’, when it refers to the Lord, as going forth, dealt with in 6831, at this point causing to go forth; and from the meaning of ‘an angel’ as one who goes forth, for the word for ‘angel’ in the original language means one who has been sent. This is the derivation of the word, and ‘one sent’ means one going forth, as becomes clear from the places in the Word referred to in 6831. From this it is evident that ‘the angel of Jehovah’ is used to mean the Lord’s Divine Human, for this comes forth from Jehovah as the Father. Jehovah as the Father is the Divine Good of Divine Love, which is Essential Being (Esse), 3704; and He who comes forth from the Father is the Divine Truth emanating from that Divine Good. He is accordingly the Divine Coming-into-Being (Existere) that arises from the Divine Being; and this Coming-into-Being is meant here by ‘an angel’. The like occurs in Isaiah,

The angel of His face delivered them; because of His love and His compassion He redeemed them, and took them and carried them all the days of eternity. Isa. 63:9.

And in Malachi,

Behold, suddenly there will come to His temple the Lord whom you are seeking, and the angel of the covenant in whom you delight. Mal. 3:1, 2.

‘To the Lord’s temple’ means to His Human. The Lord Himself teaches that this is His temple, in Matthew 26:61, and in John 2:19, 21, 22.

[2] The Church declares that from the three who are named Father, Son, and Holy Spirit exists a Divine Unity, also called One God, and that the Son proceeds from the Father, and the Holy Spirit from the Father through the Son. But what proceeding or going forth means remains unknown. Angels’ ideas about this are altogether different from those of people in the Church who have given thought to the matter. The reason for this is that the ideas of people in the Church are based on three, but those of angels on one. And the reason why the ideas of people in the Church are based on three is that they distinguish the Divine [Being] into three separate persons, to each of whom they attribute particular and specific functions. Consequently although they are indeed able to say that God is one, they can conceive only of three made one through mystical union, as they call it. This indeed allows them to conceive of Divine Unity but not of One God, since they have God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit in mind. Divine Unity is unity arrived at through agreement and so unanimity; but One God is wholly and completely one.

[3] What kind of idea or way of thinking members of the Church have about one God is perfectly clear in the next life, for each individual person takes his ideas and thoughts with him. In their thinking they envisage three gods, but they dare not to use the word ‘gods’, only ‘God’. Few moreover make one out of three through union; for they think of the Father in one way, of the Son in another, and of the Holy Spirit in yet another. This has shown what kind of belief the Church has regarding the most essential thing of all, namely the Deity Himself. And since the belief and thoughts and the love and affections of all in the next life bring them together or set them apart, those who have been born outside the Church and have believed in one God shy away from those within the Church. They say that those within the Church do not believe in one God but in three gods, and that those who do not believe in one God in human form believe in no God at all, since they think of the whole universe, endless in extent, and so think of the natural order, which they acknowledge in place of God. When members of the Church are asked what they understand by ‘proceeding’ when they say that the Son proceeds from the Father, and the Holy Spirit from the Father through the Son, they reply that ‘proceeding’ is a term which has to do with union and is all part of that mystery.

[4] But when their ideas and thoughts about it have been examined, they have proved to be no more than those of a term and nothing of real substance. But angels’ ideas about the Godhead, about the Trinity, and about proceeding are altogether different from those of members of the Church, because angels’ ideas and thoughts, as stated above, are based on one, whereas those of members of the Church are based on three. Angels think – and what they think they believe – that there is one God and He is the Lord, that His Human is the Deity Himself in outward form, and that the holiness proceeding from Him is the Holy Spirit, thus that though there is a Trinity the Deity is intrinsically One.

[5] An idea concerning the angels in heaven may serve to make this intelligible. An angel there is seen in human form; nevertheless there are three things with him which make one. There is the inward part of him which does not appear before people’s eyes, there is the outward part which does appear, and there is the sphere of the life belonging to his affections and thoughts, which flows out far and wide from him, regarding which see 1048, 1053, 1316, 1504-1519, 1695, 2489, 4464, 5179, 6206 (end), 7454, 8063, 8630. These three make one angel. But angels are finite, created beings, whereas the Lord is Infinite and Uncreated; and since no one, not even an angel, can have an idea of the Infinite except from things that are finite, it is permissible to use such an example to shed light on what the Three in One is, on the truth that there is One God, and on the truth that He is the Lord, and no other. See in addition what has been shown already on these matters in the places referred to in 9194 and 9199.

sRef Ex@23 @20 S0′ 9304. ‘To keep you safe on the way’ means His providence and protection from falsities arising from evil. This is clear from the meaning of ‘keeping safe’, when it refers to the Lord, as providence, for providence consists in making provision for something and looking towards it, thus in leading towards good, and in protecting from evil (for the Lord provides what is good but foresees what is evil, 6489, and since He foresees what is evil He also protects a person from it, otherwise he could not be provided with good); and from the meaning of ‘the way’ as truth, dealt with in 627, 2333, 3477, in this instance falsity as well since the words ‘keep safe’ are used. He who leads in the way of truth also protects from falsity, because falsity molests and attacks truth. The reason why falsity arising from evil is meant is that this falsity engages in molestation and mounts attacks, but not falsity which does not arise from evil, such as exists with those governed by good. Regarding this falsity, as well as falsity arising from evil, see 2243, 2408, 2863, 4736, 4822, 6359, 7272, 7437, 7574, 7577, 8051, 8137, 8149, 8298, 8311, 8318 (end), 9258, 9298.

sRef John@14 @2 S0′ sRef John@14 @3 S0′ sRef Mark@10 @40 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @20 S0′ 9305. ‘To bring you to the place which I have prepared’ means being brought into heaven by Him according to goodness of life and of faith. This is clear from the meaning of ‘bringing to the place’, that is, into the land of Canaan, as bringing into heaven, for ‘the land of Canaan’ means the Church, and also heaven, 1607, 3038, 3481, 3705, 3686, 4447, 5136, 6516 (bringing the children of Israel into that land represented the bringing of faithful believers into heaven); and from the meaning of ‘preparing’, when it refers to heaven, meant by ‘the land of Canaan’, as granting it in mercy to those with whom goodness of life and of faith is present, for it is they for whom heaven is said to have been prepared, as in Matthew,

Then the King will say to those at His right hand, Come, O blessed of My Father, take possession, as an inheritance, of the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Matt. 25:34.

In Mark,

To sit at My right hand and at My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared. Mark 10:40.

And in John,

I go away to prepare a place for you. And if I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am you may be also. John 14:2, 3.

‘Preparing heaven’ means preparing those who are to be brought into heaven; for heaven is granted according to their degree of preparation, that is, of their reception of good. Heaven exists within a person, and the place a person has in heaven is determined by the state of life and faith that is his. For people’s place there corresponds to their state of life, and therefore also a place seen in the next life is in accord with a state of life, and in itself is a state, 2625, 2837, 3356, 3387, 4321, 4882, 5605, 7381.

sRef Ex@23 @21 S0′ 9306. ‘Take notice of his face’ means holy fear. This is clear from the meaning of ‘taking notice of the face’, when it has reference to the Lord, whom ‘the angel’ is used to mean to here, as fearing that He may be angry on account of evils, or provoked on account of transgressions, as below; and fearing these things is holy fear. Regarding this fear, see 2826, 3718, 3719, 5459, 5534, 7280, 7788, 8816, 8925. The words ‘taking notice of his face’ are used because ‘the face’ means the interior things that constitute a person’s life, thus his thought and affection, and in particular his faith and love. The reason for this is that the face has been fashioned so that it can produce an image of a person’s interiors. It has been so fashioned to the end that those things which belong to the internal man may appear within the external, thus to the end that those things which belong to the spiritual world can be visualized in the natural world and so have an effect on one’s neighbour. It is well known that the face presents visually, or as if in a mirror, what a person thinks and loves. This is so with honest people’s faces, and especially with angels’ faces, see 1999, 2434, 3527, 3573, 4066, 4326, 4796-4799, 5102, 5695, 6604, 8248-8250. For this reason ‘face’ in the original language is a general term that is used to describe the feelings a person has which reveal themselves, such as those of indulgence, favour, goodwill, helpfulness, or kindness, and also lack of pity, anger, or vengeance. So it is that in that language when this word is coupled with another it means beside, with, in front of, on account of, or else against, thus whatever is within, from, for, or against the person himself. For as has been stated, ‘the face’ is a person’s true self, or that present within a person which reveals itself.

sRef Num@6 @26 S2′ sRef Ps@67 @1 S2′ sRef Num@6 @25 S2′ [2] All this enables one to know what is meant by the face of Jehovah, or ‘the face of the angel’, who in this instance is the Lord in respect of His Divine Human – namely the Divine Good of Divine Love, and the Divine Truth emanating from that Divine Good, since these reside within Jehovah or the Lord, come from Him, indeed are Himself, see 222, 223, 5585. From this it is evident what ‘the face of Jehovah’ means in the Blessing,

Jehovah make His face shine upon you and be merciful to you. Jehovah lift up His face upon you and give you peace. Num. 6:25, 26.

In David,

God be merciful to us and bless us and make His face shine upon us. Ps. 67:1.

The like may be seen in Ps. 80:3, 7, 19; 119:134, 135; Dan. 9:17; and in other places.

sRef John@14 @7 S3′ sRef John@14 @10 S3′ sRef Isa@63 @9 S3′ sRef Isa@63 @8 S3′ sRef Isa@63 @7 S3′ sRef John@14 @11 S3′ sRef John@14 @8 S3′ sRef John@14 @9 S3′ [3] So it is that the Lord’s Divine Human is called ‘the angel of Jehovah’s face’ in Isaiah,

I will cause the mercies of Jehovah to be remembered. He has rewarded* them according to His mercies, and according to the abundance of His mercies; and He became their Saviour. And the angel of His face saved them; in His love and in His pity He redeemed them. Isa. 63:7-9.

The reason why the Lord’s Divine Human is called ‘the angel of Jehovah’s face’ is that the Divine Human is the Divine Himself facially, that is, in outward form, as also the Lord teaches in John,

If you know Me you know My Father also, and from now on you know Him and have seen Him. Philip said, Show us the Father. Jesus said to him, Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father. I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. John 14:7-11.

sRef Lev@17 @10 S4′ sRef Ps@34 @16 S4′ sRef Jer@21 @10 S4′ [4] ‘Jehovah’s (or the Lord’s) face’ also means anger, vengeance, punishment, and ill. It does so because simple people, in accepting the general idea that all things come from God, believe that even ill, especially the misery of punishment, comes from Him. For this reason – in keeping with that general idea, and also with appearances – anger, vengeance, punishment, or ill is attributed to Jehovah the Lord, when in fact the Lord is not the source of them but man. Regarding this, see 1861, 2447, 5798, 6071, 6832, 6991, 6997, 7533, 7632, 7877, 7926, 8197, 8227, 8228, 8282, 8483, 8632, 8875, 9128. This kind of meaning appears here in ‘take notice of his face, lest you provoke him, for he will not bear your transgression’, and also in Leviticus,

Whoever eats any blood, I will set My face against the soul eating blood and will cut him off from among his people. Lev. 17:10.

In Jeremiah,

I have set My face against the city for ill and not for good. Jer. 21:10.

And in David,

Jehovah’s face is against evildoers, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. Ps. 34:16.
* Reading retribuit (has rewarded) for retribuet (will reward)

sRef Ex@23 @21 S0′ 9307. ‘And hear his voice’ means obedience to the commandments received from Him, that is to say, from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘hearing’ as obedience, dealt with in 2542, 3869, 4652-4660, 7216, 8361; and from the meaning of ‘voice’, when it refers to the Lord, as God’s truths, dealt with in 7573, 8813, thus commandments received from the Lord. God’s truths and the commandments received from the Lord are those contained in the Word; therefore also the Word and teachings drawn from the Word are ‘Jehovah’s voice’, 219, 220, 6971.

sRef Ex@23 @21 S0′ 9308. ‘Lest you provoke him’ means turning away from Him through falsities arising from evil. This is clear from the meaning of ‘provoking’, or rousing to anger – when it has reference to the Lord, who is ‘the angel’ here – as turning away through falsities arising from evil; for every falsity arising from evil is a turning away from the Lord, dealt with in 4997, 5746, 5841.

sRef Ps@2 @12 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @21 S0′ 9309. ‘For he will not bear your transgression’ means because those falsities are repugnant to truths springing from good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘transgression’ as things which are contrary to the truths of faith, dealt with in 9156, thus which are repugnant to truths springing from good, which the truths of faith are. The reason why truths springing from good are the truths of faith is that faith goes together with good, so much so that it cannot exist except where good does. Consequently ‘not bearing your transgression’ means not putting up with falsities arising from evil because they are repugnant to truths springing from good. Regarding that repugnance, see above in 9298. The meaning here is similar to that in David,

Kiss the Son lest He be angry, and you perish on the way, for His anger will flare up quickly. Blessed are all putting their trust in Him. Ps. 2:12.

The Lord is here called ‘the Son’ by virtue of the truth of faith that comes from Him, for that truth is meant by ‘the Son’, see 1729, 1733, 2159, 2803, 2813, 3704.

sRef Ex@23 @21 S0′ 9310. ‘For My name is in the middle of him’ means that from Him comes all the good of love and truth of faith. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the name of Jehovah’ as everything in its entirety by which God is worshipped, dealt with in 2724, 3006, and so all the good of love and truth of faith, 6674; and from the meaning of ‘in the middle of him’ as the fact that they exist within Him, and therefore also come from Him. The good of love is such that what exists within it exists also in others from itself; for it shares what is its own. The essential characteristic of love is to give its whole self up willingly to others. And since it does so from the Divine Himself through His Divine Human, and then from the Divine Human, therefore also the Lord is called, in respect of His Divine Human, ‘the name of Jehovah’, 6887, 8274.

sRef Matt@18 @20 S2′ sRef John@20 @31 S2′ sRef John@1 @12 S2′ sRef John@3 @18 S2′ sRef Matt@18 @19 S2′ sRef Matt@19 @29 S2′ [2] Anyone who does not know what ‘name’ means in the internal sense may think that wherever ‘the name of Jehovah’ or ‘the name of the Lord’ occurs in the Word it implies no more than His name, when in fact all the good of love and all the truth of faith which come from the Lord are meant, as in Matthew,

If two of you agree in My name* on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them. Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them. Matt. 18:19, 20.

In the same gospel,

Everyone who leaves houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields, for My name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will be allotted the inheritance of eternal life. Matt. 19:29.

In John,

As many as received [Him], to them He gave power to be sons of God, to those believing in His name. John 1:12.

In the same gospel,

He who does not believe is judged already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:18.

In the same gospel,

These things have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. John 20:31.

In these and in very many other places ‘the Lord’s name’ means all the good of love and truth of faith in their entirety by which He is worshipped.

sRef John@10 @3 S3′ sRef John@14 @14 S3′ sRef John@14 @13 S3′ sRef John@14 @6 S3′ sRef John@15 @16 S3′ sRef John@15 @7 S3′ [3] In John,

If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, you will ask whatever you will, and it will be done for you. Whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give it to you. John 15:7, 16.

‘Asking the Father in My name’ means asking the Lord, as He Himself teaches in the same gospel,

Whatever you ask in My name, I will do it. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. John 14:13, 14.

The reason why ‘asking in the Lord’s name’ means asking the Lord is that no one can come to the Father except through the Lord, John 14:6, and the Lord’s Divine Human is Jehovah or the Father in visible form, as shown above in 9303, 9306. In the same gospel,

The sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out. John 10:3.

‘The sheep’ stands for those who are governed by the good of charity and faith; ‘hearing the voice’ stands for obeying commandments; and ‘calling by name and leading out’ stands for conferring heaven in keeping with the good of charity and truth of faith, since ‘name’, in regard to people, means the nature of their love and faith, 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 3421.
* These three words which Sw. apparently copied from the Schmidius’ Latin version do not occur in the original Greek.

9311. ‘For if you indeed hear his voice’ means learning and accepting the commandments of faith. This is clear from the meaning of ‘hearing’ as learning and accepting, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘voice’ as the commandments of faith, as above in 9307. In the Word ‘hearing’ means much more than simply hearing with the ear. Besides this it means receiving things in the memory and learning them, also receiving them in the understanding and believing them, and in addition receiving them in obedience and doing them. The reason why all this is meant by ‘hearing’ is that speech heard by the ear passes on into a person’s inner sight, which is the understanding, and so is received within the person. Then what is seen there is either retained, believed, or obeyed, according to how compelling the reasons for it are or else how far the person has been swayed by others. So it is that there is a correspondence of the ear and of hearing with such things in the spiritual world; regarding this, see 4652-4660, 5071, 7216, 8361, 8990.

sRef Matt@13 @13 S2′ sRef Matt@13 @16 S2′ sRef Matt@13 @17 S2′ sRef Matt@13 @15 S2′ sRef Matt@13 @14 S2′ [2] The fact that ‘hearing’ means receiving things in the memory and learning them, also receiving them in the understanding and believing them, and in addition receiving them in obedience and doing them, is also evident from the following places: In Matthew,

I speak in parables, because those who see do not see, and those who hear do not hear, nor do they understand, that in them may be fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which says, By hearing you will hear and not understand, and seeing you will see and not discern. This people’s heart has become gross, and with ears they have heard in a dull manner, and their eyes they have closed, lest perhaps they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and with their heart understand. Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Many prophets and righteous people desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it. Matt. 13:12-17.

In this passage the word ‘hear’ is used with all its meanings; it stands both for learning and for believing, as well as for obeying. ‘Those who hear do not hear’ stands for being taught things and yet not believing them, also for learning them and not obeying them. ‘With ears they have heard in a dull manner’ stands for refusing to learn, believe, and obey. ‘Blessed are your ears, for they hear’ stands for the blessedness that comes as a result of accepting the teachings of faith which concern the Lord and are received through the Word from the Lord.

sRef Matt@17 @5 S3′ sRef John@10 @2 S3′ sRef John@3 @29 S3′ sRef John@10 @8 S3′ sRef John@10 @27 S3′ sRef John@10 @3 S3′ sRef Luke@8 @8 S3′ sRef John@10 @16 S3′ sRef Matt@11 @15 S3′ [3] In John,

He who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep; the sheep hear His voice. Those who were before Me were thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not hear them. Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. John 10:2, 3, 8, 16, 27.

‘Hearing His voice’ stands for learning the commandments of faith and accepting them in faith and obedience. The same things are meant by the words the Lord used so many times, He who has an ear to hear, let him hear, Matt. 11:15; 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9, 23; 7:16; Luke 8:8; 14:35.

sRef John@18 @37 S4′ sRef John@5 @25 S4′ sRef John@8 @47 S4′ sRef Luke@16 @29 S4′ [4] The same are also meant in the following places: In Matthew,

Behold, a voice from the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son; hear Him. Matt. 17:5.

In John,

He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. John 3:29.

In the same gospel,

Truly I say to you, that the hour will come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. John 5:25.

‘The dead’ stands for those who do not as yet have spiritual life owing to lack of knowledge of the truth of faith; ‘hearing the voice of the Son of God’ stands for learning the truths of faith and obeying them; ‘living’ stands for being endowed with spiritual life through those truths.

sRef Mark@7 @37 S5′ sRef Matt@7 @24 S5′ sRef John@16 @14 S5′ sRef Luke@6 @47 S5′ sRef Matt@7 @26 S5′ sRef John@16 @13 S5′ [5] In the same gospel,

He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God. John 8:47.

In the same gospel,

Jesus said, Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice. John 18:37.

In Luke,

Abraham said to the rich man, They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them. Luke 16:29.

In Mark,

They said about Jesus, He has done all things well, for He makes the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak. Mark 7:37.

‘The deaf’ stands for those who have no knowledge of the truths of faith and therefore are unable to live in accordance with them, see 6989. ‘Hearing’ stands for learning, accepting, and obeying them. In John,

When the Spirit of Truth comes He will guide you into all truth; He will not speak from Himself, but whatever He hears He will speak. He will receive from what is Mine. John 16:13, 14.

‘Whatever He hears’ stands for whatever He receives from the Lord. In Matthew,

Everyone who hears My words and does them I will liken to a wise man. But everyone hearing My words yet not doing them will be likened to a foolish man. Matt. 7:24, 26.

And in Luke,

Everyone who comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show [you] whom he is like. Luke 6:47.

‘Hearing His words’ and ‘hearing His sayings’ stand for learning and knowing the commandments of faith which come from the Lord; ‘doing’ stands for living in accordance with them.

9312. ‘And do all that I speak’ means an obedience springing from faith and love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘doing the things I speak’ as leading a life in accord with the things the Lord has taught in the Word; for the things which Jehovah speaks are what the Word teaches, and so what the Lord – who is the Word, John 1:1, 2, 14 – teaches. Leading a life in accord with those things implies an obedience to them that springs from faith and love. An obedience springing from faith and love is a living obedience since it has life springing from faith and love within it. Such obedience may be likened to any human deed. Within a human deed nothing has life except love and faith; all else with any life receives it from them and in accord with them. For the life of love and faith is life derived from the Lord, who is life itself; this life is heaven’s life and the life of all who will become angels. The situation with obedience is the same as with a human deed.

9313. ‘I will act as enemy to your enemies’ means that the Lord will turn away all falsities arising from evil. This is clear from the meaning of ‘acting as enemy’, when it refers to Jehovah or the Lord, as turning away, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘your enemies’ as falsities arising from evil. These are ‘enemies’ in the spiritual sense, because they constantly molest, attack, and try to destroy truths springing from good; for they are opposites. The reason why ‘acting as enemy’, when it refers to Jehovah or the Lord, means turning away – turning away falsities arising from evil – is that the Lord never acts as enemy. For He is Mercy itself and Goodness itself, and enmity finds no place for itself in Mercy itself and Goodness itself, not even enmity against falsity and evil. But falsity and evil act in enmity against goodness and truth, that is, those ruled by falsity and evil do so against those governed by truth and good. And since they destroy themselves when they try to destroy those governed by truth and good it seems as though the Lord acts as their enemy, when in fact He is simply keeping safe His own. This shows how to understand the explanation that ‘acting as enemy’, when it refers to the Lord, means turning away falsities arising from evil. For more about the nature of this arcanum, see what has been shown in 4299, 7643, 7679, 7710, 7926, 7989, 8137, 8146, 8265, 8945, 8946.

9314. ‘And will act as adversary to your adversaries’ means that He will turn away all evils from which falsities arise. This is clear from the meaning of ‘acting as adversary’, when it refers to Jehovah or the Lord, as turning away, dealt with immediately above in 9313; and from the meaning of ‘adversaries’ as evils from which falsities arise, since those evils in the spiritual sense are ‘adversaries’ opposed to forms of good from which truths spring. The reason why evils from which falsities arise are meant by ‘adversaries’ is that falsities arising from evil are meant by ‘enemies’; for wherever falsity is the subject in the Word, so too is evil, even as when truth is the subject so too is good, see 683, 793, 801, 2173, 2516, 2712, 3132, 4138 (end), 5138, 5502, 6343, 7945, 8339. From this it is evident that one thing is meant by ‘acting as enemy to enemies’ and another thing by ‘acting as adversary to adversaries’, and that the latter is not a repetition that occurs simply to make the subject sound more lofty.

sRef Ex@23 @23 S0′ 9315. ‘When My angel goes before you’ means a life in keeping with the Lord’s commandments. This is clear from the meaning of ‘going before you’ – when it refers to the Lord, who is ‘the angel of Jehovah’ here – as teaching the commandments of faith and life, and therefore also a life in keeping with those commandments, (‘going’ and ‘travelling on’ mean living, see 1293, 3335, 4882, 5493, 5605, 8417, 8420, 8557, 8559); and from the meaning of ‘the angel of Jehovah’ as the Lord’s Divine Human, dealt with above in 9303, 9306. The reason why the Lord’s Divine Human is meant by ‘the angel’ is that the numerous angels who appeared in times before the Lord’s Coming into the world were Jehovah Himself in human form, that is, in that of an angel. This is plainly evident from the fact that angels who appeared were called Jehovah, such as those who appeared to Abraham and are spoken of in Genesis 18. The fact that they were called Jehovah may be seen in verses 1, 13, 14, 17, 20, 26, 33, of that chapter, as was the one who appeared to Gideon and is spoken of in Judges 6. The fact that this angel too was called Jehovah may be seen in verses 12, 14, 16, 22-24, of that chapter. The same may be seen in other places besides these. Jehovah Himself in human form, or what amounts to the same thing, in that of an angel, was the Lord. sRef John@5 @37 S2′ sRef John@6 @46 S2′ sRef John@17 @5 S2′ sRef John@8 @56 S2′ sRef John@8 @58 S2′ [2] His Divine Human appeared in those times as an angel, of whom the Lord Himself speaks in John,

Jesus said, Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and saw it and was glad. Truly, truly, I say to you, Before Abraham was, I am. John 8:56, 58.

And in the same gospel,

Father, glorify Me in Your Own Self with the glory I had with You before the world was. John 17:5.

Jehovah could not have appeared in any other way, as is again clear from the Lord’s words, in John,

You have never heard the Father’s voice nor seen His shape. John 5:37.

And in the same gospel,

No one has seen the Father except Him who is with God,* He has seen the Father. John 6:46.

From all this one may see what is meant by ‘the Lord from eternity’.

sRef John@10 @30 S3′ sRef John@17 @10 S3′ sRef John@14 @7 S3′ sRef John@14 @9 S3′ sRef John@14 @11 S3′ [3] The reason why the Lord was pleased to be born as Man (Homo) was in order that He might in reality take on a Humanity and make it Divine, to save the human race. Know therefore that the Lord is Jehovah Himself or the Father in human form, as yet again the Lord Himself teaches in John,

I and the Father are one. John 10:30.

In the same gospel,

Jesus said, From now on you know and have seen the Father. He who has seen Me has seen the Father. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me. John 14:7, 9, 11.

And in the same gospel,

All Mine are Yours, and all Yours are Mine. John 17:10.

sRef John@1 @18 S4′ sRef John@1 @14 S4′ sRef John@1 @3 S4′ sRef John@1 @2 S4′ sRef John@1 @1 S4′ [4] This great mystery is described in John in the following words,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the Only Begotten from the Father. Nobody has ever seen God; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known. John 1:1-3, 14, 18.

‘The Word’ is Divine Truth which has been revealed to mankind; and since it could not have been revealed except by Jehovah as Man, that is, except by Jehovah in human form, thus by the Lord, it says, ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God’. It is well known in the Church that ‘the Word’ is used to mean the Lord, for it is explicitly stated, ‘The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the Only Begotten from the Father’. The fact that Divine Truth could not have been revealed to mankind except by Jehovah in human form is also clearly stated, ‘Nobody has ever seen God; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known’.

sRef Luke@24 @39 S5′ sRef John@16 @28 S5′ [5] From all this it is evident that the Lord from eternity was Jehovah or the Father in human form, but not yet so in earthly flesh, for an angel does not have such flesh. And since Jehovah or the Father wished to take on everything human in order to save the human race, He also took flesh. This is why it says, The Word was God, and the Word became flesh, and in Luke,

See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; handle Me and see; for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see Me have. Luke 24:39.

By this the Lord taught that He was no longer Jehovah under the form of an angel but that He was Jehovah as Man. This is also what the following words spoken by the Lord serve to mean,

I came out from the Father and have come into the world; again I am leaving the world and going off to the Father. John 16:28.

The Lord made His Human Divine when He was in the world, see 1616, 1725, 1813, 1921, 2025, 2026, 2033, 2034, 2083, 2523, 2751, 2798, 3038, 3043, 3212, 3241, 3318 (end), 3637, 3737, 4065, 4180, 4211, 4237, 4286, 4585, 4687, 4692, 4724, 4738, 4766, 5005, 5045, 5078, 5110, 5256, 6373, 6700, 6716, 6849, 6864, 6872, 7014, 7211, 7499, 8547, 8864, 8865, 8878.
And everything human received from the mother was cast out, till at length He was not Mary’s son, 2159, 2649, 2776, 4963, 5157, and especially 3704, 4727, 9303, 9306, as well as the things shown regarding these matters in the places referred to in 9194, 9199.
* The Latin means with the Father but the Greek means with God.

sRef Ex@23 @23 S0′ 9316. ‘And brings you to the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, and I cut them off’ means when the Lord provides protection against the evils and falsities molesting the Church, and removes them. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the angel’, who will bring them to the nations mentioned by name, as the Lord, dealt with in 9303, 9315; from the meaning of ‘the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite’ as evils and falsities molesting the Church (which evils and which falsities are meant specifically by each nation, see 8054), for when the children of Israel were brought into the land of Canaan, that which served to represent the Church and heaven was established among them, and among the nations that which served to represent the evils and falsities molesting the Church (regarding this, see 3686, 4447, 6306, 6516, 8054, 8317); and from the meaning of ‘cutting off’ as providing protection, and so as removing. The mere protection of heaven by the Lord causes hell to be removed, that is, the mere protection of those governed by goodness and truth causes those ruled by evil and falsity to be removed, see just above in 9313.

sRef Ex@23 @24 S0′ 9317. ‘You shall not bow down to their gods’ means that falsities arising from evil must not be worshipped. This is clear from the meaning of ‘bowing down’ as adoration and worship, dealt with in 4689; and from the meaning of ‘the gods of the nations’ as falsities arising from evil, dealt with in 4544, 7873, 8867, 9283. Falsities arising from evil are worshipped when worship is performed in accord with teachings concocted out of falsified truths and adulterated forms of good. This happens when dominion and gain are thought of as the end in view, and truths from the Word as the means.

sRef Ex@23 @24 S0′ 9318. ‘Nor serve them’ means that neither must they be obeyed. This is clear from the meaning of ‘serving’ as obeying, dealt with in 8987, 8991, and also worship, 7934, 8057.

sRef Ex@23 @24 S0′ 9319. ‘Nor do according to their works’ means that evils of life must not be pursued. This is clear from the meaning of ‘works’ as evils of life. The fact that ‘not doing according to them’ means not following or pursuing them is self-evident.

sRef Ex@23 @24 S0′ 9320. ‘For you shall utterly destroy them’ means that evils must be completely removed. This is clear from the meaning of ‘destroying’ – when it has reference to evils and falsities, meant by the nations of the land of Canaan and their gods – as removing. The reason why ‘destroying’ means removing is that those governed by goodness and truth never destroy those ruled by evil and falsity, but merely move them away. This they do because good, not evil, governs their actions, and good comes from the Lord, who never destroys anyone. Those ruled by evil however and consequently by falsity try to destroy, and so far as they can they do destroy those governed by good. This they do because evil rules their actions. But since, when they try to do so, they make their attack on good which comes from the Lord, thus on what is of God, they destroy themselves, that is, they hurl themselves into damnation and into hell. Such is the law of order. And why it is such, see 4299, 7643, 7679, 7710, 7926, 7989, 8137, 8146, 8265, 8945, 8946.

[2] The reason why the Israelites and Jews were to destroy the nations of the land of Canaan was that they themselves represented spiritual and heavenly realities, while the nations represented hellish and devilish things, which can never exist together with those realities since they are opposites. The reason why they were allowed to destroy the nations was that no Church existed among them, only a representative of the Church, so that the Lord was not present among them either except through things of a representative nature, 4307. For they were interested in outward forms but not their inner substances, that is, in the worship that represented goodness and truth but not goodness and truth themselves. People like this are allowed to destroy, kill, and consign to slaughter and complete destruction. But people who are interested in outward forms and at the same time in their inner substance are not allowed to do those things, since their actions must be governed by good, and good comes from the Lord.

sRef Deut@32 @33 S3′ sRef Deut@32 @32 S3′ sRef Deut@9 @6 S3′ sRef Deut@32 @28 S3′ sRef Deut@9 @5 S3′ sRef Deut@32 @34 S3′ sRef Deut@9 @4 S3′ [3] The fact that the Jews and Israelites were such is declared explicitly by Moses,

Do not say in your heart, when Jehovah your God has thrust out the nations before you, Because of my righteousness Jehovah has brought me in to possess this land. It is not because of your righteousness and because of the uprightness of your heart; for you are a stiff-necked people. Deut. 9:4-6.

And elsewhere,

They are a nation from whom counsel has perished, nor is there intelligence in them. From the vine of Sodom comes their vine, and from the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of poison, they have clusters of bitterness. The poison of snakes (draco) is their wine, and the cruel poison of asps. Is not this hidden away with Me, sealed up in My treasuries? Deut. 32:28, 32-34.

‘The vine’ in the internal sense means the Church, 1069, 5113, 6375, 6376, 9277; ‘grapes’ and ‘clusters’ mean the internal forms and the external forms of that Church’s good, 1071, 5117, 6378; and ‘wine’ means that Church’s internal truth, 1071, 1798, 6377. From this one may see what is meant by the assertions that their vine comes from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah, that their grapes are grapes of poison and clusters of bitterness, and that their wine is the poison of snakes and the cruel poison of asps. The fact that all this was known to Jehovah, that is, to the Lord, is meant by the remarks about its being hidden away with Him and sealed up in His treasuries.

sRef Matt@12 @39 S4′ sRef Matt@3 @7 S4′ sRef John@8 @44 S4′ [4] In John,

Jesus said to the Jews, You are from your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has not stood in the truth. John 8:44.

This is why they are called a wicked and adulterous generation, Matt. 12:39, as well as a brood of vipers, Matt. 3:7; 12:34; 23:33; Luke 3:7. That they were like this is also described by the Lord in His parables in Matt. 21:33-45; Mark 12:1-9; Luke 14:16-24; 20:9ff.

Regarding that nation, that it was the worst nation; that in their worship they were interested in outward forms but not their inner substance; that no Church existed among them, only a representative of the Church; but that nevertheless they were able to represent the internal realities of the Church, see 3398, 3479, 3480, 3732 (end), 3881 (end), 4208, 4281, 4288-4290, 4293, 4307, 4314, 4316, 4317, 4429, 4433, 4444, 4500, 4503, 4680, 4815, 4818, 4820, 4825, 4832, 4837, 4844, 4847, 4865, 4868, 4874, 4899, 4903, 4911-4913, 5057, 5998, 6304, 6832, 6877, 7048, 7051, 7248, 7401, 7439, 8301, 8588, 8788, 8806, 8814, 8819, 8871, 8882, 9284.

sRef Ex@23 @24 S0′ 9321. ‘And completely break to pieces their pillars’ means that the same must be done to falsities of worship, that is to say, they must be removed. This is clear from the meaning of ‘breaking to pieces’ – when it has reference to falsities of worship, meant by ‘pillars’ – as removing, as above in 9320; and from the meaning of ‘pillars’ as falsities of worship, dealt with in 3727, 4580.

sRef Ex@23 @25 S0′ 9322. ‘And you shall serve Jehovah your God’ means worship of the Lord alone. This is clear from the meaning of ‘serving’ as worship, as above in 9318. The reason why worship of the Lord is meant is that in the Word ‘Jehovah’ is the Lord, 1343, 2921, 3035, 5663, 6280, 6281, 6303, 6945, 6956, 8864.

sRef Ex@23 @25 S0′ 9323. ‘And He will bless your bread and your water’ means the increase of the good of love and of the truth of faith. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being blessed by Jehovah’ as being made fruitful in forms of good and being multiplied in truths, dealt with in 2846, 3406, 4981, 6091, 6099, 8939, thus an increase in the kinds of things that belong to love and faith; from the meaning of ‘bread’ as the good of love, dealt with in 276, 680, 2165, 2177, 3478, 3735, 3813, 4211, 4217, 4735, 4976, 6118, 8410; and from the meaning of ‘water’ as the truth of faith, dealt with in 680, 739, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 6346, 7307, 8568. Since ‘bread’ meant all the good of love and ‘water’ all the truth of faith in their entirety, and since ‘being blessed by Jehovah’ means every increase in them, people in the ancient Churches were accustomed to express the wish, May Jehovah bless [your] bread and water. It was also common to speak of ‘bread and water’ when all natural food and drink were to be expressed and all spiritual goodness and truth to be understood; for the latter are what nourish spiritual life, just as the former nourish natural life, 4976. sRef Ezek@4 @16 S2′ sRef Ezek@4 @17 S2′ sRef Ezek@12 @19 S2′ sRef Isa@3 @1 S2′ [2] Such goodness and truth are meant by ‘bread and water’ in the following places: In Isaiah,

Behold, Jehovah Zebaoth is taking away from Jerusalem and Judah the whole staff of bread, and the whole staff of water. Isa. 3:1.

‘The staff of bread’ stands for power and life provided by good, ‘the staff of water’ for power and life provided by truth. In Ezekiel,

Behold, I am breaking the staff of bread in Jerusalem, so that they may eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and drink water by measure and with dismay; that they may be in want of bread and water, and will be dismayed with one another,* and waste away on account of their iniquity. Ezek. 4:16, 17.

‘Being in want of bread and water’ means being deprived of the good of love and of the truth of faith, as is plainly evident since it says ‘that they will be dismayed with one with another, and waste away on account of iniquity’.

sRef 1Ki@13 @24 S3′ sRef 1Ki@13 @16 S3′ sRef 1Ki@13 @19 S3′ sRef Amos@8 @11 S3′ sRef 1Ki@13 @18 S3′ sRef 1Ki@13 @8 S3′ sRef 1Ki@13 @9 S3′ sRef 1Ki@13 @17 S3′ [3] The like occurs again in the same prophet,

They will eat their bread with anxiety, and drink their water with dismay, so that her land may be devastated of its fullness, on account of the violence of all who dwell in it. Ezek. 12:19.

In Amos,

Behold, the days are going to come, in which I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but for hearing the words of Jehovah. Amos 8:11.

In the first Book of Kings,

The man of God said to Jeroboam, If you were to give me half your house, I would not go in with you; nor would I eat bread nor drink water in this place. For Jehovah had so commanded, saying, You shall not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the way you came. But a prophet from Bethel said to him that he had been told by Jehovah that he was to eat bread and drink water with him (he was lying).** And he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water. For that reason he was torn to pieces by a lion. 1 Kings 13:8, 9, 16-19, 24.

His refusal to eat bread or drink water with Jeroboam was a sign of his abhorrence of the good there and also of the truth, because they had been rendered profane. For Jeroboam had profaned the altar and all the holy things of worship, as is evident from the historical descriptions at this point in the Word.

[4] A lack of spiritual goodness and truth was meant by the absence of rain for three and a half years when Ahab was king, resulting in a lack of bread and of water, during which time Elijah went to a widow in Zarephath and asked her for a little water in a vessel so that he might drink, and a piece of bread so that he might eat, 1 Kings 17 and 18. For ‘bread’ meant all the good of the Church, and ‘water’ all the truth of the Church, as stated above. Since such things in those times were representative for the reason that only something representative of the Church existed among those people, and since things of a representative nature were used therefore in the composition of the Word, including the historical section, goodness and truth laid waste was accordingly represented by the lack of bread and water. And because ‘bread’ meant all the good of love in its entirety, therefore also the sacrifices were referred to as ‘bread’, 2165, and therefore also the Lord calls Himself ‘the bread which comes down from heaven’, John 6:48, 50, 51; for the Lord is the Good itself of Love.
* lit. will be desolated a man and his brother
** i.e. the prophet from Bethel was lying when he told the man of God that God had commanded him (that prophet) to bring the man of God to his house

sRef Ex@23 @25 S0′ 9324. ‘And I will remove sickness from the midst of you’ means protection from falsifications of truth and adulterations of good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘removing from the midst of you’ – when it refers to falsified truths and adulterated forms of good, meant by ‘sickness’ – as protection, for when the Lord protects someone from them He removes them, 9313, [9316;] and from the meaning of ‘sickness’ as falsified truth and adulterated good. These are the sicknesses of spiritual life, for spiritual life receives its existence from and is kept in existence by the truths that belong to faith and the forms of good that belong to love. When these are falsified and perverted, a person is ill; and when they are completely rejected in the heart the person is dead spiritually. Regarding ‘sicknesses’, that they mean such things and correspond to them, see 4958, 5711-5727, 8364, 9031 (end).

sRef Ex@23 @26 S0′ 9325. ‘None will suffer miscarriage or be barren in [your] land’ means that forms of good and truths will develop in their proper order, in continuous progression. This is clear from the meaning of ‘none will suffer miscarriage or be barren’ as the process of regeneration in its proper order, and therefore the development of forms of good and of truths in their proper order, in continuous progression, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘in the land’ as in the Church. In the Word ‘the land’ or ‘the earth’ means the Church, see 566, 662, 1066, 1067, 1262, 1413, 1607, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118 (end), 2571, 2928, 3355, 3368, 3379, 4447, 4535, 5577, 8011, 8732; and the reason why ‘the land’ means the Church is that it implies the land of Canaan, where the Church existed, indeed where it had existed since most ancient times, 3686, 4447, 4454, 4516, 4517, 5136, 6306, 6516, 8317. In the spiritual world furthermore, when a land is spoken of no one envisages a land but what the people and their religion in a land are like. Consequently when ‘the land’ is mentioned in the Word and it implies the land of Canaan, the Church is envisaged. All this goes to show what a new heaven and a new earth is used to mean in the prophetical parts of the Word, namely the internal Church and the external Church, 1850, 3355, 4535; for there are internal people and there are external people.

sRef John@3 @9 S2′ sRef John@3 @6 S2′ sRef John@3 @10 S2′ sRef John@3 @4 S2′ sRef John@3 @3 S2′ sRef John@3 @5 S2′ [2] The reason why ‘none will suffer miscarriage or be barren in the land’ means that forms of good and truths will develop in their proper order, in continuous progression, is that all things connected with childbirth are used in the internal sense of the Word to mean such things as are connected with spiritual birth, thus such as are connected with regeneration, 2584, 3860, 3868, 3905, 3915. The things connected with spiritual birth or regeneration are the truths of faith and forms of the good of charity; for through these a person is conceived and born anew. It is evident from a large number of places in the Word that such things are meant by ‘births’, and plainly so from the Lord’s words to Nicodemus,

Jesus said to him, Truly, truly I say to you, Unless a person is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said, How can a person be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born? Jesus answered, Truly, truly I say to you, Unless a person has been born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, but that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit. Nicodemus said, How can these things happen? Jesus answered, Are you a teacher in Israel, and do not know these things? John 3:3-6, 9, 10.

‘Being born through water and the Spirit’ means being born again through the truths of faith and the good of love, see the places referred to in 9274.

[3] The origin of this meaning of ‘births’ in the Word lies in the correspondence of marriages on earth with the heavenly marriage, which is the marriage of goodness and truth. Regarding this correspondence, see 2727-2759. But scarcely anyone at the present day knows, and perhaps scarcely anyone is willing to recognize that truly conjugial love comes down from that marriage; for earthly and bodily things are before people’s eyes, and those things have a dampening and smothering effect when they think about such correspondence. Furthermore, since that is the source of truly conjugial love, ‘births’ and ‘generations’ in the internal sense of the Word mean things connected with new birth and generation effected by the Lord. So it is also that father, mother, sons, daughters, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, grandsons, and many more who are the product of marriages, mean forms of good and truths, and derivations from them, dealt with many times in explanatory sections.

sRef Hos@9 @14 S4′ sRef Hos@9 @15 S4′ sRef Hos@9 @13 S4′ [4] From all this it now becomes clear that ‘none will suffer miscarriage or be barren in the land’ means that forms of good and truths will develop in their proper order, in continuous progression. The fact that ‘one suffering miscarriage’ and ‘one who is barren’ mean instances of miscarriage and barrenness in a spiritual sense, that is, the perversions of goodness and truth, and also the destruction and total rejections of them, is evident from the following places: In Hosea,

Ephraim, when I saw it reaching as far as Tyre, was planted in a beautiful [place]; and Ephraim must lead out its sons to the killer. Give them, O Jehovah, a miscarrying womb and dry breasts. On account of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of My house. Hosea 9:13-15.

Unless people know what it is that ‘Ephraim’, ‘Tyre’, ‘the killer’, ‘sons’, ‘a miscarrying womb’, and ‘dry breasts’ mean in the internal sense, they cannot have any knowledge at all of what those prophetic statements imply. ‘Ephraim’ is the Church’s power of understanding, which is an understanding enlightened in regard to the truths and forms of the good of faith obtained from the Word, see 3969, 5354, 6222, 6234, 6238, 6267; ‘Tyre’ is the cognitions or knowledge of truth and good, 1201; and from this it is evident what ‘Ephraim, when I saw it reaching as far as Tyre, was planted in a beautiful place’ means. ‘A killer’ is one who deprives another of spiritual life, that is, the life provided by truth and good, 3607, 6767, 8902; ‘sons’ are the truths of faith, 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 2813, 3373, 3704, 4257; and from this it is evident what ‘Ephraim must lead out its sons to the killer’ means. ‘Breasts’ are affections for goodness and truth, 6432, so that ‘dry breasts’ are the absence of affections, and desires to pervert instead; and from this it is evident what ‘a miscarrying womb’ means, namely a perversion of goodness and truth. Things connected with spiritual life are clearly meant by all these words, for it says, ‘On account of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of My house’, ‘out of Jehovah’s house’ meaning out of the Church and out of heaven, 2233, 2234, 3720, 5640.

sRef Mal@3 @12 S5′ sRef Mal@3 @11 S5′ [5] In Malachi,

I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that he does not ruin for you the fruit of the land, nor will the vine in the field miscarry for you. All the nations will declare you blessed, and you will be a land of delight. Mal. 3:11, 12.

The prophecy that the vine in the field would not miscarry means that the truths and forms of the good of faith among those who are within the Church will develop in their proper order; for ‘the vine’ is the spiritual Church’s truth and good, 1069, 6375, 6376, 9277, and ‘the field’ is the Church, 2971, 3766, 7502, 9139, 9295. ‘A land of delight’ is a Church pleasing to the Lord; for everyone within the Church who has been regenerated through truth and good is an embodiment of the Church. From this it is evident what it is that ‘you will be a land of delight’ means, ‘a land’ being the Church, see above.

sRef Deut@7 @14 S6′ sRef Gen@30 @1 S6′ sRef Deut@7 @12 S6′ sRef Deut@7 @15 S6′ [6] In Moses,

If you hear My judgements, to keep and do them, you will be blessed above every people; none will be unfruitful or barren among you, or among [your] beasts. Jehovah will take away all sickness from you, and all the evil diseases of Egypt. Deut. 7:12, 14, 15.

‘None will be unfruitful or barren’ stands for not being devoid of the life provided by truth and good; thus it is a promise that spiritually they will have life. Since ‘barrenness’ had such a meaning, women in the ancient Churches did not think of themselves as being alive if they were barren. This was so with Rachel, who spoke of herself to Jacob – see 3908 – in the following words,

Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob [any children]; and she said to Jacob, Give me sons; if you do not, I am dead. Gen. 30:1.

sRef Ps@113 @9 S7′ sRef Ps@113 @8 S7′ sRef Isa@54 @1 S7′ sRef Ps@113 @7 S7′ [7] ‘The barren’ also means those who are without good because they do not possess truths, yet have a desire for truths in order that they may be governed by good, as with upright nations outside the Church. An example of this meaning occurs in Isaiah,

Sing, O barren one that did not bear; resound with singing and cry out with joy, O one that has not been in travail, for the sons of her that is desolate will be more than the sons of her that was married. Isa. 54:1.

In David,

Jehovah lifts one who is crushed out of the dust, He raises the needy one from the dunghill, to set him with the princes of His people. He causes the barren one of the house to dwell as a joyful mother of children. Ps. 113:7-9.

sRef 1Sam@2 @5 S8′ sRef Luke@23 @29 S8′ [8] In Hannah’s prophetic utterance after she had given birth to Samuel,

The full have been hired out [for bread], and the hungry have ceased [to be hungry], till she who was barren has borne seven, while the one who has many children has become feeble. 1 Sam. 2:5.

In these places ‘the barren’ is used to mean gentile nations who are being summoned to the Church, and to whom the Church is transferred when the old Church has come to an end, that is, when those who formerly belonged to the Church no longer possess faith because they do not have any charity. This old Church is meant by ‘the one who has many children has become feeble’ and by ‘her that was married’, while the new one among gentile nations is meant by ‘her that is barren and desolate who will have many more sons’ and by ‘the barren one of the house [who dwells as] a joyful mother of children’. ‘Bearing seven’ means being regenerated completely, for ‘seven’ in this prophetic utterance does not mean seven but to completion, 9228. From all this it is evident what the following words spoken by the Lord serve to mean,

The days will come in which they will say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that have not borne, and the breasts which have not nursed! Luke 23:29.

This refers to the close of the age, which is the final period of the Church.

sRef 2Ki@2 @20 S9′ sRef 2Ki@2 @21 S9′ sRef 2Ki@2 @19 S9′ [9] In the second Book of Kings,

The men of Jericho said to Elisha, Behold, the city’s situation is good, but the water is bad and the land barren. Then Elisha told them to put salt in a new dish and to throw the salt from it into the source of the water. And the water was healed, and no more death or barrenness came from it. 2 Kings 2:19-21.

No one can know what this description holds within it except from the internal sense; for all the miracles described in the Word hold within them the kinds of things that happen within the Lord’s kingdom, that is, within the Church, 7337, 7465, 8364, 9086. A person needs to know therefore what ‘Elisha’ represented, what ‘the city of Jericho’ meant, what ‘bad water and barren land’ meant, what ‘a new dish and salt in it’ meant, and also what ‘the source of the water’ into which they were to throw the salt meant. ‘Elisha’ represented the Lord in respect of the Word, see 2762. ‘Water’ means the truths of faith, 28, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 6346, 7307, 8137, 8138, 8568, and therefore ‘bad water’ means truths devoid of good, while ‘barren land’ means the Church’s good which as a consequence is not alive. ‘A new dish’ or new vessel means factual knowledge and cognitions of goodness and truth, 3068, 3079, 3316, 3318. ‘Salt’ means truth’s desire for good, 9207. ‘The source of the water’ means the human natural which receives the cognitions or knowledge of truth and good and is improved by truth’s desire for good.

sRef John@13 @10 S10′ [10] From all this it is evident what that miracle held within it, namely the improvement of the Church and its life by the Lord’s Word and by truth’s desire for good from there. The improvement is brought about when the human natural receives truths from the Word as a result of such a desire. The reason why the miracle took place at the city of Jericho was that this city was located not far from the Jordan, and ‘the Jordan’ means that with a member of the Church which first receives truths, which is the natural, 1585, 4255. The human natural is the first to receive truths from the Lord which are present in the Word, but it is regenerated last; and when it has been regenerated the whole person has been regenerated. This was meant by the Lord’s words to Peter when He washed the disciples’ feet,

Jesus said, He who has been washed has no need except to wash his feet, and the whole person is clean. John 13:10.

‘The feet’ are those things that belong to the human natural, and in general are the natural, see 2162, 3147, 3761, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952, 5327, 5328. The natural or external man must be in agreement with the spiritual or internal man if a person is to be regenerated. Thus a person has not been regenerated until the natural has been, see 2850, 3167, 3286, 3321, 3470, 3493, 3508, 3509, 3518, 3573, 3576, 3579, 3620, 3623, 3671, 3882, 3969, 4353, 4588, 4612, 4618, 5168, 5326, 5373, 5651, 6299, 6454, 7442, 7443, 8742-8747, 9043, 9046, 9061.

sRef Ex@23 @26 S0′ 9326. ‘I will fulfill the number of your days’ means all the way to a state of completeness. This is clear from the meaning of ‘days’ as states of life, dealt with in 23, 487, 488, 493, 893, 2788, 3462, 3785, 4850, 5672, 5962, 6110, 7680, 8426, in this instance the state of new life or spiritual life, which is that of one who has been regenerated; and from the meaning of ‘fulfilling the number’ as continuing to completeness. All the way to a state of completeness means even until a person has been regenerated. The development of the truths and forms of good in their proper order, in continuous progression – meant by the words ‘none will suffer miscarriage or be barren in the land’, dealt with immediately above in 9325 – continues all the way to such completeness.

sRef Ex@23 @27 S0′ 9327. ‘I will send My terror before you’ means the terror felt, on account of truths springing from good, by those immersed in evils arising from falsity. This is clear from the meaning of ‘terror’ as the terror felt by those immersed in evils that arise from falsity; and from the meaning of ‘the children of Israel’, before whom the terror would be sent, as those governed by spiritual good, which is truth springing from good, dealt with in 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833, 7957, 8234, 8805. The nations in the land of Canaan who would feel terror on account of the children of Israel mean evils arising from falsity and falsities arising from evil, see 1413, 1437, 1573, 1574, 1607, 1868, 4517, 6306, 8054, 8317. So it is that ‘I will send My terror before you’ means the terror felt by those immersed in evils arising from falsity, on account of truths springing from good. The implications of all this are that all power in the spiritual world is provided by truths that spring from good, thus by truths that emanate from the Lord.

[2] This is made perfectly clear by the consideration that the Lord arranges into order all things in heaven and all things in hell, as well as all things in the world, by means of truths coming from Him. For Divine Truth emanating from the Lord is the actual means by which all things are brought into being and by which all things are kept in being. This is incomprehensible to those who think on solely a material level, as those people do who attribute the origin and continued existence of all things to natural forces. These people cannot have any other idea about truths than this, that truths do not possess any power because they are solely objects of thought, and thought is not seen by them to be an essential entity, still less something substantial,* even though they know that thought controls the whole body and causes individual parts to move in exact accord with its own disposition. Nor also do they see that in the whole of creation nothing exists which lacks connection with truth that springs from good. Regarding truth, that it holds all power within it and is a supreme essential entity, see 8200. From all this it is evident that angels possess power which they receive from God’s truth that emanates from the Lord, and that this is why they are called ‘powers’. As regards the nature of truths that spring from good, that is, of truths coming from the Lord, see my experience involving the arm which corresponds to such truth, spoken of in 4932-4935.

sRef Lev@26 @36 S3′ sRef Ezek@32 @32 S3′ sRef Lev@26 @15 S3′ [3] Since all power belongs to truth it follows that no power whatever resides in falsity arising from evil, since it is an absence of truth springing from good, and so is an absence of power. Therefore also those in hell, since all there are steeped in falsities arising from evil, have absolutely no power at all. This being so, thousands of them can be rebuffed, thrown down, and dispelled by a single angel, almost exactly as fluff in the air can be by a puff from the mouth. From this one may see the reason for the terror felt by those steeped in falsities arising from evil on account of truths springing from good. This terror is called ‘the terror of God’ in Gen. 35:5; Job 13:21; and in Ezekiel,

I will put My terror in the land of the living, when he had been made to lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with those slain by the sword, Pharaoh and all his multitude. Ezek. 32:32.

And in Moses,

If you despise My statutes, and if your soul abhors My judgements, so that you do not do all My commandments, I will inject dismay into their heart, that the sound of a driven leaf may pursue them, and they may flee, like flight from the sword, and they may fall without [anyone] pursuing. Lev. 26:15, 36.

This describes the terror experienced by those who despise and reject statutes, judgements, and commandments, thus that felt by those who are immersed in evils arising from falsity and in falsities arising from evil. It says that ‘the sound of a leaf will pursue them, and they will flee, like flight from the sword’; and the reason why it says this is that ‘a leaf’ means truth, 885, and ‘the sword’ truth engaged in conflict against falsity arising from evil, 2799, 6353, 8294. The fact that those people possess absolutely no power at all against truth is meant by ‘they will fall without [anyone] pursuing’.
* i.e. having real existence in a higher dimension

sRef Deut@7 @23 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @27 S0′ sRef Zech@14 @13 S0′ 9328. ‘And throw into confusion all the people’ means the dismay of all falsities. This is clear from the meaning of ‘throwing into confusion’ as dismay, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘the people’ as those guided by truths, thus in the abstract sense as truths themselves, and in the contrary sense as falsities, dealt with in 1259, 1260, 2928, 3295, 3581, 6232. The reason why ‘throwing into confusion’ means dismay is that those who are dismayed are thrown in heart and mind into such confusion that they are mad and charge of their own accord into destruction. The fact that such dismay is meant by ‘throwing into confusion’ is evident in Zechariah,

On that day there will be great confusion from Jehovah among those who fight against Jerusalem. And everyone will seize his companion’s hand,* and his [other] hand will rise up against his companion’s hand. Zech. 14:12, 13.

‘Fighting against Jerusalem’ means doing so against the Church, thus also against the truths and forms of the good of faith which constitute the Church. ‘Confusion’, it is evident, means dismay to the point of madness. In Moses,

Jehovah your God will deliver up** the nations before you, and will throw them into great confusion until they are destroyed. Deut. 7:23.

‘Confusion’ stands for such dismay.
* lit. they will seize, a man his companion’s hand
** lit. will give

sRef Ex@23 @27 S0′ 9329. ‘To whom you come’ means because of the Lord’s presence. This is clear from the meaning of ‘coming to someone’ as presence, as in 5934, 6063, 6089, 7498, 7631. The reason why the Lord’s presence is meant is that the subject is the power of truth against evils and falsities, and all truth and its power emanate from the Lord. The children of Israel furthermore, to whom these words refer, mean truths that are received from the Lord, that is, spiritual truths, see 5414, 5879, 5951, 7957, 8234, 8805.

sRef Ex@23 @27 S0′ 9330. ‘And I will make all your enemies turn their necks towards you’ means the flight of falsities and their damnation. This is clear from the meaning of ‘enemies’ as falsities arising from evil, dealt with in 9313, 9314; and from the meaning of ‘turning the neck’ as flight. The reason why damnation is also meant is that when those steeped in falsities arising from evil flee on account of truths springing from good they throw themselves into hell, that is, into damnation.

[2] The implications of all this are that initially in the next life those steeped in falsities arising from evil fight against those guided by truths springing from good. They are allowed to fight for the reason that good can come out of it. The good that comes out of it is that by that experience those guided by truths springing from good are made stronger in truths against falsities, whereas those steeped in falsities arising from evil are made stronger in falsities and so bring about their own ruin. For in the next life falsities are taken away from those guided by truths springing from good, and truths are taken away from those steeped in falsities arising from evil. Accordingly, those guided by truths springing from good are raised to heaven, and those steeped in falsities arising from evil sink down into hell. And when they are in hell they are terrified and filled with dismay on account of the truths springing from good which angels possess from the Lord.

sRef Matt@13 @12 S3′ sRef Luke@19 @26 S3′ sRef Luke@19 @24 S3′ sRef Luke@19 @25 S3′ [3] The fact that such a state awaits those steeped in falsities arising from evil, and those guided by truths springing from good, is taught by the Lord in Matthew,

To him who has, it will be given, so that he may have more abundantly; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Matt. 13:12.

And in Luke,

Take the mina from him, and give to him who has ten minas. They said, Sir, he has ten minas. I say to you, that to everyone who has, it will be given; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Luke 19:24-26.

sRef Ex@23 @28 S0′ 9331. ‘And I will send the hornet before you’ means the dread felt by those who are steeped in falsities arising from evil. This is clear from the meaning of ‘hornets’ as falsities that are stinging and lethal and therefore cause feelings of dread. Terror is used in reference to those immersed in evils, and dread to those steeped in falsities; regarding the terror felt by the former, see above in 9327. The reason why the dread felt by those steeped in falsities is meant by ‘hornets’ is that these are winged creatures equipped with stings with which they can administer venomous pricks. For living creatures both great and small mean such things as compose human affections, that is, such as are connected with the will, or else they mean such things as compose human thoughts, that is, such as are connected with the understanding. For everything without exception in the human being has connection either with his will or with his understanding. Things that have no connection with one or the other do not exist in the human being, and so are not part of the human being. Creatures that walk and also ones that creep mean affections in both senses, and so mean forms of good or else evils since these belong to the affections, whereas flying creatures, including insects with wings, mean such things as belong to thought in both senses, and so mean truths or else falsities since these belong to thoughts.

Living creatures mean forms of good or else evils, see 9280. Ones that creep mean forms of good or else evils on the external level of the senses, 746, 909, 994. Flying creatures mean truths or falsities, 40, 745, 776, 778, 866, 911, 988, 3219, 5149, 7441. Consequently insects with wings mean the same things, but as they exist on the outermost levels of the human mind.

sRef Deut@7 @20 S2′ [2] But falsities, which are the subject now, are of many kinds. There are falsities which do no harm, there are falsities which do slight harm and those which do serious harm, and there are also those which are lethal. What kind they are is recognized from the evils they arise from. Every falsity that is harmful or that is lethal owes its existence to evil; for falsity arising from evil is evil revealing itself in an outward form. In the next life also, when such falsities are represented visually, they are seen as swarms of filthy insects and flying creatures, a terrifying sight that is determined by the type of evil from which the falsities derive. From all this it is evident why it is that the dread felt by those steeped in falsities arising from evil is meant by ‘hornets’. Similarly in Deuteronomy,

Jehovah your God will send the hornet among them, until those who are left and hide themselves from you have perished. Deut. 7:20.

[3] Throughout the Word various types of insects are mentioned, and wherever they are mentioned they mean falsities or evils in the outermost levels of the human mind, or the external level of the senses. These evils and falsities have their origin in the illusions of the senses and in various bodily pleasures and appetites, which mislead by means of their allurements and by outward appearances, and cause reason to assent to and so become immersed in falsities arising from evil. This type of falsities is meant by ‘the noxious flying insects’ of Egypt, see 7441, and likewise by ‘the locusts’ there, 7643. By ‘the frogs’ of Egypt reasonings arising from falsities are meant, 7351, 7352, 7384; by ‘the lice’ there evils of the same kind are meant, 7419; and by ‘worms’ falsities that devour and torment, 8481.

sRef Isa@7 @18 S4′ sRef Isa@7 @19 S4′ [4] Such evils and falsities are also meant by the various types of insects referred to in the following places: In Isaiah,

It will happen on that day, that Jehovah will whistle for the fly that is in the farthest part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Asshur. They will come and all of them will rest in the river of desolations, and in the clefts of the rocks, and in all bushes. Isa. 7:18, 19.

This refers to the Lord’s Coming, and to the state of the Church then. ‘The fly in the farthest part of the rivers of Egypt’ is falsity on the outermost levels of the human mind, that is, on the external level of the senses, 7441. ‘The bee in the land of Asshur’ is falsity perverting reasonings in the mind; for ‘Asshur’ means reasoning, 1186. ‘The river of desolations’ is falsity reigning everywhere; ‘the clefts of the rocks’ are the truths of faith lying in obscurity, because they have been removed from the light of heaven, 8581 (end); and ‘bushes’ are similar but newly developing truths, 2682.

sRef Joel@2 @25 S5′ sRef Joel@1 @4 S5′ sRef Amos@4 @9 S5′ sRef Joel@1 @5 S5′ sRef Joel@2 @24 S5′ [5] In Amos,

I struck you with blight and mildew; your very many gardens, and your vineyards, and your fig trees, and your olive trees the caterpillar (eruca) devoured. Amos 4:9.

In Joel,

What the caterpillar (eruca) has left the locust will devour, and what the locust has left the beetle (melolontha) will devour, and what the beetle has left the bruchus* will devour. Awake, you drunkards; and wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the new wine that has been cut off from your mouth. Joel 1:4, 5.

In the same prophet,

The threshing-floors are full of clean grain; the presses overflow with new wine and oil. And I will recompense for you the years that the locust has consumed, the beetle (melolontha), and the bruchus, and the caterpillar (eruca), My great army which I sent among you. Joel 2:24, 25.

Here falsities and evils on the outermost levels or the external level of the senses of a member of the Church are meant by these types of insects, as is evident from the specific details in these quotations; for they refer to the perversion of the Church’s truth and good. What ‘the locust’ and what ‘the bruchus’ mean may be seen in 7643; and the fact that the Church’s forms of good and its truths in general are meant by ‘gardens’, ‘vineyards’, ‘fig trees’, ‘olive trees’, ‘wine’, and ‘new wine’, which are destroyed by such creatures, has been shown often in explanations.

sRef Ps@105 @30 S6′ sRef Ps@105 @31 S6′ sRef Deut@28 @39 S6′ [6] In David,

He caused frogs to crawl forth onto their land, into the chambers of their kings. He spoke, that a swarm might come, lice in all their borders. Ps. 105:30, 31.

This refers to Egypt. What is meant by ‘frogs’ there, see 7351, 7352, 7384; and what by ‘lice’, 7419. In Moses,

You will plant and dress vineyards, but not drink wine nor gather [the fruit]; for the worm will eat it. Deut. 28:39.

‘The worm’ stands for all such falsity and evil in general.

sRef Isa@51 @8 S7′ sRef Isa@51 @7 S7′ [7] In Isaiah,

Do not fear the reproach of man (homo), and do not be dismayed by their slanders. For the moth will devour them as a garment, and the grub will devour them as wool. Isa. 51:7, 8.

‘The moth’ stands for falsities on the outermost levels of the human mind, and ‘the grub’ for evils there. For ‘a garment’ which the moth will devour means the lower or more external truths that belong to the sensory level of the human mind, 2576, 5248, 6377, 6918, 9158, 9212; and ‘wool’ which the grub will devour means the lower or more external forms of good that belong to the sensory level of the human mind, as is evident from many places in the Word, and also from the meaning of ‘a sheep’, from which wool is obtained, as the good of charity, 4169. What exactly are the outermost levels of the natural man, which are called those of the senses, and what they are like, see 4009, 5077, 5081, 5084, 5089, 5094, 5125, 5128, 5580, 5767, 5774, 6183, 6201, 6310-6318, 6564, 6598, 6612, 6614, 6622, 6624, 6844, 6845, 6948, 6949, 7442, 7645, 7693, 9212, 9216.
* i.e. a (wingless) kind of locust, possibly the larva of a locust

sRef Ex@23 @28 S0′ 9332. ‘And it will drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you’ means the flight of falsities arising from evils. This is clear from the meaning of ‘driving out’ as putting to flight, and so flight itself; and from the meaning of ‘the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite’ as falsities arising from evils, ‘the Hivite’ being falsity arising from mild evil, 6860, ‘the Canaanite’ falsity arising from rather serious evil, 4818, 8054, and ‘the Hittite’ falsity arising from the most serious evil, 2913, 6858. Regarding the nations in the land of Canaan, that they mean all evils and falsities in their entirety, see the places referred to in 9327.

sRef Ex@23 @29 S0′ 9333. ‘I will not drive them out from before you in one year’ means no hurried flight or removal of them, that is to say, of the falsities and evils meant by the nations in the land of Canaan. This is clear from the meaning of ‘driving out’ as flight, for those in the next life who are steeped in evils and falsities are not driven out but flee of their own accord (the fact that removal is also meant will be seen below); and from the meaning of ‘in one year’ as that which is hurried, for the words follow, ‘Little by little I will drive them out from before you’, meaning a gradual removal in keeping with order.

sRef Isa@1 @18 S2′ [2] The reason why ‘driving out’, when it has reference to evils and falsities, means removal is that falsities and evils are not driven out of a person but removed. Anyone who does not know the true nature of human deliverance from evils and falsities, which is the forgiveness of sins, thinks that sins are wiped out when they are said to have been forgiven. The literal sense of the Word which speaks several times in that kind of way leads people to think so. As a result of this the minds of very many people have been taken over by the erroneous idea that they are righteous and pure after they have received absolution. But they have no knowledge whatever of the true nature of the forgiveness of sins. They do not know that no one is purified from sins; rather people are withheld from them by the Lord when they are such that they can be maintained in goodness and truth, and they can be maintained in goodness and truth when they have been regenerated, because then they have acquired the life of the good of charity and of the truth of faith. All that a person thinks, intends, says, and does from earliest childhood enters into the composition of his life. Those things cannot be banished, only removed; and when they are removed it seems as though the person is without sins, because they have been removed, see 8393, 8988 (end), 9014. The Word speaks in keeping with the appearance that a person thinks and does what is good and true unaided, by himself (the reality being that he does so not by himself but with the Lord’s aid) when it says that he is free from sins, and also is righteous, as for instance in Isaiah,

Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow. Though they are as red as crimson,* they will be as wool. Isa. 1:18.

[3] The like is said many times elsewhere. The state of souls in the next life enables anyone to know that all this is true. All people take with them from this world into the next all that composes their life, that is, whatever they have thought, intended, spoken, or done, also indeed whatever they have seen or heard from early childhood right through to the last phase of their life in the world; not even the smallest detail of any of this is lacking, 2474. Those who have led a life of faith and charity while in the world can be withheld from evils and maintained in good, and so can be raised to heaven. Those however who have not led a life of faith and charity while in the world but a life of self-love and love of the world sink down to hell because they cannot be withheld from evils or maintained in good. From all this it is evident why it is that ‘driving out’, when it refers to what happens to falsities and evils, means removal. In this verse and the next that removal is the subject in the internal sense; there the arcana of it are disclosed.
* lit. purple

sRef Ex@23 @29 S0′ sRef Mal@3 @12 S1′ 9334. ‘Lest perhaps the land becomes desolate’ means a deficiency in that case, and little spiritual life, that is to say, if the removal were hurried. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the land’ as the Church in general and also in particular, the Church in particular being a person who becomes an embodiment of the Church, since the Church exists within a person and comprises one who has been regenerated (for the meaning of ‘the land’ as the Church in general, see 9325, and for its meaning as the Church in particular, or a person who has been regenerated, 82, 620, 636, 913, 1411, 1733, 2117, 2118 (end), 2571, 3368, 3379; this person is also called ‘the land’ in Malachi,

All the nations will declare you blessed, and you will be a land of delight. Mal. 3:12.)

and from the meaning of ‘desolate’ as a deficiency, and little spiritual life. For ‘desolate’, when used in reference to the Church within a person, means a deficiency of truth and good, thus also a deficiency of spiritual life since that life is provided by these. The implications of this, that there is a deficiency and little spiritual life if falsities and evils are removed hurriedly, are that when a person undergoes regeneration, which is accomplished by the implantation of spiritual truth and good, and at the same time by the removal of falsity and evil, the regeneration is not hurried but takes place slowly.

[2] The reason for this is that all the things the person has thought, intended, or done since early childhood have entered into the composition of his life. They have also formed themselves into a network which is such that one cannot be moved without all of them together being moved. For a wicked person is an image of hell, and a good person is an image of heaven; and also the evils and falsities with a wicked person are interconnected in the same way as the communities of hell are with one another, of which that person is a part, while the forms of good and the truths with a good person are interconnected in the same way as heavenly communities are with one another, of which this person is a part. From this it is evident that the evils and falsities with a wicked person cannot be removed suddenly from where they are. They can be removed only in the measure that forms of good and truths in their proper order have been implanted more deeply within the person; for heaven with a person removes hell. If the removal were done suddenly the person would pass out, for the whole network of things, every single one, would be thrown into confusion and deprive him of his life.

[3] The fact that regeneration or the implantation of the life of heaven with a person begins when he is a young child and continues right on to the final phase of his life in the world, and the fact that after life in the world his perfection continues for evermore, see 2679, 3203, 3584, 3665, 3690, 3701, 4377, 4551, 4552, 5126, 6751, 8772, 9103, 9296, 9297, and in particular 5122, 5398, 5912, 9258. Also, and this is an arcanum, a person’s regeneration in the world is merely the foundation for the unending perfection of his life. The person who has led a good life undergoes perfection in the next life; see what has been shown regarding young children, in 2289-2309, and regarding the state and condition of gentiles there, in 2589-2604.

sRef Ex@23 @29 S0′ 9335. ‘And the wild animal of the field multiplies against you’ means an inrush of falsities arising from the delights of self-love and love of the world. This is clear from the meaning of ‘multiplying’, when it has reference to a hurried removal of evils and falsities, as an inrush; and from the meaning of ‘the wild animal of the field’ as falsities arising from the delights of self-love and love of the world. For affections, good and bad, are meant in the Word by different kinds of beasts, 9280, and therefore affections for falsity that arise from the delights of self-love and love of the world are meant by ‘wild animals’. These affections are also represented in the next life by wild animals, such as panthers, tigers, boars, wolves, or bears. Such affections furthermore resemble wild animals, for people ruled by those loves are steeped in evils of every kind and in the falsities arising from them. They are like wild animals in the way they see and treat companions. The fact that those loves are the source of all evils and falsities, see 2041, 2045, 2057, 2363, 2364, 2444, 4750, 4776, 6667, 7178, 7255, 7364, 7366-7377, 7488, 7490-7494, 7643, 8318, 8487, 8678.

[2] The reason why a hurried removal of evils and falsities leads to an inrush of falsities arising from those loves is that forms of good and truths, implanted in successive stages, must remove them; for falsities are not removed except by truths, nor evils except by forms of good. If this removal is not done in successive stages and in keeping with proper order, falsities that lend support to those selfish loves enter in, since those loves reign with every person before he has been regenerated; and when the falsities enter in truths cease to be acknowledged any longer. Also a person who is being regenerated is maintained in an affection for truth; and when maintained in this he searches for truths in all directions among factual knowledge in the natural. But at this time illusions of the outward senses, which exist in great abundance in the natural, present themselves there. From those illusions, when the delights of self-love and love of the world hold sway, the person deduces nothing except falsities, which come in and fill his mind if falsities arising from evil are removed suddenly. These are the considerations that are meant in the internal sense by I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest perhaps the land becomes desolate and the wild animal of the field multiplies against you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you become fruitful and inherit the land.

sRef Ezek@34 @25 S3′ sRef Ezek@5 @17 S3′ sRef Ezek@34 @28 S3′ sRef Ezek@14 @15 S3′ sRef Ezek@29 @5 S3′ sRef Isa@35 @8 S3′ sRef Isa@35 @9 S3′ [3] The fact that ‘wild animal’ means falsity and evil arising from self-love and love of the world is evident from places in the Word which mention it, as in Isaiah,

There will be a path there and a way, which will be called the way of holiness. The unclean will not pass through it; the savage of the wild animals will not go up it. Isa. 35:8:9.

In Ezekiel,

I will send famine and evil wild animals upon you, that they may make you bereft. Ezek. 5:17.

In the same prophet,

When I cause evil wild animals to pass through the land and they leave it bereft so that* it becomes a desolation, with the result that no one passes through on account of the wild animals … Ezek. 14:15.

In the same prophet,

You will fall on the open field;** to the wild animals of the earth, and to the birds of the air I will give you for food. Ezek. 29:5.

In the same prophet,

At that time I will make with them a covenant of peace, and I will banish*** the evil wild animal from the land, in order that they may dwell securely in the wilderness. They will no longer be a prey for the nations, and the wild animals of the field will no longer devour them. Ezek. 34:25, 28.

sRef Lev@26 @15 S4′ sRef Deut@7 @22 S4′ sRef Lev@26 @22 S4′ sRef Ps@104 @20 S4′ sRef Lev@26 @3 S4′ sRef Hos@2 @12 S4′ sRef Ps@80 @13 S4′ sRef Ps@80 @14 S4′ sRef Lev@26 @6 S4′ sRef Hos@4 @3 S4′ [4] In Hosea,

I will lay waste her vine and her fig tree; and I will make them into a forest, and the wild animals of the field will eat them. Hosea 2:12.

In the same prophet,

The land will mourn and every inhabitant will waste away because of the wild animals of the field and the birds of the air. Hosea 4:3.

In David,

The boar of the forest tramples on it, and the wild animal of the fields feeds on it. Return, O God Zebaoth, and visit Your vine. Ps. 80:13, 14.

In the same author,

You dispose the darkness to become night, in which every wild animal of the forest comes forth. Ps. 104:20.

In Moses,

If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments and do them, I will banish*** the evil wild animals from the land. But if you despise My statutes, I will send into you the wild animals of the field, which will lay you waste. Lev. 26:3, 6, 15, 22.

In the same author,

Jehovah your God will cast out the nations before you little by little, lest perhaps the wild animals of the field multiply against you. Deut. 7:22.

In these places ‘the wild animals of the field’, ‘the wild animals of the earth’, and ‘the wild animals of the forest’ stand for the falsities and evils that belong to self-love and love of the world. sRef Ezek@31 @6 S5′ sRef Ps@50 @10 S5′ sRef Ps@148 @10 S5′ sRef Isa@56 @9 S5′ sRef Ps@148 @7 S5′ sRef Ps@50 @11 S5′ [5] Since ‘wild animal’ means falsity, and falsity can spring from two different origins, that is to say, it may stem from evil or it may stem from good, 9258, ‘wild animal’ in the Word also means upright nations or gentiles who, though they are subject to falsity, nevertheless lead upright lives. The term ‘wild animal’ is used in this sense in David,

Every wild animal of the forest is Mine, and beasts on mountains of thousands; I know every bird of the mountains, and the wild animal of My fields is with Me. Ps. 50:10, 11.

In the same author,

Praise Jehovah, wild animals and all beasts! Ps. 148:7, 10.

In Isaiah,

All wild animals of My fields – come to eat, all wild animals in the forest. Isa. 56:9.

In Ezekiel,

In the branches of the cedar, which was Asshur, all the birds of the air made their nests, and under its branches every wild animal of the field brought forth, and in its shadow dwelt all great nations. Ezek. 31:6.
* Reading ut (so that) for et (and)
** lit. the face of the field
*** lit. cause to cease

sRef Ex@23 @30 S0′ 9336. ‘Little by little I will drive them out from before you’ means a removal effected gradually according to order. This is clear from the meaning of ‘little by little’ as gradually, thus slowly; and from the meaning of ‘driving out’ – when it has reference to falsities and evils, meant by the nations of the land of Canaan – as a removal, dealt with just above in 9333. The words ‘gradually according to order’ are used because everything with a person who is being regenerated is rearranged in accordance with heavenly order. For a person who has been regenerated is a miniature heaven, 9276, and therefore also within that person order exists akin to that which obtains in heaven.

[2] When a person is born he is, so far as his hereditary evils are concerned, a miniature hell. He also becomes an embodiment of hell to the extent that he draws on hereditary evils and adds his own to them. This being so, the order of a person’s life which exists by reason of what he receives at birth, and by reason of his own acts in life, is the opposite of heavenly order. For what is a person’s own leads him to love self more than the Lord and to love the world more than heaven, whereas the life of heaven consists in loving the Lord above all things and the neighbour as oneself. From this it is evident that the first life, which is that of hell, must be completely destroyed, that is, evils and falsities must be removed, in order that the new life, which is that of heaven, may be implanted, see 4551, 4552, 4839, 6068. This cannot possibly be done hurriedly, for every deep-rooted evil, together with its falsities, is interconnected with all other evils and their falsities. Such evils and falsities are countless, and their interconnection is so complex that it cannot be comprehended, not even by angels, only by the Lord. From this it is evident that the life of hell with a person cannot be destroyed suddenly; for if it were destroyed suddenly the person too would perish. Nor can the life of heaven be implanted suddenly, for if this were implanted suddenly the person would again perish.

sRef John@1 @12 S3′ sRef John@1 @13 S3′ [3] There are thousands and thousands of hidden ways, scarcely a single one of which is known to mankind, by which the Lord leads a person from the life of hell to the life of heaven. I have been informed from heaven that this is so, and it has also been corroborated for me by many things that I have been made aware of. Since mankind knows scarcely anything at all about these things many have fallen into errors concerning human deliverance from evils and falsities, which is the forgiveness of sins. They think that the life of hell with a person can be changed to the life of heaven with him in an instant, by mercy. But in actual fact mercy lies in the whole act of regeneration; and none undergo regeneration apart from those who receive the Lord’s mercy in faith and life while they are in the world, in keeping with the Lord’s words in John,

As many as received Him, to them He gave power to be sons of God, to those believing in His name, who were born, not of blood*, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man (vir), but of God. John 1:12, 13.

What ‘blood’, ‘the will of the flesh’, and ‘the will of man’, also ‘born of God’ mean, see 5826.

[4] The proper way to understand ‘a removal from evils and falsities, effected gradually according to order’ must also be stated briefly. Divine Truth which emanates from the Lord’s Divine Good arranges all things into order in heaven; consequently this Divine Truth, holding good from the Lord within it, is order itself, see 1728, 1919, 2247, 2258, 5703, 6338, 8700, 8988. In accordance with that order all things there come into being, and in accordance with that same order they remain in being; for remaining in being is a constant coming into being. Therefore to enable heaven to come into being in a person, it is necessary for him to receive Divine Truth in the good he has from the Lord. This can be brought into effect only gradually, according to the order similar to that which governs the way the Lord arranges heaven; for if the essential nature of the thing is the same, then the situation on the smaller scale is the same as on the larger scale. This arranging step-by-step is what should be understood here by order brought into effect gradually. From all this it is also evident that the new creation of a person, which is his regeneration, resembles the creation of heaven and earth. For this reason also in the Word a new heaven and a new earth is used to mean a new Church, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118 (end), 3355 (end), 4535; and the creation of heaven and earth in the first chapter of Genesis serves to mean the new creation of a celestial Church, called Man, dealt with in the explanations of that chapter.
* lit. bloods

sRef Ex@23 @30 S0′ 9337. ‘Until you become fruitful’ means in keeping with the increase of good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘becoming fruitful’ as the increase of good, dealt with in 43, 55, 913, 983, 2846, 2847. The fact that a removal from evils and falsities is accomplished in keeping with the increase of good is evident from things that have often been shown before. The Lord flows in with a person through good, and arranges truths into order through it, but not vice versa; and to the extent that truths are arranged into order through good, evils and falsities are removed. Various places in the Word liken a person to a tree; and in those places his truths of faith are meant by ‘the leaves’, 885, and forms of the good of love by ‘the fruit’, 3146, 7690. From this it is evident not only that ‘becoming fruitful’ means the increase of good but also that the most important feature of a person is good, just as the most important feature of a tree is the fruit. The leaves, it is true, grow first, but they do so for the sake of the fruit as the end in view. That which is the end is not only last but also first since it is the one and only thing in view within the means, making it the be-all. The situation is similar with the relationship of the good of love to the truths of faith.

sRef Matt@21 @19 S2′ sRef Luke@6 @45 S2′ sRef Luke@13 @7 S2′ sRef Luke@6 @44 S2′ sRef Matt@21 @18 S2′ sRef Luke@6 @46 S2′ sRef Luke@13 @6 S2′ [2] Such was meant by ‘the fig tree’ referred to in Matthew,

Jesus returning to the city was hungry, and seeing a fig tree by the wayside went to it but found nothing on it but leaves only; therefore He said to it, Let no fruit from now on ever be born from you! Therefore the fig tree withered at once. Matt. 21:18, 19.

And in Luke,

A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; therefore he came seeking fruit on it, but did not find [any]. Consequently he said to the vine-dresser, Behold, for three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, but do not find [any]. Cut it down; why must it make the land unfruitful?* Luke 13:6, 7.

Again in the same gospel,

Every tree is known by its own fruit; people do not collect figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble-bush. A good person out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good, but a bad person out of the bad treasure of his heart brings forth bad. Why do you call Me, Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say? Luke 6:44-46.

From these quotations it is evident that the fruit of faith, as it is termed, is the most important aspect of faith, and that faith devoid of fruit, that is, of the good of life, is mere foliage, and that therefore when a person, who is a tree, is covered with leaves but devoid of fruit, he is the fig tree that withers and is cut down.
* i.e. why let it occupy good soil?

sRef Ex@23 @30 S0′ 9338. ‘And inherit the land’ means when governed by good, thus when regenerated. This is clear from the meaning of ‘inheriting’ as receiving as an heir, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘the land’, at this point the land of Canaan, as the Lord’s kingdom, thus heaven, dealt with in 1413, 1437, 1607, 1866, 3038, 3481, 3705, 3686, 4240, 4447, so that ‘inheriting the land’ means receiving heaven as an heir to it. The proper way to understand the word ‘heir’, when used in reference to heaven, is a person who has life from the Lord, 2658, 2851, 3672, 7212, thus who is governed by good received from the Lord, who therefore has been regenerated. The fact that a person is in heaven, and so has been regenerated, when he is governed by good received from the Lord, see 9274 and the places referred to there.

sRef Matt@25 @40 S2′ sRef Matt@25 @35 S2′ sRef Matt@25 @34 S2′ [2] The fact that ‘inheriting’ has this meaning, when used in reference to heaven, is evident in Matthew,

Then the King will say to those who are at His right hand, Come, O blessed of My Father, possess as an inheritance the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink. Insofar as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers you did it to Me. Matt. 25:34, 35, 40.

‘Possessing as an inheritance the Lord’s kingdom (or heaven)’ is said here in regard to those governed by good; and the actual forms of the good of charity in their proper order are also enumerated. Finally it is said, ‘Insofar as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers you did it to Me’. People are called the Lord’s brothers if they are governed by good, 6756, thus also if they practise good; for good is the Lord present with a person. And this is why it says, ‘Insofar as you did it to one of [the least of] these My brothers’ (not simply ‘brothers’).

sRef Rev@21 @7 S3′ [3] In Revelation,

He who overcomes will receive all things by inheritance, and I will be his God and he will be My son. Rev. 21:7.

It says here of those who overcome that they will receive all things by inheritance; and because they are heirs they are called ‘sons’. ‘Overcoming’ means using good and truth to fight with, for evil is overcome by means of good, and falsity by means of truth.

sRef Isa@57 @13 S4′ sRef Ps@69 @36 S4′ sRef Ps@69 @35 S4′ [4] In David,

God will save Zion and will build the cities of Judah; and they will dwell there and possess it by inheritance; and the seed of His servants will inherit it, and those loving His name will dwell in it. Ps. 69:35, 36.

Here ‘possessing by inheritance’ has regard to those governed by celestial good, and ‘inheriting’ to those governed by spiritual good. Celestial good is the good of love to the Lord, and spiritual good is the good of charity towards the neighbour, 9277. In Isaiah,

He who trusts in Me will inherit the land, and will possess by inheritance My holy mountain. Isa. 57:13.

[5] From all this it is evident what was meant by the division of the land of Canaan into twelve inheritances for the twelve tribes of Israel, in Chapters 14-19 of Joshua, and in Chapter 47:13-end and Chapter 48 of Ezekiel. For ‘the land of Canaan’ meant the Lord’s kingdom, or heaven, 1413, 1437, 1607, 1866, 3038, 3481, 3686, 3705, 4240, 4447, and ‘the twelve tribes’ meant all forms of good and all truths in general and in particular, 3858, 3862, 3926, 3939, 4060, 6335, 6337, 6397, 6640. ‘Twelve inheritances’ accordingly meant heaven with all its heavens and communities, which divide off one from the next on the basis of forms of the good of love and consequently of truths of faith, 7836, 7891, 7996, so that in the abstract sense [without reference to persons] those inheritances mean forms of good themselves which originate in the Lord and therefore are the Lord in heaven. sRef John@17 @22 S6′ sRef John@17 @26 S6′ sRef John@14 @20 S6′ sRef John@14 @23 S6′ [6] For heaven is nothing other than Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good. The angels there are recipients of truth in good; and in the measure that they receive it they constitute heaven. Also – and this is an arcanum – the Lord dwells with an angel, and similarly with man, only in that which is His own with the angel or man; for the Divine must dwell in what is of God, not in what is of the self with anyone. This is meant by the Lord’s words regarding His union with those governed by the good of love, in John,

On that day you will know that I am in the Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who loves Me keeps My word, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. John 14:20, 23.

And elsewhere in the same gospel,

The glory which You have given Me I have given to them that they may be one even as We are one, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them. John 17:22, 26.

sRef Ex@23 @32 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @33 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @31 S0′ 9339. Verses 31-33 And I will set your boundary from the Sea Suph even to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness even to the River;* for I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will drive them out** from before you. You shall not make a covenant with them and their gods. They shall not dwell in your land, lest perhaps they cause you to sin against Me when you serve their gods; for it will be a snare to you.

‘And I will set your boundary from the Sea Suph even to the Sea of the Philistines’ means the full range of truths from factual ones to interior truths of faith. ‘And from the wilderness even to the River’ means from delight belonging to the sensory level even to good and truth belonging to the rational level. ‘For I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand’ means dominion over evils. ‘And you will drive them out from before you’ means the removal of them. ‘You shall not make a covenant with them and their gods’ means no contact with evils and falsities. ‘They shall not dwell in your land’ means that evils must not exist together with the Church’s forms of good. ‘Lest perhaps they cause you to sin against Me’ means lest evils turn away forms of good from the Lord. ‘When you serve their gods’ means if worship is kindled by falsities. ‘For it will be a snare to you’ means owing to evils that are enticing and deceptive.
* i.e. the Euphrates
** The Latin means I will drive them out but the Hebrew means You will drive them out.

sRef Ex@23 @31 S0′ 9340. ‘And I will set your boundary from the Sea Suph even to the Sea of the Philistines’ means the full range of truths from factual ones to interior truths of faith. This is clear from the meaning of ‘setting the boundary from one place to another’, when it refers to spiritual truths, as the full range; from the meaning of ‘the Sea Suph’ as truths on the levels of the senses and of factual knowledge, which are the lowest levels of the human mind (the Sea Suph was the final boundary of the land of Egypt, and ‘Egypt’ means factual knowledge in both senses, that is, true factual knowledge and false, 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 2588, 4749, 4964, 4966, 5700, 6004, 6015, 6125, 6651, 6679, 6683, 6692, 6750, 7779 (end), 7926, 8146, 8148; in this instance true factual knowledge is meant since the subject is the full range of spiritual matters of faith among the children of Israel, who represented the spiritual Church, 4286, 4598, 6426, 6637, 6862, 6868, 7035, 7062, 7198, 7201, 7215, 7223, 8805); and from the meaning of ‘the Sea of the Philistines’ as interior truths of faith. The reason why these truths are meant by ‘the Sea of the Philistines’ is that the sea where Tyre and Sidon lay was the boundary of the land of Philistia, and ‘Tyre and Sidon’ means cognitions or knowledge of truth and good, 1201, while ‘the land of Philistia’ means the knowledge of interior matters of faith, 1197, 2504, 2726, 3463.

[2] Since ‘the land of Canaan’ represented the Lord’s kingdom, which is heaven and the Church, all places in the land therefore meant such things as form part of the Lord’s kingdom, or heaven and the Church, which things are called celestial and spiritual, and are connected with the good of love to the Lord and the truths of faith in Him. For this reason the seas and rivers which were boundaries meant the final limits there, and therefore ‘from sea to sea’ or ‘from river to river’ meant the full range of those things, as may be seen in 1585, 1866, 4116, 4240, 6516. From all this it becomes clear that ‘the boundary from the Sea Suph even to the Sea of the Philistines’ means the range of spiritual things, which are matters of truth, from external ones to internal, thus truths ranging from factual ones to interior truths of faith. But the range of celestial things, which are aspects of the good of love, is described next by the words ‘from the wilderness even to the River’. The fact that places belonging to the land of Canaan, including seas and rivers, mean such things in the Word, has been shown in explanations everywhere.

sRef Gen@1 @7 S3′ sRef Gen@1 @6 S3′ [3] What the full range of truths from factual ones to interior truths of faith is must be stated briefly. Truths which exist in the external man are called factual ones, but truths which exist in the internal man are called interior truths of faith. Factual truths reside in a person’s memory, and when they are brought out from there they pass into the person’s immediate awareness. But interior truths of faith are truths of life itself which are inscribed on the internal man, but few of which show up in the memory. These however are matters which will in the Lord’s Divine mercy be spoken of more fully elsewhere. Factual truths and interior truths of faith were meant in Gen. 1:6, 7 by the waters under the expanse and the waters above the expanse, 24; for the first chapter of Genesis deals in the internal sense with the new creation or the regeneration of a member of the celestial Church.

[4] The reason why ‘Philistia’, which also bordered on the land of Canaan as far as Tyre and Sidon, meant the interior truths of faith was that there also the representative Ancient Church had existed, as is evident from the remnants of Divine worship among them which are alluded to in historical sections and prophetical parts of the Word in which the Philistines and the land of Philistia are the subject, such as – in the prophetical parts – Jeremiah 25:20; 47:1-end; Ezekiel 16:27, 57; 25:15, 16; Amos 1:8; Zephaniah 2:5; Zechariah 9:6; Psalms 56:1;* 60:8; 83:7; 108:9. The situation with the Philistines was the same as it was with all the nations in the land of Canaan, in that they represented the Church’s forms of good and its truths, and also evils and falsities. When the representative Ancient Church existed among them they represented celestial things which were aspects of good and spiritual things which were matters of truth. But when they fell away from true representative worship they began to represent devilish things which were aspects of evil and hellish things which were matters of falsity. This is the reason why ‘Philistia’, like all the other nations belonging to the land of Canaan in the Word, means either forms of good and truths, or else evils and falsities.

sRef Ps@87 @3 S5′ sRef Ps@87 @4 S5′ [5] The fact that interior truths of faith are meant by ‘the Philistines’ is clear in David,

Glorious things are to be spoken in you, O city of God. I will mention Rahab and Babel among those who know Me; also Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia. The latter was born here.** Ps. 87:3, 4.

‘The city of God’ means teachings presenting the truth of faith that are drawn from the Word, 402, 2268, 2449, 2712, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493, 5297; ‘Tyre’ means cognitions or knowledge of truth and good, 1201, and so does ‘Ethiopia’, 116, 117. From this it is evident that ‘Philistia’ means knowledge of the truths of faith.

sRef Amos@9 @7 S6′ [6] In Amos,

Are you not like the children of the Ethiopians to Me, O children of Israel? Did I not cause Israel to come up from the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir? Amos 9:7.

This refers to the corruption and destruction of the Church after it had been established. ‘The children of the Ethiopians’ here are those in possession of cognitions of goodness and truth, which they use to substantiate evils and falsities, 1163, 1164. ‘The children of Israel from the land of Egypt’ are those who had been brought to spiritual truths and forms of good by means of factual truths, ‘the children of Israel’ being people in possession of spiritual truths and forms of good, thus in the abstract sense spiritual truths and forms of good, see 5414, 5801, 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833, 5879, 5951, 7957, 8234, and ‘the land of Egypt’ being factual truth, as shown above. The same is meant by ‘the Philistines from Caphtor’ and by ‘the Syrians from Kir’, to whom they are therefore likened. ‘The Philistines from Caphtor’ are people who had been brought to interior truths by means of exterior ones, but who perverted them and used them to substantiate falsities and evils, 1197, 1198, 3412, 3413, 3762, 8093, 8096, 8099, 8313, whereas ‘the Syrians from Kir’ are those who were in possession of cognitions of goodness and truth, which they likewise perverted, 1232, 1234, 3051, 3249, 3664, 3680, 4112.

sRef Jer@47 @4 S7′ [7] In Jeremiah,

… because of the day that is coming to lay waste all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper that is left, for Jehovah is laying waste the Philistines, the remnants of the island of Caphtor. Jer. 47:4.

The subject in Jeremiah 47 is the laying waste of the Church’s truths of faith, interior truths of faith being meant by ‘the Philistines’ and exterior truths by ‘the remnants of the island of Caphtor’.

sRef Joel@3 @5 S8′ sRef Joel@3 @4 S8′ [8] In Joel,

What have you to do with Me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the borders of Philistia? Swiftly I will return your recompense upon your own head, inasmuch as you have taken My silver and My gold, and My good and desirable treasures you have carried into your temples. Joel 3:4, 5.

‘All the borders of Philistia’ stands for all the interior and the exterior truths of faith; ‘carrying silver and gold, and good and desirable treasures into their temples’ stands for perverting truths and forms of good, and profaning them by putting them together with evils and falsities. For the meaning of ‘silver and gold’ as truths and forms of good, see 1551, 2954, 5658, 6112, 6914, 6917, 8932.

sRef Obad@1 @19 S9′ [9] In Obadiah,

At that time those in the south will be the heirs of the mountain of Esau, and of the plain of the Philistines, and they will become the heirs of the field of Ephraim; but Benjamin [will be the heir] of Gilead. Obad. verse 19.

This refers to the establishment of the Church; but spiritual things are implied by the names. ‘Those in the south’ are people who dwell in the light of truth, 1458, 3195, 3708, 5672, 5962; ‘the mountain of Esau’ is the good of love, 3300, 3322, 3494, 3504, 3576; ‘the plain of the Philistines’ is the truth of faith, ‘the plain’ being also that which constitutes matters of doctrine about faith, 2418; ‘Ephraim’ is the Church’s power of understanding, 3969, 5354, 6222, 6234, 6238, 6267; ‘Benjamin’ is the Church’s spiritual-celestial truth, 3969, 4592, 5686, 5689, 6440; and ‘Gilead’ is the corresponding exterior good, 4117, 4124, 4747.

sRef Isa@11 @12 S10′ sRef Isa@11 @14 S10′ [10] In Isaiah,

He will gather the outcasts of Israel, and will assemble the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. They will fly down onto the shoulder of the Philistines towards the sea, together they will plunder the sons of the east. Isa. 11:12, 14.

Here ‘Israel’ and ‘Judah’ are not used to mean Israel and Judah; rather, ‘Israel’ means those who are governed by the good of faith, and ‘Judah’ those who are governed by the good of love. ‘Flying down onto the shoulder of the Philistines’ stands for receiving and taking into possession interior truths of faith; and ‘plundering the sons of the east’ stands for receiving and taking into possession interior forms of the good of faith, for ‘the sons of the east’ are people who are governed by forms of the good of faith and with whom cognitions or knowledge of good exists, 3249. 3762. For the meaning of ‘plundering’ as receiving and taking into possession, see what has been shown in 6914, 6917, regarding the plundering of the Egyptians by the children of Israel.

[11] Since ‘the land of Philistia’ meant knowledge of the interior truths of faith, and since Abraham and Isaac represented the Lord, and the sojourning of these two in places meant instruction received by the Lord in the truths and forms of the good of faith and love, which belong to God’s wisdom, therefore – to provide a figurative representation of this – Abraham was commanded to sojourn in Philistia, Gen. 20:1-end, and so too was Isaac, Gen. 26:1-24. Therefore also Abimelech king of the Philistines made a covenant with Abraham, Gen. 21:22-end, and also with Isaac, Gen. 26:26-end. Regarding all this, see the explanations to those chapters.
* i.e. in the superscription or heading of this Psalm
** i.e. in the city of God, see 1164:7.

sRef Ex@23 @31 S0′ 9341. ‘And from the wilderness even to the River’ means from delight belonging to the sensory level even to good and truth belonging to the rational level. This is clear from the meaning of ‘setting the boundary’ as the full range, dealt with immediately above in 9340; from the meaning of ‘the wilderness’ as a place where no one lives and nothing is grown, so that when it applies to the spiritual matters of faith and the celestial aspects of love ‘the wilderness’ is a place where no good nor any truth resides, as is the situation with the level of the senses (that this is what the sensory level of the human mind is like, see end of 9331), for no celestial good nor any spiritual truth exists on the sensory level, only delight and pleasure having a bodily and worldly origin exist there, which being so ‘the wilderness’ means this outermost level of mind in a member of the Church; and from the meaning of the Euphrates, to which ‘the River’ refers here, as good and truth belonging to the rational level. The reason why the Euphrates has this meaning is that Assyria lay there, and Assyria or Asshur means the rational level of the mind, 119, 1186.

sRef Gen@15 @18 S2′ sRef Ps@80 @8 S2′ sRef Josh@1 @4 S2′ sRef Ps@80 @11 S2′ sRef Micah@7 @12 S2′ [2] This rational level is meant by ‘the Euphrates’ where the words ‘from the wilderness to the Euphrates’ occur, and also ‘from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates’, as in Joshua,

From the wilderness and Lebanon even to the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea, the going down of the sun, will be your boundary. Josh. 1:4.

And in Moses,

To your seed I will give this land, from the river of Egypt even to the great river, the River Euphrates. Gen. 15:18.

Similarly in David,

You caused a vine to journey out of Egypt. You sent out its shoots even to the sea, and its little branches to the River. Ps. 80:8, 11.

‘A vine out of Egypt’ stands for the spiritual Church represented by the children of Israel; ‘to the sea’ and ‘to the River’ stand for interior truths and forms of good. The like occurs in Micah,

They will come to you from Asshur and the cities of Egypt, and from Egypt even to the River, and from sea to sea,* from mountain to mountain. Micah 7:12.

[3] But something different is meant by ‘the Euphrates’ when, from the middle of the land of Canaan as the standpoint, it is seen to be the furthest limit of the land on one side or that which encloses it on one side. In this case that river means the last and lowest level of the Lord’s kingdom, that is, the last and lowest level of heaven and the Church in respect of rational goodness and truth. The fact that the boundaries of the land of Canaan, which were seas and rivers, meant the lowest things in the Lord’s kingdom, see 1585, 1866, 4116, 4240, 6516. ‘The Euphrates’ therefore meant the kinds of truths and forms of good on the sensory level that were in agreement with truths and forms of good on the rational level. But since the sensory level of the human mind lies next to earth and the world and receives its impressions from them, 9331 (end), it does not acknowledge anything as good except that which delights the body, nor anything as truth except that which lends support to that delight. In this sense therefore ‘the River Euphrates’ means pleasure which is attributable to self-love and love of the world, and falsity that supports it with reasonings based on the illusions of the senses.

sRef Rev@16 @12 S4′ sRef Rev@9 @15 S4′ sRef Rev@9 @14 S4′ [4] These things are meant by ‘the River Euphrates’ in John,

A voice said to the sixth angel, Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates. They were released, and they killed a third part of mankind. Rev. 9:14, 15.

‘The angels bound at the Euphrates’ stands for falsities which arise through reasonings based on the illusions of the senses, and which lend support to pleasures attributable to self-love and love of the world. In the same book,

The sixth angel poured out his bowl over the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way of the kings who were from the rising of the sun.** Rev. 16:12.

Here ‘the Euphrates’ stands for falsities from a similar origin. ‘Dried up water’ stands for those falsities after they had been removed by the Lord; and ‘the way of the kings from the rising of the sun’ stands for the fact that at that time the truths of faith were seen by and revealed to those governed by love to the Lord.

‘Waters’ are truths and in the contrary sense falsities, see 705, 739, 756, 790, 839, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 7307, 8137, 8138, 8568, 9323.
‘The way’ is truth that has been seen and revealed, 627, 2333, 3477.
‘The kings’ are those with whom truths exist, 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148.
‘The rising’ or ‘the east’ is the Lord, also love from Him and to Him, 101, 1250, 3708.
‘The sun’ has the same meaning, 1529, 1530, 2440, 2495, 3636, 3643, 4060, 4696, 5377, 7078, 7083, 7171, 7173, 8644, 8812.

sRef Jer@2 @17 S5′ sRef Jer@2 @18 S5′ [5] In Jeremiah,

You have forsaken Jehovah your God at a time when He led you in the way. For this reason what have you to do with the way of Egypt, that you drink the waters of Shihor, or what [have you to do] with the way of Asshur, that you drink the waters of the River? Jer. 2:17, 18.

‘Leading in the way’ stands for teaching truth. ‘What have you to do with the way of Egypt, that you drink the waters of Shihor?’ stands for, What have you to do with falsities arising through a perverse use of factual knowledge? ‘What have you to do with the way of Asshur, that you drink the waters of the River?’ stands for, What have you to do with falsities that arise on account of reasonings – reasonings which are based on the illusions of the senses and lend support to pleasures attributable to self-love and love of the world?

sRef Jer@13 @3 S6′ sRef Jer@13 @4 S6′ sRef Jer@13 @7 S6′ sRef Jer@13 @6 S6′ sRef Jer@13 @5 S6′ [6] In the same prophet,

Jehovah [said] to the prophet, Take the girdle which you have bought, which is over your loins, and arise, go away to the Euphrates, and hide it there in the cleft of a rock. He went away and hid it by the Euphrates. Afterwards it happened at the end of many days, that Jehovah said, Arise, go away to the Euphrates, take from there the girdle. Therefore he went away to the Euphrates and dug, and took the girdle from the place where he had hidden it. But behold, the girdle was spoiled; it was profitable for nothing. Jer. 13:3-7.

‘The girdle of the loins’ is the outward bond that holds within itself all things of love and consequently of faith. ‘Being hidden in the cleft of a rock beside the Euphrates’ means in a place where faith dwells in obscurity and is rendered no faith at all by falsities that are the product of reasonings. ‘The girdle that had been spoiled, so that it was profitable for nothing’ stands for the fact that then all the things of love and faith had been broken apart and scattered.

sRef Jer@51 @63 S7′ sRef Jer@46 @10 S7′ sRef Jer@46 @6 S7′ [7] When Jeremiah was to tie a stone to the book written by him and to throw it into the middle of the Euphrates, Jer. 51:63, the meaning was that the prophetical part of the Word would be destroyed by like falsities. In the same prophet,

The swift will not flee away, nor the strong man escape. Northwards on the bank of the River Euphrates they have stumbled and fallen. But Jehovah Zebaoth takes revenge on His adversaries, for the Lord Jehovah Zebaoth holds a sacrifice in the land of the north beside the River Euphrates. Jer. 46:6, 10.

Here also ‘the River Euphrates’ stands for truths that have been falsified and forms of good that have been adulterated by reasonings based on illusions, and therefore stands for factual knowledge which lends support to self-love and love of the world.
* lit. and [to] sea from sea
** i.e. from the east

sRef Ex@23 @31 S0′ 9342. ‘For I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand’ means dominion over evils. This is clear from the meaning of ‘giving into the hand’ as overcoming and having dominion over; and from the meaning of ‘the inhabitants of the land’ as the Church’s evils. Forms of good are meant by ‘inhabitants’, 2268, 2451, 2712, 3613, and therefore evils in the contrary sense; for the nations of the land of Canaan meant evils and falsities molesting and destroying the Church’s forms of good and its truths, 9327.

sRef Ex@23 @31 S0′ 9343. ‘And you will drive them out from before you’ means the removal of them. This is clear from the meaning of ‘driving out’, when it refers to what happens to evils, as removal, dealt with in 9333.

sRef Ex@23 @32 S0′ 9344. ‘You shall not make a covenant with them and their gods’ means no contact with evils and falsities. This is clear from the meaning of ‘making a covenant’ as being joined together, dealt with in 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 6804, 8767, 8778, thus also being in contact with, for people who communicate with one another are joined to one another; from the meaning of the inhabitants of the land, to whom ‘those with whom they were not to make a covenant’ refers here, as evils, dealt with just above in 9342; and from the meaning of ‘their gods’ as falsities, dealt with in 4402 (end), 4544, 7873, 8867, 8941.

sRef Ex@23 @33 S0′ 9345. ‘They shall not dwell in your land’ means that evils must not exist together with the Church’s forms of good. This is clear from the meaning of the inhabitants, to whom the words ‘they shall not dwell in your land’ refer, as evils, dealt with above in 9342; from the meaning of ‘dwelling’ as living, dealt with in 1293, 3384, 3613, and of ‘dwelling with someone’ as living or existing together, 4451; and from the meaning of ‘land’ as the Church in respect of good, thus also the Church’s good, dealt with in 9325.

sRef Ex@23 @33 S0′ sRef Luke@16 @26 S0′ 9346. ‘Lest perhaps they cause you to sin against Me’ means lest evils turn away forms of good from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of the inhabitants of the land, to whom the words ‘lest perhaps they cause to sin’ refer, as evils, as above; from the meaning of ‘sinning’ as turning away, dealt with in 5474, 5841, 7589; and from the meaning of ‘you against Me’ as [turning away from] forms of good from the Lord. For the children of Israel, to whom ‘you’ refers here, mean those governed by good, and so mean forms of good, 5801, 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833, 9340, and Jehovah, to whom ‘Me’ refers here, means the Lord, dealt with in 9194, 9199, 9315, and in the places referred to in these paragraphs. The reason why evils turn away forms of good from the Lord is that evils and forms of good are opposites or contraries, and two opposites or contraries cannot exist together, since they loathe and clash with each other. This becomes perfectly clear from the consideration that evils spring from hell but forms of good from heaven, and hell is totally remote from heaven, not as to distance since there is no distance in the next life, but as to state. Those therefore who live in the state that is hell’s cannot be transferred to the state that is heaven’s, for the evils residing with them repel the forms of good residing with those in heaven. This is the meaning of Abraham’s words to the rich man,

Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass across from here to you cannot, nor can those who are there pass across to us. Luke 16:26.

‘A great gulf’ is the opposite and contrary natures of their states of life. From all this it is evident how to understand the explanation that evils turn forms of good away from the Lord; that is to say, those immersed in evils not only fail to receive forms of good, which with everyone flow in unceasingly from the Lord, but also completely turn them away. For this reason a person cannot by any means receive the good of heaven until he refrains from evils.

sRef Ex@23 @33 S0′ 9347. ‘When you serve their gods’ means if worship is kindled by falsities. This is clear from the meaning of ‘serving’ as worship, dealt with in 7934, 8057; and from the meaning of ‘gods’ as falsities, dealt with in 4544, 7873, 8367, 8941.

sRef Ex@23 @33 S0′ 9348. ‘For it will be a snare to you’ means owing to evils that are enticing and deceptive. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a snare’, when it has reference to evils, as enticement and deception. The reason why evils are enticing and deceptive is that all evils spring from self-love and love of the world, 9335, and self-love and love of the world are born together within a person. These are the source of what the person feels as the delight of his life right from when he is first born; indeed the life that is his comes from them. Those loves therefore, like the hidden currents in a river, are constantly drawing the person’s thought and will away from the Lord to self, and away from heaven to the world, thus away from the truths and forms of the good of faith to falsities and evils. At this time reasonings based on the illusions of the senses are especially predominant, and also the literal sense of the Word wrongly explained and used. sRef Jer@48 @43 S2′ sRef Isa@24 @18 S2′ sRef Jer@48 @44 S2′ sRef Isa@24 @17 S2′ [2] These two things are what ‘snares’, ‘traps’, ‘pits’, ‘nets’, ‘ropes’, ‘fetters’, and also ‘pretences’ and ‘deceits’ are used to mean in the spiritual sense of the Word, as in Isaiah,

Terror and the pit and the snare are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth. Consequently it will happen, that he who is fleeing from the sound of terror will fall into the pit, and he who is climbing out of the pit will be caught in the snare, for the floodgates from on high have been opened, and the foundations of the earth have been shaken. Isa. 24:17-19.

And in Jeremiah,

Fear, the pit, and the snare are upon you, O inhabitant of Moab. He who flees from the fear will fall into the pit, and he who climbs out of the pit will be caught in the snare. Jer. 48:43, 44.

‘Terror’ and ‘fear’ are the disturbance and commotion in the mind when it is held fast between evils and forms of good, and consequently between falsities and truths. ‘The pit’ is falsity created by reasonings based on the illusions of the senses to lend support to delights that are attributable to self-love and love of the world; ‘the snare’ is the enticement and deception of evil that results from it.

sRef Isa@28 @13 S3′ [3] In Isaiah,

They will go and stumble* backwards, and be broken, and snared, and caught. Isa. 28:13.

‘Falling backwards’ stands for turning oneself away from goodness and truth; ‘being broken’ stands for dispensing with truths and forms of good; ‘being snared’ stands for being enticed by the evils of self-love and love of the world; and ‘being caught’ stands for being carried away by them.

sRef Ezek@19 @2 S4′ sRef Ezek@19 @8 S4′ sRef Ezek@19 @9 S4′ sRef Ezek@19 @7 S4′ sRef Ezek@19 @4 S4′ sRef Ezek@19 @3 S4′ [4] In Ezekiel,

The mother of the princes of Israel is a lioness. One of her cubs learned to seize prey; he devoured men (homo). The nations heard about him; he was caught in their pit, and they led him away with hooks to the land of Egypt. Later on he ravished widows** and devastated cities; the land and its fullness was desolated by the sound of his roaring. Therefore the nations from the provinces round about lay in ambush against him, and spread their net over him; he was caught in their pit. They put him in a cage with hooks, and led him to the king of Babel; [they led him away] in nets, that his voice should no longer be heard on the mountains of Israel. Ezek. 19:2-4, 7-9.

This describes the profanation of truth in successive stages by the enticements of falsities arising from evils. ‘The mother of the princes of Israel’ is the Church where primary truths are, ‘the mother’ being the Church, see 289, 2691, 2717, 4257, 5581, 8897, and ‘the princes of Israel’ primary truths, 1482, 2089, 5044. ‘A lioness’ is falsity that arises from evil and that perverts the Church’s truths; ‘a lion’s cub’ is evil in its power, 6367. ‘Seizing prey’ and ‘devouring men’ mean destroying truths and forms of good, for ‘man’ is the Church’s good, 4287, 7424, 7523. ‘The nations’ are evils, 1259, 1260, 1849, 2588 (end), 4444, 6306. ‘A pit’, in which the nations caught him, is falsity arising from evil, 4728, 4744, 5038, 9086. ‘The land of Egypt’, to which he was led away with hooks, is factual knowledge through which falsity comes, 9340. ‘Ravishing widows’ means perverting forms of good which have the desire for truth, for ‘ravishing’ means perverting, 2466, 2729, 4865, 8904, and ‘widows’ forms of good that have the desire for truth, 9198, 9200. ‘Devastating cities’ means destroying the Church’s teachings that present the truth, 402, 2268, 2449, 2943, 3216, 4478, 4492, 4493. ‘Desolating the land and its fullness’ means destroying all things of the Church, 9325. ‘The sound of the lion’s roaring’ is falsity. ‘Spreading a net over him’ means enticing by means of delights belonging to earthly kinds of love and by means of reasonings attributable to them. ‘Leading away to the king of Babel’ is the profaning of truth, 1182, 1283, 1295, 1304, 1307, 1308, 1321, 1322, 1326.

sRef Amos@3 @4 S5′ sRef Amos@3 @5 S5′ [5] The fact that such things do not happen when a person does not love self and the world above all things is described in the following manner in Amos,

Will a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth if there is no trap for it? Will a snare spring up from the earth if it has certainly not caught [anything]? Amos 3:4, 5.

[6] It is evident to anyone that ‘a snare’ in the spiritual sense means enticement and deception effected by means of the delights of self-love and love of the world, thus the enticement and deception of evils, which operate through reasonings that are based on the illusions of the senses and lend support to those delights. For the ensnarement and capturing of people is brought about by nothing else. When the devil’s crew makes its attack on a person it concentrates on his loves, which they charm in every way until they have captivated him; and when he has been captivated that person reasons from falsities against truths, and from evils against forms of good. Yet he does not remain content to do that; he also takes delight in snaring others and enticing them towards falsities and evils. The reason why he also takes delight in doing this is that he too is now one of the devil’s crew.

[7] Since ‘a snare’, ‘a trap’, and ‘a net’ mean such things they also mean the destruction and so annihilation of spiritual life; for the delights belonging to those loves are what destroy it and annihilate it, since those loves, as stated above, are the source from which all evils spring. From self-love springs disdain for others in comparison with self, then mockery and denigration of them, followed by enmity if they disagree with oneself, and finally by the delight that goes with hatred, vengeance, and so with inhumanity, indeed barbarity. This love in the next life rises to such a height that unless the Lord shows such people favour and grants them dominion over others, they are not only disdainful of Him but also mock the Word which speaks of Him. At length they are stirred by hatred and vengeance to act against Him; and insofar as they are unable to do so they carry out their hatred and vengeance with inhumanity and barbarity against everyone who confesses Him. All this shows where the essential nature of the devil’s crew springs from, namely from self-love. Therefore since ‘a snare’ means the delight of selfish and worldly love, it means the destruction and annihilation of spiritual life; for the whole of love and faith to the Lord, and the whole of love towards the neighbour are destroyed by the delight of selfish and worldly love where it reigns supreme; see the places referred to in 9335.

[8] The fact that those loves are the origins of all evils, that hell arises from them and lies within them, and that those loves are the fires of hell is not known in the world at the present day. Yet people could have known this from the consideration that those loves are the opposites of love towards the neighbour and love to God, and the opposites of humility of heart, and from the consideration that from those loves alone spring all disdain, all hatred, all vengeance, and all inhumanity and barbarity, as anyone may realize who gives any thought to the matter.

sRef Ps@11 @6 S9′ sRef Jer@5 @26 S9′ sRef Ps@38 @12 S9′ sRef Luke@21 @34 S9′ sRef Luke@21 @35 S9′ sRef Ps@141 @10 S9′ sRef Ps@141 @9 S9′ [9] The fact that ‘a snare’ therefore means the destruction and annihilation of spiritual life is evident from the following places: In David,

Jehovah will rain on the wicked, snares, fire and brimstone. Ps. 11:6.

‘Fire and brimstone’ are the evils of selfish and worldly love. For this meaning of ‘fire’, see 1297, 1861, 5071, 5215, 6314, 6832, 7324, 7575, 9144, and for ‘brimstone’, 2446, from which it is evident what ‘snares’ mean. In Luke,

… lest that day comes on you suddenly,*** for it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Luke 21:34, 35.

This refers to the last phase of the Church, when there is no faith because there is no charity, since self-love and love of the world will reign. This is followed by annihilation, which is meant by ‘a snare’. In Jeremiah,

Among My people are found wicked ones. They keep watch, like fowlers laying [snares]; they set a gin to catch human beings. Jer. 5:26.

In David,

Those seeking my life**** lay snares, and those seeking my hurt speak of ways to annihilate, and contemplate deceits all the day. Ps. 38:12.

In the same author,

Keep me from the hands of the trap they have set for me, and from the snares of the workers of iniquity. Let them fall into their own nets,***** the wicked together, until I pass by. Ps. 141:9, 10.

In Isaiah,

He will be as a sanctuary, though He will be as a stone to strike against and as a rock to stumble over,****** for both houses of Israel; He will be as a snare and as a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Many among them will trip, and fall, and be broken to pieces, and be snared and caught. Isa. 8:14, 15.

This refers to the Lord. ‘A stone to strike against’ and ‘a rock to stumble over’ stand for stumbling blocks that are laid; and ‘a snare’ and ‘a trap’ for the annihilation accomplished by those who attack and try to destroy truths and forms of the good of faith in the Lord by means of falsities that lend support to self-love and love of the world. For to all proud people the very fact that the Divine appeared in a human form, and that He did so not in royal majesty but in a guise that was despised, is not only a stumbling block but also a snare.
From all this it is now evident that ‘it will be a snare’ means the enticement and deception of evils, and consequent annihilation, as in other places in Moses,

… lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land onto which you will come, lest it becomes a snare in your midst. Exod. 34:12.

In the same author,

You shall not serve their gods, for that will be a snare to you. Deut. 7:16.

In the same author,

Beware lest perhaps you are ensnared to follow******* the nations, and lest perhaps you inquire after their gods. Deut. 12:30.

‘The nations’ are evils and the falsities arising from them.
* lit. trip
** The Hebrew text here, which means literally And he knows his widows, is thought to be corrupt. As a consequence English versions of the Scriptures are based on textual emendations and therefore read somewhat differently.
*** lit. lest that sudden day stands upon you
**** lit. soul
***** lit. into his nets. The singular is used possibly to imply each one of the wicked. Sebastian Schmidt, in his Latin version of the Bible which Sw. draws on here, regarded them as God’s nets.
****** lit. as a stone of striking and as a rock of stumbling
******* lit. ensnared after

sRef Luke@16 @17 S0′ sRef Ex@23 @33 S0′ 9349. The subject in Chapters 20-23 has been the laws, judgements, and statutes that were declared from Mount Sinai. It has been shown what these hold within them in the internal sense, and so how they are understood in heaven, namely not according to their literal but according to their spiritual meaning, which though not evident in the letter is nevertheless present within them. But anyone who is unaware of how the matter stands may suppose that this makes the literal sense of the Word unimportant, for no attention is paid to it in heaven. But let it be known that it does not at all make the literal sense of the Word unimportant; rather, it adds strength to it. Indeed all its individual words carry weight and are holy by virtue of the spiritual sense within them; for the literal sense is the foundation and support on which the spiritual sense rests, and with which it is directly linked, so directly that not even a jot, nor a tittle, that is, small part of a letter in the literal sense of the Word fails to hold what is holy and Divine within it, according to the Lord’s words in Matthew,

Truly I say to you, Even until heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one small part of a letter will not pass from the law till all things are done. Matt. 5:18.

And in Luke,

It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the Law to fall. Luke 16:17.

‘The Law’ is the Word, see 6752, 7463. [2] Therefore also in the Lord’s Divine Providence it has happened that every jot and tittle of the Word, especially in the Old Testament, has been preserved since it was written. I have been shown from heaven that in the Word not only each word but also each letter, indeed – incredibly so – each small part of a letter in the original language has an inner holiness, as angels of the inmost heaven are able to perceive. I can positively declare this to be so, but I realize that it surpasses belief. From this it is evident that outward religious observances of the Church, which represented the Lord and the inner realities of heaven and the Church which begin in the Lord, and about which one reads in the Old Testament Word, have indeed for the most part been abrogated. But it continues to be the Word with its Divine holiness, because all the details there, as has been stated, continue to hold within themselves holy and Divine things, which are perceived in heaven when that Word is read. For it has in all its details an inner, holy content, which is its internal sense , or heavenly and Divine sense. This sense is the soul of the Word; it is God’s truth itself emanating from the Lord, and so it is the Lord Himself.

[3] All this makes clear what the situation is with the laws, judgements, and statutes which were declared by the Lord from Mount Sinai, and are contained in Chapters 20-23 which have now been dealt with. That is to say, it makes clear that every single regulation there is holy because its inward form is holy. Nevertheless some of them have been abrogated so far as practices by the Church at the present day, which is an internal Church, are concerned; some of them are such that the Church may practise them if it wishes to do so; and some of them must be altogether observed and carried out. Even so, those which have been abrogated so far as practices by the Church are concerned, those which it may practise if it so wishes, and those which must be altogether observed and carried out are all equally holy by virtue of their inner and holy content. For the whole of the Word internally is Divine. That inner and holy content is what the internal sense teaches, and it is identical with the inner virtues of the Christian Church, with which teachings about charity and faith are concerned.

[4] To make all this more intelligible let the laws, judgements, and statutes dealt with in the above-mentioned chapters serve as examples. Regulations which must be altogether observed and carried out are those contained in 20:3-5, 7, 8, 12-17, 23; 21:12, 14, 15, 20; 22:18-20, 28; 23:1-3, 6-8, 24, 25, 32.
Regulations which [the Church] may practise if it so wishes are such as those contained in 20:10; 21:18, 19, 22-25, 33-36; 22:1-14, 17, 21-23, 25-27, 31; 23:4, 5, 9, 12-16, 33.
Regulations which have been abrogated so far as practices by the Church at the present day are concerned, in 20:24-26; 21:2-11, 16, 21, 26-29, 31, 32; 22:15, 29, 30; 23:10, 11, 17-19.
But, as stated above, all these are equally holy, or equally the Divine Word.

9350. REASONS WHY IT WAS THE LORD’S WILL TO BE BORN ON OUR PLANET AND NOT ON ANOTHER

There are a number of reasons, which I have been told about from heaven, why the Lord was pleased to be born on our planet and not another and to take to Himself the Human.

9351. The main reason was for the sake of the Word, which was able on our planet to be set down in writing. Then, having been written, it could be disseminated to all parts of the planet, and once it had been disseminated it could be preserved for all future generations. In this way the truth that God had become Man could be made plain, even to all in the next life.

9352. The main reason was for the sake of the Word. This is so because the Word is God’s truth itself which teaches people about the existence of God, of heaven and of hell, and of life after death, and above all teaches them how they must live and believe in order to enter heaven and so be happy for evermore. Without revelation, thus without the Word in the case of this planet, all these things would have remained totally unknown; and yet the human being has been so created that as to his internal man he cannot die.

9353. The Word was able on our planet to be set down in writing. This is so because the art of writing has existed here since most ancient times, first on tablets, then on parchment, after that on paper, and finally as printed type. All this was provided by the Lord for the sake of the Word.

9354. The Word could then be disseminated to all parts of this planet. This is so because all nations here come in contact with one another, not only through land travel but also through sea voyages to all places throughout the earth. As a consequence of such contact, once the Word had been written it could be conveyed from one nation to another and be taught everywhere. This contact too was provided by the Lord for the sake of the Word.

9355. Once it had been written the Word could be preserved for all future generations, therefore for thousands and thousands of years, and indeed has been so preserved, as is well known.

9356. In this way the truth that God had become Man could be made plain, this being the first and most essential truth for the sake of which the Word exists. For nobody can believe in and love a God whom they cannot picture in some shape or form. Those therefore who acknowledge something they cannot picture lower their thinking to the natural order and so believe in what is not God, see 7211, 9303, 9315. Therefore the Lord was pleased to be born on our planet and to make this plain through the Word, not only in order that people might know it on earth but also in order that it might be made plain to all throughout the universe who enter heaven from any planet whatever. For in heaven all come in contact with others.

9357. It should be recognized that the Word on our planet, given to us by the Lord by way of heaven, constitutes a union of heaven and the world, 9212. To this end there is a correspondence of everything in the letter of the Word with Divine realities in heaven. It should also be recognized that the Word deals in its highest and inmost sense with the Lord, with His kingdom in heaven and on earth, and with love and faith received from Him and shown to Him, consequently with life received from Him and abiding in Him. Such ideas present themselves to angels in heaven, whatever planet they come from, when the Word existing on our planet is read and preached.

9358. On every other planet God’s truth is made plain by spirits and angels who speak to its inhabitants face to face, as has been stated in previous sections in which the inhabitants of planets in our solar system were the subject. But this takes place within families, for the human race on the majority of planets lives divided up according to families. For this reason Divine Truth revealed in this way by means of spirits and angels is not disseminated very far beyond the families; and unless repeatedly there are new, superseding revelations it is either perverted or else perishes. It is different on our planet, where God’s truth, which is the Word, remains forever unimpaired.

9359. It should be recognized that the Lord knows and welcomes all, from any planet whatever, who acknowledge and worship God in human form; for God in human form is the Lord. And when the Lord appears to those who inhabit the planets, He does so in the form of an angel, which is the human form. For this reason, when spirits and angels from those planets learn from spirits and angels belonging to our planet that God is in actuality Man, they welcome that Message; they acknowledge and rejoice that it is so, see 7173.

sRef John@1 @4 S0′ sRef John@1 @2 S0′ sRef John@1 @1 S0′ sRef John@1 @18 S0′ sRef John@1 @3 S0′ sRef John@1 @14 S0′ 9360. In addition to the reasons already introduced there is the consideration that the inhabitants, spirits, and angels belonging to our planet correlate in the Grand Man with external or bodily perceiving, 9107, and external or bodily perceiving is the lowest level, in which more internal levels of life terminate and on which they rest as their general foundation, 5077, 9212, 9216. The same applies to God’s truth in its literal form, which is called the Word; it has been provided for a like reason on this planet and not on another. Furthermore, since the Lord is the Word, since He is its first and last, His will was that He should be born and become the Word on this planet, in order that everything might take place in keeping with true order, according to the following words in John,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the Only Begotten from the Father. Nobody has ever seen God; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known. John 1:1-3, 14, 18.

‘The Word’ is Divine Truth. But this is an arcanum about which only few can have any understanding.

9361. The fact that the inhabitants of other planets rejoice when they learn that God has taken the Human to Himself and made it Divine, and that God is therefore in actuality Man, will be seen in the sections at the ends of the final chapters of Exodus.

9362. Subsequent end-sections through to the end of the Book of Exodus will in the Lord’s Divine mercy speak about the inhabitants, spirits, and angels belonging to planets out in space.

9363. 24

TEACHINGS ABOUT CHARITY AND FAITH

Believing the things taught by the Word or the teachings of the Church without living according to them may look like faith; indeed some people suppose that they are saved by it. But nobody is saved by such faith alone; for it is no more than persuasion, the nature of which will now be described.

9364. Faith is no more than persuasion when people believe and love the Word and the teachings of the Church not with a view to serving the neighbour, that is, their fellow citizen, country, the Church, heaven, and the Lord Himself – consequently not with a view to life, for life involves service to these – but with a view to acquiring gain, important positions, and a reputation for being learned. People therefore with this kind of faith do not focus on the Lord and heaven, only on self and the world.

9365. Those people in the world who yearn for greatness and long for many possessions are more firmly persuaded that what the Church teaches is the truth than those who do not yearn for greatness nor long for many possessions. The reason for this is that the teachings of the Church are for those people merely a means to their own ends; and to the extent that people desire any ends they love and also believe in the means.

9366. But the fact of the matter is that the fire of self-love and love of the world burns within them, and insofar as that fire is what motivates them to speak, preach, and act, they are ruled by the faith that is persuasion; and then they know nothing other than that a thing is so. But when the fire of those loves ceases to burn in them they no longer believe any of it, indeed many of them refute it. From this it is evident that faith which is no more than persuasion is faith on the lips but not in the heart, and so is no faith at all.

9367. Those whose faith is no more than persuasion receive no inner enlightenment enabling them to know whether the things they teach are true or false, nor indeed do they care, provided that the common people believe them; for they have no affection for truth for its own sake. They also defend faith alone more firmly than others; and they value the good of faith, which is charity, only for what they might get out of it.

9368. If those whose faith is no more than persuasion are deprived of important positions and gain, they discard faith, provided that they do not jeopardize their reputation. For faith which is no more than persuasion does not reside with a person inwardly but stands outside, solely in the memory, from which it is brought out of store when taught to others. Therefore that faith and the truths attached to it disappear after death; for then only that degree of faith remains which resides with a person inwardly, that is, which has been rooted in good, thus which has become part of his life.

sRef Matt@25 @11 S0′ sRef Luke@13 @27 S0′ sRef Luke@13 @26 S0′ sRef Matt@25 @12 S0′ sRef Matt@7 @23 S0′ sRef Matt@7 @22 S0′ 9369. Those whose faith is no more than persuasion are meant by the following people, in Matthew,

Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy through Your name, and through Your name cast out demons, and do many mighty works in Your name? But then I will confess to them, I do not know you, you workers of iniquity. Matt. 7:22, 23.

Also in Luke,

Then you will begin to say, We ate in Your presence and we drank; and You taught in our streets. But He will say, I say to you, I do not know where you come from; depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity. Luke 13:26, 27.

The same people are also meant by ‘the five foolish virgins who had no oil in their lamps’, in Matthew,

Finally those virgins came, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But He replying will say, Truly I say to you, I do not know you. Matt. 25:11, 12.

‘Oil in lamps’ is good within faith, 886, 4638.

EXODUS 24

1 And He said to Moses, Come up to Jehovah, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and you are to bow down from afar.

2 And Moses alone shall come near Jehovah; and they shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with him.

3 And Moses came and reported to the people all Jehovah’s words and all the judgements; and all the people answered with one voice and said, All the words which Jehovah has spoken we will do.

4 And Moses wrote all Jehovah’s words. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar under* the mountain, and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.

5 And he sent boys of the children of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings – young bulls – to Jehovah.

6 And Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and half of the blood he sprinkled over the altar.

7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read it in the ears of the people; and they said, All that Jehovah has spoken we will do and hear.

8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it over the people, and said, Behold, the blood of the covenant which Jehovah has made with you according to all these words.

9 And Moses and Aaron went up, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel.

10 And they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there was so to speak a work of sapphire stone, and it was like the substance of the sky for clearness.

11 And on the children of Israel who had been set apart He did not lay a hand;** and they saw God, and ate and drank.

12 And Jehovah said to Moses, Come up to Me into the mountain, and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and the commandment, which I shall write, to teach them.

13 And Moses rose up, and Joshua his minister, and Moses went up into*** the mountain of God.

14 And he said to the elders, Sit for us in this [place],**** until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has words,***** let him go to them.

15 And Moses went up into*** the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain. 16 And the glory of Jehovah lay over Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days; and He called to Moses on the seventh day from the middle of the cloud.

17 And the sight of Jehovah’s glory was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel.

18 And Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into*** the mountain; and Moses was in the mountain forty days and forty nights.
* i.e. at the foot of
** lit. He did not send His hand
*** lit. to or towards
**** i.e. Wait here for us
***** i.e. anyone who is in difficulty or has a grievance

sRef Ex@24 @0 S0′ 9370. CONTENTS

The subject in the internal sense is the essential nature of the Word imparted by the Lord through heaven – that it is Divine in both senses, the inward sense and the outward sense, and that by means of it the Lord is joined to mankind.


sRef Ex@24 @1 S0′ sRef Ex@24 @2 S0′ 9371. THE INTERNAL SENSE

Verses 1, 2 And He said to Moses, Come up to Jehovah, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and you are to bow down from afar. And Moses alone shall come near Jehovah; and they shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with him.

‘And He said to Moses’ means something concerning the Word in general. ‘Come up to Jehovah’ means being joined to the Lord. ‘You and Aaron’ means the Word in its inward and outward senses. ‘Nadab and Abihu’ means teachings derived from both senses. ‘And seventy of the elders of Israel’ means the Church’s leading truths which belong to the Word or religious teachings and are in tune with good. ‘And you are to bow down from afar’ means humility and adoration coming from the heart, and at the same time the inflow of the Lord. ‘And Moses alone shall come near Jehovah’ means the Lord’s togetherness with and presence among people achieved through the Word in general. ‘And they shall not come near’ means no separate joining together or presence. ‘And the people shall not come up with him’ means no joining whatever to the outward without the inward.

sRef Ex@24 @1 S0′ sRef Ex@24 @18 S1′ sRef Ex@24 @2 S1′ 9372. ‘And He said to Moses’ means something concerning the Word in general. This is clear from the representation of ‘Moses’ as the Word, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘He said’, which includes all that follows in the present chapter, thus things concerning the Word in general, 9370. The fact that Moses represents the Word may be recognized from what has often been shown already regarding Moses, for instance in the Preface to Genesis 18, and in 4859 (end), 5922, 6723, 6752, 6771, 6827, 7010, 7014, 7089, 7382, 8601, 8760, 8787, 8805, which please see. At present Moses represents the Word in general, because what follows says in reference to him, that he alone was to come near Jehovah, verse 2, and also that he was called from the middle of the cloud, went into it, and went up the mountain, verses 16, 18.

sRef Matt@11 @11 S2′ sRef Matt@11 @8 S2′ sRef Matt@11 @7 S2′ sRef Matt@11 @9 S2′ sRef Matt@11 @10 S2′ sRef Matt@11 @15 S2′ sRef Matt@11 @14 S2′ sRef Matt@11 @13 S2′ sRef Matt@11 @12 S2′ [2] In the Word there are many who represent the Lord in respect of God’s truth or the Word; but the chief among them are Moses, Elijah, Elisha, and John the Baptist. The fact that Moses does so may be seen in the explanations referred to just above; the fact that Elijah and Elisha do so may be seen in the Preface to Genesis 18, and in 2762, 5247 (end); and the fact that John the Baptist does so is clear from His being ‘the Elijah who is to come’. Anyone who does not know that John the Baptist represented the Lord in respect of the Word cannot know what it is that all the things said about him in the New Testament imply and mean. Therefore to lay bare this arcanum and at the same time the truth that Elijah as well as Moses, who were seen when the Lord was transfigured, meant the Word, let some of the things recorded regarding John the Baptist be introduced here, such as these words in Matthew,

After John’s messengers went away Jesus began to speak about John, saying, What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A person clothed in soft garments? Behold, those who wear soft garments are in kings’ houses. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one of whom it has been written, Behold, I send My angel before your face, who will prepare your way before you. Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not been raised up one greater than John the Baptist; but one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. All the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to believe it, he is the Elijah who is to come. He who has an ear to hear, let him hear. Matt. 11:7-15; Luke 7:24-28.

No one can know how to understand these things unless he knows that this John represented the Lord in respect of the Word, and unless he knows from the internal sense what is meant by ‘the wilderness’ in which he lived, also what is meant by ‘a reed shaken by the wind’ and by ‘soft garments in kings’ houses’; then what is meant by the statement that he was ‘more than a prophet’, and that ‘among those born of women’ there was none greater than he, and yet ‘one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he’; and finally the announcement that he was ‘the Elijah’. For without some deeper meaning all this sounds like a mere comparison and not anything more profound.

sRef Mal@4 @5 S3′ [3] It sounds altogether different however when the Lord in respect of the Word, or one representing the Word, is understood by John. Then ‘the wilderness of Judea’ in which John lived means the state in which the Word resided at the time when the Lord came into the world, namely in the wilderness, that is, in obscurity so great that the Lord was not acknowledged at all and nothing whatever was known about His heavenly kingdom, even though all the prophets prophesied about Him and about His kingdom which would last forever. The fact that ‘the wilderness’ means such obscurity, see 2708, 4736, 7313. The Word is therefore compared to ‘a reed shaken by the wind’ when it is explained at will; for ‘a reed’ in the internal sense is truth on its last and lowest level, which is what the Word is in the letter.

[4] The Word on the lowest level or in the letter looks to human sight to be rough and dull, but in the internal sense it is soft and shining. This is meant by the words that they did not see ‘a person clothed in soft garments. Behold, those who wear soft garments are in kings’ houses’. The fact that such things are meant by these words is evident from the meaning of ‘garments’ or clothes as truths, see 2132, 2576, 4545, 4763, 5248, 6914, 6918, 9093, as a result of which angels appear clothed in garments soft and shining, in keeping with the truths springing from good that reside with them, 5248, 5319, 5954, 9212, 9216; and also from the meaning of ‘kings’ houses’ as the places where angels dwell, and in the universal sense as the heavens. For ‘houses’ are so called by virtue of good, 2233, 2234, 3128, 3652, 3720, 4622, 4982, 7836, 7891, 7996, 7997, and the word ‘kings’ is used in regard to truth, 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 6148. Therefore angels are called the children of the kingdom, the king’s children, and also kings, by virtue of their reception of truth from the Lord.

[5] The Word is greater than any doctrinal teachings in the world and greater than any truth in the world. This is meant by the words, ‘What did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet’ and ‘among those born of women there has not been raised up one greater than John the Baptist’. For ‘a prophet’ in the internal sense means doctrinal teachings, 2534, 7269, and ‘those born of women’ are truths, 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3704, 4257.

[6] The Word in its inward sense or as it exists in heaven is in a degree above the Word in its outward sense or as it exists in the world and as John the Baptist taught it. This is meant by the statement that ‘the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he’; for the Word perceived in heaven possesses wisdom so great that it surpasses all human understanding. Prophecies concerning the Lord and His Coming, and things representative of the Lord and His kingdom were brought to an end when the Lord came into the world. This is meant by the words that ‘all the prophets and the law prophesied until John’.

sRef Matt@17 @10 S7′ sRef Matt@17 @13 S7′ sRef Matt@17 @12 S7′ sRef Matt@17 @11 S7′ [7] The Word was represented by John as it had been by Elijah. This is meant by the statement that he is ‘the Elijah who is to come’, and also by the following in Matthew,

The disciples asked Jesus, Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first? He answering said, Elijah will indeed come first and restore all things. I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not acknowledge him but did to him whatever they wished. In the same way too will the Son of Man suffer at their hands*. And they understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist. Matt. 17:10-13.

‘Elijah has come, and they did not acknowledge him but did to him whatever they wished’ means that the Word indeed taught them that the Lord was going to come, but that they were nevertheless unwilling to have a right understanding of this; they interpreted it as support for their own dominion and in so doing eliminated what was of God within it. The fact that much the same would happen to God’s truth itself is meant by the words ‘In the same way too will the Son of Man suffer at their hands’, ‘the Son of Man’ being the Lord in respect of God’s truth, see 2803, 2813, 3704.

sRef 2Ki@1 @8 S8′ sRef Matt@3 @4 S8′ sRef Matt@3 @1 S8′ [8] All this now shows how to understand the prophecy regarding John in Malachi,

Behold, I send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrifying day of Jehovah comes. Mal. 4:5.

The Word on the lowest level or as it is in the outward form seen by people in the world is also described by ‘the garments’ John the Baptist wore and by ‘the food’ he ate, in Matthew,

John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness of Judea had a garment of camel hair and a skin girdle around his waist; his food was locusts and field honey.** Matt. 3:1, 3, 4.

Much the same is said of Elijah in 2 Kings 1:8, that he was a hairy man, and wore a girdle of skin around his loins. When it has reference to the Word ‘a garment’ or piece of clothing means God’s truth there in its lowest form; ‘camel hair’ means true factual knowledge such as is seen there by people in the world; ‘a skin girdle’ means the outward connecting bond, holding all the interiors in order; ‘food’ means spiritual nourishment derived from cognitions or knowledge of truth and good obtained from the Word; ‘locusts’ means the lowest or most general truths, and ‘field honey’ the pleasantness of them.

[9] The origin of these meanings of ‘garments’ and ‘food’ lies in representatives in the next life. There all are seen wearing clothes in accord with their truths derived from good; and also food there is represented in accord with their desires to have knowledge and wisdom. So it is that ‘a garment’ or piece of clothing means truth, see the places referred to above in this paragraph, while ‘food’ means spiritual nourishment, 3114, 4459, 4792, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5576, 5579, 5915, 8562, 9003; ‘a girdle’ means a bond gathering the interiors together and holding them within itself, 9341 (end), ‘skin’ means what is external, 3540, so that ‘a skin girdle’ means an external bond; ‘hair’ means the lowest or most general truths, 3301, 5569-5573, ‘camel’ means factual knowledge in general, 3048, 3071, 3143, 3145, 4156, consequently ‘camel hair’ means true factual knowledge obtained from the Word; ‘locust’ means truth nourishing the outermost levels, 3301(end),*** and ‘honey’ its pleasantness, 5620, 6857, 8056, the words ‘field honey’ being used because ‘the field’ means the Church, 2971, 3317, 3766, 7502, 7571, 9139, 9295. A person who does not know that such things are meant cannot possibly know why Elijah and John were clothed in that manner; yet anyone with correct ideas about the Word can think that such clothing was a sign of something peculiar to those prophets.

sRef John@1 @1 S10′ sRef John@1 @26 S10′ sRef John@1 @25 S10′ sRef John@1 @28 S10′ sRef John@1 @27 S10′ sRef John@1 @24 S10′ sRef John@1 @19 S10′ sRef John@1 @20 S10′ sRef John@1 @23 S10′ sRef John@1 @22 S10′ sRef John@1 @30 S10′ sRef John@1 @14 S10′ sRef John@1 @21 S10′ sRef John@1 @29 S10′ [10] Since John the Baptist represented the Lord in respect of the Word, he also said of himself – when he spoke about the Lord, who was the Word itself – that he was not Elijah, nor the Prophet, and that he was not worthy to untie the latchet of the Lord’s shoe, in John,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory. Jews from Jerusalem, priests and Levites, asked John who he was. He confessed, and did not deny, I am not the Christ. They therefore asked him, What then? Are you Elijah? But he said, I am not. Are you the Prophet? He answered, No. Therefore they said to him, Who are you? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said. They said therefore, Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet? He answered, I baptize with water; among you stands One whom you do not know. It is He who will come after me, who was before me, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to untie. When he saw Jesus he said, Behold, the Lamb of God who bears away the sin of the world. This is He of whom I said, After me comes a Man (Vir) who was before me; for He was prior to me. John 1:1, 14, 19-30.

From these words it is evident that when John spoke about the Lord Himself, who was God’s truth or the Word itself, he said that he himself was not anything; for when the light itself makes its appearance the shadow disappears, that is, the representative disappears when the image itself makes its appearance. Representatives had regard only to what they represented, namely holy things and the Lord Himself, and no regard whatever to the person who represented them, see 665, 1097 (end), 1361, 3147, 3881, 4208, 4281, 4288, 4292, 4307, 4444, 4500, 6304, 7048, 7439, 8588, 8788, 8806. The person who does not know that representatives vanish as shadows do at the presence of the light cannot know why John said that he was not Elijah or the Prophet.

sRef Luke@9 @31 S11′ sRef Luke@9 @30 S11′ sRef Luke@9 @29 S11′ [11] All this now makes plain what was meant by Moses and Elijah, who were seen in glory, and who spoke to the Lord, when He was transfigured, about His departure which He was about to complete in Jerusalem, Luke 9:29-31. That is to say, the Word was meant by them – the historical section of the Word by ‘Moses’ and the prophetical part by ‘Elijah’ – the subject of which everywhere in the internal sense is the Lord, His Coming into the world, and His Departure from the world. This explains why it says that Moses and Elijah ‘were seen in glory’, for ‘the glory’ is the inward sense of the Word, and ‘the cloud’ the outward sense, see Preface to Genesis 18, and 5922, 8427.
* lit. from them
** i.e. wild honey, honey found in the field
*** This reference is incorrect; possibly 7643 (end) is intended, or 9331 (end).

sRef Ex@24 @16 S0′ sRef Ex@24 @11 S0′ sRef Ex@24 @2 S0′ sRef Ex@24 @3 S0′ sRef Ex@24 @1 S0′ sRef Ex@24 @17 S0′ 9373. ‘Come up to Jehovah’ means being joined to the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘coming up’ as being raised to more internal things, dealt with in 3084, 4539, 4969, 5406, 5817, 6007, and therefore also being joined to them, 8760. The reason why it is a joining to the Lord is that ‘Jehovah’ in the Word means the Lord, 1343, 1736, 1793, 2004, 2005, 2018, 2025, 2921, 3023, 3035, 5663, 6280, 6281, 6303, 6905, 8274, 8864, 9315. A further arcanum which lies concealed within the internal sense of these words is that the children of Jacob, over whom Moses presided as their head, were not called or elected; rather, they themselves insisted that Divine worship should be established among them, as accords with what has been stated in 4290, 4293. This is why it says, And He said to Moses, Come up to Jehovah, as though not Jehovah but another was telling him to go up. For the same reason it says in what follows that the people should not come up, verse 2, and that Jehovah did not lay a hand on the children of Israel who had been set apart, verse 11; also that the sight of Jehovah’s glory was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel, verse 17; and finally that Moses, when he was called on the seventh day, went into the middle of the cloud, [verses 16, 18.] ‘The cloud’ means the Word in the letter, 5922, 6343 (end), 6752, 6832, 8106, 8443, 8781; and among the children of Jacob it was the Word separated from its internal sense, since their worship was external devoid of anything internal. This becomes perfectly clear from the fact that they now said, as they had done before [at Exod. 19:8], All the words which Jehovah has spoken we will do, verse 3; yet scarcely forty days went by after this time and they were worshipping the golden calf instead of Jehovah. From this it is evident that such idolatry lay concealed in their heart when they said with their lips that they would serve Jehovah alone. However, the people who are meant by the called and the elect are those with whom internal worship exists, and also external worship springing from internal, that is, those with whom love to the Lord and faith in Him, and consequently love towards the neighbour are present.

sRef Ex@24 @1 S0′ 9374. ‘You and Aaron’ means the Word in its inward and outward senses. This is clear from the representation of ‘Moses’ as the Word, dealt with above in 9373; but when Aaron, who was his brother, is linked with him, ‘Moses’ represents the Word in its inward sense, and ‘Aaron’ the Word in its outward sense, as also before in 7089, 7382.

sRef Ex@24 @1 S0′ 9375. ‘Nadab and Abihu’ means teachings derived from both senses. This is clear from the fact that they were Aaron’s sons; therefore when the Word is meant by ‘Aaron’, teachings are meant by ‘his sons’, teachings derived from the inward sense of the Word being meant by the older son, and teachings derived from the outward sense of it by the younger. Teachings derived from the inward sense of the Word and teachings derived from the outward sense of the Word make one with each other; for people alert to what lies on an inward level are aware also of what lies on an outward level. The Lord’s Church exists everywhere on an inward level and on an outward level. The Church on an inward level resides in the heart, the Church on an outward level resides on the lips; that is, the inward Church resides in the will, the outward in action. When the inward level in a person makes one with the outward what resides in the heart then lies also on the lips, or what resides in the will then lies in action. Or what amounts to the same thing, what lies on the lips is then the heart speaking, and what lies in action is then the will acting, without any disagreement between the inward and the outward. Thus it is also faith speaking and love or charity acting, that is, it is the Lord, who is the Source of faith and charity, speaking and acting.

sRef Lev@10 @2 S2′ sRef Lev@10 @3 S2′ sRef Lev@10 @1 S2′ [2] Since Nadab and Abihu, Aaron’s sons, represented teachings derived from the Word, they were therefore killed when they introduced worship based on teachings different from those derived from the Word. This was represented by the following incident involving them, recorded in Moses,

Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his censer and put fire in it, onto which they placed incense, and in so doing offered to Jehovah foreign* fire, which He had not commanded them. Therefore fire went out from before Jehovah and devoured them, so that they died before Jehovah. And Moses said to Aaron, This is what Jehovah spoke, saying, In those who are near Me** I will be sanctified. Lev. 10:1-3.

‘Foreign fire in the censer’ means teachings derived from a source other than the Word. For ‘fire’ means the good of love and ‘incense’ the truth of faith rising from it, and the good of love and the truth of faith are the realities which go to make teachings derived from the Word. From this it is evident why they were devoured by fire ‘from before Jehovah’. ‘Being sanctified through those who are near’ means with those who are joined to the Lord through the good of love and the truth of faith derived from the Word. For the meaning of ‘fire’ as the good of heavenly love, see 934, 4906, 5071 (end), 5215, 6314, 6832, 6834, 6849, 7324, 7852, 9055; and the meaning of ‘incense’ as faith rising from the good of love will be shown elsewhere.
* i.e. unauthorized or profane
** lit. In My near ones

sRef Ex@24 @1 S0′ 9376. ‘And seventy of the elders of Israel’ means the Church’s leading truths which belong to the Word or religious teachings and are in tune with good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘seventy’ as something complete, thus all things, dealt with in 6508; and from the meaning of ‘the elders of Israel’ as the Church’s leading truths that are in tune with good, thus truths which belong to the Word or to teachings derived from the Word since they are all in tune with good. For the meaning of ‘the elders of Israel’ as those truths, see 6524, 8578, 8585. The reason why those derived from the Word are in tune with good is that they come from the Lord and consequently have heaven within them; indeed, if you are willing to believe it, heaven in which the Lord is present resides in every single part of the Word.

sRef Ex@24 @1 S0′ 9377. ‘And you are to bow down from afar’ means humility and adoration coming from the heart, and at the same time the inflow of the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘bowing down’ as humility, dealt with in 2153, 5682, 6266, 7068. The reason why adoration as well is meant is that the essential element in all adoration and all worship is humility. Without humility there can be no worship or adoration of the Lord, because what is Divine and the Lord’s cannot flow into a proud heart, that is, into a heart full of self-love, for such a heart is hard and in the Word is called ‘a heart of stone’. It can flow only into a humble heart, since this is soft and in the Word is called ‘a heart of flesh’, and so is receptive of good flowing in from the Lord, that is, receptive of the inflow of the Lord. This explains why ‘bowing down from afar’ means not only humility and adoration coming from the heart but also the inflow of the Lord at the same time. The words ‘the inflow of the Lord’ are used because the good of love and of faith which flows in from the Lord is the Lord as He resides with a person. The reason why ‘from afar’ means coming from the heart is that when people feel humble they draw back from the Lord because they do not consider themselves worthy enough to draw near God Most Holy. For when they feel humble they acknowledge that left to themselves they are nothing but evil, indeed nothing but profanity. When they acknowledge this in their heart they possess true humility. From this it is evident that ‘you are to bow down from afar’ means humility and adoration coming from the heart, and at the same time the inflow of the Lord.

[2] But such humility and adoration did not exist with the Israelite people; they did no more than represent them through outward gestures, for merely external things and nothing internal interested them. Nevertheless when they humbled themselves they used to lie face down on the ground, also roll themselves in the dust, and cry out with a loud voice, behaving like this for entire days. Anyone who does not know what true humility is might think that such behaviour was humility of heart. But it was not the humility of a heart looking to God from God, but one of looking to God from self; and a heart that looks from self looks from what is evil, since whatever goes out from a person, from the self alone, is evil. For the Israelites more than all peoples in the whole world were ruled by self-love and love of the world. They thought that they were holy if they merely offered sacrifice or washed themselves with water, doing so without any recognition that such actions represented the inward holiness that belongs to charity and faith coming from the Lord. For no holiness is a person’s own; rather it is the Lord’s present with the person, 9229. Those who humble themselves in the belief that they are holy of themselves and who offer adoration from a love of God which begins in themselves, humble themselves and offer adoration from self-love, thus from a hard heart of stone and not from a soft heart of flesh. Also they are interested only in external things and not at the same time in internal ones; for self-love lives in the external man and cannot enter the internal because the internal man is opened solely by love to and faith in the Lord, thus by the Lord who there forms for the person the heaven in which he lives.

sRef Ex@24 @2 S0′ 9378. ‘And Moses alone shall come near Jehovah’ means the Lord’s togetherness with and presence among people achieved through the Word in general. This is clear from the meaning of ‘coming near’ as the Lord’s togetherness with and presence among people, dealt with below; and from the representation of ‘Moses’ as the Word in general, dealt with above in 9372. The reason why ‘Moses shall come near’ means the Lord’s togetherness with and presence among people achieved through the Word is that ‘coming near’ in the spiritual sense means being joined together through love; for those who love each other are joined together, love being spiritual togetherness. It is universally so in the next life that all are joined together according to their love of goodness and truth received from the Lord. Consequently the whole of heaven consists in such togetherness. The situation is similar with coming near or being joined to the Lord. Those who love the Lord are joined to Him, so intimately that they are said to be ‘in Him’ when they are in heaven. And all those people love the Lord, and are consequently joined to Him through their love, who lead a good life based on the truths of faith, since the good based on those truths emanates from the Lord, indeed is the Lord, John 14:20, 21.

[2] But it should be recognized that a person is unable of himself to come near the Lord and be joined to Him; rather the Lord has to come near the person and be joined to him. Yet since the Lord draws a person towards Himself, John 6:44; 12:32, the appearance is that the person does of himself come near and join himself. This happens when the person refrains from evils, for refraining from evils is left to a person’s own decision or free will. At this time good from the Lord is flowing in; and it is never lacking, for it is present within the very life a person has from the Lord. But the good accompanying that life is received only in the measure that evils have been removed. The reason why the Word is the means by which the Lord’s togetherness with and presence among people is achieved is that the Word unites a person to heaven and through heaven to the Lord. For the Word is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, and therefore those who adhere to that truth in doctrine and life, or in faith and love, adhere to what is Divine emanating from the Lord, and in so doing are joined to Him.

sRef Ps@65 @4 S3′ sRef Ps@34 @18 S3′ sRef Ps@145 @18 S3′ sRef Ps@69 @18 S3′ [3] From all this it is evident that ‘Moses alone shall come near Jehovah’ means the Lord’s togetherness with and presence among people achieved through the Word. The reason why ‘coming near’ means togetherness and presence is that in the next life distances between one person and another are determined altogether by the dissimilarity and diversity of the interior things which belong to thought and affection, see 1273-1277, 1376-1381, 9104. Also every moving away from the Lord or coming near Him is determined altogether by the good of love and consequently of faith received from Him and shown towards Him. So it is that every heaven’s nearness to the Lord is determined by its good and conversely every hell’s remoteness from Him by its evil. From all this it is evident why it is that ‘being near’ and ‘coming near’ in the spiritual sense mean being joined together, as also in the following places: In David,

Jehovah is near to all calling on Him, who call on Him in truth. Ps. 145:18.

‘Near’ stands for present and joined together with. In the same author,

Blessed is [anyone] whom You choose and cause to come near; he will dwell in Your courts. Ps. 65:4.

‘Causing to come near’ stands for being joined together with.

sRef Lev@10 @3 S4′ sRef Jer@23 @23 S4′ sRef Jer@30 @21 S4′ sRef Jer@23 @22 S4′ [4] In the same author,

O Jehovah, come near my soul; deliver me. Ps. 69:18.

In the same author,

Jehovah is near to those broken in heart. Ps. 34:18.

In Jeremiah,

Let them cause My people to hear My words, and let them bring them back from their evil way, from the wickedness of their deeds. Am I a God near at hand, and not a God afar off? Jer. 23:22, 23.

The words ‘a God near at hand’ apply, it is evident, to those who refrain from evils, and the words ‘a God afar off’ to those who are immersed in evils. In Moses,

Moses said to Aaron, This is what Jehovah spoke, In those who are near Me* I will be sanctified. Lev. 10:3.

‘Being sanctified in those who are near’ means with those who have been joined to the Lord through the good of love and the truth of faith derived from the Word. In Jeremiah,

At that time their Magnificent One will be one of themselves, and their Ruler will come from their midst; and I will cause Him to come near, and He will come near Me. For who is This [who] has pledged His heart to come near Me? Jer. 30:21.

This refers to the Lord, who is ‘the Magnificent One’ and ‘the Ruler’. ‘Coming near Jehovah’ is being united to Him, for the coming near of [Him who is] Divine to Divine [Being Itself] is nothing other than union.
* lit. In My near ones

sRef Ex@24 @2 S0′ 9379. ‘And they shall not come near’ means no separate joining together or presence. This is clear from the representation of Aaron, his sons Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders, who are the ones here who ‘shall not come near’, as the Word in its outward sense, religious teachings, and the Church’s leading truths, dealt with above in 9374-9376; and from the meaning of ‘coming near’ as the Lord’s togetherness with and presence among people, dealt with immediately above in 9378, in this instance as no such togetherness or presence, since it says that Moses alone and not they themselves shall come near. The reason why no separate joining together or presence is meant is that Moses at this point represents the Word in general or the Word in its entirety, 9372, as well as the Word in its inward sense, 9374, whereas Aaron, his sons, and the seventy elders represent the Word in its outward sense and the things derived from it. Since there can be no separate joining of these to the Lord, because the Lord is the Word in its entirety, the words of explanation are ‘no such joining or any separate presence’.

sRef Ex@24 @2 S0′ 9380. ‘And the people shall not come up with him’ means no joining whatever to the outward without the inward. This is clear from the meaning of ‘coming up’ as being joined to, as above in 9373, at this point no joining since it says ‘shall not come up’. The reason why no joining to the outward sense of the Word without the inward is meant is that the children of Jacob, to whom ‘the people’ refers here, were restricted to external things devoid of anything internal, see 3479, 4281, 4293, 4307, 4429, 4433, 4680, 4844, 4847, 4865, 4868, 4874, 4899, 4903, 4911, 4913, 6304, 8588, 8788, 8806, 8871. Their devotion to external things devoid of anything internal is plainly evident from their worship of the golden calf forty days on from that time. They would have behaved differently if they had been conscious at the same time of internal things, that is, of the good of love to and faith in Jehovah, that good being what is inward. Those who have been joined to Him by this good cannot depart into the worship of an idol, because their heart is far away from this. But since that people were not joined to the Lord except through outward forms, by which inward realities were represented, it says that ‘the people shall not come up’, meaning that there shall be no joining whatever to the outward without the inward. Representations without any knowledge of, belief in, or affection for the inner realities that are represented cause the thing to be joined but not the person.

[2] The situation is similar with those who keep solely to the literal sense of the Word and acquire no teaching at all from the Word, because they are separated from the internal sense, the internal sense being such teaching itself. The Lord joins Himself to outward images of the Word through its inner contents. Therefore if the inner contents have been separated no joining of the Lord to the outward images can exist other than one resembling a bodily gesture that is not in accord with the heart. The situation is similar also with those who have a perfect, detailed knowledge of the teachings of their Church, yet do not apply them to life. They too are restricted to external things devoid of anything inward, for the truths contained in such teachings occupy an external position with those people if they have not been inscribed on their life. There is no joining of the Lord to these people’s truths, because the Lord enters a person’s truths of faith by way of his life, thus by way of the soul within the truths.

sRef Ex@24 @4 S0′ sRef Ex@24 @3 S0′ sRef Ex@24 @5 S0′ 9381. Verses 3-5 And Moses came and reported to the people all Jehovah’s words and all the judgements; and all the people answered with one voice and said, All the words which Jehovah has spoken we will do. And Moses wrote all Jehovah’s words. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar under* the mountain, and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent boys of the children of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings – young bulls – to Jehovah.

‘And Moses came and reported to the people’ means enlightenment and instruction by the Lord, imparted through Divine Truth which springs from Him. ‘All Jehovah’s words and all the judgements’ means things in the Word which are rules of life in the spiritual state and in the natural state. ‘And all the people answered with one voice’ means an acceptance with the understanding by those who truly belong to the Church. ‘And said, All the words which Jehovah has spoken we will do’ means an acceptance at the same time with the heart. ‘And Moses wrote all Jehovah’s words’ means imprinting them at the same time on the life. ‘And he rose early in the morning’ means joy from the Lord. ‘And built an altar under the mountain’ means a representative sign of the Lord’s Divine Human in respect of Divine Good from Him. ‘And twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel’ means a representative sign of the Lord’s Divine Human in respect of God’s truth which springs wholly and completely from Him. ‘And he sent boys of the children of Israel’ means those things that belong to innocence and charity. ‘And they offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings – young bulls – to Jehovah’ means a representative sign of worship of the Lord springing from good, and from truth rooted in good.
* i.e. at the foot of

sRef Ex@24 @3 S0′ 9382. ‘And Moses came and reported to the people’ means enlightenment and instruction by the Lord, imparted through Divine Truth which springs from Him. This is clear from the representation of ‘Moses’ as the Lord in respect of the Word, and so in respect of Divine Truth since the Word is this, dealt with above in 9372; from the meaning of ‘coming’ – when it refers to the Lord in respect of the Word or Divine Truth, represented by ‘Moses’ – as enlightenment, for when the Lord comes or He is present in the Word there is enlightenment; and from the meaning of ‘reporting’ as instruction. From all this it is evident that ‘Moses came and reported to the people’ means enlightenment and instruction by the Lord, imparted through Divine Truth.

[2] A brief statement must also be made here regarding the nature of enlightenment and instruction from the Word. Everyone receives enlightenment and instruction from the Word according to his affection for truth and degree of desire for it, and according to his ability to receive it. The internal man of those who receive enlightenment dwells in the light of heaven, for the light of heaven is what enlightens a person in the truths and forms of the good of faith, 8707, 8861. Those who are in that way enlightened understand the Word according to its inner truths, which being so they establish for themselves from the Word guidelines, to which they then relate the literal sense. But those who have no affection for truth rooted in good nor consequently any desire to become wise are blinded rather than enlightened when they read the Word, since they do not dwell in the light of heaven. Indeed in the light of the world, called natural illumination, they gain no insights into things other than those of a worldly nature. And as a result of this the illusions to which their outward senses are subject lead them to seize on falsities which look to them like truths. The majority of these people therefore establish no guidelines for themselves but keep to the literal sense, which they use in support of falsities, especially such falsities as accord with self-love and love of the world. But those who are not like these do no more than assent to the teachings of their Church, without caring or knowing whether they are true or false. Regarding these, see 4741, 5033, 6865, 7012, 7680, 7950, 8521, 8780. From this it is evident who exactly they are who are enlightened by the Word and who exactly they are who are blinded. That is to say, those are enlightened who are governed by heavenly loves; for heavenly loves receive and like sponges soak up heaven’s truths, and are also of their own accord joined to them in the manner of soul and body. On the other hand those are blinded who are ruled by worldly loves, since these loves receive and like sponges soak up falsities, and are also of their own accord joined to them. For good and truth accord with each other, as conversely do evil and falsity. This being so, evil and falsity joined together is called the hellish marriage, in which hell itself consists, while good and truth joined together is called the heavenly marriage, in which heaven itself consists.

[3] The reason why the Word is the source of enlightenment and instruction is that in its first origin the Word is God’s truth itself emanating from the Lord, and on its way down into the world it is adjusted to suit all the heavens. Therefore when a person possessing a heavenly love reads it the Word links him to heaven and through heaven to the Lord, as a result of which he receives enlightenment and instruction. It is different when a person possessing a worldly love reads the Word. He is not linked to heaven and consequently has no enlightenment or instruction. Regarding the union of heaven and the world through the Word, and of the Lord with the human race, see 9212 (end), 9216 (end), 9357.

sRef Ex@24 @3 S0′ 9383. ‘All Jehovah’s words and all the judgements’ means things in the Word which are rules of life in the spiritual state and in the natural state. This is clear from the meaning of ‘Jehovah’s words’ as things in the Word which are rules of life in the spiritual state, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘the judgements’ as things in the Word which are rules of life in the natural state. The terms ‘in the spiritual state’ and ‘in the natural state’ are used because in general every person has two states. The first is peculiar and proper to the internal man and is called the spiritual state, the second is peculiar and proper to the external man and is called the natural state. The internal man’s state is called spiritual because it is conditioned by truths belonging to the light of heaven, and by good belonging to the heat of that light, which is love. That light is called spiritual light because it enlightens the understanding part of the mind, and that heat is called spiritual heat, which is love and warms the will part. This is the reason why the internal man’s state is called spiritual. But the external man’s state is called natural because it is conditioned by truths belonging to the light of the world and by good belonging to the heat of this light, which too is love, but love for such things as exist in the world, for all heat of life is love. This is the reason why the external man’s state is called natural. Rules of life in the natural state are meant by ‘the judgements’, while rules of life in the spiritual state are meant by ‘Jehovah’s words’.

sRef Matt@22 @37 S2′ sRef Matt@22 @38 S2′ sRef Matt@22 @39 S2′ sRef Matt@22 @40 S2′ [2] Both of these are derived from the Word because all the rules of life are there. They hold Life itself within them, for in the Word resides Divine Truth which has emanated and continues to emanate from the Lord, who is Life itself. From this it follows that all things in the Word are rules of life, and also that all things there have reference to life, as may be seen from those two commandments on which all things in the Word are founded, and about which the following is recorded in Matthew,

Jesus said, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. The second is like it, You shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments the Law and the Prophets depend. Matt. 22:37-40; Mark 12:29-31.

‘Loving God and the neighbour’ is a rule of life because the all of life belongs to love, so much so that without love life is not life, and the character of the love determines that of the life. The Law and the Prophets are the whole Word.

sRef Ex@24 @3 S0′ 9384. ‘And all the people answered with one voice’ means an acceptance with the understanding by those who truly belong to the Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘answering with one voice’ as an acceptance with the understanding, for ‘answering’ means receptivity, 2941, 2957, and ‘voice’ means the affirmation (confessio) which comes forth from the understanding (things which belong to the mouth, and consequently to speech or voice, correspond to the understanding part of the mind; this is also the part from which voice or speech emanates, whereas the actual affection within speech, which has its origin in the end that is intended or in the love that enlivens, emanates from the will part); and from the meaning of the children of Israel, to whom ‘the people’ refers here, as the Church, dealt with in 9340, thus those who truly belong to the Church. From all this it is evident that ‘the people answered with one voice’ means an acceptance with the understanding by those who truly belong to the Church.

sRef Ex@24 @3 S0′ 9385. ‘And said, All the words which Jehovah has spoken we will do’ [means an acceptance at the same time with the heart]. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the words which Jehovah has spoken’ as truths from the Word that are rules of life, as above in 9383; and from the meaning of ‘doing’ as acceptance by the will part of the mind, dealt with in 9282, thus acceptance with the heart, for ‘the heart’ in the Word means the will, 7542, 8910, 9050, 9113, 9300. The reason why these words mean acceptance with the will and the words immediately before them acceptance with the understanding is this: Every single part of the Word contains the marriage of truth and good, 9263, which is the heavenly marriage, that is, heaven and in the highest sense the Lord Himself; and truth has connection with the understanding and good with the will.

sRef Ex@24 @4 S0′ 9386. ‘And Moses wrote all Jehovah’s words’ means imprinting them at the same time on the life. This is clear from the meaning of ‘writing’ as imprinting them on the life, dealt with below; from the representation of ‘Moses’ as the Lord in respect of the Word, as above in 9372, 9382; and from the meaning of ‘all Jehovah’s words’ as truths from the Word, also dealt with above, in 9383. From this it is evident that ‘Moses wrote all Jehovah’s words’ means God’s truths imprinted by the Lord on the life. Truths are said to have been imprinted on the life when they become matters of will and consequently of action. As long as they remain fixed solely in the memory, and as long as they are regarded on solely an intellectual level, they have not been imprinted on the life. But as soon as they are accepted with the will they are made part of the life, because willing and consequent action are the real essence of the life of a person. Till then those truths have not become the person’s own.

[2] The reason why ‘writing’ means imprinting on the life is that written accounts of things exist for the sake of remembrance by every future generation. It is similar with the things that have been imprinted on a person’s life. A person has two books so to speak in which all his thoughts and deeds have been written down. These books are his two memories, the exterior one and the interior one. The things written down in his interior memory are those which remain to all eternity and can never be blotted out. They are primarily those things which have been made part of the will, that is, of love since things that are loved are part of the will. This memory is what someone’s ‘book of life’ is used to mean, see 2474.

sRef Ex@24 @4 S0′ 9387. ‘And he rose early in the morning’ means joy from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘rising up’ as that which implies a raising up towards higher things, dealt with in 2401, 2785, 2912, 2927, 3171, 4103; and from the meaning of ‘the morning’ and ‘early’ as the Lord and things that come from Him, such as peace, innocence, love, and joy, dealt with in 2405, 2780, 7681, 8426, 8812. The reason why ‘the morning’ and ‘early’ mean these things is that the changing seasons through the year of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, and also the changing times through the day of morning, midday, evening, and night correspond to just so many states in heaven. Morning accordingly corresponds to the coming and presence of the Lord, which takes place when an angel enters a state of peace, innocence, and heavenly love, and consequently has a feeling of joy. Regarding these correspondences, see 5672, 5962, 6110, 8426, 9213.

sRef Ex@24 @4 S0′ 9388. ‘And built an altar under the mountain’ means a representative sign of the Lord’s Divine Human in respect of Divine Good from Him. This is clear from the meaning of ‘an altar’ as a representative sign of the Lord’s Divine Human, dealt with in 921, 2777, 2811, 4489, and therefore the chief representative of worship of the Lord, 4541, 8935, 8940; and from the meaning of ‘the mountain’ as the good of love, dealt with in 4210, 6435, 8327, 8658, 8758, in this instance the Divine Good of love which emanates from the Lord, since it was Mount Sinai, where the Lord was then. ‘Mount Sinai’ means Divine Good united to Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, see 8805.

sRef Ex@24 @4 S0′ 9389. ‘And twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel’ means a representative sign of the Lord’s Divine Human in respect of God’s truth which springs wholly and completely from Him. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a pillar’ as a representative sign of the Lord’s Divine Human in respect of truth, the reason why ‘a pillar’ has this meaning being that ‘an altar’ means a representative sign of the Lord’s Divine Human in respect of good, and ‘a pillar’ in the representative sense means the holiness of truth that comes from the Lord, 4580, 4582; and from the meaning of ‘twelve’ and ‘the twelve tribes’ as all truths and forms of good in their entirety, dealt with in 577, 2089, 3858, 3913, 3926, 3939, 4060, 6335, 6337, 6397, 6640, 7973, thus those which spring from the Lord. The reason why the Lord’s Divine Human is meant by ‘an altar’ and by ‘pillars’ is that all the Church’s representative signs which are spoken of in the Word have regard in the highest sense to the Lord Himself. This being so, the subject of the Word in its inmost or highest sense is solely the Lord, in particular the glorification of His Human. This is what gives the Word all its holiness. But that sense presents itself chiefly in the inmost or third heaven, where those are who are governed by love to the Lord, and consequently possess wisdom more than all others.

sRef Ex@24 @5 S0′ 9390. ‘And he sent boys of the children of Israel’ means those things that belong to innocence and charity. This is clear from the meaning of ‘boys of the children of Israel’ as things which belong to innocence and charity among members of the Church. For ‘sucklings’, ‘young children’, and ‘boys’ mean those who have innocence and charity, or in the abstract sense, without reference to persons, those things which belong to innocence and charity, 430, 5236; and ‘the children of Israel’ means members of the Church, or in the abstract sense, without reference to persons, the Church itself, 9340.

sRef Ex@24 @5 S0′ 9391. ‘And they offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings – young bulls – to Jehovah’ means a representative sign of worship of the Lord springing from good, and from truth rooted in good. This is clear from the representation of ‘burnt offerings and sacrifices’ as worship of the Lord in general, dealt with in 922, 6905, 8936, worship of the Lord springing from the good of love being meant specifically by ‘burnt offerings’ and worship of Him springing from the truth of faith rooted in good by ‘sacrifices’, 8680; and from the meaning of ‘young bulls’ as the good of innocence and charity in the external or natural man, dealt with below. The beasts or animals that were sacrificed were signs of the nature of the goodness and truth from which worship sprang, 922, 1823, 2180, 3519; gentle and useful beasts mean celestial realities which are aspects of the good of love and spiritual realities which are aspects of the truth of faith, and this was why they were used in sacrifices, see 9280. The reason why ‘a young bull’ means the good of innocence and charity in the external or natural man is that members of the herd were signs of the affections for goodness and truth present in the external or natural man, while members of the flock were signs of the affections for goodness and truth present in the internal or spiritual man, 2566, 5913, 6048, 8937, 9135. Members of the flock were lambs, she-goats, sheep, rams, and he-goats; and those of the herd were bulls or oxen, young bulls or oxen, and calves. Lambs and sheep were signs of the good of innocence and charity present in the internal or spiritual man; consequently calves and young bulls, being of a more tender age than fully-grown bulls, were signs of a like good in the external or natural man.

sRef Gen@15 @18 S2′ sRef Ezek@1 @7 S2′ [2] The fact that ‘young bulls’ and ‘calves’ have this meaning is clear from places in the Word where they are mentioned, for example in Ezekiel,

The feet of the four living creatures were straight feet, and the hollows of their feet were like the hollow of a calf’s foot.* And they sparkled like a kind of burnished bronze. Ezek. 1:7.

This refers to the cherubs whom ‘the four living creatures’ describe. ‘The cherubs’ are the Lord’s protection and providence, guarding against access to Him except through good, see 9277 (end). External or natural good was represented by ‘straight feet’** and by ‘the hollows of feet that were like the hollow of a calf’s foot’; for ‘the feet’ means the things which belong to the natural man, ‘straight feet’ those which are aspects of good, and ‘the hollows of the feet’ those which are last and lowest in the natural man. For the meaning of ‘the feet’ as these things, see 2162, 3147, 3761, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952, 5327, 5328; and for that of the heels, soles, and hollows of the feet, also hoofs, as the last and lowest things in the natural man, 4938, 7729. The reason why the hollows of their feet ‘sparkled like a kind of burnished bronze’ is that ‘bronze’ means natural good, 425, 1551, and ‘bronze sparkling as if burnished’ means good shining with the light of heaven, which is God’s truth radiating from the Lord. From this it is evident that ‘a calf’ means the good of the external or natural man.

sRef Rev@4 @7 S3′ sRef Rev@4 @6 S3′ [3] Similarly in John,

Around the throne were four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. And the first living creature was like a lion; but the second living creature was like a calf; the third living creature however had a face like a human being; lastly the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. Rev. 4:6, 7.

Here also ‘four living creatures’, who are cherubs, means the Lord’s protection and providence, guarding against anyone’s gaining access except through the good of love. Actual protection is achieved by means of truth and the good arising from it, and by means of good and the truth deriving from it. Truth and the good arising from it, in the outward form, are meant by ‘a lion’ and ‘a calf’; and good and the truth deriving from it, in the inward form, are meant by ‘the face of a human being’ and ‘a flying eagle’. ‘A lion’ means truth from good in its power, see 6367, and therefore ‘a calf’ means the actual good arising from it.

sRef Hos@14 @2 S4′ [4] In Hosea,

Turn back to Jehovah, say to Him, Take away all iniquity and accept that which is good, and we will render the young bulls*** of our lips. Hosea 14:2.

No one can know what ‘rendering the young bulls of the lips’ refers to unless he knows what is meant by ‘young bulls’ and what by ‘the lips’. It is evident that the praise (confessio) and thanksgiving which flow from a heart that is good are meant, for it says, ‘Turn back to Jehovah, and say to Him, Accept that which is good’, and then ‘we will render the young bulls of our lips’, which stands for offering Jehovah praise and thanksgiving which flow from the forms of good taught by doctrine. For things connected with doctrine are meant by ‘the lips’, 1286, 1288.

sRef Amos@6 @4 S5′ sRef Mal@4 @2 S5′ sRef Amos@6 @3 S5′ [5] In Amos,

You bring near a reign of violence.**** They lie on beds of ivory, and eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the midst of the fattening stall. Amos 6:3, 4.

These words describe those who abound in cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth and yet lead an evil life. ‘Eating lambs from the flock’ means learning forms of the good of innocence which belong to the internal or spiritual man and making them one’s own; ‘eating calves from the midst of the fattening stall’ stands for learning forms of the good of innocence which belong to the external or natural man and making them one’s own. For the meaning of ‘eating’ as making one’s own, see 3168, 3513 (end), 3596, 3832, 4745; and for the meaning of ‘lambs’ as forms of the good of innocence, 3994, 3519, 7840. Since ‘lambs’ means interior forms of the good of innocence, it follows that ‘calves from the midst of the fattening stall’ means exterior forms of the good of innocence; for on account of the heavenly marriage it is normal for the Word, especially the prophetical part, to deal with truth whenever it does so with good, 9263, 9314, and also to speak about external things whenever it does so about internal ones. Also ‘the fattening stall’ and ‘fat’ mean the good of interior love, 5943.

sRef Luke@15 @23 S6′ sRef Luke@15 @22 S6′ [6] Likewise in Malachi,

To you, fearers of My name, the Sun of Righteousness will arise, and healing in His wings, that you may go out and grow, like calves of the fattening stall. Mal. 4:2.

In Luke, the father said, referring to the prodigal son who had come back penitent in heart,

Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet. Furthermore bring the fatted calf and kill it, that we may eat and be glad. Luke 15:22, 23.

Anyone who understands nothing more than the literal sense does not believe that deeper things lie hidden in any of this. But in actual fact every one of the details embodies some heavenly idea, such as the details that they were to put the best robe on him, put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet, and bring out the fatted calf and kill it, in order that they might eat and be glad. ‘The prodigal son’ means those who have squandered heavenly riches, which are cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth; ‘his return to his father, and confession that he was not worthy to be called his son’ means a penitent heart and self-abasement; ‘the best robe’ which was to be put on him means general truths, 4545, 5248, 5319, 5954, 6914, 6917, 9093, 9212, 9216; and ‘the fatted calf’ means general forms of good in keeping with those truths. The like is meant by ‘calves’ and ‘young bulls’ elsewhere, as in Isa. 11:6; Ezek. 39:18; Ps. 29:6; 69:31; as well as those used in burnt offerings and sacrifices, Exod. 29:11, 12ff; Lev. 4:3ff, 13ff; 8:15ff; 9:2; 16:3; 23:18; Num. 8:8ff; 15:24ff; 28:19, 20; Judg. 6:25-29; 1 Sam. 1:25; 16:2; 1 Kings 18:23-26, 33.

[7] The reason why the children of Israel made the golden calf for themselves and worshipped it in place of Jehovah, Exod. 32:1-end, was that Egyptian idolatry persisted in their heart even though they professed belief in Jehovah with their lips. Chief among the idols in Egypt were heifers and calves made of gold. This was because ‘a heifer’ was a sign of truth on the level of factual knowledge, which is the truth the natural man possesses, while ‘a calf’ was a sign of good on the same level, which is the good the natural man possesses; and also because gold meant good. Visible images symbolizing this good and that truth which the natural man possesses took the form in that land of calves and heifers made of gold. But when the representative signs of heavenly things there were turned into things belonging to idolatrous practices and finally into those belonging to the practice of magic, the actual representative images there, as in other places, became idols and started to be objects that were worshipped. This was how the forms of idolatry among the people of old and all the magic of Egypt arose. [8] For the Ancient Church, which came next after the Most Ancient, was a representative Church, all of whose worship consisted in rituals, statutes, judgements, and commandments, which represented Divine and heavenly realities, which are the interior things of the Church. The Church after the Flood was spread throughout a large part of the Asiatic world, and existed also in Egypt. But in Egypt this Church’s factual knowledge was developed more fully. Consequently those people excelled all others in knowledge of correspondences and representations, as becomes clear from the hieroglyphics, from the magic and idols there, as well as from the various things mentioned in the Word regarding Egypt. All this being so, ‘Egypt’ in the Word means factual knowledge in general, in respect both of truth and of good; and it also means the natural, since factual knowledge belongs to the natural man. Such knowledge was also meant by ‘a heifer’ and ‘a calf’.

[9] The Ancient Church, which was a representative Church, was spread throughout a large number of kingdoms, and existed also in Egypt, see 1238, 2385, 7097.
The Church’s factual knowledge was more fully developed especially in Egypt, and therefore ‘Egypt’ in the Word means factual knowledge in both senses, 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 4749, 4964, 4966, 5700, 5702, 6004, 6015, 6125, 6651, 6679, 6683, 6692, 6693, 6750, 7779 (end), 7926.
And since truth on the level of factual knowledge and its good are the natural man’s truth and good, ‘Egypt’ in the Word also means the natural, 4967, 5079, 5080, 5095, 5160, 5276, 5278, 5280, 5288, 5301, 6004, 6015, 6147, 6252.

sRef Jer@46 @21 S10′ sRef Jer@46 @20 S10′ [10] From all this it is now evident that heifers and calves belonged among the chief idols of Egypt. And they did so because heifers and calves were signs of truth on the level of factual knowledge and its good, which belong to the natural man, even as Egypt itself was a sign of them, so that Egypt and a calf had the same meaning. This accounts for the following that is said regarding Egypt in Jeremiah,

A very beautiful heifer was Egypt; destruction has come from the north. And her hired servants in the midst of her are like calves of the fattening stall.***** Jer. 46:20, 21.

‘A heifer’ is truth on the level of factual knowledge, which belongs to the natural man. ‘Hired servants’ who are ‘calves’ are those who do good for the sake of gain, 8002. ‘Calves’ are accordingly that kind of good which is not in itself good, only delight such as exists with the natural man separated from the spiritual man. This delight, which is in itself idolatrous, is what the children of Jacob indulged in, as they were allowed to reveal and prove in their adoration of the calf, Exod. 32:1-end.

sRef Ps@106 @19 S11′ sRef Ps@106 @20 S11′ [11] What they did then is also described as follows in David,

They made a calf in Horeb and bowed down to the molded image; and they changed the glory into the effigy of the ox that eats the plant.****** Ps. 106:19, 20.

‘Making a calf in Horeb and bowing down to the molded image’ means idolatrous worship, which consists of rituals, statutes, judgements, and commandments, but solely in their outward form and not at the same time in their inward form. That nation was restricted to external things devoid of anything internal, see 9320 (end), 9373, 9377, 9380, 9381, and so was idolatrous at heart, 3732 (end), 4208, 4281, 4825, 5998, 7401, 8301, 8871, 8882. ‘They changed the glory into the effigy of the ox that eats the plant’ means that they forsook the inward things of the Word and the Church and cultivated the outward, which is no more than lifeless factual knowledge. For ‘the glory’ is the inward aspect of the Word and the Church, see Preface to Genesis 18, and 5922, 8267, 8427; ‘the effigy of the ox’ is a semblance of good in outward form, since ‘the effigy’ means a semblance, thus a lifeless imitation, while ‘the ox’ means good in the natural, thus in outward form, 2566, 2781, 9135; and ‘eating the plant’ means making it one’s own only on the level of factual knowledge, since ‘eating’ means making one’s own, 3168, 3513 (end), 3596, 4745, while ‘the plant’ means factual knowledge, 7571.

sRef Deut@9 @21 S12′ [12] Because such things were meant by ‘the golden calf’ which was worshipped by the children of Israel in place of Jehovah, Moses disposed of it in the following manner,

I took your sin which you had made, the calf, and burnt it in the fire, and crushed it by grinding it right down until it was fine as dust; and I threw its dust into the brook descending out of the mountain. Deut. 9:21.

No one knows why the golden calf was treated in this manner unless he knows what being burned in the fire, crushed, ground down, and made fine as dust means, and what the brook descending out of the mountain, into which the dust was thrown, means. It describes the state of those who venerate external things but nothing internal, that is to say, they are people immersed in the evils of self-love and love of the world, and in consequent falsities so far as things from God are concerned, thus so far as the Word is concerned. For ‘the fire’ in which the image was burned means the evil of self-love and love of the world, 1297, 1861, 2446, 5071, 5215, 6314, 6832, 7324, 7575; ‘the dust’ into which it was crushed is consequent falsity substantiated from the literal sense of the Word; and ‘the brook’ coming out of Mount Sinai is God’s truth, thus the Word in the letter since this descends out of that truth. Those with whom external things are devoid of anything internal explain the Word to suit their own loves; and, as was so with the Israelites and Jews in former times and still is so at the present day, they see within it earthly and not at all heavenly things.

sRef Hos@8 @4 S13′ sRef Hos@8 @6 S13′ sRef Hos@8 @5 S13′ [13] Much the same as all this was also represented by Jeroboam’s calves at Bethel and Dan, 1 Kings 12:26-end; 2 Kings 17:16, spoken of as follows in Hosea,

They have made a king, and not by Me; they have made princes, and I did not know. Their silver and their gold they have made into idols for themselves, that they may be cut off. Your calf has deserted [you], O Samaria. For from Israel is this also. A smith has made it, and it is not God; for the calf of Samaria will be broken to******* pieces. Hosea 8:4-6.

This refers to the perverted understanding and the distorted explanation of the Word by those with whom external things are devoid of anything internal; for they keep to the literal sense of the Word, which they twist around to suit their own loves and ideas conceived from it. ‘Making a king, and not by Me’, and ‘making princes, and I did not know’ means hatching out truth and the leading aspects of truth, and doing so in the inferior light that is one’s own, not with God’s help; for ‘a king’ in the internal sense means truth, 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148, and ‘princes’ leading aspects of truth, 1482, 2089, 5044.

[14] ‘Making their silver and their gold into idols’ means perverting knowledge of truth and good obtained from the literal sense of the Word to suit their own desires, while still venerating that knowledge as being holy; even so it is devoid of life because it comes from their self-intelligence. For ‘silver’ is truth and ‘gold’ is good which come from God, and for this reason belong to the Word, 1551, 2954, 5658, 6914, 6917, 8932; and ‘idols’ are religious teachings which are a product of self-intelligence, and which are venerated as being holy, but in fact have no life in them, 8941. From all this it is evident that ‘a king’ and ‘princes’, also ‘silver’ and ‘gold’, mean falsities arising from evil; for things that arise from the self or proprium arise from evil and consequently are falsities, even though outwardly they look like truths because they have been taken from the literal sense of the Word. From this it is evident what is meant by ‘the calf of Samaria which the smith has made and which will be broken to pieces’, namely good present in the natural man but not at the same time in the spiritual man, thus what is not good since it has been applied to evil. ‘A smith has made it, and it is not God’ means that it is a product of the self and does not come from God; and ‘being broken to pieces’ means being reduced to nothing.

sRef Jer@48 @34 S15′ sRef Hos@10 @11 S15′ sRef Isa@15 @5 S15′ sRef Isa@27 @10 S15′ sRef Isa@27 @11 S15′ sRef Isa@34 @7 S15′ sRef Hos@13 @2 S15′ [15] Like things are meant by ‘calves’ in Hosea,

They sin more and more, and make for themselves a molten image from their silver, idols by their own intelligence, completely the work of craftsmen, saying to them, Those who offer human sacrifice******** will kiss the calves. Hosea 13:2.

From all this it is now evident what ‘calf’ and ‘young bull’ mean in the following places: In Isaiah,

The unicorns will come down with them, and the young bulls with the powerful ones; and their land will become drunk with blood, and their dust will be made fat with fatness. Isa. 34:7.

In the same prophet,

The fortified city will be solitary, a habitation forsaken and left like a wilderness; there the calf will feed, and there it will lie down and consume its branches. Its harvest will wither. Isa. 27:10, 11.

In Jeremiah,

From the cry of Heshbon even to Elealeh, as far as Jahaz they uttered their voice, from Zoar even to Horonaim, a three year old heifer, for the waters of Nimrim also will become desolations. Jer. 48:34.

In Isaiah,

My heart cries out upon Moab, his fugitives flee even to Zoar, a three year old heifer, for at the ascent of Luhith he will go up weeping. Isa. 15:5.

In Hosea,

Ephraim is a trained heifer, loving to thresh [grain]. Hosea 10:11.

In David,

Rebuke the wild animals of the reeds, the congregation of the strong ones, among the calves of the peoples, trampling on the fragments of silver. They have scattered the peoples; they desire wars. Ps. 68:30.

sRef Ps@68 @30 S16′ [16] This refers to the arrogance of those who wish to enter into the mysteries of faith on the basis of factual knowledge, refusing to accept anything at all apart from what they themselves deduce on that basis. Since they see nothing in the superior light of heaven which comes from the Lord, only in the inferior light of the natural world which begins in the self, they seize on shadows instead of light, on illusions instead of realities, in general on falsity instead of truth. Since these people’s thinking is insane, because it relies solely on the lowest level of knowledge, they are called ‘wild animals of the reeds’; since their reasoning is fierce they are called ‘the congregation of the strong ones’; and since they dispel truths that still remain and are spread around among the forms of good of those governed by the Church’s truths, they are said ‘to trample on the fragments of silver among the calves of the peoples’, and in addition ‘to scatter the peoples’, that is, the Church itself together with its truths. The longing to attack and destroy these truths is meant by ‘desiring wars’. From all this it is again evident that ‘calves’ are forms of good.

sRef Zech@12 @4 S17′ [17] In Zechariah 12:4 it says, ‘Every horse of the peoples I will strike with blindness’; and ‘horse of the peoples’ means the ability to understand truths which exists with everyone who belongs to the Church, since ‘a horse’ means the power of understanding truth, 2761. But in Ps. 68:30 quoted above it speaks of ‘trampling on the fragments of silver’ and ‘scattering the peoples among the calves of the peoples’. ‘Trampling on’ and ‘scattering’ mean casting down and dispelling, 258; ‘silver’ means truth, 1551, 2954, 5658, 6112, 6914, 6917, 7999, 8932; and ‘the peoples’ means those belonging to the Church who are governed by truths, 2928, 7207, thus also the Church’s truths, 1259, 1260, 3295, 3581, so that ‘the calves of the peoples’ means the forms of good governing the will of those who belong to the Church.

sRef Jer@34 @20 S18′ sRef Jer@34 @18 S18′ sRef Jer@34 @19 S18′ [18] Further evidence that forms of good are meant by ‘calves’ is clear in Jeremiah,

I will give the men who transgressed My covenant, who did not keep the terms of the covenant which they made before Me, that of the calf which they cut in two in order that they might pass between its parts – the princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the royal ministers and the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf – I will give them into the hand of their enemies, that their dead bodies may be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth. Jer. 34:18-20.

No one can know what ‘the covenant of the calf’ and what ‘passing between its parts’ describe unless he knows what is meant by ‘a covenant’, ‘a calf’, and ‘cutting it into two parts’, and also what is meant by ‘the princes of Judah and of Jerusalem, the royal ministers and the priests, and the people of the land’. Plainly some heavenly arcanum is meant. Nevertheless that arcanum comes into the open and can be understood when it is known that ‘a covenant’ means being joined together, ‘a calf’ means good, ‘a calf cut into two parts’ means good emanating from the Lord on one hand and good received by a person on the other; that ‘the princes of Judah and of Jerusalem, and the royal ministers and the priests, and the people of the land’ are the truths and forms of good which the Church has from the Word; and that ‘passing between the parts’ means being joined together. Once all this is known it becomes evident that the internal sense of these words in Jeremiah is this: With that nation good emanating from the Lord was not at all joined to but stood apart from good received by a person through the Word, and therefore through the Church’s truths and forms of good. The reason for this was that they were restricted to external things, devoid of anything internal.

sRef Gen@15 @10 S19′ sRef Gen@15 @12 S19′ sRef Gen@15 @9 S19′ sRef Gen@15 @18 S19′ sRef Gen@15 @11 S19′ [19] The same thing is implied by the covenant of the calf with Abram, referred to as follows in the Book of Genesis,

Jehovah said to Abram, Take for Me********* a three year old heifer, and a three year old she-goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtle dove and a fledgling. And he took for himself all these, and parted each of them down the middle and laid each part opposite the other; but the birds he did not cut apart. And birds of prey came down on the carcasses, and Abram drove them away. And as the sun was going down a deep sleep came over Abram, and, behold, a dread of a great darkness was coming over him. On that day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram. Gen. 15:9-12, 18.

‘A dread of great darkness coming over Abram’ was a sign of the state of the Jewish nation, that they were in greatest darkness so far as truths and forms of good which the Church has from the Word were concerned. They were in such darkness because they were restricted to external things devoid of anything internal, as a consequence of which their worship was idolatrous. For the worship of anyone restricted to external things devoid of anything internal is idolatrous, because his heart and soul when he engages in worship is not in heaven but in the world. Nor does he respect the holy things of the Word from any heavenly love present in him, only an earthly love. This state of that nation is what the prophet described by ‘the covenant of the calf which they cut into two parts, between which they passed’.
* lit. The feet of the four living creatures [were] a straight foot, and the hollow of their feet [was] like the hollow of a calf’s foot.
** The Latin here (pedem dextrum) means right foot; but to judge from the actual quotation of Ezek:1:7, pedem rectum is intended, which can mean right foot rather than straight foot.
*** i.e. praises or sacrifices of praise
**** lit. You attract a habitation of violence
***** i.e. mercenaries who are like fat bulls
****** i.e. grass or herbage
******* lit. will become or will be made into
******** lit. Those sacrificing a human being
********* The Latin means you but the Hebrew means Me.

sRef Ex@24 @7 S0′ sRef Ex@24 @8 S0′ sRef Ex@24 @6 S0′ 9392. Verses 6-8 And Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and half of the blood he sprinkled over the altar. And he took the book of the covenant, and read it in the ears of the people; and they said, All that Jehovah has spoken we will do and hear. And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it over the people, and said, Behold, the blood of the covenant which Jehovah has made with you according to all these words. ‘And Moses took half of the blood’ means Divine Truth which has become a matter of life and of worship.

‘And put it in bowls’ means present with a person, in the things forming his memory. ‘And half of the blood he sprinkled over the altar’ means Divine Truth from the Lord’s Divine Human. ‘And he took the book of the covenant’ means the Word in the letter to which the Word in heaven was joined. ‘And read it in the ears of the people’ means to be listened to and obeyed. ‘And they said, All that Jehovah has spoken we will do and hear’ means receiving the truth that emanates from the Lord’s Divine Human, and obeying it with heart and soul. ‘And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it over the people’ means making a person well-adapted to receive it. ‘And said, Behold, the blood of the covenant’ means that by means of this truth the Lord’s Divine Human is joined to heaven and to earth. ‘Which Jehovah has made with you according to all these words’ means that the Lord accomplishes the joining together by means of every single part of the Word.

sRef Ex@24 @6 S0′ 9393. ‘And Moses took half of the blood’ means Divine Truth which has become a matter of life and of worship. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the blood’ as Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, dealt with in 4735, 6978, 7317, 7326, 7850, 9127. The reason why it is Divine Truth which has become a matter of life and of worship is that it was the blood which Moses sprinkled over the people, verse 8, and this blood means Divine Truth which a person has accepted, thus that which has become a matter of life and of worship; for that Truth is said to have been accepted by a person which becomes a matter of life and so of worship. And it becomes a matter of life and worship when the person has an affection for it or loves it, or what amounts to the same thing, when he wills it, and – in willing it, and so in loving and having an affection for it – does it. Till then it is indeed present with him in his memory, and is at times called forth from there and comes before his inward sight or understanding, from where it passes back into his memory. However, as long as God’s truth goes no deeper than this, though it resides with the person it has not been implanted in his life and will; for a person’s life consists in his will. Therefore when truth is called forth from the memory into the understanding, then passes from the understanding into the will, and goes out from the will into action, that truth becomes part of the person’s life and is called good. All this shows what is meant by Divine Truth which has become a matter of life. The situation is the same with truth which becomes part of worship. Worship springing from truth which does no more than cling in the memory and make its appearance from there in the understanding is not worship. But worship springing from truth that goes out from the will, and so from affection and love, is worship. In the Word this worship is called worship of the heart, but the other, worship of the lips alone.

[2] It has indeed been shown already in the places referred to above that ‘blood’ means Divine Truth emanating from the Lord. Nevertheless since the majority belonging to the Church at the present day take the blood in the Holy Supper to mean nothing other than the Lord’s blood that was shed on the Cross, and in a more general sense His whole Passion of the Cross, let something further be stated briefly to show that blood is not what is meant there but Divine Truth emanating from the Lord. The reason why this is unknown within the Church is that nothing whatever is known at the present day about correspondences, nor consequently about the internal sense of the Word, the sense understood by angels when someone in the world reads the Word.

sRef Ezek@39 @17 S3′ sRef Ezek@39 @20 S3′ sRef Ezek@39 @19 S3′ sRef Ezek@39 @22 S3′ sRef Ezek@39 @21 S3′ sRef Ezek@39 @18 S3′ [3] It becomes clear from many places in the Word that ‘blood’ does not mean blood but God’s truth, and plainly so from the following in Ezekiel,

Say to every bird of the air and to every wild animal of the field, Assemble and come, gather yourselves from all around to My sacrifice which I am sacrificing for you, so that you may eat flesh and drink blood. You will eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth. You will eat fat till you are glutted, and drink blood till you are drunk, from My sacrifice which I will sacrifice for you. You will be glutted at My table with horse and chariot, and with every man of war. Thus will I set My glory among the nations. Ezek. 39:17-21.

It is plainly evident that ‘blood’ is not used here to mean blood, for it says that they were going to drink the blood of the princes of the earth, and the blood from the sacrifice, till they were drunk, when yet drinking blood, especially the blood of princes, is something abominable and was forbidden to the children of Israel on pain of death, Lev. 3:17; 7:26; 17:1-end; Deut. 12:16-25; 15:23. It also says that they were going to be glutted with horse, chariot, and every man of war. Anyone therefore who does not know that ‘blood’ means Divine Truth, ‘princes’ leading truths, ‘sacrifice’ the things that belong to worship, ‘horse’ the understanding of truth, ‘chariot’ doctrinal teachings, and ‘man of war’ truth engaged in conflict against falsity is bound to be bemused by each of the words used in this passage. sRef John@6 @55 S4′ sRef John@6 @54 S4′ sRef John@6 @53 S4′ sRef John@6 @56 S4′ [4] His response would be the same to the Lord’s words in John,

Jesus said, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you will have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise Him up at the last day. My flesh is truly food, and My blood is truly drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. John 6:53-56.

But see what has been shown already regarding these words, in 4735, 6978, 7317, 7326, 7850, 9127. The fact that flesh corresponds to good, as does bread, and that blood corresponds to truth, as does wine, has been told me very many times from heaven. I have likewise been told that angels understand the Word solely according to correspondences, and that as a result of this mankind is joined by means of the Word to heaven, and through heaven to the Lord. [5] And in like manner I have been told that the Holy Supper was established by the Lord to be the means by which all things of heaven, that is, all things which are the Lord’s, might be joined to members of the Church. For in the Holy Supper the flesh or bread is the Divine Good of the Lord’s Divine Love towards the whole human race, and a person’s love in return to the Lord, while the blood or wine is the Divine Truth emanating from the Divine Good of the Lord’s Divine Love, and in turn the person’s acceptance of it. In heaven, furthermore, eating and drinking those gifts implies making them one’s own and joining them together. But see what has been shown already regarding these matters in 2165, 2177, 3464, 4211, 4217, 4581, 4735, 5915, 6789, 7850, 9323.

sRef Ex@24 @6 S0′ 9394. ‘And put it in bowls’ means present with a person, in the things forming his memory. This is clear from the meaning of ‘bowls’ as the things which form the memory. The reason why ‘bowls’ are things forming the memory is that vessels in general mean known facts, 1469, 1496, 3068, 3079, and known facts are nothing other than things forming the memory. Consequently ‘bowls’ here are the kinds of things forming the memory which hold within themselves God’s truths, meant in general by ‘blood’. What known facts are in relation to the truths and forms of the good of life with a person must be stated briefly. All the things which are learned and stored in the memory, from where they can be called forth before the sight of the understanding, are called known facts. In themselves they are things which constitute the understanding part of the natural or external man. Since known facts include items of knowledge concerning inner realities, or cognitions, they serve the sight of the internal or rational man as a sort of mirror. For they then become things that can be seen by the internal man, just as fields full of plants, flowers, and various kinds of crops and trees, or as gardens adorned with various things growing there for use and to delight the senses, are accustomed to be seen in the material world by the external man. But internal sight, which is the understanding, sees in the fields or gardens of things forming the memory only those which are in keeping with the loves that govern a person, and which are also in agreement with the chief ideas he loves.

[2] Those therefore who are governed by self-love and love of the world see only such things as agree with those loves. They call them truths and also by means of illusions and appearances make them like truths. And they go on to see such things as accord with the chief ideas they have adopted and love because they themselves are the author of them. From this it is evident that known facts and cognitions, which are the things forming the memory, serve people governed by those two loves as the means to lend support to falsities against truths and evils against forms of good, and so as the means to destroy the Church’s truths and forms of good. So it is that the learned who are like this are less sane than simple people; privately they reject the existence of God, providence, heaven, hell, life after death, and the truths of faith. This is transparently evident from the learned of the present-day European world who are in the next life, where a huge number of them are atheists at heart. For in the next life people’s hearts speak and not their lips. From all this it is now clear what use it is to which cognitions and known facts are put by those whose thoughts are ruled by delights belonging to self-love and love of the world.

[3] But it is altogether different with those who are governed by delights belonging to heavenly loves, which are love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour. Because they are guided in their thinking by the Lord through heaven, they see and select in the fields and gardens of the things forming their memory only those which are in agreement with the delights belonging to those loves and which are in agreement with their Church’s teachings that they love. For these people the things that form the memory are like the paradise gardens of heaven; they are also represented and in the Word are meant by paradise gardens, see 3220.

[4] Furthermore it should be recognized that when known facts or things in the memory become part of a person’s life they fade from his exterior memory, in the same way as other things normally do when continual practice or habit makes them spontaneous and instinctive so to speak – the way he carries himself and acts, the things he speaks, contemplates, and intends, and in general all his thoughts and affections. But no other facts become part of the person’s life except those which enter into and give form to the delights that belong to his loves, thus those which enter his will. On these matters see what has been stated and shown in 8853-8858; and regarding the exterior memory, which belongs to the body, and the interior memory, which belongs to its spirit, 2469-2494.

[5] The reason why known facts are vessels, and in the Word are meant by every type of vessel, such as bowls, cups, waterpots, and the like, is that each known fact is a kind of general container holding particular and specific truths that accord with their general container. Such general containers in the Word have been arranged into series and so to speak into bundles; and these bundles and series have in turn been so set in order that they resemble the form that heaven takes, thus are set in order from most specific truths to most general ones. An idea of such series can be gained from the series and bundles of muscular tissue in the human body. Each bundle there consists of a number of motor fibres, and each motor fibre consists of blood vessels and nerve fibres. Each bundle of muscular tissue too, which taken as a whole is called a muscle, is enveloped in its own outer covering which sets it apart from others; and the same is so for the smaller bundles within, called motor fibres. Yet all the muscles and motor fibres within them, which are present in the whole body, have been so set in order that they may co-ordinate with one another to act in whatever way the will pleases; and they do so in a manner that surpasses all understanding. The situation is similar with known facts in the memory. These in a similar way are aroused and made to act by that which is the delight of a person’s love, that is, of his will, but through the instrumentality of the understanding part. What has become part of a person’s life, that is, what has become part of his will or love, is that which arouses them. For the inner man always has these things in his field of vision and takes delight in them to the extent that they are in agreement with his loves. And whatever enters fully into those loves, becoming spontaneous and so to speak instinctive, fades from the external memory but remains ingrained in the internal memory from which it can never be blotted out. This is how known facts become part of life.

aRef Ex@27 @3 S6′ sRef Zech@14 @20 S6′ sRef Isa@22 @24 S6′ aRef Ex@38 @3 S6′ sRef Isa@22 @23 S6′ [6] From all this it is also evident that known facts are as it were the vessels that belong to the interior man’s life, and that this is why known facts are meant by various types of vessels, and in the present instance by ‘bowls’. The same is meant by ‘vessels’ and ‘bowls’ in Isaiah,

I will fasten him like a peg in a sure place, so that he may be a throne of glory to his father’s house; and on him they may hang all the glory of the house of his father, sons, and grandsons, every small vessel – from the vessels of bowls even to all the vessels of stringed instruments. Isa. 22:23, 24.

This refers in the internal and representative sense to the Lord’s Divine Human, declaring that all truths and forms of good from first to last come through Him and from Him. Factual knowledge of truth of a celestial type is meant by ‘the vessels of bowls’, and factual knowledge of truth of a spiritual type by ‘the vessels of stringed instruments’. And in Zechariah,

On that day there will be on the horses’ bells, Holiness to Jehovah. And the pots in the house of Jehovah will be as the bowls before the altar. Zech. 14:20.

‘The horses’ bells’ stands for factual knowledge of truth which comes from an enlightened understanding, 2761, 2762, 5321; and ‘the bowls before the altar’ stands for factual knowledge of good. Similar knowledge is meant by ‘the bowls of the altar’ at Exod. 27:3; 38:3.

sRef Ex@24 @6 S0′ 9395. ‘And half of the blood he sprinkled over the altar’ means Divine Truth from the Lord’s Divine Human. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the blood’ as Divine Truth, dealt with just above in 9393; and from the meaning of ‘the altar’ as a representative of the Lord’s Divine Human, dealt with in 921, 2777, 2811, 4489, consequently the chief representative of worship of the Lord, 4541, 8935, 8940. The reason why this ‘half of the blood’, which was sprinkled over the altar, means Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Human and the other ‘half of the blood’, which was sprinkled over the people, verse 8 below, means this Divine Truth when accepted by a member of the Church, is this: A covenant was being established, and by ‘a covenant’ is meant being joined together, 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 6804, 8767, 8778, and the Lord comes to be joined to a member of the Church when Divine Truth which emanates from the Lord is accepted by a person. From this it is evident why blood was used, and when sprinkled over the altar and over the people was called the blood of the covenant, verse 8.

sRef Ex@24 @7 S0′ 9396. ‘And he took the book of the covenant’ means the Word in the letter to which the Word in heaven was joined. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the book’ as the Word in its entirety, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘the covenant’ as a joining together, dealt with in 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 6804, 8767, 8778. ‘The book of the covenant’ is used here to mean everything the Lord spoke from Mount Sinai, for verse 4 just above says, And Moses wrote all Jehovah’s words. In a restricted sense therefore ‘the book of the covenant’ is used to mean the Word revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai, and in a broad sense to mean the Word in its entirety since this is the Divine Truth revealed by the Lord. And since it is through this Truth that the Lord joins Himself to a member of the Church, that Truth too is meant by ‘the book of the covenant’; for ‘a covenant’ is a joining together.

[2] But the nature of the Lord’s being joined to a member of the Church through the Word is unknown at the present day because heaven at the present day is closed. Scarcely anyone today talks to angels or spirits and therefore knows the way in which they understand the Word. But this was well known to the ancients, and especially to the most ancients; for talking to spirits and angels was common among them. The reason for this was that people in ancient and especially in most ancient times were more internal, for they thought in the spirit virtually separated from the body, whereas people today are more external and think in the body virtually separated from the spirit. So it is that heaven has seemingly forsaken mankind, for heaven’s contact is with the internal man when this can be unshackled from the body, but not directly with the external man. This explains why the nature of the Lord’s being joined to a person through the Word is unknown at the present day.

[3] Those whose thought is based on what the body perceives with the senses and not on what the spirit perceives with the senses cannot possibly do other than think that the meaning the Word has in heaven is like the meaning it has in the world, that is, in the letter. If it were said that the meaning the Word has in heaven is like the thought of the internal man, which is free from material ideas, that is, from worldly, bodily, and earthly ideas, this would be considered an absurdity at the present day, especially if it were said that the meaning the Word has in heaven is as different from the meaning it has in the world or in the letter as a heavenly paradise is from an earthly paradise, or as heavenly food and drink are from earthly food and drink. How great that difference is may be seen from the consideration that the heavenly paradise consists in intelligence and wisdom, heavenly food in every good of love and charity, and heavenly drink in every truth of faith rooted in that good. Is there anyone at the present day who would not be astounded to hear that when a paradise, garden, or vineyard is mentioned in the Word those in heaven do not perceive a paradise, garden, or vineyard but instead such things as are attributes of intelligence and wisdom coming from the Lord? Or that when food and drink are mentioned, for instance bread, flesh, wine, or water, those in heaven perceive instead such things as are aspects of the good of love and the truth of faith received from the Lord? Or that this perception of the Word comes about not as a result of interpretations of its statements nor by seeing them as comparisons, but that it is due to correspondences and is their actual and real perception of it? For the heavenly virtues of wisdom, intelligence, the good of love, and the truth of faith correspond in actual reality to those worldly objects. In the same way the internal man has been created to correspond to the external man, and so therefore has heaven, which resides in the internal man, to correspond to the world, which resides in the external man. The same is so with everything generally. The truth that the Word is understood and perceived in heaven according to correspondences, and that this level of meaning is the internal sense, has been shown everywhere in the explanations prior to this.

[4] Anyone who grasps what has just been stated is capable of knowing and in some manner perceiving that a person is joined by means of the Word to heaven and through heaven to the Lord, and that without the Word no such joining together would be possible. See what has been shown many times about these matters, in 2143, 7153, 7381, 8920, 9094 (end), 9212 (end), 9216 (end), 9357, and elsewhere. From all this it is now clear why Moses took the book of the covenant and read it in front of the people, and then sprinkled the blood over the people and said, Behold, the blood of the covenant. And the reason why all this was done was that in heaven ‘the blood of a sacrifice’ is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, which on our planet is the Word, see 9393. Since ‘the covenant’ means a joining together, and since Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, that is, the Word, is the means by which the joining together is accomplished, everything that belongs to Divine Truth from the Lord or belongs to the Word is called ‘the covenant’, such as the tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written, also the judgements, statutes, and all else that is contained in the Books of Moses, and in general that is contained both in the Old Testament Word and in the New.

sRef Ex@34 @28 S5′ sRef Deut@4 @23 S5′ sRef Deut@4 @13 S5′ sRef Deut@9 @9 S5′ sRef Deut@9 @15 S5′ sRef Deut@9 @11 S5′ [5] The Tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written [were called the Covenant].

This may be seen in Moses,

Jehovah wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten words. Exod. 34:28.

In the same author,

I went up into the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which Jehovah made with you. Jehovah gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant. I came down from the mountain, when the mountain was burning with fire; the two tablets of the covenant however were on my two hands. Deut. 9:9, 11, 15.

And in the same author,

Jehovah declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the ten words which He wrote on tablets of stone. Take care, lest you forget the covenant of Jehovah your God, which He made with you. Deut. 4:13, 23.

Because the two tablets had been laid up in the ark, which was in the middle or inmost part of the tabernacle, the ark was called the ark of the covenant, Num. 10:33; 14:44; Deut. 10:8; 31:9, 25, 26; Josh. 3:3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17; 4:7, 9, 18; 6:6, 8; 8:33; Judg. 20:27; 1 Sam. 4:3-5; 2 Sam. 15:24; 1 Kings 3:15; 6:19; 8:1, 6; Jer. 3:16.

sRef 2Ki@22 @8 S6′ sRef 2Ki@23 @2 S6′ [6] The Books of Moses were called the Book of the Covenant

This is clear from the ones found in the temple by Hilkiah the [high] priest, about which the following things are said in the second Book of Kings,

Hilkiah the high priest found the book of the law in the house of Jehovah.
And they read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant found in the house of Jehovah. 2 Kings 22:8; 23:2.

sRef Ps@78 @10 S7′ sRef Ps@103 @18 S7′ sRef Jer@11 @7 S7′ sRef Jer@11 @2 S7′ sRef Ps@103 @17 S7′ sRef Isa@56 @5 S7′ sRef Jer@11 @5 S7′ sRef Ps@25 @10 S7′ sRef Jer@11 @3 S7′ sRef Jer@11 @6 S7′ sRef Jer@11 @4 S7′ sRef Isa@56 @4 S7′ [7] The Old Testament Word was called the Covenant

This may be seen in Isaiah,

To those holding fast to My covenant I will give in My house and within My walls a place and a name better than sons and daughters. Isa. 56:4, 5.

In Jeremiah,

Hear the words of this covenant. Cursed is the man who will not hear the words of this covenant which I commanded your fathers. Obey My voice, and do those things, according to all that I command you. Jer. 11:2-4.

In David,

All the ways of Jehovah are mercy and truth to those keeping His covenant and His testimonies. Ps. 25:10.

In the same author,

The mercy of Jehovah is from eternity to eternity on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children, to those keeping His covenant, and to those remembering His commandments. Ps. 103:17, 18.

And in the same author,

They did not keep God’s covenant and refused to walk in His law. Ps. 78:10.

Here ‘God’s covenant’ is called God’s law. ‘The law’ is used in a broad sense to mean the whole Word, in a narrower sense to mean the historical section of the Word, in a restricted sense the Word that was written through Moses, and in a very restricted sense the Ten Commandments, see 6752.

sRef Ps@89 @34 S8′ sRef Ps@89 @28 S8′ sRef Ps@89 @27 S8′ sRef Jer@31 @31 S8′ sRef Jer@31 @33 S8′ [8] The New Testament Word too is the Covenant

This may be seen in Jeremiah,

Behold, the days are coming in which I will make with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant. This is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days: I will put My law in the midst of them, and will write it on their heart. Jer. 31:31-33.

‘The house of Israel’ stands for the spiritual Church, and ‘the house of Judah’ for the celestial Church. And in David,

I will also make Him the Firstborn, supreme over the kings of the earth; and My covenant will stand fast with Him. I will not profane* My covenant, and the utterance of My lips I will not alter. Ps. 89:27, 28, 34.

This refers to the Lord. ‘My covenant will stand fast with Him’ stands for the union of the Divine Himself and the Divine Human, thus also for the Word since the Lord’s Divine Human was the Word made flesh, that is, made man (homo), John 1:1-3, 14.

[9] The reason why Divine Truth or the Word is a covenant or joining together is that the Word is the Divine from the Lord, thus is the Lord Himself; and this being so, when the Word is received by a person the Lord Himself is received. From this it is evident that it is through the Word that the Lord is joined to a person; and since the Lord is joined to the person, so too is heaven joined to that person. For heaven is called heaven by virtue of the Divine Truth emanating from the Lord and therefore from the Divine. This explains why those in heaven are said to be ‘in the Lord’. Regarding the truth that the Divine joins Himself to those who love the Lord and keep His Word, see John 14:23.

sRef Zech@9 @11 S10′ sRef Zech@9 @10 S10′ [10] From all this it becomes clear that ‘the blood of the covenant’ means the Lord joined through heaven to a person by means of the Word, as also in Zechariah,

I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be cut off; on the other hand He will speak peace to the nations; His dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. As for you also, through the blood of your covenant I will let out your bound ones from the pit in which there is no water. Zech. 9:10, 11.

[11] A person with no knowledge at all of the internal sense cannot see in these verses anything other than such things as are implied in their literal meaning, that is to say, that the chariot from Ephraim, horse from Jerusalem, and battle bow were going to be cut off, and in the final words that through ‘the blood of the covenant’ – meaning the Lord’s blood – those buried in sins were going to be delivered, various ways being used to explain who exactly are meant by ‘bound ones in the pit in which there is no water’. But a person who knows the internal sense of the Word sees that these verses refer to Divine Truth, and that after it has been laid waste, that is, is no longer received in belief and heart by anyone, it will be restored through God’s truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Human, and that those who believe and do it will be joined by means of it to the Lord Himself. All this becomes clearer still from the inner meaning of individual words in these verses, for example from the meaning of ‘chariot’ as doctrine taught by the Church, 2760, 5321, 5945, 8215, and of ‘Ephraim’ as the Church’s enlightened understanding, 5354, 6222, 6238; from the meaning of ‘horse’ as an understanding of the Word, 2760-2762, 3217, 5321, 6125, 6534, 8029, 8146, 8148,** and of ‘Jerusalem’ as the spiritual Church, 2117, 3654, 9166; from the meaning of ‘bow’ as the doctrine of truth, 2686, 2709, and of ‘battle’ or ‘war’ as conflict involving truths, 1664, 2686, 8295.

[12] From these meanings it is evident that ‘cutting off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow’ means God’s truth laid waste so far as any understanding of it in the Church is concerned, and that ‘through the blood of the covenant those bound in the pit in which there is no water were going to be let out’ means a restoration effected through Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Human. The meaning of ‘blood’ as Divine Truth and of ‘the covenant’ as a joining together has been shown above; and for the meaning of ‘those bound in the pit’ as members of the spiritual Church who were saved by the Lord’s Coming into the world, see 6854. The description ‘pit where there is no water’ is used because ‘water’ means truth, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 7307, 8137, 8138, 8568, 9323.
* lit. make vile
** 8146, 8148 refer mainly to the meaning of chariot.

sRef Ex@24 @7 S0′ 9397. ‘And read it in the ears of the people’ means to be listened to and obeyed. This is clear from the meaning of ‘reading’ as to be listened to, for when something is read, it is in order that it may be heard, discerned, and obeyed, that is, listened to; and from the meaning of ‘in the ears’ as to be obeyed, for ‘the ears’ and ‘hearing’ mean obeying, 2542, 3869, 4551, 4652-4660, 5471, 5475, 7216, 8361, 8990, 9311. sRef Ex@11 @2 S2′ sRef Deut@5 @1 S2′ sRef 1Sam@25 @24 S2′ sRef Jer@36 @15 S2′ sRef 1Sam@11 @4 S2′ sRef Judg@7 @3 S2′ sRef Deut@32 @44 S2′ sRef Luke@7 @1 S2′ sRef Jer@28 @7 S2′ sRef Deut@31 @28 S2′ sRef 2Ki@23 @2 S2′ [2] Since not only hearing and discerning are meant by ‘the ears’ but also obeying, expressions such as ‘speak in their ears’ and ‘read in their ears’ are used very often in the Word, not speak or read to them, as in Jeremiah,

Hear these words which I speak in your ears and in the ears of all the people. Jer. 28:7.

In the first Book of Samuel,

They spoke those words in the ears of the people. 1 Sam. 11:4.

And elsewhere in that book,

Let your maidservant speak in your ears. 1 Sam. 25:24.

In the Book of Judges,

Proclaim in the ears of the people, saying … Judg. 7:3.

In Moses,

Say in the ears of the people. Exod. 11:2.

In the same author,

Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgements which I speak in your ears today. Deut. 5:1.

In the same author,

I speak in their ears these words. Deut. 31:28.

In the same author,

And Moses spoke all the words of the song in the ears of the people. Deut. 32:44.

In the second Book of Kings,

He read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant. 2 Kings 23:2.

In Jeremiah,

They said to him, Sit and read it in our ears. And Baruch read it in their ears. Jer. 36:15.

In Luke,

When Jesus had finished all the words in the people’s ears … Luke 7:1.

sRef Mark@7 @34 S3′ sRef Mark@7 @32 S3′ sRef Mark@7 @33 S3′ sRef Matt@11 @15 S3′ sRef Mark@7 @35 S3′ [3] Because ‘the ear’ and ‘hearing’ mean receiving, discerning, and obeying truth, thus mean belief from start to finish, it was said many times by the Lord, He who has an ear to hear, let him hear, as in Matt. 11:15; 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9, 23; 7:16; Luke 14:35. And since ‘the deaf’ or ‘those who do not hear’ mean in the spiritual sense people with no belief in the truth because they have no knowledge nor consequently any discernment of it, 6989, 9209, the Lord, when He cured the one who was deaf, put His finger into his ears and said, Ephphatha (that is, Be opened), and immediately his ears were opened, Mark 7:32-35. All the Lord’s miracles involved and were signs of states of the Church, see 8364, 9086.

sRef Ex@24 @7 S0′ sRef John@1 @18 S0′ 9398. ‘And they said, All that Jehovah has spoken we will do and hear’ means receiving the truth that emanates from the Lord’s Divine Human, and obeying it with heart and soul. This is clear from the meaning of ‘all that Jehovah has spoken’ as truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Human, dealt with below; from the meaning of ‘doing’ as obeying with the will, thus with the heart, dealt with in 9311, 9385; and from the meaning of ‘hearing’ as obeying with the understanding, thus with the soul, dealt with in 7216, 8361, 9311. Obeying with the heart describes obeying with the will, thus with affection and love, and obeying with the soul describes obeying with the understanding, thus in belief; for ‘the heart’ means will and love, 3883-3896, 7542, 8910, 9050, 9300, and ‘the soul’ means understanding and belief, 2930, 9050, 9281. All this explains why the words ‘we will do and hear’ are used. The reason why ‘all that Jehovah has spoken’ means truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Human is that all truth emanates from there. The fact that Divine Truth emanates not from the Divine Himself but from the Divine Human is made perfectly clear in John,

Nobody has ever seen God; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known. John 1:18.

This is the reason why the Lord is called ‘the Word’, John 1:1-3, which is Divine Truth, and why it is said that ‘the Word was made flesh’, that is, was made Man, John 1:14, to the end that the Divine Himself in human form might in actuality teach God’s truth. Regarding the Lord, that He is the Divine Himself in human form, see 9315. From all this it is evident that ‘all that Jehovah has spoken’ means truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Human.

sRef Ex@24 @8 S0′ 9399. ‘And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it over the people’ means making a person well-adapted to receive it. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the blood of the sacrifice’ as Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, dealt with above in 9393; and from the meaning of ‘sprinkling over the people’ as making a person well-adapted to receive it, for ‘sprinkling’ means flowing into something, that is, adapting it. Divine Truth which emanates from the Lord is flowing unceasingly into a person and composing his understanding; indeed, if you are willing to believe it, without that unceasing inflow of God’s truth emanating from the Lord he can see and learn nothing. For the Divine Truth emanating from the Lord is the light which enlightens the human mind and composes inner sight, which is the understanding. And since that light flows in unceasingly, it makes every person well-adapted to receive it. Those who do receive it however are people who lead a good life, whereas those who do not receive it are people who lead a bad life. Even so, the latter have the ability, just as the former do, to see and learn Divine Truth, and also to receive it to the extent that they depart from evil ways. This is what the half of the blood sprinkled over the people by Moses served to mean.

sRef John@1 @10 S2′ sRef John@1 @9 S2′ [2] Regarding Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, that it is the Light which enlightens the human mind and composes its inner sight, which is the understanding, see 2776, 3167, 3195, 3636, 3643, 3993, 4405, 5400, 8644, 8707.
This Divine Truth is also meant in John,

He was the true light which enlightens every person coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, but the world did not know Him. John 1:9-11.

This refers to the Word, which is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord.

[3] Every person in the world who is sound in mind has the ability to learn God’s truth, and consequently has the ability to receive it to the extent that he departs from evil ways, as considerable experience has enabled me to know. For all without exception in the next life, the evil as well as the good, are able to learn what is true and what is false, also what is good and what is bad. But the evil, though they can see what truth or good is, have no wish to see it; for their will, and the evil there, finds it repugnant. When left alone to themselves therefore the evil fall back to the falsities accompanying their evil, in detestation of the truth or good they have come to see. The same applied to such people when they were in the world, where they refused to accept truths which they were able to see. From this it has been evident to me that Divine Truth emanating from the Lord flows constantly into human minds and makes them well-adapted to receive it, and that it is indeed received by people to the extent that they depart from the evil ways that go with self-love and love of the world.

sRef Ex@24 @8 S0′ 9400. ‘And said, Behold the blood of the covenant’ means that by means of this truth the Lord’s Divine Human is joined to heaven and to earth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the blood’ as Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Human, dealt with above in 9393, 9399; and from the meaning of ‘the covenant’ as a joining together, also dealt with above, in 9396. The reason why it is a joining to heaven and to earth is that the Divine Truth which emanates from the Lord’s Divine Human passes through the heavens, right on to mankind in the world; and on the way down it is adapted to suit each heaven, and ultimately mankind itself. Divine Truth on our planet is the Word, 9350-9362, which is composed in such a way that it has, in every detail, an inward sense intended for the heavens, and finally an outward sense, which is the literal sense, intended for mankind. From this it is evident that through the Word the Lord is joined to the heavens and to the world, 2143, 7153, 7381, 8920, 9094 (end), 9212 (end), 9216 (end), 9357, 9396.

[2] All this leads to the definite conclusion that without the Word on this planet heaven would not be joined to mankind, and neither therefore would the Lord, and if that conjunction did not exist the human race on this planet would entirely perish. For what composes a person’s interior life is God’s truth flowing in from the Lord. This truth is light itself, enlightening the person’s inner sight, that is, his understanding; it is also the heavenly heat, held within that light, which is love, warming and bringing life to the will part in the internal man. Left without this light and heat therefore the inner being of a person would become blind and cold and it would die, in the same way that a person’s outward being would if left without the heat and light of the worldly sun. But all this will seem to be absurd to those who do not believe that the Word is of such a nature, also to those who believe that life in a person is intrinsically his own and not something flowing in unceasingly from the Lord by way of heaven.

The life within a person is not intrinsically his but flows in from the Lord, see 4249, 4882, 5147, 5150, 5986, 6053-6058, 6189-6215, 6307-6327, 6466-6495, 6598-6626, 6982, 6985, 6996, 7055, 7056, 7058, 7147, 7270, 7343, 8685, 8701, 8717, 8728, 9110, 9111, 9223, 9276.
Before the Lord’s eyes His Church, spread throughout the world, is like one human being, 9276, in the same way as heaven is, which is consequently called the Grand Man. The Church, where the Word exists, is like the heart and lungs in that human being, and all outside the Church receive life from it, even as the members, viscera, and all other organs of the body receive life from the heart and lungs, 2054, 2853, 7396.

sRef Ex@24 @8 S0′ 9401. ‘Which Jehovah has made [with you] according to all these words’ means that the Lord accomplishes the joining together by means of every single part of the Word. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the covenant which Jehovah has made’ as the joining together accomplished by the Lord, for ‘making a covenant’ means joining to oneself, 9396, and ‘Jehovah’ in the Word is the Lord, 9373; and from the meaning of ‘all these words’ as every single part of the Word, for in the overall sense the laws declared from Mount Sinai mean the whole of Divine Truth, thus the Word in every single part, 6752. Every jot of the Word is inspired, see 7933, 9094 (end), 9198 (end), 9349, and therefore by means of the Word – by means of every single part of it – people are joined to heaven, and through heaven to the Lord.

[2] The Lord is said to accomplish the joining together because the Lord joins a person to Himself, and not the other way round; for all the good of love and truth of faith flows in from the Lord and is received by a person in the measure that he departs from evil ways, 9399. For reciprocal influx, that is to say, from a person to the Lord, which the learned call physical influx, is not possible, 6322, 9110, 9111, 9216. Furthermore whatever goes out of a person, from his own self, cannot be other than evil and consequent falsity, 210, 215, 987, 5660, 5786. From this it is clear that the joining of a person to the Lord is accomplished by the Lord, not by the person. Any indication to the contrary is misleading.

9402. Verses 9-11 And Moses and Aaron went up, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. And they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there was so to speak a work of sapphire stone, and it was like the substance of the sky for clearness. And on the children of Israel who had been set apart He did not lay a hand;* and they saw God, and ate and drank.

‘And Moses and Aaron went up, Nadab and Abihu’ means the Word in its inward and outward senses, and teachings derived from both senses. ‘And seventy of the elders of Israel’ means all who are governed by good which results from truths. ‘And they saw the God of Israel’ means the Lord’s coming and presence in the Word. ‘And under His feet’ means the lowest level of meaning, which is that of the letter itself. ‘There was so to speak a work of sapphire stone’ means that it is translucent with inner truths on that level, and that all things in it are translucent from the Lord. ‘And it was like the substance of the sky for clearness’ means the translucence of the angelic heaven. ‘And on the children of Israel who had been set apart’ means those restricted to the outward sense, separated from the inward. ‘He did not lay a hand’ means that truth in its power is not present there. ‘And they saw God’ means faith. ‘And ate and drank’ means being told about the good and truth of worship.
* lit. He did not send His hand

sRef Ex@24 @9 S0′ 9403. ‘And Moses and Aaron went up, Nadab and Abihu’ means the Word in its inward and outward senses, and teachings derived from both senses. This is clear from the representation of ‘Moses and Aaron’ as the Word in its inward and outward senses; and from the representation of ‘Nadab and Abihu’, Aaron’s sons, as teachings derived from both senses, all of whom are dealt with above in 9374, 9375.

sRef Ex@24 @9 S0′ 9404. ‘And seventy of the elders of Israel’ means all who are governed by good which results from truths. This is clear from the meaning of ‘seventy’ as that which is complete, thus all things or all people, dealt with in 6508; and from the meaning of ‘the elders of Israel’ as those who are governed by good which results from truths and guided by truths which flow from good. For ‘elders’ in the Word means those with wisdom, 6524, thus those who lead a good life as a result of teachings declaring what is true; and ‘Israel’ means those who belong to the spiritual Church, 6426, 6637, 6862, 6868, 7035, 7062, 7198, 7201, 7215, 7223, 8805, 9340, thus those who are guided by truths that lead to good and governed by good from which truths flow, 7957, 8234. From all this it is evident that ‘seventy elders of Israel’ means those who are governed by good which results from truths, and that in the sense detached from persons that good itself is meant. The same is meant in the internal sense by ‘the Lord’s seventy disciples’, Luke 10:1, 17. The children of Israel were divided into twelve tribes, which had twelve princes or governors set in authority over them, and also seventy elders. ‘The twelve tribes’ meant all the truths and forms of good the Church possesses in their entirety, 3858, 3926, 3939, 4060, 6335, 6337, 6397, 6640, 7836, 7891, 7996, 7997; but ‘the twelve princes’ meant all the primary truths, 5044, and ‘the seventy elders’ all the forms of good resulting from truths.

[2] When the expression ‘good which results from truths’ is used the spiritual Church is meant; for this Church is governed by good resulting from truths. Anyone unacquainted with the arcana of the Church and of heaven may think that, since good cannot be implanted except through truths, all the good in the Church exists as a result of truths, indeed that a person cannot know what good is except through truths. However, the good which arises through truths is the spiritual Church’s good, which regarded in itself is truth but is called good when it becomes part of will and action, and consequently of life. But good that does not arise through truths but through forms of the good of mutual love is the celestial Church’s good, which regarded in itself is not truth but good since it is the good of love to the Lord. The Jewish Church represented this second kind of good, whereas the Israelite Church represented the first; and this accounts for their division into two kingdoms. For what the essential difference is between those two Churches and consequently the two kinds of good, see what has been shown already in 2048, 2227, 2669, 2708 (end), 2715, 2718, 2935, 2937, 2954, 3166, 3235, 3236, 3240, 3246, 3374, 3833, 3887, 3969, 4138, 4286, 4493, 4585, 4938, 5113, 5150, 5922, 6289, 6296, 6366, 6427, 6435, 6500, 6647, 6648, 7091, 7233, 7877, 7977, 7992, 8042, 8152, 8234, 8521. From what has been introduced in these paragraphs it becomes clear that the Lord’s heaven is divided into a spiritual heaven and a celestial heaven, and that the celestial heaven is the inmost or third heaven, while the spiritual heaven is the middle or second.

sRef Ex@24 @10 S0′ 9405. ‘And they saw the God of Israel’ means the Lord’s coming and presence in the Word. This is clear from the meaning of ‘seeing’, when it has reference to the Lord, as His coming and presence, dealt with in 4198, 6893. The fact that ‘the God of Israel’ means the Lord is clear from all those places in the Word where the expressions ‘the Holy One of Israel’ and ‘the God of Israel’ are used, see 7091. ‘The God of Israel’ is the God of the spiritual Church, since ‘Israel’ means that Church, dealt with immediately above in 9404. The Lord’s coming and presence in the Word is what is meant by ‘they saw the God of Israel’ because the laws declared from Mount Sinai mean in a broad sense the whole of Divine Truth, thus the Word in every single part, 6752, 9401. The reason why the Lord’s coming and presence in the Word is meant is that the Word is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, and what emanates from the Lord is the Lord Himself. Consequently those who read the Word and at the same time look to the Lord, acknowledging that all truth and all good come from Him, and none whatever from themselves, receive enlightenment; they see truth and perceive good from the Word. That enlightenment is provided by the light of heaven, a light which is Divine Truth itself flowing from the Lord. For this Truth manifests itself before the eyes of angels in heaven as light, see 2776, 3195, 3339, 3636, 3643, 3862, 3993, 4302, 4413, 4415, 5400, 6032, 6313, 6608.

[2] The Lord’s coming and presence in the Word is also meant by ‘seeing the Son of Man’ in Matthew,

Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear, and they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and glory. Matt. 24:30.

See 4060. ‘Cloud’ is the literal sense of the Word, and ‘power and glory’ its internal sense. The literal sense of the Word is called ‘cloud’ because that sense exists in the light of the world, whereas the internal sense is called ‘glory’ because this sense exists in the light of heaven, see Preface to Genesis 18, and 5922, 6343 (end), 6752, 8106, 8267, 8427, 8443, 8781, in addition to which the only subject in the internal sense of the Word is the Lord, and His kingdom and Church. This is what accounts for the holiness of the Word, and also for the Lord’s coming to and presence with those who, as they read the Word, have in mind the Lord and the neighbour – the neighbour being the good of fellow citizen, country, the Church, and heaven, 6818-6824, 8123 – and not themselves, as stated above. He comes to them and is present with them because they allow themselves to be raised by the Lord into the light of heaven, unlike others who do not allow themselves to be so raised because they have their minds firmly fixed on self and the world. All this shows what is meant in the Word by seeing the Lord.

sRef Ex@24 @10 S0′ 9406. ‘And under His feet’ means the lowest level of meaning, which is that of the letter itself. This is clear from the meaning of ‘feet’ as natural things, dealt with in 2162, 3147, 3761, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952, so that the soles under the feet are the lowest things in the natural order. The reason why the lowest level of meaning in the Word, which is the sense of the letter, is meant here by ‘under the feet’ is that these words refer to Divine Truth or the Word, which comes from the Lord and is the Lord, as may be recognized from what has come before. And the lowest level of God’s truth or the Word is the Word as it exists in the sense of the letter, that is, the natural sense since it is intended for the natural man. The fact that the sense of the letter contains an internal sense, which in comparison is spiritual and heavenly, is clear from all those things which have been shown up to now regarding the Word. But the more worldly- and bodily-minded a person is, the less he understands this, because he does not allow himself to be raised into spiritual light and from there to see what the Word is like, namely that in the letter it is natural and in the internal sense is spiritual. For it is possible to see from the spiritual world or the light of heaven what lower things down to the lowest are like, but not from below upwards, 9401 (end), and so to see that the Word in the letter is as described above.

sRef Isa@60 @11 S2′ sRef Isa@60 @13 S2′ [2] Since the Word in the letter is natural, and natural things are meant by ‘the feet’, the lowest level of the Word, like the lowest of the Church, is called ‘the place of Jehovah’s feet’, also ‘His footstool’,* as well as ‘clouds and darkness’ in comparison, as in Isaiah,

They will keep Your gates open continually, to bring to You the army** of the nations, and their kings in procession.*** The glory of Lebanon will come to You, the fir, the pine, and the box tree together, to beautify the place of My sanctuary; and I will make the place of My feet glorious. Isa. 60:11, 13.

This refers to the Lord and to His kingdom and Church. ‘The army of the nations’ is used to mean those with whom forms of the good of faith exist, and ‘kings’ to mean those with whom the truths of faith are present. For the meaning of ‘nations’ as those with whom forms of the good of faith exist, see 1259, 1328, 1416, 1849, 4574, 6005, and for that of ‘kings’ as those with whom truths are present, 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148. ‘The glory of Lebanon’, or the cedar, is spiritual good and truth; ‘the fir, the pine, and the box tree’ are corresponding, natural forms of good and truth; ‘the place of the sanctuary’ is heaven and the Church, and the Word as well; ‘the place of the feet’ is heaven, the Church, and the Word as well, on their lowest levels. The reason why the Word as well is meant is that heaven is heaven, and the Church likewise the Church, by virtue of Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, and Divine Truth which makes the Church and heaven is the Word. This also explains why the inmost part of the tent in which the ark containing the law was is called ‘the sanctuary’; for ‘the law’ is the Word, 6752. In the same prophet,

The heavens are My throne and the earth My footstool. Isa. 66:1.

sRef Ps@99 @6 S3′ sRef Ps@99 @5 S3′ sRef Isa@66 @1 S3′ sRef Ps@99 @7 S3′ [3] In David,

Exalt Jehovah our God, and worship at His footstool. Holy is He! Moses and Aaron were among His priests; He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud. Ps. 99:5-7.

‘Jehovah’s footstool’ which they were to worship at is Divine Truth on its lowest levels, thus the Word. ‘Moses and Aaron’ in the representative sense are the Word, see 7089, 7382, 9373, 9374, and ‘cloud’ is the Word in the letter or Divine Truth on its lowest levels, see Preface to Genesis 18, and 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343 (end), 6752, 8106, 8781; and from all this it is evident what ‘speaking in the pillar of cloud’ means.

sRef Ps@132 @7 S4′ sRef Ps@132 @6 S4′ [4] In the same author,

We heard of Him in Ephrathah, we found Him in the fields of the wood. We will enter His dwelling-places, and we will bow down at His footstool. Ps. 132:6, 7.

This refers to the Lord and the revelation of Himself in the Word. ‘Finding Him in Ephrathah’ means doing so in the spiritual-celestial sense of the Word, 4585, 4594, ‘in the fields of the wood’ in the natural or literal sense of the Word, 3220, 9011 (end). ‘Footstool’ stands for Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, as it exists on the lowest levels of the Word.

sRef Ps@18 @12 S5′ sRef Ps@18 @9 S5′ sRef Ps@18 @11 S5′ sRef Nahum@1 @3 S5′ [5] In the same author,

Jehovah bowed heaven, and thick darkness was under His feet. He made darkness His hiding-place – darkness of waters, clouds of the heavens. From the brightness before Him His clouds passed away. Ps. 18:9, 11, 12.

This refers to the Lord’s coming and presence in the Word. ‘Thick darkness under His feet’ stands for the sense of the letter of the Word, as does ‘darkness of waters’ and ‘clouds of the heavens’. The fact that this very sense holds within itself Divine Truth as this exists in the heavens is meant by ‘He made darkness His hiding-place’; and the fact that at the presence of the Lord the internal sense then appears, as it exists in heaven, and in its glory, is meant by ‘from the brightness before Him His clouds pass away’. In Nahum,

The way of Jehovah is in storm and tempest, and the clouds are the dust of His feet. Nahum 1:3.

Here also ‘the clouds’ stands for the Word in the sense of the letter, which is also meant by ‘storm and tempest’, in which ‘the way of Jehovah’ lies.

sRef Dan@10 @6 S6′ sRef Dan@10 @5 S6′ [6] When God’s truth as it is in heaven shines through for a person in the actual sense of the letter, this sense is then portrayed as ‘the feet’, which have a shine ‘like that of burnished bronze’, as also in Daniel,

I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, a Man clothed in linen whose loins were girded with gold of Uphaz, and His body was like tarshish;**** and His face was like the appearance***** of lightning, and His eyes were like fiery torches; His arms and His feet were like the shine of burnished bronze, and the sound of His words like the sound of a crowd. Dan. 10:5, 6.

Here ‘a Man clothed in linen’ is used to mean in the highest sense the Lord; and since the Lord is meant it is also used to mean Divine Truth emanating from Him. For Divine Truth that emanates from the Lord is the Lord Himself in heaven and in the Church. God’s truth or the Lord on lowest levels is meant by ‘arms and feet like the shine of burnished bronze’, and also by ‘the sound of His words like the sound of a crowd’; and something similar is meant in Ezekiel 1:7.

sRef Dan@2 @43 S7′ sRef Dan@2 @34 S7′ sRef Dan@2 @33 S7′ sRef Dan@2 @32 S7′ sRef Dan@2 @35 S7′ [7] The successive state of the Church on this planet so far as reception of God’s truth emanating from the Lord is concerned is also meant by the statue seen by Nebuchadnezzar, in Daniel,

The head of the statue was gold, its breast and its arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze, its legs were iron, its feet were partly iron and partly clay which did not cohere with each other. And the stone cut out of the rock smashed to pieces the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold. Dan. 2:32-35, 43, 45.

The first state of the Church so far as reception of God’s truth emanating from the Lord is concerned is ‘the gold’, because ‘gold’ means celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord, 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 8932. The second state is meant by ‘the silver’, this being spiritual good, which is the good of faith in the Lord and of charity towards the neighbour, 1551, 2954, 5658, 7999. The third state is meant by ‘the bronze’, which is natural good, 425, 1551. And the fourth state is meant by ‘the iron’, which is natural truth, 425, 426. ‘The clay’ means falsity, which does not cohere with truth and good. The smashing to pieces of the iron, bronze, silver, and gold by the stone cut out of the rock means the destruction of the Church so far as reception of truth from the Word is concerned when the sense of the letter of the Word is used to reinforce falsity and evil. This happens when the Church is in its final state, at which time it is no longer governed by any heavenly love, only by worldly and bodily love. This was how it was with the Word so far as reception of it among the Jewish nation was concerned when the Lord came into the world. And it is how it is with the Word among the majority at the present day. They are not even aware that there is anything inwardly present in the Word; and if they were told that there is and what it is like they would not accept it. Yet in most ancient times, which are meant by ‘the gold’, people saw within the sense of the letter of the Word nothing apart from what was heavenly, almost independently of the letter.
From all this it may now be recognized that ‘the God of Israel’ and what was seen ‘under His feet’ means the Word on its lowest level of meaning, which is the sense of the letter.
* lit. the stool of His feet
** Though the Hebrew word means army it may be rendered alternatively as strength or as wealth. Most English versions of the Scriptures prefer one of these.
*** lit. their kings will be led
**** A Hebrew word for a particular kind of precious stone, possibly a beryl.
***** lit. the face

sRef Ex@24 @10 S0′ 9407. ‘There was so to speak a work of sapphire [stone]’ means that it is translucent with inner truths on that level, and that all things in it are translucent from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a work of sapphire’ as the character of the literal sense of the Word when the internal sense is discerned within it, that is, when Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, as it is in heaven, shines through it. For the Word is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord. In origin it is Divine, but as it passes through the heavens it is celestial in the inmost heaven, spiritual in the second or middle heaven, spiritual-natural in the first or lowest heaven, and natural and worldly in the world; this last is its character in the sense of the letter intended for people there. From this it is evident that the sense of the letter, which is the lowest in order, contains a spiritual and a celestial level of meaning, and inmostly the Divine Himself. And since these inner levels are contained in the lowest or literal sense and are seen by those who understand the Word in a spiritual manner, that sense is represented by ‘a work of sapphire’, which lets rays of heavenly light through, that is, which is translucent.

[2] To give some idea of that translucence, let human speech serve to illustrate it. Such speech has its origin in the end a person has in view which he wishes to make known through speech. This end is his love; for a person has what he loves as his end in view. From that end arises the person’s thought, and finally his speech. Anyone who stops to think properly about this can see and discern the truth of it. The fact that the end is the primary component of speech is clear from the general rule that all intelligence has an end within it, and devoid of the end it is not intelligence. And everyone knows that thought is a secondary component arising from the first, for nobody can speak without thinking or think without having an end in view. The fact that spoken words ensue from this, and that these are the final component, which is properly called speech, is also well known. All this being so, when a person pays attention to what another utters he pays attention not to the words the speaker uses but to the meaning conveyed by them which is present in the speaker’s thought. And one who is wise pays attention to the end in view that has given rise to the thought expressed in speech, that is, he pays attention to what the speaker’s aims are and what it is he loves. These three components are present in human speech, in which the spoken words serve as the outward form.

[3] This comparison enables one to gain some idea regarding the Word in the letter. For those in heaven pay attention to the Word in the letter and perceive things there in exactly the same way as anyone is accustomed to perceive a person’s thought as it presents itself in spoken words, or in the inmost heaven as anyone is accustomed to perceive a person’s aims or end in view. But the difference is that when someone reads the sense of the letter of the Word this is not heard or understood in heaven, only the internal sense, because in heaven they perceive solely the spiritual and celestial levels of the Word, not the natural level of it. The one sense accordingly passes over into the other, for they correspond to each other and only things which have a correspondence have been used in the writing of the Word. All this shows what to understand when reference is made to the translucent nature of the Word, meant by ‘a work of sapphire’.

[4] But a person who is unable to think on a higher level of understanding, that is, on a level altogether above material things, cannot grasp any of this, not even the idea that it is possible for a sense to exist in the Word other than the one perceived in the letter. If that person is told that the letter holds within itself a spiritual sense which has to do with truth, and that this in turn holds within itself a celestial sense which has to do with good, and also that these senses shine through the literal sense, he will be taken aback at first, then dismiss the idea as nonsense, and finally ridicule it. Actual experience has shown me that this is what people are like in the Christian world at the present day, especially the learned, and that those who reason against that truth boast of being wiser than those who uphold it. Yet the learning in earliest times, which were called golden and silver ages, had consisted in speaking and in writing in ways in which no attention was be paid to the literal meaning other than to enable hidden wisdom to shine through it, as becomes perfectly clear from the oldest books, including those by gentile authors, as well as from fragments in their languages. For their knowledge was primarily the knowledge of correspondences and the knowledge of representations, which forms of knowledge at the present day are some of those which have been lost.

[5] The reason why there appeared under the Lord’s feet ‘so to speak a work of sapphire’ and why this means the translucence of the Word in the sense of the letter is that ‘stone’ in general means truth, and ‘precious stone’ truth shining through from what is Divine and the Lord’s. For the meaning of ‘stone’ in general as truth, see 643, 1298, 3720, 3769, 3771, 3773, 3789, 3798, 6426, 8609, 8940-8942. As for ‘precious stone’ being truth shining through from what is Divine and the Lord’s, this was meant by the twelve precious stones in Aaron’s breastplate, which was called the Urim and Thummim, 3862, 6335, 6640.

sRef Ezek@28 @13 S6′ sRef Ezek@28 @15 S6′ sRef Ezek@28 @12 S6′ [6] Something similar occurs in Ezekiel,

Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty, you were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was your covering – ruby, topaz, diamond, tarshish, shoham, and jasper, sapphire, chrysoprase, emerald, and gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and your pipes was within you; on the day you were created they were prepared. You were perfect in your ways on the day you were created. Ezek. 28:12, 13, 15.

This refers to Tyre, by which the Church in respect of interior cognitions or knowledge of truth and good is meant, 1201. Its intelligence and wisdom as these had been in its infancy or earliest period are described by those precious stones. ‘The day you were created’ means the first state when they were regenerated, for ‘creation’ in the Word means the regeneration or new creation of a person, 16, 88.

sRef Rev@21 @19 S7′ sRef Rev@21 @20 S7′ [7] Similar things are meant by ‘the precious stones’ in John,

The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. Rev. 21:19, 20.

This refers to the holy Jerusalem coming down from heaven, by which a new Church among gentile nations is meant, after the present-day Church in our European world has been laid waste. ‘The precious stones that are its foundations’ are God’s truths shining through on the lowest level of order.

sRef Isa@54 @11 S8′ sRef Isa@54 @1 S8′ [8] God’s truth shining through on the lowest level of order, which is the Word in the letter, is meant by ‘sapphire’ in particular, as in Isaiah,

O afflicted one and storm-tossed, and receiving no comfort! Behold, I am arranging your stones with antimony, and will lay your foundations in sapphires. Isa. 54:11.

This too refers to the Church which will take the place of the former one, meant in verse 1 of that chapter by ‘her that is desolate who is going to have more sons than the previously married one’. ‘Arranging stones’ stands for the Church’s truths, ‘foundations in sapphires’ for truths shining through on lowest levels.

sRef Lam@4 @7 S9′ [9] ‘Sapphire’ is used with a similar meaning in Jeremiah,

Her Nazirites were brighter than snow, they were whiter than milk. Their bones* were ruddier than pearls,** polished like sapphire.*** Lam. 4:7.

‘Nazirites’ in the representative sense meant the Lord in respect of the Divine Natural, 3301, 6437, and therefore also Divine Truth emanating from Him as it exists on its lowest levels, that is, the Word in the sense of the letter. For ‘the hair’, which is implied by ‘Nazirites’ here, and is said to be ‘brighter than snow and whiter than milk’, means truth on its lowest levels, 3301, 5247, 5570, ‘brightness’ and ‘whiteness’ having reference to truth, 3301, 5319. ‘Bones that were ruddy’ means factual knowledge of truth, or truth on its lowest level, which acts as servant to all other levels, 6592, 8005, ‘ruddiness’ having reference to the good of love present in truths, 3300. From all this it is evident that ‘sapphire’ means truth on the lowest levels which is translucent with inner truths.

sRef Ezek@1 @26 S10′ [10] In Ezekiel,

Above the expanse that was above the heads of the cherubs, in appearance like a sapphire stone, there was the likeness of a throne, and above the likeness of a throne there was the appearance of a man (homo) sitting upon it. Ezek. 1:26; 10:1.

‘The cherubs’ are the Lord’s protection and providence, guarding against access to Him except through good, 9277 (end). ‘A throne over which there was the appearance of a man’ is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good, 5313, 6397, 9039. From this it is evident that ‘a sapphire stone’ means truth translucent with inner truths; that is to say, ‘a stone’ means truth, and ‘sapphire’ translucence.

[11] The reason why all things of the Word are translucent with the Lord is that Divine Truth emanating from the Lord is the one and only source of everything there. For what is primary is the one and only vital element present in the things which follow and are derived from it, because they have their being in it and come into being from it; and the Divine Truth is the Lord. Here also lies the reason why the subject in the highest sense of the Word is the Lord alone, His love, providence, kingdom in heaven and on earth, and especially the glorification of His Human.

[12] The fact that the Divine Truth is the Lord Himself is evident from the consideration that whatever emanates from someone is the someone himself. What emanates for instance from a person when he speaks or acts originates in his will and understanding; and will and understanding constitute a person’s life, thus the person himself. For the human being is not a human being by virtue of the shape of face and body but by virtue of an understanding that sees what is true and a will that intends what is good. From this it becomes clear that what emanates from the Lord is the Lord; and the fact that this is Divine Truth has been shown often in what has gone before.

sRef John@1 @4 S13′ sRef John@1 @9 S13′ sRef John@1 @10 S13′ [13] But anyone unacquainted with the arcana of heaven may suppose that the nature of Divine Truth which emanates from the Lord is no different from that of spoken words emanating from a human being. It is not spoken words however; rather It is the Divine filling the heavens, like light and heat from the sun filling the world. This may be illustrated by means of the spheres which emanate from the angels in heaven, dealt with in 1048, 1053, 1316, 1504-1520, 1695, 2401, 4464, 5179, 6206 (end), 6598-6613, 7454, 8063, 8630, 8794, 8797. In these places it has been shown and may be seen that they are spheres of the truth of faith and the good of love received from the Lord. But the Divine sphere which emanates from the Lord and is called Divine Truth spreads everywhere; as has been stated, it fills the whole of heaven and composes all of the life there. It appears before the eyes there as light, which enlightens not only angels’ sight but also their minds. That same light is in addition what composes a person’s understanding in the world. This is the meaning in John,

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. He was the true light which enlightens every person coming into the world. And the world was made by Him. John 1:4, 9, 10.

These words refer to Divine Truth, which in this chapter is called ‘the Word’; and Divine Truth or ‘the Word’ – it says – is the Lord Himself.

[14] That light, which is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, was described by the ancients as radiating rings of golden hue around the head and body of God represented as a human being. For the ancients had no thought of God except of Him in human form.

[15] When a person is governed by good, and because of good is guided by truths, this person is raised to that Divine light, and – according to the amount and essential nature of the good – to interior light. This provides him with a general enlightenment in which the Lord enables him to see countless truths and to perceive them from good. At this time that person is led by the Lord to discern and absorb those which are suitable to him. He is led to do so as regards the most specific things, in keeping with order, so far as it contributes to his eternal life. The words ‘as regards the most specific things’ are used because the Lord’s providence reigns universally, and it does so because it is present in the most specific things. For specific things are at the same called what is universal, 1919 (end), 6159, 6338, 6482, 6483, 8864, 8865.
*i.e. bodies
** In other places where Sw. quotes this verse he has rubies or gem stones.
*** lit. sapphire their polishing

sRef Ex@24 @10 S0′ 9408. ‘And it was like the substance of the sky for clearness’ means the translucence of the angelic heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the sky (or heaven)’ as the angelic heaven, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘clearness’ or purity of substance, when said of the sky, as translucence. What the translucence of the angelic heaven is when the Word is the subject must be stated briefly. The angelic heaven is said to be translucent when God’s truth shines through; for the whole of heaven is nothing other than a receptacle of God’s truth. Each angel is an individual recipient of it, so that all the angels or heaven as a whole is a general recipient. This explains why heaven is called ‘God’s dwelling-place’ and also ‘God’s throne’. For ‘dwelling-place’ means God’s truth emanating from the Lord and received in the inmost heaven, which in comparison is good, 8269, 8309; and ‘throne’ means God’s truth emanating from the Lord and received in the middle heaven, 5313, 6397, 8625, 9039. Since that which shines through, out of the sense of the letter of the Word, is God’s truth as it exists in the heavens, it is the angelic heaven that shines through. For the Word is Divine Truth adjusted to all the heavens, and as a consequence of this it joins the heavens to the world, that is, angels to men, 2143, 7153, 7381, 8920, 9094 (end), 9212 (end), 9216 (end), 9357, 9396. From all this it is evident what the words ‘the translucence of the angelic heaven’ are used to mean.

[2] The reasons why in the internal sense ‘the sky (or heaven)’ means the angelic heaven lie with correspondence and also with the appearance. So it is that where the words ‘heavens’ and ‘heavens of heavens’ occur in the Word the angelic heavens are meant in the internal sense. For the ancients had no other idea of the visible sky than this, that the inhabitants of heaven lived there and that the stars were their dwelling-places. At the present day too, simple people – especially young children – have the same idea. So it is also that people look upwards to the sky or heaven when they worship God. This action too arises from correspondence; for a sky with stars appears in the next life, but this is not the sky seen by people in the world. Instead it is a sky that takes on an appearance which accords with the spirits and angels’ state of intelligence and wisdom. The stars in it are cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth, and the clouds which are sometimes seen in the sky vary in meaning according to their colours, translucence, and movements, the blue of the sky being truth transparent with good. All this goes to prove that by ‘heavens’ the angelic heavens are meant. But by the angelic heavens God’s truths are meant, because angels are recipients of God’s truth emanating from the Lord.

sRef Matt@23 @22 S3′ sRef Deut@33 @13 S3′ sRef Amos@9 @6 S3′ sRef Ps@33 @6 S3′ sRef Ps@148 @4 S3′ sRef Dan@8 @10 S3′ sRef Ps@68 @33 S3′ sRef Ps@68 @32 S3′ sRef Matt@5 @34 S3′ sRef Judg@5 @4 S3′ sRef Isa@63 @15 S3′ sRef Mal@3 @10 S3′ sRef Ps@19 @1 S3′ [3] Similar things are meant by ‘heavens’ in David,

Praise Jehovah, heavens of heavens, and waters that are above the heavens! Ps. 148:4.

In the same author,

Make melody to the Lord who rides above the heaven of the heaven of old. Ps. 68:33.

In the same author,

By the Word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the spirit* of His mouth. Ps. 33:6.

In the same prophet,

The heavens recount His glory, and the firmament declares the works of His hands. Ps. 19:1.

In the Book of Judges,

O Jehovah, when You went forth from Seir, the earth trembled, the heavens also dropped, the clouds indeed dropped water. Judg. 5:4.

In Daniel,

The horn of the he-goat grew right on towards the host of the heavens, and cast down to the earth some of the host, and of the stars, and trampled on them. Dan. 8:10.

In Amos,

The Lord Jehovih, who builds His steps in the heavens … Amos 9:6.

In Malachi,

If there is food in My house I will open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing for you. Mal. 3:10.

In Isaiah,

Look out from the heavens, and see from the dwelling-place of Your holiness and of Your glory. Isa. 63:15.

In Moses,

Blessed by Jehovah is the land of Joseph, in regard to the precious things of heaven, to the dew. Deut. 33:13.

In Matthew,

Jesus said, You shall not swear by heaven, for it is God’s throne. He who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by Him who sits on it. Matt. 5:32; 23:22.

sRef Isa@45 @18 S4′ sRef Isa@37 @16 S4′ sRef Isa@65 @17 S4′ sRef Isa@50 @3 S4′ sRef Ezek@32 @7 S4′ sRef Isa@44 @24 S4′ sRef Isa@51 @6 S4′ sRef Ezek@32 @8 S4′ sRef Rev@21 @1 S4′ sRef Matt@24 @29 S4′ [4] In these and very many other places ‘heavens’ means the angelic heavens. And since the Lord’s heaven on earth is the Church, the Church too is meant by ‘heaven’, as in the following places: In John,

I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away. Rev. 21:1.

In Isaiah,

Behold, I am creating new heavens and a new earth; therefore the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.** Isa. 65:17.

In the same prophet,

The heavens will vanish away like smoke, and the earth will grow old like a garment. Isa. 51:6.

In the same prophet,

I clothe heaven with darkness, and I make sackcloth its covering. Isa. 50:3.

In Ezekiel,

I will cover the heavens, and darken their stars; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light. And all the bright lights in heaven I will make dark, and I will put darkness over the land. Ezek. 32:7, 8.

In Matthew,

After the affliction of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Matt. 24:29.

What the meaning is of ‘sun’, ‘moon’, ‘stars’, and ‘in the heavens’, see 4056-4060.

In Isaiah,

O Jehovah God of Israel, You are God alone over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Isa. 37:16.

In the same prophet,

[I am] Jehovah who makes all things, who spreads out the heavens Alone, who stretches out the earth by Myself. Isa. 44:24.

In the same prophet,

Jehovah who created the heavens, who formed the earth, and made it, and prepared it, did not create it an emptiness. Isa. 45:18.

sRef Gen@2 @1 S5′ sRef Gen@1 @1 S5′ [5] In the internal sense ‘heaven and earth’ in these and other places means the Church, the internal Church being meant by ‘heaven’ and the external Church by ‘earth’, see 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118 (end), 3355 (end), 4535. From all this it is evident that by creation in the earliest chapters of Genesis, where it says, In the beginning God created heaven and earth, Gen. 1:1, And the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them, Gen. 2:1, a new Church is meant. For creation there describes regeneration, which is also called the new creation, as has been shown and may be seen in the explanations of those chapters.

sRef Ex@24 @11 S0′ 9409. ‘And on the children of Israel who had been set apart’ means those restricted to the outward sense, separated from the inward. This is clear from the representation of ‘the children of Israel who had been set apart’ – that is, those who had been separated from Moses, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders, and about whom verse 2 above says ‘they shall not come up’ – as those restricted to the outward sense of the Word, separated from the inward, dealt with above in 9380. Something brief must be stated here about who exactly those people are, and what they are like, who are restricted to the outward sense of the Word, separated from the inward. They are those who draw no teachings about charity and faith from the Word but confine themselves to the sense of the letter. Teachings about charity and faith compose the inward substance of the Word, while the sense of the letter composes its outward form. The worship too of those restricted to the outward sense of the Word without the inward is something outward devoid of anything inward. They venerate outward things as being holy and Divine, and also believe that these things are in themselves holy and Divine, when in fact they are holy and Divine by virtue of inner realities. This was what the children of Jacob were like, see 3479, 4281, 4293, 4307, 4429, 4433, 4680, 4844, 4847, 4865, 4868, 4874, 4899, 4903, 4911, 4913, 6304, 8588, 8788, 8806, 8871.

[2] But let some examples serve to illustrate this matter. They believed that they were pure, free from all sin and all guilt, when they offered sacrifices and ate from them. For they thought that the sacrifices in their outward form alone, without the inward, were the most holy things of worship, that when used in those sacrifices the oxen, young bulls, lambs, she-goats, sheep, rams, and he-goats were holy, and that the altar was the most holy thing of all. And they thought of the bread of the minchahs and the wine of the drink-offerings in a similar way. They also believed that when they had washed their clothes and their bodies they were altogether clean, and in like manner that the perpetual fire on the altar and the fires in the lamps were in themselves holy, also the loaves of the presence, the anointing oil, and all else. This was what they believed because they rejected everything internal, so completely that they were unwilling even to hear about internal things, such as that they should love Jehovah for His sake and not their own, that is to say, not in order that they might be raised to important positions and wealth above all nations and peoples throughout the world. Nor therefore were they willing to hear that the Messiah was going to come for the sake of their eternal salvation and happiness, only for the sake of their pre-eminence over all in the world. Nor were they willing to hear about mutual love and charity towards the neighbour for the neighbour’s sake and good, only for their own, so far as the neighbour was favourably disposed towards them. They thought nothing of entertaining feelings of enmity, harbouring hatred, taking vengeance, acting savagely, so long as they could lay hold of some reason.

[3] Their beliefs and actions would have been altogether different if they had been willing to accept teachings about love to and faith in the Lord and charity towards the neighbour. They would then have known and believed that burnt offerings, sacrifices, minchahs, drink-offerings, and feasting on sacrifices would not purify them from any guilt or sin, but that worship of God and heartfelt repentance would do so, Deut. 33:19; Jer. 7:21-23; Micah 6:6-8; Hosea 6:6; Ps. 40:6, 8; 51:16, 17; 1 Sam. 15:22. They would in a similar way have known that the washing of clothes and body rendered no one clean, only purification of the heart; and in like manner that the fire on the altar and fires in the lamps, also the loaves of the presence, and the anointing oil were not holy of themselves but by virtue of the inner realities which they were the signs of. They would have known too that when they were governed by those holy and inner realities they would be holy people, not on their own account, but on that of the Lord from whom everything holy springs. The children of Israel would have known these inner realities if they had received teachings about love and charity, because these declare what it is that outward things include within them. Those teachings also provide knowledge of the internal sense of the Word, because the internal sense of the Word constitutes true teachings about love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour. It is also what the Lord teaches, when He says that on both these commands all the Law and the Prophets depend, Matt. 22:36, 40.

[4] The situation is virtually the same today in the Christian world. Here people are restricted to outward things, without anything inward, because teachings about love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour are lacking, so much so that there is scarcely any knowledge of what celestial love is and what spiritual love is, which is charity. For the good of celestial and spiritual love, and consequently the truth of faith, constitute the inner level in a person. So it is that even at the present day the outward sense of the Word, without doctrinal teachings as regulator and guide, can be distorted as much as anyone likes. For teachings about faith without teachings about love and charity are like the darkness of night, whereas teachings about faith arising out of teachings about love and charity are like the light of day. For the good that belongs to love and charity is like the flame, while the truth of faith is like the light radiating from it.

[5] This being what people in the Christian world are like at the present day, that is to say, people restricted to outward things without anything inward, scarcely any have an affection for truth for its own sake. Here also is the reason why they are not even aware of what good, charity, or the neighbour is. They are not even aware of what the inner level in a person is, nor of what heaven is and hell is, nor of the fact that everyone is alive immediately after death. And those among them who keep to the teachings of their Church do not care whether those teachings are false or true. They learn them and endorse them not for the sake of exercising the good of charity from the heart, nor for the sake of the salvation of their soul and eternal happiness, but for the sake of getting on in the world, that is, to earn reputation, important positions, and wealth. For this reason they receive no enlightenment when they read the Word, and so will altogether deny the existence of anything inwardly present in the Word apart from what stands out in the letter. But more on this subject from experience will in the Lord’s Divine mercy be stated elsewhere.
* i.e. wind or breath
** lit. come up upon the heart

sRef Ex@24 @11 S0′ 9410. ‘He did not lay a hand’ means that truth in its power is not present there. This is clear from the meaning of ‘hand’ as the power which comes through truth. For the meaning of ‘hand’ as power, see 878, 3091, 3387, 4931-4937, 5327, 5328, 5544, 6947, 7011, 7188, 7189, 7518, 7673, 8050, 8153, 8281, 9025, 9133; for its coming through truth, 3091, 3503, 6344, 6423, 8304; and for the fact that truth derives all its power from good, that is, from the Lord through good, 6948, 8200, 9327. From all this it is evident that ‘He did not lay a hand towards the children of Israel who had been set apart’ means that truth in its power is not present with those restricted to the outward sense of the Word, separated from the inward. The reason why truth is not present with them in its power is that they are separated from heaven and so from the Lord; for the Word joins a person to heaven, and through heaven to the Lord, because all the things constituting the sense of the letter of the Word correspond to the spiritual and celestial realities which exist with angels. There is no connection with the angels if the Word is understood according to the letter alone and not at the same time according to some teaching of the Church on the inner level of the Word.

sRef Matt@16 @19 S2′ sRef Matt@16 @18 S2′ sRef Matt@18 @18 S2′ [2] Take for example the Lord’s words to Peter,

You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Matt. 16:18, 19.

In like manner to the disciples,

Truly I say to you, Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Matt. 18:18.

Those who are restricted to the outward sense of the Word, separated from the inward, thus those who are separated from the true teachings of the Church, convince themselves that such power was given to Peter by the Lord, and also to the rest of the Lord’s disciples. This conviction leads to the hellish heresy that certain people possess the power to let into or shut out of heaven whomsoever they please, when in fact according to the true teachings of the Church, which lie on the inward level of the Word, the Lord alone has that power. Those therefore who know the outward sense of the Word and at the same time its inward sense understand that these things spoken by the Lord had regard to faith and the truths of faith which are received from the Lord, and that such faith received from the Lord possesses that power, thus the Lord Himself, and not at all any mere human being.

sRef Rev@3 @7 S3′ sRef Rev@1 @18 S3′ sRef Rev@1 @17 S3′ sRef Isa@22 @22 S3′ [3] The truth of this may be recognized from the representation of Peter and of the twelve disciples, also from the meaning of ‘rock’, and from the meaning of ‘keys’ as well. Peter represented faith, see Prefaces to Genesis 18 and 22, also 3750, 4738, 6000, 6073 (end); the Lord’s twelve disciples, like the twelve tribes of Israel, represented all aspects of faith and love, 3488, 3858, 6397; ‘rock’ means the Lord in respect of faith, and so faith which is received from the Lord, 8581; and ‘keys’ means power, as is clear from places in the Word where keys are mentioned, such as in John,

I am the First and the Last, He who lives; and I was dead, but behold, I am alive for ever and ever, and have the keys of hell and of death. Rev. 1:17, 18.

In the same book,

These things says the One who is Holy, the One who is True, He who has the key of David, He who opens in order that no one may close, and closes in order that no one may open … Rev. 3:7, 8.

And in Isaiah,

I will place the key of the house of David on His shoulder, in order that He may open and none shut, and He may shut and none open. Isa. 22:22.

In these places it is evident that ‘key’ means power and that the Lord alone possesses it.

[4] From all this one can see what those people are like who are restricted to the outward sense of the Word, separated from the inward, namely people who are not at all joined to heaven, nor thus to the Lord. This is so with those who explain those words addressed by the Lord to Peter and to the disciples according to their literal meaning, in that they arrogate to themselves the power to save the human race and make themselves the gods of heaven and earth, which they do on account of their insane self-love and love of the world. Anyone sound in mind may see and appreciate that a mere human being cannot absolve any sin at all, because no sin is absolved except through the development of a new life, that is, through being regenerated by the Lord. Regeneration continues right on to the end of a person’s life in the world, and after that for evermore, see 8548-8553, 8635-8640, 8742-8747, 8853-8858, 8958-8968.

sRef Rev@12 @8 S5′ sRef Rev@12 @7 S5′ sRef Rev@12 @11 S5′ [5] What truth in its power is must also be stated briefly. In the Word angels are called ‘powers’; and it is also well known in the Church that they are such. Yet they are not powers by virtue of anything their own, only by virtue of the Lord; for they are recipients of God’s truth which emanates from the Lord. The power they have from the Lord is such that one of them can drive away a thousand of the devil’s crew, confine them to the hells, and keep them in check. For God’s truth emanating from the Lord fills the heavens and forms them; and if you are willing to believe it, all things were made and created through that truth. The Word which was in the beginning with God and which was God, and through which all things were created and the world was made, spoken of in John 1:1-14, is Divine Truth. Divine Truth is the one true substance from which all things come into being; but this is something few are able to understand, because at the present day the idea which people have of Divine Truth is no different from that of words coming from the lips of one who rules over all, whose orders are carried out according to those words. As for the kind of idea people ought in fact to have of Divine Truth, see 9407 (end). The omnipotence of Divine Truth emanating from the Lord is described in many places in the Word, and especially in John, in the Book of Revelation,

War took place in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon fought, and his angels, but they did not prevail, nor was their place found any longer in heaven. They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. Rev. 12:7, 8, 11.

‘The blood of the Lamb’, it is evident, is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Human, see 4735, 6978, 7317, 7326, 7850, 9127, 9393, 9395; and ‘the word of their testimony’ is God’s truth which has found acceptance.

[6] People who are restricted to the outward sense of the Word, separated from the inward, that is, those who are separated from the true teachings of the Church, understand these words of prophecy in solely a literal way. That is to say, they take ‘blood’ to mean blood, thus the Lord’s passion, when in fact Divine Truth emanating from the Lord is what is meant in those words by ‘blood’. People with the true teachings of the Church are able to know that they are saved not by blood but by hearing God’s truth and doing it, thus [that all are saved] who allow the Lord to regenerate them by means of Divine Truth. All who receive enlightenment from the Lord are able to know, understand, see, and perceive this, thus all who are governed by the good of charity and faith are able to do so, since it is they who receive enlightenment. I myself can certainly say that when I read the blood of the Lamb and think of the Lord’s blood the angels present with me know no other than that Divine Truth emanating from the Lord is what I read and that that Truth is what I think of. But let simple people hold on to the teaching they have that they are saved by the Lord’s blood, so long as they are leading a life in keeping with His Divine Truth; for those who lead such a life receive enlightenment in the next life.

sRef Ex@24 @11 S0′ 9411. ‘And they saw God’ means faith. This is clear from the meaning of ‘seeing God’ as being endowed with intelligence and faith. ‘Seeing’ in the internal sense means seeing in a spiritual manner, and seeing in a spiritual manner implies seeing with the gift of faith; this is why ‘seeing’ in the Word means having faith, 2325, 3863, 3869, 4403-4421, 5400, 6805, 9128. The reason why they saw the God of Israel, that is, the Lord, is that in a broad sense the laws declared from Mount Sinai mean the Word in its entirety, and the Word is Divine Truth from the Lord, which deals in its highest sense with the Lord alone. All this being so, those who receive enlightenment when they read the Word see the Lord; they do so because of the faith and the love they have. They see Him solely in the Word and in no other writing whatever. From this it is evident why Moses, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders saw Him. The fact that these saw Him and not the children of Israel who had been set apart is evident from the preceding verses 9 and 10, which say, ‘Moses and Aaron went up, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. And they saw the God of Israel’, and the present verse says, ‘And on the children of Israel who had been set apart He did not lay a hand’. The reason why the former saw God and not the latter was that ‘Moses and Aaron’ represented the Word in respect of its inward and outward senses, 9374, ‘Nadab and Abihu’ teachings derived from both senses, 9375, and ‘the seventy elders’ all who are governed by good which results from truths received from there, 9376, 9404, whereas ‘the children of Israel who had been set apart’ represented those who are restricted to the outward sense of the Word, separated from the inward.

sRef Ex@24 @11 S0′ 9412. ‘And ate and drank’ means being told about the good and truth of worship. This is clear from the meaning of ‘eating’ as being joined to and making good their own, dealt with in 2187, 2343, 3168, 3513 (end), 3596, 3832, 4745, 5643; and from the meaning of ‘drinking’ as being joined to and making truth their own, dealt with in 3089, 3168, 4017, 4018, 5709, 8562. The reason why being told about is also meant – that is to say, being told about good is meant by ‘eating’, and being told about truth by ‘drinking’ – is that spiritual food consists in every good of faith that is a source of wisdom, while spiritual drink consists in every truth of faith that is a source of intelligence, 56-58, 681, 1480, 3069, 3114, 3168, 3772, 4792, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5410, 5426, 5487, 5576, 5579, 5582, 5588, 5655, 5915, 8562, 9003. This explains why feasts, banquets, midday meals, and suppers were instituted among the ancients, to the end that such good and truth belonging to wisdom and intelligence might bind them into fellowship with one another, 3596, 3832, 5161, 7836, 7996, 7997.

sRef Luke@12 @37 S2′ sRef John@6 @51 S2′ sRef John@4 @32 S2′ sRef Luke@22 @30 S2′ sRef John@4 @31 S2′ [2] It also explains why banquets, midday meals, and suppers in the Word mean instances of being bound together in faith and love, as in Matthew,

Many will come from the east and the west and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. Matt. 8:11.

In Luke,

Jesus said to the disciples, You will eat and drink at My table in My kingdom. Luke 22:30.

In the same gospel,

Blessed are the servants whom the Lord comes and finds watching. Truly, I say to you that He will gird Himself and make them sit down, and He Himself will come and minister to them. Luke 12:37.

In John,

The disciples asked Jesus, saying, Master, eat. But He said to them, I have food to eat of which you do not know. John 4:31, 32.

In the same gospel,

Jesus said, I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live forever. John 6:51.

Heavenly bread is plainly meant here. Heavenly bread consists in all the good of love and faith which comes from the Lord, 2165, 2177, 3464, 3478, 3735, 3813, 4211, 4217, 4735, 4976, 5915, 6118, 9323.

sRef Luke@13 @26 S3′ sRef Luke@13 @27 S3′ [3] The fact that being told about the good and truth of faith is meant by ‘eating and drinking’ is clear from the following places: In Luke,

Then you will begin to say, We ate in Your presence and we drank; and You taught in our streets. But He will say, I say to you, I do not know where you come from; depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity. Luke 13:26, 27.

‘Eating and drinking in the Lord’s presence’ stands for giving instruction from the Word regarding forms of the good and the truths of faith. ‘Teaching in the streets’ stands for preaching truths from the Lord’s Word, for in former times preaching took place in the streets, because truths composing the teachings of the Church are meant by ‘the streets’, 2336.

sRef Isa@55 @4 S4′ sRef Isa@55 @3 S4′ sRef Isa@55 @1 S4′ sRef Isa@55 @2 S4′ sRef Isa@55 @5 S4′ [4] In Isaiah,

Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money on that which is not bread, and your labour on that which does not satisfy? Pay thorough attention to Me and eat what is good, that your soul may delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear and come to Me; hear, that your soul may live. Lo, I have given Him as a witness to the peoples, a Prince and Lawgiver to the peoples.* Isa. 55:1-5.

Here it is evident that ‘drinking’ and ‘eating’ mean being told things by the Lord, and that ‘the waters’, ‘wine’, ‘milk’, ‘bread’, and ‘fatness’ are forms of the truth and the good of faith which come from Him, for it says, ‘Incline your ear, come to Me; hear, that your soul may live. Lo, I have given Him as a witness to the peoples, a Prince and a Lawgiver to the peoples’.

sRef Amos@8 @11 S5′ sRef Ezek@4 @16 S5′ sRef Ezek@4 @17 S5′ [5] In Ezekiel,

Behold, I am breaking the rod of bread in Jerusalem, so that they may eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and drink water by measure and with dismay, and may be in want of bread and water, and waste away on account of their iniquity. Ezek. 4:16, 17.

‘Eating bread’ and ‘drinking water’ stand for receiving instruction in forms of the good and the truths of faith, 9323. Something similar occurs in Amos,

Behold, the days are going to come, in which I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but for hearing the words of Jehovah. Amos 8:11.

‘A famine of bread’ and ‘a thirst for water’ are a scarcity and lack of the cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth, see 3364, 4958, 5277, 5279, 5281, 5300, 5360, 5376, 5415, 5568, 5579, 5893, 6110, 8576. All this now makes clear what the meaning is of the words which say that the disciples’ eyes were opened and they recognized the Lord when the Lord broke the bread and gave it to them, Luke 24:29-31. For in the spiritual world ‘breaking the bread and giving it to them’ means instructing them in the good and truth of faith, by means of which the Lord is seen. It also makes clear what the meaning is of ‘the bread and wine’ and ‘eating and drinking’ in the Holy Supper, and what the meaning is of the Lord’s words to the disciples, after He had instituted that Supper, that He would not drink of that fruit of the vine until the day when He would drink it new with them in the Father’s kingdom, Matt. 26:26-29. The reason why ‘eating and drinking’ means being told about the good and truth of worship is that after they had offered sacrifices they also ate and drank from them, and sacrifices represented all worship in general, 9391.
* The Latin means nations but the Hebrew means peoples, which Sw. has in some places where he quotes this verse.

sRef Ex@24 @14 S0′ sRef Ex@24 @12 S0′ sRef Ex@24 @13 S0′ 9413. Verses 12-15 And Jehovah said to Moses, Come up to Me into the mountain, and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and the commandment, which I shall write, to teach them. And Moses rose up, and Joshua his minister, and Moses went up into* the mountain of God. And he said to the elders, Sit for us in this [place],** until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has words,*** let him go to them. And Moses went up into* the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain.

‘And Jehovah said to Moses’ means instructions from the Lord for those restricted to the outward sense. ‘Come up to Me into the mountain, and be there’ means the Lord’s presence with them through an intermediary. ‘And I will give you tablets of stone’ means the book of the law, or the Word in its entirety. ‘And the law and the commandment’ means truth in general and in particular. ‘Which I shall write, to teach them’ means for remembrance and for instruction. ‘And Moses rose up, and Joshua his minister’ means the Word and its representative. ‘And Moses went up into the mountain of God’ means in the direction of heaven. ‘And he said to the elders’ means those restricted to the outward sense alone. ‘Sit for us in this [place]’ means that they are to remain with this sense. ‘Until we return to you’ means till there is a reply. ‘And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you’ means teachings of truth that are derived from that outward sense of the Word. ‘He who has words, let him go to them’ means that by means of those teachings falsities are to be removed. ‘And Moses went up into the mountain’ means towards heaven. ‘And a cloud covered the mountain’ means the outward aspects of the Word.
* lit. to or towards
** i.e. Wait here for us
*** i.e. anyone who is in difficulty or has a grievance

sRef Ex@24 @12 S0′ 9414. ‘And Jehovah said to Moses’ means instructions from the Lord for those restricted to the outward sense. This is clear from the meaning of ‘saying’ as instructions, when it includes the things stated after it that make up the instructions, as also in 7186, 7241, 7267, 7304, 7380, 7517, 7769, 7793, 7825, 8041 (the instructions come from the Lord because ‘Jehovah’ is used in the Word to mean the Lord, 1343, 1736, 1793, 2004, 2005, 2018, 2025, 2921, 3023, 3035, 5663, 6280, 6281, 6303, 6905, 8274, 8864, 9315); and from the representation of ‘Moses’ as that which acts as the intermediary between the Lord and the people, thus the Word in respect of its outward holiness since this acts as an intermediary. The fact that ‘Moses’ begins now to represent this intermediary is clear from the train of thought in all that follows. For that people was restricted to the external level of the Word, and as a consequence their worship was external, separated from anything internal, see 9380. Those who are like this cannot have any holy contact at all with the Lord, let alone be joined to Him, except through an intermediary. This matter will be explained more fully below in 9419.

sRef Ex@33 @1 S2′ sRef Ex@32 @7 S2′ [2] The fact that this people was restricted to the outward sense of the Word, separated from the inward, and that as a consequence their worship was similarly external, is plainly evident from events that followed. After forty days they fell completely away, worshipping the golden calf instead of Jehovah. Also, because of this Moses at that time threw the tablets from his hand and smashed them; and afterwards he was commanded to hew some other tablets on which the same words would be written. The meaning of this was that this people were altogether unwilling to accept any teaching at all from the inward sense of the Word as it exists in heaven, only from its outward sense separated from the inward, as the Word exists with them in the world even at the present day. This also explains why that people were no longer called Jehovah’s people but Moses’ people, as in Chapter 32 further on,

Jehovah spoke to Moses, Go! go down; for your people whom you caused to come up from the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. Exod. 32:7.

Also in Chapter 33,

Jehovah spoke to Moses, Go! go up from here, you and the people whom you have caused to come up from the land of Egypt. Exod. 33:1.

For this reason also they were subsequently removed from the mountain. And in Chapter 34,

No man shall come up with you, and also no man shall be seen on all the mountain. Also no flock or herd shall feed before this mountain. Exod. 34:3.

For ‘Mount Sinai’ means the Law or Divine Truth and the Word as it exists in heaven, and so heaven as well, 8399, 8753, 8793, 8805. The reason why Moses previously represented the Word in general, that is, in respect both of its inward sense and of its outward sense, was that there the subject was the declaring of the Law, by which the revelation of Divine Truth in general was meant. This was the beginning of the revelation, for all else in the Word was written later.

sRef Ex@24 @12 S0′ 9415. ‘Come up to Me into the mountain, and be there’ means the Lord’s presence with them through an intermediary. This is clear from the meaning of ‘going up’ as being raised towards higher, that is, more internal things, dealt with in 3084, 4539, 4969, 5406, 5817, 6007, and consequently being joined to them, 8760, 9373. The Lord’s presence is meant because it says, ‘Come up to Me into the mountain, and be there’; for Jehovah to whom Moses was told to go up means the Lord, see above in 9414, and ‘Mount Sinai’ means the Word which comes from the Lord, and in which the Lord is for that reason present, 8399, 8753, 8793, 8805. Heaven too is meant by that mountain, for the Word is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, and heaven is a receptacle of God’s truth, thus of the Lord Himself, as has often been shown before. From this it is evident that ‘going up to Jehovah into the mountain’ means the Lord’s presence. His presence with that people is through an intermediary, because Moses now represents the people as its head, and so as an intermediary, as stated immediately above in 9414.

sRef John@14 @23 S2′ sRef John@3 @27 S2′ sRef John@15 @5 S2′ [2] The words ‘the Lord’s presence with them through an intermediary’ are used here because the Lord makes Himself present with man, but man does not make himself present with the Lord. For all the good that belongs to love and the truth that belongs to faith comes from the Lord, and no good or truth whatever comes from man. Therefore the Lord’s presence exists with those who let Him in, that is, with those who receive in faith and love God’s truth coming from Him. That the Lord comes to them, and not they to him, is the Lord’s own teaching in John,

He who loves Me keeps My word, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. John 14:23.

In the same gospel,

He who abides in Me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing. John 15:5.

And in the same gospel,

Man cannot receive* anything unless it is given him from heaven. John 3:27.
* The Latin means do but the Greek means receive, which Sw. has in most other places where he quotes this verse.

sRef Ex@24 @12 S0′ 9416. ‘And I will give you tablets of stone’ means the book of the law, or the Word in its entirety. This is clear from the meaning of ‘tablets’ as objects on which matters of doctrine and life have been inscribed, in this instance matters of heavenly doctrine and of life in keeping with it. The reason why those tablets mean the book of the law or the Word in its entirety is that the things which had been inscribed on them contained in a general way all matters of life and of that heavenly doctrine. This also explains why the things inscribed on them are called the ten words, Exod. 34:28; Deut. 10:4. For ‘ten’ in the internal sense means all, and ‘words’ means truths that are matters of doctrine and forms of good that are matters of life. For the meaning of ‘ten’ as all, see 3107, 4638, 8468, 8540, and for that of ‘words’ as truths and forms of good that are matters of life and doctrine, 1288, 4692, 5272. This is why those tablets mean the Word in its entirety, just as the Law does, which in a restricted sense means the things which had been inscribed on those tablets, in a less restricted sense the Word that was written through Moses, in a broad sense the historical section of the Word, and in the broadest sense the Word in its entirety, see what has been shown in 6752. Furthermore the things which had been inscribed on those tablets belonged to the first stage in the revelation of Divine Truth; they were also declared in actual words uttered by the Lord before all the Israelite people. What belongs to the first stage means all the rest in their proper order; and the fact that those things were declared in actual words uttered by the Lord means direct Divine inspiration in all other stages of revelation as well. The reason why those tablets were made of stone was that ‘stone’ means truth, 643, 1298, 3720, 6426, the lowest levels of truth, to be exact, 8609. The lowest levels of God’s truth constitute the letter of the Word as it exists on this planet, 9360.

sRef Ex@24 @8 S2′ sRef Josh@6 @8 S2′ sRef Ex@24 @6 S2′ sRef Josh@6 @6 S2′ [2] There was not one tablet but two, to represent the joining of the Lord to the Church through the Word, and through the Church to the human race. This also is why they are called the tablets of the covenant, Deut. 9:9, 11, 15, and why the words inscribed on them are called the words of the covenant, Exod. 34:27, 28, also the covenant, Deut. 4:13, 23. And the ark itself in which the tablets had been deposited was called the ark of the covenant, Num. 10:33; 14:44; Deut. 10:8; 31:9, 25, 26; Josh. 3:3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17; 4:7, 9, 18; 6:6, 8; 8:33; Judg. 20:27; 1 Sam. 4:3-5; 2 Sam. 15:24; 1 Kings 3:15; 6:19; 8:1, 6; Jer. 3:16. For a covenant is a joining together, 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 6804, 8767, 8778, 9396. This explains why those tablets were divided from each other yet were joined together by being laid alongside each other. The writing on them ran across continuously from one tablet onto the other, like the writing on a single tablet. It was not, as people ordinarily think, that some commandments were written on one tablet and some on the other. For a single object divided in two, and the two parts then brought together or given each to the other, means the Lord and man joined together. The establishment of covenants was therefore accomplished in similar ways, that with Abraham for example by parting down the middle a heifer, she-goat, and ram, and laying each part opposite the other, Gen. 15:9-12; in verses 6 and 8 of the present chapter by putting blood in bowls and then sprinkling it half over the altar and half over the people; and generally in all sacrifices by burning one part on the altar and giving the other part to the people to eat. The like was also represented by the Lord when He broke bread, Matt. 14:19; 15:36; 26:26; Mark 6:41; 8:6; 14:22; Luke 9:16; 22:19; 24:30, 31, 35. Here also is the reason why ‘two’ in the Word means things joined together, 5194, 8423, here the Lord and heaven, or the Lord and the Church, joined together, thus also goodness and truth joined together, which is called the heavenly marriage. From all this it becomes clear why it is that there were two tablets and that both sides of them were written on, from edge to edge, Exod. 32:15, 16.

sRef Isa@30 @8 S3′ sRef Hab@2 @3 S3′ sRef Jer@17 @1 S3′ sRef Hab@2 @2 S3′ [3] Furthermore when the writing and engraving on tablets is mentioned in the Word it means those things that must be imprinted in people’s memory and on their life, and so remain there, as in Isaiah,

Write it on a tablet among them, and express it in a book,* so that it may be for time to come forever, even to eternity. Isa. 30:8.

In Jeremiah,

The sin of Judah has been written with a pen of iron; with a point of diamond it has been engraved on the tablet of their heart, and at the horns of your altars. Jer. 17:1.

In Habakkuk,

Jehovah said, Write the vision, and make it plain on tablets, that one running by may read it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; if it tarries, wait for it, because it will surely come. Hab. 2:2, 3.
* lit. on a book (i.e. on a scroll)

sRef Ex@24 @12 S0′ 9417. ‘And the law and the commandment’ means truth in general and in particular. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the law’ as truth in general; and from the meaning of ‘the commandment’ as truth in particular. In the Word laws are divided up into commandments, judgements, and statutes, ‘commandments’ being used to mean laws of life, ‘judgements’ to mean laws of the civic state, and ‘statutes’ to mean laws of worship, 8972. However, all these together are called by the general term ‘the law’, and the individual requirements of the law are called ‘commandments’, as is clear from a large number of places in the Word. So it is that when the expression ‘the law and the commandment’ is used, truth in general and in particular is meant.

sRef Ex@24 @12 S0′ 9418. ‘Which I shall write, to teach them’ means for remembrance and for instruction. This is clear from the meaning of ‘writing’ as for remembrance, dealt with in 8620. The fact that ‘writing to teach’ means for instruction is self-evident.

sRef Ex@24 @13 S0′ 9419. ‘And Moses rose up, and Joshua his minister’ means the Word and its representative. This is clear from the representation of ‘Moses’ as the intermediary between the Lord and the people who are restricted to the outward sense of the Word, separated from the inward, thus also as the Word, as accords with what has already been shown just above in 9414; and from the representation of ‘Joshua his minister’ as its representative. The reason why ‘Joshua’ here means that representative is that what is representative serves and ministers, in order that the outward things of the Word and of worship may present themselves to the Lord through the intermediary, who was Moses. But these are matters such as are scarcely intelligible except to those who know about the ways in which a representation of the outward or literal sense of the Word is accomplished in heaven. That is to say, it is represented in one way with those who are acquainted with the outward sense of the Word and at the same time with the inward, that is, those who are acquainted with the outward sense of the Word and at the same time with true teachings of the Church, and in another way with those restricted to the outward sense, separated from the inward, as with this people. How it was accomplished with this people, see 4311.

[2] Some idea may be formed from this regarding the intermediary that ‘Moses’ represents and the ministering representative that ‘Joshua’ represents. That is to say, there is an inward holiness which Divine Truth emanating from the Lord possesses, thus which the Word and worship springing from it possess. This flows into heaven and is received there by angels. There is also an inflow of holiness indirectly through that inward holiness, as well as directly from the Lord, to good spirits present with a person engaged in reading the Word or in worship springing from it. This holiness is called an outward holiness, and when it flows in with a person it produces representative images formed in accord with the correspondences known to the person. All this helps one to see what use the intermediary serves, which Moses represents now, and what use the minister serves, which Joshua represents, namely that the outward holiness acts as intermediary, while the representative existing on the lowest level of order acts as minister. But it should be recognized that the idea of Divine Truth flowing in is unintelligible to a person unless the Lord sheds light on the idea. For the person sees what happens in no other way than this, that the holiness of the Word and the holiness of worship flows from the person to the Lord. But this order is inverted order, and is called physical influx, which is an appearance and not at all the reality; see what has been shown in the places referred to in 9223, 9227 (end).

sRef Ex@24 @13 S0′ 9420. ‘And Moses went up into the mountain of God’ means in the direction of heaven. This is clear from the meaning of Mount Sinai, to which ‘the mountain of God’ refers here, as the law or Divine Truth which comes from the Lord, thus the Word as it exists in heaven, and therefore also heaven itself, dealt with in 8399, 8753, 8793, 8805. The reason why the revelation took place on a mountain and why that mountain is called ‘the mountain of God’ is that ‘the mountain’ means the heavenly attribute of love, which is good, and consequently means heaven, and in the highest sense the Lord, 795, 796, 2722, 4210, 6435, 8327, and ‘the mountain of God’ means Divine Truth springing from the Divine Good of the Lord’s Divine Love, 8758. For the Lord is called ‘God’ in the Word by virtue of Divine Truth, and ‘Jehovah’ by virtue of Divine Good, 2769, 2807, 2822, 3921(end), 4295, 4402, 7010, 7268, 8192, 8301, 8988, 9167. This is why the words the mountain of God are used.

sRef Judg@5 @4 S2′ sRef Ps@68 @8 S2′ sRef Ps@68 @17 S2′ sRef Judg@5 @5 S2′ sRef Deut@33 @2 S2′ [2] The fact that ‘Mount Sinai’ means the law or Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good, and so means the Word, and in the highest sense the Lord, is clear in David,

The earth trembled, the heavens also dropped [rain] before God. This Sinai [trembled] before God, the God of Israel. The chariots of God are myriad on myriad,* thousands of peacemakers; the Lord is within them, Sinai is within the sanctuary. Ps. 68:8, 17.

‘The earth’ and ‘the heavens’ are the external and the internal dimensions of the Church, see 1733, 2117, 2118 (end), 3355, 4535, and ‘a chariot’ is doctrinal teachings, 2760, 5321, 8146, 8148, 8215, so that ‘the chariots of God’ are matters of doctrine or God’s truths as they exist in heaven. From all this it is evident that ‘this Sinai before God, the God of Israel’ and ‘Sinai within the sanctuary’ mean the law or Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good, and in the highest sense the Lord in heaven. In the Book of Judges,

O Jehovah, when You went forth from Seir, when You set out from the field of Edom, the earth trembled, the heavens also dropped, the clouds indeed dropped water, the mountains flowed down before Jehovah, this Sinai before Jehovah. Judg. 5:4, 5.

‘This Sinai’ again stands for Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good. Similarly in Moses,

Jehovah came from Sinai, and dawned from Seir upon them; He shone from Mount Paran, and came out of myriads of holiness. From His right hand came a fiery law for them. Deut. 33:2.
* lit. two myriads

sRef Ex@24 @14 S0′ 9421. ‘And he said to the elders’ means those restricted to the outward sense alone. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the elders’ as those restricted to the outward sense alone. The reason why ‘the elders’ of the Israelite people represent here those restricted to that sense is that the elders were the heads of the people and as such represented the whole people, who were restricted to the outward sense of the Word, without the inward, as has already been shown rather often. For when Moses went up into the mountain he represented the outward holiness of the Word, which is the intermediary or that which is positioned between its inward holiness and the representative which belongs to the outward sense, 9414, 9419. From this it follows that ‘the elders’ who were to sit beneath the mountain, and so were separated from Moses, represented the outward sense alone; for Moses told them, ‘Sit for us in this [place], until we return to you’.

sRef Ex@24 @14 S0′ 9422. ‘Sit for us in this [place]’ means that they are to remain with this sense. This is clear from the meaning of ‘sitting in this’ – that is to say, in this place, or below the mountain – as remaining with the outward sense. ‘Sitting in a place’ means remaining with one’s state, and ‘below the mountain’ means restricted to the outward sense of the Word. For ‘sitting’ means remaining, as will be clear from what follows below; ‘place’ means state; and ‘Mount Sinai’ means the law or Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, and so means the Word, 9420. The peak of the mountain, where Jehovah or the Lord was, Exod. 19:20, means the highest or inmost level of the law or the Word, 8827; the rest of the mountain beneath the peak means the inner level of the law or the Word as it exists in heaven; and the parts beneath the mountain, where the elders and the people were, means the outward level of the law or the Word, which is its outward sense. Thus in the Word the inmost, the inward, and the outward levels of things meant by ‘the mountain’ are represented, at this point the inmost, the inward, and the outward levels of the law or the Word, because ‘Mount Sinai’ means the law or the Word, 9420. From all this it is evident that ‘Sit for us in this [place]’ means that they are to remain with the outward sense.

sRef Judg@21 @2 S2′ sRef Judg@20 @26 S2′ [2] The word ‘sit’ is used because ‘sitting’ means remaining in a state; for movement from one place to another means changes of state involving the interiors, as becomes clear from what has been shown in 2837, 3356, 3387, 4321, 4882, 5605, 7381, and therefore sitting down means remaining in a state involving the interiors. Because ‘sitting’ has this meaning it was an accepted religious custom among the children of Israel to sit whenever they represented a state of the interiors that was permanent, as in the Book of Judges,

The children of Israel came to Bethlehem and wept; and they sat there before Jehovah and fasted that day until evening. Judg. 20:26.

And elsewhere,

The people came to Bethlehem and sat there before God until evening; and they lifted up their voice and wept with great weeping. Judg. 21:2.

In these verses ‘sitting’ means remaining long in a state of grief.

sRef Matt@20 @21 S3′ sRef Isa@47 @8 S3′ sRef Jer@15 @17 S3′ sRef Isa@47 @1 S3′ sRef Jer@16 @8 S3′ sRef Micah@5 @4 S3′ sRef Matt@26 @64 S3′ sRef Isa@42 @7 S3′ sRef Ps@139 @2 S3′ sRef Isa@47 @5 S3′ sRef Matt@26 @63 S3′ [3] This makes clear why the word ‘sit’ is used and what it implies in the following places: In David,

O Jehovah, You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. Ps. 139:2.

In Jeremiah,

You shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them. Jer. 16:8.

In Micah,

Then He will stand and feed [His flock] in the strength of Jehovah, in the excellence of the name of Jehovah his God; and they will sit down. Micah 5:4.

In Isaiah,

Come down and sit on the dust, O virgin daughter of Babel; sit on the ground. Sit in silence, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans. She says in her heart, A widow I shall not sit. Isa. 47:1, 5, 8.

Similar uses of the word occur elsewhere, such as sitting in darkness, Isa. 42:7; sitting in council and sitting alone, Jer. 15:7; sitting on the right hand and on the left, Matt. 20:21, which stands for remaining in a state of power over others; and sitting on the right hand of God’s power, Matt. 26:63, 64; Mark 16:19, which refers to the Lord and stands for Divine almighty power that will remain forever.

sRef Ex@24 @14 S0′ 9423. ‘Until we return [to you]’ means till there is a reply. This is clear from the meaning of ‘returning’ as a reply; for when ‘sitting in this [place]’ means remaining in that state, 9422, ‘returning’ means they are to be told what is to be done then, and so means a reply.

sRef Ex@24 @14 S0′ 9424. ‘And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you’ means teachings of truth that are derived from that outward sense of the Word. This is clear from the representation of ‘Aaron’ as the Word in its outward sense, and also teachings that present what is good and true, dealt with in 6998, 7009, 7089, at this point teachings of truth that are derived from that sense alone, since ‘the elders’, over whom Aaron presided as head beneath the mountain, means those restricted to the outward sense of the Word, 9421; and from the representation of ‘Hur’, when linked with Aaron, as the truth as it is presented by those teachings, which Hur also represents in Exod. 17:10, 12, when he and Aaron together supported Moses’ hands, 8603, 8611. For truths from the Word that are the source from which doctrinal teachings are derived support the Word, which ‘Moses’ represented then.

[2] Since another opportunity to do so is provided here, something more will be stated about the way in which support is given to the Word by teachings derived from the Word. A person unacquainted with the arcana of heaven cannot help thinking that the Word can be supported without the teachings derived from it; for that person supposes that such teachings lie in the letter or literal sense of the Word. But it should be recognized that all things taught by the Church must be derived from the Word, and that teachings from any source other than the Word are not teachings that possess anything of the Church within them, let alone anything of heaven. The teachings must be gathered together from the Word, and while they are being gathered a person must receive enlightenment from the Lord; and a person receives such enlightenment when governed by the love of truth for its own sake and not for any selfish or worldly reason. These are the people who are enlightened in their reading of the Word; they see truth, and formulate religious teachings for themselves from it. The reason why this should be so is that such people are in touch with heaven and so with the Lord, and because of this they receive enlightenment from the Lord and are led by Him to see the truths of the Word as they exist in heaven. For the Lord flows by way of heaven into those people’s understanding, a person’s inward understanding being that which receives the enlightenment; and at the same time the Lord flows in with faith, which is imparted through the co-operation of the new will, which desires truth for truth’s sake. All this now shows how the Lord provides people with teachings that present what is true and good.

[3] The fact that these teachings support the Word as to its literal or outward sense is evident to anyone who gives thought to the matter. For everyone in the Church whose thought is guided by doctrinal teachings sees truths in the Word from and in accord with the teachings he knows. He also finds an explanation for the truths that do not agree exactly with these teachings, and passes over any that seem to him to be contradictory, as though he does not see them or fails to understand them. All people, including heretics, act in this kind of way, as is well known. But those who possess authentic teachings of truth that are derived from the Word, and who receive enlightenment when they read the Word, see accordant truths everywhere and nothing whatever contradictory. For these people do not cling to the actual statements made there in accordance with appearances and ordinary human perception, because they know that if the appearances are opened out and so to speak peeled away, truth is laid bare there. They are not led astray by falsities that result from the illusions of the outward senses, as heretics and zealots are, especially Jews and Socinians, nor by falsities that result from self-love and love of the world, as those meant by ‘Babel’ are. Since none of these are able to receive enlightenment, they deduce their doctrinal teachings solely from the outward sense of the Word to suit their own loves, also adding many ideas of their own, as a result of which the Word is not at all supported but collapses. It should be remembered that the inward sense of the Word contains the authentic teachings of the Church.

sRef Ezek@8 @11 S4′ sRef Ezek@8 @10 S4′ [4] All this now shows what the teachings represented here by Aaron and Hur are like, teachings which – being derived solely from the outward sense of the Word, without the inward – were simply idolatrous. This accounts for what it says about Aaron, who represented such teachings, that he made an idol, or the golden calf, Exod. 32:2-5, 21, 35; Deut. 9:20. Indeed these teachings are described in the Word as ‘idols’; they are described as such throughout the prophets, as in Ezekiel,

I went in and saw all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed on the wall round about. And seventy men from the elders of the house of Israel were standing before them; and each had a censer in his hand, and a thick cloud* of incense was going up. Ezek. 8:10, 11.

Here ‘the idols of the house of Israel’ are teachings derived solely from the outward sense of the Word, not through enlightenment received from the Lord but through self-intelligence, thus falsities. Worship in keeping with those falsities is meant by ‘a censer in each man’s hand’ and by ‘a thick cloud of incense’.

sRef Hos@13 @2 S5′ [5] In Hosea,

They sin more and more, they make for themselves a molded image from their silver, [idols] by their own intelligence, completely the work of craftsmen, saying to these, Those who offer human sacrifice kiss the calves. Hosea 13:2.

‘A graven image from their silver’ and ‘completely the work of craftsmen’ stand for teachings that are fashioned by self-intelligence and do not come from the Lord, thus are derived from the outward sense of the Word, separated from the inward. This happens among those whose minds are set solely on outward and not at the same time on inward things, that is, among those who are ruled by self-love and love of the world and not by love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour.

sRef Isa@2 @20 S6′ sRef Isa@2 @21 S6′ [6] In Isaiah,

On that day a person will cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold** which they made for themselves to bow down to, to the moles and bats, to go into the clefts*** of the rocks and into the fissures of the crags. Isa. 2:20, 21; 31:7.

‘Idols of silver’ stands for falsities embodied in doctrinal teachings, and ‘idols of gold’ for evils embodied in doctrinal teachings. ‘Bowing down to moles and bats, and going into clefts or fissures of rocks and crags’ stands for worship springing from falsities and evils of belief.

sRef Isa@48 @5 S7′ sRef Isa@30 @22 S7′ [7] In the same prophet,

You will judge unclean the covering of the graven images of your silver, and the clothing of the molded image of your gold. You will throw them away like a menstruous rag; a piece of dung you will call it. Isa. 30:22.

‘The covering of the graven images of silver’ and ‘the clothing of the molded image of gold’ stand for factual knowledge of falsity and evil, which are acknowledged and revered instead of truths and forms of good. In the same prophet,

I told you of old, lest you should say, My idol has done these things, and my graven image, and my molded image has commanded them. Isa. 48:5.

Here also ‘idol’, ‘graven image’, and ‘molded image’ stand for matters of doctrine fashioned by self-intelligence.

sRef Jer@10 @15 S8′ sRef Hab@2 @18 S8′ sRef Jer@10 @14 S8′ [8] In Jeremiah,

Every person has been made stupid by knowledge; every metal-caster has been filled with shame by his graven image, for his molded image is a lie; and there is no spirit in those things. They are things of no importance, a work of errors. Jer. 10:14, 15.

In this place too ‘graven image’ and ‘molded image’ stand for matters of doctrine fashioned by self-intelligence, which to outward appearance look like truths because they are derived from the outward sense of the Word, but inwardly are falsities. This is why it says that this person is ‘made stupid by knowledge’, that ‘the molded image is a lie’, that ‘there is no spirit in those things’, and also that they are ‘of no importance, a work of errors’. Something similar occurs in Habakkuk,

What profit is a graven image since its image-maker has graven it, a molded image and a teacher of lies, since the image-maker trusts in the thing he himself has made? Hab. 2:18.

sRef Isa@40 @19 S9′ sRef Isa@40 @20 S9′ [9] In Isaiah,

The craftsman casts a graven image, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts silver chains for it. He seeks for himself a skilled**** craftsman to make ready a graven image. Isa. 40:19, 20.

Here in like manner ‘a graven image’ stands for some matter of doctrine fashioned by self-intelligence. The likeness to truth imparted to it by the Word, by its outward sense alone, and at the same time by illusions and outward appearances, is meant by ‘a goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts silver chains for it’ and by ‘he seeks a skilled craftsman to make it ready’.

sRef Isa@44 @12 S10′ sRef Isa@44 @11 S10′ sRef Isa@44 @13 S10′ sRef Isa@44 @10 S10′ sRef Isa@44 @9 S10′ [10] In the same prophet,

Makers of the graven image, all are vanity; and their most desirable things are profitless. He fashions the iron with tongs, and works it with the coals, and forms it with sharp hammers; so he makes it with his strong arm.***** He fashions pieces of wood, stretches out a cord, and marks it off with a ruler. He makes it into angles, and marks it out with a ring, so that he may make it in the form of a man (vir), according to the beauty of a human being, to dwell in the house. Isa. 44:9-18.

This is a description of the way in which self-intelligence, without any enlightenment from the Lord, shapes religious teachings, and of the way in which the Word, its outward sense alone, and reasonings based on the illusions of the senses, are used to make falsities look like the truth. This is why it says ‘so that he may make it in the form of a man, according to the beauty of a human being, to dwell in the house’. Consequently to outward appearance it looks like the truth, but inwardly it is falsity. Falsity exists inwardly when people do not think correctly about truths; for one person’s thought about one and the same truth is different from another’s, but that of all those who are steeped in evil is false. One truth consists of countless other truths; but with those steeped in evil it consists of countless falsities. With these people therefore that truth has no life in it, and this is meant by ‘there is no spirit in them’, Jer. 51:17, and ‘they do not hear, see, nor understand’, Ps. 115:4-6. All this may be likened to a painting that portrays a person’s likeness, which inwardly is nothing but paint, in contrast to the actual person’s outward appearance which has heavenly life and beauty inwardly present if truths springing from good exist there.
* lit. the abundance of a cloud
** lit. idols of his silver and idols of his gold
*** Reading scissuras (clefts) for fissuras (fissures)
**** lit. wise
***** lit. the arm of his strength

sRef Ex@24 @14 S0′ 9425. ‘He who has words, let him go to them’ means that by means of those teachings falsities are to be removed. This is clear from the meaning of ‘having words’ as disputing in regard to truths, for ‘words’ are truths, 1288, 4692, 5272; and from the meaning of ‘going to them’ as doing so in order that they may be judged by means of those teachings (for teachings derived from the outward sense of the Word are meant by ‘Aaron and Hur’, to whom they were to go) thus also in order that falsities may be removed. For one who judges by means of doctrinal teachings in a dispute about truths removes falsities. Aaron however did not remove falsities; instead he removed truths, as is clear from the worship of the golden calf in place of Jehovah, described further on. For as stated just above, those who teach the outward things of the Word without the aid of what lies within, thus without the aid of authentic teachings about what is good and true, do not see the difference between truth and falsity, nor between good and evil. Rather, whatever coincides with the illusions of the senses they call truth, and whatever coincides with selfish cravings they call good. So they call falsity truth, and evil they call good.

sRef Ex@24 @15 S0′ 9426. ‘And Moses went up into the mountain’ means towards heaven. This is clear from the explanation above in 9420, where the same words occur.

sRef Ex@24 @15 S0′ 9427. ‘And a cloud covered the mountain’ means the outward aspects of the Word. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a cloud’ as the outward aspect of the Word or its literal sense, dealt with in the Preface to Genesis 18, and in 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343 (end), 6752, 8106, 8443, 8781, 8814, 8819; and from the meaning of this mountain, which the cloud covered, as Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, thus the Word. And since Divine Truth emanating from the Lord makes heaven, heaven too is meant by that mountain, 9420. So it is that ‘a cloud covered the mountain’ means the outward sense of the Word covering the inward, as well as meaning heaven.

sRef Ex@24 @16 S0′ sRef Ex@24 @18 S0′ sRef Ex@24 @17 S0′ 9428. Verses 16-18 And the glory of Jehovah lay over Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days; and He called to Moses on the seventh day from the middle of the cloud. And the sight of Jehovah’s glory was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. And Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into* the mountain; and Moses was in the mountain forty days and forty nights.

‘And the glory of Jehovah lay over Mount Sinai’ means the more internal levels of the Lord’s Word in heaven. ‘And the cloud covered it’ means the lowest level of the Word, which is obscure, comparatively so. ‘Six days’ means when passing through the state of truth. ‘And He called to Moses on the seventh day’ means the Lord’s coming when truth has been joined to good. ‘From the middle of the cloud’ means from the obscurity which existed before. ‘And the sight of Jehovah’s glory was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel’ means Divine Truth beaming brightly with the good of love in heaven itself, but harmful and ruinous with those restricted to its outward level, separated from the inward. ‘And Moses went into the midst of the cloud’ means the Word in its outward sense. ‘And went up into the mountain’ means being raised up to heaven. ‘And Moses was in the mountain forty days and forty nights’ means the instructions given and influx in their completeness.
* lit. to or towards

sRef Ex@24 @16 S0′ 9429. ‘And the glory of Jehovah lay over Mount Sinai’ means the more internal levels of the Lord’s Word in heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the glory of Jehovah’, when the Word is the subject, as its inward sense, thus the more internal levels of the Word, dealt with in the Preface to Genesis 18, and in 5922; and from the meaning of ‘Mount Sinai’ as Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, and consequently as heaven, dealt with above in 9420, 9427. The reason why the more internal levels of the Word are called ‘the glory’ is that Divine Truth emanating from the Lord as the Sun composes the light in heaven, which enables the angels there to see with their eyes and at the same time gives them intelligence and wisdom, 1531, 1619-1632, 2776, 3138, 3167, 3190, 3195, 3339, 3341, 3636, 3643, 3862, 3993, 4302, 4415, 4527, 5400, 6313, 6608, 6907, 8644, 8707, 8861. This Divine light is the source of all the glory in heaven, whose brightness is such that it exceeds all human imagination. From this it is evident why the inward sense of the Word is ‘the glory’; for the inward sense of the Word is the Divine Truth emanating from the Lord in heaven, and so it is the light which is the source of all the glory there.

sRef Matt@24 @30 S2′ sRef Luke@21 @27 S2′ sRef John@13 @31 S2′ sRef Luke@24 @26 S2′ sRef Luke@9 @30 S2′ sRef John@13 @32 S2′ sRef Luke@9 @31 S2′ sRef Matt@25 @31 S2′ [2] This is what ‘glory’ is used to mean in a large number of places in the Word, such as where it says that they would see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with glory, Matt. 24:30; Luke 21:27; that the Lord, after He had suffered would enter into His glory, Luke 24:26; that when He came in His glory He would sit on the throne of His glory, Matt. 25:31, ‘sitting on the throne of glory’ meaning judging with Divine Truth that comes from Him; and that Moses and Elijah appeared in glory, Luke 9:30, 31, ‘Moses and Elijah’ there being the Word, see Preface to Genesis 18, and 2762, 5247, 9372. It is also what the Lord’s ‘being glorified’ is used to mean in John,

Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him at once. John 13:31, 32.

‘Being glorified in God’ means becoming Divine Good from which Divine Truth springs. Something similar appears in John 12:28.

sRef Isa@40 @5 S3′ sRef John@1 @9 S3′ sRef John@1 @1 S3′ sRef John@1 @14 S3′ sRef Isa@40 @3 S3′ sRef John@1 @4 S3′ [3] Divine Truth emanating from the Lord as it exists in heaven is meant by ‘the glory’ in the following places as well: In Isaiah,

The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of Jehovah. And the glory of Jehovah will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together. Isa. 40:3, 5.

These are words referring to the Coming of the Lord, in which ‘the glory of Jehovah’ that will be revealed is Divine Truth. The Lord is that Truth because it comes from Him, as is evident in John,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. He was the true light. And the Word became flesh; and we saw His glory, glory as of the Only Begotten from the Father. John 1:1, 4, 9, 14.

‘The Word’ here is Divine Truth, and so is ‘the light’, from which it is evident what ‘seeing His glory’ means. The Lord, as is well known, did not appear in any glory in the world, apart from when He was transfigured.

sRef John@12 @46 S4′ sRef John@12 @41 S4′ sRef John@12 @43 S4′ [4] ‘The glory’ has the same meaning elsewhere in John,

These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him. But they delighted in the glory of men more than in the glory of God. I have come as light into the world in order that everyone who believes in Me may not remain in darkness. John 12:41, 43, 46.

Here also ‘the Lord’s glory’ and ‘the glory of God’ stand for Divine Truth, while ‘the glory of men’ stands for falsity. In Isaiah,

Shine, for your light has come, and the glory of Jehovah has risen upon you. Jehovah will arise upon you, and His glory will be seen over you. The glory of Lebanon will come to you to beautify the place of My sanctuary. Your sun will no longer go down and your moon will not be withdrawn, for Jehovah will be to you an everlasting light. Isa. 60:1-end.

This plainly refers to the Coming of the Lord, His kingdom, heaven, and the Church. Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Human is described in the whole of that chapter, where it is called light, honour, and glory.

sRef Isa@59 @20 S5′ sRef Isa@59 @19 S5′ sRef Isa@42 @6 S5′ sRef Isa@60 @20 S5′ sRef Isa@60 @13 S5′ sRef Isa@42 @8 S5′ sRef Isa@48 @11 S5′ sRef Isa@60 @1 S5′ sRef Isa@60 @2 S5′ [5] In the same prophet,

They will fear the name of Jehovah from the setting of the sun, and His glory from the rising of the sun. The Redeemer will come to Zion. Isa. 59:19, 20.

Here also it refers to the Lord. ‘The name of Jehovah’ stands for all the truth of faith and good of love from which worship flows, 2724, 3006, 6674, 9310. In the same prophet,

I have called You in righteousness, and will give You as a covenant of the people,* a light of the nations. I am Jehovah, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another. Isa. 42:6, 8.

This too is a reference to the Lord, in which ‘a light of the nations’ means Divine Truth which comes from Him; ‘not giving glory to another’ means that that Divine Truth comes from no one other than the Lord, who is one with Jehovah, as again in the same prophet,

For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it; and My glory I will not give to another. Isa. 48:11.

sRef Isa@6 @1 S6′ sRef Isa@66 @18 S6′ sRef Isa@6 @2 S6′ sRef Ps@19 @1 S6′ sRef Isa@58 @8 S6′ sRef Isa@24 @23 S6′ sRef Num@14 @21 S6′ sRef Ps@102 @15 S6′ sRef Ps@102 @16 S6′ sRef Num@14 @20 S6′ sRef Isa@6 @3 S6′ [6] ‘Glory’ has a like meaning elsewhere in Isaiah,

Your light will break forth like the dawn; your righteousness will walk before you, the glory of Jehovah will gather you up. Isa. 58:8.

In the same prophet,

One will come to gather all nations and tongues, that they may come and see My glory. Isa. 66:18.

In the same prophet,

Jehovah Zebaoth will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before all His elders, glory. Isa. 24:23.

In Moses,

Jehovah said, I am the Living One, and the whole earth will be filled with the glory of Jehovah. Num. 14:20, 21.

In all these places, which refer to the Lord, ‘glory’ means Divine Truth which emanates from Him.

sRef Rev@21 @23 S7′ sRef Rev@21 @24 S7′ [7] In Isaiah,

I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up. And above Him stood the seraphim. And one cried to another, Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah Zebaoth; the whole earth is full of His glory. Isa. 6:1-3.

In David,

The heavens recount the glory of God. Ps. 19:1.

And in the same author,

… that the nations may fear the name of Jehovah, and the kings of the earth Your glory, in that Jehovah has built Zion and appeared in His glory. Ps. 102:15, 16.

In Revelation,

The glory of God will give the holy Jerusalem light, and its lamp is the Lamb. And the nations that are saved will walk in His light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory and honour into it. Rev. 21:23-25.

‘The holy Jerusalem’ stands for a new Church; ‘the glory of God’ stands for Divine Truth from the Lord there, as does ‘His light’ in which they will walk; and ‘the kings of the earth’ who ‘will bring glory’ stands for those who are guided by truths derived from good, 2015, 2069, 4581, 4966, 5044, 6148. All this now makes clear what the meaning is of ‘the glory of Jehovah’ which lay over Mount Sinai. See also 8427.
* The Latin means for the people but the Hebrew means of the people, which Sw. has in some other places where he quotes this verse.

sRef Ex@24 @16 S0′ 9430. ‘And the cloud covered it’ means the lowest level of the Word, which is obscure, comparatively so. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the cloud’ as the lowest level of the Word or its literal sense, dealt with in the Preface to Genesis 18, and in 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343 (end), 6752, 8106, 8443, 8781. The reason why that sense is called ‘the cloud’ is that it lies in obscurity, compared with the inward sense; for the inward sense dwells in the light of heaven. The outward lies in obscurity and resembles a cloud because it is intended for a person while in the world, whereas the inward sense is intended for a person when he enters heaven. But it should be recognized that while a person is in the world he is at the same time guided by the inward sense of the Word if in faith and life he is guided by teachings of the Church which are authentic. For through those teachings the inward sense of the Word is inscribed at that time on both his understanding and his will, on his understanding through the faith he has and on his will through the life he leads. When such a person enters heaven he understands the Word solely according to its inward sense and ceases to know anything of its outward sense. This now seems to him to be like a cloud that swallows up rays of light it receives.

[2] The person now understands the Word, as has been said, according to its inward and not according to its outward sense. This is so because the Lord uses God’s truth present with people in the world, which is the Word, to teach all who are in heaven, the reason for this being that those people live on the lowest level of order, and everything on interior levels ends in the lowest. The lowest is so to speak the support for the interior levels, which stand and rest on it. The Word in the letter is Divine Truth on the lowest level of order, in the same way as the natural and sensory level is the lowest level of order in members of the Church with whom Divine Truth is present. On this lowest level in them, as on that of the Word, interior levels terminate and rest. All this is like a house and its foundations. The actual house is heaven, and it is also Divine Truth there such as the Word is in its inward sense, while the foundations are the world and also Divine Truth there such as the Word is in its outward sense. Just as the house rests on its foundations, so too heaven rests on the Church, and consequently Divine Truth in heaven on Divine Truth on earth. For through the Word a continuous link exists from the Lord by way of heaven right down to people in the world. This is the reason why the Lord always provides for the existence of a Church on earth, where Divine Truth may exist on its lowest level. This is an arcanum unknown to anyone up to now, an arcanum implied in the matters introduced at 9357 and 9360. Let everyone take care therefore not to damage the Word in any way; for those who damage it damage what is indeed Divine.

sRef Ex@24 @16 S0′ 9431. ‘Six days’ means when passing through the state of truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘six days’ as a state of labour and conflict, dealt with in 737, 8510, 8888, 8975. It is a state of truth because a person who is being regenerated by the Lord experiences two states, the first of which is called the state of truth and the second the state of good. The reason why the first state is called the state of truth is that during it the person is being brought by means of truth towards good; and the reason why the second state is called the state of good is that the person, when governed by good, has been brought to it. Also, while the person is in the state of truth he is outside heaven; but when governed by good he is in heaven, and has accordingly been brought to the Lord. Furthermore while the person is passing through the first state or the state of truth he experiences labour and conflict, since he undergoes temptations then; but when he is in the second state or the state of good he experiences rest and the serenity which peace brings. The former state is what has been represented in the Word by the six days which come before a seventh, whereas the latter state is what has been represented by the seventh day or the sabbath, see 8890, 8893, 9274. Regarding these two states with the person who is being regenerated, which are called the state of truth and the state of good, see what has already been shown extensively in 7923, 7992, 8505, 8506, 8510, 8513, 8516, 8539, 8643, 8648, 8658, 8685, 8690, 8701, 8722, 8772, 9139, 9224, 9227, 9230, 9274.

sRef Ex@24 @16 S0′ 9432. ‘And He called to Moses on the seventh day’ means [the Lord’s coming] when truth has been joined to good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the seventh day’ as the second state, when truth has been joined to good, or when the person is governed by good, regarding which see what has been stated immediately above in 9431.

sRef Ex@24 @16 S0′ 9433. ‘From the middle of the cloud’ means from the obscurity which existed before. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the cloud’ as the lowest level of the Word, which is obscure, comparatively so, dealt with above in 9430. ‘The cloud’ has this meaning because Divine Truth emanating from the Lord cannot possibly appear with the actual brightness it possesses. If it did a person would be destroyed; for his understanding would be completely blinded by the light of truth, and his will would be completely wiped out by the fire of good, so that everything composing his life would be annihilated. This explains why Divine Truth is adjusted to everyone’s understanding and is covered as though by a cloud, even among angels, 6849. Among spirits that covering manifests itself as a cloud, the thick or thin texture of which is determined by the way each one receives that Truth.

sRef Isa@4 @5 S2′ sRef Isa@4 @6 S2′ [2] This is meant by the following in Isaiah,

Jehovah creates over every habitation of Mount Zion, and over her assemblies, a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a covering. And there will be a hut for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and hiding-place from deluge and rain. Isa. 4:5, 6.

‘Habitation of Mount Zion’ means heaven and the Church. ‘Her assemblies’ means forms of good and truths. ‘A cloud by day’, ‘smoke by night’, and ‘a covering’ mean the veiling of God’s truth, thus the adjustment of it to the ability to understand it, ‘the glory’ over which the covering will lie meaning Divine Truth which comes from the Lord, see above in 9429. ‘A hut’ means the lowest level of God’s truth which conceals more internal levels, the words ‘will be for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge from deluge and rain’ meaning in order that a person may be safe from harm.

sRef Ps@104 @3 S3′ sRef Ps@104 @2 S3′ sRef Ps@104 @4 S3′ sRef Ps@104 @6 S3′ sRef Ps@104 @5 S3′ sRef Ps@104 @9 S3′ sRef Ps@104 @1 S3′ [3] Another description of the veiling of Divine Truth occurs in David,

O Jehovah my God, You are very great! You have put on glory and honour – He who covers Himself with light, as if with a garment, who lays the beams for His upper chambers on the waters, who makes the clouds His chariot, who sets the earth on its bases in order that it may never be moved.* You have covered it with the deep as if with a garment. You have set a boundary in order that they may not pass over. Ps. 104:1-6, 9.

‘Glory and honour’ which Jehovah, that is, the Lord, has put on is Divine Truth, 9429. ‘Light’ with which He covers Himself, as if with a garment, is Divine Truth as it exists in heaven and in the Church; for in the Word Divine Truth is meant by ‘light’, see the places quoted above in 9429. ‘Upper chambers’ for which He lays beams on the waters are heavenly communities; and ‘the waters’ are truths, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 8568, 9323. ‘The clouds’ which He makes His chariot are the truths from which doctrinal teachings are formed, ‘chariot’ meaning doctrinal teachings, see 5321, 8215. ‘The earth’ which, it says, is set on its bases in order that it may never be moved is the Church; for ‘the earth’ in the Word means the Church, see the places quoted in 9325. ‘The bases’ on which it is set are truths on lowest levels, such as exist in the Word, in its literal sense; therefore it says ‘in order that it may never be moved’. ‘The deep’ with which it is covered as if with a garment is factual knowledge of truth for the natural man, 6431, 8278; and from this it is evident what ‘the boundary’ set in order that they may not pass over is, namely the lowest level of God’s truth in which interior things end and on which as their support and foundation they stand and rest, as has been stated.
* lit. that it may not be moved to eternity and perpetuity

sRef Lev@10 @1 S0′ sRef Ex@24 @17 S0′ sRef Lev@10 @3 S0′ sRef Lev@10 @2 S0′ 9434. ‘And the sight of Jehovah’s glory was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel’ means Divine Truth beaming brightly with the good of love in heaven itself, but harmful and ruinous with those restricted to its outward level, separated from the inward. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the sight of Jehovah’s glory’ as the appearance presented by Divine Truth emanating from the Lord (the fact that ‘the sight of’ means the appearance presented before the eyes is self-evident; and for the meaning of ‘Jehovah’s glory’ as Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, see 9429); from the meaning of ‘fire’ as love in both senses, dealt with in 4906, 5215, 6314, 6832, 7324, in this instance God’s love itself; from the meaning of ‘the top of the mountain’ as the inmost part of heaven, for ‘Mount Sinai’ means heaven, 9420, 9427, and its highest point, which is called ‘the top’ and the peak, means its inmost part, 9422; from the meaning of ‘devouring’ as consuming, and so harming and ruining; and from the representation of ‘the children of Israel’ as those restricted to outward things, apart from inward ones, dealt with often above. From all this it becomes clear that ‘the sight of Jehovah’s glory was like a [devouring] fire on the top of the mountain’ means Divine Truth beaming brightly with the good of love in heaven itself; and the statement that it was ‘like a devouring fire in the eyes of the children of Israel’ means that with those restricted to its outward level, apart from the inward, it was harmful and ruinous.

[2] The implications of all this are that there are two kinds of love which are complete opposites, heavenly love and hellish love. Heavenly love consists of love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour; hellish love consists of self-love and love of the world. Those with whom hellish loves reign are in hell, whereas those with whom heavenly loves reign are in heaven. For love is what constitutes the actual life within a person; without the love there is no life whatever. In everyone the heat and fire that his life possesses originate in his love; without that animating heat and fire he has no life, as is plainly evident. From this it follows that the character of the love determines the character of the life, and therefore that the character of the love determines that of the person. This being so, anyone can know from what his loves are whether he has heaven within himself or hell. The love present in a person is like a fire or flame, and in addition constitutes, as has been stated, the fire or flame of life; and the faith present there is like the light radiating from that fire or flame, and in addition constitutes the light which enlightens the more internal parts of his understanding. This also reveals the character of the light which gives rise to faith among those governed by heavenly love and the character of the light which gives rise to faith among those ruled by hellish love. The latter kind of light gives rise to faith that is no more than persuasion, which in itself is not faith at all, only a conviction that something is so, dictated by selfishness and worldliness, see 9363-9369. In the Church at the present day spiritual life, which is eternal life, is thought to lie in faith alone, thus in faith without the good works of heavenly love. But anyone who gives thought to the matter can see from the things which have now been stated what the character of that life is.

[3] Something must be said next about what Divine fire, that is, Divine Love, is like among those governed by heavenly love and what it is like among those ruled by hellish love. Among those governed by heavenly love it is God’s fire or love constantly creating and renewing the interior parts of the will and enlightening the interior parts of the understanding. But among those ruled by hellish love it is God’s fire or love constantly harming and ruining; and the reason for this is that among these people God’s love meets with contrary feelings that destroy it. For it is turned into the fire or love of self and the world, and so into contempt for others in comparison with themselves, into feelings of enmity towards all who do not support them, thus into feelings of hatred, feelings of vengeance, and finally the readiness to behave brutally. This is why Jehovah’s fire appeared before the eyes of the children of Israel as a devouring or consuming one. For being restricted to outward things, apart from inward, they were ruled by selfish and worldly love.

sRef Deut@5 @25 S4′ sRef Deut@5 @24 S4′ sRef Joel@2 @2 S4′ sRef Joel@2 @3 S4′ sRef Deut@5 @23 S4′ sRef Joel@2 @1 S4′ [4] The fact that this fire was to them a devouring and consuming one is again evident elsewhere in Moses,

It happened, when you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, and the mountain was burning with fire, that you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders. And you said, Lo, Jehovah our God has caused us to see His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice out of the midst of the fire. Why therefore should we die? For this great fire will devour us; if we hear the voice of Jehovah our God any more we shall certainly die. Deut. 5:23-25.

See also what has been shown in 6832, 8814, 8819, and the places quoted in 9380 showing that the character of this people was such. There are other places in the Word in which ‘devouring fire’ is used in reference to the wicked and means ruination, for example in Joel,

The day of Jehovah is coming, a day of darkness and thick darkness, a day of cloud and gloom. Fire devours before them,* and behind them a flame burns. The land before them is like the garden of Eden, but behind them a desolate wilderness.** Joel 2:1-3.

sRef Ezek@23 @25 S5′ sRef Isa@30 @30 S5′ sRef Isa@33 @14 S5′ sRef Isa@29 @6 S5′ [5] In Isaiah,

Jehovah will cause His glorious voice*** to be heard, in the flame of a devouring fire. Isa. 30:30.

In the same prophet,

Who among us will dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us will dwell with the hearths of eternity? Isa. 33:14.

In the same prophet,

You will be punished**** by Jehovah with the flame of a devouring fire. Isa. 29:6.

In Ezekiel,

Your descendants will be devoured by fire. Ezek. 23:25.

In these places ‘a devouring fire’ is the fire of desires that spring from self-love and love of the world, for this fire is that which consumes a person and ruins the Church. This was also represented by the fire that went out from before Jehovah, which devoured Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu, because they put foreign***** fire in their censers, Lev. 10:1, 2. ‘Putting foreign fire in censers’ means introducing worship that springs from a love other than that which is heavenly. Such fire means selfish and worldly love, and every desire arising from it, see 1297, 1861, 5071, 5215, 6314, 6832, 7324, 7575, 9141.
* i.e. the great and strong people who will invade the land
** lit. a wilderness of ruination
*** lit. the glory of His voice
**** lit. visited
***** i.e. unauthorized or profane

sRef Ex@24 @18 S0′ 9435. ‘And Moses went into the midst of the cloud’ means the Word in its outward sense. This is clear from the representation of ‘Moses’ as the Word, at this point the Word in its outward sense since it says that he went ‘into the midst of the cloud’, and ‘the cloud’ means the outward sense of the Word. For the representation of ‘Moses’ as the Word, see above in 9414, and for the meaning of ‘the cloud’ as its outward sense, in 9430. Moses remained at the foot of the mountain for six days, and then on the seventh day he received the call and went into the cloud, up into the mountain. This happened in order that he might represent that which acted as an intermediary between the people and the Lord, in keeping with what has been stated above in 9414. Degrees of ascent from the people to the Lord are described by this. When Moses went eventually into the mountain he first represented the outward holiness of the Word, which acted as an intermediary; for that mountain means heaven, where holiness dwells. But he was allowed no further in than the outermost part of heaven, where the outward holiness of the Word comes to an end. His being allowed only that far in has been demonstrated to me in a representative manner by means of a spirit, the upper part of whose face down to the chin appeared in the light of heaven, while the lower part from the chin downwards, together with the whole of the body, was in a cloud. This showed me how much of the outward holiness, which acted as an intermediary, Moses represented. The reason why the six days that Moses remained at the foot of the mountain has meant the state of truth, and the seventh day when he went up into the mountain means the state of good, in keeping with the explanation above in 9431, 9432, is that those who are being regenerated by the Lord mount by like degrees of ascent from the world into heaven. The person is raised from outward things to inward ones, because he is raised from the level of natural man, where outward things exist, to that of the spiritual man, where inward things exist. This kind of raising or ascent was also represented by Moses when he took on the representation of the outward holiness that acted as an intermediary. For the outward holiness of the Word is the gateway to the state of good, and so to heaven.

sRef Ex@24 @18 S0′ 9436. ‘And went up into the mountain’ means being raised up to heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘going up’ as being raised in the direction of more internal levels, dealt with in 3084, 4539, 4969, 5406, 5817, 6007; and from the meaning of ‘Mount Sinai’ as heaven, where Divine Truth resides in light, dealt with above in 9420, 9427.

sRef Ex@24 @18 S0′ 9437. ‘And Moses was in the mountain forty days and forty nights’ means the instructions given and influx in their completeness. This is clear from the meaning of ‘forty’ as completeness. ‘Forty’ means completeness because ‘four’ means that which is complete, 9103, as similarly does ‘ten’, 3107, 4638, and forty is the product of four multiplied by ten. For compound numbers have a meaning similar to the simple numbers of which they are the product, 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973; and all numbers in the Word mean spiritual realities, see 575, 3252, 4264, 4495, 4670, 5265, 6175. All this goes to explain why Moses was in the mountain forty days and forty nights. The fact that ‘forty’ here means the instructions given and the influx in their completeness is evident from Chapters 25-32 which come next, recording the instructions Moses received, that is, instructions regarding the ark, Aaron, the urim and thummim, and sacrifices. The reason why influx in its completeness is also meant is that at that time Moses began to represent the outward holiness of the Word, which acted as the intermediary between the Lord and the people, and mediation is accomplished by means of influx through that holiness into the representative existing among that people, 9419.

sRef 1Ki@6 @17 S2′ sRef Ezek@41 @2 S2′ sRef Deut@25 @3 S2′ sRef Ezek@4 @6 S2′ sRef Num@14 @34 S2′ sRef Gen@7 @4 S2′ sRef Judg@5 @8 S2′ sRef Num@14 @33 S2′ sRef Gen@7 @12 S2′ sRef Ezek@29 @13 S2′ sRef Gen@7 @17 S2′ sRef Ezek@29 @12 S2′ sRef Jonah@3 @4 S2′ sRef Ezek@29 @11 S2′ [2] It was because ‘forty’ represented completeness that Moses remained on Mount Sinai forty days and forty nights not only this time but also on another occasion, Exod. 34:28; Deut. 9:18, 25; 10:10. For the same reason the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness forty years until, as it says in Num. 14:33, 34; 32:13, all that generation had been consumed; Jonah told the Ninevites that their city would be overturned after forty days, Jonah 3:4; the prophet was commanded to lie on his right side and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days, Ezek. 4:6; it says regarding Egypt that it would be made completely desolate for forty years, after which they would be gathered from the peoples, Ezek. 29:11-13; and the earth was rained on forty days and forty nights, so that it was inundated with the flood, Gen. 7:4, 12, 17. From all this it is evident why the wicked person was to receive forty blows, Deut. 25:3, for ‘forty blows’ meant the punishment in its completeness. It is also evident what should be understood in the prophecy of Deborah and Barak when it says that no shield or spear was seen among the forty thousand of Israel, Judg. 5:8, ‘among the forty thousand of Israel’ meaning among them all. It is in addition evident why the temple built by Solomon was forty cubits long, 1 Kings 6:17, as was the new temple, according to Ezekiel 41:2; for in the highest sense ‘the temple’ means the Lord, and in the internal sense heaven and the Church, so that ‘forty’ means completeness in respect of representation. And it has a like meaning in other places.

9438. PLANETS OUT IN SPACE, AND THE INHABITANTS, SPIRITS, AND ANGELS BELONGING TO THEM

Those who are in heaven are able to talk and mix not only with angels and spirits who come from planets within our solar system but also with others who come from planets in the universe outside it, yet not merely with the spirits and angels from those planets but also with the actual inhabitants there whose interiors have been opened, so that they can hear spirits and angels from heaven who speak to them. Anyone during his lifetime in the world can in like manner hear them once the Lord has permitted him to talk to spirits and angels. For as to his interiors the person is a spirit or angel, the body which he carries around in the world being merely that which is of service to him in the functions he performs in this natural or earthly sphere, which is the lowest.

[2] But no one is permitted to talk to spirits and angels as a spirit or angel unless his character is such that he can have fellowship with them in faith and love; and he cannot have that fellowship unless the faith is faith in the Lord and the love is love directed to the Lord. For a person is joined to [the Lord] through faith in Him, thus through truths that belong to religious teachings, and through love to Him; and when he has been joined to Him he is kept safe from attack by evil spirits from hell. No others can possibly have their interiors opened, since they do not abide in the Lord. Here is the reason why few are permitted at the present day to talk to and mix with angels. A clear sign of this may be seen in the fact that at the present day there is scarcely any belief in the existence of spirits and angels, let alone a belief that they are present with every individual person, and that through those present with him a person is linked to heaven, and through heaven to the Lord. Still less do people believe that when a person dies as to the body, he is alive as a spirit, and indeed in human form as before.

9439. The majority in the Church at the present day have no real belief regarding life after death, and scarcely any regarding heaven or regarding the Lord, that He is God of heaven and earth. For this reason the interiors of my own spirit have been opened by the Lord to enable me, while I am in the body, to be present at the same time with angels in heaven, and not only to talk to them but also to see the astonishing things there, and to describe them. This has happened to prevent people from saying from now on, Has anyone come to us from heaven and told us of its existence and about the things that are there? But I realize that those who at heart have already refused to believe in the existence of heaven and hell, or in life after death, will also be wholly unreceptive of those things and refuse to believe them. For it is easier to make a raven white than it is to cause people to believe something once they have at heart banished belief. But let those things which have been shown up to now regarding heaven and hell, and regarding life after death, be for the few in whom belief is present. As for everyone else however, in order that they may be led to some recognition of those things, I have been given consent to mention the kinds of details that gratify and attract the curious. Those that are about to be stated concern planets in the universe.

9440. A person unacquainted with the arcana of heaven may think that no one can see planets so far away and through what he has experienced with his senses report about them. But let it be recognized that intervals of space and distances between places, and consequent movements from one to another, which are visible in the natural world, are first occasioned by and have their origin in the changes of state undergone by the interiors, and that among angels and spirits appearances are in exact accord with those changes. In this way spirits and angels can be transported from one place to another, and from one planet to another, even to planets on the edge of the universe. The same thing can be done to a person’s spirit while his body remains where it is. It has happened to me also, for I have been allowed in the Lord’s Divine mercy to mix with spirits as a spirit, while at the same time mixing with people on earth as a person on earth. Regarding intervals of space and distances between places, and movements from one to another in heaven, that they are appearances which are products of changes of state undergone by the interiors, see 5605. The person who thinks on a sensory level does not see how anyone’s spirit can be transported in that way, for he dwells within space and time and measures his movements from one place to another according to them.

9441. The existence of a large number of worlds may be evident to anyone from the fact that so many heavenly bodies appear throughout the sky; that each one, as is well known in the learned world, resembles the sun in its own place, since each remains fixed in the same way as our planet’s sun does in its own place, but that distance causes it to be seen as something small, as a point of light; and that consequently each has planets or earths around it in the same way as the sun of our world has. Why else does so vast a sky with so many constellations exist? The whole reason why the universe has been created and exists is mankind, from whom an angelic heaven may be formed. But what would the human race on only one planet be, and what would the angelic heaven formed from it be for the Infinite Creator? For Him a thousand planets – no, tens of thousands – would not be enough. The following calculation has been made. Supposing that there were a thousand thousand planets in the universe, on each planet three hundred thousand thousand or three hundred million people, two hundred generations in six thousand years, and the space each person was allowed was three cubic ells.* If all these people were gathered together in one place the space they would fill would still be no more than a thousandth of our planet, and so would be less than the space filled by one satellite around the planet Jupiter or the planet Saturn. The space they filled in the universe would be small and hard to see, for those satellites are scarcely visible to the naked eye. What would this be for the Creator of the universe, for whom the whole universe, even if it were full up, would not be enough, since He is Infinite? I have talked to angels about these matters. They have said that they have a similar conception of how few the members of the human race are compared with the infinity of the Creator, though their thinking is based not on notions of objects measured spatially, but on those of states, and that as they conceive the matter the planets numbering tens of thousands, as many as anyone could think of, would still be as absolutely nothing in relation to the Lord. In addition they have said that the angelic heaven, whose seed-bed is the human race, corresponds to everything within the human being, and such a heaven cannot be built up with angels from only one planet; it must be built up with those from countless planets.
* The length of an ell varied from one country to another. The Flemish ell was twenty-seven inches, the English ell forty-five inches.

9442. In what follows next I will speak from actual experience about planets out in space, and this again will show how my spirit has been transported to those places, while my body remained where it was.*
* Volume Seven of the Latin ends here.

9443. 25

TEACHINGS ABOUT CHARITY AND FAITH

Something must be stated next about the forgiveness of sins.

9444. The sins which a person commits are deeply implanted in and constitute his actual life. No one therefore is freed from sins unless he receives new life from the Lord, which is accomplished through regeneration.

sRef John@3 @27 S0′ sRef John@15 @5 S0′ 9445. No person left to himself is able to do what is good or think what is true; he can do so only with the Lord’s help, as is clear in John,

Man cannot receive* anything unless it is given him from heaven. John 3:27.

He who abides in Me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing. John 15:5.

From this it is evident that no one can draw another away from sins, that is, forgive them, except the Lord alone.
* The Latin means do but the Greek means receive, which Sw. has in most other places where he quotes this verse.

9446. The Lord flows into people constantly with the good of love and the truths of faith; but these are received variously, in ways that differ from one person to the next. By those who have been regenerated they are received favourably, but with those who do not allow themselves to be regenerated they are met with antipathy.

9447. Those who have been regenerated are maintained constantly by the Lord in the good of faith and love and are at the same time withheld from evils and falsities. Those however who do not allow themselves to be regenerated by the Lord are also withheld from evil and maintained in good, for there is a constant inflow of goodness and truth from the Lord with everyone; but the hellish kinds of love that rule them, namely self-love and love of the world, stand in the way and turn the inflowing good into evil and the inflowing truth into falsity.

9448. All this shows what the forgiveness of sins is. Being able to be maintained by the Lord in the good of love and the truths of faith and to be withheld from evils and falsities constitutes the forgiveness of sins; and at the same time keeping well away from evil and falsity and detesting them constitutes repentance. But all this is so only with those who have received new life from the Lord through regeneration, for those things belong to the new life.

9449. The signs that people’s sins have been forgiven are the following: They take delight in worshipping God for God’s sake, and serving the neighbour for the neighbour’s sake, and so in doing good for goodness’ sake, and believing truth for truth’s sake; they refuse to receive merit because of any act of charity and faith; they keep well away from and detest evils, such as those of enmity, hatred, vengeance, ruthlessness, or adultery, in short everything contrary to God and the neighbour.

9450. The signs that people’s sins have not been forgiven are the following: They worship God not for God’s sake, and serve the neighbour not for the neighbour’s sake, and so they do not do good or speak the truth for goodness and truth’s sake, only for selfish and worldly reasons; they wish to earn merit by their deeds; they despise others in comparison with themselves; they take delight in evils, such as enmity, hatred, vengeance, brutality, and adultery; they scorn the sacred things of the Church and in their hearts repudiate them.

9451. Sins are thought to have been wiped away – or washed away, as dirt usually is by water – when they have been forgiven. But in actual fact they remain with a person; they are said to have been wiped away because that is what appears to have happened when a person is withheld from them.

9452. The Lord in Divine Mercy regenerates a person, and that regeneration goes on from his early childhood right through to the final period of life in the world, and after that for evermore. By this means in Divine Mercy He draws the person away from evils and falsities and brings him to the truths of faith and forms of the good of love, and then maintains him in them. And after this in Divine Mercy He raises him towards Himself, up to heaven, and fills him with bliss. These are the things that are meant by the forgiveness of sins owing to mercy. People who think that sins are forgiven in any other way are completely mistaken. For to see a great number of people in hell and not to save them if this could be achieved in any other way would be the absence of mercy, when yet the Lord is Mercy itself, desiring the death of no one, but rather that he may live.

9453. Those therefore who do not allow themselves to be regenerated, nor thus to be withheld from evils and falsities, turn away and reject those mercies of the Lord from themselves. Consequently the fault lies with them that they are unable to be saved.

sRef John@1 @12 S0′ sRef John@3 @3 S0′ sRef John@3 @5 S0′ sRef John@1 @13 S0′ 9454. These mercies are what is meant in John,

As many as received Him, to them He gave power to be sons of God, to those believing in His name, who were born, not of blood,* nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man (vir), but of God. John 1:12, 13.

Those born ‘of blood’ are people who are opposed to forms of the good of faith and charity, ‘of the will of the flesh’ those who are immersed in evils springing from self-love and love of the world, and ‘of the will of man’ those who are steeped in falsities arising from those evils. Being ‘born of God’ means being regenerated. The truth that no one can enter heaven unless he is being regenerated is stated in the same gospel,

Truly, truly I say to you, Unless a person is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. Truly, truly I say to you, Unless a person has been born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. John 3:3, 5.

‘Being born of water’ means through the truth of faith, and ‘being born of the spirit’ through the good of love. All this now makes it clear who exactly they are whose sins have been forgiven, and who exactly they are whose sins have not been forgiven.
* lit. bloods

EXODUS 25

1 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

2 Speak to the children of Israel, and let them take for Me an offering; from everyone whose heart is willing,* you are to take My offering.

3 And this is the offering which you shall take from them: Gold and silver, and bronze,

4 And violet, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, and fine linen, and wool of she-goats,

5 And skins of red rams,** and skins of badgers, and pieces of shittim wood;***

6 Oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil, and for the incense of spices;

7 Shoham**** stones, and stones of fillings***** for the ephod and for the breastplate.

8 And they are to make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.

9 In accordance with all that I show you, the pattern of the dwelling-place and the pattern of all its vessels, just so you shall make it.

10 And they are to make an ark of shittim wood; two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height.

11 And you shall overlay it with pure gold, on the inside and on the outside you shall overlay it; and you shall make on it a rim of gold round about.

12 And you shall cast four rings of gold for it, and put them on its four corners; and two rings shall be on one side of it and two rings on the other side of it.

13 And you shall make poles of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.

14 And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry the ark on them.

15 The poles must be in the rings of the ark; they must not be removed from it.

16 And you shall put into the ark the Testimony which I shall give you.

17 And you shall make a mercy-seat from pure gold; two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth.

18 And you shall make two cherubs; from solid gold you shall make them, at the two ends of the mercy-seat.

19 And make one cherub at the end on one side, and one cherub at the end on the other side; of one piece with the mercy-seat you shall make the cherubs****** on its two ends.

20 And the cherubs shall be spreading out their wings upwards, covering over the mercy-seat with their wings, and their faces of a man towards his brother;******* the faces of the cherubs shall be towards the mercy-seat.

21 And you shall put the mercy-seat onto the ark, up above; and into the ark you shall put the Testimony which I shall give you.

22 And I will meet with you there, and I will speak to you from up above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubs which are over the ark of the Testimony, [declaring] everything that I shall command you for the children of Israel.

23 And you shall make a table of shittim wood; two cubits shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height.

24 And you shall overlay it with pure gold; and you shall make for it a rim of gold round about.

25 And you shall make for it a rail of a hand’s breadth round about; and you shall make a rim of gold for its rail round about.

26 And you shall make for it four rings of gold, and you shall put the rings on the four corners which are on its four feet.

27 The rings shall be close to the rail, as houses for the poles to carry the table.

28 And you shall make the poles from shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, and the table shall be carried with them.

29 And you shall make its dishes, and its cups, and its small dishes, and its small brushes, with which it shall be covered; from pure gold you shall make them.

30 And you shall put on the table the bread of faces, towards My faces unceasingly.********

31 And you shall make a lampstand from pure gold; solid shall the lampstand be made.********* Its shaft and its branch, its cups, its pomegranates, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it.**********

32 And there shall be six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it, and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it.

33 There shall be three almond-shaped cups on one branch, a pomegranate and a flower, and three almond-shaped cups on one branch,*********** a pomegranate and a flower – thus for the six branches going out of the lampstand.

34 And on [the shaft of] the lampstand there shall be four almond-shaped cups, its pomegranates and its flowers.

35 And there shall be a pomegranate under [the first] two branches out of it, and a pomegranate under [the second] two branches out of it, and a pomegranate under [the third] two branches out of it – for the six branches going out of the lampstand.

36 Their pomegranates and their branches shall be of one piece with it,********** all [shall be part] of it, one solid [piece made] from pure gold.

37 And you shall make its seven lamps; and let it cause its lamps to go up and give light before its faces.************

38 And its tongs and its trowels************* [shall be made] from pure gold.

39 A talent of pure gold shall [be used to] make it, together with all these vessels.

40 And see to it that you make them in accordance with the pattern of them which you were given to see************** on the mountain.
* lit. from with every man (vir) whom his heart moves of its own accord
** The Hebrew is usually taken to mean ram skins which have been dyed red.
*** i.e. wood from the shittah tree, generally thought to be a species of acacia. But see 9472.
**** A Hebrew word for a precious stone, probably an onyx
***** i.e. stones to be set in the ephod and the breastplate
****** lit. from (or out of) the mercy-seat you shall make the cherubs
******* i.e. and they shall be facing each other
******** i.e. you shall set the bread of the Presence (or the showbread) on the table before Me unceasingly
********* i.e. the lampstand shall consist throughout solely of pure gold
********** lit. shall be from (or out of) it
*********** i.e. on the opposite branch
************i.e. when its lamps are lit it will shed light directly in front of it
************* i.e. tools to trim the wicks and to scoop out waste products
************** lit. And see and make in the pattern of them which you were caused to see


sRef Ex@25 @0 S0′ 9455. CONTENTS

This chapter describes the offerings for the tent, for the tables there, and also for Aaron’s garments. It then goes on to give the directions for making the ark, the table for the loaves [of the Presence], and the lampstand, which were to represent the heavens, where the Lord is, and all the celestial and spiritual realities which are from the Lord there. The dwelling-place itself represented heaven, the ark there represented the inmost heaven, and the Testimony or the law within the ark represented the Lord; the loaves of the Presence on the table together with the lampstand represented the celestial realities from the Lord, and Aaron’s garments represented the spiritual realities from Him, in the heavens.


sRef Ex@25 @1 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @2 S0′ 9456. THE INTERNAL SENSE

Verses 1, 2 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and let them take for Me an offering; from everyone whose heart is willing,* you are to take My offering. ‘And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying’ means instructions regarding the holy things of heaven which had to be represented. ‘Speak to the children of Israel’ means the representative Church. ‘Let them take for Me an offering’ means the interior things of worship which were going to be represented, which are the real requirements. ‘From everyone whose heart is willing’ means that all things should be offered out of love, and so in freedom. ‘You are to take My offering’ means the real requirements for worship.
* lit. from with every man (vir) whom his heart moves of its own accord

sRef Ex@25 @1 S0′ 9457. ‘And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying’ means instructions regarding the holy things of heaven which had to be represented. This is clear from the verses that follow, for the things which Jehovah told Moses mean the holy things of heaven that were to be represented. Among the Israelite people a Church was being established in which outward forms would exist displaying in a representative fashion the celestial realities belonging to the good of love, and the spiritual realities belonging to the good and truth of faith, as such realities exist in heaven and ought to do so in the Church. From all this it is clear that ‘Jehovah spoke’ means instructions regarding the holy things of heaven which had to be represented. Since the matters described in the verses that follow are representative of the celestial and spiritual realities from the Lord in the heavens, something needs to be said about what a representative Church is and why it exists.

[2] There are three heavens – the inmost or third, the middle or second, and the lowest or first. In the inmost heaven the good of love to the Lord reigns, in the middle heaven the good of charity towards the neighbour reigns, and in the lowest the things which are thought, spoken, and come into being in the middle and inmost heavens are represented. The representatives there are countless, such as paradise parks, gardens, forests, fields, plains, as well as cities, palaces, and houses; also flocks and herds, as well as very many kinds of animals and birds; and countless other phenomena. These appear before the eyes of angelic spirits in that heaven more plainly than any such things do on earth in the light at midday; and what is astonishing, those spirits also discern what realities are meant by the things which appear.

[3] Such phenomena also appeared to prophets when their inner sight, which is the sight of the spirit, had been opened, for instance the horses that appeared to Zechariah, 6:1-8; the living creatures which were cherubs, and afterwards the new temple and everything in it that appeared to Ezekiel, Chapters 1, 9, 10, 40-48; the lampstand, thrones, living creatures (which again were cherubs), horses, new Jerusalem, and very many other phenomena, which appeared to John and are described in the Book of Revelation; and similarly the fiery horses and chariots that appeared to Elisha’s servant, 2 Kings 6:17. Things such as these are constantly making their appearance in heaven before the eyes of spirits and angels. They are natural forms in which the inward things of heaven terminate and are given shape. The things which present themselves visually before the spirits and angels’ actual eyes in this way are representations.

sRef Ex@25 @8 S4′ [4] A representative Church exists therefore when the holy, inner realities of love and faith which are derived from the Lord and look towards the Lord present themselves by means of visual forms in the world, such as those which are the subject in this and following chapters – the ark, the mercy-seat, the cherubs, the tables there, the lampstand, and everything else that was part of the tabernacle. For that tabernacle was constructed in such a way that it might represent the three heavens and everything there, the ark which contained the Testimony representing the inmost heaven and the Lord Himself there. This is why, when Moses was shown on the mountain the form it should take, Jehovah said at the same time, To the end that they may make for Him a sanctuary and He may dwell in their midst, verse 8. Everyone endowed with any ability to think on a deeper level can see that Jehovah could not have dwelt in a tent but that He dwells in heaven, and that this tent is called the sanctuary only because it presents an image of heaven, and the celestial and spiritual realities there. Let everyone ask himself, What would it have been for Jehovah, Creator of heaven and earth, to dwell in a small dwelling-place that was made of wood, overlaid with gold, and surrounded by curtains, if heaven and the things of heaven had not been represented there in outward forms? [5] For the realities which are represented in outward forms do indeed reveal themselves in a similar way in the lowest or first heaven before the spirits there. But those in the higher heavens perceive the inner things that are being represented, which, as has been stated, are the celestial realities belonging to love to the Lord and the spiritual realities belonging to faith in the Lord. It was things of this nature that filled heaven when Moses and the people, moved by outward holiness, venerated that tent as the dwelling-place of Jehovah Himself. From this it is evident what a representative was, and also that by means of it heaven, and so the Lord, was present with mankind.

[6] A representative Church therefore was established among the Israelite people, when the ancient Church came to an end, in order that by means of such representatives heaven, and so the Lord, might be joined to the human race. (If the Lord did not join Himself to people through heaven they would cease to exist; for it is as a result of this joining of Himself to them that people possess the life they have.) Those representatives however were no more than outward means serving to conjoin, yet to which the Lord joined heaven in a wondrous manner, 4311. But when the joining together through those means also was about to perish the Lord came into the world and laid bare the actual realities which were being merely represented up to then, that is, the inner realities which belong to love to and faith in Him. These realities themselves now effect that joining together. But the only means by which such a joining together is effected at the present day is still the Word, since this has been written in such a way that every single part of it has a correspondence and as a consequence represents and serves to mean the Divine realities present in the heavens.

sRef Ex@25 @2 S0′ 9458. ‘Speak to the children of Israel’ means the representative Church. This is clear from the representation of ‘the children of Israel’ as the Church, in particular the spiritual Church, dealt with in 8805, 9340, but at this point the representative Church, since the kinds of objects that represented the holy things of the Church and of heaven are the subject, such as the ark, the mercy-seat, the cherubs, the table on which the loaves of the Presence were laid, the lampstand, and further on the tabernacle, Aaron’s garments, and the altar and sacrifices, all of which were representative. The reason why the spiritual Church is meant by ‘the children of Israel’ is that it was represented by them. However no actual representative Church could be established among that people, only a representative of a Church, see 4281, 4288, 4311, 4444, 4500, 6304, 7048, 9320.

sRef Ex@25 @2 S0′ 9459. ‘Let them take for Me an offering’ means the interior things of worship which were going to be represented, which are the real requirements. This is clear from the meaning of ‘an offering’ as the requirements for worship, at this point the interior things which were going to be represented. For by the materials that were gathered together for the tent, tables, and lampstand, also Aaron’s garments, that is, by the gold, silver, bronze, violet, purple, twice-dyed scarlet, fine linen, wool of she-goats, and many others, those interior things were meant, as is clear from the meaning of them dealt with in paragraphs below.

sRef Ex@25 @2 S0′ 9460. ‘From everyone whose heart is willing’ means that all things should be offered out of love, and so in freedom. This is clear from the meaning of ‘whose heart is willing’ as in freedom. The reason why offering them out of love is meant is that all freedom is rooted in love; for what a person does out of love he does in freedom.

‘Heart’ has to do with love because it has to do with the will, see 7542, 8910, 9050, 9113, 9300.
All freedom is rooted in love or affection, 2870-2893, 3158, 9096, and this is why all worship must be offered in freedom, 1947, 2880, 2881, 7349.

sRef Ex@25 @2 S0′ 9461. ‘You are to take My offering’ means the real requirements for worship. This is clear from the meaning of ‘offering’ as the interior things of worship which were going to be represented, which are the real requirements, dealt with above in 9459.

sRef Ex@25 @3 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @4 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @7 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @6 S0′ 9462. Verses 3-7 And this is the offering which you shall take from them: Gold and silver, and bronze, and violet, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, and fine linen, and wool of she-goats, and skins of red rams,* and skins of badgers, and pieces of shittim wood;** oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil, and for the incense of spices; shoham*** stones, and stones of fillings**** for the ephod and for the breastplate.

‘And this is the offering which you shall take from them’ means that those requirements are altogether indispensable. ‘Gold and silver’ means internal good and truth in general. ‘And bronze’ means external good. ‘And violet’ means the celestial love of truth. ‘And purple’ means the celestial love of good. ‘And twice-dyed scarlet’ means mutual love. ‘And fine linen’ means the truth from this. ‘And wool of she-goats’ means the good from this. ‘And skins of red rams, and skins of badgers’ means the external truths and forms of good which contain them. ‘And pieces of shittim wood’ means good deeds worthy of merit that proceed from the Lord, and so are the Lord’s alone. ‘Oil for the light’ means internal good present within mutual love and charity. ‘Spices for the anointing oil’ means internal truths belonging to the good that consecrates. ‘And for the incense of spices’ means for delightful perception. ‘Shoham stones, and stones of fillings’ means spiritual truths and forms of good in general. ‘For the ephod and for the breastplate’ means which should be for a covering for celestial realities, external and internal.
* The Hebrew is usually taken to mean ram skins which have been dyed red.
** i.e. wood from the shittah tree, generally thought to be a species of acacia. But see 9472.
*** A Hebrew word for a precious stone, probably an onyx
**** i.e. stones to be set in the ephod and the breastplate

sRef Ex@25 @3 S0′ 9463. ‘And this is the offering which you shall take from them’ means that those requirements are altogether indispensable. This is clear from the meaning of ‘offering’ as requirements, as above in 9459, 9461. The reason why it means that they are altogether indispensable is that the word ‘offering’ is now used for a third time, and such repetition implies that they are a necessity.

sRef Ex@25 @3 S0′ 9464. ‘Gold and silver’ means internal good and truth in general. This is clear from the meaning of ‘gold’ as good, and of ‘silver’ as truth, dealt with in 113, 1551, 1552, 2954, 5658, 6112, 6914, 6917, 8932. The reason why internal good and truth is meant is that ‘bronze’ mentioned next means external good.

sRef Ex@25 @3 S0′ 9465. ‘And bronze’ means external good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘bronze’ as natural good or, what amounts to the same thing, external good, dealt with in 425, 1551. External good is the external or natural man’s good, whereas internal good is the internal or spiritual man’s good.

sRef Ex@25 @4 S0′ 9466. ‘And violet’ means the celestial love of truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘violet’ as the celestial love of truth, the reason why ‘violet’ has this meaning being that it is a celestial colour, and by this colour truth from a celestial origin is meant, that is, truth springing from the good of love to the Lord. This good predominates in the inmost heaven, revealing itself in the middle or second heaven as the colours purple and violet. The actual good reveals itself as purple, and the truth springing from it as violet. For when colours appear in the next life, and in heaven itself, they are most beautiful ones; and they all have their origin in goodness and truth. For the sphere of affections for goodness and truth is revealed to the eyes of angels and of spirits also by means of colours, specific things being revealed by means of objects variously coloured, and also to their nostrils by means of odours. For every celestial reality belonging to good or spiritual reality belonging to truth is represented in the lower heavens by means of the kinds of things that appear in the natural order, and by this means is revealed to the actual external senses of spirits and angels in those heavens. The reason why the spheres of affection for goodness and truth are revealed visually by means of colours is that colours are modifications of heavenly light, and so of intelligence and wisdom, see 4530, 4677, 4742, 4922.

[2] This now explains why the materials that were to be gathered together for the tabernacle and Aaron’s garments included violet, purple, twice-dyed scarlet, and skins of red rams; for the tabernacle represented the Lord’s heaven, the materials which were used to construct and cover it represented the celestial and spiritual realities that belong to goodness and truth, and Aaron’s garments had a like representation, 9457. It explains why the veil within which the ark of the Testimony was placed was woven from violet, purple, twice-dyed scarlet, and fine linen thread, Exod. 26:31, as likewise was the covering for the door of the tent, Exod. 26:36, and the covering for the gate of the court as well, Exod. 27:16, and why the loops on the edge of the curtain were made of violet, Exod. 26:4. It also explains why the ephod was made of gold, violet, purple, twice-dyed scarlet, and linen thread woven together, as was the breastplate of judgement, Exod. 28:6, 15.

sRef Ezek@27 @7 S3′ sRef Ezek@27 @24 S3′ [3] ‘Violet’ means the celestial love of truth, and ‘garments made of violet’ cognitions or knowledge of truth present as a result of that love, in Ezekiel,

Fine linen with embroidered work from Egypt was your sail, that it might be to you an ensign; violet and purple from the islands of Elishah was your covering. They were your traders with choice wares,* with balls of violet, and embroidery, and with chests of precious garments. Ezek. 27:7, 24.

This refers to Tyre, by which cognitions of truth and good are meant, 1201. Knowledge and understanding acquired from these is described by ’embroidered work from Egypt’, and by ‘violet and purple from the islands of Elishah’. ‘Embroidered work from Egypt’ is factual knowledge of truth, and ‘violet and purple from the islands of Elishah’ is an understanding of truth and good.

sRef Ezek@23 @2 S4′ sRef Ezek@23 @4 S4′ sRef Ezek@23 @5 S4′ sRef Ezek@23 @6 S4′ sRef Ezek@23 @3 S4′ [4] In the same prophet,

Two women, the daughters of one mother, in their youth committed whoredom in Egypt – Oholah and Oholibah. Oholah committed whoredom under Me and doted on the Assyrians her neighbours – clothed in violet, governors and leaders, horsemen riding on horses. Ezek. 23:2-6.

‘Oholah’ stands for Samaria, and ‘Oholibah’ for Jerusalem, Samaria in this instance being the corrupted spiritual Church. ‘Committing whoredom in Egypt’ means falsifying truths by means of factual knowledge, ‘doting on the Assyrians her neighbours’ stands for having a love of reasonings based on those falsifications, and ‘clothed in violet’ stands for ideas which look like truth springing from good because they are derived from the literal sense of the Word interpreted wrongly.

sRef Jer@10 @9 S5′ [5] Something similar occurs in Jeremiah,

Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the smith and of the hands of the molder. Their clothing is violet and purple. These are all the work of the wise. Jer. 10:9.

This refers to the idols of the house of Israel, by which false teachings, supported by distortions of the outward sense of the Word, are meant, 9424. ‘The work of the smith and of the hands of the molder’, and also ‘these are all the work of the wise’, stand for the fact that they are the product of self-intelligence. ‘Silver from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz’ stands for their seeming to outward appearance to be true and good because they are taken from the Word; and much the same is meant by ‘violet and purple’ of which their clothing consisted.

sRef Rev@9 @17 S6′ sRef Rev@9 @18 S6′ [6] In John,

I saw horses in the vision, and those seated on them had breastplates of fire and violet and brimstone, by whom a third part of mankind was killed. Rev. 9:17, 18.

‘Horses’ and ‘those seated on them’ stand for a topsy-turvy and corrupted understanding of truth. ‘Breastplates of fire, violet, and brimstone’ stands for defence of falsities that arise from the evils of devilish kinds of love. In this instance therefore ‘fire’ stands for the hellish love of evil, and ‘violet’ for the hellish love of falsity. They are accordingly used in the contrary sense; for the majority of things in the Word also have a contrary meaning.
* lit. with perfections

sRef Ex@25 @4 S0′ 9467. ‘And purple’ means the celestial love of good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘purple’ as the celestial love of good, the reason why this love is meant by ‘purple’ being that by the colour red the good of celestial love is meant. For there are two basic colours from which all others are derived, the colour red and the colour white. The colour red means good which belongs to love, while the colour white means truth which belongs to faith. The reason why red means good belonging to love is that this colour exists before all else as fire, and fire means the good of love; and the reason why white means truth belonging to faith is that before all else that colour is light, and light means the truth of faith.

‘Fire’ means the good of love, see 5215, 6314, 6832, 6834, 6849, 7324, 9434.
‘Light’ means the truth of faith, 2776, 3195, 3636, 3643, 3993, 4302, 4413, 4415, 5400, 8644, 8707, 8861, 9399, 9407.
‘Red’ means the good of love, 3300.
‘White’ means the truth of faith, 3993, 4007, 5319.

[2] From all this it is evident what all other colours mean; for in the measure that they are derived from red they mean good belonging to love, and in the measure that they are derived from white they mean truth belonging to faith. All the colours that appear in heaven are modifications of heavenly light and flame, on those two levels. For heavenly light is real light; and essentially it is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good. Therefore modifications of that light and flame are different variations of truth and good, and so of intelligence and wisdom.

[3] All this now shows how it came about that the veils and curtains of the tent, and also Aaron’s garments, were to be woven out of violet, purple, twice-dyed scarlet, and linen thread, Exod. 25:4; 26:31, 36; 27:16; 28:6, 15, namely in order that celestial realities belonging to good and spiritual realities belonging to truth, which are the subject in what follows below, might be represented by them.

sRef Ezek@27 @7 S4′ [4] Good from a celestial origin is again meant by ‘purple’ in Ezekiel,

Fine linen with embroidered work from Egypt was your sail; violet and purple from the islands of Elishah was your covering. Ezek. 27:7.

This refers to Tyre, by which cognitions or knowledge of truth and good are meant. ‘Violet and purple covering’ stands for cognitions of truth and good from a heavenly origin.

sRef Rev@17 @4 S5′ sRef Rev@17 @3 S5′ sRef Luke@16 @19 S5′ [5] Similar things are meant by ‘purple and fine linen’ in Luke,

There was a certain rich man (homo) who was clothed in purple and fine linen and indulged in delicacies splendidly every day. Luke 16:19.

‘A rich man’ is used to mean in the internal sense the Jewish nation, and the Church there, which was said to be ‘rich’ because of the cognitions or knowledge of good and truth from the Word which existed there. Garments of ‘purple and fine linen’ are those cognitions, ‘of purple’ meaning cognitions of good, and ‘of fine linen’ cognitions of truth, both from a heavenly origin because they come from the Divine. ‘Purple’ also has a similar meaning in the Book of Revelation,

The woman sitting on a scarlet beast was clothed in purple and scarlet. Rev. 17:3, 4.

This refers to Babylon, which means the Church where the holy things of the Word are put to unholy ends, that is, to exercising control in heaven and on earth, and so to ends that spring from hellish self-love and love of the world.

sRef Ex@25 @4 S0′ 9468. ‘And twice-dyed scarlet’ means mutual love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘scarlet’ and ‘twice-dyed’ as celestial truth, which is the same thing as the good of mutual love. There are two kingdoms into which the angelic heaven is divided, the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom. In both there is an internal and an external, the internal in the celestial kingdom being the good of love to the Lord and the external the good of mutual love. This external good is what ‘twice-dyed scarlet’ serves to mean, ‘scarlet’ the actual good and ‘twice-dyed’ its truth. But in the spiritual kingdom the internal is the good of charity towards the neighbour and the external the good of obedience that is the product of faith. ‘Twice-dyed scarlet’ means the good of mutual love and its truth on account of its appearance in the next life; for when the sphere of that good and truth is revealed visually in the lowest heaven it appears there as the colour scarlet. For what comes down from the celestial heaven and appears on a lower level begins as flaming red but is turned into scarlet on the lower level by the whiteness of light in the middle heaven through which it passes. This explains why twice-dyed scarlet was to be used among the other colours on the curtains of the dwelling-place, Exod. 26:1, on the veil before the ark, Exod. 26:31, on the screen to the door of the tent, Exod. 26:36, on the screen to the gate of the court, Exod. 27:16, on the ephod, Exod. 28:6, on the belt, Exod. 28:8, on the breastplate of judgement, Exod. 28:15, and on the hem of the robe of the ephod, Exod. 28:33.

[2] The fact that ‘twice-dyed scarlet’ means the good of mutual love, which is the external good of the celestial kingdom or Church, is evident from the consideration that over the table where the loaves of the Presence were laid a twice-dyed scarlet cloth was to be spread, which was then to be covered with a covering of badger skin, Num. 4:8. The inmost things of the celestial kingdom or Church were meant by what lay on the table, chiefly the loaves, but more external things by its coverings. This also accounts for the order in which the materials that were to be gathered together are listed, that is to say, the inmost things, which were the violet and the purple, are mentioned first; the more external things, which were the twice-dyed scarlet, the fine linen, and the wool of she-goats, are mentioned secondly; and the completely external things, which were the skins of red rams and the skins of badgers, are mentioned last. The like applies everywhere else in what follows.

sRef 2Sam@1 @17 S3′ sRef 2Sam@1 @18 S3′ sRef 2Sam@1 @24 S3′ [3] Since external celestial good and its truth is meant by ‘twice-dyed scarlet’, this colour is used to portray the outward sense of the Word and teachings derived from it. The reason for this is that the Word is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good, appearing as flaming light in the inmost heaven and as brilliantly white light in the middle heaven.

[4] The Word and teachings derived from the Word are portrayed in this way in the second Book of Samuel,

David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan, and entitled it, To teach the children of Judah the bow. Daughters of Israel, weep over Saul who clothed you in twice-dyed delicately,* who placed an ornament of gold on your apparel. 2 Sam. 1:17, 18, 24.

‘Clothing in twice-dyed’ stands for providing with truths that go with the good of mutual love, thus with truths from a celestial origin. This prophetic utterance refers to teachings about faith separated from teachings about love and charity; that is to say, it refers to truths which are snuffed out by such a separation but are then restored by those teachings about love and charity. For by ‘the Philistines’, who killed Saul and Jonathan, are meant those who champion teachings about faith separated from teachings about love and charity, 3412, 3413, 8093, 8096, 8099, 8313; and ‘teaching the children of Judah the bow’ means providing those who are governed by the good of love and charity with the truths that compose religious teachings.

‘The children of Judah’ are those governed by the good of love, see 3654, 3881, 5583, 5603, 5782, 5794, 5833, 6363.
‘The bow’ is teachings that send out the truth, 2686, 2709.

sRef Lam@4 @5 S5′ sRef Jer@4 @30 S5′ [5] In Jeremiah,

You who have therefore been laid waste, what will you do? If you clothe yourself in twice-dyed, if you deck yourself with ornaments of gold, in vain will you make yourself beautiful. Jer. 4:30.

This refers to the Church when it has been laid waste. ‘Clothing oneself in twice-dyed and decking oneself with ornaments of gold’ means pointing out the truths of doctrine from a celestial origin and the good ways to live, consequently pointing out truths and aspects of good derived from the Word. Something similar occurs in the same prophet,

Those who ate delicacies are desolate** in the streets; those brought up in scarlet have embraced the dunghill. Lam. 4:5.

‘Being brought up in scarlet’ stands for receiving instruction since early childhood in the good of mutual love derived from the Word.

sRef Rev@18 @12 S6′ sRef Rev@17 @3 S6′ sRef Rev@18 @16 S6′ sRef Rev@17 @4 S6′ [6] Because those things contained in the outward sense of the Word appear in heaven as the colour scarlet, for the reason stated above, people who use the outward sense of the Word to substantiate falsities arising from the evils of selfish and worldly love, thus ideas contrary to truths and forms of the good of love to the Lord and of mutual love, are said to be clothed in purple and scarlet. For their externals, being from the Word, display such an appearance; but their internals are profane. Such things are meant by ‘scarlet’ in John,

I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names. She was clothed in purple and scarlet. Rev. 17:3, 4.

This refers to Babylon, which means a religion in which the holy things of the Word are made profane by the use of them to support false ideas that favour the devilish kinds of love, which are self-love and love of the world, and so to exercise control in heaven and on earth. Like things are also meant in another part of the same book, [where it is called,]

The great city, which was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and covered*** with gold and precious stones and pearls. Rev. 18:16.

Therefore also fine linen, purple, and scarlet are listed among Babylon’s wares in Rev. 18:12.

sRef Num@15 @38 S7′ sRef Num@15 @39 S7′ [7] Since the outward aspect of the Word appears in heaven as the colour scarlet, and since there is an influx from heaven into the human memory, in which the things derived from the Word appear in that shade of colour, scarlet was used with objects that served as a reminder of something, as in Moses,

The children of Israel shall make for themselves a fringe on the hems of garments, and they shall put on the fringe of the hem a violet**** thread, that by means of it they might remember all the commandments of Jehovah and do them.***** Num. 15:38, 39.

sRef Gen@38 @28 S8′ sRef Josh@2 @18 S8′ sRef Gen@38 @30 S8′ sRef Josh@2 @21 S8′ [8] For the same reason also it was customary in ancient times, when meaningful signs were in common use, to tie on a scarlet thread as the memorial or reminder of something, as one reads about Tamar’s son Zerah,****** on whose hand the midwife tied a twice-dyed thread, Gen. 38:28, 30, and about the prostitute Rahab, who tied a scarlet thread on the window, so that the spies would remember the promise, Josh. 2:18, 21.

sRef Lev@14 @6 S9′ sRef Lev@14 @52 S9′ sRef Lev@14 @51 S9′ sRef Num@19 @6 S9′ sRef Lev@14 @49 S9′ sRef Lev@14 @7 S9′ sRef Lev@14 @50 S9′ sRef Lev@14 @5 S9′ sRef Lev@14 @4 S9′ [9] Since a person cannot be released from evils and falsities except by means of the truths and forms of good that reside with the person from the Word, cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop were used in cleansings from leprosy, Lev. 14:4-7, 49-52. For ‘leprosy’ means truth when it has been rendered profane, and so has been falsified, 6963, and ‘being cleansed’ means being released from those ills by means of truths and forms of good which are derived from the Word. Scarlet was in like manner used in the preparation of the water of separation and expiation involving the red cow, Num. 19:6; the water of separation and expiation served as well to mean purification and release from evils and falsities by means of truths and forms of good that are derived from the Word.

sRef Isa@1 @18 S10′ [10] As the majority of things in the Word can have a contrary meaning, so too can ‘twice-dyed’ and ‘scarlet’. Then they mean falsities and evils, which are the opposites of those truths and forms of good, as in Isaiah,

Though your sins are like twice-dyed, they will be as white as snow. Though they are as red as scarlet, they will be like wool. Isa. 1:18.

The same applies to ‘red’, ‘blood’, ‘flame’, and ‘fire’. In the true sense they mean forms of the good of love and faith, but in the contrary sense the evils which are their opposites.
* lit. with delight
** lit. have been laid waste
*** lit. gilded
**** In the first Latin edition and in his rough draft Sw. uses the word which has been rendered scarlet in the present paragraph. But the Hebrew word is that which has been rendered violet above in 9466.
***** Most of this quotation is really a paraphrase of the Hebrew.
****** The Latin says Perez.

sRef Ex@25 @4 S0′ 9469. ‘And fine linen’ means the truth from this, that is to say, from the good which has a celestial origin. ‘Flax’ or ‘linen’ means truth, see 7601, and ‘fine linen’ means truth from the Divine, 5319; both kinds of truth exist in the natural man. ‘Fine linen’ means truth from a celestial origin because of its whiteness and softness.

sRef Ex@25 @4 S0′ sRef Ex@35 @26 S1′ sRef Ex@35 @25 S1′ 9470. ‘And wool of she-goats’ means the good from this, that is to say, from the good of mutual love. The reason why ‘wool of she-goats’ means this good is that ‘a she-goat’ means the good of innocence in the external or natural man, 3519, 7840, and therefore ‘wool’ means the truth belonging to that good. However, since not truth but good is meant, the original language does not actually say ‘wool of she-goats’, only ‘she-goats’, as is also the case in other places, such as in the following words in Exodus,

All the skilled* women brought what they had spun, violet, purple, twice-dyed scarlet, [and] fine linen thread; and all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun she-goats. Exod. 35:25, 26.

‘Spinning she-goats’ stands for producing things woven from the wool of she-goats.

sRef Hos@2 @5 S2′ sRef Hos@2 @9 S2′ [2] The fact that ‘wool’ means truth from a celestial origin, which in itself is good, is clear from places in the Word where the actual word is used, as in Hosea,

[Their mother has committed whoredom.] She said, I will go after my lovers, those giving me my bread and my water, my wool and my linen. Therefore I will return and take back My grain in its season, and I will snatch away My wool and My linen. Hosea 2:5, 9.

This refers to a corrupted Church, meant here by ‘mother’. ‘The lovers’ with whom she is said to have committed whoredom are those who pervert forms of good and truths. ‘Bread’ and ‘water’ mean internal forms of the good of love, and the internal truths of faith; ‘wool’ and ‘flax’ mean external ones.

sRef Dan@7 @9 S3′ sRef Rev@1 @13 S3′ sRef Rev@1 @14 S3′ [3] In Daniel,

I saw until thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days was seated. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool. Dan. 7:9.

This refers to the Church laid waste so far as every truth of faith was concerned, and then restored by the Lord, its having been completely laid waste being meant in the words ‘thrones were placed’. ‘The Ancient of Days’ is the Lord in respect of celestial good as this existed in the Most Ancient Church, which was a celestial Church. In the Word that good is called ‘ancient’, its external truth being meant by clothing which was ‘white as snow’, and its external good by hair of the head which was ‘like pure wool’. Similar words occur in John,

… in the midst of the seven lampstands one like the Son of Man. His head and hair were white, like white wool, like snow. Rev. 1:13, 14.

sRef Isa@1 @18 S4′ sRef Ezek@27 @18 S4′ [4] This kind of truth, being in itself good because it is the outward form of celestial good, is again meant by ‘wool’ in Ezekiel,

Damascus was your merchant in the wine of Helbon and the wool of Zachar.** Ezek. 27:18.

And in Isaiah,

Though your sins are like twice-dyed, they will be as white as snow. Though they are as red as scarlet, they will be as wool. Isa. 1:18.

sRef Ezek@44 @15 S5′ sRef Ezek@44 @18 S5′ sRef Ezek@44 @17 S5′ [5] Because Aaron’s garments represented the kinds of realities that belong to the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, thus the spiritual realities that belong to truth, his ‘holy garments’ were made of linen and not of wool. For ‘linen’ is spiritual truth, whereas ‘wool’ is celestial truth, which in comparison is good. On this account it says in Ezekiel,

The priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, when they enter the gates of the inner court they shall put on the linen garments, and no wool shall come upon them. The linen turbans shall be on their heads, the linen undergarments shall be over their loins. Ezek. 44:17, 18.

The fact that Aaron’s garments were made not of wool but of linen is clear from Lev. 16:4, 32.

sRef Deut@22 @11 S6′ [6] From all this it becomes clear that ‘linen’ means spiritual truth, which is the truth of the good of faith, whereas ‘wool’ means celestial truth, which is the truth of the good of love. And since those endued with the latter kind of truth cannot be endued with the former, because the two are as different as the light of the sun is from the light of the stars, it was laid down that no one should wear a garment made of wool and linen mixed together, Deut. 22:10, 11. The fact that between what is celestial and what is spiritual there is such a difference, and that both cannot be together in one and the same person, see the places referred to in 9277.
* lit. wise
** The Hebrew word which Sw., following the Latin version of Sebastian Schmidt, renders Zachar is not usually considered to be a proper name.

sRef Ex@25 @5 S0′ 9471. ‘And skins of red rams, and skins of badgers’ means the external truths and forms of good that contain them. This is clear from the meaning of ‘skins’ as external things, dealt with in 3540; from the meaning of ‘rams’ as the spiritual realities that belong to truth, dealt with in 2830, 4170; from the meaning of ‘red’ as good, dealt with in 3300, so that ‘skins of red rams’ are external truths emanating from good; and from the meaning of ‘badgers’ as forms of good. This meaning of ‘badgers’ is clear from the consideration that when truth is spoken of in the Word so too is good, on account of the heavenly marriage of truth and good, 9263, 9314; and therefore, since ‘skins of red rams’ means external truths emanating from good, ‘skins of badgers’ means actual forms of good. The reason why these truths and forms of good serve as containers is that all external things contain internal ones, as is also evident here from the use of those very skins, in that they served as coverings, the things covered by the badgers’ skins being holier than those covered by the rams’ skins, Exod. 26:14; Num. 4:6, 8, 10-12, 14.

sRef Isa@41 @19 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @5 S0′ 9472. ‘And pieces of shittim wood’ means good deeds worthy of merit that proceed from the Lord, and so are the Lord’s alone. This is clear from the meaning of ‘pieces of wood’ as the good of merit, dealt with in 1110, 2784, 2812, 4943, 8740. The good of merit is good proceeding from the Lord’s Divine Human, which is Christian good, or spiritual good present with a person. This good is the one by means of which a person is saved; for good which proceeds from any other source is not good since it has nothing of God in it, nor thus of heaven, nor therefore any health or salvation in it. Shittim wood was the wood of the most excellent kind of cedar, and ‘the cedar’ means the spiritual Church. The fact that shittim wood was a species of cedar is clear in Isaiah,

I will plant* in the wilderness the cedar of shittah, and the myrtle, and the oil tree.** Isa. 41:19.

Here ‘the cedar of shittah’ stands for spiritual good, ‘the oil tree’ for celestial good. Since the good worthy of merit, which is the Lord’s alone, is the one and only good that reigns in heaven and makes heaven, that wood was the one and only wood that was used in the construction of the tabernacle, by which heaven was represented. It was used for example to make the actual ark, which had the Testimony in it; its poles; the table on which the loaves of the Presence were laid, and its poles; the boards for the dwelling-place; the poles and the pillars of the covering; and also the altar and its poles, as is clear from verses 10, 13, 23, 28, of the present chapter, and from Exod. 26:15, 26, 37; 27:1, 6.
* lit. give
** lit. the wood of oil

sRef Ex@25 @6 S0′ 9473. ‘Oil for the light’ means internal good present within mutual love and charity. This is clear from the meaning of ‘oil’ as the good of love, dealt with in 886, 4582, 4638; and from the meaning of ‘the light’ as mutual love and charity. ‘The light’ is mutual love by virtue of the flame by which that love is meant, and it is charity by virtue of the heat and light from the flame. For spiritual heat is the good of charity, and spiritual light is the truth of faith.

[2] A brief statement must be made here about what internal good present within mutual love and within charity is. Nothing comes into being by itself, only from what is prior to itself, as is indeed so with truth and good. Anything from which something else comes into being is the internal; and the something else brought into being is the external of this internal. The situation with all things that come into being is without exception like that of cause and effect, in that no effect can be brought into being without an efficient cause; for the efficient cause is the internal of the effect, while the effect is the external of that cause. The situation with them is also like that of endeavour and motion, in that no motion can be brought into being without the endeavour; the motion depends so much on the endeavour that the instant the endeavour ceases to exist the motion ceases to exist. Consequently the internal of the motion is the endeavour or moving force. The situation is very similar to that of endeavour in the mind, which is the will, and motion in the body, which is action, in that no action can come into being without the will; the action depends so much on the will that the instant the will ceases to function the action ceases. Consequently the internal of the action is the will. From all this it is evident that in all things without exception there must be an internal if they are to come into being and then remain in being, and that without the internal they are not anything.

sRef Matt@23 @27 S3′ [3] The situation is the same as this with the good of love; unless it has internal good within it, it is not good. The internal good within the good of faith is the good of charity, which is spiritual good, whereas the internal good within the good of charity is the good of mutual love, which is external celestial good. But the internal good within the good of mutual love is the good of love to the Lord, which is also the good of innocence. This good is internal celestial good. The internal good however within the good of love to the Lord, that is, within the good of innocence, is the actual good that is Divine, emanating from the Lord’s Divine Human, and so is the Lord Himself. This good must be present within all other good if it is to be good; therefore no kind of good can exist unless its internal springs from the good that is Divine. Unless its internal springs from this it is not good but evil; for then it originates in the person himself, and that which emanates from the person is evil. This is so because in all the good he does the person has himself and also the world in view, and so not the Lord, nor heaven. If the Lord and heaven do enter into his thinking, they are for him only means that serve him in the attainment of personal position and gain. Those good deeds of his therefore are like white-washed sepulchres, which outwardly appear beautiful but inwardly are full of dead people’s bones and of all uncleanness, Matt. 23:27, 29.

sRef Ex@25 @6 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @27 S1′ sRef Ex@30 @30 S1′ sRef Ex@30 @28 S1′ sRef Ex@30 @29 S1′ sRef Ex@30 @31 S1′ sRef Ex@30 @24 S1′ sRef Ex@30 @26 S1′ sRef Ex@30 @23 S1′ sRef Ex@30 @25 S1′ 9474. ‘Spices for the anointing oil’ means internal truths belonging to the good that consecrates. This is clear from the meaning of ‘spices’ as interior truths, which are the truths of internal good, dealt with below; from the meaning of ‘oil’ as the good of love, as above in 9473; and from the meaning of ‘anointing’ as consecrating to serve as a representative sign. For objects which were to represent realities that were holy were anointed with oil smelling sweetly of spices and thereby consecrated, as is clear from these words later on in Exodus,

Take for yourself the chief spices – best myrrh, sweet-smelling cinnamon, sweet-scented cane, cassia, olive oil. Afterwards you shall make it a holy anointing oil, a perfect ointment;* a holy anointing oil it shall be. With it you shall anoint the tent, the ark of the Testimony, the table and all its vessels, the lampstand and its vessels, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and all its vessels, and the laver and its base. Thus shall you sanctify them, that they may be most holy.** And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons. Exod. 30:23-31.

The reason why objects were holy when they had been anointed was that they then represented realities that were holy; and from this it is evident that the anointing of something was the consecration of it to serve as a representative sign.

[2] The reason why oil was used for anointing was that oil was the sign of celestial good, and celestial good is the good of love received from the Lord, and consequently is the good of love to the Lord. This good is the indispensable element within every single aspect of heaven and eternal life. Sweet-smelling spices were used to make that oil sweet-scented, to the end that what was delightful might be represented; for ‘odour’ means perception, and ‘a pleasant and sweet odour’ means a delightful perception, see 925, 1514, 1517-1519, 3577, 4624-4634, 4748. And since every perception of good comes through truth, spices were used, by which interior truths are meant, 4748, 5621.

[3] Something more must be stated briefly about why the anointing oil and also the incense were to be made sweet-smelling. As stated above, ‘oil’ means the good of love, and ‘spice’ internal truth. But the good of love cannot come to be perceived except through truths; for truth bears witness to good, indeed is the revealer of it, and may be called the outward form of good. This is like the situation with human will and understanding, in that the will cannot make itself known except through the understanding. For the understanding takes to itself and reveals the good of the will; also the understanding is the outward form of the will, in addition to which truth belongs to the understanding and good to the will. From all this it becomes clear why the anointing oil was made to smell sweetly of spices, as also was the incense. But the difference between them is that the spicy smell of the anointing oil means the delightfulness of internal perception, whereas the spicy smell of incense means the delightfulness of external perception. For the spicy smell of the anointing oil was given off without any smoke, and so presented a sweet odour without any external appearance, whereas the spicy smell of incense was given off with the smoke.
* lit. ointment of ointment
** lit. the holy thing of holy things

sRef Ex@30 @3 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @9 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @10 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @6 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @2 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @8 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @6 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @1 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @7 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @4 S0′ sRef Lev@16 @13 S1′ sRef Ex@30 @37 S1′ sRef Lev@16 @12 S1′ sRef Ex@30 @34 S1′ sRef Ex@30 @35 S1′ sRef Ex@30 @36 S1′ 9475. ‘And for the incense of spices’ means for delightful perception. This is clear from the meaning of ‘incense’ as the things of worship that are perceived with delight, such as acts of thanksgiving, adoration, prayer, and the like; and from the meaning of ‘spices’ as truths of faith which are delightful because they originate in good. For sweet odours, such as spicy ones, mean that which is delightful; and whatever is delightful is such by virtue of the good made known through truths. So it is that ‘the incense of spices’ means the delightful perception that belongs to truth originating in good. The spices which went into the making of that incense are listed, and the preparation of it is described in the following words,

Take for yourself spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum – [these] spices, and pure frankincense. You shall make them an incense, salted, pure, holy. You shall beat some of it very small, and put some of it before the Testimony in the tent of meeting. Most holy* shall it be to you. The incense shall be to you holy for Jehovah. Exod. 30:34-38.

The altar of incense, along with the incense itself, is described as follows,

You shall make an altar for burning incense. You shall overlay it with pure gold. You shall put it before the veil that is over the ark of the Testimony before the mercy-seat, that Aaron may burn on it spicy incense every morning; when he trims the lamps he shall burn it, and between the evenings. Exod. 30:1-10; 37:25-end; 40:26, 27.

And elsewhere,

When Aaron comes into the Holy Place he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire** from upon the altar, with his hands full of spicy incense beaten fine.*** Then he shall bring it inside the veil, in order that he may put the incense onto the fire before Jehovah, and the cloud of incense may cover the mercy-seat which is over the Testimony. Lev. 16:12, 13.

[2] Since ‘incense’ meant acts of worship such as had their origin in good made known through truths, as do all expressions of faith that have their origin in the good of love, the fire was taken from the altar; for the fire on the altar meant the good of God’s love, 934, 4906, 5071 (end), 5215, 6314, 6832, 6834, 6849, 7324, 7852. On this account when fire had been taken from any other source they were struck down by a plague and died, Lev. 10:1, 2ff; Num. 16:45-48; for fire from any other source, or ‘foreign fire’, meant love that was not God’s.

sRef Rev@8 @4 S3′ sRef Rev@8 @3 S3′ sRef Rev@5 @8 S3′ sRef Ps@141 @2 S3′ [3] The fact that expressions of faith having their origin in the good of love and charity, for example thanksgivings, acts of adoration, and prayers, are meant by ‘incense’ is clear in David,

My prayers are acceptable, [as] incense before You. Ps. 141:2.

In John,

The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Rev. 5:8.

In the same book,

An angel holding a golden censer … And much incense was given to him, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. The smoke of the incense went up from the prayers of the saints. Rev. 8:3, 4.

sRef Jer@1 @16 S4′ sRef Ezek@16 @18 S4′ sRef Ezek@8 @11 S4′ sRef Deut@33 @10 S4′ sRef Hos@2 @13 S4′ sRef Mal@1 @11 S4′ [4] The reason why such expressions of faith are meant by ‘incense’ is that they are matters of thought and consequently of the lips. But matters of affection and consequently of the heart are meant by ‘the minchah’ in Malachi 1:11, where it says that from the rising of the sun even to its setting Jehovah’s name will be great among the nations, and ‘in every place incense has been offered to My name, and a pure minchah’; and the same things are meant by ‘the burnt offering’ in Moses,

The sons of Levi will teach Jacob Your judgements and Israel Your law. They will put incense in Your nose, and burnt offering on Your altar. Deut. 33:10.

‘Incense’ in these places stands for such things as are matters of thought and the lips and have regard to the truths of faith; ‘minchah’ and ‘burnt offering’ stand for such things as are matters of affection and the heart and have regard to forms of the good of love. All this being so, in the contrary sense worship arising from falsities of faith is meant by burning incense to other gods, Jer. 1:16; 44:3, 5; burning incense to idols, Ezek. 8:11; 16:18; and burning incense to the baalim, Hosea 2:13.
* lit. The holy thing of holy things
** lit. the fullness of a censer, burning coals of fire
*** lit. the fullness of his fists, spicy incense [beaten] fine

sRef Ezek@28 @15 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @7 S0′ sRef Ezek@28 @13 S0′ sRef Ezek@28 @12 S0′ 9476. ‘Shoham stones, and stones of fillings’ means spiritual truths and forms of good in general. This is clear from the meaning of ‘shoham stones’ as truths of faith that spring from love, or spiritual truths since the truths of faith that spring from love are spiritual truths; and from the meaning of ‘stones of fillings’ as forms of the good of faith, or spiritual forms of good. The reason why forms of the good of faith are meant by ‘stones of fillings’ and the truths of faith by ‘shoham stones’ is that the stones of fillings were for the breastplate, and ‘the breastplate’ on the ephod meant the good of faith or spiritual good, whereas the shoham stones went on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, and by ‘the shoulder-pieces of the ephod’ the truths of faith or spiritual truths are meant. For the meaning of precious stones in the Word as the truths and forms of the good of faith, or spiritual truths and forms of good, see 114, 643, 3858, 6335, 6640. And since the truths and forms of the good of faith are meant by precious stones, intelligence and wisdom are also meant by them; for intelligence grows out of the truths of faith, and wisdom out of forms of the good of faith. Such is the meaning in Ezekiel,

Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty, you were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was your covering – ruby, topaz, diamond, tarshish, shoham. Ezek. 28:12, 13, 15.

This refers to the king of Tyre, by whom intelligence that grows out of cognitions or knowledge of the truth of faith is meant, 1201.

sRef Ex@25 @7 S0′ 9477. ‘For the ephod and for the breastplate’ means which should be for a covering for celestial realities, external and internal. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the ephod’ as that which covers celestial good. For Aaron as a high priest represented the Lord in respect of the good of love, and his garments, especially his ephod, represented the truth of faith that springs from the good of love. The good of love is a celestial reality, and the truth of faith is its covering, since truths cover forms of good. This is why truths are meant in the Word by garments or clothes, 4545, 5248, 5319, 5954, 9093, 9212. For in heaven the celestial realities that belong to the good of love are represented as being naked, for which reason those belonging to the Lord’s celestial kingdom appear naked, whereas those belonging to the spiritual kingdom, namely those who have been brought by the Lord by means of the truths of faith to the good of charity, appear wearing clothes. This kingdom lies below the celestial kingdom, and what lies below is the covering for what is higher; for the lower is more external, the higher more internal, 2148, 3084, 4599, 5146, 8325. From this it is evident what ‘the ephod’ means when Aaron represents the Lord in respect of the Divine Celestial; for priests represented the Lord in respect of Divine Good, and kings in respect of Divine Truth, see 6148. But it should be recognized that ‘the ephod’ was the sign of the covering for external celestial realities, and ‘the breastplate’ the covering for internal celestial realities. But more will be stated later on about these, where the ephod and the breastplate, which had the Urim and Thummim in it, are the subject.

sRef Ex@25 @7 S0′ 9478. Verses 8, 9 And they are to make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. In accordance with all that I show you, the pattern of the dwelling-place and the pattern of all its vessels, just so you shall make it.

‘And they are to make Me a sanctuary’ means a representative of the Lord, and so of heaven. ‘That I may dwell in their midst’ means the Lord’s presence as a result in the representative Church. ‘In accordance with all that I show you, the pattern of the dwelling-place’ means a representative of heaven where the Lord is. ‘And the pattern of all its vessels’ means a representative of all the celestial and spiritual realities that He is the source of. ‘Just so you shall make it’ means a definite and true representative.

sRef Ex@25 @8 S0′ 9479. ‘And they are to make Me a sanctuary’ means a representative of the Lord, and so of heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a sanctuary’ as the Lord and as heaven, but at this point a representative of the Lord and heaven, since it was a tabernacle made of pieces of wood and covered all over with curtains, and this could not have been a sanctuary but for its representation. For ‘a sanctuary’ means holiness itself; and nothing is holy except what is Divine, thus the Lord alone, 9229. The reason why heaven is a sanctuary is that heaven is heaven by virtue of what is Divine there. For the angels there, so far as they draw on what is Divine and the Lord’s, constitute heaven; but so far as they draw on what is their own they do not constitute heaven. From this it is evident how the saying that the Lord is the All in all of heaven should be understood. For the Lord dwells with angels, and so in heaven, in what is His own, thus in what is Divine, see 9338 (end).

sRef Jer@17 @12 S2′ sRef Ezek@11 @16 S2′ sRef Isa@63 @15 S2′ [2] The fact that ‘a sanctuary’ in the highest sense means the Lord, because He alone is holy and that alone is holy which emanates from Him, and also the fact that ‘a sanctuary’ means heaven, and the Church as well, and that sanctuaries are those realities of which the Lord is the source in heaven and the Church, is clear from places in the Word where the words ‘sanctuary’ and ‘sanctuaries’ are used, as in Ezekiel,

The Lord Jehovih has said, I will scatter them into the lands, and I will be a little sanctuary for them in the lands to which they will come. Ezek. 11:16.

Here ‘a sanctuary’ stands for the Lord Himself, for ‘the Lord Jehovih’ and ‘Jehovah’ in the Word mean the Lord, 9373. In Isaiah,

Look out from the heavens, and see from the dwelling-place of your holiness and of Your glory. Isa. 63:15.

In Jeremiah,

Like a throne of glory, a height from eternity, [is] the place of the sanctuary. Jer. 17:12.

In these places ‘the dwelling-place of holiness’ and ‘the sanctuary’ stand for heaven.

sRef Lam@2 @7 S3′ sRef Lev@26 @31 S3′ sRef Lam@1 @10 S3′ sRef Isa@63 @18 S3′ sRef Ezek@24 @21 S3′ [3] In Isaiah,

But a little while, and they have possessed the people of Your holiness; our adversaries have trodden down Your sanctuary. Isa. 63:18.

In Jeremiah,

The nations have come into His sanctuary. Lam. 1:10.

In the same book,

The Lord has abandoned His altar, He has abominated His sanctuary. Lam. 2:7.

In Ezekiel,

The Lord Jehovih has said, Behold, I am about to profane My sanctuary, the pride* of your strength, the desire of your eyes. Ezek. 24:21.

In Moses,

I will make your cities a waste, and desolate your sanctuaries. Lev. 26:31.

In these places ‘the sanctuary’ stands for the Church, and ‘sanctuaries’ for things belonging to the Church. From all this it is clear how the tabernacle comes to be called the sanctuary, namely from the fact that heaven and the Church were represented by the tabernacle, and the Divine realities of which the Lord is the source in heaven and in the Church were represented by the holy things there.
* lit. magnificence

sRef Ex@25 @8 S0′ 9480. ‘That I may dwell in their midst’ means the Lord’s presence as a result in the representative Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘dwelling in the midst of’, when said of the Lord, as His presence. For ‘dwelling in’ means one’s being and life, 1293, 3384, 3613, 4451, and therefore ‘dwelling in the midst of’ means the presence of one’s being and life. The reason why in the representative Church is meant is that the Lord’s presence with that people was not within internal things, which are those of love and faith, but solely within the external things which represented those internal ones. Such was the nature of that presence, see 4311, and the places referred to in 9320 (end), 9380.

sRef Ex@25 @9 S0′ sRef Rev@4 @2 S1′ 9481. ‘In accordance with all that I show you, the pattern of the dwelling-place’ means a representative of heaven where the Lord is. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the pattern of the dwelling-place’ as a representative of heaven; for ‘the pattern’ means a representative, and ‘the dwelling-place’ means heaven. The reason why ‘the pattern’ means a representative is that Divine realities in heaven are also manifested in visible shapes, which are representatives. For the meaning of ‘the dwelling-place’ as heaven where the Lord is, see 8269, 8309. What the representatives that appear in heaven are like is clear in the prophets, for example in John’s Book of Revelation, in which he describes lampstands, Chapter 1:12ff; a throne with twenty-four thrones around it, and four living creatures before the throne, Chapter 4:2ff; a book sealed with seven seals, Chapter 5; horses going out when the seals were opened, Chapter 6; angels who are clothed in various ways and have bowls, Chapters 9, 10, 15, 16; a white horse, Chapter 19; and at length a new Jerusalem, its walls, gates, foundations, height, breadth, and length, Chapters 21, 22. Similar sights are also described by other prophets.

[2] All those sights are representatives such as appear unceasingly in heaven before angels’ eyes, manifesting in visible shapes the Divine celestial realities that belong to the good of love and the Divine spiritual realities that belong to the good of faith. Such realities taken all together were represented by the tabernacle and its contents, that is, the ark itself, the table on which loaves were laid, the altar of incense, the lampstand, and everything else. Therefore when these objects, being outward forms of Divine celestial and spiritual realities, were beheld by the people while they were engaged in holy acts of worship, such realities as were represented by those objects were brought to notice in heaven. These, as stated above, were the Divine celestial realities that belong to the good of love to the Lord and the Divine spiritual realities that belong to the good of faith in the Lord. All the representatives of that Church had that kind of effect in heaven. It should be realized that a person always has spirits and angels present with him and that a person cannot live without them. It should likewise be realized that through them the person is linked to the Lord, and that in this way the human race, and heaven too, is kept in being. From this one can see what purpose was served by the representatives and also the ritual observances of the Church established among the Israelite nation. One can also see what purpose is served by the Word, in which all things mentioned in the sense of the letter correspond to Divine realities that exist in heaven, thus in which all the objects mentioned are representative and all the words used carry a spiritual meaning. This is what brings about the linking of a person to heaven, and through heaven to the Lord. Without that link the person would have no life whatever, for without being linked to the actual Essential Being (Esse) of life, from which the Coming-into-Being (Existere) of life emanates, no one has life.

[3] But these considerations are unintelligible to those who think that life exists essentially in a person himself and that a person lives without spirits or angels, thus without influx from the Divine by way of heaven. But in actual fact anything that is not linked to the Divine perishes and ceases to exist. Indeed nothing can ever come into being without that which is prior to itself, thus without the Divine, who is the First and is self-existent Being (Esse) or Jehovah; nor consequently can it remain in being, for remaining in being is constant coming-into-being. Because ‘the dwelling-place’ means heaven where the Lord is, it also means the good of love and faith, since these compose heaven; and because all good comes from the Lord, and heaven is called heaven by virtue of its love to and faith in the Lord, ‘the dwelling-place’ also means in the highest sense the Lord, as is evident in Isa. 63:15; Jer. 25:30; Ezek. 37:26, 27; Ps. 26:8; 43:3; 90:1; 91:9; Exod. 15:13; Deut. 12:5, 11; and other places. From this it is clear that the tabernacle was called Jehovah’s sanctuary and dwelling-place for the reason that it represented the realities mentioned above.

sRef Ex@25 @9 S0′ 9482. ‘And the pattern of all its vessels’ means a representative of all the celestial and spiritual realities that the Lord is the source of. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the pattern’ as a representative, as immediately above in 9481; and from the meaning of ‘vessels’ as truths, dealt with in 3068, 3079, 3316, 3318, at this point the celestial and spiritual realities that the Lord is the source of, since the word ‘vessels’ implies all the objects that were within and constituted the tabernacle, and these mean celestial and spiritual realities when the actual ‘tabernacle’ means heaven where the Lord is, 9479, and ‘the Testimony’ within the ark means the Lord Himself.

sRef Ex@25 @9 S0′ 9483. ‘Just so you shall make it’ means a definite and true representative. This is clear from the meaning of ‘so make it’, when this verb is used a second time and serves to end the sentence, as something definite and true.

sRef Ex@25 @13 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @12 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @14 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @15 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @10 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @11 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @16 S0′ 9484. Verses 10-16 And they are to make an ark of shittim wood; two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. And you shall overlay it with pure gold, on the inside and on the outside you shall overlay it; and you shall make on it a rim of gold round about. And you shall cast four rings of gold for it, and put them on its four corners; and two rings shall be on one side of it and two rings on the other side of it. And you shall make poles of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry the ark on them. The poles must be in the rings of the ark; they must not be removed from it. And you shall put into the ark the Testimony which I shall give you.

‘And they are to make an ark’ means the inmost heaven. ‘Of shittim wood’ means righteousness. ‘Two cubits and a half shall be its length’ means all so far as good is concerned. ‘And a cubit and a half its breadth’ means what is complete so far as truth is concerned. ‘And a cubit and a half its height’ means what is complete so far as degrees are concerned. ‘And you shall overlay it with pure gold’ means that all those aspects must be founded on good. ‘On the inside and on the outside you shall overlay it’ means everywhere. ‘And you shall make on it a rim of gold round about’ means a border of good, serving to defend them from the approach of evils and the harm these can do. ‘And you shall cast four rings of gold for it’ means Divine Truth joined to Divine Good, which lie in every direction round about. ‘And put them on its four corners’ means firmness. ‘And two rings shall be on one side of it and two rings on the other side of it’ means the marriage of truth to good and of good to truth. ‘And you shall make poles of shittim wood’ means power derived from this. ‘And overlay them with gold’ means good in all directions. ‘And you shall put the poles into the rings’ means the power of the Divine sphere. ‘On the sides of the ark’ means in the outermost parts. ‘To carry the ark on them’ means thereby bringing heaven into being and keeping it in being. ‘The poles must be in the rings of the ark’ means that the power must be established by the Divine sphere of goodness and truth. ‘They must not be removed from it’ means everlastingly and unalterably so. ‘And you shall put into the ark the Testimony’ means Divine Truth, which is the Lord in heaven. ‘Which I shall give you’ means its representative.

sRef Ex@25 @10 S0′ sRef Ps@132 @8 S1′ sRef Ps@132 @6 S1′ sRef Ps@132 @7 S1′ 9485. ‘And they are to make an ark’ means the inmost heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘an ark’ as the inmost heaven; for ‘the Testimony’ or ‘the Law’ in the ark means the Lord, the reason for this being that ‘the Testimony’ is Divine Truth, and Divine Truth is the Lord in heaven, see below in 9503. So this then is why ‘an ark’ means the inmost heaven. The ark was therefore a most holy object, and it was worshipped by the people as Jehovah since Jehovah was thought to dwell there, between the cherubs, as is clear in David,

We heard [of Him] in Ephrathah. We will enter His dwelling-place, we will bow down at His footstool. Arise, O Jehovah, to Your resting-place, You and the ark of Your strength. Ps. 132:6-8.

This refers to the Lord, Ephrathah being Bethlehem, where the Lord was born, Micah 5:2; Matt. 2:6. ‘Dwelling-place’ means heaven where the Lord is; and ‘You and the ark of Your strength’ means the Lord and a representative of Him.

sRef Jer@3 @14 S2′ sRef Jer@3 @17 S2′ sRef Jer@3 @16 S2′ [2] The fact that the ark is a representative of the Lord is evident in Jeremiah,

I will bring you back to Zion. In those days they will say no more The ark of the covenant; neither will it come to mind,* nor will they make mention of it, nor will they desire it, nor will it be restored any more. At that time they will call Jerusalem the throne of Jehovah, and all the nations will be gathered to it, because of Jehovah’s name, to Jerusalem. Jer. 3:14, 16, 17.

This refers to a new Church. The representative of the former Church, which representative is to be done away with at that time, is meant by ‘the ark’, which will not be spoken of any more, come to mind, or be restored – ‘Jerusalem’, to which the nations will be gathered, being that new Church. From this it evident that ‘the ark’ means a representative of the Lord and the worship of Him in the Church, in the same way as ‘the continual [sacrifice]’ and ‘the dwelling-place of [His] sanctuary’ do in Daniel 8:11.

sRef Num@10 @34 S3′ sRef Num@10 @35 S3′ sRef Num@10 @33 S3′ sRef Num@10 @36 S3′ sRef 2Sam@6 @2 S3′ [3] The fact that the ark was worshipped as Jehovah by the Israelite and Jewish people and the fact that He was thought to dwell there, between the cherubs, is evident in the second Book of Samuel,

David caused the ark of God to go up, [the ark] on which His name is invoked – the name of Jehovah Zebaoth, who sits above it on the cherubs. 2 Sam. 6:2.

And in Moses,

Whenever the ark travelled Moses said, Arise, O Jehovah, let Your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate You flee before Your face. Whenever it came to rest he said, Return, O Jehovah, to the myriads of the thousands of Israel. Num. 10:33-36.

The reason why the inmost heaven was meant by ‘the ark’ was that all the tabernacle or tent represented the whole angelic heaven, the lowest part of it being represented by the court, the middle part of it by the dwelling-place where the priest ministered, and the inmost by the dwelling-place inside the veil where the ark containing the Testimony was.
* lit. nor will it come up onto the heart

sRef Ex@25 @10 S0′ sRef Isa@59 @16 S1′ sRef Isa@63 @5 S1′ sRef Isa@59 @17 S1′ sRef Isa@63 @2 S1′ sRef Isa@63 @1 S1′ sRef Isa@63 @4 S1′ sRef Isa@63 @3 S1′ 9486. ‘Of shittim wood’ means righteousness. This is clear from the meaning of ‘shittim wood’ as the good of merit which is the Lord’s alone, dealt with above in 9472, and therefore also righteousness, which is the good of merit. For by His own power the Lord restored the whole of heaven to order and subdued the hells, and at the same time made Divine the Human within Himself; therefore to Him belong merit and righteousness. For this reason the one and only good that reigns in heaven and that makes heaven is the Lord’s good of merit and His righteousness, thus His Divine Human since This was made merit and righteousness. The fact that the Lord accomplished these things by His own power is clear in Isaiah,

Who is this who comes from Edom? I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save. I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples not a man (vir) was with Me. I looked around, but there was no helper, and I wondered, but there was no one to uphold; therefore My own arm brought salvation to Me. Isa. 63:1-5.

In the same prophet,

He saw that there was no man (vir), and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore His own arm brought salvation to Him, and His righteousness lifted Him up. He put on righteousness as a breastplate. Isa. 59:16, 17.

sRef John@10 @17 S2′ sRef Jer@23 @6 S2′ sRef John@10 @18 S2′ [2] In Jeremiah,

This is His name which they will call Him, Jehovah our Righteousness. Jer. 23:6; 33:15, 16.

And in John,

I lay down My life,* so that I may receive it again. No one takes it from Me, I lay it down of Myself; I have power to lay it down and I have power to receive it again. John 10:17, 18.

From these places it is evident that the Lord in His Divine Human possesses merit and righteousness acquired by Himself. Since ‘the ark’ means heaven where the Lord is, shittim wood, by which that good is meant, was used in the making of it; for ‘wood’ in general means good, 643, 3720, 8354. This explains why people who assume that merit lies in works are seen in the next life to be cutting wood, under which there is something of the Lord, 1110, 4943, 8740. And so it is that ‘splitting pieces of wood for a burnt offering’ means the good of merit, or good belonging to works, 2784, 2812.
* lit. soul

sRef Ex@25 @10 S0′ 9487. ‘Two cubits and a half shall be its length’ means all so far as good is concerned. This is clear from the meaning of ‘two and a half’ as much and as what is complete, and as all when this number has reference to something Divine (the reason why ‘two and a half’ means much and what is complete is that this number is similar in meaning to five, ten, a hundred, and a thousand, since twice two and a half makes five, twice five makes ten, and ten times ten makes a hundred; for doubles and multiples have a similar meaning to the simple numbers of which they are the products, 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973. For the meaning of ‘five’ as much and completeness, see 5708, 5956, 9102; likewise ‘ten’, 3107, 4638; also ‘a hundred’, 2636, 4400; and a thousand, 2575, 8715. So it is that when these numbers are used in reference to something Divine they mean all); and from the meaning of ‘length’ as good, dealt with in 1613, 8898. [2] To say that ‘length’ in the Word means good and ‘breadth’ truth may seem to be like nonsense; nevertheless this is indeed what they mean. The reason why they do so is that all things without exception in the Word mean realities such as belong to heaven and to the Church, and so such as are connected with the good of love and with the truth of faith. No spatial dimensions such as ‘length’ and ‘breadth’ imply can be attributed to these; but instead of spatial dimensions the state of their essential being (esse), which is a state of good, and the resulting state of manifestation (existere), which is a state of truth, can be attributed to them. Furthermore in heaven spatial dimensions are appearances produced by those states, 4882, 9440. From all this it becomes clear that spiritual realities are meant by the measurements and dimensions given in Chapters 40-48 of Ezekiel, where a new temple and a new land are the subject. They are consequently meant here in Exodus, where the ark, the dwelling-place, the court, the tables there, and the altars are the subject. Such realities are in a similar way meant where the temple in Jerusalem is the subject, also when it says that the holy Jerusalem coming down from heaven was square, its breadth being as great as its length, Rev. 21:16; Zech. 2:1, 2. For ‘Jerusalem’ means a new Church, the character of its good being meant by the measurement of its length, and the character of its truth by that of its breadth.

sRef Isa@8 @8 S3′ sRef Ps@118 @5 S3′ sRef Hab@1 @6 S3′ sRef Ps@31 @8 S3′ [3] The fact that ‘breadth’ or ‘broad place’ means truth is plainly evident in David,

In distress I called on Jah; He answered me in a broad place. Ps. 118:5.

In the same author,

You have made my feet stand in a broad place. Ps. 31:8.

In Isaiah,

The outstretchings of Asshur’s wings will fill the breadth of the land. Isa. 8:8.

In Habakkuk,

I am rousing the Chaldeans, a bitter and hasty nation, marching* into the breadths of the earth. Hab. 1:6.

‘Marching into the breadths of the earth’, when said of the Chaldeans, means destroying the truths of faith.
* lit. walking

sRef Ex@25 @10 S0′ 9488. ‘And a cubit and a half its breadth’ means what is complete so far as truth is concerned. This is clear from the meaning of ‘one and a half’ as what is complete, the reason why this number means what is complete being that ‘three’ has this meaning (for the half of a number is similar in meaning to the whole number, because a number that results from multiplication keeps the same meaning as a simple number of which it is the product through multiplication, 5291, 5335. Regarding ‘three’, that it means what is complete, see 2788, 7715, 9198; and that all numbers in the Word mean spiritual realities, 482, 487, 575, 647, 648, 755, 813, 1963, 1988, 2075, 2252, 3252, 4264, 4495, 4670, 5265, 5291, 5335, 5708, 6175, 7973); and from the meaning of ‘breadth’ as truth, dealt with immediately above in 9487.

sRef Ex@25 @10 S0′ 9489. ‘And a cubit and a half its height’ means what is complete so far as degrees are concerned. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a cubit and a half’ as what is complete, dealt with immediately above in 9488; and from the meaning of ‘height’ as degrees so far as good and so far as truth are concerned. The reason why ‘height’ has this meaning is that all good and the truth derived from it emanates from the Lord, and the Lord is in the highest place of all, and therefore is called the Most High, 8153. For He is the Sun of heaven, 5097, 8812, and that Sun is above the heavens; it is also the centre from which the whole of heaven that is underneath is brought into being and kept in being. All heights in heaven, measured from its Sun as the centre, are differences in good and the truth derived from it. Consequently those in the inmost heaven are closer to the Lord, because they are governed by the good of love to Him, thus are governed by good more than all others are. Those in the middle heaven are further away from there because they are governed by a lower kind of good, and those in the lowest are still further away. But those in hell are altogether remote from the Lord, because they are ruled by evil and the falsity arising from it. They do not even look towards the Sun, but backwards, away from the Sun. When regarded by the angels therefore, they appear in an upside down position, feet upwards and head downwards. Now since distances and spatial dimensions in the next life are appearances determined by states of good and the truth derived from it, 9440, ‘height’ in the spiritual sense means degrees so far as good and so far as truth are concerned, that is, degrees away from the Most High, who is the Lord and so Divine Good itself.

sRef Ezek@31 @7 S2′ sRef Ezek@31 @5 S2′ sRef Ezek@31 @3 S2′ sRef Jer@31 @12 S2′ [2] From this it is clear what ‘height’ means in the following places, as in Jeremiah,

They will come and sing on the height of Zion, and converge towards the goodness of Jehovah; and their soul will be like a watered garden. Jer. 31:12.

Here ‘the height of Zion’ stands for celestial good, which is the level of good above spiritual good. The meaning of ‘height’ as good is what accounts for the statement that they will ‘converge towards the goodness of Jehovah’. In Ezekiel,

Asshur was a cedar in Lebanon. Its height was made high, and its branches were made long by many waters. It was beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches. Ezek. 31:3, 5, 7.

‘Asshur’ stands for an enlightened power of reason, ‘a cedar in Lebanon’ for the spiritual Church, ‘its height’ for the degree of good.

sRef Ezek@20 @40 S3′ sRef Ezek@17 @23 S3′ [3] In the same prophet,

On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it. Ezek. 17:23.

Again in the same prophet,

On My holy mountain, and on the mountain height of Israel, all the house of Israel will serve Me. Ezek. 20:40.

‘The mountain height of Israel’ stands for the highest degree of good and of the truth derived from it among those belonging to the spiritual Church. Since most things in the Word have a contrary meaning as well, so too does ‘height’. In the contrary sense it means the evil of self-love, and so haughtiness of mind, as in Isa. 14:14; Ezek. 31:10, 14; 32:5; Amos 2:9; Dan. 4:11, 20; and a number of other places. Another reason why ‘height’ means degrees so far as good and the truth derived from it are concerned is that what is ‘high’ means what is internal, and good becomes by degrees more perfect towards more internal parts. For the meaning of what is ‘high’ as what is internal, see 1735, 2148, 4210, 4599.

sRef Ex@25 @11 S0′ 9490. ‘And you shall overlay it with pure gold’ means that all those aspects must be founded on good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘overlaying’ – when the subject is heaven, meant by ‘the ark’ – as founding on, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘gold’ as good, dealt with in 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917. The reason why ‘overlaying’ means founding on is that good emanating from the Lord as the Sun (for the heat from that Sun is the good of love) surrounds heaven not merely as a general whole but also every heavenly community within heaven specifically, and each angel individually too, and thereby protects them from the intrusion of evil from hell. That which surrounds in heaven serves to stabilize it; for heaven rests against it like a house on its foundation and like the surfaces of the body against the lower and upper layers of air bearing down around them. For that which surrounds also bounds, confines, and contains, and in so doing supports and sustains. From all this it is evident that ‘overlaying’ means founding on, and ‘overlaying with gold’ founding on good.

sRef Ex@25 @11 S0′ 9491. ‘On the inside and on the outside you shall overlay it’ means everywhere. This is clear from the meaning of ‘on the inside and on the outside’ as everywhere, that is to say, round about since it says ‘you shall overlay it’. For the inner material that was overlaid with gold was shittim wood, and ‘shittim wood’ means the good itself that proceeds from the Lord’s Divine Human, 9472, 9486. But on the outside and on the inside there was gold, which too means good, but such as appears to the senses, and so in comparison is external. By everywhere round about, ‘on the inside and on the outside’ – when these words have reference to heaven, meant by ‘the ark’ – heaven in general and every heavenly community in particular are meant, heaven in general being meant by ‘on the outside’ and heavenly communities by ‘on the inside’ since they lie within heaven.

sRef Ex@25 @11 S0′ 9492. ‘And you shall make on it a rim of gold round about’ means a border of good, serving to defend them from the approach of evils and the harm these can do. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a rim’ as a border, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘gold’ as good, dealt with just above in 9490. The reason why to defend them from the approach of evils and the harm these can do is meant is that the good emanating from the Lord serves to protect those in heaven from being approached and harmed by evils that spring from hell. For unceasingly the hells are bent on doing ill and try to destroy heaven, 8295, which accounts for their looking like something that is boiling up and bubbling over, 8209. For firmly lodged in the minds of those who are in hell there is hatred of the neighbour and hatred of God; and because of this they are filled with rage when they become aware of the bliss of those who are upright, 1974. But the good emanating from the Lord which surrounds heaven as a whole, also every heavenly community and each individual inhabitant specifically, protects them and wards off attacks; and it does so unceasingly. Regarding ‘the sphere of endeavours’ emanating constantly from the hells to do ill and to destroy, and ‘the sphere of endeavours’ emanating constantly from the Lord to do good and to protect, see 8209. That border of good with which the Lord protects heaven is meant by the rim of gold round about the ark.

sRef Ex@25 @12 S0′ 9493. ‘And you shall cast four rings of gold for it’ means Divine Truth joined to Divine Good, which lie in every direction round about. This is clear from the meaning of ‘rings’ as the joining together of good and truth, at this point the joining of Divine Truth to Divine Good, since ‘the ark’ means heaven where the Lord is, see below in 9496. The reason why the rings were four was that this number means a joining together, 1686, 8877, and the reason why they were made of gold was that ‘gold’ means good, 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, good being what truth is joined to, since the good is so to speak the soil and the truth so to speak the seed.

sRef Ex@25 @12 S0′ sRef Ps@118 @22 S1′ sRef Zech@10 @4 S1′ sRef Isa@28 @16 S1′ 9494. ‘And put them on [its] four corners’ means firmness. This is clear from the meaning of ‘corners’ as strength and firmness, the reason why this is meant by ‘corners’ being that the greatest resistance [to pressure] resides there, and also the whole is bonded together there. Because ‘corner’ means strength and firmness such as Divine Truth derived from Divine Good possesses, the Lord is called ‘the corner-stone’: In David,

The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner. Ps. 118:22; Matt. 21:42.

And in Zechariah,

From Judah will be the corner-stone, from him the tent-peg, and from him the battle-bow. Zech. 10:4.

Also in Isaiah,

The Lord Jehovih will lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tested stone, a precious corner-stone, surely founded. Isa. 28:16.

In these places ‘corner’ in like manner stands for the firmness of teachings which consist of truth that is derived from good.

sRef Jer@51 @26 S2′ sRef Ex@27 @2 S2′ [2] In Jeremiah,

Nor are they to take from you a stone for a corner, or a stone for foundations. Jer. 51:26.

Because firmness is meant by ‘corners’ horns were placed on the four corners of the altar, regarding which the following is stated in Moses,

You shall make the horns of the altar on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it.* Exod. 27:2.

‘The horns’ are the power of truth derived from good, thus its strength and firmness, see 2832, 9081.

sRef Num@24 @17 S3′ sRef Jer@48 @45 S3′ [3] ‘The corners’ again means strength and power in Jeremiah,

Fire has gone out of Heshbon, which has devoured the corners of Moab. Jer. 48:45.

And in Moses,

A star will arise out of Jacob, and a sceptre rise up out of Israel, which will crush the corners of Moab. Num. 24:17.

‘Moab’, whose power was going to be destroyed, stands for those who adulterate the Church’s forms of good, 2468, their ‘corners’ standing for the power of falsity that results from the adulterated forms of good. Since power and strength are meant by ‘the corners’ those who lack the power of truth derived from good are called the cut off of the corner,** Jer. 9:26; 25:23. What the meaning is when ‘corners’ refers to the four quarters or winds, see below in 9642.
* lit. shall be from (or out of) it
** This expression is generally thought to mean men whose hair is cut in a particular way. Another understanding of it is those in a remote corner of the desert or on the edge of civilization.

sRef Ex@25 @12 S0′ 9495. ‘And two rings shall be on one side of it and two rings on the other side of it’ means the marriage of truth to good and of good to truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘rings’ as the joining together or marriage of good and truth, as above in 9493, a marriage that is reciprocal, that is to say, one in which truth is joined to good and good is joined to truth. Some idea of this marriage may be gained from the way in which heart and lungs are joined together. The heart joins itself to the lungs, and the lungs in turn join themselves to the heart; for the heart sends blood out from the right side of itself into the lungs, and the lungs in turn send it back into the heart, but into its left side, and so on unceasingly. Analogous to all this is the marriage of good to truth and of truth to good in heaven, where also the heart corresponds to good belonging to love, while the lungs correspond to truth belonging to faith, 3883-3896, 9300. The reason why two rings were to be on one side and two rings on the other side was that ‘two’ means a joining together, 1686, 5194, 8423, and ‘side’ means good which must be joined to truth, in order that the power referred to in the next paragraph may be derived from it.

sRef Ex@25 @13 S0′ 9496. ‘And you shall make poles of shittim wood’ means power derived from this. This is clear from the meaning of ‘poles’ as the power which truth from good possesses, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘shittim wood’ as the good of merit that is the Lord’s alone, dealt with above in 9472, 9486. Here it must now be stated what it was that enabled the ark and the dwelling-place to represent heaven, and at the same time the rim of the ark to represent a border, the corners firmness, the rings the joining of good to truth, and the poles power. It has been shown that the whole natural system, thus every single thing existing in true order there, is representative of the Lord’s kingdom, that is, of heaven and heavenly realities present there, 9280. It has also been shown that the whole of heaven resembles a human being, and that for this reason heaven has been called the Grand Man, 9276 (end). From this it now follows that all objects which serve to represent heavenly realities correlate with the human form, and that they carry spiritual meanings according to their similarity to that form.

[2] From this it is now evident how the ark can come to mean heaven where the Lord is, the rim on it to mean a border, the sides to mean good to which truth must be joined, the corners to mean firmness, the rings to mean the actual joining together, and the poles to mean power. For the poles resemble a person’s arms and therefore also have a similar meaning to the arms; the rings resemble the ginglymi or sockets where the arms are linked to the breast; the corners resemble the actual protrusions where that link is made; the sides resemble the chest cavity or thorax, and the rim resembles the [shoulder-]girdle which forms a border for it. From this it becomes clear that power is meant by ‘poles’, as it is by ‘arms’ (for the meaning of ‘arms’ and ‘hands’ as power, see 878, 4931-4937, 5327, 5328, 6292, 6947, 7188, 7189, 7205, 7518, 7673, 8050, 8153, 8281, 9025, 9133); and that the same thing is meant by ‘the sides’ as by the chest or thorax of the body, namely good, since the chest contains the heart and lungs, and ‘the heart’ means celestial good and ‘the lungs’ spiritual good, 3883-3896, 9300. From all this it is evident that by ‘rings’ the same thing is meant as by ginglymi or joints which join the chest to the shoulders, and the shoulders to the arms, namely the joining of good to truth, and that firmness is meant by ‘the corners’, for the strength of the body is exerted there, and the body is equipped with strength and power through the arms. From all this one may recognize how it comes about that natural objects which are inanimate can represent the same realities as ones that are animate, that is, as parts of the human body. That is to say, it comes about because heaven resembles a human being, and the things present in heaven resemble those that exist in the human being, as may be seen from what has been shown at great length regarding the correspondence of the human being with the Grand Man or heaven. See the places referred to in 9276 (end).

sRef Jer@49 @31 S3′ sRef Ps@147 @12 S3′ sRef Lam@2 @9 S3′ sRef Ezek@38 @11 S3′ sRef Amos@1 @5 S3′ sRef Isa@45 @2 S3′ sRef Ps@147 @13 S3′ sRef Jer@51 @30 S3′ sRef Hos@11 @6 S3′ [3] Just as the poles which were used to carry the ark meant power, so did the poles or bars which were used to secure the gates of cities, as is clear from the following places: In Hosea,

The sword falls on its cities, and consumes its bars. Hosea 11:6.

‘The sword’ stands for truth battling against falsity, ‘cities’ for matters of doctrine, and ‘bars’ for power. In Isaiah,

For your sake I have sent to Babel, and I will break down all the bars. Isa. 43:14.

In Jeremiah,

The mighty ones of Babel are seated in strongholds; their power has been destroyed.* Its bars have been broken. Jer. 51:30.

In Amos,

I will break the bar of Damascus. Amos 1:5.

In Isaiah,

I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut asunder the bars of iron. Isa. 45:2.

Similar words occur in David, Ps. 107:16. In Jeremiah,

It has no gates or bars; they dwell alone. Jer. 49:31.

In Ezekiel,

They all dwell without a wall;** they do not have bars and gates. Ezek. 38:11.

In Jeremiah,

Her gates have sunk into the earth, He has destroyed and broken in pieces her bars. Lam. 2:9.

In David,

Praise your God, O Zion! For He strengthens the bars of your gates. Ps. 147:12, 13.

In these places matters of doctrine are meant by ‘cities’, 2449, 2712, 3216, 4492, 4493, firmness and protection by ‘gates’, and the power which belongs to truth derived from good by ‘bars’. The fact that all power belongs to truth, but to truth that is derived from good, see 6344, 6423, 8200, 8304, 9133, 9327, 9410.
* lit. given to oblivion
** i.e. they live in villages which do not have walls around them

sRef Ex@25 @13 S0′ 9497. ‘And overlay them with gold’ means good in all directions. This is clear from the meaning of ‘overlaying’ as placing all round, thus in all directions; and from the meaning of ‘gold’ as good, both dealt with above in 9490.

sRef Ex@25 @14 S0′ 9498. ‘And you shall put the poles into the rings’ means the power of the Divine sphere. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the poles’ as power, dealt with just above in 9496; and from the meaning of ‘the rings’ as Divine Truth joined to Divine Good, which lie in every direction round about, also dealt with above, in 9493, thus the Divine sphere which surrounds and embraces heaven as a whole, and every heavenly community and actual angel specifically, in accord with what has been shown already in 9490, 9492. For Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good should not be envisaged as speech and its passage into an ear but rather as a sphere emanating from the sun, which gradually diminishes in heat and brightness as it gets further away from the sun, and eventually becomes so moderated that it is accommodated to angels’ ability to receive it. Within this sphere, but far away from the sun on account of its heat and brightness, lies the angelic heaven. That sphere also extends outside heaven, right on into hell; those there however do not receive it in the right way but turn it into the opposite. From this it becomes clear what should be understood by the Divine sphere which embraces and contains heaven, namely Divine Truth emanating in that manner from the Lord’s Divine Good, consequently Divine Truth joined to Divine Good, which lies in every direction round about heaven and round about those who are in heaven. The heat emanating from the Lord as the Sun there is the Divine Good of His Divine Love, accommodated to the ability of the angels in heaven to receive it; and the light emanating from the Lord as the Sun is the Divine Truth of His Divine Good. Both that heat and light however are called the Divine Truth emanating from the Lord.

sRef Ex@25 @14 S0′ 9499. ‘On the sides of the ark’ means in the outermost parts. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the sides of the ark’ as the Divine sphere surrounding heaven in the outermost parts, for sides are borders, in this instance the borders of heaven. But outermost parts and borders in heaven are different from outermost parts and borders in the world, in that in the world they have to do with things that are spatial, but in heaven they have to do with forms of good joined to truths. Divine Good joined to Divine Truth, which serves as the outermost part, border, confiner, and container of heaven may be compared to the belt of air in the world which flows around a person, holding the entire surface of his body firmly together, so that it does not fall apart. But in the world it is a natural force which does this, acting on the human body since this is material, whereas in heaven it is the Divine Celestial and the Divine Spiritual from the Lord which acts around an angel, preserving him in the form and in the power he has.

sRef Ex@25 @14 S0′ 9500. ‘To carry the ark on them’ means thereby holding heaven firmly in being and keeping it in being. This is clear from the meaning of ‘carrying’ as holding in a state of goodness and truth, thus bringing it into being and keeping it in being, for ‘the poles in the rings’ means the power of the Divine sphere, or power of Divine Truth joined to Divine Good, 9498, thus bringing into being and keeping in being, since heaven is kept in being by that power; and from the meaning of ‘the ark’ as heaven, dealt with in 9485.

9501. ‘The poles must be in the rings of the ark’ means that the power must be established by the Divine sphere of goodness and truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the rings of the ark’ as the Divine sphere of goodness and truth; and from the meaning of ‘the poles’ as the power, both dealt with above in 9498.

sRef 1Ki@8 @7 S0′ sRef 1Ki@8 @8 S0′ 9502. ‘They must not be removed from it’ means everlastingly and unalterably so. This is clear from the meaning of ‘not being removed’ as being brought into being and kept in being, everlastingly and unalterably. For the Divine sphere of goodness and truth encompassing and embracing heaven generally and specifically brought heaven into being and created it, and that same sphere keeps it in being and preserves it; for to keep something in being is to go on bringing it into being, everlastingly so, and to preserve it is to go on creating it, everlastingly so. The everlastingness and unalterableness was represented by the poles’ not being removed from the ark, and the eternal protection of heaven by the Divine sphere of goodness and truth emanating from the Lord was represented by the poles’ being under and covered by the wings of the cherubs, as is clear in the first Book of Kings,

The cherubs were spreading out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubs covered the ark and its poles from above; the poles indeed extended, and the ends* of the poles were seen from the holy place in front of the shrine, but were not seen from outside. 1 Kings 8:7, 8.
* lit. heads

sRef Ex@25 @16 S0′ 9503. ‘And you shall put into the ark the Testimony’ means Divine Truth, which is the Lord in heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the ark’ as heaven, dealt with above; and from the meaning of ‘the Testimony’ as Divine Truth, thus the Lord in heaven, dealt with below. The reason why Divine Truth is the Lord in heaven is that the Lord is Goodness itself and Truth itself, for both emanate from Him and He Himself composes what emanates from Him. So it is that the Lord is heaven, for Divine Truth which emanates from Him and is received by the angels makes heaven. Consequently the more perfect the manner in which angels receive Divine Truth that comes from the Lord and accordingly receive the Lord, the more perfect the human forms they possess. Eventually they become so perfect that their beauty surpasses belief; anyone who sees them, as I have done, will be dumbfounded. For in their outward form angels are manifestations of heavenly love and charity, and that is the truly human form. The reason why angels possess human forms is that the Divine in heaven is the Lord, and those who receive Divine Truth within good from Him are images of Him.

sRef Ps@19 @8 S2′ sRef John@15 @26 S2′ sRef Rev@12 @11 S2′ sRef John@15 @27 S2′ sRef Ps@19 @9 S2′ sRef Ps@19 @7 S2′ [2] As regards the meaning of ‘the Testimony’, a distinction is drawn in the Word between laws, statutes, judgements, commandments, testimonies, words, commands, truths, and covenants, as may be recognized from a number of places, especially in David’s Psalm 119, where all these terms occur, testimonies doing so in verses 2, 14, 31, 46, 59, 88, 99, 111, 119, 125, 138, 144, 168. A like distinction occurs elsewhere in the same author,

The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of Jehovah is sure, making wise the simple; the commands of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of Jehovah is pure, enlightening the eyes; the judgements of Jehovah are truth, they are righteous altogether. Ps. 19:7-9.

The like occurs in Moses, at Deut. 4:45; 6:17, 20; also in Jeremiah 44:23; and many times elsewhere. From all this it may be recognized that ‘the Testimony’ means Divine Truth, which testifies of the Lord, and so means the Word. For in the highest sense of the Word the only subject is the Lord, and this is why the internal sense testifies of Him, that is, contains teachings about Him and about the truths of faith and forms of the good of love which He is the source of. ‘Testimony’ is again used with this meaning in the Book of Revelation,

… those who had been killed on account of the Word of God and on account of the testimony which they had. Rev. 6:9.

And elsewhere,

They conquered the dragon by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony. Rev. 12:11.

‘The blood of the Lamb’ is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, 7846, 7877, 9127, 9393, while ‘the word of their testimony’ is Divine Truth received by man. ‘Testimony’ is used with the same meaning at Rev. 12:17; 19:10.

sRef John@5 @39 S3′ sRef John@3 @31 S3′ sRef John@3 @32 S3′ sRef John@8 @18 S3′ sRef John@3 @33 S3′ [3] The fact that Divine Truth emanating from the Lord is called ‘the Testimony’ because it testifies of the Lord is clear from the Lord’s own words in John,

He who comes from heaven is above all. What He has seen and heard, that He testifies. He who receives His testimony has set his seal [to this], that God is truthful. John 3:31-33.

In the same gospel,

I am One who testifies of Myself; and He, the Father, who sent Me testifies of Me. John 8:18.

In the same gospel,

Search the Scriptures; and it is they that testify of Me. John 5:39.

And in the same gospel,

The Paraclete, the Spirit of truth, He will testify of Me. John 15:26, 27.

From all this it is clear that Divine Truth is called the Testimony because it testifies of the Lord. This Divine Truth is the Word, for as stated above, the only subject in the highest sense of the Word is the Lord; this is what makes the Word Divine and therefore what makes it holy. Furthermore the Ten Words or the Law which were declared from Mount Sinai, inscribed on two tablets [of stone], and stored in the ark, is what is here called the Testimony. For that Law means the Word or Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, in its entirety, see 9416. It is evident from the Lord’s own words to Pilate that He is the One from whom Divine Truth comes,

Pilate said, Are you a king? Jesus answered, You say [it, because] I am a King. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, that I may bear testimony to the truth. John 18:37.

‘A king’ in the internal sense means Divine Truth, see 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148. This was why the Lord said, ‘I am a King’ and, ‘For this I was born, that I may bear testimony to the truth’, that is, that He Himself is Divine Truth. From all this it is now evident that ‘the Testimony’ in the ark means Divine Truth and so the Lord in heaven.

sRef Ex@25 @16 S0′ 9504. ‘Which I shall give you’ means its representative. This is clear from the representation of ‘Moses’, the one to whom it was going to be given, as the Lord in respect of Divine truth, dealt with in 9372.

sRef Ex@25 @21 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @20 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @22 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @18 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @17 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @19 S0′ 9505. Verses 17-22 And you shall make a mercy-seat from pure gold; two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth. And you shall make two cherubs; from solid gold you shall make them, at the two ends of the mercy-seat. And make one cherub at the end on one side, and one cherub at the end on the other side; of one piece with the mercy-seat you shall make the cherubs* on its two ends. And the cherubs shall be spreading out their wings upwards, covering over the mercy-seat with their wings, and their faces of a man towards his brother;** the faces of the cherubs shall be towards the mercy-seat. And you shall put the mercy-seat onto the ark, up above; and into the ark you shall put the Testimony which I shall give you. And I will meet with you there, and I will speak to you from up above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubs which are over the ark of the Testimony, [declaring] everything that I shall command you for the children of Israel.

‘And you shall make a mercy-seat from pure gold’ means the hearing and reception of all things that belong to worship arising from the good of love. ‘Two cubits and a half shall be its length’ means all so far as good is concerned. ‘And a cubit and a half its breadth’ means what is complete so far as truth is concerned. ‘And you shall make two cherubs’ means that there is no admission or access to the Lord except through the good of love. ‘From solid gold you shall make them’ means a representative sign of that good. ‘At the two ends of the mercy-seat’ means celestial good and spiritual good. ‘And make one cherub at the end on one side, and one cherub at the end on the other side’ means access to celestial good and access to spiritual good. ‘Of one piece with the mercy-seat you shall make the cherubs on the two ends’ means the reception of all things that belong to worship arising from those two kinds of good. ‘And the cherubs shall be spreading out their wings upwards’ means a raising accomplished by the truth of faith. ‘Covering over the mercy-seat with their wings’ means spiritual realities that provide cover. ‘And their faces of a man towards his brother’ means truth and good joined together. ‘The faces of the cherubs shall be towards the mercy-seat’ means the interiors looking unceasingly towards good, thus towards the Lord. ‘And you shall put the mercy-seat onto the ark, up above’ means the hearing thereby and reception of all things of worship that arise from the good of love. ‘And into the ark you shall put the Testimony’ means by the Lord in heaven. ‘Which I shall give you’ means a representative. ‘And I will meet with you there’ means hearing and reception. ‘And I will speak to you from up above the mercy-seat’ means a joining together. ‘From between the two cherubs’ means where celestial good and spiritual good have been joined together. ‘Which are over the ark of the Testimony’ means with the Lord in heaven. ‘Everything that I shall command you for the children of Israel’ means the worship of the representative Church.
* lit. from (or out of) the mercy-seat you shall make the cherubs
** i.e. and they shall be facing each other

sRef Ex@25 @17 S0′ 9506. ‘And you shall make a mercy-seat from pure gold’ means the hearing and reception of all things that belong to worship arising from the good of love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the mercy-seat’ as the cleansing from evils or forgiveness of sins, consequently the hearing and reception of all things that belong to worship, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘gold’ as the good of love, dealt with in 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914. The truth that ‘the mercy-seat’ means the cleansing from evils and forgiveness of sins is clear from those places in the Word where propitiation or expiation is referred to.* The reason why the hearing and reception of all things belonging to worship is also meant is that only those who have made propitiation or expiation, that is, been cleansed from evils, are heard by the Lord and have their worship accepted by Him; it does not happen with those who are steeped in evils, that is, have not made expiation or propitiation. Therefore also Aaron was not allowed to approach the mercy-seat until he had been cleansed and had made propitiation for himself and the people.

[2] The truth that ‘the mercy-seat’ consequently means the hearing and reception of all things that belong to worship is also clear from the consideration that Jehovah spoke to Moses over the mercy-seat between the cherubs. The reason why worship arising from the good of love is that which is received is that no one is allowed to enter heaven and so approach the Lord other than a person who is governed by good, that is to say, by the good of love to the Lord and the good of charity towards the neighbour, see 8516, 8539, 8722, 8772, 9139, 9227, 9230, 9274; no one else is heard nor can anyone else’s worship be received. This also explains why there were cherubs over the mercy-seat; for watchfulness and providence are meant by ‘the cherubs’, guarding against access to the Lord except through the good of love, that is, guarding against entrance into heaven by any apart from those who are governed by good, and also guarding against those in hell gaining access to the inhabitants of heaven and doing them harm. All this shows what was meant by the presence of the mercy-seat over the ark and by that of the cherubs over the mercy-seat, and by the fact that the mercy-seat and the cherubs too were made from pure gold; for ‘gold’ means the good of love, and ‘the ark’ heaven where the Lord is.

sRef Ps@51 @7 S3′ sRef Deut@32 @43 S3′ sRef Isa@47 @11 S3′ sRef Ps@79 @9 S3′ [3] The truth that ‘the mercy-seat’ means the cleansing from evils, and so the forgiveness of sins, is clear from places in the Word where ‘propitiation’ or ‘expiation’** is referred to, as in David,

O Jehovah, expiate our sins for Your name’s sake. Ps. 79:9.

In the same author,

He, being merciful, has expiated iniquity. Ps. 78:38.

In the same author,

You will expiate me with hyssop and I shall become clean; You will wash me and I shall be made whiter than snow. Ps. 51:7.

In Isaiah,

Evil will come upon you, which you will not know how to ward off; calamity will befall you, which you will not be able to expiate. Isa. 47:11.

And in Moses,

Sing, O nations, the people of Him who will avenge the blood of His servants, and will expiate His land, His people. Deut. 32:43.

sRef Lev@4 @35 S4′ sRef Lev@4 @31 S4′ sRef Lev@5 @10 S4′ sRef Lev@5 @18 S4′ sRef Lev@15 @30 S4′ sRef Lev@5 @6 S4′ sRef Lev@5 @13 S4′ sRef Lev@5 @16 S4′ sRef Lev@23 @32 S4′ sRef Lev@23 @31 S4′ sRef Lev@9 @7 S4′ sRef Lev@15 @15 S4′ sRef Lev@23 @30 S4′ sRef Lev@4 @26 S4′ sRef Lev@23 @27 S4′ sRef Lev@23 @29 S4′ sRef Lev@23 @28 S4′ [4] Expiations were effected by means of sacrifices; and it says that when they were offered the priest would expiate him from sin, and he would be pardoned,*** Lev. 4:26, 31, 35; 5:6, 10, 13, 16, 18; 6:7; 9:7; 15:15, 30. Expiation was also effected by ‘silver’, Exod. 30:16; Ps. 49:7. Hence also the day of expiations**** before the feast of tabernacles, Lev. 23:27-32. But it should be recognized that none of those expiations constituted a real cleansing from evils or forgiveness of sins; it only represented it. For every religious observance among the Israelite and Jewish nation was merely representative of the Lord, His kingdom and Church, and such realities as belong to heaven and the Church. How representations brought such realities to angels’ awareness in heaven, see 9229.

sRef Num@7 @89 S5′ sRef Ex@25 @22 S5′ [5] Since the cleansing from evils and forgiveness of sins was meant by ‘the mercy-seat’, the hearing and reception of all things that belonged to worship was also meant; for one who has been cleansed from evils is heard and his worship is received. This was represented by Jehovah’s speaking above the mercy-seat to Moses and His commanding what the children of Israel should do, as is clear from verse 22 of the present chapter, where it says,

And I will meet with you there, and I will speak to you from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubs which are over the ark of the Testimony, [declaring] everything that I shall command you for the children of Israel.

The like occurs elsewhere,

Whenever Moses spoke to Jehovah he heard the voice speaking from above the mercy-seat that was over the ark of the Testimony, from between the two cherubs. Num. 7:89.

The fact that a person was heard and his worship was received when he had been cleansed from evils was represented by Aaron’s not going into the holy place within the veil before the mercy-seat unless he had first made expiation for himself and the people, by ceremonial washing, sacrifices, incense, and blood, as stated in Lev. 16:2-16, which concludes,

In this way he shall expiate the holy place from the uncleannesses of the children of Israel, and from their transgressions in regard of all their sins.

It also says in verse 2 that Jehovah would appear at the mercy-seat ‘in the cloud’, meaning in Divine Truth adjusted to people’s ability to receive and understand it, such as the Word is in the sense of the letter, 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343 (end), 6752, 8106, 8443, 8781.
* The Latin word propitiatorium rendered the mercy-seat may be translated more literally as the place of propitiation.
** The Hebrew verb behind expiate, used in an uncommon way in the following quotations, means cover over. The Latin verb generally means atone for or purify what is defiled.
*** i.e. the priest shall make atonement for the person’s sin, and the person will stand forgiven
**** Generally known as the day of atonement

sRef Ex@25 @17 S0′ 9507. ‘Two cubits and a half shall be its length’ means all so far as good is concerned. This is clear from what has been shown above in 9487.

sRef Ex@25 @17 S0′ 9508. ‘And a cubit and a half its breadth’ means what is complete so far as truth is concerned, also as above, in 9488.

sRef Ex@25 @18 S0′ 9509. ‘And you shall make two cherubs’ means that there is no admission or access to the Lord except through the good of love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘cherubs’ as watchfulness and providence, guarding against access to the Lord except through the good of love. Since this was meant by the cherubs, they were placed over the mercy-seat that was over the ark; and they were for the same reason made from solid gold. For ‘the ark’ means heaven where the Lord is, 9485, and ‘gold’ means the good of love, 9490. The reason why there is no access to the Lord except through the good of love is that love is spiritual togetherness, and all good belongs to love. Those therefore who are governed by the good of love to the Lord are brought to Him in heaven, because they have been joined together with Him. So too are those who are governed by the good of love towards the neighbour; for the neighbour is the good of a fellow-citizen, the good of one’s country, the good of the Church, the good of the whole of the Lord’s kingdom, and in the highest sense the Lord Himself since He is the source of that good present with a person.

[2] There are two states that a person passes through while being regenerated, one of which follows the other. The first is a state during which he is led by means of the truths of faith to the good of love; the other is one in which he is governed by the good of love, and when governed by it he is in heaven with the Lord. From this it is evident that this good is heaven itself present with the person, that good being the Lord present with him because its source is the Lord. Regarding these two states that a person who is being regenerated passes through, one of which follows the other, see 7923, 7992, 8505, 8506, 8510, 8512, 8516, 8643, 8648, 8658, 8685, 8690, 8701, 9224, 9227, 9230, 9274; and the fact that a person comes into heaven when governed by good, that is, when led by the Lord by means of good, 8516, 8539, 8722, 8772, 9139.

sRef Gen@3 @24 S3′ [3] It is clear from places in the Word where ‘cherubs’ are mentioned that they mean watchfulness and providence, guarding against access to the Lord or to heaven except through the good of love, that is, except by those governed by the good of love, and also guarding against any harm being done to the good from the Lord which is present in heaven and with a person, as for instance in Genesis,

And He expelled the man, and away from the east towards the garden of Eden He caused the cherubs to dwell, and the flame of a sword turning itself this way and that to guard the way to the tree of life. Gen. 3:24.

Here it is self-evident that things which serve as guards are meant by ‘the cherubs’, since it says ‘to guard the way to the tree of life’. ‘The tree of life’ is the good of love, which comes from the Lord and for that reason is the Lord; and it is guarded by the prevention of any access except through the good of love.

[4] It is thought that the Lord is accessible through the truths of faith. But there can be no access to Him, nor even to heaven, through those truths if they have been separated from the good of love. As soon as separated truths wish to enter, heaven, which is the way to the Lord, is closed. And since truth cannot enter by itself unless it has good within it, and by virtue of this has come to consist of good, neither can understanding do so, still less factual knowledge, if separated from good desired by the will.

sRef 1Ki@6 @32 S5′ sRef 1Ki@6 @34 S5′ sRef 1Ki@6 @24 S5′ sRef Isa@37 @16 S5′ sRef Ex@26 @31 S5′ sRef 1Ki@6 @33 S5′ sRef Ps@99 @1 S5′ sRef Ps@80 @1 S5′ sRef 1Ki@6 @29 S5′ sRef 1Ki@6 @26 S5′ sRef 1Ki@6 @35 S5′ sRef 1Ki@6 @27 S5′ sRef 1Ki@6 @28 S5′ sRef Ps@18 @10 S5′ sRef Ex@26 @1 S5′ sRef Ex@36 @35 S5′ sRef 1Ki@6 @23 S5′ sRef 1Ki@6 @31 S5′ sRef 1Ki@6 @25 S5′ [5] Because watchfulness and providence guarding against access to the Lord, or for that reason to heaven, except through the good of love is meant by ‘the cherubs’, the Word says that Jehovah is seated on the cherubs, also rides and dwells upon the cherubs, as in David,

Turn Your ears, O Shepherd of Israel; You who are seated upon the cherubs, shine forth. Ps. 80:1.

In the same author,

Jehovah will reign, the peoples will be shaken. He is seated on the cherubs. Ps. 99:1.

In the same author,

Jehovah rode on a cherub, and flew. Ps. 18:10.

And in Isaiah,

Jehovah Zebaoth is dwelling on the cherubs. Isa. 37:16.

For the same reasons there were cherubs upon the curtains of the dwelling-place, and upon the veil, Exod. 26:1, 31; 36:35; they were also upon the walls of the temple round about and upon the doors there, 1 Kings 6:23-29, 31-35, and similarly in the new temple, as described in Ezekiel 41:18-20. The presence of the cherubs on the curtains of the dwelling-place, on the veil, on the walls of the temple, and on the doors there, was a sign of the Lord’s watchfulness, guarding against access to Divine Holiness except through the good of love; and the presence of the cherubs over the ark was a sign that no one should gain access to the Lord Himself except through that good. This also explains why the cherubs were made from solid gold, and in the Jerusalem temple from olive wood; for ‘gold’ and ‘olive oil’ mean the good of love.

[6] That watchfulness and providence of the Lord is described in Ezekiel by ‘the four living creatures’, each of which had four faces, under the throne where the Lord was, Ezek. 1:1-end; 10:1-end, and also in John by ‘four living creatures’ around the throne where the Lord was, Rev. 4:6-10; 5:6, 8, 9, 14. By ‘the four living creatures’ is meant the good, varying in appearance, which emanates from the Lord, and which watches and guards against the letting in of anything other than the good of love to the Lord and the good of love towards the neighbour. By ‘the throne’ on which the Lord was seated heaven is meant, 5313.

sRef Ex@25 @18 S0′ 9510. ‘From solid gold you shall make them’ means a representative sign of [that] good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘gold’ as the good of love, dealt with in 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914. The fact that gold is not the good of love, only a representative sign of it, is self-evident. The like applies to the olive wood which the cherubs in the Jerusalem temple were made of, 1 Kings 6:23; ‘olive wood’ is a sign of the good of love, see 886, and so too is the oil itself, 3728, 4582, 4638.

sRef Mark@10 @40 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @18 S0′ 9511. ‘At the two ends of the mercy-seat’ means celestial good and spiritual good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a cherub at one end’ as access through celestial good; and from the meaning of ‘a cherub at the other end’ as access through spiritual good. The same thing is meant here by ‘the two ends’ as by the Lord’s ‘right’ and ‘left’. His ‘right’ means the good of celestial love, which is the good of love to the Lord, and His ‘left’ means the good of spiritual love, which is the good of love towards the neighbour. So it is also that everything in the right side of a person corresponds to celestial good, and everything in the left to spiritual good; for everything in the human being corresponds to heaven. People who are governed by those two kinds of good are meant by ‘to sit on the Lord’s right and left’ in Mark,

To sit at My right and at My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared. Mark 10:40.

‘Giving to those for whom it has been prepared’ means granting it in mercy to those who are governed by good in life and faith, 9305, thus who are governed by celestial good and by spiritual good.

sRef Ex@25 @19 S0′ 9512. ‘And make one cherub at the end on one side, and one cherub at the end on the other side’ means access to celestial good and [access] to spiritual good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘cherub’ as admission and access to the Lord through the good of love, dealt with above in 9509; and from the meaning of ‘at the end on one side’ and ‘at the end on the other side’ as celestial good and spiritual good, dealt with immediately above in 9511.

sRef Ex@25 @19 S0′ 9513. ‘Of one piece with the mercy-seat you shall make the cherubs on the two ends’ means the reception of all things that belong to worship arising from those two kinds of good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the mercy-seat’ as the hearing and reception of all things that belong to worship arising from the good of love, dealt with in 9506; from the meaning of ‘the cherubs’ as admission and access to the Lord through that good, dealt with in 9509; and from the meaning of ‘the two ends’ as celestial good and spiritual good, dealt with in 9511. From these meanings it is evident that ‘of one piece with the mercy-seat you shall make the cherubs on its two ends’ means the reception of all things that belong to worship arising from those kinds of good. What celestial good is and what spiritual good is, and what the difference is, see the places referred to in 9277.

sRef Ex@25 @20 S0′ 9514. ‘And the cherubs shall be spreading out their wings upwards’ means a raising accomplished by the truth of faith. This is clear from the meaning of ‘wings’ as the truths of faith, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘spreading out the wings upwards’ as being raised, for in the spreading out of the wings upwards the endeavour to raise oneself is present, the fulfillment of the endeavour being the actual raising up. From all this it is evident that ‘the wings of the cherubs, outspread upwards’ means a raising of good in the Lord’s direction by means of the truths of faith; for access to Him through good is meant by ‘the cherubs’. Something brief must be stated here to show what a raising of good by means of the truths of faith implies. There are two realities with which everything in heaven and also everything in the world have connection – good and truth. Good without truth is not good, and truth without good is not truth; for without truth good lacks any specific quality, and without good truth is devoid of anything to give it being. Indeed truth is the actual outward form taken by good, and the form must exist to give it specific quality; but the good is the essential being, the manifestation of which is the truth.

[2] The relationship of good to truth is altogether like that of the will to the understanding, in that the will is dedicated to the reception of good and the understanding to the reception of truth. The will receives specific quality from the understanding, and the understanding its essential being from the will. For the will is formed within the understanding and thereby clothes itself with a specific quality. The relationship of good to truth is also like that of the body to the arms and feet, or to the wings in the case of birds. A body without arms and feet or without wings cannot move itself; but with the use of them it does move. Furthermore in the Word the body corresponds to good, and its arms or wings to truths and also to the powers good possesses in and exercises through truths. From these comparisons which are also correspondences one may see what is implied by a raising of good by means of the truths of faith, which in general are called spiritual truths. As regards the meaning of ‘wings’ as the truths of faith, see what has been shown in 8764.

sRef Ex@25 @20 S0′ 9515. ‘Covering over the mercy-seat with their wings’ means spiritual realities that provide cover. This is clear from the meaning of ‘covering over the mercy-seat’ as providing cover for the good through which lies access to the Lord; and from the meaning of ‘wings’ as the truths of faith or spiritual truths, dealt with immediately above in 9514, and in 8764. The spiritual realities are said to provide cover for the good because in heaven what is celestial, the good of love, manifests itself as something naked; but when it manifests itself through spiritual realities, which are the truths of faith, it is seen as something clothed.

sRef Ex@25 @20 S0′ 9516. ‘And their faces of a man towards his brother’ means truth and good joined together. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the face’ as the interiors, at this point looking towards and being joined to, for when two are looking each towards the other they join themselves together on the level of interiors (interiors being meant by ‘the face’, 1999, 2434, 3527, 3573, 4066, 4796-4805, 5102, 5165, 5168, 5695, 9306); and from the meaning of ‘man towards brother’ as mutually, dealt with in 4725, so that truth joined to good is meant. For ‘man’ means truth, 3134, 3309, 3459, 4725, 7716, 9007, and ‘brother’ good, 367, 2360, 3303, 3803, 3815, 4121, 4191, 5409, 5686, 5692, 6756.

sRef Ex@25 @20 S0′ 9517. ‘The faces of the cherubs shall be towards the mercy-seat’ means the interiors looking unceasingly towards good, thus towards the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the mercy-seat’ as the good of love, from which comes the hearing and reception of all things that belong to worship, dealt with above in 9506, thus also as the Lord since all the good of love originates in the Lord and is the Lord Himself as He resides with angel and man; from the meaning of ‘the faces’ as the interiors, dealt with immediately above in 9516; and from the meaning of ‘the cherubs’ as watchfulness and providence, guarding against access to the Lord except through the good of love, dealt with in 9509.

[2] What happens is this: Heaven and the Church, or the angels of heaven and members of the Church, receive protection from the Lord by having their interiors raised towards Him; and when they are raised they are suffused with the good of love to Him and the good of love towards the neighbour. This is what being raised towards the Lord is; and in this way, as has been stated, angels in heaven and members of the Church receive protection. Those who are raised by the Lord turn their face constantly towards the Lord, because the Lord keeps them joined to Himself through the good of love, whereas those who are not raised turn their face away from the Lord. All this shows what is meant by the requirement that the faces of the cherubs should be ‘towards the mercy-seat’. But regarding that turning of themselves towards the Lord something will in the Lord’s Divine mercy be stated from experience elsewhere.

sRef Ex@25 @21 S0′ 9518. ‘And you shall put the mercy-seat onto the ark, up above’ means the hearing thereby and reception of all things of worship that arise from the good of love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the mercy-seat’ as the hearing and reception of all things of worship that arise from the good of love, dealt with in 9506; and from the meaning of ‘the ark’ as heaven where the Lord is, dealt with above. From this it is evident that the joining together of the mercy-seat to the ark means the hearing and reception of all things that belong to worship arising from the good of love from the Lord in heaven.

sRef Ex@25 @21 S0′ 9519. ‘And into the ark you shall put the Testimony’ means by the Lord in heaven, that is to say, the hearing and reception of all things that belong to worship arising from the good of love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the ark’ as heaven; and from the meaning of ‘the Testimony’ as the Lord, dealt with in 9503.

sRef Ex@25 @21 S0′ 9520. ‘Which I shall give you’ means a representative, as above in 9504.

sRef Ex@25 @22 S0′ 9521. ‘And I will meet with you there’ means hearing and reception. This is clear from the meaning of ‘meeting with’, when done by Jehovah, as hearing and reception.

sRef Ex@25 @22 S0′ 9522. ‘And I will speak to you from above the mercy-seat’ means a joining together. This is clear from the meaning of ‘speaking’, when done by Jehovah, as influx, dealt with in 2951, 5481, 5743, 5797, 7270, thus also a joining together, for where influx takes place there is a joining together.

sRef Ex@25 @22 S0′ 9523. ‘From between the two cherubs’ means where celestial good and spiritual good have been joined together. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the two cherubs’ as celestial good and spiritual good through which access to the Lord lies, dealt with above in 9511. The reason why access lies where celestial good and spiritual good have been joined together is that celestial good flows into spiritual good and is in that way transmitted.

sRef Ex@25 @22 S0′ 9524. ‘Which are over the ark of the Testimony’ means with the Lord in heaven. This is clear from the representation of ‘the ark’ as heaven, and from the meaning of ‘the Testimony’ as Divine Truth, thus the Lord in heaven, both dealt with in 9503.

sRef Ex@25 @22 S0′ 9525. ‘Everything that I shall command you for the children of Israel’ means the worship of the representative Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘commanding’, when done by Jehovah addressing Moses, as those things that belong to worship, for everything that Jehovah commanded Moses for the children of Israel was such as had to do with worship; and from the representation of ‘the children of Israel’ as the spiritual Church, dealt with in 9340, at this point simply a representation of the spiritual Church, for all the things that had been established among the children of Israel were outward ceremonies that did no more than represent the inner realities of the Church and had nothing of those realities themselves within them. Regarding this see the places referred to at the end of 9320.

sRef Ex@25 @30 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @23 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @26 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @27 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @24 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @29 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @25 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @28 S0′ 9526. Verses 23-30 And you shall make a table of shittim wood; two cubits shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. And you shall overlay it with pure gold; and you shall make for it a rim of gold round about. And you shall make for it a rail of a hand’s breadth round about; and you shall make a rim of gold for its rail round about. And you shall make for it four rings of gold, and you shall put the rings on the four corners which are on its four feet. The rings shall be close to the rail, as houses for the poles to carry the table. And you shall make the poles from shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, and the table shall be carried with them. And you shall make its dishes, and its cups, and its small dishes, and its small brushes, with which it shall be covered; from pure gold you shall make them. And you shall put on the table the bread of faces, towards My faces unceasingly.*

‘And you shall make a table’ means a receptacle of heavenly blessings that belong to the good of love. ‘Of shittim wood’ means out of mercy. ‘Two cubits shall be its length’ means all so far as the joining to good is concerned. ‘And a cubit its breadth’ means somewhat so far as the joining to truth is concerned. ‘And a cubit and a half its height’ means what is complete so far as degrees are concerned. ‘And you shall overlay it with pure gold’ means a representative sign of that good out of mercy. ‘And you shall make for it a rim of gold round about’ means the sphere of good emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good. ‘And you shall make for it a rail of a hand’s breadth round about’ means the joining there to truth from the Divine. ‘And you shall make a rim of gold for its rail round about’ means the border of the sphere of Divine Good. ‘And you shall make for it four rings of gold’ means the outermost receptacle of the heavenly marriage, which is that of Divine Good to Divine Truth. ‘And you shall put the rings on its four corners’ means the resulting firmness. ‘Which are on its four feet’ means in the natural sphere. ‘The rings shall be close to the rail, as houses for the poles’ means the power from this. ‘To carry the table’ means in order to bring into being and keep in being. ‘And you shall make the poles from shittim wood’ means the power that truth derived from good possesses. ‘And overlay them with gold’ means a representative sign of good. ‘And the table shall be carried with them’ means being thereby held firmly in being. ‘And you shall make its dishes, its cups, and its small dishes, and its small brushes, with which it shall be covered’ means cognitions of celestial good and truth. ‘From pure gold you shall make them’ means that they are derived from good. ‘And you shall put on the table the bread of faces’ means the Lord there in respect of celestial good. ‘Towards My faces unceasingly’ means the Lord’s presence thereby with peace and heavenly joy flowing from His mercy.
* i.e. you shall set the bread of the Presence (or the showbread) on the table before Me unceasingly

sRef Ps@23 @6 S0′ sRef Matt@8 @11 S0′ sRef Ps@69 @22 S0′ sRef Ps@23 @4 S0′ sRef Ps@23 @5 S0′ sRef Ps@69 @21 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @23 S0′ sRef Isa@28 @9 S0′ sRef Luke@22 @29 S0′ sRef Luke@22 @30 S0′ sRef Isa@28 @7 S0′ sRef Isa@28 @8 S0′ 9527. ‘And you shall make a table’ means a receptacle of heavenly blessings [that belong to the good of love]. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a table’ as heaven in respect of its reception of such blessings as come from the Lord there, which are the good of love and the good of faith, and the joy and bliss derived from them. These blessings are meant by ‘a table’ because ‘food’ means the heavenly blessings that belong to the good of love and faith, and the wisdom and intelligence gained from them, which in everyday language too are called heavenly food and also in the Word are meant by ‘food’, see 56-58, 680, 681, 1480, 4459, 4792, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5576, 5579, 5915, 8562, 9003. What is more, a visual representation of those blessings is now and again made in heaven by means of a table on which all kinds of food are laid. From all this it is evident that ‘a table’ means a receptacle of heavenly blessings, thus heaven in respect of its reception of such blessings as come from the Lord. These blessings are also meant by ‘table’ in Luke,

Jesus said, I bestow on you, just as My father bestowed on Me, a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom. Luke 22:29, 30.

And in Matthew,

Many will come from the east and the west and will recline with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. Matt. 8:11.

Also in David,

I will fear no evil. You will spread a table before me in the presence of my enemies, You will make my head fat with oil; my cup will overflow. Goodness and mercy will follow me. Ps. 23:4-6.

In the contrary sense however ‘table’ means a receptacle of such things as exist in hell. In Isaiah,

They go astray through strong drink. They err among the seers, they are tottery in judgement. All tables are full of vomit. Whom will He teach knowledge, and whom will He cause to understand what is heard? Isa. 28:7-9.

In the same prophet,

You who forsake Jehovah, who set a table for Gad, and fill a drink offering for Meni. Isa. 65:11.

And in David,

They gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. Their table before them will become a snare. Ps. 69:21, 22.

sRef Ex@25 @23 S0′ 9528. ‘Of shittim wood’ means out of mercy. This is clear from the meaning of ‘shittim wood’ as the good of merit which is the Lord’s alone, dealt with in 9472, 9486; and since the good of merit is mercy, ‘shittim wood’ also means mercy. For out of pure love, thus out of pure mercy, the Lord assumed the Human, and underwent the severest temptations, finally the passion on the Cross, that He might save the human race; and therefore merit and righteousness are His. From all this it is evident that the good of merit consists in mercy, mercy (misericordia) being Divine Love directed towards those trapped in misery (miseriae).

The Lord underwent the severest temptations and thereby set heaven and hell in order; and He fought out of Divine Love, to save those who receive Him in love and faith, see 1266, 1663, 1668, 1676, 1690, 1691 (end), 1737, 1787, 1789, 1812, 1813, 1820, 1921, 2083, 2159, 2574, 2649, 2776, 2795, 2813, 2816, 3318 (end), 4180, 4286, 4295, 5078.

sRef Ex@25 @23 S0′ 9529. ‘Two cubits shall be its length’ means all so far as the joining to good is concerned. This is clear from the meaning of ‘two’ as a joining together and as every single aspect (for the meaning of ‘two’ as a joining together, see 1686, 5194, 8423, and consequently every single aspect, 9166); and from the meaning of ‘length’ as good, dealt with in 9487, so that ‘a length of two cubits’ means all so far as the joining to good is concerned. The words ‘the joining to good’ have regard to the joining of the receptacle meant by ‘the table’ to the good of love meant by ‘the loaves of the Presence’ on the table, which are dealt with below. For the receptacle must be suited to the realities it has to receive, and the realities it has to receive have connection with good and with truth. Its suitability and a consequent joining together are described by the numbers used to specify the length and breadth. The fact that in the Word realities are specified by numbers, see 9488.

sRef Ex@25 @23 S0′ 9530. ‘And a cubit its breadth’ means somewhat so far as the joining to truth is concerned. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a cubit’ or one, as somewhat, since it is a half of the previous number, and when a double means all, the half of it means somewhat, and therefore somewhat so far as the joining together is concerned; and from the meaning of ‘breadth’ as truth, dealt with in 9487, 9488.

sRef Ex@25 @23 S0′ 9531. ‘And a cubit and a half its height’ means what is complete so far as degrees are concerned, as above in 9489.

sRef Ex@25 @24 S0′ 9532. ‘And you shall overlay it with [pure] gold’ means a representative sign of that good out of mercy. This is clear from the meaning of ‘overlaying with gold’ as a representative sign of good; for ‘gold’ means the good of love, 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, and therefore that good was represented by the gold where it was applied as a gilding. The reason why it is out of mercy is that all the good of love arises out of mercy, which too is meant by the shittim wood that was overlaid with gold, 9528.

sRef Ex@25 @24 S0′ 9533. ‘And you shall make for it a rim of gold round about’ means the border of the sphere of good emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a rim of gold round about’ as the border of the sphere of good emanating from the Lord, serving to defend [those in heaven] from the approach of evils and the harm they can do, dealt with above in 9492.

sRef Ex@25 @25 S0′ 9534. ‘And you shall make for it a rail of a hand’s breadth round about’ means the joining there to truth from the Divine. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a rail’, since this lay outside the rim, as the outermost part of the border, and so the joining to truth from the Divine. None can know that this is what ‘a rail’ means unless they know about the sphere of good from the Lord which surrounds and thereby protects heaven, and about the extension of and border to it. Regarding the sphere of Divine Good which surrounds heaven and all the communities in heaven and thereby protects them from the intrusion of evils from hell, see above in 9490, 9492, 9498.

[2] This Divine sphere extends even into the hells and also guards them. So it is that the Lord reigns in the hells also, yet with this difference, that the Divine sphere which surrounds and protects heaven is the sphere of Divine Truth joined to Divine Good, whereas that which guards hell is the sphere of Divine Truth separated from Divine Good. The reason why the latter sphere exists in hell is that all in that place reject Divine Good, and reject the Lord’s mercy. Such a sphere reigns in outward form in hell; but still the sphere of Divine Truth joined to Divine Good does so in inward form. By means of it those in hell are guarded, so that none does excessive harm to another.

[3] From all this it is evident that the sphere of Divine Good in outward form comes to an end where heaven does so, and the sphere of Divine Truth separated from Divine Good begins where hell begins, and in the gap between there is a joining together, meant by ‘the rail of a hand’s breadth round about’.

sRef Ex@25 @25 S0′ 9535. ‘And you shall make a rim of gold for its rail round about’ means the border of the sphere of Divine Good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a rim of gold’ as the border of the sphere of Divine Good, as above in 9533; and from the meaning of ‘its rail’ as the joining to truth from the Divine, in keeping with what has been shown immediately above in 9534.

sRef Ex@25 @26 S0′ 9536. ‘And you shall make for it four rings of gold’ means the outermost receptacle of the heavenly marriage, which is that of Divine Good to Divine Truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘four rings of gold’ as Divine Truth joined to Divine Good, which lie in every direction round about, dealt with above in 9493, thus the outermost receptacle of the heavenly marriage, which is that of Divine Good to Divine Truth.

sRef Ex@25 @26 S0′ 9537. ‘And you shall put the rings on its four corners’ means the resulting firmness. This is clear from the meaning of ‘corners’ as firmness, dealt with above in 9494, that is to say, the firmness that results when Divine Truth is joined to Divine Good in outermost parts, which is meant by ‘four rings of gold’, 9536.

sRef Ex@25 @26 S0′ 9538. ‘Which are on its four feet’ means in the natural sphere. This is clear from the meaning of ‘four’ as that which implies a joining together, dealt with in 1686, 8877; and from the meaning of ‘feet’ as the natural, dealt with in 2162, 3147, 3761, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952, 5327, 5328. The firmness resides in the natural sphere because everything spiritual reaches down to and rests on that which is called natural truth, and everything celestial down to and on that which is called natural good. So it is that the natural is their foundation and consequently firm support. Few as yet know of this; therefore something will in the Lord’s Divine mercy be said from experience about it elsewhere.

sRef Ex@25 @27 S0′ 9539. ‘The rings shall be close to the rail, as houses for the poles’ means the power from this. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the rail’ which ‘the rings shall be close to’ as the joining in outermost parts to truth from the Divine, dealt with in 9534; from the meaning of ‘the rings’ as the receptacle of it, also dealt with above, in 9536; and from the meaning of ‘the poles’ as power, dealt with in 9496. The expression ‘as houses’ is used because the subject is celestial good and the power of its receptacle, that good being meant by ‘the bread of faces’ and its receptacle by ‘the table’ on which the loaves were laid. ‘Houses’ furthermore means that good in the outermost parts. For the meaning of ‘house’ as good, see 2233, 2234, 2559, 3652, 3720, 4982, 7848, 7929.

sRef Ex@25 @27 S0′ 9540. ‘To carry the table’ means in order to bring into being and keep in being. This is clear from the meaning of ‘carrying’ as holding in a state of good, thus as bringing into being and keeping in being, as above in 9500.

sRef Ex@25 @28 S0′ 9541. ‘And you shall make the poles from shittim wood’ means the power that truth derived from good possesses, as above in 9496, where similar words occur.

sRef Ex@25 @28 S0′ 9542. ‘And overlay them with gold’ means a representative sign of good, as also above, in 9532.

sRef Ex@25 @28 S0′ 9543. ‘And the table shall be carried with them’ means being thereby held firmly in being. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being carried’ as being brought into being and kept in being, dealt with above in 9540, thus also being held firmly in being; and from the meaning of ‘the table’ as the receptacle of heavenly blessings, dealt with in 9527. All this serves to describe the manner in which the inmost or third heaven receives good from the Lord; for the loaves of the Presence are heavenly good that comes from the Lord, and the table on which the loaves were laid is the receptacle of that good. But I am not allowed to present a detailed description of the nature of this reality, because the majority of the things that exist in the Lord’s celestial kingdom lie beyond the range of human thought and almost beyond that of the angelic spirits who live in the lowest heaven. For everything in the Lord’s celestial kingdom is founded on the good that belongs to love, and not on the truth that belongs to faith. The fact that those there also communicate with one another through forms of the good of love, and not through the truths of faith as those in the Lord’s spiritual kingdom do, see the places referred to in 9277.

[2] The Lord’s celestial kingdom is the inmost or third heaven, and within it there exist realities beyond comprehension or description, that is, things which have never entered anyone’s mind, and which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, as everyone knows. For this reason those realities existing in that heaven are brought before the eyes of spirits below by means of objects that represent them, and from these representatives they form some idea of the incomprehensible and indescribable realities that exist there. The same realities were represented in the world by the ark, mercy-seat, cherubs, table on which the loaves of the Presence were laid, and the lampstand; and these objects serve to present visually all the realities in that kingdom. In like manner the dwelling-place and court of the tent, also the curtains and veils there, served to represent the realities existing in the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, which is the second or middle heaven.

sRef Ex@25 @29 S0′ 9544. ‘And you shall make its dishes, its cups, and its small dishes, and its small brushes, with which it shall be covered’ means cognitions of celestial good and truth. This is clear from the meaning of vessels in general as factual knowledge or cognitions, dealt with in 3068, 3079, so that the particular vessels that are mentioned here are cognitions of celestial good and truth. Celestial good is the good of love to the Lord, and celestial truth is the good of mutual love, cognitions of those kinds of good being meant by such vessels. And since cognitions of them are meant, and cognitions are contained in the memory belonging to the natural man, and the natural is external, it says that the table shall be covered with those vessels. For since the natural lies externally or below, covering over and enclosing what lies inwardly or above, it is called a covering, 6377. What use those vessels were to serve, see Lev. 24:6, 7; and Num. 4:7, 8.

9544a ‘From pure gold you shall make them’ means that they are derived from good.*
* This paragraph has been added by the editor of the third Latin edition.

sRef Ex@25 @30 S0′ 9545. ‘And you shall put on the table the bread of faces’ means the Lord there in respect of celestial good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the table’ as the receptacle of celestial blessings; from the meaning of ‘bread’ in the highest sense as the Lord, and in a related sense as the good of love that springs from Him, so that the Lord in respect of celestial good is meant, dealt with in 2165, 2177, 3464, 3735, 3813, 4211, 4217, 4735, 4976, 5915, ‘bread’ in general meaning all heavenly food or the food that nourishes a person’s spiritual life, 3478, 6118, 8410, 9323; and from the meaning of ‘faces’, when the word refers to the Lord, as everything that springs from Divine Love, such as innocence, peace, and joy, thus heaven itself present with people on earth and with angels, 222, 223, 5585, 9306.

sRef Ex@25 @30 S0′ 9546. ‘Towards My faces unceasingly’ means the Lord’s presence thereby with peace and heavenly joy flowing from His mercy. This is clear from the meaning of Jehovah’s or the Lord’s ‘faces’ as all the blessings attributable to Divine Love or to mercy, such as innocence, peace, or joy, thus heaven itself with those who receive them. For when the word ‘faces’ refers to people on earth and angels in heaven it means interior things, which are attributes of the will and consequently of the understanding, and so which are attributes of love and consequently of faith, see 1999, 2434, 3527, 3573, 4066, 4796, 4798, 5102, 5165, 5168, 5585, 5592, 6604, 6848, 6849, 9306; and from this it may be recognized that when the word ‘faces’ refers to Jehovah or the Lord it means those things which are the attributes of Divine Love or of mercy, thus all celestial good, 222, 223, 5585, 9306.

sRef Ex@25 @35 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @36 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @34 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @32 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @33 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @37 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @39 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @38 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @31 S0′ 9547. Verses 31-39 And you shall make a lampstand from pure gold; solid shall the lampstand be made.* Its shaft and its branch, its cups, its pomegranates, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it.** And there shall be six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it, and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it. There shall be three almond-shaped cups on one branch, a pomegranate and a flower, and three almond-shaped cups on one branch,*** a pomegranate and a flower – thus for the six branches going out of the lampstand. And on [the shaft of] the lampstand there shall be four almond-shaped cups, its pomegranates and its flowers. And there shall be a pomegranate under [the first] two branches out of it, and a pomegranate under [the second] two branches out of it, and a pomegranate under [the third] two branches out of it – for the six branches going out of the lampstand. Their pomegranates and their branches shall be of one piece with it,* all [shall be part] of it – one solid [piece made] from pure gold. And you shall make its seven lamps; and let it cause its lamps to go up and give light before its faces.**** And its tongs and its trowels***** [shall be made] from pure gold. A talent of pure gold shall [be used to] make it, together with all these vessels.

‘And you shall make a lampstand’ means the spiritual heaven. ‘From pure gold’ means that it must spring from celestial good. ‘Solid shall the lampstand be made’ means that all of it must spring from good. ‘Its shaft and its branch, its cups’ means the spiritual entities within the natural. ‘Its pomegranates’ means factual knowledge of good. ‘And its flowers’ means factual knowledge of truth. ‘Shall be of one piece with it’ means that both must form part of the spiritual springing from celestial good. ‘And there shall be six branches going out of its sides’ means all the capacities of truth derived from good in their entirety. ‘Three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it, and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it’ means completeness so far as good and truth are concerned. ‘There shall be three almond-shaped cups’ means completeness so far as factual knowledge derived from good is concerned. ‘On one branch’ means the power of truth derived from good. ‘A pomegranate and a flower’ means a known fact about good and a known fact about truth. ‘And three almond-shaped cups on one branch, a pomegranate and a flower’ has the same meaning. ‘Thus for the six branches going out of the lampstand’ means the power of truth derived from good so far as all things in the spiritual heaven are concerned. ‘And on [the shaft of] the lampstand’ means the middle of it, by means of which everything is brought together, and from which powers are derived. ‘There shall be four almond-shaped cups’ means factual knowledge of truth derived from good. ‘Its pomegranates and its flowers’ means factual knowledge of good and truth. ‘And there shall be a pomegranate under [the first] two branches out of it, and a pomegranate under [the second] two branches out of it, and a pomegranate under [the third] two branches out of it’ means factual knowledge of good for every single truth. ‘For the six branches going out of the lampstand’ means the power of truth derived from good so far as all things in the spiritual heaven are concerned. ‘Their pomegranates and their branches shall be of one piece with it, all [shall be part] of it’ means that the factual knowledge of good and the powers must spring from the Divine Spiritual, which comes from the Lord. ‘One solid [piece made] from pure gold’ means unblemished and perfect because it all consists of the same good. ‘And you shall make its seven lamps’ means the holy spiritual things from it. ‘And let it cause its lamps to go up’ means the light of the spiritual heaven. ‘And give light before its faces’ means from the Divine Good of the Lord’s Divine Human. ‘And its tongs and its trowels’ means things in the natural that serve to purify and clean out. ‘[Shall be made] from pure gold’ means that these too must consist of good. ‘A talent of pure gold shall [be used to] make it, together with all these vessels’ means celestial good from which spiritual good together with its factual knowledge springs.
* i.e. the lampstand shall consist throughout solely of pure gold
** lit. shall be from (or out of) it
*** i.e. on the opposite branch
**** i.e. when its lights are lit it will shed light directly in front of it
***** i.e. tools to trim the wicks and scoop out waste products

sRef Ex@25 @31 S0′ 9548. ‘And you shall make a lampstand’ means the spiritual heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a lampstand’ as the Divine Spiritual from the Lord in heaven and in the Church. The reason why ‘a lampstand’ means the Divine Spiritual is that ‘the table’ on which the loaves of the Presence were laid means the Divine Celestial, as has been shown in what has gone before. The Divine Celestial is the good of love, and the Divine Spiritual the truth of faith derived from that good; and both of these emanate from the Lord, 9227. The lampstand is the Divine Spiritual on account of the light it sheds; for Divine Truth which emanates from the Lord’s Divine Good is what shines in heaven. There is no other source from which angels receive light. This is why in the Word the Lord is called the Light, and why ‘light’ means faith, also an intelligent understanding of truth and a wise discernment of good, which come from the Lord alone, see 1053, 1521-1533, 1619-1632, 2776, 3094, 3138, 3167, 3190, 3195, 3222, 3223, 3337, 3339, 3341, 3636, 3643, 3862, 3993, 4060, 4180, 4302, 4408, 4414, 4415, 4419, 4527, 4598, 5400, 6032, 6313, 6315, 6608, 6907, 7174, 8644, 8707, 8861, 9399, 9407.

sRef Rev@1 @13 S2′ sRef Rev@2 @5 S2′ sRef Rev@1 @20 S2′ sRef Rev@1 @12 S2′ [2] ‘A lampstand’ means the spiritual heaven by virtue of Divine Truth which is present there from the Lord, and therefore also means the Church; and ‘a lamp’ means faith, also an intelligent understanding of truth and a wise discernment of good, which come from the Lord alone. This is clear from places in the Word where ‘lampstand’ and ‘lamp’ are mentioned, as in John,

I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands one like the Son of Man. The seven lampstands are the seven Churches. Rev. 1:12, 13, 20.

And in the same book,

I will remove your lampstand from its place if you do not repent. Rev. 2:5.

A Church is called ‘a lampstand’ in these places by virtue of Divine Truth which is present there from the Lord. The fact that ‘a lampstand’ means a Church is self-evident, for it says, ‘The seven lampstands are the seven Churches’. The fact that a Church is called such on account of Divine Truth is evident from the statement, ‘I will remove your lampstand if you do not repent’. And the fact that this Truth comes from the Lord [is also self-evident], for it says, ‘In the midst of the lampstands one like the Son of Man’; and the Lord is called the Son of Man by virtue of His Divine Truth, see 2803, 2813, 3704.

sRef Rev@11 @9 S3′ sRef Rev@11 @8 S3′ sRef Rev@11 @4 S3′ sRef Rev@11 @5 S3′ sRef Rev@11 @6 S3′ sRef Rev@11 @3 S3′ sRef Rev@11 @7 S3′ sRef Rev@11 @10 S3′ [3] In the same book,

I will grant My two witnesses to prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. Rev. 11:3-10.

‘The two witnesses’ are the Word in both Testaments, in that they bear witness to the Lord. It is called ‘an olive tree’ by virtue of the Divine Good and ‘a lampstand’ by virtue of the Divine Truth which come from the Lord.

sRef Zech@4 @3 S4′ sRef Zech@4 @2 S4′ [4] In Zechariah, when the angel who was speaking said to the prophet,

What do you see? I said to him, I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold; its bowl is on top of it,* and its seven lamps are on it with seven pipes to the lamps. Two olive trees are beside it, one on the right of the bowl and one on the left of it. Zech. 4:2, 3.

This refers to Zerubbabel, who was about to lay a foundation for God’s house and bring it to completion. He represents the Lord, in that He was about to come and to re-establish the spiritual heaven and the Church, these being what is meant by ‘a lampstand’, and the holy truths there what is meant by ‘seven lamps’.

sRef Rev@18 @23 S5′ sRef Rev@22 @5 S5′ [5] The fact that ‘a lamp’ means faith, also an intelligent understanding of truth and a wise discernment of good, which come from the Lord alone, is clear in John,

The holy Jerusalem has no need of the sun or of the moon to shed light in it. The glory of God will give it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations that are saved will walk in His light. Rev. 21:23, 24.

And further on,

There will be no night there, nor do they need a lamp or light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. Rev. 22:5.

‘Lamp’ in the first quotation stands for Divine Truth that comes from the Lord, and ‘light’ for faith, and so also for intelligence and wisdom. In the same book,

The light of a lamp will not shine in you any more, and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride will not be heard in you any more. Rev. 18:23.

sRef Job@21 @17 S6′ sRef Jer@25 @11 S6′ sRef Jer@25 @10 S6′ sRef Job@29 @3 S6′ sRef Ps@119 @104 S6′ sRef Ps@119 @105 S6′ sRef 2Sam@22 @29 S6′ sRef Ps@18 @28 S6′ [6] And in Jeremiah,

I will take away the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of mills, and the light of the lamp, that the whole land may be a desolation and devastation. Jer. 25:10, 11.

This refers to the elimination of faith and consequently of intelligence in spiritual matters meant here by the lamp which will no longer be there and by ‘the light of the lamp’ which will be taken away.

sRef Matt@6 @23 S7′ sRef Matt@6 @22 S7′ [7] The like occurs in Job,

How often is the lamp of the wicked put out and [how often] does destruction come upon them? Job 21:17.

In David,

You light my lamp; Jehovah my God makes my darkness bright. Ps. 18:28; 2 Sam. 22:29.

In the same author,

By Your commands I have been made intelligent. Your Word is a lamp to my foot, and a light to my path. Ps. 119:104, 105.

In Job,

When God causes a lamp to shine over my head I would walk in darkness towards His light. Job 29:3.

In Matthew,

The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is evil your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! Matt. 6:22, 23; Luke 8:16; 11:33-36.

‘The eye’ is used here to mean faith and consequent intelligence – the fact that these are meant in the internal sense by ‘the eye’, see 4403-4421, 4523-4534, 9051. And from this the meaning of the words, ‘If your eye is good your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is evil your whole body will be full of darkness’ is self-evident. Since faith and consequent intelligence and wisdom is meant by ‘a lamp’ the kings of Judah are called lamps to David, 1 Kings 11:36; 15:4; 2 Kings 8:19; and David himself is called the lamp of Israel, 2 Sam. 21:16, 17. Not that the kings of Judah were lamps; nor was David. Rather they were called such because ‘a king’ means Divine Truth that comes from the Lord, 6148, and ‘David’ the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, the source of faith, intelligence, and wisdom, 1888.
* lit. over its head

sRef Ex@25 @31 S0′ 9549. ‘From pure gold’ means that it must spring from celestial good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘gold’ as the good of love or celestial good, dealt with in 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917. Something brief must be stated here to explain why the lampstand was to be made from pure gold. ‘The lampstand’ means the Divine Spiritual or Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, as it exists in heaven and in the Church, 9548. Because this Truth has its origin in Divine Good the lampstand was made from gold; for as has been stated, ‘gold’ means good. This is more plainly evident from the manner in which the Lord flows into the heavens. The inmost or third heaven being the celestial, and the middle or second heaven being the spiritual, the Lord flows by way of the celestial heaven, in which the good of love to Him predominates, into the spiritual heaven, in which the truth of faith in Him does so. From this it is clear why the whole of the lampstand was to be made from pure gold, as also were the ten lampstands in the temple built by Solomon, 1 Kings 7:49. See also 9550 and 9568 below.

sRef Ex@25 @31 S0′ 9550. ‘Solid shall the lampstand be made’ means that all of it must spring from good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘solid’ as the entire whole, consequently as the necessity for all of it to spring from good, which is meant by ‘gold’. For the whole of the spiritual, meant by ‘the lampstand’ since it serves to shed light, arises from the celestial and is also kept in constant being by means of it, even as all truth springs from good. If you take away good, truth is instantly wiped out; for the soul of truth is good. It is like an affection belonging to love and its link to thought. If that affection is taken away, the thought is immediately wiped out; for the affection is the actual life or the soul of the thought. Every affection belonging to love has connection with good, and every thought springing from it has connection with truth. The truth which springs from good is called spiritual, and the good from which the truth springs is called celestial.

sRef Ex@25 @31 S0′ 9551. ‘Its shaft and its branch, its cups’ means the spiritual entities within the natural. This is clear from the meaning of ‘shaft’, ‘branch’, and ‘cup’ – which are extensions from the lampstand itself, just as the arms, hands, palms are extensions from the body – as spiritual entities within the natural. For the natural is an extension of and derives from the spiritual, even as the spiritual derives from the celestial, 9549. From all this it is evident that since ‘the lampstand’ means the Divine Spiritual, the parts which extend and derive from it, called ‘shaft’, ‘branch’, and ‘cups’, mean spiritual entities in the natural.

sRef Ex@25 @31 S0′ sRef Deut@8 @8 S1′ sRef Hag@2 @19 S1′ 9552. ‘Its pomegranates’ means factual knowledge of good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘pomegranates’ as factual knowledge of good. There is factual knowledge of good and factual knowledge of truth; the former is meant by ‘pomegranates’ and the latter by ‘flowers’ which embellished the lampstand all around. The fact that factual knowledge of good is meant by ‘pomegranates’ is clear from other places where they are mentioned, as in Moses,

A land of wheat and barley, and of the vine and of the fig and of the pomegranate. Deut. 8:8.

And in Haggai,

Is seed not as yet in the barn? And [has nothing whatever borne fruit,] even to the vine, or the fig tree, or the pomegranate? Hagg. 2:19.

‘Wheat and barley’ and ‘seed in the barn’ mean things that are celestial, both internal and external, ‘the vine, the fig tree, and the pomegranate’ those that are spiritual and natural, in their proper order. The lowest of these is factual knowledge, which exists on the natural and sensory level of the human mind; and this is why ‘the pomegranate’ is mentioned last.

sRef Amos@9 @1 S2′ sRef Zeph@2 @14 S2′ sRef Zeph@2 @13 S2′ [2] In Zephaniah,

Jehovah will destroy Asshur. Flocks will repose in the midst of her, every wild animal of [that] nation. The spoonbill also and the duck will lodge in its pomegranates.* Zeph. 2:13, 14.

‘The spoonbill and the duck in its pomegranates’ stands for falsities arising from evil that are present in factual knowledge of good. In Amos,

I saw the Lord standing over the altar, and He said, Strike the pomegranate,** that the posts may shake; that is, split them all on the head. The last of them I will kill with the sword. Amos 9:1.

‘Striking the pomegranate’ stands for destroying factual knowledge of good by means of falsities arising from evil. ‘The posts’ are said ‘to shake’ then because ‘the posts’ are the truths of the natural, 7847. ‘Killing the last with the sword’ stands for destroying in that way the lowest of these; for ‘the sword’ is truth battling against falsity and destroying it, or falsity battling against truth and destroying it, 2799, 4499, 6353, 7102, 8294.
* The original Hebrew word is thought to describe capitals shaped like pomegranates.
** What this refers to exactly, whether to capitals or to people of high rank, is not clear.

sRef Ex@25 @31 S0′ 9553. ‘And its flowers’ means factual knowledge of truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘flowers’ as factual knowledge of truth. Such knowledge is meant by ‘flowers’ because flowers are stages of growth which come before and in their own way lead on to fruit and seeds; for trees and young plants come into flower before they bear fruit, as is well known. The situation is similar with the intelligence and wisdom present in a person. Factual knowledge of truth comes first and in its own way leads on to the insights that constitute wisdom with the person; for that knowledge provides his rational mind with objects of thought and so the means to attain wisdom. This is why factual knowledge of truth is like the flowers, and goodness of life, which is the good of wisdom, is like the fruit. Since all realities in the spiritual world bear resemblance to such things as exist with a human being, for the reason that heaven resembles one complete human being and has a correspondence with every single aspect of the human being, therefore also all things in the natural world, according to their similarity to such things as exist with a human being, have a correspondence, a representation, and carry a spiritual meaning, 9496. From all this it now becomes clear why it is that factual knowledge of truth, and truths in general, are meant by ‘flowers’, and forms of good by ‘the fruit’ and also ‘seeds’.

sRef Isa@40 @8 S2′ sRef Isa@40 @6 S2′ sRef Isa@28 @1 S2′ sRef Isa@40 @7 S2′ sRef Isa@5 @24 S2′ sRef Nahum@1 @4 S2′ sRef Isa@27 @6 S2′ [2] The fact that factual knowledge of truth, and truths in general, are meant by ‘flowers’ is clear from the following places: In Isaiah,

Their root will be like rottenness, and their flower [will rise] like dust, because they have rejected the law of Jehovah Zebaoth, and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel. Isa. 5:24.

In the same prophet,

Those who are to come Jacob will cause to take root. Israel will blossom and flower, so that the face of the earth (orbis) may be filled with produce. Isa. 27:6.

In the same prophet,

Woe to the drunkards of Ephraim, and to the falling flower of glory* and of his beauty! Isa. 28:1.

‘The drunkards’ stands for those whose reasoning is based on falsities, 1072; ‘Ephraim’ stands for the Church’s understanding, in this instance when it has been perverted, 5354, 6222, 6234, 6238, 6267; and ‘glory’ stands for God’s truth, 4809, 5922, 8267, 8427, 9429, from which it is evident that ‘the flower’ means factual knowledge through which truth comes forth. In the same prophet,

The grass withers, the flower falls; the people are grass. But the Word of our God remains forever. Isa. 40:6-8.

In Nahum,

The flower of Lebanon languishes. Nahum 1:4.

Here also ‘the flower’ stands for factual knowledge serving as a means to the attainment of wisdom.

sRef Dan@4 @12 S3′ sRef Dan@4 @14 S3′ sRef Dan@4 @11 S3′ sRef Dan@4 @10 S3′ sRef Dan@4 @13 S3′ [3] In Daniel,

Nebuchadnezzar saw in a dream. Behold, a tree in the midst of the earth; its height was great, its leaf beautiful, and its flower much. Under it the beast of the field had shade, and in its branches dwelt the birds of the air; and all flesh was fed [from it]. But the Holy One from heaven crying out said, Hew down the tree, cut off its branches, get rid of its leaves, scatter its blossom. Let the beast of the field flee [from] under it, and the birds from its branches. Dan. 4:10-14.

‘The tree’ and ‘its height’ means the increase in the semblance of religion which is meant by ‘Babel’, a kind of religion that is holy outwardly but unholy inwardly, 1182, 1283, 1295, 1304, 1306-1308, 1321, 1322, 1326. ‘Leaf’ stands for factual knowledge of truth in general, 885, ‘blossom’ for factual knowledge of truth when it serves to lead to wisdom, but at this point when it serves to lead to stupidity since it says that they were to be scattered. ‘The beast of the field’ means those with affections for good, and in the contrary sense those with affections for evil, 45, 46, 142, 143, 246, 714, 715, 719, 776, 1823, 2179, 2180, 3218, 3519, 5198, 7523, 9090, 9280; but ‘the birds of the air’ are those with affections for truth, and in the contrary sense those with affections for falsity, 3219, 5149, 7441. This is why it says that the beast of the field dwelt under the shade of that tree, the birds of the air dwelt in its branches, and all flesh was fed [from it], and then that the beast of the field should flee [from] under it and the birds from its branches.
* Reading flori decidenti gloriae (the falling flower of glory) for flori decidentis gloriae (the flower of falling glory)

sRef Ex@25 @31 S0′ 9554. ‘Shall be of one piece with it’ means that both must form part of the spiritual springing from celestial good. This is clear from the meaning of the lampstand, of which the pomegranates and flowers ‘shall be [one piece]’, as the Divine Spiritual which springs from the Divine Celestial, dealt with above in 9548. From this it is evident that ‘they shall be of one piece with it’ means that they must form part of the spiritual springing from celestial good.

sRef Ex@25 @32 S0′ 9555. ‘And there shall be six branches going out of its sides’ means all the capacities of truth derived from good in their entirety. This is clear from the meaning of ‘six’ as all in their entirety, dealt with in 3960 (end), 7973, 8148; and from the meaning of ‘branches going out of the sides’ as truths derived from good. For the branches out of the lampstand have a similar meaning to human arms and hands, because every single thing that exists in the natural order bears resemblance to the human form and for that reason has a spiritual meaning, 9496, 9553. The arms and hands on a person correspond to truths derived from good, and consequently to power, 878, 4931-4937, 5327, 5328, 6292, 6947, 7188, 7189, 7205, 7518, 7673, 8050, 8153, 8281, 9025, 9133. From all this it is evident that ‘six branches going out of the sides’ means all the capacities of truth derived from good in their entirety.

sRef Ex@25 @32 S0′ 9556. ‘Three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it, and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it’ means completeness so far as good and truth are concerned. This is clear from the meaning of ‘three’ as what is complete, dealt with in 2788, 4495, 7715 9198; from the meaning of ‘branches of the lampstand’ as truths derived from good, and consequently power, dealt with above in 9555; and from the meaning of ‘out of one side’ and ‘out of the other side’ as from good and consequently from truth. For the parts on the right side of the body mean forms of good, and those on the left mean forms of truth derived from good, as for example with the right and left sides of the face, the right and left eye, the right and left ear, the right and left foot, and so on with everything else in the body.

sRef Ex@25 @33 S0′ 9557. ‘There shall be three almond-shaped cups’ means completeness so far as factual knowledge derived from good is concerned. This is clear from the meaning of ‘three’ as what is complete, dealt with immediately above in 9556; from the meaning of ‘cups’ as true factual knowledge derived from the good of charity, dealt with in 5120; and from the meaning of ‘almond-shaped’ as forms of the good of life that agree with the truths of interior natural good, dealt with in 5622. From these meanings it is evident that ‘three almond-shaped cups’ means completeness so far as true factual knowledge derived from good is concerned.

sRef Ex@25 @33 S0′ 9558. ‘On one branch’ means the power of truth derived from good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘branch’ as truth derived from good, and consequently power, dealt with above in 9555.

sRef Ex@25 @33 S0′ 9559. ‘A pomegranate and a flower’ means a known fact about good and [a known fact] about truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a pomegranate’ as a known fact about good, dealt with in 9552; and from the meaning of ‘a flower’ as a known fact about truth, dealt with in 9553.

sRef Ex@25 @33 S0′ 9560. ‘And three almond-shaped cups on one branch, a pomegranate and a flower’ has the same meaning as the words immediately above in 9557-9559. This is clear without explanation.

sRef Ex@25 @33 S0′ 9561. ‘Thus for the six branches going out of the lampstand’ means the power of truth derived from good so far as all things in the spiritual heaven are concerned. This is clear from the meaning of ‘six’ as all in their entirety, as above in 9555; from the meaning of ‘branches’ as truths derived from good, and consequently power, dealt with above in 9555, 9558; and from the meaning of ‘the lampstand’ as the spiritual heaven, also dealt with above, in 9548. From these meanings it is evident that ‘the six branches going out of the lampstand’ means the power of truth derived from good so far as all things in the spiritual heaven are concerned.

sRef Ex@25 @34 S0′ 9562. ‘And on [the shaft of] the lampstand’ means the middle [of it], by means of which everything is brought together, and from which powers are derived. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the lampstand’ as the spiritual heaven, dealt with in 9548. But at this point, since the term is used to refer to the middle part, out of which there went ‘six branches’, by which powers are meant, 9558, it means the middle, by means of which everything is brought together and from which powers are derived.

sRef Ex@25 @34 S0′ 9563. ‘There shall be four almond-shaped cups’ means factual knowledge of truth derived from good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘four’ as a joining together, dealt with in 8877; and from the meaning of ‘almond-shaped cups’ as factual knowledge derived from good, dealt with above in 9557.

sRef Ex@25 @34 S0′ 9564. ‘Its pomegranates and its flowers’ means factual knowledge of good and truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘pomegranates’ as factual knowledge of good, dealt with in 9552; and from the meaning of ‘flowers’ as factual knowledge of truth, dealt with in 9553.

sRef Ex@25 @35 S0′ 9565. ‘And there shall be a pomegranate under [the first] two branches out of it, and a pomegranate under [the second] two branches out of it, and a pomegranate under [the third] two branches out of it’ means factual knowledge of good for every single truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a pomegranate’ as factual knowledge of good, dealt with in 9552; and from the meaning of ‘branches’ as truths derived from good, dealt with in 9555. The use of the same words three times means every single one, and in the internal sense a complete joining together; for ‘three’ means completeness, 2788, 4495, 7715, 9198, and ‘two’ a joining together, 1686, 5194, 8423.

sRef Ex@25 @35 S0′ 9566. ‘For the six branches going out of the lampstand’ means the power of truth derived from good so far as all things in the spiritual heaven are concerned, as above in 9561.

sRef Ex@25 @36 S0′ 9567. ‘Their pomegranates and their branches shall be of one piece with it, all [shall be part] of it’ means that the factual knowledge of good and the powers must spring from the Divine Spiritual, which comes from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘pomegranates’ as factual knowledge of good, dealt with in 9552; from the meaning of ‘branches’ as truths derived from good, and consequently powers, also dealt with above, in 9555, 9558; and from the meaning of the lampstand, which they ‘shall be of one piece with’, as the Divine Spiritual from the Lord in heaven and in the Church, dealt with in 9548. From these meanings it is evident that ‘the pomegranates and the flowers shall be of one piece with the lampstand’ means that the factual knowledge of good and the powers must spring from the Divine Spiritual, which comes from the Lord. What all this implies, see immediately below.

sRef Ex@25 @36 S0′ 9568. ‘One solid [piece made] from pure gold’ means unblemished and perfect because it all consists of the same good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘one solid [piece]’ as in every respect, that is, it consists wholly of good, meant by ‘gold’, 9550, and so is unblemished and perfect; for what consists altogether of good is unblemished and perfect. The words ‘consists wholly of good’ and so ‘unblemished and perfect’ are used when good is the all in all, not only in the truths meant by ‘the branches’ but also in the factual knowledge meant by ‘the pomegranates and the flowers’. But what all this really means must be stated. Good is what the truths spring from, and the truths springing from good are what the factual knowledge springs from, so that one is derived and brought forth from another. Nevertheless good is the all in everything that is brought forth and derived because it springs from the good. The situation is similar to that with end, cause, and effect.

[2] The end is the all of the cause, and the cause is the all of the effect. From this it follows that the end is the all of the effect, so much so that if the end or final cause is taken away, its efficient cause cannot exist, nor can the effect. The celestial, spiritual, and natural follow one another in a like manner. From the celestial springs everything spiritual, and from the spiritual springs everything natural, that is, it springs from the celestial by way of the spiritual. All that with a person is called the celestial which belongs to the good of love; that which belongs to the truth of faith springing from that good is called the spiritual; and that which belongs to factual knowledge is called the natural. Factual knowledge is the natural because it is truth as seen in the light of the world, whereas the truth of faith, to the extent that it forms part of a person’s own faith, is truth as seen in the light of heaven.

[3] From all this it may now be seen how one is brought forth and derived from another, and that the first is the all in everything that is brought forth and derived, so completely so that if the first is taken away those that follow on from it cease to exist. The Divine is the first of all things, as everyone with any insight may know; therefore the Divine is the All in all of the whole order of things, thus in all the forms of good and truth that constitute heaven and that constitute the life of heaven with a person. Consequently good from the Divine is present in all truths of faith, and if good is not the all in them, and the Lord’s Divine is not the all within that good, a person does not have anything of heaven within himself, nor therefore anything of the Church.

[4] But the Lord’s Divine is within all the forms of good and from these within all the forms of truth with a person when in love he wishes, and in faith from that love believes that all good and all truth, thus the all of love and the all of faith, originate in the Lord, and none whatever in self; and also that the amount of the truth of faith he possesses depends on the amount of good from the Lord he receives. For as has been stated, good is the all in all of truth, and truth devoid of good is truth devoid of life. All this goes to show how the description ‘unblemished and perfect because it all consists of the same good’, meant by ‘one solid [piece made] from pure gold’, should be understood.

sRef Ex@25 @37 S0′ 9569. ‘And you shall make its seven lamps’ means the holy spiritual things from it. This is clear from the meaning of ‘lamps’ as faith and an intelligent understanding of truth that come from the Lord alone, dealt with in 9548, thus the Spiritual, since Divine Truth, which comes from the Lord and through which faith, intelligence, and wisdom are received, is the Spiritual; and from the meaning of ‘seven’ as that which is holy, dealt with in 395, 433, 716, 881, 5265, 5268. The lamps were seven in number because Divine Truth, from which faith, intelligence, and wisdom spring, is that which is called holy; for that Divine Truth emanates from the Divine Good of the Lord’s Divine Love, and the Divine Good of Divine Love is what makes things holy. This explains why consecrations were carried out with the use of oil, as at the consecration of the tent and everything there, of the altar, Aaron and his sons, also their garments, and later on of kings, on account of which they were called the anointed. For ‘oil’ means the good of love, 886, 3728, 4582, 4638.

sRef Ex@25 @37 S0′ 9570. ‘And let it cause its lamps to go up’ means the light of the spiritual heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘causing the lamps to go up’ as kindling a light in them so that they may give light; and since ‘the lampstand’ represented the spiritual heaven, 9548, ‘causing the lamps to go up’ means the light of the spiritual heaven. The light of the spiritual heaven is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, and the faith, intelligent understanding of truth, and wise discernment of good that spring from it, see the places referred to in 9548. What the light of the spiritual heaven is like must be stated briefly. In the Lord’s celestial kingdom, which is the inmost or third heaven, there is light which is vastly superior to the light that exists in the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, which is the middle or second heaven. The light of the celestial kingdom or inmost heaven does not have the appearance of light but of flame. The reason for this is that in that heaven the good of love reigns, and the good of love manifests itself visually in heaven as flame, whereas in the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, which is the middle or second heaven, there is light which, though vastly superior to the light of the world, nevertheless has the appearance of brilliant light. And the reason why is that in this heaven the truth of faith springing from the good of love reigns, and the truth of faith springing from that good manifests itself visually in heaven as brilliant light. This also explains why ‘light’ in the Word means truth that springs from good, and in the highest sense Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good. From all this it may now become clear what should be understood by the light of the spiritual heaven, and what by the flame of the lamp from which that light shines.

sRef John@5 @37 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @37 S0′ sRef John@1 @18 S0′ 9571. ‘And give light before its faces’ means from the Divine Good of the Lord’s Divine Human. This is clear from the meaning of ‘giving light’ as the Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good, for this is what gives light to heaven and the angels themselves there, and also to the Church and the people in it whose faith is founded on good (the resulting enlightenment is enlightenment of the mind, from which comes intelligence and wisdom in the truths and forms of the good of faith; the mind receives light through the Word because the Word is Divine Truth from the Lord); and from the meaning of ‘faces’, when this word has reference to the Lord, as all that which springs from the Divine Good of the Lord’s Divine Love, dealt with in 9545, 9546. It springs from the Divine Good of the Lord’s Divine Human because the Lord’s Divine Human is the source of the light in heaven; for His Human is heaven’s Sun from which the light flows, and the light from there is Divine Truth, see 1053, 1521-1533, 1619-1632, 2776, 3094, 3138, 3167, 3190, 3195, 3222, 3223, 3337, 3339, 3341, 3636, 3643, 3862, 3993, 4060, 4180, 4302, 4408, 4414, 4415, 4419, 4527, 4598, 5400, 6032, 6313, 6315, 6608, 6907, 7174, 8644, 8707, 8861, 9399, 9407. Also the Lord is the Sun of heaven, 1053, 1521, 1529-1531, 2441, 3636, 3643, 4321 (end), 5097, 7078, 7083, 7171, 7173, 8644, 8812. The Lord’s Divine Human is the source of the light in heaven because the Divine cannot be seen except under a Human form, which moreover the Lord has taught in John,

Nobody has ever seen God; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known. John 1:18.

And in the same gospel,

You have never heard the Father’s voice nor seen His shape. John 5:37.

sRef John@13 @10 S0′ sRef Ex@25 @38 S0′ 9572. ‘And its tongs and its trowels’ means things in the natural that serve to purify and clean out. This is clear from the meaning of ‘tongs’ and ‘trowels’ as things that serve to remove waste products, and so to purify and clean out. They exist in the natural because the natural serves to remove waste and so to purify and clean out. For everything that belongs to the internal or spiritual man comes right down into the natural and is purified there; for in the natural that which is filthy and that which is superfluous are discharged, and that which is suitable is set in order for useful service. The fact that this takes place in the natural may be recognized from the consideration that since the internal or spiritual man, while in the body, thinks within the natural, revealing and declaring its thoughts through the body, and also wills within the natural, carrying out the desires of the will through the body, therefore the natural is what serves to clean out and remove waste products. This is meant by ‘feet-washing’, which the Lord speaks of as follows in John,

He who has been washed has no need except to wash his feet, and the whole person is clean. John 13:10.

‘Washing’ meant the purification of the internal man, 3147, 5954 (end), 9088; and ‘feet’ meant the natural, 2162, 3147, 3761, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952.

sRef Ex@25 @38 S0′ 9573. ‘[Shall be made] from pure gold’ means that these too must consist of good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘gold’ as the good of love, dealt with above in 9549. Why the things that serve to purify and clean out were likewise to consist of good is clear from what has been shown above in 9568.

sRef Ex@35 @39 S0′ 9574. ‘A talent of pure gold shall [be used to] make it, together with all these vessels’ means celestial good from which spiritual good together with its factual knowledge springs. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a talent of pure gold’ as one good from which all things spring, for ‘a talent’ means one, and ‘gold’ good, 9549; and ‘vessels’, which too must consist of the same good, means factual knowledge, 9557, 9559, 9560, 9563, 9564. For the meaning of ‘vessels’ in general as truths and factual knowledge, see 3068, 3079, 9394, 9544. Since good must be the all in everything that is brought forth and derived, so that celestial good must be in spiritual forms of good, and from these in factual knowledge, 9568, it therefore says that the lampstand shall be made from pure and solid gold, 9549, 9550; that the shaft, branches, cups, pomegranates, and flowers shall be of [one piece with] it, 9551-9554; and at this point that it shall be made, together with all its vessels, from a talent of pure gold.

sRef Ex@25 @40 S0′ 9575. Verse 40 And see to it that you make them in accordance with the pattern of them which you were given to see* on the mountain.

‘And see to it that you make them in accordance with the pattern of them’ means a representative of all things. ‘Which you were given to see on the mountain’ means which were seen in heaven with the eyes of the spirit.
* lit. And see and make in the pattern of them which you were caused to see

sRef Ex@25 @40 S0′ 9576. ‘And see to it that you make them in accordance with the pattern of them’ means a representative of all things. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the pattern’ as a representative, as above in 9481, 9482, at this point a representative of heaven where the Lord is, and of all things of heaven, that is, of all things that are the Lord’s in heaven. For ‘the pattern of them’ is used to mean the pattern of the ark, dwelling-place, tables for the loaves of the Presence, lampstand, and vessels, and these represent heaven where the Lord is and heavenly things.

sRef Ex@25 @40 S0′ 9577. ‘Which you were given to see on the mountain’ means which were seen in heaven with the eyes of the spirit. This is clear from the meaning of ‘seeing’, when it has reference to representatives in heaven, as seeing with the eyes of the spirit, dealt with below; and from the meaning of Mount Sinai as heaven, dealt with in 8805, 9420. The fact that ‘seeing’, when it has reference to representatives which make their appearance in heaven, means seeing with the eyes of the spirit may be recognized from the consideration that angelic spirits, who inhabit the lowest or first heaven, constantly see patterns or forms of things similar to such objects as exist in the world. They see for instance parks, trees there with fruit on them, flowers, and young plants, also houses and palaces, as well as very many kinds of living creatures, in addition to countless other things that have not been seen in the world. All those sights are representatives of heavenly realities that exist in higher heavens. These realities there manifest themselves in such a form or pattern before the eyes of the spirits below, in order that from it an angelic spirit may be able to know about and gain an insight into particular realities that come to exist in higher heavens; for all things, even the most specific, are representative and carry a spiritual meaning. All this makes clear what should be understood by a representative of heaven and heavenly realities, which are meant by the ark, cherubs, dwelling-place, tables there, and lampstand.

[2] Such sights cannot be seen with the human eye in the world, for the eye has been formed to take in earthly and bodily shapes, thus material objects. The eye therefore is so imperfect that with its vision it cannot even take in the secrets of the natural order, as magnifying glasses go to prove, since it must be supplied with these if it is to see merely the least hidden secrets of the natural order. In short, the eyes are extremely dim, and being like this they cannot possibly see the representatives which make their appearance to spirits in the next life. If these are to make their appearance the inferior light of the world must be taken away from the eyes; and once it has been taken away those things that exist in the light of heaven are seen. For there is the light of heaven and there is the light of the world; the light of heaven exists for a person’s spirit and the light of the world for a person’s body. The situation is that those things which exist in the light of heaven are in thick darkness when a person looks at them from the light of the world, and conversely those things which exist in the light of the world are in thick darkness when a person looks at them from the light of heaven. So it is that when the light of the world is taken away from the sight of his physical eye the eyes of his spirit are opened, and those things which exist in the light of heaven, thus representative forms or patterns, are seen, as has been stated above.

[3] From all this it may recognized why it is that people at the present day are in thick darkness so far as heavenly matters are concerned. Some are in darkness so thick that they do not even believe in the existence of life after death, nor therefore that they are going to be alive for evermore. For people at the present day are immersed so much in the body, thus in bodily, earthly, and worldly concerns, and consequently in the light of the world which is so imperfect, that heavenly things are complete and utter darkness to them, and therefore the sight of their spirit cannot be enlightened. All this now shows what is meant by seeing with the eyes of the spirit, the eyes with which Moses saw the pattern of the tent on Mount Sinai.

9578. PLANETS OUT IN SPACE – THE FIRST PLANET THERE WHICH I HAVE SEEN

I was conveyed by the Lord by means of angels to some planet in the universe, where I was allowed to see into the actual planet but not to talk to those inhabiting it, only to spirits who had originated from there; for all the inhabitants or people of any planet whatever become spirits after the life they have led in the world, and they remain around their own planet. From them however knowledge is obtained regarding their planet and the state of those inhabiting it; for when people depart from the body they take all their previous life and all their memory with them.

9579. Being conveyed to planets in the universe does not mean being conveyed and brought to them as to the body but as to the spirit; and the spirit is not conveyed by a journey through intervals of space but through variations of the state of inner life, which seem to the person to be a journey through intervals of space, 5605, 7381, 9440. Furthermore any approach towards them depends on the compatability or similarity of state, for compatibility or similarity of state brings people together and incompatibility or dissimilarity of state sets them apart. From this it may be recognized how the spirit can be brought to and approach places far away while the person remains where he is.

9580. But conveying a person’s spirit outside his own globe through variations of the state of his interiors and causing the variations to progress one after another till a state is reached that is compatible with or similar to the states of those to whom he is conveyed lies within the power of the Lord alone. For constant direction is necessary and foresight from first to last, there and back, especially when such a journey is made by the spirit of a person who still lives as to the body within the natural order and therefore within space.

9581. Those who are ruled by their bodily senses and think on the level of those senses cannot be led to believe that such a thing has ever happened. The reason for this is that the bodily senses can have no conception of a journey other than one that is made through intervals of space. Those however who think on the sensory level of their spirit, when that level has been removed or withdrawn to some extent from the sensory level of the body, and so think on a more internal level, can be led to believe and conceive that such a thing has happened, because space and time do not come into the idea formed in their mind, but instead of space and time the kinds of realities which are the cause behind all that is spatial and temporal. Let the information that follows therefore regarding planets in the starry sky be for the latter kind of people and not for the former, unless they are such as allow themselves to receive instruction.

9582. In a state when I was wide awake I was conveyed by the Lord as to my spirit by means of angels to some planet in the universe, accompanied by certain spirits from our own globe. The journey took us off to the right and lasted two hours. As we neared the edge of our solar system, there appeared first a whitish but thick cloud, and then fiery smoke rising up from a large chasm. It was a huge gulf separating our solar system or world on that side from certain other worlds out in space; and that fiery smoke could be seen from rather a long way off. I was being carried across the middle when there appeared underneath in that chasm or gulf very many people, who were spirits (for spirits appear all in human form and in actual fact are people, 322, 1881). I also heard them talking to one another there. But where they were from and what they were like I was not allowed to know. One of them however told me that they were guards preventing spirits from crossing over from our world into some other in the universe, unless access had been granted.

9583. This was also proved to be so. When some spirits in our company who had not received permission to go across came to that great gap they began to cry out vehemently that they were perishing, for they were like those in agony, fighting for their lives; they therefore stopped on that side of the gulf and could not be taken any further on. For the fiery smoke issuing out of the gulf took hold of them and so choked them. The fiery smoke is falsity arising from the evils of cravings. This is what that falsity is seen as.

9584. ‘The first planet out in space which I have seen’ is continued at the end of the next chapter.

9585. 26

TEACHINGS ABOUT CHARITY AND FAITH

All the impulses of a person’s will and so of that person’s love is called FREEDOM. This being what freedom is, it reveals itself in the delight that belongs to the activities of will and thought and to resulting action and speech; for all delight belongs to some love and all love belongs to the will, and the will is the indispensable element (esse) of a person’s life.

sRef John@8 @34 S0′ sRef John@8 @35 S0′ sRef John@8 @36 S0′ 9586. Doing what is bad, when one loves and delights to do it, seems like freedom; but it is slavery, because hell is the source of it. Doing what is good, when one loves and delights to do it, also seems like freedom; and it is indeed freedom, because the Lord is the source of it. It is slavery therefore when a person is led by hell, and freedom when a person is led by the Lord. This is something that the Lord teaches in John,

Everyone committing sin is a slave of sin. A slave does not remain in the house forever; the Son remains forever. If the Son makes you free, you will be truly free. John 8:34-36.

sRef Mark@4 @26 S0′ sRef Mark@4 @27 S0′ sRef Mark@4 @28 S0′ 9587. The Lord maintains a person in the freedom to think; and to the extent that external restraints – fear of the law, fear for one’s life, and fear of the loss of reputation, position, or gain – do not hold the person back, He maintains him in the freedom to act. But by means of that freedom He can steer the person away from what is bad, and by means of that freedom steer him towards what is good. He leads the person so gently and quietly that he has no other idea than this, that everything proceeds from himself. In this situation the Lord sows good and implants it deeply in a person’s actual life; and that good remains there forever. This is something the Lord teaches in Mark,

The kingdom of God is like someone who casts seed into the earth. The seed sprouts and grows, he himself knowing not how; the earth bears fruit of its own accord. Mark 4:26-28.

‘The kingdom of God’ is heaven as it exists with a person; it is accordingly the good of love and the truth of faith.

9588. What is sown in freedom remains, because it is implanted deeply in the person’s actual will, which is the indispensable element of his life. But what is sown under compulsion does not remain, because the compulsion is not an impulse originating in the person’s own will but belongs to the one who compels him. So it is that worship offered in freedom is pleasing to the Lord, but not worship offered under compulsion. Worship offered in freedom is worship coming from the heart; for all freedom goes together with love.

9589. There is heavenly freedom and there is hellish freedom. Heavenly freedom consists in being led by the Lord; and this freedom is the love of goodness and truth. But hellish freedom consists in being led by the devil; and that freedom is a love of evil and falsity, or a craving, strictly speaking.

9590. Those who live in hellish freedom imagine that it is slavery and compulsion if they are not allowed to do what is bad and think what is false just as they like. But those who live in heavenly freedom find doing what is bad and thinking what is false abhorrent; and if they are compelled to act or think in those ways they suffer torment.

9591. All this shows what FREE WILL is, namely doing what is good because one freely chooses or it is in one’s will to do it, and that those people enjoy that freedom who are led by the Lord.

EXODUS 26

1 And you shall make the dwelling-place, [formed by] ten curtains; from fine twined linen and violet and purple and twice-dyed scarlet, with cherubs, with the work of a designer you shall make them.

2 The length of one curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the breadth four cubits; [this is what] one curtain [shall be]. All the curtains shall have one measure.

3 Five curtains shall be joined together, each one to the next, and five curtains joined together, each one to the next.

4 And you shall make loops of violet on the edge of the one curtain at the end in the joining-place, and you shall do the same in the edge of the end curtain in the complementary joining-place.

5 Fifty loops you shall make in the one curtain, and fifty loops you shall make in the end of the curtain which is in the complementary joining-place; the loops must be taken up, each one towards the other.

6 And you shall make fifty clasps of gold, and join the curtains together, each one to the next in the clasps; and the dwelling-place shall be one.

7 And you shall make curtains from [she-]goats* to be a tent over the dwelling-place; eleven curtains you shall make them.

8 The length of one curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth four cubits; [this is what] one curtain [shall be]. The eleven curtains shall have one measure.

9 And you shall join five curtains together by themselves, and six curtains by themselves; and you shall double over the sixth curtain at the forefront of the tent.

10 And you shall make fifty loops on the edge of one end curtain in the joining-place, and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain of the complementary joining-place.

11 And you shall make fifty clasps of bronze, and put the clasps into the loops, and join the tent together, that it may be one.

12 And the additional part that trails backwards in the curtains of the tent, the half of the additional curtain, shall trail** over the back of the dwelling-place.

13 And a cubit on one side and a cubit on the other side in the additional part in the length of the curtains of the tent shall trail over the sides of the dwelling-place on this side and on that side, to cover it.

14 And you shall make a covering for the tent from the skins of red rams, and a covering from the skins of badgers above that.

15 And you shall make the boards for the dwelling-place from shittim wood, standing up.***

16 Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half the breadth of one board.

17 There shall be two hands**** to one board, acting in combination with each other. Thus you shall make for all the boards of the dwelling-place.

18 And you shall make the boards for the dwelling-place, twenty boards for the south side,***** southwards.

19 And you shall make forty bases of silver under the twenty boards, two bases under one board for its two hands,**** and two bases under one board****** for its two hands.****

20 And for the other side of the dwelling-place – on the north side******* – there shall be twenty boards,

21 And their forty bases [made] from silver, two bases under one board and two bases under one board.******

22 And for the two legs******** of the dwelling-place towards the sea********* you shall make six boards.

23 And you shall make two boards for the corners of the dwelling-place at the two legs.********

24 And they shall be paired from below, and together they shall be paired up to its head, up to one ring. Thus it shall be for them both; at the two corners they shall be.

25 And there shall be eight boards and their bases [made] from silver – sixteen bases – two bases under one board and two bases under one board.******

26 And you shall make bars from shittim wood, five for the boards of one side of the dwelling-place,

27 And five bars for the boards of the other side of the dwelling-place, and five bars for the boards of the side of the dwelling-place at the two legs towards the sea,*********

28 And the middle bar in the midst of the boards that passes through from end to end.

29 And you shall overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings from gold, houses for the bars; and you shall overlay the bars with gold.

30 And you shall set up the dwelling-place according to the plan which you saw********** on the mountain.

31 And you shall make a veil from violet and purple and twice-dyed scarlet and fine twined linen; with the work of a designer it shall be made,*********** with cherubs.

32 And you shall hang it upon four pillars of shittim [wood] overlaid with gold, and their hooks [shall be made] from gold; [they shall stand] on four bases of silver.

33 And you shall hang up the veil under the clasps, and you shall bring the ark of the Testimony in there, within the veil; and let the veil be for you a divider between the holy place and the holy of holies.

34 And you shall put the mercy-seat onto the ark of the Testimony in the holy of holies.

35 And you shall place the table outside the veil, and the lampstand across from the table, at the side of the dwelling-place towards the south; and you shall put the table on the north side.

36 And you shall make a screen for the tent door from violet and purple and twice-dyed scarlet and fine twined linen, the work of an embroiderer.

37 And you shall make for the screen five pillars of shittim [wood], and you shall overlay them with gold; and their hooks [shall be made] from gold; and you shall cast for them five bases of bronze.
* i.e. goats’ wool, see 9470.
** lit. you shall cause to flow backwards
*** i.e. they are vertical boards
**** i.e. tenons
***** lit. corner or angle
****** i.e. another board
******* i.e. rear parts
******** i.e. at the west end
********* i.e. the rear parts at the west end
********** lit. according to the mode which you were caused to see
*********** lit. he shall make it

sRef Ex@26 @0 S0′ 9592. CONTENTS

In this chapter the second or middle heaven is represented by the dwelling-place and the tent, and the celestial and spiritual constituents of that heaven are represented by the materials used to assemble the dwelling-place and tent. And after that the intermediary uniting this heaven and the inmost heaven is represented by the veil between the dwelling-place and the ark of the Testimony.

sRef Ex@26 @1 S0′ 9593. THE INTERNAL SENSE

Verse 1 And you shall make the dwelling-place, [formed by] ten curtains; from fine twined linen and violet and purple and twice-dyed scarlet, with cherubs, with the work of a designer you shall make them.

‘And you shall make the dwelling-place’ means the second or middle heaven. ‘Ten curtains’ means all the truths of which it consists. ‘From fine twined linen and violet and purple and twice-dyed scarlet’ means the spiritual and celestial realities from which those truths are derived. ‘With cherubs’ means the Lord’s watchfulness, guarding it from the approach of the hells and the harm they can do. ‘With the work of a designer you shall make them’ means the power of understanding.

sRef Ex@26 @1 S0′ 9594. ‘And you shall make the dwelling-place’ means the second or middle heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the dwelling-place’, when it refers to the Divine, as heaven – the middle or second heaven, strictly speaking. It is well known that there are three heavens, namely the inmost, middle, and lowest, or third, second, and first. All these heavens were represented by the tabernacle; the inmost or third heaven was represented by the ark where the Testimony was, the middle or second heaven by the dwelling-place where the table for the loaves of the Presence and the lampstand were, and the lowest or first heaven by the court. The reason why there are three heavens is that there are three degrees of life with the human being. (Human beings, who become angels after death, constitute heaven; angels have no other beginning, and the heavens spring from no other source.) The inmost degree of his life exists for the inmost heaven, the middle degree of life for the middle heaven, and the lowest for the lowest heaven. And because the human being is like this, or has been so formed, and heaven springs from the human race, there are three heavens.

[2] These degrees of life with a person are opened up in successive stages. The first degree is opened up by a life led in accord with what is right and fair, the second degree by a life in accord with the truths of faith drawn from the Word and with forms of the good of charity towards the neighbour that follow on from those truths, and the third degree by a life in accord with the good of mutual love and the good of love to the Lord. These virtues are the means by which those three degrees of life with a person, and so the three heavens with him, are opened up in successive stages. But it should be recognized that to the extent that a person departs from good in life and moves towards evil in life those degrees are closed, that is, the heavens with him are closed; for just as good in life opens them, so evil in life closes them. This being so, all who are steeped in evil are outside heaven, thus are in hell. It should also be recognized that with some people – since the heavens with a person are opened up in successive stages according to the good present in his life, as stated above – the first heaven and not the second is opened up; that with some others the second heaven and not the third is opened up; but that the third heaven is opened up solely with those governed by good in life springing from love to the Lord. For the human being is heaven in its smallest form, and has been created so as to conform to an image of heaven and of the world, see the places referred to in 9279.

sRef Ps@43 @4 S3′ sRef Ps@46 @4 S3′ sRef Ps@43 @3 S3′ sRef Ps@74 @7 S3′ sRef Ps@84 @1 S3′ [3] There is therefore an inmost heaven, represented by the ark of the Testimony, which was the subject in the previous chapter; a middle heaven, represented by the dwelling-place, which is the subject in the present chapter; and a lowest heaven, represented by the court, which is the subject in the next chapter. Heaven is called God’s dwelling-place because what is Divine and the Lord’s dwells there; for Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good is what makes heaven, indeed gives life to the angels there. And since the Lord dwells with angels in that which comes from Him, 9338 (end), heaven is called God’s dwelling-place, and the actual Divine Truths emanating from Divine Good, which angels or angelic communities are recipients of, are called dwellings, as in David,

Send out Your light and Your truth; let them lead me, let them lead me to [Your] holy mountain and to Your dwellings, that I may go in to the altar of God, to God … Ps. 43:3, 4.

In the same author,

There is a river whose streams will make glad the city of God, the holy place of the dwellings of the Most High. Ps. 46:4.

In the same author,

Down to the ground* they have profaned the dwelling-place of Your name. Ps. 74:7.

In the same author,

How lovely are Your dwellings, O Jehovah! Ps. 84:1.

sRef Ps@132 @5 S4′ sRef Ps@132 @6 S4′ sRef Ps@132 @2 S4′ sRef Ps@132 @4 S4′ sRef Ps@132 @7 S4′ [4] The fact that the Divine realities which emanate from the Lord’s Divine Human are what are rightly called ‘dwellings’, as a result of which heaven itself is called ‘the dwelling-place’, is also clear in David,

He swore to Jehovah, he made a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob, Surely I will not give sleep to my eyes, until I find a place for Jehovah, the dwelling-places for the Mighty One of Jacob. Behold, we heard of Him in Ephrathah, we found Him in the fields of the wood. We will enter His dwelling-places. Ps. 132:2, 4-7.

‘The Mighty One of Jacob’ is the Lord’s Divine Human, 6425. ‘Ephrathah’, where He was to be found, is Bethlehem where He was born, Gen. 35:19; 48:7; Micah 5:2; Matt. 2:5, 6. ‘The fields of the wood’ are the forms of good composing the Church among gentiles.

sRef Ezek@37 @26 S5′ sRef Ezek@37 @25 S5′ sRef Ezek@37 @27 S5′ [5] In Ezekiel,

They will dwell in the land which I gave to My servant Jacob. They will dwell in it, they [and their sons] and their sons’ sons forever. And David My servant will be their prince forever. I will make with them a covenant of peace; it will be an eternal covenant with them. And I will set My sanctuary in their midst forever; so shall My dwelling-place be among them. Ezek. 37:25-27.

‘David, who will be their prince forever’ stands for the Lord, 1888; ‘the sanctuary’ (sanctuarium) stands for the Lord’s Divine Human, since He is the source of all holiness (sanctum), 3210, 9229, so that ‘dwelling-place’ stands for heaven and for the Church, where the Lord is.

sRef Jer@30 @18 S6′ [6] In Jeremiah,

Thus said Jehovah, Behold, I will bring back the captivity** of the tents of Jacob, and will have compassion on his dwellings, that the city may be built upon its mound. Jer. 30:18.

‘Bringing back the captivity of the tents of Jacob’ stands for restoring the external Church’s forms of good and truths which had been destroyed, ‘having compassion on his dwellings’ for restoring the internal Church’s truths, ‘the city which was to be built upon its mound’ for doctrinal teachings about the truth, 2449, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493.

[7] How the Lord dwells in the heavens may be seen from what has been shown previously regarding the Lord, that is to say, where it has been shown that the Lord’s Divine Human is the Sun, the source of heat and light in the heavens. The heat radiating from the Lord as the Sun is love, while the light is faith. The Lord therefore dwells with those who receive from Him the good of love and the truth of faith, which are the heat and light of life; and how fully He is present depends on their degree of receptivity.
* lit. Into the earth or land
** i.e. restore the fortunes

sRef Ex@26 @1 S0′ 9595. ‘Ten curtains’ means all the truths of which it consists. This is clear from the meaning of ‘ten’ as all, dealt with in 4638, so that ‘a tenth part’, which is one curtain, means a sufficient amount, 8468, 8540; and from the meaning of ‘curtains’ as the interior truths of faith which belong to the new understanding. For ‘the dwelling-place’ means the middle or second heaven, which is heaven by virtue of its reception of Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good, as shown above in 9594; consequently the curtains of which it was assembled and which enveloped it are the truths of faith belonging to the new understanding. They are interior truths, because exterior truths are meant by the curtains made from [the hair of] goats for the tent going all the way round, which are also dealt with in the present chapter.

sRef Isa@54 @1 S2′ sRef Isa@54 @2 S2′ sRef Isa@54 @3 S2′ [2] The fact that ‘curtains’ are the truths of faith which those in the Lord’s spiritual kingdom possess is clear from places in the Word where they are mentioned, as in Isaiah,

Sing, O barren one that did not bear; for the sons of her that is desolate will be more than the sons of her that is married. Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwelling-places. Lengthen the ropes, because you will break out to the right and to the left, and your seed will inherit the nations. Isa. 54:1-3.

This refers to the Church to be established among the gentiles, which is called ‘a barren one that did not bear’ because it lacks truths from the Word, 9325. It says that ‘her sons will be more than those of her that is married’ because it will have more truths than the devastated former Church had; for ‘sons’ are truths, 489, 491, 533, 1147, 3373, 3704. ‘Enlarging the place of the tent’ stands for the holiness of worship springing from the good of love, 3312, 4391, 4599, ‘stretching out the curtains of dwelling-places’ for the holiness of worship springing from the truths of faith.

sRef Jer@4 @20 S3′ [3] In Jeremiah,

The whole land has been laid waste. Suddenly My tents have been laid waste, My curtains in a moment. Jer. 4:20.

‘A land laid waste’ stands for the Church, 9325, ‘tents laid waste’ for the holiness of worship springing from the good of love, ‘curtains laid waste’ for holy worship springing from the truths of faith.

sRef Jer@49 @29 S4′ sRef Hab@3 @7 S4′ sRef Jer@49 @28 S4′ [4] In the same prophet,

My tent has been laid waste, and all My ropes torn away. My sons have gone away from Me, and they are not. There is no one stretching out My tent any more, and setting up My curtains. For the shepherds have become stupid. Jer. 10:20, 21.

Here the meaning is similar. In the same prophet,

Arise and go up against Arabia, and lay waste the sons of the east. They will take their tents and flocks, their curtains and all their vessels, and bear their camels away for themselves. Jer. 49:28, 29.

‘Arabia’ and ‘the sons of the east’ stand for those with cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth, 3249; ‘taking tents and flocks’ stands for taking the Church’s forms of interior good, 8937, ‘taking curtains’ for taking the Church’s interior truths, ‘their vessels’ the Church’s exterior truths, 3068, 3079, ‘camels’ general facts, 3048, 3071, 3143, 3145. In Habakkuk,

Below Aven I saw the tents of Cushan; the curtains of Midian shook. Hab. 3:7.

‘The curtains of Midian’ stands for the truths with those governed by simple good, 3242, 4756, 4788, 6773, 6775.

sRef Ps@104 @1 S5′ sRef Ps@104 @2 S5′ [5] All this shows what is meant by the following in David,

O Jehovah, You have put on glory and honour – He who covers Himself with light, as if with a garment; He stretches out the heavens like a curtain. Ps. 104:1, 2.

‘Covering Himself with light, as if with a garment’ stands for Divine Truths. Truth is meant by ‘light’, see 9548, and also by ‘a garment’, 4545, 4763, 5319, 5954, 9093, 9212, 9216; therefore ‘stretching out the heavens like a curtain’ means enlarging the heavens by means of an influx of God’s truth, from which come intelligence and wisdom. ‘Stretching and spreading out the heavens’ has reference to the new or regenerated understanding part of the mind, see at the end of the very next paragraph, 9596.

sRef Ex@26 @1 S0′ 9596. ‘From fine twined linen and violet and purple and twice-dyed scarlet’ means the spiritual and celestial realities from which those truths are derived. This is clear from the meaning of ‘fine twined linen’ as truth from a celestial origin, dealt with in 9469; from the meaning of ‘violet’ as the celestial love of truth, dealt with in 9466; from the meaning of ‘purple’ as the celestial love of good, dealt with in 9467; and from the meaning of ‘twice-dyed scarlet’ as spiritual good or the good of truth, dealt with in 9468. Such is the order in which the spiritual and celestial realities, or the truths and forms of good, present with a person or an angel who is in the middle or second heaven follow one another. For truth from a celestial origin, meant by ‘fine twined linen’ comes first; then the love of or affection for truth, meant by ‘violet’; after that the resulting love of or affection for good, meant by ‘purple’; and finally spiritual good, meant by ‘twice-dyed scarlet’.

[2] Because this is the order in which the spiritual and celestial realities follow one another ‘fine twined linen’ is here mentioned first; but in the case of the veil that hung between the dwelling-place and the ark, or between the holy place and the holy of holies, dealt with in verse 31 of the present chapter, it is mentioned last. The reason why ‘fine twined linen’ is mentioned last in the case of the veil is that ‘the veil’ means the intermediary uniting the inmost heaven to the middle heaven, and therefore within this intermediary it must come last, in order that – to link the two heavens – it may then be first in the second of them.

[3] But properly ‘fine twined linen’ means the understanding part of the mind as it exists with the spiritual man or with an angel in the Lord’s spiritual heaven. The reason why the understanding part is meant by ‘fine twined linen’ is that with the spiritual man a new will part is implanted by the Lord within the understanding part of his mind, see 863, 875, 895, 927, 1023, 1043, 1044, 1555, 2256, 4328, 4493, 5113; and since the understanding part in the spiritual man is meant by ‘fine twined linen’, so too is spiritual truth meant. This is because all truth belongs to the understanding part, and all good to the will part, 3623, 9300; for the understanding part is the receiver (subjectum) or container and the truth is what belongs to it, and these two make one. From these considerations also it may be seen that the actual understanding part of the mind with those who belong to the Lord’s spiritual kingdom is in the strict sense ‘the dwelling-place’, 9296, 9297, and that the spreading out of the curtains serves to describe it.

sRef Isa@42 @5 S4′ sRef Jer@51 @15 S4′ sRef Jer@10 @21 S4′ sRef Jer@10 @20 S4′ sRef Isa@45 @12 S4′ sRef Isa@44 @24 S4′ sRef Zech@12 @1 S4′ [4] From all this what ‘spreading and stretching out the heavens’ means in the following places may be recognized, such as in Isaiah,

Jehovah is He who stretches out the heavens, spreads out the earth, gives breath* to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk on it. Isa. 42:5.

In the same prophet,

I am Jehovah who makes all things, stretches out the heavens Alone, [and] spreads out the earth by Myself. Isa. 44:24.

In the same prophet,

It was I that made the earth and created man on it. It was I – My hands – that stretched out the heavens. Isa. 45:12.

In Jeremiah,

… He who makes the earth by His power, prepares the world by His wisdom, and stretches out the heavens by His intelligence. Jer. 51:15.

In Zechariah,

Jehovah is He who stretches out the heavens, and founds the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him. Zech. 12:1.

[5] ‘Stretching out the heavens and spreading out the earth’ is plainly similar in meaning to stretching and spreading out a dwelling-place by the use of curtains. And by this is meant regenerating a person and thereby creating or forming a new understanding in which there is a new will, which is the spiritual person’s actual heaven in which the Lord dwells with that person. The fact that the regeneration or the formation of a new understanding, and of a new will within it, and so of a new person, is what ‘stretching out the heavens and spreading out the earth’ means is evident from actual explanations provided in the places quoted above. For they speak of Him who gives breath to the people on the earth, and spirit to those who walk on it, and also of Him who forms the spirit of man within him. ‘Heaven and earth’ means the Church, internal and external, see 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 3355, 4535, and ‘the earth’ in general means the Lord’s kingdom and the Church, 9334; and these meanings too are plainly apparent in those places. For if ‘the earth’ did not have that meaning what sense could be made of ‘spreading out the earth’ and ‘founding the earth’, or ‘forming the spirit of man within him**’?

sRef Gen@1 @8 S6′ sRef Isa@54 @2 S6′ sRef Isa@40 @22 S6′ sRef Ps@104 @2 S6′ sRef Gen@1 @6 S6′ sRef Gen@1 @7 S6′ [6] The fact that ‘stretching out the heavens and spreading out the earth’ here is similar in meaning to stretching and spreading out a dwelling-place by the use of curtains is clear from other places where the same idea is stated even more plainly, as in Isaiah,

Jehovah is He who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. Isa. 40:22.

In the same prophet,

Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwelling-places. Isa. 54:2.

And in David,

Jehovah covers Himself with light, as if with a garment; He stretches out the heavens as a curtain. Ps. 104:2.

These places also show what ‘the expanse’ or that which is spread out means in the first chapter of Genesis,

God said, Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let there be a distinguishing of the waters from the waters. And God made the expanse and He made a distinction between the waters that were under the expanse and the waters that were above the expanse, And God called the expanse Heaven. Gen. 1:6-8.

That first chapter describes the regeneration of a member of the celestial Church, ‘the expanse’ describing his new will and understanding. ‘The waters under the expanse and those above the expanse’ are the truths of the external man and those of the internal man. For the meaning of ‘waters’ as truths, see 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 8568, 9323.
* lit. soul
** The Latin here is in ea (in it, i.e. in the earth). But in his rough draft Sw. has, as in other places, in medio ejus which is usually taken to mean within him but could possibly mean in the midst of it.

sRef Ex@26 @1 S0′ 9597. ‘With cherubs’ means the Lord’s watchfulness, guarding it from the approach of the hells and the harm they can do. This is clear from the meaning of ‘cherubs’ as watchfulness and providence, preventing any approach to the Lord except through good and protecting from harm the good from the Lord which exists in heaven and with man, dealt with in 9509, consequently guarding heaven from the approach of the hells and the harm they can do.

sRef Ex@31 @4 S0′ sRef Ex@31 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@31 @2 S0′ sRef Ex@31 @3 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @1 S0′ 9598. ‘With the work of a designer you shall make them’ means the power of understanding. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a designer’ as the power of understanding, for this thinks things out, then acts in accord with what it thinks. The fact that the power of understanding, to which wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge belong, is meant is clear from the following places, where it speaks about Bezalel,

I have called by name Bezalel, and I have filled him with the spirit of God, so far as wisdom, and intelligence, and knowledge, and all workmanship are concerned, to compose designs,* to work** in gold, in silver, and in bronze, and in the cutting of stones for setting,*** and in the carving of wood, to work** in every kind of artistic workmanship.**** Exod. 31:2-5; 35:30-33.

The fact that the power of understanding is meant is also clear from what has been shown just above in 9596.
* lit. to design thoughts
** lit. make or do
*** lit. carving of stone for filling
**** lit. in all the workmanship of designing

sRef Ex@26 @2 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @3 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @6 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @4 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @5 S0′ 9599. Verses 2-6 The length of one curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the breadth four cubits; [this is what] one curtain [shall be]. All the curtains shall have one measure. Five curtains shall be joined together, each one to the next, and five curtains joined together, each one to the next. And you shall make loops of violet on the edge of the one curtain at the end in the joining-place, and you shall do the same in the edge of the end curtain in the complementary joining-place. Fifty loops you shall make in the one curtain, and fifty loops you shall make in the end of the curtain which is in the complementary joining-place; the loops must be taken up, each one towards the other. And you shall make fifty clasps of gold, and join the curtains together, each one to the next in the clasps; and the dwelling-place shall be one.
‘The length of one curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits’ means the holiness of the truth derived from good. ‘And the breadth four cubits’ means the marriage of truth to good. ‘[This is what] one curtain [shall be]’ means so shall it be for the individual truths. ‘All the curtains shall have one measure’ means that the state of affairs shall be the same [with each one]. ‘Five curtains shall be joined together, each one to the next, and five curtains joined together, each one to the next’ means unceasing communication of truth with good and of good with truth. ‘And you shall make loops of violet’ means a joining together by means of the celestial love of truth. ‘On the edge of the one curtain at the end in the joining-place’ means of one sphere to the other. ‘And you shall do the same in the edge of the end curtain in the complementary joining-place’ means a reciprocal joining together of the same kind. ‘Fifty loops you shall make in the one curtain’ means a complete joining together in the outermost parts of the spheres. ‘And fifty loops you shall make in the end of the curtain which is in the complementary joining-place’ again means a reciprocal joining together of the same kind. ‘The loops must be taken up, each one towards the other’ means a total joining together on both sides. ‘And you shall make fifty clasps of gold’ means a complete ability derived from good to join things together. ‘And join the curtains together, each one to the next in the clasps’ means the mode of the joining together at every point. ‘And the dwelling-place shall be one’ means that the whole heaven is as a result altogether one.

sRef Ex@26 @2 S0′ 9600. ‘The length of one curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits’ means the holiness of the truth derived from good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the length’ as good, dealt with in 1613, 8898, 9487; from the meaning of ‘curtain’ as interior truth of faith, which belongs to the new understanding, dealt with above in 9595; and from the meaning of ‘twenty-eight’ as the holiness of being joined together. ‘Twenty-eight’ has this meaning because this number is the product of seven multiplied by four, and ‘seven’ means that which is holy, 433, 716, 881, 5265, 5268, and ‘four’ a joining together, 1686, 8877. For multiple numbers are similar in meaning to the simple ones that are their factors, 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973. From all this it is evident that ‘the length of one curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits’ means the holiness of the truth derived from good.

sRef Ex@26 @2 S0′ 9601. ‘And the breadth four cubits’ means the marriage of truth to good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the breadth’ as truth, dealt with in 1613, 3433, 3434, 4482, 9487; and from the meaning of ‘four’ as a joining together, dealt with in 1686, 8877, and so a marriage since truth and good joined together is called the heavenly marriage, 2173, 2618, 2728, 2729, 2803. ‘Four’ means a joining together or a marriage because this number is the product of two multiplied by itself, and ‘two’ means a joining together, 5194, 8423, multiple numbers being similar in meaning to the simple ones that are their factors, as stated immediately above in 9600. All numbers in the Word mean spiritual realities, see the places referred to in 9488.

sRef Ex@26 @2 S0′ 9602. ‘[This is what] one curtain [shall be]’ means so shall it be for the individual truths. This is clear from the meaning of ‘curtain’ as truth, dealt with above in 9595, so that ‘one curtain’ or each by itself means the individual truths.

sRef Ex@26 @2 S0′ 9603. ‘All the curtains shall have one measure’ means that the state of affairs shall be the same [with each one]. This is clear from the meaning of ‘measure’ as the state of affairs as regards truth, dealt with in 3104, so that ‘all the curtains shall have one measure’ means that the state of affairs shall be the same with every truth. The expression ‘the same state of affairs’, when applied to the truths of faith in the spiritual kingdom, means that they all look towards good, and through good towards the Lord, the Source of it. Truths which do not look in this direction are not the truths of faith, nor consequently are they truths of the Church or of heaven. Truths which look in some other direction may indeed to outward appearance seem like truths, but they are not truths because they are devoid of life. For the life of truth is good, and good comes from the Lord, who Alone is life. Truths that look in any other direction are like members of a body without a soul, which are not the members of any body because they are devoid of life and so are useless.

sRef Rev@21 @17 S2′ sRef Rev@21 @15 S2′ sRef Rev@21 @16 S2′ [2] The fact that ‘measure’ means the state of affairs as regards truth, and also the state of affairs as regards good, is evident from the places in the Word where the measures of the new Jerusalem, and also those of the new temple, are the subject. The new or holy Jerusalem means the Lord’s New Church, as does the new temple; therefore by their measures states of affairs as regards truth and as regards good are meant, as in John,

The angel had a gold reed to measure the holy Jerusalem, and its gates, and its wall. And he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. He measured its wall, a hundred and forty-four cubits, which is the measure of a man (homo), that is, of an angel. Rev. 21:15-17.

The measures stated here, it is plainly evident, mean states as regards good and truth, for ‘the holy Jerusalem’ is the Lord’s New Church, ‘its gates and wall’ being the protective truths of faith. ‘Twelve thousand’ means all the truths and forms of good in their entirety; and ‘a hundred and forty-four’ has a similar meaning, 7973, for this number is similar in meaning to the number twelve because it is the product of twelve multiplied by twelve, and ‘twelve’ means all truths and forms of good in their entirety, see 577, 2089, 2129 (end), 2130 (end), 3272, 3858, 3913. ‘The measure of a man, that is, of an angel’ means that this is what the state of the Church and of heaven is like as regards forms of the good of love and truths of faith; for ‘a man’ is the Church and ‘an angel’ is heaven. Without knowledge of what is meant by ‘the holy Jerusalem’, by ‘its gates and wall’, by the number ‘twelve thousand furlongs’, and by the measure of the wall being ‘a hundred and forty-four [cubits]’, and also what is meant by ‘the measure’, ‘a man’, and ‘an angel’, would anyone ever know [the real meaning of the description] that the measure of the city was twelve thousand furlongs, or that the measure of a wall of 144 cubits was the measure of a man, that is, of an angel?

sRef Isa@40 @12 S3′ sRef Jer@31 @37 S3′ sRef Zech@2 @1 S3′ sRef Jer@31 @38 S3′ sRef Zech@2 @2 S3′ sRef Jer@31 @39 S3′ [3] Much the same is meant by the measuring in Zechariah,

I raised my eyes and saw, and behold, a man (vir) who had a measuring line in his hand. I said, Where are you going? And he said, To measure Jerusalem to see how broad it is and how long it is. Zech. 2:1, 2.

Also in Chapters 40-42 of Ezekiel, which speak about the man with a measuring rod, who measured the houses of the new city, and also the temple – the walls, gates, footings, thresholds, windows, and steps. Unless the measurements in these places had meant the states of the thing as regards truth and good, such details would never have been mentioned. ‘Measuring’ generally means the state of the truth and good: In Jeremiah,

Thus said Jehovah, If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth beneath searched out, behold, I will nevertheless reject the seed of Israel on account of all that they have done. Behold, the days are coming in which the city for Jehovah will be built. And the measuring line will again go out over the hill of Gareb, and around towards Goah. Jer. 31:37-39.

And also in Isaiah,

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, marked off* the heavens with His span, and gathered the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in a balance, and the hills on the scales? Isa. 40:12.
* lit. weighed

sRef Ex@26 @3 S0′ 9604. ‘Five curtains shall be joined together, each one to the next, and five curtains joined together, each one to the next’ means unceasing communication of truth with good and of good with truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘five’ as all on one side, for ‘ten’ means all of the whole, 9595; and from the meaning of ‘curtains’ as interior truths of faith which belong to the new understanding, also dealt with above in 9595. Hence because the ten curtains were joined together five and five, a reciprocal communication of truth and good and of good and truth is meant by them, for the communication between them must be reciprocal, in order that the truth and good may be joined together and be married. They are similar in meaning to things on the left side and those on the right in a human being – to those on the right side in that they have connection with the good from which truth springs, but to those on the left side in that they have connection with the truth that springs from the good. And in the middle between them the communication of good with truth and of truth with good takes place, so that they are perpetually and unceasingly joined together. Such are the realities meant by the words, Five curtains joined together, each one to the next, and five curtains joined together, each one to the next.

sRef Ex@26 @4 S0′ 9605. ‘And you shall make loops of violet’ means a joining together by means of the celestial love of truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘loops’ as a joining together, the reason why this is meant by ‘loops’ being that they serve to join things together; and from the meaning of ‘violet’ as the celestial love of truth, dealt with in 9466.

sRef Ex@26 @4 S0′ 9606. ‘On the edge of the one curtain at the end in the joining-place’ means of one sphere to the other, that is to say, the joining together of the two. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the edge of the curtain at the end in the joining-place’ as the place where one ends and the other begins, thus the boundary where the two come together. The reason why a sphere is what is meant is that in heaven spheres come together; for there are spheres that go out from each angelic community in heaven, and from each angel in a community. These spheres from each one emanate from the life of their affections for truth and good; and they spread a long way out. This explains why the character of spirits and angels is recognizable when they are a long way off. Those spheres are what bind angels and angelic communities together and they are also what split them apart; for similar spheres, that is, similar affections for truth and good, come together, and dissimilar ones move apart. But see what has been shown already about those spheres in 1048, 1053, 1316, 1504-1520, 1695, 2401, 2489, 4464, 5179, 6206 (end), 6598-6613, 7454, 8630, 8794, 8797, 9490-9492, 9498, 9534. Whether you say the angels and angelic communities, or the truth and good, from which the spheres emanate it amounts to the same thing, for the spheres are emanations from affections for truth and good, by virtue of which the angels are angels from the Lord. It should be recognized that to the extent that these spheres originate in the Lord they come together, but to the extent that they originate in the self of an angel they move apart. From this it is evident that the Lord alone brings them together.

sRef Ex@26 @4 S0′ 9607. ‘And you shall do the same in the edge of the end curtain in the complementary joining-place’ means a reciprocal joining together of the same kind, that is to say, the joining of one sphere to the other is accomplished by means of the celestial love of truth. This is clear without any further explanation.

sRef Ex@26 @5 S0′ 9608. ‘Fifty loops you shall make in the one curtain’ means a complete joining together in the outermost parts of the spheres. This is clear from the meaning of ‘fifty’ as what is complete, dealt with in 2252; from the meaning of ‘loops’ as a joining together, as just above in 9605; and from the meaning of ‘the edge of the curtain’, where the loops go, as the place where the sphere of truth ends, also dealt with above, in 9606, that is, in the outermost parts.

sRef Ex@26 @5 S0′ 9609. ‘And fifty loops you shall make in the end of the curtain which is in the complementary joining-place’ again means a reciprocal joining together of the same kind. This is clear without explanation.

sRef Ex@26 @5 S0′ 9610. ‘The loops must be taken up, each one towards the other’ means a total joining together on both sides. This is clear from the meaning of ‘loops’ as a joining together, dealt with above in 9605, a total joining together on both sides being meant by a mutual and reciprocal taking up of one by the other. For when the taking up is mutual and reciprocal a total joining together is accomplished.

sRef Ex@26 @6 S0′ 9611. ‘And you shall make fifty clasps of gold’ means a complete ability derived from good to join things together. This is clear from the meaning of ‘fifty’ as completeness, as above in 9608; from the meaning of ‘clasps’ as an ability to join things together, for they possess this ability by virtue of their shape, which is that of something curved or curled back; and from the meaning of ‘gold’ as good, dealt with in 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 9490, 9510.

sRef Ex@26 @6 S0′ 9612. ‘And join the curtains together, each one to the next [in the clasps]’ means the mode of the joining together at every point. This is clear from the meaning of ‘joining the curtains together by means of the clasps’ as the mode of the joining together, for when a complete ability to join things together is meant by ‘fifty clasps’ the mode of it is meant by ‘joining the curtains together, each one to the next by means of the clasps’.

sRef Ex@26 @6 S0′ 9613. ‘And the dwelling-place shall be one’ means that the whole heaven is as a result altogether one. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the dwelling-place’ as heaven, dealt with in 9594. The fact that it is one when it is so completely joined together is self-evident. For heaven consists of tens of thousands of angelic communities, and yet the Lord leads them as one total angel or man. This is so because mutual love springing from the Lord’s love exists among them all, and when that love exists among them all and within them all they can all be arranged into the heavenly form, the nature of which is such that many are one, and the more numerous they are, the stronger is their oneness. They are like the countless parts of the human body; although these are distinct and various they nevertheless make one. The reason why they do so is that they exist within a form similar to that in which heaven exists; for they correspond to heaven, as has been shown at the ends of a number of chapters, and by virtue of that correspondence they possess a kind of mutual love and are joined together by it. So it is that a person who is governed by the good of love and faith is heaven in its smallest form, 9279, and that the whole of heaven is seen in the Lord’s eyes as one total human being, 9276 (end).

[2] All the joining together of so many countless angelic communities in heaven and the modes by which they are joined were represented by the pattern according to which the dwelling-place and the tent, the subject in the present chapter, were assembled. But the modes by which things are joined together, as those modes exist in heaven, cannot pass from there into the ideas people in the world have, because they are not even aware of the fact that heaven was represented by ‘the dwelling-place’. Or if they were aware of it they would still be unaware that heavenly communities have been so joined together by means of love that they present themselves as one. Yet all such considerations enter fully into angels’ ideas when those details regarding the dwelling-place are read; for each specific detail in the description has an inner meaning, which, when manifested by the Lord to angels, presents to them the state in which all in the whole of heaven are joined to and interconnected with one another by means of love which comes from the Lord.

[3] The combination of the angelic communities into one heaven takes place in accord with the following laws,

1 Every complete whole in heaven arises from the pattern of many sharing their lives with one another in accord with the harmony of heaven.
2 Love is spiritual togetherness, which leads to the harmony of heaven.
3 There must be a universal bond, in order that the individual constituents may be held in combination and interconnection.
4 The universal bond must enter into and create the individual bonds.
5 The universal bond is the Lord, that is, it is the love that comes from Him, and from this the love directed towards Him.
6 The individual bonds are derived from the universal; they are the bonds of mutual love or charity towards the neighbour.

These are the laws by virtue of which heaven, consisting of countless angelic communities, nevertheless exists as one total human being.

sRef Ex@26 @9 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @8 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @7 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @10 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @12 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @14 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @11 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @13 S0′ 9614. Verses 7-14 And you shall make curtains from [she-]goats* to be a tent over the dwelling-place; eleven curtains you shall make them. The length of one curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth four cubits; [this is what] one curtain [shall be]. The eleven curtains shall have one measure. And you shall join five curtains together by themselves, and six curtains by themselves; and you shall double over the sixth curtain at the forefront of the tent. And you shall make fifty loops on the edge of one end curtain in the joining-place, and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain of the complementary joining-place. And you shall make fifty clasps of bronze, and put the clasps into the loops, and join the tent together, that it may be one. And the additional part that trails backwards in the curtains of the tent, the half of the additional curtain, shall trail** over the back of the dwelling-place. And a cubit on one side and a cubit on the other side in the additional part in the length of the curtains of the tent shall trail over the sides of the dwelling-place on this side and on that side, to cover it. And you shall make a covering for the tent from the skins of red rams, and a covering from the skins of badgers above that.

‘And you shall make curtains from [she-]goats to be a tent over the dwelling-place’ means the external part of heaven which consists of the truths derived from external celestial good. ‘Eleven curtains you shall make them’ means all the truths that it consists of. ‘The length of one curtain shall be thirty cubits’ means the completeness of the truth derived from good. ‘And the breadth four cubits’ means the marriage of truth to good. ‘[This is what] one curtain [shall be]’ means so shall it be for the individual truths. ‘The eleven curtains shall have one measure’ means that the state of affairs shall be the same [with each one]. ‘And you shall join five curtains together by themselves, and six curtains by themselves’ means unceasing communication of truth with good and of good with truth. ‘And you shall double over the sixth curtain at the forefront of the tent’ means the communication of all the realities of that heaven with the outermost parts there, and influx from these into the lowest heaven. ‘And you shall make fifty loops on the edge of one end curtain in the joining-place’ means a complete joining of one sphere to the other. ‘And fifty loops on the edge of the curtain of the complementary joining-place’ means a reciprocal joining of the same kind. ‘And you shall make fifty clasps of bronze’ means a complete ability derived from external good to join things together. ‘And put the clasps into the loops’ means the mode of the joining together. ‘And join the tent together, that it may be one’ means that the external part of the heaven is as a result altogether one. ‘And the additional part that trails backwards in the curtains of the tent’ means an extension. ‘The half of the additional curtain, shall trail over the back of the dwelling-place’ means to the last and lowest part of that heaven. ‘And a cubit on one side and a cubit on the other side in the additional part in the length of the curtains of the tent shall trail over the sides of the dwelling-place on this side and on that side, to cover it’ means the mode by which that last and lowest part extends from good, in order that the heaven may be rendered safe. ‘And you shall make a covering for the tent’ means a mantle around that heaven. ‘From the skins of red rams’ means [consisting of] external truths derived from good. ‘And a covering from the skins of badgers above that’ means outside that [another mantle], derived from external good.
* i.e. goats’ wool, see 9470.
** lit. you shall cause to flow backwards

sRef Ex@26 @7 S0′ 9615. ‘And you shall make curtains from [she-]goats to be a tent over the dwelling-place’ means the external part of heaven which consists of the truths derived from external celestial good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘curtains’ as interior truths of faith, dealt with in 9595, at this point exterior truths of faith, since they were for the tent which went over the dwelling-place; from the meaning of ‘wool of she-goats’, which these curtains were made from, as external celestial good, dealt with in 9470; and from the meaning of ‘a tent over the dwelling-place’ as the external part of heaven. For ‘the dwelling-place’ means heaven, 9594, and ‘the tent’ that covered the dwelling-place all over means the external part of heaven. From all this it is evident that ‘curtains made from the wool of she-goats to be a tent over the dwelling-place’ means truths derived from external celestial good, which the external part of heaven consists of. But no one can have any knowledge of the nature of all this unless he knows about the internal and the external of each heaven, and about the influx of one into the other. For the Lord flows into all the heavens both directly and indirectly, 9223, indirectly through the inmost heaven into the middle heaven, and through the internal part of this middle heaven into the external part of it.

sRef Ex@26 @7 S0′ 9616. ‘Eleven curtains you shall make them’ means all the truths that it consists of. This is clear from the meaning of ‘eleven’ as all, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘curtains from goats’ as truths derived from external celestial good, dealt with immediately above in 9615. The reason why ‘eleven’ means all is that ten curtains constituted the actual tent, while the eleventh trailed back as an additional one over the rear parts of the dwelling-place, as becomes clear from verses 9, 12, 13 that follow. For the meaning of ‘ten’ as all, see 4638, 9595.

sRef Ex@26 @8 S0′ 9617. ‘The length of one curtain shall be thirty cubits’ means the completeness of the truth derived from good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the length’ as good, dealt with in 9487; from the meaning of ‘curtain’ as truth derived from external celestial good, dealt with above in 9615; and from the meaning of ‘thirty’ as what is complete, dealt with in 9082.

sRef Ex@26 @8 S0′ 9618. ‘And the breadth four cubits’ means the marriage of truth to good, as above in 9601.

sRef Ex@26 @8 S0′ 9619. ‘[This is what] one curtain [shall be]’ means so shall it be for the individual truths, also dealt with above, in 9602, where the same words occur.

sRef Ex@26 @8 S0′ 9620. ‘The eleven curtains shall have one measure’ means that the state of affairs shall be the same [with each one]. This is clear from what has been shown above in 9603.

sRef Ex@26 @9 S0′ 9621. ‘And you shall join five curtains together by themselves, and six curtains by themselves’ means unceasing communication of truth with good and of good with truth, as above in 9604.

sRef Ex@26 @9 S0′ 9622. ‘And you shall double over the sixth curtain at the forefront of the tent’ means the communication of all the realities of that heaven with the outermost parts there, and influx from these into the lowest heaven. This is clear from the fact that the doubling over of that curtain was an extension above the end of the dwelling-place. For these curtains and the extension of them represented heaven in respect of communication and influx, and therefore the doubling over and extension of the sixth curtain above the end of the dwelling-place represented the communication of all the realities of that heaven with the outermost parts there, and influx from these into the lowest heaven.

sRef Ex@26 @10 S0′ 9623. ‘And you shall make fifty loops on the edge of one end curtain in the joining-place’ means a complete joining of one sphere to the other; ‘and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain of the complementary joining-place’ means a reciprocal joining together of the same kind. This is clear from what has been shown already in 9605-9609.

sRef Ex@26 @11 S0′ 9624. ‘And you shall make fifty clasps of bronze’ means a complete ability derived from external good to join things together. This is clear from the meaning of ‘fifty clasps’ as a complete ability to join things together, dealt with above in 9611; and from the meaning of ‘bronze’ as natural or external good, dealt with in 425, 1551.

sRef Ex@26 @11 S0′ 9625. ‘And put the clasps into the loops’ means the mode of the joining together. This is clear from the consideration that since an ability to join things together is meant by ‘the clasps’, dealt with immediately above in 9624, ‘putting them into the loops’ and thereby ‘joining the curtains together’ means the mode of the joining together, as is also meant above in 9612 by ‘joining the curtains together, each one to the next by means of the clasps’.

sRef Ex@26 @11 S0′ 9626. ‘And join the tent together, that it may be one’ means that the external part of the heaven is as a result altogether one. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the tent’ as the external part of heaven, dealt with in 9615. As regards its being as a result altogether one, see 9613, where ‘the dwelling-place’, meaning the internal part of the heaven, is the subject.

sRef Ex@26 @12 S0′ 9627. ‘And the additional part that trails backwards in the curtains of the tent’ means an extension. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the additional part trailing backwards’ as an extension, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘the curtains of the tent’ as the truths derived from external celestial good which constitute the external part of heaven, meant by ‘the tent’, 9615. ‘The additional part that trails backwards from the curtains’ means an extension because that part extends as a continuation from the curtains when these have been spread out.

sRef Ex@26 @12 S0′ 9628. ‘The half of the additional curtain, shall trail over the back of the dwelling-place’ means the last and lowest part of that heaven, that is to say, an extension of it. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the additional part trailing backwards’ as an extension, dealt with immediately above in 9627; and from the meaning of ‘the back of the dwelling-place’ as the last and lowest part of that heaven, ‘the dwelling-place’ meaning the heaven that is the subject here, 9594.

sRef Ex@26 @13 S0′ 9629. ‘And a cubit on one side and a cubit on the other side [in the additional part] in the length of the curtains of the tent shall trail over the sides of the dwelling-place on this side and on that side, to cover it’ means the mode by which that last and lowest part extends from good, in order that the heaven may be rendered safe. This is clear from the meaning of ‘[the additional part] trailing over the sides of the dwelling-place, a cubit on one side and a cubit on the other side’ as a last and lowest part, forming the extension, dealt with above in 9627; from the meaning of ‘the length of the curtains of the tent’ as truths derived from good, dealt with above in 9617; and from the meaning of ‘covering’ as keeping safe, for that which covers something keeps it safe from anything bad breaking in and doing harm. The resulting meaning when all of this has been gathered into one is that the last and lowest part extending from good exists in order that the heaven may be rendered safe.

sRef Ex@26 @14 S0′ 9630. ‘And you shall make a covering for the tent’ means a mantle [around that heaven]. This is clear without explanation, for the covering made from the skins of red rams made a mantle over and around the tent.

sRef Ex@26 @14 S0′ 9631. ‘From the skins of red rams’ means [consisting of] external truths derived from good. This is clear from what has been stated and shown regarding ‘the skins of red rams’ in 9471.

sRef Ex@26 @14 S0′ 9632. ‘And a covering from the skins of badgers above that’ means outside that [another mantle], a mantle consisting of truths derived from external good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a covering’ as a mantle, as just above in 9630; from the meaning of ‘skins’ as external truths, dealt with in 9471; and from the meaning of ‘badgers’ as forms of good, also dealt with in 9471.

Any further explanation of the things which have been stated so far regarding the dwelling-place, the tent over it, and the two coverings over that, can be dispensed with, since they are such as would be scarcely intelligible owing to the lack of proper knowledge. For where that knowledge is lacking there is blindness; thus there is no reception of light nor consequently any concept of the matter. Few if any people know that heaven is represented and thereby described by the dwelling-place, and the external part of it by the tent and its two coverings. The reason why there is no proper knowledge of these things is that scarcely anyone is aware of the fact that heavenly realities are meant by all that is written in the Word, thus that there is an inner meaning or spiritual sense within every detail there. Scarcely anyone knows either that this sense is not apparent in the letter, only from the letter to those who, having learned about correspondences, receive light from the Lord when they read the Word. [2] Indeed scarcely anyone is aware of the fact that a person governed by the good of love and faith is heaven in the smallest form this can take, or that such a person in respect both of the more internal aspects of his being and of the more external corresponds to heaven, 9276. If these things had been known the learned in the Christian world who have acquired some knowledge regarding the parts of the human body could have received some light of understanding and therefore have had some concept of heaven. They could have discerned which particular realities in heaven are represented by the ark, its mercy-seat, and the cherubs above it; which particular realities by the table on which the loaves of the Presence were laid, the lampstand, and the gold altar for incense; also which particular ones are represented by the dwelling-place, its curtains, boards, and bases, and lastly by the tent and the two coverings over it. For similar things are met with in the human being, in the things with him that are internal and those that are external. They also present themselves in material form in his body; and to these [material parts of his body] the internal things have an exact correspondence. For unless the external things, which belong to the body, had an exact correspondence with the internal ones, which belong to the understanding and the will, there would not be any life in the body, nor thus any actions in accord with them.

[3] Similar things are said to be met with in the tabernacle as in the human being because representatives on the natural level resemble the human form and have the same meaning as the parts of it they resemble, 9496. External things within the human being provide four coverings which surround and enclose all that is more internal; these coverings are what animal skins and actual skins of the body refer to. See what has been mentioned from experience in 5552-5559, 8980, regarding the correspondence of the latter to internal things. The coverings which constituted the roof and sides of the tabernacle provided a similar representation. From all this the understanding may gain some light regarding the forms that heaven takes. Nevertheless that light will be snuffed out with all who have no definite knowledge regarding the things that exist within the human body and at the same time no definite knowledge regarding the spiritual realities belonging to faith and the celestial realities belonging to love, to which those things in the body correspond. Since most people are in the dark, indeed in thick darkness, so far as those realities and human physiology are concerned, owing not only to their lack of knowledge but also to their lack of belief, any further explanation of them has been dispensed with; for as stated above, they would be unintelligible because there is no light of understanding in such matters.

sRef Ex@26 @18 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @23 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @17 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @16 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @21 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @15 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @19 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @20 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @26 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @25 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @27 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @29 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @28 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @30 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @22 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @24 S0′ 9633. Verses 15-30 And you shall make the boards for the dwelling-place from shittim wood, standing up*. Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half the breadth of one board. There shall be two hands** to one board, acting in combination with each other. Thus you shall make for all the boards of the dwelling-place. And you shall make the boards for the dwelling-place, twenty boards for the south side,*** southwards. And you shall make forty bases of silver under the twenty boards, two bases under one board for its two hands,** and two bases under one board**** for its two hands.** And for the other side of the dwelling-place – on the north side***** – there shall be twenty boards, and their forty bases [made] from silver, two bases under one board and two bases under one board.**** And for the two legs****** of the dwelling-place towards the sea******** you shall make six boards. And you shall make two boards for the corners of the dwelling-place at the two legs.****** And they shall be paired from below, and at the same time they shall be paired up to its head, up to one ring. Thus it shall be for them both; at the two corners they shall be. And there shall be eight boards and their bases [made] from silver – sixteen bases – two bases under one board and two bases under one board.**** And you shall make bars from shittim wood, five for the boards of one side of the dwelling-place, and five bars for the boards of the other side of the dwelling-place, and five bars for the boards of the side of the dwelling-place at the two legs towards the sea,******* and the middle bar in the midst of the boards that passes through from end to end. And you shall overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings from gold, houses for the bars; and you shall overlay the bars with gold. And you shall set up the dwelling-place according to the plan which you saw******** on the mountain.

‘And you shall make the boards for the dwelling-place’ means the good supporting that heaven. ‘From shittim wood’ means that it is the good of merit from the Lord’s Divine Human. ‘Ten cubits shall be the length of a board’ means that this good is the all in all. ‘And a cubit and a half the breadth of one board’ means the truth derived from it, a sufficient amount to effect a joining together. ‘There shall be two hands to one board’ means the power from it. ‘Acting in combination with each other’ means the consequent joining together of the Lord with those who are in that heaven. ‘Thus you shall make for all the boards of the dwelling-place’ means thus shall it be everywhere. ‘And you shall make twenty boards for the dwelling-place’ means good lending support to heaven in every respect and totally. ‘The boards for the south side, southwards’ means even to the more internal and the inmost parts of it, where truth dwells in light. ‘And forty bases of silver’ means complete support provided through truth. ‘Under the twenty boards’ means which proceeds from the good that comes from the Lord’s Divine Human. ‘Two bases under one board’ means the joining of it to the good. ‘For its two hands’ means the power from it. ‘And two bases under one board for its two hands’ means thus in every single part. ‘And for the other side of the dwelling-place – on the north side’ means towards the more external parts of that heaven, where truth dwells in obscurity. ‘There shall be twenty boards’ means the good lending support in every respect and totally. ‘And their forty bases [made] from silver’ means complete support received through truth in the external parts as well. ‘Two bases under one board’ means through a joining to good. ‘And two bases under one board’ means everywhere. ‘And for the two legs of the dwelling-place towards the sea’ means a joining to heaven where good dwells in obscurity. ‘You shall make six boards’ means where good from the Lord’s Divine Human exists in its fullness. ‘And you shall make two boards for the corners of the dwelling-place at the two legs’ means the essential nature of the joining to good there. ‘And they shall be paired from below, and at the same time paired up to its head’ means a joining together from without and from within. ‘Up to one ring’ means being thereby held firm. ‘Thus it shall be for them both; at the two corners they shall be’ means a like joining together everywhere. ‘And there shall be eight boards and their bases [made] from silver’ means support in every respect from good and through truth that springs from good. ‘Sixteen bases’ means total support. ‘Two bases under one board and two bases under one board’ means through the joining of truth to good everywhere. ‘And you shall make bars from shittim wood’ means the power of the truth springing from good. ‘Five for the boards of one side of the dwelling-place’ means when it looks towards the more internal parts of heaven, where truth dwells in light. ‘And five bars for the boards of the other side of the dwelling-place’ means the power of truth from good when it looks towards the more external parts, where truth dwells in obscurity. ‘And five bars for the boards of the side of the dwelling-place at the two legs towards the sea’ means the power of truth from good when it looks towards the parts of that heaven where there is a joining to the good that dwells in obscurity. ‘And the middle bar in the midst of the boards that passes through from end to end’ means the chief power from which the power everywhere else extends. ‘And you shall overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings from gold, houses for the bars; and you shall overlay the bars with gold’ means a representative sign of the good from which and through which everything derives its existence. ‘And you shall set up the dwelling-place according to the plan which you saw on the mountain’ means in the four quarters, according to the states of good and of the truth springing from it in the heaven that is represented.
* i.e. they are vertical boards
** i.e. tenons
*** lit. corner or angle
**** i.e. another board
***** i.e. rear parts
****** i.e. at the west end
******* i.e. the rear parts at the west end
******** lit. according to the mode which you were caused to see

sRef Ex@26 @15 S0′ 9634. ‘And you shall make the boards for the dwelling-place’ means the good supporting that heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the boards’ as good that lends support, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘the dwelling-place’ as the middle or second heaven, dealt with in 9594. The reason why good that lends support is meant by ‘the boards’ is that they were made from wood and supported the curtains both of the dwelling-place and of the tent, as well as the two coverings over them. Consequently supports are meant by ‘the boards’; and since they were made from wood they meant ones that were formed from good, for everything made from wood means some form of good, even to actual houses built from wood, 3720. The particular nature of the good is meant by ‘shittim wood’ from which they were built. Since all representatives on the natural level resemble the human form and carry the same meaning as the parts of it they resemble, 9496, so it is with the boards of the dwelling-place. They correspond to the parts consisting of muscle or flesh in the human being which lend support to encompassing membranes and skin. ‘Flesh’ furthermore means good, 7850, 9127. This explains why the boards were made from shittim wood, by which the good that supports heaven is meant, 9472, 9486, and also why they were overlaid with gold, by which also good is meant.

sRef Ex@26 @15 S0′ 9635. ‘From shittim wood’ means that it is the good of merit from the Lord’s Divine Human. This is clear from the meaning of ‘shittim wood’ as the good of merit from the Lord’s Divine Human, dealt with in 9472, 9486, this good being the one and only good that reigns in and supports heaven, see 9486.

sRef Ex@26 @16 S0′ 9636. ‘Ten cubits shall be the length of a board’ means that this good is the all in all. This is clear from the meaning of ‘ten’ as all, dealt with in 4638, 9595; and from the meaning of ‘the length’ as good, dealt with in 1613, 8898, 9487, 9600, at this point good that lends support, which is the good of merit, this good being meant by the boards of the dwelling-place that were made from shittim wood, 9634, 9635. The reason why this good is the all in all of heaven is that it is the Divine Good itself, which makes the heavens and supports them, 9486. The good that resides with angels is real good, for all good comes from the Lord. Good from any other source is not good.

sRef Ex@26 @16 S0′ 9637. ‘And a cubit and a half the breadth of one board’ means the truth derived from it, a sufficient amount to effect a joining together. This is clear from the meaning of ‘one and a half’ as that which is complete, dealt with in 9487-9489, thus also a sufficient amount, this being something complete. The reason why that truth is derived from it – from the good, meant by the boards made from shittim wood, 9634, 9635 – is that every form of good has its own truth, and every truth has its own good. Good without truth cannot be seen, and truth without good cannot have any real existence; for truth gives shape to good, and good gives truth its being. The shape that good is given enables it to be seen, and the being that truth is given enables it to have real existence. They are like flame and light. A flame without light cannot be seen; therefore it sends out light to allow itself to be seen; and the light without the flame cannot have any existence. The situation is the same with the human will and its understanding. The will cannot be seen without the understanding, and the understanding has no existence without the will. The situation with love and faith too is very similar to that with good and truth, or flame and light, or will and understanding. For all good belongs to love, and all truth to faith rooted in love; and the human will is dedicated to the reception of the good belonging to love, and the understanding to the reception of the truth belonging to faith. Also the flame or fire of life is love, and the light of life is faith.

sRef Ex@26 @17 S0′ 9638. ‘There shall be two hands to one board’ means the power from it, that is to say, through truth from good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘hands’ or ‘tenons’ as power, dealt with in 878, 3387, 4931-4937, 5327, 5328, 6292, 6947, 7011, 7188, 7189, 7518, 7673, 8050, 8153, 8281, 9133; and all power comes through truth from good, 6344, 6423, 9327, 9410.

sRef Ex@26 @17 S0′ 9639. ‘Acting in combination with each other’ means the consequent joining together of the Lord with those who are in that heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘acting in combination’, when it refers to the power meant by ‘the hands’, as a joining together effected through truth from good, thus a joining involving those in that heaven. For all in heaven are called ‘powers’, indeed they are powers by virtue of being recipients of Divine Truth that comes from the Lord. This also explains why God’s truths are meant in the Word by ‘angels’, 8192. Divine Good emanating from the Lord is what joins together all who are in heaven; for that which reigns universally in Divine Truths is Divine Good, and what reigns universally joins people together. This joining together is what the combined action of the hands of a board, of each with the other, means.

sRef Ex@26 @17 S0′ 9640. ‘Thus you shall make for all the boards of the dwelling-place’ means thus shall it be everywhere. This is clear from the meaning of ‘all’, when it refers to heaven, as everywhere in addition to all, for what is done to all things there is done everywhere; and from the meaning of ‘the boards of the dwelling-place’ as the good supporting heaven, dealt with in 9634.

sRef Ex@26 @18 S0′ 9641. ‘And you shall make twenty boards for the dwelling-place’ means good lending support to heaven in every respect and totally. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the boards of the dwelling-place’ as good lending support to heaven, dealt with in 9634; and from the meaning of ‘twenty’ as what is complete, thus what exists in every respect and totally. This is what ‘twenty’ means because multiple numbers have the same meaning as the simple ones of which they are the products, 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973, so that the number ‘twenty’ has the same meaning as ten and two which when multiplied together produce that number. For the meaning of ‘ten’ as that which is complete, and all, see 3107, 4638, and likewise ‘two’, 9103, 9166.

sRef Ex@26 @18 S0′ 9642. ‘The boards for the south side, southwards’ means even to the more internal and the inmost parts [of it], where truth dwells in light. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the boards of the dwelling-place’ as the good supporting heaven, dealt with in 9634; from the meaning of ‘the side (or corner)’, when the term is used in reference to the four quarters, as the specific state meant by that quarter, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘the south, southwards’* as the more internal and the inmost parts, where truth dwells in light. ‘The south’ or ‘midday’ means a state of light, which is a state of intelligence produced by truths, thus also an interior state; for in the heavens the light, and the intelligence and wisdom that accompany the light, increases towards the more internal parts. Further away from those parts truth dwells in shade; and this state of truth is meant by ‘the north’. This then is why ‘the south side, southwards’ means even to the more internal and the inmost parts, where truth dwells in light.

sRef Isa@43 @6 S2′ [2] The same things are meant by ‘the south’ in Isaiah,

I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Do not withhold. Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the end of the earth. Isa. 43:6.

This refers to a new Church. ‘Saying to the north’ means speaking to those who are in darkness or have no knowledge of the truths of faith, who are gentiles outside the Church. ‘Saying to the south’ means speaking to those who dwell in the light provided by cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth, who are people within the Church. This explains why the latter are told not to ‘withhold’ [those sons and daughters], but the former ‘to give them up’.

sRef Ezek@21 @4 S3′ sRef Ezek@20 @46 S3′ sRef Ezek@20 @47 S3′ sRef Ezek@21 @5 S3′ sRef Ezek@20 @48 S3′ sRef Ezek@20 @49 S3′ sRef Ezek@21 @1 S3′ sRef Ezek@21 @2 S3′ sRef Ezek@21 @3 S3′ [3] In Ezekiel,

Set your face the way of the south, and drop [your words] towards the south, and prophesy against the forest of the field to the south, and say to the forest of the south, Behold, I am kindling in you a fire, which will devour in you every green tree; and all faces from south to north will be scorched. Set your face towards Jerusalem, and drop [your words] against the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel. Ezek. 20:46-21:2.

‘The south’ here stands for those who have the light of truth provided by the Word, thus those who belong to the Church, yet who are influenced by falsities which they substantiate from the sense of the letter of the Word wrongly explained. This is why the expressions ‘the forest of the field towards the south’ and ‘the forest of the south’ are used. ‘A forest’ is a state in which factual knowledge is predominant, whereas ‘a garden’ is one in which truth is predominant. From this it is evident what the meaning is of ‘setting one’s face the way of the south, and dropping [one’s words] towards the south, and prophesying against the forest of the field to the south’, and then of ‘set your face towards Jerusalem, and drop [your words] against the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel’. ‘Jerusalem’ and ‘the land of Israel’ mean the Church, and ‘the sanctuaries’ there things of the Church.

sRef Amos@8 @9 S4′ sRef Jer@6 @4 S4′ sRef Isa@58 @10 S4′ sRef Isa@16 @3 S4′ [4] In Isaiah,

If you bring out for the hungry your soul** and satisfy the afflicted soul, your light will rise in the darkness, and your thick darkness will be as at midday. Isa. 58:10.

‘Darkness’ and ‘thick darkness’ stand for lack of knowledge of truth and good, ‘light’ and ‘midday’ for an understanding of them. In the same prophet, Give counsel, execute judgement, set your shade like the night in the middle of the day;*** hide the outcasts, do not reveal the wanderer. Isa. 16:3.

‘In the middle of the day’ stands for in the midst of the light of truth. In Jeremiah,

Prepare for**** battle against the daughter of Zion; arise, and let us go up into the south,***** for the day goes away, for the shadows of evening are set at an angle. Jer. 6:4.

‘Going up into the south’ stands for going up against the Church, where truth dwells in light from the Word. In Amos,

I will make the sun go down in the south,***** and I will darken the land in broad daylight. Amos 8:9.

This stands for blotting out all the light of truth which is provided by the Word.

sRef Ps@91 @6 S5′ sRef Ps@91 @5 S5′ sRef Isa@21 @1 S5′ [5] In David,

You will not be afraid of the terror of the night, of the arrow that flies by day, of the pestilence in thick darkness, of death that lays waste at noonday. Ps. 91:5, 6.

‘The terror of the night’ stands for falsities arising from evil that come from hell; ‘the arrow that flies by day’ stands for falsity which is taught openly; ‘death that lays waste at noonday’ stands for evil that is openly present in people’s lives, and that destroys truth wherever it is able to dwell in its own light from the Word.

sRef Dan@8 @10 S6′ sRef Dan@8 @9 S6′ sRef Dan@8 @8 S6′ [6] And in Isaiah,

The prophecy of the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south sweep through,****** it comes from the wilderness, from a terrible land. Isa. 21:1.

In Daniel,

The he-goat of the she-goats made himself exceedingly great, and his horn grew exceedingly towards the south, and towards the east, and towards the glorious [land]. And it grew even towards the host of heaven, and cast down to the earth some of the host, and of the stars, and trampled on them. Dan. 8:8-10.

This refers to the state of the future Church. It foretells that the Church will be ruined by teachings about faith separated from the good of charity, ‘the he-goat of the she-goats’ being this kind of faith, 4169 (end), 4769. ‘The horn’s growing towards the south’ stands for the power of falsity from this faith directed against truths, ‘towards the east’ for directing it against forms of good, and ‘towards the glorious [land]’ for directing it against the Church. ‘Towards the host of heaven’ stands for directing that power against all the forms of good and the truths belonging to heaven, and ‘casting down to the earth some of the host, and of the stars’ stands for destroying these, and also even the cognitions or knowledge of good and truth, 4697.

[7] The whole of Chapter 11 in the same prophet describes a war between the king of the south and the king of the north. ‘The king of the south’ means the light of truth derived from the Word, and ‘the king of the north’ reasoning about truths which is based on factual knowledge. The shifting fortunes which the Church will experience until it ceases to exist are described by the different phases in the course of that war.

sRef Num@2 @11 S8′ sRef Num@2 @13 S8′ sRef Num@2 @15 S8′ sRef Num@2 @14 S8′ sRef Num@2 @12 S8′ sRef Num@2 @10 S8′ [8] Because ‘the south’ meant truth dwelling in light it was decreed that the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad should camp towards the south, Num. 2:10-15. Encampments represented the arrangement of all things in heaven as determined by the truths and forms of the good of faith and love, 4236, 8103 (end), 8193, 8196, and ‘the twelve tribes’ which formed the camp meant all the truths and forms of good in their entirety, 3858, 3862, 3926, 3939, 4060, 6335, 6337, 6397, 6640, 7836, 7891, 7996, 7997. ‘The tribe of Reuben’ meant the truth of faith present in doctrine, 3861, 3866, 5542, ‘the tribe of Simeon’ the truth of faith subsequently present in life, 3869-3872, 4497, 4502, 4503, 5482, and ‘the tribe of Gad’ works motivated by that truth in doctrine and life, 6404, 6405. From these meanings it is evident why these three camped towards the south; for all things on the side of truth or faith belong in the south because they are in light.

sRef Rev@20 @7 S9′ sRef Ezek@37 @9 S9′ sRef Matt@24 @31 S9′ sRef Rev@20 @8 S9′ sRef Rev@7 @1 S9′ [9] From all this it is now clear what ‘the south side’ means, namely where the state of truth dwelling in light is to be found. For all states of the good of love and the truth of faith are meant by the four corners of the earth, states of the good of love being meant by the east and west sides, and states of the truth of faith by the south and north ones. Much the same is meant by ‘the four winds’, as in the Book of Revelation,

… angels standing over the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, in order that the wind should not blow onto the earth. Rev. 7:1.

And elsewhere,

Satan will come out to deceive the nations which are at the four corners of the earth. Rev. 20:7, 8.

In Matthew,

He will send angels, and gather the elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.******* Matt. 24:31.

And in Ezekiel,

Come from the four winds, O spirit, and breathe into these killed, that they may live. Ezek. 37:9.

[10] Because those winds, that is, those four quarters, meant all aspects of good and truth, thus all aspects of heaven and the Church, and ‘a temple’ meant heaven or the Church, it had been the custom since ancient times to site temples in an east-west direction. This was because the east meant the good of love on the rise, and the west the good of love on the decline. This custom had its origin in representative signs, which were well known to the ancients who belonged to the Church.
* Two different words denoting the south are used here. The first (meridies) also means noon or midday and is translated as such in some quotations below. The second (auster) is sometimes used to mean more specifically a south wind.
** i.e. If you bring food out of store for the hungry
*** or the south
**** lit. Sanctify
***** or at noon
****** lit. for passing through
******* lit. from the bounds of the heavens to the bounds of the heavens

sRef Ex@26 @19 S0′ 9643. ‘And forty bases of silver’ means complete support received through truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘forty’ as completeness, dealt with in 9437; from the meaning of ‘bases’ as support, since bases serve as supports; and from the meaning of ‘silver’ as truth, dealt with in 1551, 2954, 5658, 6112, 6914, 6917, 7999. The bases were made from silver and the boards overlaid with gold because good is meant by ‘the boards’, 9634, and truth by ‘the bases’, and good possesses power and on this account lends support through truth. As regards good, that it possesses power through truth, see 6344, 6423, 9327, 9410, and that ‘gold’ means good and ‘silver’ truth, 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 8932, 9490, 9510. Good possesses power through truth because truth gives shape to good, which means that good also possesses specific quality; for outward shape exists where specific quality does so. The good can then be a real influence among things, in one way or another. So it is that the ability resides potentially in good, but that this cannot be exercised except through truth. Ability so exercised is actual power, consequently power that provides support.

[2] Bases also correspond to a person’s feet and soles of the feet; in general they correspond to the bones, which lend support to all the fleshy parts in the body. By the feet and likewise the bones truth that provides support is meant, and by the fleshy parts in the body good which supports itself by means of truth.

All things on the natural level resemble the human form, and carry the same meaning as the parts of it they resemble, see 9496.
‘Flesh’ means good, 3813, 6968, 7850, 9127.
‘Feet’ means the natural, thus truth that has power from good within it, 5327, 5328.
‘Body’ means good, 6135.
‘Bones’ means truth that provides support, 3812 (end), 8005.

sRef Isa@24 @18 S3′ sRef Ps@18 @7 S3′ sRef Ps@82 @5 S3′ sRef Ps@18 @15 S3′ sRef Isa@40 @21 S3′ [3] So it is also that by ‘foundations’, which are a general base, the truth of faith and faith itself are meant, as becomes clear from places in the Word where ‘foundations’ are mentioned, for example in Isaiah,

Do you not know, do you not hear, do you not understand the foundations of the earth? Isa. 40:21.

A person unacquainted with what ‘the foundations’ and what ‘the earth’ mean inevitably takes ‘the foundations of the earth’ here to denote the inner depths of the planet, even though he may realize, if he stops to think about it, that something other than them is meant; for what meaning can knowing, hearing, and understanding the foundations of the earth have? From this it becomes clear that by ‘the foundations of the earth’ such things as have to do with the Church are meant. The fact that ‘the earth’ in the Word means the Church is plainly evident from places in the Word where ‘the earth’ is mentioned, see those quoted in 9325. And the fact that its foundations are the truths of faith, for these truths serve the Church as foundations, becomes clearer still from the following places: In David,

They do not acknowledge, neither do they understand; they walk in darkness. All the foundations of the earth are unstable. Ps. 82:5.

It is not the foundations of the earth that are unstable but, as is self-evident, it is the truths of the Church with those who neither acknowledge nor understand them and walk in darkness. In the same author,

The earth quaked and trembled, and the foundations of the mountains shook and quaked. Ps. 18:7.

‘The mountains’ are forms of the good of love, 795, 4210, 6435, 8327, their ‘foundations’ are the truths of faith. In Isaiah,

The floodgates from on high have been opened, and the foundations of the earth have been shaken. Isa. 24:18.

Since ‘the foundations’ means the truth of faith, and ‘city’ doctrine based on it, therefore also the Word speaks of ‘the foundations of the city’ when the truth of doctrine is meant. For the meaning of ‘city’ as doctrinal teachings based on truth, see 402, 2449, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493.

sRef Rev@21 @20 S4′ sRef Rev@21 @19 S4′ sRef Rev@21 @15 S4′ sRef Rev@21 @14 S4′ sRef Rev@21 @17 S4′ sRef Rev@21 @16 S4′ sRef Rev@21 @18 S4′ [4] This goes to show what the meaning is of ‘the foundations of the city, the holy Jerusalem’ in John,

The wall of the city, the holy Jerusalem, had twelve foundations, and on them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of precious stone. Rev. 21:14, 19, 20.

A person unacquainted with what ‘the holy Jerusalem’, ‘the city’, ‘the wall’, ‘the foundations’, and ‘the twelve apostles’ mean cannot see any arcanum at all that lies within this description. Nevertheless ‘the holy Jerusalem’ means the Lord’s New Church which will take the place of the one that is ours at the present day;* ‘the city’ doctrinal teachings; ‘the wall’ the truth protecting and defending, and ‘its foundations’ the truths of faith; and ‘the twelve apostles’ all forms of the good of love and the truths of faith in their entirety. From this it becomes clear why it says that there will be twelve foundations, adorned with every kind of precious stone; for ‘precious stone’ means the truth of faith springing from the good of love, 114, 3858, 6640, 9476, and ‘the twelve apostles’ all aspects of love and faith in their entirety, 3488, 3858 (end), 6397.

sRef Jer@51 @26 S5′ sRef Isa@54 @11 S5′ sRef Isa@30 @31 S5′ sRef Isa@30 @32 S5′ [5] From all this it is evident what is meant by ‘the foundations’ in those verses in John and also by ‘the foundations’ in Isaiah,

Behold, I am arranging your stones with antimony, and will lay your foundations in sapphires. Isa. 54:11.

‘Sapphires’ are interior truths, 9407. In the same prophet,

Jehovah will strike Asshur with a rod. At that time every stroke** will be that of the rod of the foundation on which Jehovah will cause [him] to rest. Isa. 30:31, 32.

‘The rod of the foundation’ is the power of truth. For the meaning of ‘the rod’ as power, see 4013, 4015, 4876, 4936, 6947, 7011, 7026. And in Jeremiah,

They shall not take from you a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations. Jer. 51:26.

‘A stone for foundations’ stands for the truths of faith.

sRef Job@38 @4 S6′ sRef Job@38 @5 S6′ sRef Job@38 @7 S6′ sRef Job@38 @6 S6′ [6] In Job,

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.*** Who determined the measures of it, if you know? Onto what [were] its bases [fastened]? Or who laid its corner-stone, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God bellowed? Job 38:4-7.

A person unacquainted with what ‘the earth’, ‘its measures’, and ‘its bases’ mean in the internal sense, and also what ‘corner-stone’, ‘morning stars’, and ‘the sons of God’ mean, sees no arcanum at all in this description. He will suppose that the actual earth, and also the foundations, measures, bases, and corner-stone of it are what is meant. Nor will he have any idea at all of what is meant by ‘the morning stars sang’ and ‘the sons of God bellowed’. But a person will pass from darkness to light if he knows that ‘the earth’ is the Church, ‘its foundations’ are the truth of faith, ‘its measures’ the state of good and truth, ‘its bases’ the actual truths that provide support, ‘the corner-stone’ the power of truth, ‘the morning stars’ cognitions or knowledge of good and of truth springing from good, and ‘the sons of God’ God’s truths. These sons are said ‘to bellow’ when they come into existence, those stars ‘to sing’ when they rise.
* The Latin volume in which these words appear was published in 1756.
** lit. every passage or going across
*** lit. if you know intelligence

sRef Ex@26 @19 S0′ 9644. ‘Under the twenty boards’ means which proceeds from the good that comes from the Lord’s Divine Human. This is clear from the meaning of ‘twenty’ as that which is complete, thus in every respect and totally, dealt with above in 9641; and from the meaning of ‘the boards of the dwelling-place’ as the good lending support to heaven, dealt with in 9634. This good is the good of merit, and so belongs to the Lord’s Divine Human, see 7850, 9127; and it is the one and only good that reigns in heaven, 9486. The fact that the truth meant by ‘the bases’ proceeds from this good is meant by the presence of the bases ‘under the boards’.

sRef Ex@26 @19 S0′ 9645. ‘Two bases under one board’ means the joining of it to the good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘two’ as a joining together, dealt with in 5194, 8423; from the meaning of ‘bases’ as truth through which support is received, dealt with in 9643; and from the meaning of ‘board’ as good that lends support, as immediately above in 9644.

sRef Ex@26 @19 S0′ 9646. ‘For its two hands’ means the power from it. This is clear from the meaning of ‘hands’ or ‘tenons’ as power, dealt with in 9638.

sRef Ex@26 @19 S0′ 9647. ‘And two bases under one board for its two hands’ means thus in every single part. This is clear from the consideration that there were to be such bases and hands or tenons situated at the end of each board. This being what the repetition of the same words implies, they mean that it should be so in every single part. It should be remembered that the essential nature of the good and its truths is the same in every detail of a person’s mind and of an angel’s as it is in the general whole, 920, 1040, 1316, 4345, thus is the same in every single part.

sRef Ex@26 @20 S0′ 9648. ‘And for the other side of the dwelling-place – on the north side’ means towards the more external parts of that heaven, where truth dwells in obscurity. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the dwelling-place’ as heaven, dealt with in 9594; and from the meaning of ‘the north’ as more external parts, where truth dwells in obscurity, dealt with in 3708. From these meanings it is evident that ‘the side of the dwelling-place – on the north side’ means towards the more external parts of heaven, where truth dwells in obscurity. There are four states to which the four quarters in the world – east, west, south, and north – correspond. East corresponds to a state in which good is on the rise, and west to a state in which good is on the decline; south corresponds to a state in which truth dwells in light, but north to a state in which truth dwells in shade, 3708. The state of good which the east corresponds to, and the state of truth which the south corresponds to, are more internal states, while the state of good which the west and that of truth which the north correspond to are more external states. For the more internal every state is, the more perfect it is; and the more external it is, the less perfect and so more obscure it is. This is why the higher a person can be raised towards more internal things, the more he advances into the perception of good and the light of truth. When therefore a person lays aside things of the body, which are truly external things, as happens when he leaves this world, he enters into intelligence and wisdom, and so into the perception of all forms of happiness. He does so provided that he has been leading a life of truth and goodness. And the more he has allowed himself to be raised towards the more internal parts of heaven by leading a good life based on teachings about the truth, the greater is that perception.

sRef Ex@26 @20 S0′ 9649. ‘There shall be twenty boards’ means the good lending support in every respect and totally. This is clear from the meaning of ‘twenty’ as in every respect and totally, dealt with above in 9641; and from the meaning of ‘the boards’ of the dwelling-place as the good lending support to heaven, dealt with in 9634.

sRef Ex@26 @21 S0′ 9650. ‘And their forty bases [made] from silver’ means complete support received through truth in the external parts as well, as above in 9643.

sRef Ex@26 @21 S0′ 9651. ‘Two bases under one board’ means through a joining to good, as also above, in 9645.

sRef Ex@26 @21 S0′ 9652. ‘And two bases under one board’ means everywhere, because it should be so in every single part, 9647; for what is so in every single part is so everywhere.

sRef Ex@26 @22 S0′ 9653. ‘And for the two legs of the dwelling-place towards the sea’ means a joining to heaven where good dwells in obscurity. This is clear from the meaning of ‘two’ as a joining together, as above in 9645; from the meaning of ‘the legs’ as the borders where good dwindles into obscurity, dealt with in 7859; from the meaning of ‘the dwelling-place’ as heaven, dealt with in 9594; and from the meaning of the west or ‘the sea’ as a state of good in obscurity, dealt with in 3708, 8615. This state is meant by ‘the west’ because the Lord in respect of the good of love is meant by ‘the sun’, 3636, 3643, 4060, 4321 (end), 7078, 7083, 7171, 8644, 8812. Therefore ‘the east’ where the sun rises means the good of love from the Lord where the perception of it is clear, and ‘the west’ where the sun goes down means good from Him where the perception of it is obscure. And since a person’s and an angel’s perception is clear when they have been raised towards more internal parts or into the light of heaven, and their perception is obscure when they remain in more external parts, 9648, thus when they remain in the light of the world, the west is also called the sea. For ‘the sea’ means factual knowledge in general, 28, 2850, and factual knowledge resides in the external or natural man, where good lies in obscurity. All factual knowledge, since it belongs to the natural man, dwells in the light of the world.

sRef Ex@26 @22 S0′ 9654. ‘You shall make six boards’ means where good from the Lord’s Divine Human exists in its fullness. This is clear from the meaning of ‘six’ as all things in their entirety, dealt with in 7973, thus also in fullness; and from the meaning of ‘the boards’ of the dwelling-place as good from the Lord’s Divine Human, supporting heaven, dealt with in 9644.

sRef Ex@26 @23 S0′ 9655. ‘And you shall make two boards for the corners of the dwelling-place at the two legs’ means the essential nature of the joining to good there. This is clear from what comes next, where it says that the boards there ‘shall be paired from below, and at the same time paired up to its head to one ring’, which describes the essential nature of the joining to good there. For ‘two’ means a joining together, 9645, ‘boards’ good that lends support, 9634, and ‘the corners of the dwelling-place at the two legs’ the borders where that good exists, 9653.

sRef Ex@26 @24 S0′ 9656. ‘And they shall be paired from below, and at the same time paired up to its head’ means a joining together from without and from within. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being paired’ as being made to act jointly; from the meaning of ‘from below’ as from without, since the Word portrays what exists outwardly as that which is below, and what exists inwardly as that which is above, 3084, 4599, 5146, 8325 (so that things deep down are more outward and those high up more inward, 2148, 4210, 4599); and from the meaning of ‘the head’, in the expression ‘from below up to the head’, as from within. The reason why ‘the head’ has this meaning is that the head is above the body, and by things above are meant those that are inward, as has just been stated; and in addition to this a person’s inward powers are located in the head, for in it reside the beginnings of the senses and motions, and the beginnings are inmost because they are the source from which everything else flows. These beginnings are like wellsprings from which streams of water flow.

sRef Isa@9 @15 S2′ sRef Isa@19 @15 S2′ sRef Isa@9 @14 S2′ [2] This also goes to explain why inward things are portrayed in the Word as ‘the head’, as in Isaiah,

Jehovah will cut off from Israel head and tail, the branch and the bulrush in one day. Isa. 9:14.

In the same prophet,

There will not be for Egypt [any] work which the head and tail, branch and bulrush will do. Isa. 19:15.

This refers to the Church, the inward things of which are ‘the head’ and the outward ones ‘the tail’.

sRef Jer@2 @36 S3′ sRef Jer@2 @37 S3′ sRef Jer@14 @3 S3′ sRef Jer@14 @4 S3′ sRef Isa@15 @2 S3′ [3] In the same prophet,

On all heads there is baldness; every beard is shaved off. Isa. 15:2.

‘Baldness on heads’ stands for the absence of good and truth in inward things, ‘beard shaved off’ for the absence of good and truth in outward things. In Jeremiah,

You will be put to shame by Egypt, as you were put to shame by Asshur, and your hands will be on your head. For Jehovah has loathed your defences. Jer. 2:36, 37.

This describes shame on account of the loss of the Church’s forms of good and its truths, brought about by factual knowledge and by reasonings based on it, ‘Egypt’ being factual knowledge and ‘Asshur’ reasoning based on it. ‘Hands on head’ stands for covering over inward things owing to shame. Something similar occurs elsewhere in the same prophet,

They were put to shame and subjected to ignominy, and they covered their heads. Jer. 14:3, 4; 2 Sam. 13:19.

sRef Ex@26 @24 S0′ 9657. ‘Up to one ring’ means being thereby held firm. This is clear from the meaning of ‘ring’ as a joining together, dealt with in 9493, 9495, at this point being held firm by being joined together, since it says that the boards ‘shall be paired up to one ring’.

sRef Ex@26 @24 S0′ 9658. ‘Thus it shall be for them both; at the two corners they shall be’ means a like joining together everywhere. This is clear from the meaning of ‘both’, or the two, as a joining together, dealt with above in 9655. Since things were to be the same at both corners, a like joining together everywhere is meant. For the paired boards at the two corners faced all four quarters – this was how the two legs at the corners were assembled – and to face all four quarters is to look everywhere. And since things were to be alike at both, a like joining together everywhere is meant.

sRef Ex@26 @25 S0′ 9659. ‘And there shall be eight boards and their bases [made] from silver’ means support in every respect from good and through truth that springs from good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘eight’ as what is so in every respect, dealt with below; from the meaning of ‘boards’ as good that lends support, dealt with in 9634; and from the meaning of ‘bases [made] from silver’ as support provided through truth from good, dealt with in 9643.

[2] ‘Eight’ means in every respect because this number has the same meaning as two and four, being the product of these when multiplied together. ‘Two’ and ‘four’ mean being joined together, completely so, 5194, 8423, 8877, and consequently also mean what is complete, 9103, and therefore what is so in every respect; for what exists in completeness does so in every respect. Another reason why ‘eight’ means what exists in completeness and in every respect is that since ‘a week’ means a whole period from beginning to end, 2044, 3845, ‘the eighth day’ means a complete state, from which a new beginning then commences. This explains why males had to be circumcised on the eighth day, Gen. 17:12; 21:4, for circumcision was a sign of purification from foul kinds of love by means of the truth of faith, 2039, 2046 (end), 2799, 3412, 3413, 4462. The foreskin corresponded to the defilement of good by those kinds of love, 4462, 7045, 7225, and the knife of flint with which circumcision was carried out was a sign of the truth of faith by means of which purification was accomplished, 2039 (end), 2046 (end), 2799, 7044.

sRef Micah@5 @5 S3′ sRef Micah@5 @6 S3′ [3] What exists in completeness and in every respect is also meant by ‘eight’ following ‘seven’ in Micah,

When Asshur comes into our land and treads our palaces we will set up over him seven shepherds and eight princes of men (homo), and they will feed* the land of Asshur with the sword; and he will deliver [us] from Asshur. Micah 5:5, 6.

‘Asshur’ stands for reasoning on the basis of one’s own intelligence about the Church’s forms of good and its truths. Deliverance totally or in every respect from consequent falsity is meant by ‘eight princes of men’ who will bring destruction, ‘princes of men’ being the leading truths that rise out of good.

[4] The fact that ‘eight’ means completeness and in every respect is also clear from an experience I had involving the admission and reception of some communities into heaven, about which see 2130. I saw as many as twelve communities received first, and after them as many as eight more; for people admitted and received into heaven are those who have been purified from earthly things, that is, from all love of them, and have gone on to receive instruction. The number eight on that occasion was a sign of that which was complete.

[5] ‘Eight’ has a similar meaning elsewhere in the Word, for example where it says that the portico of the gateway was ‘eight cubits’ long from the house, and that there were ‘eight steps’ up to the house, in Ezekiel 40:9, 31, 41. The description there is of the new house, by which the Lord’s New Church is meant, truths leading to good and from good back to truths being meant by ‘the portico’ and ‘the steps’.

sRef Rev@21 @17 S6′ sRef Rev@13 @18 S6′ [6] Anyone who does not know that spiritual realities or real things are implied by the numbers used in the Word cannot possibly see any such reality nor thus anything holy in the measures and numbers where the tabernacle, Solomon’s temple, and after these the new house, new temple, and new land in Ezekiel, are described, when yet not a syllable in the Word is devoid of spiritual meaning. Let all who have intelligence weigh up in their mind what the measures and numbers in Chapters 40-48 of Ezekiel really mean, also the measures and numbers in John, at Revelation 21:17, where it says that the angel measured the wall of the new Jerusalem, a hundred and forty-four cubits, and that this measure was that of a man (homo), that is, of an angel, and also in the following, besides many other places,

Let him who has intelligence reckon the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man (homo), that is, its number is six hundred and sixty-six. Rev. 13:18.

For more about all numbers in the Word, that they mean spiritual realities or real things, see 482, 487, 575, 647, 648, 755, 813, 1963, 1988, 2075, 2252, 3252, 4264, 4495, 4670, 5265, 5291, 5335, 5708, 6175, 7973, and places where the specific meaning of certain numbers has been shown.
* i.e. destroy

sRef Ex@26 @25 S0′ 9660. ‘Sixteen bases’ means total support. This is clear from the meaning of ‘sixteen’ as that which is total, ‘sixteen’ being similar in meaning to ‘eight’ since multiple numbers have a similar meaning to the simple ones of which they are the products, 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973, and ‘eight’ means what is complete and what is so in every respect, as shown immediately above in 9659, thus that which is total; and from the meaning of ‘bases’ as support, dealt with in 9643.

sRef Ex@26 @25 S0′ 9661. ‘Two bases under one board and two bases under one board’ means through the joining of truth to good everywhere. This is clear from the meaning of ‘two’ as a joining together, dealt with in 1686, 3519, 5194, 8423; from the meaning of ‘bases’ as truth providing support, dealt with in 9645; and from the meaning of ‘board’ as good lending support, dealt with in 9634. The repetition of exactly the same words, as also several times previously, implies what shall be so with every single thing, consequently everywhere.

sRef Ex@26 @26 S0′ 9662. ‘And you shall make bars from shittim wood’ means the power of the truth springing from good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘bars’ or ‘poles’ as the power which truth from good possesses, dealt with in 9496; and from the meaning of ‘shittim wood’ as the good of merit, which is the Lord’s alone, dealt with in 9472, 9486, this good being the one and only good that reigns in heaven, see 9486, and therefore the source of the power that truths possess.

sRef Ex@26 @26 S0′ 9663. ‘Five for the boards of one side of the dwelling-place’ means when it looks towards the more internal parts of heaven, where truth dwells in light. This is clear from the meaning of ‘five’ as all on that side, dealt with in 9604; from the meaning of ‘the boards’ as the forms of good which lend support, dealt with in 9634; and from the meaning of ‘side of the dwelling-place’ as the quarter in heaven to which attention is directed, for ‘the dwelling-place’ is heaven, 9596, and ‘side’ the quarter to which attention is directed. The reason why towards the more internal parts where truth dwells in light, thus towards the south, is meant is that the same phrasing regarding boards is used three times – the third or last relating to the boards ‘at the two legs towards the sea’ – and three sides are mentioned, the first being towards the south, verse 18, the second towards the north, verse 20, and the third towards the sea, verse 22, ‘towards the south’ meaning towards the more internal parts where truth dwells in light, see 9642, ‘towards the north’ towards the more external parts, where truth dwells in obscurity, 9648, and ‘towards the sea’ towards the parts where good dwells in obscurity, 9653.

sRef Ex@26 @27 S0′ 9664. ‘And five bars for the boards of the other side of the dwelling-place’ means the power of truth from good when it looks towards the more external parts, where truth dwells in obscurity. This is clear from the explanations immediately above in 9662, 9663.

sRef Ex@26 @27 S0′ 9665. ‘And five bars for the boards of the side of the dwelling-place at the two legs towards the sea’ means the power of truth from good when it looks towards the parts of that heaven where there is a joining to the good that dwells in obscurity. This too is clear from the explanations above, in 9653, 9662, 9663.

sRef Ex@26 @28 S0′ 9666. ‘And the middle bar in the midst of the boards that passes through from end to end’ means the chief power from which the power everywhere else extends. This is clear from the meaning of ‘bar’ or ‘pole’ as power, dealt with in 9496; from the meaning of ‘middle’ as what is inmost and chief, dealt with in 1074, 2940, 2973, 5897, 6084, 6103; from the meaning of ‘passing through from end to end’, when it refers to ‘the bar’ by which power is meant, as the power everywhere else that is derived and extends from it.

[2] None can have any real knowledge of these matters unless they know about the nature of things which are more internal and those which are more external in the spiritual world. Things that are the best and purest, and so more perfect than all others, exist in the inmost part. Those which are spread out from there towards more external parts are less and less perfect the further away they lie from inmost things, ending in those in the outermost parts, which are the least perfect of all, 9648. Things are said to be less perfect when they can be more easily twisted out of the shape and beauty they possess, and so out of the order that is theirs. The situation in all this is like that with fruits. Within them they have seeds, surrounded by the flesh. The seeds exist in a state more perfect than the flesh outside them, as becomes clear from the fact that when the flesh decays the seeds still remain intact. The like applies to the seeds themselves. Inmostly in these there is the reproductive germ, which exists in a perfect state compared with the parts outside it; for the germ remains in its intactness, producing a new tree or young plant when the more external parts of the seed are broken down. Things in heaven are arranged in the same way. The inmost things there, being closer to the Lord, exist in a perfect state compared with more external ones. For this reason the inmost heaven enjoys greater wisdom and intelligence, and consequently greater happiness than the heavens below. The like applies within each heaven; the inmost is more perfect than the surrounding parts. The like applies also to the person with whom the good of love and the truths of faith are present. That person’s internal exists in a more perfect state than the external; for the internal man dwells in the heat and light of heaven, but the external in the heat and light of the world. In every form that is perfect the situation is the same, in that its inmost part is the best, the inmost being what is meant by ‘the middle’.

sRef Ps@19 @6 S3′ sRef Jer@12 @12 S3′ [3] The reason why ‘passing through from end to end’, said in reference to a bar or pole, means the power everywhere else that is derived and extends from the chief power is that ‘from end to end’ means the first end and the final end,* thus from beginning to end since the first end is the beginning. Consequently by ‘the ends’ all things and everywhere are meant, as in Jeremiah,

The sword of Jehovah is devouring from [one] end of the land to the [other] end of it. Jer. 12:12.

‘The sword’ stands for truth engaged in conflict against falsity and destroying it, and in the contrary sense falsity engaged in conflict against truth and destroying it, 2799, 4499, 6353, 7102, 8294. ‘Devouring from [one] end of the land to the [other] end of it’ stands for all things of the Church, ‘the land’ being the Church, 9334. In David,

From the end of the heavens is His going forth, and His circuit to the ends of them. Ps. 19:6.

Here also ‘from the end of the heavens to the ends of them’ stands for all things and everywhere.

sRef Isa@49 @6 S4′ sRef Isa@45 @22 S4′ sRef Mark@13 @27 S4′ sRef Ps@65 @5 S4′ sRef Isa@62 @11 S4′ sRef Jer@25 @31 S4′ [4] In Mark,

He will send His angels and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth even to the end of heaven. Mark 13:27.

‘The end of the earth’ and ‘the end of heaven’ stand for all the external and the internal things of the Church, ‘the earth’ being the external part of the Church and ‘heaven’ the internal part of it, see 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118 (end), 3355 (end), 4535, where it explains what a new earth and a new heaven are. The plural ‘ends’ has the same meaning, in Isaiah,

Look to Me, that you may be saved, all ends of the earth. Isa. 45:22.

In David,

O God of our salvation, [You are] the confidence of all the ends of the earth and of the far-off parts of the sea. Ps. 65:5.

And the singular has the same meaning in the expression ‘even to the end’: In Isaiah,

… [that] you may be** My salvation even to the end of the earth. Isa. 49:6.

In the same prophet,

Jehovah will cause it to be heard even to the end of the earth, Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your salvation will come. Isa. 62:11.

In Jeremiah,

A clamour will come even to the end of the earth. Jer. 25:31.

‘Even to the end’ implies from end to end.

sRef Isa@42 @10 S5′ [5] But when ‘end’ is used to denote solely what is outermost or last and lowest it means that which is the lowest part of heaven or of the Church, as in Isaiah,

Sing to Jehovah a new song; [sing] His praise, you end of the earth falling away to the sea, and you fullness of it (the islands and their inhabitants). Isa. 42:10.

‘You end of the earth falling away to the sea’ stands for the last and lowest part of the Church where goodness and truth dwell in obscurity. For this meaning of ‘the sea’, see 9653. ‘The islands’ stands for those more remote from truths, and consequently from [true] worship, 1158.

sRef Ps@65 @5 S6′ sRef Isa@43 @6 S6′ [6] In the same prophet,

Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the end of the earth. Isa. 43:6.

‘Sons from afar’ are those who dwell in obscurity in respect of truths, ‘daughters from the end of the earth’ those who do so in respect of forms of good, as gentile nations did. By ‘sons’ those in possession of truths are meant, and in the abstract sense truths themselves, see 264, 489, 491, 1147, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3373, 3704, and by ‘daughters’ those with whom forms of good exist, and in the abstract sense the forms of good themselves, 489-491, 2362, 3963, 8994. From this it is also evident that ‘end’ has regard to good and ‘afar’ to truth, as also in Ps. 65:5 and Isa. 13:5. But it should be remembered that by ‘the end of heaven’ not an end that is spatial but a state of goodness and truth should be understood; for there is no space in heaven, only an appearance of it that is determined by states of goodness and truth.
* i.e. the initial end in view and the subsequent accomplishment of that end
** Reading Sis (you may be) for Sit (he may be)

sRef Ex@26 @29 S0′ 9667. ‘And you shall overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings from gold, houses for the bars; and you shall overlay the bars with gold’ means a representative sign of the good from which and through which everything derives its existence. This is clear from the meaning of ‘overlaying with gold’ and ‘making from gold’ as a representative sign of good, dealt with in 9510, in addition to which good that lends support is meant by ‘boards’, 9634, good and truth joined together by ‘rings’, 9493, 9495, and the power of truth from good by ‘bars’ or ‘poles’, 9496. The reason why everything should derive its existence from and through the good is that everything throughout creation has connection with good and with truth, and good is that from which truth and so from which everything derives its existence. And good has its origin in the Divine Himself. The Lord’s Divine Love constitutes Divine Good; for all good belongs to love. Divine Love itself and so Divine Good is Being itself (ipsum Esse), which is called Jehovah and also the Lord, and the Manifestation (Existere) of that Being is Truth. From all this it may be seen that everything derives its existence from good.

sRef Ex@26 @30 S0′ 9668. ‘And you shall set up the dwelling-place according to the plan which you saw on the mountain’ means in the four quarters, according to the states of good and of the truth springing from it in the heaven that is represented. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the dwelling-place’ as a representative of heaven, dealt with in 9594; and from the meaning of ‘according to the plan which you saw on the mountain’ as to the four quarters according to the states of good and of the truth springing from it in heaven. This is what ‘the plan according to which the dwelling-place was to be set up’ serves to mean, Mount Sinai where it was seen being heaven, see 9420. From the description that is given it is evident that the dwelling-place was positioned lengthways from east to west, and that the entrance was at the east end and the ark at the west. The sides therefore were to the south and to the north. The eastern quarter of the dwelling-place represented the state of good on the rise, the western quarter the state of good on the decline, the southern quarter the state of truth dwelling in light, and the northern quarter the state of truth dwelling in shade.

sRef Ezek@43 @3 S2′ sRef Ezek@43 @2 S2′ sRef Ezek@43 @1 S2′ sRef Ezek@43 @6 S2′ sRef Ezek@44 @1 S2′ sRef Ezek@43 @5 S2′ sRef Ezek@43 @4 S2′ sRef Ezek@44 @2 S2′ [2] The entrance was towards the eastern quarter because the Lord enters heaven by way of the good of love, as also becomes clear in Ezekiel, where the new temple is the subject and the following words occur,

He brought me to the gate which was facing towards the east, and behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. And the glory of Jehovah entered the house by the way of the gate, the face of which is towards the east; and the glory of Jehovah filled the house. Ezek. 43:1-6.

And after this,

Jehovah said to me, The gate facing east shall be shut and not opened, and no man (vir) shall enter by it; but Jehovah, the God of Israel, will enter by it. Ezek. 44:1, 2.

From these words it is plainly evident that the Lord alone enters heaven by way of the good of love, and that the good of love from the Lord fills heaven and composes it. ‘The east’ means the Lord in respect of the good of love because the Lord is the Sun of heaven, 3636, 3643, 7078, 7083, 7171, 8644, 8812. But in heaven things are positioned in such a way that the east is where the Lord appears as the Sun, straight before the right eye, 4321 (end), 7078, 7171. From there towards the west, thus in a direct line from the east and towards the west, are those with whom the good of love is present; but to the south are those dwelling in the light of truth, and to the north those in the shade of truth. All who are in heaven look towards the Lord, for to look frontwards there is to look towards Him. No one there can look backwards away from Him, no matter how far they turn themselves about, see 4321 (end). But this is an arcanum which the natural man cannot take in. These are the kinds of things that were represented by the plan seen by Moses on the mountain, according to which the dwelling-place was to be set up.

sRef Ex@26 @33 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @32 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @31 S0′ 9669. Verses 31-33 And you shall make a veil from violet and purple and twice-dyed scarlet and fine twined linen; with the work of a designer it shall be made,* with cherubs. And you shall hang it upon four pillars of shittim [wood] overlaid with gold, and their hooks [shall be made] from gold; [they shall stand] on four bases of silver. And you shall hang up the veil under the clasps, and you shall bring the ark of the Testimony in there, within the veil; and let the veil be for you a divider between the holy place and the holy of holies.

‘And you shall make a veil’ means the intermediary uniting this heaven and the inmost heaven, thus spiritual good to celestial good. ‘From violet and purple and twice-dyed scarlet and fine twined linen’ means the forms of the good of love and faith that are joined together there. ‘With the work of a designer it shall be made’ means the power of understanding. ‘With cherubs’ means watchfulness, guarding against the intermingling of the two. ‘And you shall hang it upon four pillars of shittim [wood]’ means the good of merit, which is the Lord’s alone, linking them together and providing support. ‘Overlaid with gold’ means a representative sign there [of good]. ‘And their hooks [shall be made] from gold’ means the modes by which they are linked together through good. ‘[They shall stand] on four bases of silver’ means the power by which they are linked together through truth. ‘And you shall hang up the veil under the clasps’ means the ability to link them together and the consequent accomplishment of this. ‘And you shall bring the ark of the Testimony in there, within the veil’ means the coming-into-being of the inmost heaven within that uniting intermediary. ‘And let the veil be for you a divider between the holy place and the holy of holies’ means between spiritual good – which is the good of charity towards the neighbour and the good of faith in the Lord – and celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord and the good of mutual love.
* lit. he shall make it

sRef Ex@26 @31 S0′ 9670. ‘And you shall make a veil’ means the intermediary uniting this heaven and the inmost heaven, thus spiritual good to celestial good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a veil’ – which served to divide the dwelling-place where the ark of the Testimony was from the part where the lampstand was and the table on which the loaves of the Presence were laid was – as the intermediary uniting the middle heaven to the inmost heaven. For the ark containing the Testimony represented the inmost heaven, where the Lord was, 9457, 9481, 9485, and the dwelling-place outside the veil represented the middle heaven, 9594. And since the good of love to the Lord composes the inmost heaven and the good of charity towards the neighbour composes the middle heaven, ‘the veil’ also means the intermediary uniting spiritual good to celestial good, spiritual good being the good of charity towards the neighbour, and celestial good being the good of love to the Lord. For more about those heavens, about their distinctions in accordance with those kinds of good, see the places referred to in 9277. From all this it is now evident what the veil was a sign of in both the tabernacle and the temple.

[2] These two heavens, the inmost and the middle, are so distinct and separate that there can be no entering from one into the other. Yet they constitute one heaven through intermediate angelic communities, whose disposition is such that they are able to be next door to the good of both heavens. These communities are the ones which constitute the uniting intermediary that was represented by the veil. I have also been allowed to speak on several occasions to angels from those communities. What the angels of the inmost heaven are like, and what the angels of the middle heaven in comparison are like can be demonstrated from correspondence. The angels of the inmost heaven correspond to those powers with a person which belong to the provinces of the heart and the cerebellum, whereas the angels of the middle heaven correspond to those powers with a person which belong to the provinces of the lungs and the cerebrum. The powers belonging to the heart and cerebellum are called involuntary and spontaneous, because that is what they are seen as being; but those belonging to the lungs and cerebrum are called voluntary. This to some extent demonstrates how superior the perfection of the one heaven is to that of the other, and how they differ from each other. But as for the intermediate angels next door to both heavens and linking them together, it is the networks extending from the heart and lungs, which serve to interconnect the heart and lungs, that correspond to them, and also the medulla oblongata, where the fibres of the cerebellum are joined to the fibres of the cerebrum.

[3] Angels who belong to the Lord’s celestial kingdom, that is, who are in the inmost heaven, constitute the province of the heart in the Grand Man, while angels who belong to the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, that is, who are in the middle heaven, constitute the province of the lungs there, see 3635, 3886-3890. This is the origin of the correspondence of the human heart and lungs, 3883-3896, and the correspondence of the cerebrum and cerebellum is much the same. What celestial angels or those who are in the inmost heaven are like, and what spiritual angels or those who are in the middle heaven are like, and what the difference is, see 2046, 2227, 2669, 2708, 2715, 2718, 2935, 2937, 2954, 3166, 3235, 3236, 3240, 3246, 3374, 3833, 3887, 3969, 4138, 4286, 4493, 4585, 4938, 5113, 5150, 5922, 6289, 6296, 6366, 6427, 6435, 6500, 6647, 6648, 7091, 7233, 7474, 7977, 7992, 8042, 8152, 8234, 8521. From this it may be evident what the intermediate angels who constitute the uniting intermediary, which was represented by the veil, are like.

[4] The tearing of the veil of the temple into two parts when the Lord endured the Cross, Matt. 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45, was a sign of the glorification of the Lord. For when the Lord was in the world He made the Human He had assumed Divine Truth; but when He left the world He made this Human Divine Good, from which Divine Truth has since emanated, see the places referred to at the ends of 9199, 9315, Divine Good being meant by ‘the holy of holies’.

[5] The glorification of the Lord’s Human all the way to Divine Good which is Jehovah is also described, in the internal sense, by the process of expiation when Aaron went into the holy of holies within the veil, which is the subject in the whole of Leviticus 16. In the relative sense the same process describes human regeneration all the way to celestial good, which is the good of the inmost heaven. The process was as follows: Aaron was required to take a young bull for a [sin] sacrifice, and a ram for a burnt offering for himself and his household. He also had to put on the holy garments, which were a linen tunic, linen stockings,* a linen girdle, and a linen turban; and he had to bathe his flesh in water. He was then required to take two he-goats on which he cast lots, the first of which was to be offered to Jehovah and the second sent away into the wilderness, this being done on behalf of the assembly of the children of Israel. When he sacrificed the young bull he was required to take incense inside the veil and to sprinkle some of the blood of the young bull and of the he-goat seven times over the east side of the mercy-seat, and also to put blood onto the horns of the altar. After all this he was required to confess the sins of the children of Israel, which he placed on the he-goat that was to be sent away into the wilderness. Finally he had to take off the linen garments and put on his own, and to present a burnt offering for himself and for the people; and parts of the sacrifice that had not been burnt on the altar had to be taken away outside the camp and burned. This was what had to be done once a year, when Aaron went into the holy of holies within the veil. The priestly function which Aaron discharged represented the Lord in respect of Divine Good, just as the regal function, which in later times was performed by the kings, represented the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, 6148. The process of glorification of the Lord’s Human all the way to Divine Good is described in the internal sense of that chapter in Leviticus. This process was revealed to angels whenever Aaron carried out those observances and went inside the veil; and it is also revealed to angels here and now when that chapter in the Word is read.

[6] A young bull for a sin sacrifice** and a ram for a burnt offering mean the purification of good from evils in the external man and in the internal man. The linen tunic, linen stockings, linen girdle, and linen turban which Aaron had to put on whenever he went in, and the bathing of his flesh, mean that this purification was accomplished by means of truths springing from good. Two he-goats of the she-goats for a sin sacrifice** and a ram for a burnt offering, and the he-goat which was offered and the other which was sent away, mean the purification of truth from falsities in the external man. The incense which he was required to take inside the veil means adaptation. The blood of the young bull and the blood of the he-goat which had to be sprinkled seven times over the east side of the mercy-seat and after this over the horns of the altar mean Divine Truth that emanates from Divine Good. The confession of sins over the living he-goat which was to be sent away into the wilderness means the casting away of evil after its total separation from good. Taking off the linen garments and putting on his own when he was about to present burnt offerings, also the taking away of the flesh, skin, and dung of sacrifices outside the camp, and the burning of them, mean putting on celestial good, in the case of one who has been regenerated, and in the Lord’s case the glorification of His Human all the way to Divine Good. This stage was reached after He had cast aside everything belonging to the human from His mother, so completely that He was no longer her son, see the places referred to at the end of 9315. These are the realities that are meant by that process of purification when Aaron went into the holy of holies within the veil; for after he had carried out those observances Aaron represented the Lord in respect of Divine Good. From all this it becomes clear that the veil between the holy place and the holy of holies also means the intermediary uniting Divine Truth and Divine Good within the Lord.
* The Latin word means boots; the Hebrew is usually taken to mean breeches or drawers.
** The Hebrew word here means simply sin and is generally rendered a sin offering.

sRef Ex@26 @31 S0′ 9671. ‘From violet and purple and twice-dyed scarlet and fine twined linen’ means the forms of the good of love and faith that are joined together there. This is clear from the meaning of ‘violet’ as the celestial love of truth, dealt with in 9466; from the meaning of ‘purple’ as the celestial love of good, dealt with in 9467; from the meaning of ‘twice-dyed scarlet’ as spiritual good, dealt with in 4922, 9468; and from the meaning of ‘fine twined linen’ as truth from a celestial origin, dealt with in 9469. From all this it is evident that those four mean forms of the good of love and faith that are joined together within the uniting intermediary. The implications of this are that those in heaven who belong to the uniting intermediary represented by the veil have forms of the good of love and forms of the good of faith joined together within themselves. Through the forms of the good of love they are joined to celestial angels who are in the inmost heaven, and through the forms of the good of faith to the spiritual ones who are in the middle heaven. For the good of love to the Lord is called celestial good, and the good of faith in Him is called spiritual good.

[2] Those in heaven who belong to the uniting intermediary are called celestial-spiritual and spiritual-celestial, the former being represented in the Word by Joseph, the latter by Benjamin. For the meaning of Joseph in the representative sense as the celestial-spiritual, see 4286, 4592, 4963, 5249, 5307, 5331, 5332, 5417, 5869, 5877, 6224, 6526, and Benjamin as the spiritual-celestial, 3969, 4592. Joseph is accordingly the internal uniting intermediary and Benjamin the external uniting intermediary, 4585, 4592, 4594, 5411, 5413, 5443, 5639, 5686, 5688, 5689, 5822. What the celestial-spiritual and the spiritual-celestial are, see 1577, 1824, 2184, 4585, 4592, 4594.

[3] The difference between those in the heavens who are celestial and those who are spiritual may also be recognized from their opposites in the hells. Those in the hells who are the opposites of celestial angels are called genii, while those in them who are the contraries of spiritual angels are called spirits. The genii, the opposites of celestial angels, are at the back, whereas the spirits, the opposites of spiritual ones, are at the front; and those between genii and spirits are at the sides. Being the opposites of celestial angels the genii are steeped in evil more internal than that present with spirits. Regarding spirits and genii, see what has been said about them from experience in 5977, 8593, 8622, 8625. The hell of genii has been set completely apart from the hell of spirits, so completely that those in one cannot pass over into the other. For there are intermediate spirits there who link the two together; and these spirits are the opposites of the intermediate angels in the heavens.

sRef Ex@26 @31 S0′ 9672. ‘With the work of a designer it shall be made’ means the power of understanding, as above in 9598.

sRef Ex@26 @31 S0′ 9673. ‘With cherubs’ means watchfulness, guarding against the intermingling of the two – of spiritual good and celestial good, and so of the middle heaven and the inmost heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘cherubs’ as watchfulness and providence, guarding against access to the Lord except through good and guarding against any harm being done to the good from the Lord which is present in heaven and with a person, dealt with in 9509. The reason why guarding against the intermingling of spiritual good and celestial good, and so of those two heavens, is also meant is that if they did become intermingled they would both suffer harm, harm so serious that those actual heavens would be destroyed, as may be recognized from the difference between the two kinds of good, and so between the two heavens, spoken about in the places referred to above in 9670. For this reason there are intermediate angelic communities, among whom celestial-spiritual good exists and spiritual-celestial good; and through these communities the two heavens are linked together, 9670, 9671. Even with these communities the two forms of good have not been joined together, but exist distinct and separate from each other. From all this it is evident that those communities are guards, protecting both kinds of good from becoming intermingled, and therefore also that this watchfulness and providence which are the Lord’s are meant by ‘cherubs’.

sRef Ex@26 @32 S0′ sRef Job@9 @6 S0′ 9674. ‘And you shall hang it upon four pillars of shittim [wood]’ means the good of merit, which is the Lord’s alone, linking them together and providing support. This is clear from the meaning of ‘four’ as a joining or linking together, dealt with in 1686, 8877 (‘four’ means a joining together because this number is the product of two multiplied by itself, and multiple numbers have the same meaning as the simple ones that produce them, 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973, ‘two’ meaning a joining together, see 5194, 8423); from the meaning of ‘pillars’ as support, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘shittim wood’ as the good of merit, which is the Lord’s alone, dealt with in 9472, 9486, this good being the one and only good that reigns in heaven, see 9486, and so also that lends support to heaven. Support is meant by ‘the pillars’ because these supported the veil, just as the boards also made from shittim wood supported the curtains of the dwelling-place, 9634.

sRef Ps@75 @2 S2′ sRef Ps@75 @3 S2′ sRef Rev@3 @12 S2′ [2] ‘Pillars’ in the spiritual sense means those things that support heaven and the Church, which are forms of the good of love and forms of the good of faith from the Lord. These forms of good are meant by ‘pillars’ in David,

I will judge uprightly.* The earth and all its inhabitants are dissolving; I will set its pillars firm. Ps. 75:2, 3.

In Job,

God shakes the earth out of its place, to the extent that its pillars tremble. Job 9:6.

‘The pillars of the earth’ stands for the forms of good and the truths that support the Church; for ‘the earth’ in the Word is the Church, 9325. Plainly they are not pillars supporting this planet that are going to tremble. In John,

He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go outside any more. And I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name. Rev. 3:12.

‘A pillar in the temple’ stands for the Church’s forms of good and its truths, which are also ‘the name of God’ and ‘the name of the city, new Jerusalem’. ‘The name of God’ is everything good and true in the Church, or everything in its entirety through which the Lord is worshipped, see 2724, 3006, 6674, 9310.
* lit. with uprightnesses

sRef Ex@26 @32 S0′ 9675. ‘Overlaid with gold’ means a representative sign there of good, the good meant by ‘the pillars of shittim [wood]’. This is clear from the meaning of ‘overlaying with gold’, and of ‘making from gold’, as a representative sign of good, dealt with in 9510.

sRef Ex@26 @32 S0′ 9676. ‘And their hooks [shall be made] from gold’ means the modes by which they are linked together through good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘hooks’ as the modes by which things are linked together, hooks possessing this meaning on account of their shape; and from the meaning of ‘gold’ as good, dealt with in 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 9490.

sRef Ex@26 @32 S0′ 9677. ‘[They shall stand] on four bases of silver’ means the power by which they are linked together through truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘four’ as a linking together, dealt with just above in 9674; from the meaning of ‘bases’ as power, dealt with in 9643; and from the meaning of ‘silver’ as truth, dealt with in 1551, 2954, 5658, 6112, 6914, 6917, 7999.

sRef Ex@26 @33 S0′ 9678. ‘And you shall hang up the veil under the clasps’ means the ability to link them together and the consequent accomplishment of this. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the clasps’ as the ability to join or link things together, dealt with in 9611, the accomplishment as a consequence being meant by ‘hanging the veil under them’.

sRef Ex@26 @33 S0′ 9679. ‘And you shall bring the ark of the Testimony in there, within the veil’ means the coming-into-being of the inmost heaven within that uniting intermediary. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the veil’ as the intermediary uniting the two heavens, dealt with in 9670, 9671; and from the meaning of ‘the ark of the Testimony’ as the inmost heaven, dealt with in 9485; its coming-into-being is meant by ‘bringing the ark in there’.

sRef Ex@26 @33 S0′ 9680. ‘And let the veil be for you a divider between the holy place and the holy of holies’ means between spiritual good – which is the good of charity towards the neighbour and the good of faith in the Lord – and celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord and the good of mutual love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the holy place’ as the good reigning in the middle heaven; and from the meaning of ‘the holy of holies’ as the good reigning in the inmost heaven. The fact that the latter good is the good of love to the Lord and the good of mutual love, and that the former good – the good reigning in the middle heaven – is the good of charity towards the neighbour and the good of faith in the Lord, is evident from all that has been shown in the places referred to in 9670 regarding both kinds of good, celestial and spiritual. The good of love to the Lord in the inmost heaven is the internal good there, while the good of mutual love is the external good there; but the good of charity towards the neighbour is the internal good in the middle heaven, and the good of faith in the Lord is the external good there. In both heavens there is an internal and an external, as there is in the Church. Regarding the Church, that this is internal and external, see 409, 1083, 1098, 1238, 1242, 4899, 6380, 6587, 7840, 8762, 9375.

[2] All good is holy, and so is all truth to the extent that it has good within it. Good is said to be holy and from the Lord because the Lord alone is holy and He it is from whom all good and all truth come, 9229, 9479. From this it is evident why the dwelling-place is called the holy place and the ark containing the Testimony is called the holy of holies. For the Testimony is the Lord Himself in respect of Divine Truth, 9503, and the ark is the inmost heaven where the Lord is, 9485. The Lord is indeed present in the middle heaven, but more immediately so in the inmost heaven. For those who have been joined to the Lord through the good of love are with Him, whereas those who have been joined to the Lord through the truth of faith are indeed with Him, but more remotely. In the middle heaven they are joined to the Lord through faith implanted in the good of charity towards the neighbour. From all this it evident why the dwelling-place outside the veil is called the holy place and the dwelling-place inside the veil is called the holy of holies.

sRef Rev@15 @4 S3′ sRef Dan@9 @24 S3′ [3] The fact that the Lord is the Source of everything holy and that He is the real ‘Holy of Holies’ is clear in Daniel,

Seventy weeks have been decreed concerning your* people, to anoint the Holy of Holies.** Dan. 9:24.

And in the Book of Revelation,

Who is not going to fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. Rev. 15:4.

Therefore also the Lord is called the Holy One of Israel in Isa. 1:4; 5:19, 24; 10:20; 12:6; 17:7; 29:19; 30:11, 12, 15; 31:1; 37:23; 41:14, 16, 20; 43:3, 14; 45:11; 60:9, 14; Jer. 50:29; 51:5; Ezek. 39:7; Ps. 71:22; 78:41; 89:18; 2 Kings 19:22; and elsewhere. Anything whatever therefore among the children of Israel which represented the Lord, or the goodness and truth that emanate from Him, was called holy once it had been dedicated, because the Lord alone is holy. The Holy Spirit in the Word is also that which is holy, emanating from the Lord.
* The Latin means My but the Hebrew means your, which Sw. has in other places where he quotes this verse.
** or the Most Holy Place

sRef Ex@26 @34 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @36 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @37 S0′ sRef Ex@26 @35 S0′ 9681. Verses 34-37 And you shall put the mercy-seat onto the ark of the Testimony in the holy of holies. And you shall place the table outside the veil, and the lampstand across from the table, at the side of the dwelling-place towards the south; and you shall put the table on the north side. And you shall make a screen for the tent door from violet and purple and twice-dyed scarlet and fine twined linen, the work of an embroiderer. And you shall make for the screen five pillars of shittim [wood], and you shall overlay them with gold; and their hooks [shall be made] from gold; and you shall cast for them five bases of bronze.

‘And you shall put the mercy-seat onto the ark of the Testimony in the holy of holies’ means the hearing and reception of all things which in the inmost heaven belong to worship arising from the good of love from the Lord. ‘And you shall place the table outside the veil’ means influx through heavenly blessings belonging to love. ‘And the lampstand across from the table, at the side of the dwelling-place towards the south’ means the enlightenment of the spiritual kingdom by means of the Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Human to those who are governed by good. ‘And you shall put the table on the north side’ means good dwelling in obscurity. ‘And you shall make a screen for the tent door’ means the intermediary uniting the second or middle heaven to the first or lowest heaven. ‘From violet and purple and twice-dyed scarlet and fine twined linen’ means composed of the good of charity and faith. ‘The work of an embroiderer’ means things that belong to factual knowledge. ‘And you shall make for the screen five pillars of shittim [wood]’ means a sufficient amount of support provided by the uniting intermediary through the good of merit belonging to the Lord’s Divine Human. ‘And you shall overlay them with gold’ means a representative sign of the good. ‘And their hooks [shall be made] from gold’ means the modes by which they are linked together through good. ‘And you shall cast for them five bases of bronze’ means power derived from external good.

sRef Ex@26 @34 S0′ 9682. ‘And you shall put the mercy-seat onto the ark of the Testimony in the holy of holies’ means the hearing and reception of all things which in the inmost heaven belong to worship arising from the good of love from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the mercy-seat’ as the hearing and reception of all things that belong to worship arising from the good of love, dealt with in 9506; from the meaning of ‘the ark of the Testimony’ as the inmost heaven where the Lord is, dealt with in 9485, ‘the Testimony’ there being the Lord, 9503; and from the meaning of ‘the holy of holies’ as the place where the good of love from the Lord dwells, dealt with above in 9680. From all these meanings it is evident that ‘you shall put the mercy-seat onto the ark of the Testimony in the holy of holies’ means the hearing and reception of all things which in the inmost heaven belong to worship arising from the good of love from the Lord.

[2] The nature of the Lord’s presence in the inmost heaven, and the nature of His presence in the middle heaven, and also in the lowest, may be recognized from what has been shown in many places regarding the inflow of goodness and truth from the Lord. The Lord becomes present by flowing in, but this inflow is conditioned by what people’s life of goodness and truth is like. Those governed by the good of love to the Lord are the ones to receive that inflow the most immediately. Those however who are governed by the good of charity towards the neighbour receive it as well, yet more remotely, because the good of charity towards the neighbour is more remote than the actual good of love to the Lord. As for those who are governed by the good of faith, they too indeed receive it, but according to the amount of good there is within that faith. Consequently people who lead a good life based on the truths of faith receive it; for the Lord resides within their good, since all good springs from Him and none whatever from man, nor from the angels in heaven.

[3] To pursue this matter further, that the Lord is present in heaven and with mankind through heaven, it should be remembered that the Lord is above the heavens, since He is the actual Sun of heaven; yet He is nevertheless present in heaven through the light and heat from that Sun. The light from it is the Divine Truth which is the light of faith, while the heat from it is the Divine Good which is the heat of love; what emanates from the Lord is the Lord Himself. From these considerations it is evident that the Lord is present where good received from Him dwells. But a better understanding of all this may be gained from what has been shown regarding influx, that is to say, where it has been shown that the all of life, thus all good and truth since these constitute life in a person, flows in from the Lord, and that the things which flow in are conditioned by the manner in which each person receives them, 2536, 2706, 2886-2889, 2893, 3001, 3318, 3484, 3742, 3743, 4151, 5846, 5850, 5986, 6053-6058, 6189-6215, 6307-6327, 6466-6495, 6598-6626, 6982, 6985, 6996, 7004, 7055, 7056, 7058, 7147, 7270, 7343, 8321, 8685, 8701, 8717, 8728, 9110, 9111, 9216, and where it has been shown that influx from the Lord comes both directly from Him and also indirectly through the heavens, 5147, 6058, 6063, 6466, 6472, 6473, 6982, 6985, 6996, 7004, 7007, 7055, 7056, 7058, 7270, 8685, 8701, 8717, 8728, 9216.

sRef Ex@26 @35 S0′ 9683. ‘And you shall place the table outside the veil’ means influx through heavenly blessings belonging to love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the table’, on which the loaves of the Presence were laid, as the receptacle of heavenly blessings, dealt with in 9527, 9545; and from the meaning of ‘outside the veil’ as outside the uniting intermediary through which indirect influx comes, for ‘the veil’ means a uniting intermediary, 9670. And since this table was placed immediately behind the veil an influx through heavenly blessings belonging to the inmost heaven, which are forms of the good of love, is meant. The fact that this influx comes both indirectly from the Lord through the inmost heaven, and directly from Him, may be seen from the places referred to above at the end of 9682. The situation with all the good which constitutes heavenly life and so eternal life with man and with angel is that the inmost core of good is the Lord Himself and consequently the good of love which emanates directly from Him. The next in order is the good of mutual love, after this the good of charity towards the neighbour, and finally the good of faith. This is the order in which forms of good beginning with the inmost core succeed one another. From this it may be seen what the situation is with direct and indirect influx. In general a degree of good below other degrees, that is, good which is more external, is good in the measure that it holds more internal good within itself, for in the same measure is its closeness to the Lord Himself, who is the inmost good, as has been stated. But the ways in which succeeding degrees of good – more internal ones within more external – are arranged and set out varies from one person to the next according to the way they receive them, and the way each one receives them is conditioned by the spiritual and moral development of that person’s life in the world; for the life everyone leads in the world remains with them forever.

[2] The Lord also flows directly into each individual person, for without this direct influx the indirect achieves nothing at all. The reception of direct influx is determined by order as it exists with man or angel, thus by Divine Truth emanating from the Divine, for this constitutes that order, 1728, 1919, 2447, 4839, 5703, 7995, 8512, 8513, 8700, 8988. True order for a person therefore is to lead a life of good which comes from the Lord, that is, to live from the Lord. The influx is constant; it enters into every single impulse of a person’s will and turns it, as far as possible, in the direction of true order; for the will that is properly a person’s own is constantly drawing him away from such order. The situation is as it is with a person’s voluntary and involuntary powers. His voluntary powers are constantly drawing him away from order, but his involuntary ones are constantly bringing him back to it. For this reason the motion of the heart, which is involuntary, has been set free completely from the person’s conscious will, as has the activity of his cerebellum; and the motion of the heart and the forces of the cerebellum control the powers of the will, preventing them from driving on beyond certain limits and wearing out the life of the body prematurely. Therefore the chief agents of both powers – of both involuntary powers and voluntary ones – have been joined and work together in the whole body. These matters have been mentioned to help to cast some light on the idea regarding the direct and indirect influx from the Lord of the celestial blessings which belong to love and the spiritual ones which belong to faith.

sRef Ex@26 @35 S0′ 9684. ‘And the lampstand across from the table, at the side of the dwelling-place towards the south’ means the enlightenment of the spiritual kingdom by means of the Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Human to those who are governed by good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the lampstand’ as the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, thus as Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Human, and the enlightenment given to His spiritual kingdom, dealt with below; from the meaning of ‘the table’, on which the loaves of the Presence were laid and which the lampstand was ‘across from’, as the Lord in respect of celestial good, thus that very good from which and through which the Lord flows into the spiritual kingdom or middle heaven, also dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘at the side of the dwelling-place towards the south’ as in the heaven where the Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Human dwells in the greatest light. For the dwelling-place outside the veil, where the lampstand was, is the middle heaven, 9594, and ‘the south’ is where Divine Truth dwells in its own light, 9642. The instructions that the lampstand in the dwelling-place, and also the table on which the loaves of the Presence were laid, were to be positioned close to the veil, the lampstand however at the side of the dwelling-place towards the south, but the table at the side towards the north, are arcana of heaven which cannot be properly brought to light unless it is known that the dwelling-place represented heaven, and the objects in the dwelling-place the celestial and spiritual realities which exist in heaven. What the lampstand represented has been shown already in 9548, and what the table on which the loaves of the Presence were laid represented in 9527, 9545. What ‘the south’ means has been shown in 9642, and what ‘the north’ in 3708. From all this it becomes clear that ‘the lampstand at the side of the dwelling-place towards the south’ means the enlightenment of the spiritual kingdom by means of Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Human.

sRef Rev@1 @12 S2′ sRef Rev@1 @14 S2′ sRef Rev@1 @13 S2′ [2] But to lay bare those actual arcana, something must be stated about the whole situation in heaven. The Lord appears to those who belong to the celestial kingdom as the Sun, but to those who belong to the spiritual kingdom as the Moon. The Lord as the Sun appears mid-way above the horizon, before the right eye, and as the Moon also mid-way above the horizon, before the left eye. It is from the Lord as the Sun that angels in His celestial kingdom derive their light, and from the Lord as the Moon that those in the spiritual kingdom derive theirs; regarding those two kingdoms, see the places referred to in 9277. The light in the heavens is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Human; and when that truth has been received by angels belonging to the spiritual kingdom it is called the truth of faith springing from the good of charity towards the neighbour. This good together with that truth constitute the middle heaven, called the spiritual heaven. The lampstand in the dwelling-place represented the Moon from which those belonging to the spiritual kingdom derive their light; it accordingly represented the Lord’s presence there as Divine Truth, since, as has been stated, the Lord appears to those who belong to that kingdom as the Moon. From all this it now becomes clear why the lampstand was placed ‘towards the south’, for the south is where Divine Truth dwells in light, 9642; also why the table on which the loaves of the Presence were laid was placed ‘towards the north’, for the north is where Divine Truth dwells in obscurity, 3708, as at the same time does Divine Good, meant by ‘the loaves’ laid on that table. That good becomes spiritual good through the reception of Divine Truth, like the reception of light from the moon. These are the arcana that are meant by the lampstand and its position ‘towards the south’, and by the table on which the loaves of the Presence were laid and its position ‘towards the north’.

sRef Rev@21 @23 S3′ [3] The fact that ‘the lampstand’ means Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Human is clear from the Book of Revelation,

I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe, and surrounded by a golden girdle around the breasts. Rev. 1:12-14.

‘The Son of Man’ is the Lord in respect of Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Human, 2803, 2813, 3704. And elsewhere in the same book,

The glory of God will give light to the holy city Jerusalem, and its lamp is the Lamb. Rev. 21:23.

‘The glory of God’ is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, 9429. ‘The lamp’ which is ‘the Lamb’, that is, the Lord, is the faith and consequently the intelligent understanding of truth and wise discernment of good which come from the Lord alone, 9548. The new Jerusalem is the Lord’s New Church, 2117.

[4] The Lord is the Sun to those who are in the celestial kingdom and appears as the Moon to those who are in the spiritual kingdom, see 1053, 1521, 1529-1531, 3636, 3643, 5097, 7083, 7173, 7270, 8644, 8812. Consequently in the Word the Lord in respect of celestial good is meant by ‘the sun’, and the Lord in respect of spiritual good by ‘the moon’, 1529, 1530, 2441, 2495, 4060, 4696, 7083, 8644. The Lord as the Sun appears mid-way above the horizon, before the right eye, and as the Moon also mid-way above the horizon, before the left eye, 1531, 4321 (end), 7078, 7171.

So it is that the east in heaven is where the Lord appears as the Sun, and the south where the Lord appears as the Moon.

The light from the Lord as the Sun and Moon is Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Human, 1053, 1521-1533, 1619-1632, 2776, 3094, 3138, 3167, 3190, 3195, 3222, 3223, 3337, 3339, 3341, 3636, 3643, 3862, 3993, 4060, 4180, 4302, 4408, 4414, 4415, 4419, 4527, 4598, 5400, 6032, 6313, 6315, 6608, 6907, 7174, 8644, 8707, 8861, 9399, 9407.
Since the light from the Lord as the Sun and the Moon is Divine Truth emanating from Him, the heat from the Lord as the Sun there is the Divine Good of His Divine Love, 3338, 3339, 3636, 3643, 5215, 6032.

[5] All this goes to show the nature of the difference between the Lord’s celestial kingdom and His spiritual kingdom so far as the reception of Divine Truth is concerned. That is to say, it is like the difference between light from the sun and light from the moon.

Those in the spiritual kingdom, in comparison with the others, dwell in obscurity so far as the truth of faith and the good of charity are concerned, 2708, 2715, 2718, 2831, 2849, 2935, 2937, 3241, 3833, 6289, 6500, 6945, 7233. These primarily are the ones to have been saved by the Lord’s Coming into the world, 2661, 2716, 3969, 6372, 6854, 6914, 7035, 7091, 7828, 7932, 8018, 8054, 8159, 8321, 9596; and the enlightenment they have is in the Lord’s Divine Human, 2716, 2833, 2834.
But those belonging to the spiritual Church are saved who lead a good life based on the truths of faith, 2954, 6435, 6647, 6648, 7977, 7992, 8643, 8648, 8658, 8685, 8690, 8701.

sRef Ex@26 @35 S0′ 9685. ‘And you shall put the table on the north side’ means good dwelling in obscurity. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the table’, on which the loaves of the Presence were laid, as a receptacle of heavenly blessings, dealt with in 9527, ‘the loaves’ being celestial good, which comes from the Lord, 9545; and from the meaning of ‘the north’ as obscurity so far as the truths of faith are concerned, dealt with in 3708, and since truth is in obscurity, so too is good. For in the Lord’s spiritual kingdom good manifests itself by means of truth, and truth is perceived as good when it passes from the understanding into the will. This good is the good of charity towards the neighbour, and it is called spiritual good. It is different in the Lord’s celestial kingdom. There good does not manifest itself as such by means of truth; rather those there enjoy direct insight into that good. From this it becomes clear why that table was placed on the side towards the north, and the lampstand on the side towards the south. But see what has been stated and shown immediately above in 9684 on these matters.

sRef Ex@26 @36 S0′ 9686. ‘And you shall make a screen for the tent door’ means the intermediary uniting the second or middle heaven to the first or lowest heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a screen’ as an intermediary uniting this heaven, which is represented by the tent of meeting, to the heaven represented by the court, which is the subject in the next chapter. For just as the veil between the holy place and the holy of holies has meant an intermediary uniting the inmost or third heaven and the middle or second heaven, so this screen means the like between the middle or second heaven and the first or lowest. The fact that there are three heavens, and that two of them were represented by the dwelling-place inside the veil and the dwelling-place outside the veil, has been shown above. And that the third or lowest heaven is represented by the court will in the Lord’s Divine mercy be shown in the next chapter. The entrance from one to the other is meant by ‘a door’ where the screen was hung. As regards ‘a door’, that it means an entrance, see 2145, 2152, 2356, 2385, consequently communication, 8989, so that ‘a screen’ here, which served in place of a door, is an intermediary that communicates and unites.

sRef Ex@26 @36 S0′ 9687. ‘From violet and purple and twice-dyed scarlet and fine twined linen’ means composed of the good of charity and faith. This is clear from the meaning of ‘violet’, ‘purple’, ‘twice-dyed scarlet’, and ‘fine twined linen’, where the veil, meaning the uniting intermediary between the inmost and middle heavens, is the subject. There these materials mean forms of the good of love and faith, dealt with in 9671; here however they mean forms of the good of charity and faith since the subject is the screen, by which the uniting intermediary between the second and lowest heavens is meant, 9686. For in the inmost heaven the good of love to the Lord is predominant, but in the middle heaven the good of charity towards the neighbour, and in the lowest heaven the good of faith. So it is that ‘violet’, ‘purple’, ‘twice-dyed scarlet’, and ‘fine twined linen’ mean the forms of good predominant in those heavens.

sRef Ex@26 @36 S0′ 9688. ‘The work of an embroiderer’ means things that belong to factual knowledge. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the work of an embroiderer’, or embroidery, as factual knowledge. A large number of places in the Word speak of that which has been embroidered and of embroidery, and in every case factual knowledge is meant by it. The reason for this goes back to representatives in the next life; there garments embroidered in various ways are seen, and by these garments truths on the level of factual knowledge are meant.

[2] Truths on the level of factual knowledge differ from those on the level of the understanding in the same way as outward things differ from inward ones, or as the natural level with a person differs from the spiritual. Facts serve the understanding as objects from which it may deduce truths; for the power of understanding is the internal or spiritual man’s power of sight, and known facts are its objects in the external or natural man. These facts are meant by ‘the work of an embroiderer’ whereas that power of understanding is meant by ‘the work of a designer’, 9598, for designing is a function of the understanding, and embroidering a function of the knowledge and skill employed by the understanding. This explains why the objects within the dwelling-place, which were signs meaning inner realities, were the work of a designer, such as the curtains that formed it, verse 1, and the veil between the holy place and the holy of holies, verse 31. But the objects which were signs meaning outer realities were the work of an embroiderer, such as the screen in place of a tent door, and the screen in place of a gate of the court, Exod. 38:18, and also the girdle, Exod. 39:29, ‘the girdle’ being what is external linking everything internal, ‘the court’ being the lowest part of heaven, and ‘the tent door’ the place where there is an exit from the middle heaven into the lowest.

sRef Ezek@27 @24 S3′ sRef Ezek@27 @20 S3′ sRef Ezek@27 @7 S3′ sRef Ezek@27 @16 S3′ sRef Ezek@27 @23 S3′ [3] The fact that ’embroidery’ and that which has been ’embroidered’ mean factual knowledge belonging to the external or natural man is clear from the following places in the Word: In Ezekiel,

Fine linen with embroidery from Egypt was your sail; violet and purple from the islands of Elishah was your covering. Syria was your merchant by reason of the multitude of your handiworks; [they exchanged for your wares] chrysoprase and purple, and embroidered work, and fine linen. The merchants of Sheba [came] with balls of violet and with embroidered work. Ezek. 27:7, 16, 24.

This refers to Tyre, by which those in possession of cognitions or knowledge of truth and good are meant, and in the abstract sense those cognitions themselves, 1201. ‘Fine linen with embroidery’ means truth on the level of factual knowledge, for ‘fine linen’ means truth from a celestial origin, 5319, 9469, and ’embroidery’ is factual knowledge. This also is the reason why it says that it came from Egypt – for ‘Egypt’ means factual knowledge, 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 2588, 4749, 4964, 4966, 5700, 5702, 6004, 6015, 6125, 6651, 6679, 6683, 6692, 6750, 7779 (end), 9391 – and also from Syria and from Sheba, since cognitions of truth and good are meant by ‘Syria’, 1232, 1234, 3051, 3249, 3664, 3680, 4112, and in like manner by ‘Sheba’, 1171, 3240. Cognitions of truth and good constitute the Church’s factual knowledge. Anybody endowed with the ability to think intelligently and weigh things up can see that in these verses from Ezekiel one should not understand embroidery, fine linen, violet, or purple, but that these commodities mean things such as are worthy of mention in the Word, namely spiritual realities that belong to heaven and the Church.

sRef Ezek@26 @16 S4′ [4] In the same prophet,

All the princes of the sea will step down from upon their thrones, and will cast away their robes and will strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with tremblings. Ezek. 26:16.

This too refers to Tyre. ‘The princes of the sea’ are the first and foremost known facts, which are called dogmas, ‘princes’ meaning things which are first and foremost, see 1482, 2089, 5044, and ‘the sea’ factual knowledge in general 28, 2850. ‘Robes’ are external truths, ’embroidered’ are truths on the level of factual knowledge, which too are external ones. For the meaning of ‘garments’ as truths, 2576, 4545, 4763, 5248, 5319, 5954, 6914, 6917, 6918, 9093, 9158, 9212, 9216.

sRef Ezek@16 @10 S5′ sRef Ezek@16 @18 S5′ sRef Ezek@16 @13 S5′ [5] In the same prophet,

I clothed you with embroidered cloth, and shod you with badger; I swathed you in fine linen and covered you with silk. Thus were you adorned with gold and silver; and your garments were fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. But you took your embroidered garments and covered the images, with which you committed whoredom.* Ezek. 16:10, 13, 18.

This refers to Jerusalem, by which the Church is meant. ‘Embroidered garments’ stands for truths on the level of factual knowledge. ‘Covering the images, with which she committed whoredom’ stands for giving strength to falsities, for ‘committing whoredom’ means perverting truths by bringing them into contact with falsities or with evils. Is there anyone who cannot see that since these verses describe Jerusalem ‘fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth’ are not used to mean fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth? Yet what they really mean the Christian world does not seek to know, because it supposes that heavenly and spiritual matters in the Word reside in its literal sense; the more internal contents of the Word it calls mystical, but has no interest in them.

sRef Ezek@17 @3 S6′ sRef Judg@5 @30 S6′ sRef Ps@45 @13 S6′ sRef Ps@45 @14 S6′ [6] In the same prophet,

A great eagle with great wings, with long pinions, full of feathers,** which had embroidery … Ezek. 17:3.

This refers to the house of Israel, which means the spiritual Church; and this Church is called ‘an eagle’ by virtue of its perception of truth, 3901, 8764, ‘which had embroidery’ standing for its possession of factual knowledge. In David,

All glorious is the king’s daughter within, in her clothing with gold interweavings; in an embroidered [robe] she will be led to the king. Ps. 45:13, 14.

‘The king’s daughter’ stands for an affection for truth, ‘an embroidered [robe]’ for factual knowledge of truth. In the Book of Judges,

Will they not divide the spoil, … the spoil of colours for Sisera, the spoil of colours of embroidered work, embroiderers’ colour – on the necks of the spoil?*** Judg. 5:30.

In this verse, which is part of the Song of Deborah and Barak, ’embroidered [work]’ stands for factual knowledge belonging to the natural man.
* Here verse 18 of Ezekiel 16 has become confused with the preceding verse 17.
** lit. A great eagle, great with wings, long with pinions, and full with feathers,
*** The meaning in the Hebrew of this verse is very obscure. The Latin rendering by Sebastian Schmidt, which Sw. relies on here, is literal and equally difficult to make sense of.

sRef Ex@26 @37 S0′ 9689. ‘And you shall make for the screen five pillars of shittim [wood]’ means a sufficient amount of support provided by the uniting intermediary through the good of merit belonging to the Lord’s Divine Human. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the screen in place of the tent door’ as the intermediary uniting the second or middle heaven to the first or lowest, dealt with above in 9686; from the meaning of ‘five’ as that which exists partially or in some measure, dealt with in 4638, and also a sufficient amount; from the meaning of ‘pillars’ as support, dealt with in 9674; and from the meaning of ‘shittim wood’ as the good of merit, which, being the Lord’s alone – dealt with in 9472, 9486 – accordingly belongs to His Divine Human, for This is what merit truly belongs to, 9486.

sRef Ex@26 @37 S0′ 9690. ‘And you shall overlay them with gold’ means a representative sign, that is to say, of the good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘overlaying with gold’ and ‘making from gold’ as a representative sign of good, dealt with in 9510.

sRef Ex@26 @37 S0′ 9691. ‘And their hooks [shall be made] from gold’ means the modes by which they are linked together through good, as above in 9676.

sRef Ex@26 @37 S0′ 9692. ‘And you shall cast for them five bases of bronze’ means power derived from external good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘bases’ as power providing support, dealt with in 9643; and from the meaning of ‘bronze’ as natural good or external good, dealt with in 425, 1551.

9693. THE FIRST PLANET OUT IN SPACE – continued

After I had been taken across that great chasm I arrived at length at a place where I came to a halt. At that point spirits on a level above appeared to me, to whom I was allowed to speak. From their mode of speech and from the way in which they were inclined to observe things and express them I realized clearly that they were from another planet; for they were altogether different from spirits belonging to our solar system. And they in turn recognized from my mode of speech that I was from far away.

9694. After we had spoken for a while about various matters I asked them which God they worshipped. Some angel, they said, who being radiant with light appears to them in the form of a Divine Person; and this angel teaches them and enables them to see what they ought to do. They went on to say that God Most High dwells in the sun of the angelic heaven, and that He appears to their angel and not to themselves; also that He is too great for them to dare to worship Him.

9695. The angel they worshipped was an angelic community, which the Lord had allowed to take charge over them and show them the path to what is just and upright. The light they have therefore comes from a kind of flame which looks like a torch, very fiery and yellow. The reason for this is that they do not worship the Lord, and as a consequence do not have light from the sun of the angelic heaven but from an angelic community; for when the Lord so allows, an angelic community can provide light to spirits who are in a lower sphere.

9696. In all else they were unassuming, somewhat simple, but nevertheless quite sound in their thinking. From the light as it existed with them I could deduce what kind of understanding they had. In the heavens the light they receive determines what their understanding is, for Divine Truth emanating from the Lord as the Sun is what shines there, enabling angels not only to see but also to understand.

9697. When asked about the sun of their system which gives their planet light, they said that their sun has a flaming appearance. And when I indicated to them the size of our planet’s sun they said that theirs was smaller. (For before our eyes their sun is a star; and from angels I heard that it was one of the smaller stars.) They also said that the starry sky could be seen from their planet too.

9698. I was told that the inhabitants and spirits of that planet correlate in the Grand Man with something in the spleen, which was also proved to me by an influence exerted on my spleen while they were talking to me.

9699. After this my sight was opened to enable me to see something of what existed on the actual planet. Very many meadows appeared, woodlands with leafy trees, and also woolly sheep.

9700. ‘The first planet out in space which I have seen’ is continued at the end of the next chapter.

9701. 27
TEACHINGS ABOUT CHARITY AND FAITH

Something must be stated next about the internal man and the external man.

9702. Those who have no more than a general idea of the internal and the external man imagine that the internal man thinks and wills and the external man speaks and acts, since thought and will are internal and resulting words and actions are external.

9703. It should be recognized however that thought and will are activities not merely of the internal man but also of the external man, though the situation when they are joined together is different from that when they are separated.

9704. When intelligence permeates what a person thinks and wisdom what he wills, thought and will spring from the internal man; but when intelligence does not permeate what a person thinks nor wisdom what he wills, thought and will do not spring from the internal man. Consequently when a person’s thought about the Lord and things that are the Lord’s is right and good, and his thought about the neighbour and things that are the neighbour’s is right and good, and when his will in regard to all this is right and good, his thought and will spring from the internal man. But when a person’s thought about them is wrong and bad, and his will is wrong and bad, his thought and will do not spring from the internal man. Right thinking is a product of belief in what is true, and right willing a product of the love of what is good. But wrong thinking is a product of belief in what is false, and wrong willing a product of the love of what is evil.

9705. In short, to the extent that a person is governed by love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour he is governed by his internal man; and from his internal man springs his thought and will, and from there also his words and his actions. But to the extent that a person is ruled by self-love and love of the world he is ruled by his external man, and also his words and actions spring from there, so far as he dares to let them.

9706. The reason why this should be so is that the human being has been created to conform to an image of heaven and an image of the world, the internal man to conform to the image of heaven and the external man to conform to the image of the world. Therefore when thought and will spring from the internal man they spring from heaven, that is, through heaven from the Lord; but when thought and will spring from the external they spring from the world, that is, through the world from self.

9707. For this reason the Lord has provided and ordained that a person’s internal man shall be opened to the extent that his thought and will spring from heaven, that is, through heaven from the Lord – opened towards heaven, all the way to the Lord Himself. And conversely, for the same reason, a person’s internal man shall be closed and his external man opened to the extent that his thought and will spring from the world, that is, through the world from self – opened towards the world and towards self.

9708. For the external man to be brought into true order it must become subordinate to the internal; and it is subordinate when it acts in obedience to the internal. To the extent that this happens, the external man too is wise. This is what is meant when it is said that a person’s old self and its passions must die, in order that he may become ‘a new creature’.*
* This saying is ultimately Pauline, see for example 2 Corinthians 5:17;
Galatians 5:24.

9709. Those whose internal man is closed have no knowledge of the existence of the internal man; nor do they believe in the reality of heaven and of eternal life. And what is astonishing, those people even suppose that they are wiser than others in their thinking; for they love themselves and what is their own, and adore it. It is different with those whose internal man is opened towards heaven, all the way to the Lord. They live in the light of heaven and so depend for their enlightenment on the Lord, whereas the former do not live in the light of heaven but in the light of the world and so depend for their enlightenment on themselves. Those who depend on themselves for enlightenment and not on the Lord see falsity as truth and evil as good.

EXODUS 27

1 And you shall make the altar from shittim wood, five cubits the length and five cubits the breadth; square shall the altar be, and three cubits its height.

2 And you shall make its horns on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it,* and you shall overlay it with bronze.

3 And you shall make its pans to take away its ashes, and shovels, and its basins, and its forks, and its tongs; all its vessels you shall make of bronze.**

4 And you shall make for it a grating, a network, from bronze; and on the net you shall make four rings of bronze, on the four ends of it.

5 And you shall put it under the rim of the altar beneath, and the net shall reach down to the middle of the altar.

6 And you shall make poles for the altar, poles of shittim wood, and overlay them with bronze.

7 And its poles shall be put into the rings, and the poles shall be on the two sides of the altar when it is carried.***

8 A boarded hollow you shall make it; as it has appeared to you on the mountain, so they shall make [it].

9 And you shall make the court of the dwelling-place on the south side,**** southwards; the hangings for the court shall be [made] from fine twined linen, a hundred cubits the length to one corner;

10 And its pillars shall be twenty, and their bases twenty, [made] from bronze; the hooks of the pillars and their bands [shall be made] from silver.

11 And [the same shall be] so for the length on the north side;**** the hangings shall be a hundred in length, and its pillars twenty, and their bases twenty, [made] from bronze, the hooks of the pillars and their bands [made] from silver.

12 And the breadth of the court on the side of the sea,***** the hangings shall be fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and the bases of these, ten.

13 And the breadth of the court on the east side,**** towards the sunrise, shall be fifty cubits;

14 And hangings of fifteen cubits shall there be for [one] wing,****** their pillars three, and the bases of these, three;

15 And for the other wing****** there shall be hangings [of] fifteen [cubits], their pillars three, and the bases of these, three.

16 And for the gate of the court there shall be a screen of twenty cubits, [made] from violet, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of an embroiderer, its pillars four, and the bases of these, four.

17 All the pillars of the court round about shall be banded with bands of silver, and their hooks [made] from silver and their bases from bronze.

18 The length of the court shall be a hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty throughout,******* and the height five cubits, [with hangings made] from fine twined linen and their bases from bronze.

19 And as for all the vessels of the dwelling-place, in all its service, and all its pins and all the pins of the court, [they shall be made] from bronze.

20 And you shall command the children of Israel, and let them bring to you olive oil – pure, beaten – for the light, to cause a lamp to go up******** continually.

21 In the tent of meeting, outside the veil which is over the Testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend********* it, from evening until morning before Jehovah. It shall be the statute of an age********** for their generations among*********** the children of Israel.
* lit. shall be from (or out of) it
** lit. for all its vessels you shall make bronze
*** lit. in carrying it
**** lit. corner or angle
***** lit. the corner (or the angle) of the sea i.e. the west end
****** i.e. section to one side of the gate
******* lit. fifty in fifty
******** i.e. burn
********* lit. set in order
********** i.e. an everlasting law
*********** lit. from with

sRef Ex@27 @0 S0′ 9710. CONTENTS

This chapter deals in the internal sense with worship of the Lord springing from the good of love. Such worship is meant by the altar, and in general is described by everything that has to do with the altar.

sRef Ex@27 @0 S0′ 9711. After that it deals with the lowest heaven, which is represented and described by the court.

sRef Ex@27 @0 S0′ 9712. Lastly the chapter deals with the good of charity, by means of which the spiritual heaven has light from the Lord within the truths of faith. These things are meant by the olive oil and by the light.

9713. THE INTERNAL SENSE

Verses 1-8 And you shall make the altar from shittim wood, five cubits the length and five cubits the breadth; square shall the altar be, and three cubits its height. And you shall make its horns on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it*, and you shall overlay it with bronze. And you shall make its pans to take away its ashes, and shovels, and its basins, and its forks, and its tongs; all its vessels you shall make of bronze.** And you shall make for it a grating, a network, from bronze; and on the net you shall make four rings of bronze, on the four ends of it. And you shall put it under the rim of the altar beneath, and the net shall reach down to the middle of the altar. And you shall make poles for the altar, poles of shittim wood, and overlay them with bronze. And its poles shall be put into the rings, and the poles shall be on the two sides of the altar when it is carried.*** A boarded hollow you shall make it; as it has appeared to you on the mountain, so they shall make [it].

‘And you shall make the altar’ means that which was representative of the Lord and of the worship of Him. ‘From shittim wood’ means righteousness. ‘Five cubits the length and five cubits the breadth’ means that which consists equally of good and of truth. ‘Square shall the altar be’ means that which for this reason is righteous. ‘And three cubits its height’ means what is complete so far as degrees are concerned. ‘And you shall make its horns’ means power. ‘On its four corners’ means every aspect of it. ‘The horns shall be of one piece with it’ means that the power must come from good. ‘And you shall overlay it with bronze’ means a representative sign of the good. ‘And you shall make its pans to take away its ashes’ means the removers of things which have served their purpose. ‘And shovels, and basins, and its forks, and its tongs’ means known facts that act as containers and serve every purpose. ‘All its vessels you shall make of bronze’ means that they must all be formed from good. ‘And you shall make for it a grating, a network’ means the level of sensory perception, which is the last and lowest. ‘From bronze’ means that this too must be formed from good. ‘And on the net you shall make four rings of bronze’ means the sphere of good by means of which a joining together is accomplished. ‘On the four ends of it’ means everywhere. ‘And you shall put it under the rim of the altar beneath’ means that sensory perception on the last and lowest levels. ‘And the net shall reach down to the middle of the altar’ means the extent of sensory perception. ‘And you shall make poles for the altar’ means the power to hold something in a state of good. ‘Poles of shittim wood’ means the good of righteousness, [and the power derived from this good.] ‘And overlay them with bronze’ means a representative sign of the good. ‘And its poles shall be put into the rings’ means the power of the sphere of Divine Good. ‘And the poles shall be on the two sides of the altar’ means the power of good imparted through truth,**** and that of the truth which springs from the good. ‘When it is carried’ means bringing into being and keeping in being. ‘A boarded hollow you shall make it’ means the suitableness. ‘As it has appeared to you on the mountain, so they shall make [it]’ means in keeping with the correspondence of Divine realities in heaven.
* lit. shall be from (or out of) it
** lit. for all its vessels you shall make bronze
*** lit. in carrying it
**** Contrast with 9736, where in his rough draft Sw. first had but then deleted what appears here in 9713.

sRef Ex@27 @1 S0′ 9714. ‘And you shall make the altar’ means that which was representative of the Lord and of the worship of Him. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the altar’ – the one to be used for burnt offerings and sacrifices – as that which was representative of the Lord; and since the burnt offerings and sacrifices were the signs of all that constituted worship of the Lord, the altar was also representative of the worship of Him. Not that the Lord is worshipped with burnt offerings and sacrifices but with what they represented, namely the celestial things of love and the spiritual things of faith, 922, 923, 1823, 2180, 2805, 2807, 2830, 3519, 6905, 8680, 8936.

sRef Matt@23 @19 S2′ sRef Matt@23 @16 S2′ sRef John@2 @20 S2′ sRef Matt@23 @18 S2′ sRef Matt@23 @17 S2′ sRef John@2 @21 S2′ sRef John@2 @19 S2′ sRef Matt@23 @21 S2′ sRef Matt@23 @22 S2′ sRef Matt@23 @20 S2′ [2] There were two objects which served to represent the Lord’s Divine Human – the temple and the altar. That the temple did so He Himself teaches in John,

Jesus said, Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again. He was speaking of the temple of His body. John 2:19-21.

That the altar did so is likewise made clear by the Lord’s own words, where He speaks in Matthew about the temple and at the same time the altar,

Fools and blind! For you say, Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is guilty. Which of the two is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold holy? In the same way, Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is guilty. Fools and blind! Which of the two is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy? He who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything that is on it. And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by Him who dwells in it. And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by Him who sits on it. Matt. 23:16-22.

From this it is evident that just as the temple was representative of the Lord’s Divine Human, so too was the altar; for something similar is stated regarding the altar as is stated regarding the temple, namely that the altar is what makes the gift on it holy. This shows that the altar was a channel through which other things were rendered holy, and for this reason was also representative of the Lord’s Divine Human, the Source of all holiness. But the altar was representative of the Lord in respect of His Divine Good, whereas the temple was representative of Him in respect of His Divine Truth, thus in respect of heaven since Divine Truth emanating from the Lord makes heaven. This explains why the Lord says in regard to the temple that he who swears by the temple swears by it and by Him who dwells in it, and goes on to say that he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by Him who sits on it. ‘God’s throne’ is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, and so is heaven, while ‘He who sits on it’ is the Lord, 5313. Much the same as was represented by the temple was represented also by the dwelling-place; the Lord in respect of Divine Truth there is the Testimony which was within the ark, 9503.

sRef Ex@29 @37 S3′ sRef Lev@6 @13 S3′ [3] Since the altar represented the Lord in respect of Divine Good it was the real holy of holies, making everything that touched it holy, as is made clear later on in this Book of Exodus, where it says,

Seven days you shall make expiation on the altar and sanctify it, that the altar may be most holy,* and all that touches it may be made holy. Exod. 29:37.

This was the reason why fire burned unceasingly on the altar and was never put out, Lev. 6:12, 13; and from this fire and no other source the incense-fire was taken, Lev. 10:1-6. For the fire on the altar was a sign of the Divine Good of the Lord’s Divine Love, 5215, 6314, 6832, 6834, 6849.

sRef Ps@26 @6 S4′ sRef Ps@43 @4 S4′ sRef Ps@43 @3 S4′ sRef Ps@26 @7 S4′ [4] As regards the altar and its being representative of the Lord, this is evident from the following words in David,

Let Your light and truth lead me to Your holy mountain and to Your dwellings, that I may go in to the altar of God, to God … Ps. 43:3, 4.

And in the same author,

I wash my hands in innocence, and I go around Your altar, O Jehovah. Ps. 26:6, 7.

sRef Isa@60 @7 S5′ sRef Lam@2 @7 S5′ [5] But as regards the altar and its being representative of worship of the Lord, this may be seen in Isaiah,

All the cattle of Arabia will be gathered to You, the rams of Nebaioth will minister to You; they will come up with acceptance on My altar. Isa. 60:7.

In Jeremiah,

The Lord has abandoned His altar, He has abominated His sanctuary. Lam. 2:7.

‘Abandoning the altar’ stands for doing away with what was representative of worshipping the Lord from the good of love, ‘abominating the sanctuary’ stands for doing away with what was representative of worshipping the Lord from the truths of faith.

sRef Ezek@6 @6 S6′ sRef Ezek@6 @4 S6′ sRef Isa@27 @9 S6′ sRef Ezek@6 @5 S6′ [6] In Ezekiel,

Your altars will be destroyed, I will scatter your bones around your altars. Your altars will be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols will be broken and cease to be. Ezek. 6:4-6.

‘Altars being destroyed, laid waste, and made desolate’ stands for the ruination of that which belongs to representative worship. In Isaiah,

The iniquity of Jacob will be expiated, when He makes all the stones of the altar like chalk-stones scattered about. Isa. 27:9.

‘The stones of the altar scattered about’ stands for all the truths of worship.

sRef Isa@17 @8 S7′ sRef Isa@17 @7 S7′ [7] In the same prophet,

On that day a person will regard his Maker, and his eyes [will regard] the Holy One of Israel. But he will not regard the altars, the work of his hands, and what his fingers have made. Isa. 17:7, 8.

‘Altars, the work of hands, and what fingers have made’ stands for worship that is the product of self-intelligence.

sRef Hos@10 @8 S8′ sRef Hos@8 @11 S8′ [8] In Hosea,

Ephraim has multiplied altars for sinning. Hosea 8:11.

‘Multiplying altars for sinning’ stands for devising meaningless forms of worship. In the same prophet,

Thistle and thorn will grow up on their altars. Hosea 10:8.

This describes how evils and falsities will come in and compose worship.

sRef Isa@19 @19 S9′ [9] In Isaiah,

On that day there will be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of Egypt. Isa. 19:19.

‘An altar to Jehovah’ stands for worship of the Lord.

[10] Because the altar that is the subject here was portable it was made from shittim wood and overlaid with bronze. But an altar that was to remain permanently in the same place was built either from soil or from unhewn stones. An altar of soil was the chief representative sign of worship of the Lord that springs from the good of love, whereas an altar of unhewn stones was the representative sign of worship springing from forms of the good and of the truth of faith, 8935, 8940. The portable altar however that is the subject here was representative of worship of the Lord that springs from the good of love; and this was why it was made from shittim wood and overlaid with bronze.
* lit. holy of holies

sRef Ex@27 @1 S0′ 9715. ‘From shittim wood’ means righteousness. This is clear from the meaning of ‘shittim wood’ as the good of merit, and righteousness, which are the Lord’s alone, dealt with in 9472, 9486. What righteousness and merit are, which are the Lord’s alone, must be stated here and now. People think that the Lord earned merit and righteousness because He fulfilled all the requirements of the law and by His passion on the Cross saved the human race. But this is not what anyone should understand in the Word by the Lord’s merit and righteousness. Rather they should understand by His merit and righteousness that He fought alone against all the hells and overcame them, and in so doing He restored to order everything in the hells and at the same time everything in the heavens. For each person has spirits from hell present with him, and angels from heaven; without them a person cannot lead any life at all. Unless the hells had been overcome by the Lord and the heavens restored to order no one could ever have been saved.

[2] Salvation could not have been won except through His Human, that is to say, except through conflicts with the hells, fought from His Human. And since the Lord did this by His own power, thus did it alone, to the Lord alone belong merit and righteousness. And for the same reason it is He alone who still conquers the hells with a person; for He who conquers them once conquers them for evermore. No one therefore has any merit or righteousness whatever; yet the Lord’s merit and righteousness are his when he acknowledges that none is attributable to himself but all to the Lord. So it is that the Lord alone regenerates a person; for regenerating a person involves driving the hells away from him, consequently the evils and falsities which come from the hells, and implanting heaven in place of them, that is, forms of the good of love and the truths of faith since these constitute heaven. Through the conflicts engaged in repeatedly with the hells the Lord also glorified His Human, that is, made it Divine; for even as a person is regenerated by means of conflicts, which are temptations, so the Lord was glorified by means of conflicts, which were temptations. The glorification of the Lord’s Human by His own power therefore is also merit and righteousness; for through this the person is saved because through it the Lord holds all the hells in subjection for evermore.

sRef Isa@63 @1 S3′ sRef Isa@63 @8 S3′ sRef Isa@63 @2 S3′ sRef Isa@63 @6 S3′ sRef Isa@63 @4 S3′ sRef Isa@63 @7 S3′ sRef Isa@63 @3 S3′ sRef Isa@63 @5 S3′ [3] The truth of all this is clear from places in the Word where the Lord’s merit and righteousness are referred to, as in Isaiah,

Who is this who comes from Edom, with spattered clothes from Bozrah, marching in the vast numbers of His strength? I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Why are You red as to Your clothes, and Your clothes like his that treads in the winepress? I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples not a man (vir) was with Me. Therefore I have trodden them in My anger, and trodden them down in My fury. Consequently their blood* has been sprinkled on My clothes, and I have stained all My clothing. For the day of vengeance was in My heart, and the year of My redeemed had come. I looked around, but there was no helper, and I wondered, but there was no one to uphold; therefore My own arm brought salvation to Me, and My own fury sustained Me. And I trod down the peoples in My anger, and shed their blood onto the ground.** Therefore He became the Saviour. Isa. 63:1-8.

These words, it is well known, have regard to the Lord. His conflicts with the hells are described by the references to spattered clothes, redness as to His clothes, clothes like his that treads in the winepress, and to the day of vengeance. His victories over the hells and His placing them in subjection are described by the statements that He trod them in His anger, as a consequence of which their blood was sprinkled on His clothes, and that He trod down the peoples in fury*** and shed their blood onto the ground. The Lord’s doing these things by His own power is described by the statements that He trod the winepress alone and from the peoples not a man was with Him; that He looked around but there was no helper, He wondered but there was no one to uphold; and that His own arm brought salvation to Him. Salvation coming as a result of all this is described by the statements that He was marching in the vast numbers of His strength, mighty to save; that the year of His redeemed had come; and that therefore He became their Saviour.

sRef Isa@59 @16 S4′ sRef Isa@51 @5 S4′ sRef Isa@59 @17 S4′ [4] The fact that all these things are aspects of righteousness is even more plainly evident elsewhere in the same prophet,

He saw that there was no man (vir), and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore His own arm brought salvation to Him, and His righteousness lifted Him up. Consequently He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon His head. He put on clothes of vengeance, and covered Himself with zeal as if with a cloak. Isa. 59:16, 17.

And in the same prophet,

My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth, and My arms will judge the peoples. In Me the islands will hope, and on My arm they will trust. Isa. 51:5.

‘The arm’ which brought salvation to Him and on which they will trust is His own power by which He placed the hells in subjection, ‘arm’ being power, see 4932, 7205. From this it is evident what righteousness is and what merit is, which are the Lord’s alone.

sRef Ps@71 @24 S5′ sRef Isa@41 @2 S5′ sRef Isa@61 @10 S5′ sRef Dan@9 @24 S5′ sRef Isa@46 @13 S5′ sRef Ps@71 @18 S5′ sRef Ps@71 @17 S5′ sRef Ps@71 @15 S5′ sRef Ps@71 @16 S5′ sRef Jer@23 @6 S5′ sRef Ps@71 @19 S5′ sRef Jer@23 @5 S5′ [5] Something similar occurs elsewhere in the same prophet,

Who stirred up [One] from the East, [One] whom in righteousness He called to be His follower, gave the nations before Him, and caused Him to have dominion over kings? Isa. 41:2.

In the same prophet,

I have caused My righteousness to draw near, it is not far off; My salvation will not delay. Isa. 46:13.

In the same prophet,

Jehovah will clothe Me with the garments of salvation; with the robe of righteousness He has covered Me. Isa. 61:10.

In David,

My mouth will tell of**** Your righteousness, of Your salvation all the day; I cannot measure them.***** I will make mention of Your righteousness, Yours alone. Do not forsake me, until I have declared Your arm, Your power; for Your righteousness [reaches] all the way to the highest, O You who have done great things. Ps. 71:15, 16, 18, 19, 24.

In Jeremiah,

Behold, the days are coming when I will raise up for David a righteous branch, who will reign as King, and will prosper, and execute judgement and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is His name which they will call Him, Jehovah our Righteousness. Jer. 23:5, 6; 33:15, 16.

And in Daniel,

Seventy weeks have been decreed to atone for iniquity, and to bring everlasting righteousness.****** Dan. 9:24.

[6] The truth that righteousness and merit, which are the Lord’s alone, consist in the Lord’s subjection of the hells, His restoration of the heavens to order, and the glorification of His Human, and in the salvation that results from all this for the person who receives the Lord in love and faith, becomes clear from the places which have just been quoted. Yet people can have no understanding of this if they do not know that spirits from hell are present with a person and that from them evils and falsities come to him, and also that angels from heaven are present and that from them forms of good and truths come to him; if they do not know that a person’s life is for this reason linked on one side to the hells and on the other to the heavens, that is, through the heavens to the Lord; and if they do not know that therefore no one could ever be saved unless the hells had been subdued and the heavens restored to order, and all things had accordingly been made subject to the Lord.

[7] From all this it may be seen why it should be that the good of merit that is the Lord’s is the one and only good that reigns in the heavens, as stated above in 9486. For the good of merit now consists also in the everlasting subjection of the hells and the protection of true believers. This good is the good of the Lord’s love; for it was from Divine Love that He engaged in conflict while in the world and was victorious. And it is from Divine Power in the Human acquired through that victory that, then and for evermore, on behalf of heaven and the Church and thus the entire human race, He fights alone, conquers, and so brings salvation. This then is the good of merit, which is called righteousness; for the work of righteousness consists in keeping the hells in check as they try to destroy the human race, and in protecting and saving those who are good and are true believers.

Regarding the Lord’s conflicts or temptations when He was in the world, see 1663, 1668, 1690, 1691 (end), 1692, 1737, 1787, 1812, 1813, 1820, 2776, 2786, 2795, 2803, 2814, 2816, 4287, 7193, 8273.
The Lord fights alone for the human race against the hells, 1692 (end), 6574, 8159, 8172, 8175, 8176, 8273, 8969.
* lit. victory
** lit. caused their victory to go down into the earth
*** The Latin means anger.
**** lit. will enumerate
***** lit. do not know the numberings
****** The Latin word rendered righteousness is sometimes translated justice, as it is in at least one previous quotation of this verse.

sRef Ex@27 @1 S0′ 9716. ‘Five cubits the length and five cubits the breadth’ means that which consists equally of good and of truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘five’ as an equality, for when two dimensions are the same as each other, as the length and the breadth are here, an equality is meant (the reason why the length and the breadth of the altar were five cubits each was that five is also similar in meaning to ten, a hundred, and a thousand. These numbers mean what is much, all, or complete, and in the highest sense, in which the Lord is the subject, what is infinite. Five too has much the same meaning, since composite numbers are similar in meaning to the simple ones of which they are the products, and simple numbers are accordingly similar to their composites, 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973. For the meaning of ten, a hundred, and a thousand as what is much, all, or complete, see 2636, 3107, 4400, 4638, 8715, and five likewise, 5708, 5956, 9102; and for the meaning of a thousand, used in reference to the Divine, as what is infinite, 2575); from the meaning of ‘the length’ as good, dealt with in 1613, 9487; and from the meaning of ‘the breadth’ as truth, dealt with in 1613, 3433, 3434, 4482, 9487. From all this it is evident that ‘five cubits the length and five cubits the breadth’ means that which consists equally of good and of truth. The expression ‘equally of good and of truth’ is used when the truth complements the good and the good complements the truth, thus when they act as one and form a marriage, such as the Lord causes them to do in heaven. Human will and understanding may serve to illustrate this. When the understanding acts as one with the will, that is, when the person perceives truth to be the complement of good, and good to be the complement of truth, that which consists equally of good and of truth exists with him. Furthermore the understanding has been dedicated to perceiving the truth that emanates from good, and the will to perceiving the good present within truth.

sRef Ex@28 @16 S0′ sRef Rev@21 @16 S0′ sRef Ex@27 @1 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @2 S0′ 9717. ‘Square shall the altar be’ means that which for this reason is righteous. This is clear from the meaning of ‘square’ as what is righteous, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘the altar’ as what is representative of the Lord and of the worship of Him, so that ‘square shall the altar be’ means what is righteous within the Lord, and consequently within worship. Worship is called righteous when the good and the truth contained within it spring from the Lord and not from the person, for the Lord alone is the source of that which is righteous, 9263. The meaning of ‘square’ as what is righteous has its origin in representative signs in the next life. There forms of good present themselves as round shapes, and forms of good belonging to the external man, which are called righteous acts, as square shapes. Truths and right ideas however present themselves as linear and triangular ones. So it is then that ‘square’ means what is righteous, as does the squareness of the altar of incense, Exod. 30:2; also the squareness of the breastplate of judgement when doubled, Exod. 28:16; as well as the new Jerusalem’s being square-shaped, Rev. 21:16. The new Jerusalem there is the Lord’s New Church which will take the place of the one that is ours at the present day, its external good, which is righteous, being meant by ‘square-shaped’.

sRef Ex@27 @1 S0′ 9718. ‘And three cubits [its] height’ means what is complete so far as degrees are concerned. This is clear from the meaning of ‘three’ as what is complete, dealt with in 4495, 7715, 9488, 9489; and from the meaning of ‘height’ as degrees so far as good is concerned, dealt with in 9489.

sRef Ex@27 @2 S0′ 9719. ‘And you shall make [its] horns’ means power. This is clear from the meaning of ‘horns’ as the power of truth derived from good, dealt with in 2832, 9081.

sRef Ex@27 @2 S0′ 9720. ‘On its four corners’ means every aspect of it. This is clear from the meaning of ‘four’ as a joining together, dealt with in 9601, 9674; and from the meaning of ‘corners’ as firmness and strength, dealt with in 9494, and also all aspects of truth and good, 9642. Consequently ‘horns on the four corners’ means every aspect of the power.

sRef Ex@27 @2 S0′ 9721. ‘The horns shall be of one piece with it’ means that the power must come from good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the altar’, whose horns were of one piece with it, as that which was representative of the Lord and of the worship of Him, springing from the good of love, dealt with in 9714; and from the meaning of ‘the horns’ as power, as above in 9719. From this it is evident that ‘the horns shall be of one piece with it’ means that the power must come from good. In the spiritual world all power belongs to good, but is exercised through truth, see 6344, 6423, 9643.

sRef Ex@27 @2 S0′ 9722. ‘And you shall overlay it with bronze’ means a representative sign of the good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘bronze’ as natural or external good, dealt with in 425, 1551. The fact that overlaying and covering with bronze is a representative sign of that good is self-evident.

sRef Ex@27 @3 S0′ 9723. ‘And you shall make [its] pans to take away [its] ashes’ means the removers of things which have served their purpose. This is clear from the meaning of ‘pans to take away the ashes’ as the removers of things which have served their purpose; for ‘ashes’ means the kinds of things which remain in a person’s natural or external memory after they have served their purpose and which must be removed lest they get in the way of other things which come later to serve further purposes. The kinds of things which serve to effect such a removal are meant by ‘pans’, since ashes were taken away by means of them. To enable people to know what is meant by the ashes remaining on the altar after a burnt offering or sacrifice, the nature of things remaining in a person after they have served their purpose must be stated first. From early childhood right through to the end of his life in the world a person is being perfected in intelligence and wisdom, and if all is to go well for him, in faith and love. Items of factual knowledge contribute primarily to this end and purpose. These items of knowledge are absorbed through hearing, seeing, and reading, and are deposited in the external or natural memory; they serve inward sight or that of the understanding as a whole field of objects from which to choose and draw forth such as will help to make the person wiser. For interior sight or that of the understanding uses its own light, which comes from heaven, to see down into that field, that is, into the external memory which lies below it. From the many different items there it chooses and draws forth such as are suited to its own love; it summons them from there and deposits them in its own memory, which is the internal memory, regarding which, see 2469-2494. This is how the life of the internal man develops, along with its intelligence and wisdom. The situation is similar with those things that constitute spiritual intelligence and wisdom, namely matters of faith and love. Those which have to be implanted in the internal man are in like manner served by items of factual knowledge, but ones drawn from the Word or from what the Church teaches, which are called cognitions of truth and good. These cognitions deposited in the memory of the external man serve, in a similar way, as objects seen by the internal man. The internal man sees them in the light of heaven, then chooses and draws forth such as are suited to its love; the internal man sees no others within the external man. For what a person loves he sees in light; but what he does not love he sees in shade. He rejects the latter and chooses the former.

[2] All this goes to show what the situation is with the truths of faith and forms of the good of love present with a person who is being regenerated. It shows that the good which belongs to love chooses for itself truths of faith that are suited to it and perfects itself by means of them, and that for this reason the good of love occupies the first place and the truth of faith the second, as has been abundantly shown before, in 3325, 3494, 3539, 3548, 3556, 3563, 3570, 3576, 3603, 3701, 4925, 4977, 6256, 6269, 6272, 6273. After the items of knowledge or the cognitions of good and truth in the external man’s memory have served that purpose they disappear so to speak from that memory. They are like the things taught to a person which have served since early childhood as the means to perfect his private life and his public life. After those things have served that informative purpose and the person has begun to live as they direct, they fade from view in the memory; only the practice of them remains. In this way a person learns to speak, learns to think, learns to discriminate and form opinions, learns to be honourable in dealings with others and to behave politely. In short, he acquires languages, good manners, intelligence, and wisdom.

sRef Lev@6 @10 S3′ sRef Lev@6 @11 S3′ sRef Lev@6 @9 S3′ sRef Lev@6 @8 S3′ sRef Lev@6 @12 S3′ sRef Lev@6 @13 S3′ [3] Items of knowledge which have served those purposes are meant by ashes which need to be removed; and cognitions of truth and good by means of which spiritual life is brought to a person, after they have served their purpose, that is, imparted that life, are meant by the ashes of the altar, which too need to be removed. But when they are removed they are first deposited at the side of the altar, then later on are carried outside the camp to a clean place, the fire on the altar all the while being kept alight to serve a new burnt offering or sacrifice, in accord with the process described by Moses in Leviticus,

The priest must see to it that the burnt offering burns* on the hearth upon the altar all night until dawn. After this he shall put on his linen robe and linen breeches, and take up the ashes into which the fire has burned the burnt offering on the altar and place them at the side of the altar. Afterwards he shall take off his own garments and put on other garments and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place. But the fire on the altar shall go on burning and not be put out. The priest shall kindle pieces of wood on it at every dawn, and lay the burnt offering on it, and burn on it the fat of the sacrifices. Fire shall burn unceasingly on the altar and not be put out. Lev. 6:8-13.

All the details here hold the arcana of heaven within them and have as their meaning the Divine things that belong to worship of the Lord springing from the good of love. What is therefore meant by ‘ashes’ has been stated above. The fact that something heavenly is meant by ‘the ashes of the altar’ – for instance in the requirement that when the priest took the ashes off the altar he had to put on a linen robe and linen breeches, and after that wear other garments to carry them outside the camp and deposit them in a clean place – may be recognized by anyone who stops to consider the matter. Nothing mentioned in the Word is devoid of meaning, not a single word, nor thus any step in this whole process.

[4] All this shows pretty clearly what is meant by the ashes from the red cow that had been burned, by means of which the water of separation and of cleansing was prepared, referred to in Num. 19:2-11, 17, and what is meant in the contrary sense by ‘the ashes’, namely the harm which has been done and remains after consumption by the fire of self-love. This harm is meant by the ashes which people bore on their head and in which they rolled in grief because of their sins, Jer. 6:26; Ezek. 27:30; Jonah 3:6.

sRef Ex@27 @3 S0′ 9724. ‘And shovels, and basins, and its forks, and its tongs’ means known facts that act as containers and serve every purpose. This is clear from the meaning of vessels generally as the items of knowledge or known facts that the external memory possesses, dealt with in 3068, 3069, and – in regard to things of a holy nature – as the cognitions of good and truth which serve as means by which to worship the Lord, 9544. Such also is what the vessels for ministry around the altar mean. But each particular vessel there means the known facts that relate to some specific purpose, so that all the vessels there mean the known facts that serve every purpose.
* lit. The priest must cause the burnt offering to go up

sRef Ex@27 @3 S0′ 9725. ‘All its vessels you shall make of bronze’ means that they must all be formed from good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘vessels’ as known facts, dealt with immediately above in 9724, at this point all of them since it says ‘all its vessels’; and from the meaning of ‘bronze’ as external or natural good, dealt with in 425, 1551.

sRef Ex@27 @4 S0′ 9726. ‘And you shall make for it a grating, a network’ means the level of sensory perception, which is the last and lowest. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a grating, a network’ as external sensory perception, thus that which forms for a person the last and lowest level of life; and since this lowest level is meant by the grating it was placed all the way round the altar. Such sensory perception was represented by the grating because it first sifts so to speak and sorts out those things which enter the human mind and present themselves to the understanding and will, namely truths and forms of good. If the sensory perception is composed of good it does not let anything through other than forms of good, and truths derived from good, and rejects evils and the falsities arising from evil. For sensory perception is the actual ability to perceive things which belong to the understanding and to sense those which belong to the will as they exist on outermost levels, an ability that is perfectly fashioned for the affections for those things. The nature of all this may be illustrated by very many things in the body. Everywhere in the outermost parts within the body there are forms that resemble nets and there are so to speak gratings which sort out the things that flow towards them from the world. Those that are suitable are let through because they are desirable, and those that are unsuitable are rejected because they are loathsome. Extremely sensitive systems such as these exist in the stomach. These let through into the blood the suitable juices of the chyle, because these juices are useful and therefore desirable, and reject the unsuitable because they are harmful and therefore loathsome. The situation is similar with sensory perception, which is the last and lowest level of a person’s life. But this level with a person has become totally wrecked, the reason why being that it stands right next to and is exposed to the world and is therefore the last to be regenerated, indeed scarcely anyone at the present day is able to be regenerated down to that level. As regards what the level of sensory perception is like with these people, see what has been shown already concerning it in 4009, 5077, 5081, 5084, 5094, 5125, 5128, 5580, 5767, 5774, 6183, 6201, 6310-6318, 6564, 6598, 6612, 6614, 6622, 6624, 6844, 6845, 6948, 6949, 7442, 7645, 7693, 9212, 9216.
Therefore if a person is to see and have an understanding of the truths of faith and the forms of the good of love he must be raised by the Lord above that level to more internal levels. But the sensory perception meant by ‘the grating, the network’ around the altar is the sensory perception belonging to the Lord’s Divine Human, since the altar is representative of the Lord and of the worship of Him that springs from the good of love, 9714.

sRef Ex@27 @4 S0′ 9727. ‘From bronze’ means that this too must be formed from good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘bronze’ as external or natural good, dealt with in 425, 1551. Since ‘the grating, the network’ around the altar means the sensory perception belonging to the Lord’s Divine Human, 9726 (end), the good that is meant here is the Divine Good of His Divine Love. Everything belonging to the Lord’s Divine Human is formed from that Good.

sRef Ex@27 @4 S0′ 9728. ‘And on the net you shall make four rings of bronze’ means the sphere of good by means of which a joining together is accomplished. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the net’ as the outermost level of life corresponding to the more internal level of life, which is that of the understanding and will, dealt with just above in 9726; from the meaning of ‘four’ as a joining together, dealt with in 1686, 8877, 9601, 9674; from the meaning of ‘rings’ as the sphere of Divine Good and Truth by means of which the joining together is accomplished, dealt with in 9498, 9501; and from the meaning of ‘bronze’ as good, as above in 9727.

sRef Ex@27 @4 S0′ 9729. ‘On the four ends of it’ means everywhere. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the four ends’ as everywhere, dealt with in 9666.

sRef Ex@27 @5 S0′ 9730. ‘And you shall put it under the rim of the altar beneath’ means that sensory perception on the last and lowest levels. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a grating, a network’, which was to be put under the rim of the altar, as the level of sensory perception, dealt with above in 9726; from the meaning of ‘the rim’, when it refers to sensory perception, as that which is last and lowest (external sensory perception forms for a person the last and lowest level of life, see 9726); and from the meaning of ‘beneath’ as outwardly, for by things that are higher those which are more internal are meant, and by things that are lower those which are more external are meant, 6952, 6954, 7814-7821, 8604, so that ‘above’ means inwardly and ‘beneath’ means outwardly. The words ‘external sensory perception’ are not used to mean the sensory powers of the body itself – its senses of sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch – but the ability that depends directly on them. For a person is called sensory-minded if those bodily senses and their appetites govern what he thinks and desires and he looks no further. If he does look further to examine what the senses desire and what his senses lead him to think, he is said to be raised above the sensory level, or to be drawn away from it, and to think on a more internal level. This happens to those at the present day who are governed by the good of charity and faith; and when it happens, the sensory level becomes dormant and is deprived of the life and activity that the world and worldly objects stimulate there.
There are two directions in which the things composing a person’s understanding and will can be oriented. One faces without, towards the world; the other faces within, towards heaven. With natural and sensory-minded people the things composing their understanding and will, that is, their thoughts and affections, are oriented towards the world; but with spiritual and heavenly-minded people their thoughts and affections are oriented towards heaven, and also alternately towards the world. When a person is being regenerated he pivots round to face within, and so far as he can be turned in that direction the person can be raised by the Lord towards heaven, to Himself, and can as a result be endowed with wisdom, faith, and love. For the person then leads his life on the level of the internal man, consequently on that of his spirit, and the external man is subordinate to the internal. But if a person does not allow himself to be regenerated all the thoughts and affections within him remain oriented towards the world, in which case he leads his life on the level of the external man, and the internal man is subordinate to the external, as happens when the external man produces reasonings that lend support to evil desires. These people are called natural-minded, and those who are interested only in the most external things are called sensory-minded. All this goes to show what anyone should understand by the level of sensory perception.

sRef Ex@27 @5 S0′ 9731. ‘And the net shall reach down to the middle of the altar’ means the extent of the sensory perception. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the net’ as the level of sensory perception, dealt with above in 9726, the extent of it being meant by the requirement that it should reach down to the middle of the altar. It is not possible to supply an intelligible description of the arcanum implied by the words ‘the extent of sensory perception’ unless it is known that this kind of perception meant by ‘a grating, a network’ extends from a person’s head down to the loins and comes to an end there. This extension is what the extension of the net down to the middle of the altar served to represent; for representatives on the natural level resemble the human form and have the same meaning as the parts of it they resemble, 9496. From the loins down however there is with a person a continuation of the kind of sensory perception that lies next within, and this continuation of that perception was represented by the general overlaying or covering round the altar with bronze, dealt with above in 9722.

sRef Ex@27 @6 S0′ 9732. ‘And you shall make poles for the altar’ means the power to hold something in a state of good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘poles’ as power, dealt with in 9496. The reason why the power to hold something in a state of good is meant is that the poles belonged to the altar, and the altar served to represent the Lord and worship of Him that sprang from the good of love, 9714.

sRef Ex@27 @6 S0′ 9733. ‘Poles of shittim wood’ means the good of righteousness, and the power derived from this good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘poles’ as power, as above in 9732; and from the meaning of ‘shittim wood’ as the good of merit, or the good of righteousness, dealt with in 9472, 9486. This good is the good of love belonging to the Lord’s Divine Human, see 9715.

sRef Ex@27 @6 S0′ 9734. ‘And overlay them with bronze’ means a representative sign of the good, as above in 9722.

sRef Ex@27 @7 S0′ 9735. ‘And its poles shall be put into the rings’ means the power of the sphere of Divine Good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘poles’ as power, as above in 9732; and from the meaning of ‘the rings’ as the sphere of Divine Good and Truth, by means of which a joining together is accomplished, also dealt with above, in 9728.

sRef Ex@27 @7 S0′ 9736. ‘And the poles shall be on the two sides of the altar’ means the power of the good from which truth springs, and that of the truth which springs from the good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the poles’ as power, as immediately above; and from the meaning of ‘the two sides’ as the good from which truth springs, and the truth that springs from the good, thus a marriage of good to truth and of truth to good. The reason for this is that things on the right side in a human being have connection with the good from which truth springs, and those on the left side with the truth that springs from the good, see 9604, and that by their being joined together the marriage of good and truth is therefore meant, 9495. So it is then that like things are meant by ‘the sides of the altar’ where the poles went; for all representatives on the natural level resemble the human form and have the same meaning as the parts of it they resemble, 9496.

sRef Isa@46 @3 S0′ sRef Isa@46 @4 S0′ sRef Ex@27 @7 S0′ 9737. ‘When it is carried’ means bringing into being and keeping in being. This is clear from the meaning of ‘carrying’ as holding in a state of goodness and truth, thus bringing into being and keeping in being, dealt with in 9500. ‘Carrying’ has a similar meaning in Isaiah,

Hearken to Me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel who have been carried from the womb. Even to [your] old age I am the Same, and even to grey hair I will carry [you]; I have made, and I will carry, and I will bear. Isa. 46:3, 4.

Here ‘making’ stands for, that it may come into being; ‘carrying’, that it may continue in being; and ‘bearing’, that it may unceasingly go on coming into being.

sRef Ex@27 @8 S0′ 9738. ‘A boarded hollow you shall make it’ means the suitableness. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a boarded hollow’, used in reference to the altar on which the burnt offerings were to be burned and the fat of sacrifices was to be offered, as the suitableness, for by being a boarded hollow the altar was rendered suitable to that purpose. Therefore also the suitableness is meant of those things which belong to worship of the Lord that springs from the good of love, which were represented by the altar and by the burnt offerings and sacrifices offered upon it, 9714.

sRef Ex@27 @8 S0′ 9739. ‘As it has appeared to you on the mountain, so they shall make [it]’ means in keeping with the correspondence of Divine realities in heaven. This is clear from the meaning of the altar that ‘appeared on the mountain’ as an outward form corresponding to Divine realities in heaven. For Mount Sinai means heaven, 8805, 9420, and the outward forms that appear in heaven correspond completely to actual Divine celestial and Divine spiritual realities, which belong to goodness and truth. The fact that these realities are presented in this visual way to the inner sight of angels and spirits may be recognized from all that has been stated and shown previously regarding the representation of heavenly realities within natural forms, in 1619, 1971, 1980, 1981, 2987-3003, 3213-3227, 3475, 3485, 6319, 9457, 9481, 9574, 9576, 9577. The Divine realities to which the altar corresponded are the ones that have been described up to now.

sRef Ex@27 @15 S0′ sRef Ex@27 @12 S0′ sRef Ex@27 @10 S0′ sRef Ex@27 @14 S0′ sRef Ex@27 @13 S0′ sRef Ex@27 @9 S0′ sRef Ex@27 @11 S0′ sRef Ex@27 @16 S0′ sRef Ex@27 @19 S0′ sRef Ex@27 @17 S0′ sRef Ex@27 @18 S0′ 9740. Verses 9-19 And you shall make the court of the dwelling-place on the south side*, southwards; the hangings for the court shall be [made] from fine twined linen, a hundred cubits the length to one corner; and its pillars shall be twenty, and their bases twenty, [made] from bronze; the hooks of the pillars and their bands [shall be made] from silver. And [the same shall be] so for the length on the north side*; the hangings shall be a hundred in length, and its pillars twenty, and their bases twenty, [made] from bronze, the hooks of the pillars and their bands [made] from silver. And the breadth of the court on the side of the sea,** the hangings shall be fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and the bases of these, ten. And the breadth of the court on the east side*, towards the sunrise, shall be fifty cubits; and hangings of fifteen cubits shall there be for [one] wing,*** their pillars three, and the bases of these, three; and for the other wing*** there shall be hangings [of] fifteen [cubits], their pillars three, and the bases of these, three. And for the gate of the court there shall be a screen of twenty cubits, [made] from violet, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of an embroiderer, its pillars four, and the bases of these, four. All the pillars of the court round about shall be banded with bands of silver, and their hooks [made] from silver and their bases from bronze. The length of the court shall be a hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty throughout,**** and the height five cubits, [with hangings made] from fine twined linen and their bases from bronze. And as for all the vessels of the dwelling-place, in all its service, and all its pins and all the pins of the court, [they shall be made] from bronze.

‘And you shall make the court of the dwelling-place’ means the lowest heaven. ‘On the south side, southwards’ means that it dwells in the light of truth. ‘The hangings for the court’ means the truths of that heaven. ‘From fine twined linen’ means coming out of the understanding. ‘A hundred cubits the length’ means complete with good from the Lord. ‘To one corner’ means where the truths dwell in light. ‘And its pillars shall be twenty’ means forms of the good of truth which provide complete support. ‘And their bases twenty, [made] from bronze’ means the truths springing from good which also provide complete support. ‘The hooks of the pillars and their bands [shall be made] from silver’ means the modes by which they are linked together through truth. ‘And [the same shall be] so for the length on the north side’ means where the good of truth dwells in obscurity. ‘The hangings shall be a hundred in length’ means likewise complete with truths that spring from good. ‘And its pillars twenty’ means forms of the good of truth which provide complete support. ‘And their bases twenty, [made] from bronze’ means the truths springing from good which also provide complete support. ‘The hooks of the pillars and their bands [made] from silver’ means the modes by which they are linked together through truth. ‘And the breadth of the court on the side of the sea’ means the state of that heaven in respect of truths on the level of factual knowledge. ‘The hangings shall be fifty cubits’ means the quantity of truths needed for the purposes they have to serve. ‘Their pillars, and the bases of these, ten’ means the quantity also of supporting forms of good, and of truths springing from these, needed for the purposes they have to serve. ‘And the breadth of the court on the east side, towards the sunrise’ means the state of the truth of that heaven where forms of good reside. ‘Fifty cubits’ means the quantity needed for the purposes to be served. ‘And hangings of fifteen cubits shall there be for [one] wing’ means a sufficient quantity of truths dwelling in light. ‘Their pillars three, and the bases of these, three’ means the forms of good and the truths springing from them which provide complete support. ‘And hangings of fifteen cubits for the [other] wing, their pillars three, and the bases of these, three’ means the same things as above but where truths dwell in obscurity. ‘And for the gate of the court there shall be a screen’ means introduction into that heaven, and a guard that prohibits entry into it except by those who have been prepared. ‘Of twenty cubits’ means to the full. ‘From violet, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, and fine twined linen’ means forms of the good of charity and faith. ‘The work of an embroiderer’ means things belonging to factual knowledge. ‘Its pillars four, and the bases of these, four’ means the forms of good, and the truths springing from them, which support the linking together. ‘All the pillars of the court round about’ means every form of good supporting heaven. ‘Shall be banded with bands of silver, and their hooks [made] from silver’ means all the modes of linking together through truth. ‘And their bases from bronze’ means forms of support received through good. ‘The length of the court shall be a hundred cubits’ means the good of that heaven, to the full. ‘And the breadth fifty throughout’ means truth in a sufficient amount. ‘And the height five cubits’ means the degrees of good and truth, also in a sufficient amount. ‘[With hangings made] from fine twined linen’ means coming out of the understanding. ‘And their bases from bronze’ means the support they all receive through good. ‘And as for all the vessels of the dwelling-place, in all its service’ means the truths and the forms of good on the level of factual knowledge which the external man possesses. ‘And all its pins and all the pins of the court, [they shall be made] from bronze’ means everything that joins together and strengthens the two heavens, the middle and the lowest, through good.
* lit. corner or angle
** lit. the corner (or the angle) of the sea i.e. the west end
*** i.e. section to one side of the gate
**** lit. fifty in fifty

sRef Ex@27 @9 S0′ 9741. ‘And you shall make the court of the dwelling-place’ means the lowest heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the court of the dwelling-place’ as the external part of heaven, thus the lowest heaven; for there are three heavens, the inmost, the middle, and the lowest. The inmost was represented by the inmost part of the dwelling-place, where the ark of the Testimony was; the middle one by the dwelling-place outside the veil; and the lowest by the court, which is the subject now. This heaven is called the court because they who are there are those who are governed by the good of faith and not as yet by the good of charity towards the neighbour – they who are governed by the good of charity being those who are in the middle heaven. Those in the lowest heaven, which is called the court, are called angelic spirits; those in the middle heaven are called spiritual angels; but those in the inmost heaven are called celestial angels.

[2] The good of faith itself too, which is the good of the lowest heaven, is meant by ‘the court’, because it is through this good that a person is led on into the good of charity towards the neighbour, which is the good of the middle heaven. It should be remembered that the good present with a person constitutes his heaven and that the kind of heaven that is his is determined by the kind of good that is his. There are three kinds of good that follow one another in order – the good of faith, the good of charity towards the neighbour, and the good of love to the Lord. The good of faith constitutes the lowest or first heaven, as stated above; the good of charity towards the neighbour constitutes the middle or second heaven; and the good of love to the Lord constitutes the inmost or third heaven.

[3] A little more needs to be said to give people an even better knowledge of the arrangement of the heavens. The heavens are divided into two kingdoms, the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom; and in each kingdom there is an internal part and an external. The internal part of the celestial kingdom is inhabited by those who are governed by the good of love to the Lord, and the external part of it by those who are governed by the good of mutual love; but the internal part of the spiritual kingdom is inhabited by those who are governed by the good of charity towards the neighbour, and the external part of it by those who are governed by the good of faith, see 9680. The external part of each kingdom* is what is called the lowest or first heaven and was represented by the court. This explains why there were two courts around the temple, an outer and an inner, the outer court standing for those who inhabit the external parts of the spiritual kingdom and the inner court for those inhabiting the external parts of the celestial kingdom.

[4] Regarding these two courts of the temple in Jerusalem, see 1 Kings 6:3, 36; 2 Kings 21:5. Regarding the outer court of the new temple in Ezekiel, see Ezek. 40:17, 31, 34; 42:1-end; and regarding the inner court there, Ezek. 40:23, 28, 32, 44; 42:3; 43:5. From all this it is evident that the lowest heaven which was represented by the outer court of the temple is composed of the good of faith, and the lowest heaven which was represented by the inner court is composed of the good of mutual love. Those governed by the good of mutual love are governed by an affection for good for goodness’ sake, whereas those governed by the good of faith are governed by an affection for truth for truth’s sake. For good has dominion in the celestial kingdom, whereas truth has it in the spiritual kingdom.

sRef Ezek@10 @5 S5′ sRef Ezek@10 @3 S5′ sRef Ezek@10 @4 S5′ [5] The fact that the lowest heaven is meant by ‘the courts’ is evident from places in the Word where they are mentioned, as in Ezekiel,

The glory of Jehovah rose** from above the cherub over the threshold of the house, and the house was filled with the cloud; and the cloud filled the inner court.*** And the court was full of the brightness of the glory of Jehovah, and the sound of the wings of the cherubs was heard as far as the outer court. Ezek. 10:3-5.

The court was representative of the lowest heaven, and that was why it was filled, as was the house itself, with the cloud and the brightness of the glory of Jehovah, for ‘the cloud’ and ‘the glory’ mean Divine Truth. As regards ‘the cloud’, that it has this meaning, see 5922, 6343 (end), 6752, 8106, 8443, and also ‘the glory’, 8267, 8427, 9429. ‘The sound of the wings’ means the truth of faith derived from good, 8764, 9514.

sRef Ezek@43 @7 S6′ sRef Ezek@43 @4 S6′ sRef Ezek@43 @6 S6′ sRef Ezek@43 @5 S6′ [6]In the same prophet,

The spirit lifted me up and led me into the inner court of the temple; and behold, the glory of Jehovah filled the house. And I heard Him speaking to me from the house, saying, Son of man, [this is] the place of My throne, and the place of the soles of My feet, where I shall dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever. Ezek. 43:4-7.

Here the temple and the court are called ‘the place of Jehovah’s throne, and the place of the soles of His feet’ because the temple and the court represented heaven, ‘Jehovah’s throne’ being the spiritual heaven, 5313, 8625, ‘the place of the soles of His feet’ the lowest heaven.

sRef Ps@65 @4 S7′ sRef Ps@96 @8 S7′ sRef Ps@135 @2 S7′ sRef Ps@135 @1 S7′ sRef Ps@84 @10 S7′ sRef Isa@62 @9 S7′ [7] The lowest heaven is also meant by ‘court’ and ‘courts’ in the following places: In David,

Blessed is [anyone] whom You choose and cause to come near; he will dwell in Your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, with the holiness of Your temple. Ps. 65:4.

‘Dwelling in those courts’, as is self-evident, means dwelling in heaven. In the same author,

A day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I have chosen to stand at the door in the house of My God rather than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. Ps. 84:10.

In the same author,

Planted in the house of Jehovah, they will flourish in the courts of our God. Ps. 92:13.

In the same author,

Give to Jehovah the glory of His name; bring an offering, and come into His courts. Ps. 96:8.

In the same author,

Praise the name of Jehovah, praise [Him], O servants of Jehovah who are standing in the house of Jehovah, in the courts of the house of our God. Ps. 135:1, 2.

In Isaiah,

They will collect the grain and new wine, they will eat [it] and praise Jehovah; and those who will have gathered it together will drink [it] in the courts of My holiness. Isa. 62:9.

In these places ‘courts’ stands for the lowest heavens; for the more internal heavens are called Jehovah’s house and His temple, 3720.

sRef Rev@11 @1 S8′ sRef Rev@11 @2 S8′ [8] In John,

The angel said, Rise and measure the temple and the altar, and those who worship in it. But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations,**** who will trample the holy city for forty-two months. Rev. 11:1, 2.

‘The temple and the altar, and those who worship in it’ are the Church and its worship. ‘The court outside the temple’ is the good of mutual love, as stated above. ‘The nations to whom the holy city has been given to trample’ are the evils of self-love and love of the world, which destroy the Church, 6306. ‘Forty-two months’ is similar in meaning to six weeks, and ‘six weeks’ is similar in meaning to six days of a week; for six multiplied by seven makes forty-two. A week means a whole period, long or short, 2044, 3845; the six days which come before the seventh or sabbath mean a former Church through to its end, and the establishment of a new Church. For ‘the sabbath’ means goodness and truth joined together, and so means the Church, 8495, 8510, 8890, 8893, 9274.
* The word used in the printed edition of the Latin means heaven but that in Sw.’s rough draft means kingdom.
** lit. lifted itself up
*** The final words of verse 3 are misplaced here, within verse 4.
**** or the gentiles

sRef Ex@27 @9 S0′ 9742. ‘On the south side, southwards’ means that it dwells in the light of truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the south, southwards’ as a place where truth dwells in light, dealt with in 9642. The reason why the court lay on that side was that those who are in the court of heaven, that is, in the lowest heaven, are governed by the good of faith, and the good of faith comes into being through enlightenment provided by the light which comes from the Lord. The light which comes from the Lord is the truth of faith, and when this truth is integrated into the will it is called the good of faith. With those who are in the outer court a new will part is formed within the understanding part of their mind, 9596; and to enable it to be formed there it is necessary for those people to dwell in the light of truth. This explains why in relation to the dwelling-place the court was made ‘on the south side, southwards’.

sRef Ex@27 @9 S0′ 9743. ‘The hangings for the court’ means the truths of that heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘curtains’ as truths, dealt with in 9595, 9596, thus also of ‘hangings’; and from the meaning of ‘the court’ as the lowest heaven, dealt with above in 9741.

sRef Ex@27 @9 S0′ 9744. ‘From fine twined linen’ means coming out of the understanding. This is clear from the meaning of ‘fine linen’ as truth from a celestial origin, dealt with in 5319, 9469. Consequently ‘fine twined linen’ means the understanding since this consists of and has been so to speak twined out of truths from a celestial origin. For there are two realities with which everything in the whole of creation has connection, truth and good. This is why a person has two mental powers, one dedicated to the reception of truth, the other to the reception of good. The power dedicated to the reception of truth is called the understanding, and the power dedicated to the reception of good is called the will. To the extent therefore that the understanding has been formed from real truths it excels and is ‘fine twined linen’; for ‘fine linen’ is truth from the Divine, 5319. As regards ‘fine twined linen’, that it therefore means the understanding, see also 9596.

sRef Ex@27 @9 S0′ 9745. ‘A hundred cubits the length’ means complete with good from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a hundred’ as all, much, and what is complete, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘the length’ as good, dealt with in 1613, 9487. The reason why it is good from the Lord is that the good of faith – by which those in the lowest heaven, represented by the court of the dwelling-place, are governed – originates in the Lord. ‘A hundred’ means all, much, and what is complete because it carries the same meanings as ten, a thousand, and ten thousand. As regards these latter numbers, that they have such meanings, see 2575, 3107, 4638, 8715; and as regards a hundred, 2636, 4400.

sRef Ex@27 @9 S0′ 9746. ‘To one corner’ means where truth dwells in light. This is clear from the meaning of the corner of the south, towards the south, to which ‘one corner’ refers here, as the place where truth dwells in light, dealt with above in 9742.

9747. ‘And its pillars shall be twenty’ means forms of the good of truth which provide complete support. This is clear from the meaning of ‘pillars’ as the forms of good that support heaven and the Church, dealt with in 9674, at this point forms of the good of truth since what is said refers to the lowest heaven, and this heaven is supported by the good of faith, which is one and the same as the good of truth; and from the meaning of ‘twenty’ as what is complete, dealt with in 9641.

9748. ‘And their bases twenty, [made] from bronze’ means the truths springing from good which also provide complete support. This is clear from the meaning of ‘bases’ as truths of faith springing from good, dealt with in 9643; from the meaning of ‘twenty’ as what is complete, as immediately above in 9747; and from the meaning of ‘bronze’ as good, dealt with in 425, 1551.

9749. ‘The hooks of the pillars and their bands [shall be made] from silver’ means the modes by which they are linked together through truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the hooks’ and ‘their bands’ as the modes of linking together (for this meaning of ‘the hooks’, see 9676; and the same thing is meant by ‘bands’ through the hooks’ attachment to them); and from the meaning of ‘silver’ as truth, dealt with in 1551, 2954, 5658, 6112, 6914, 6917, 7999.

sRef Ex@27 @11 S0′ 9750. ‘And [the same shall be] so for the length on the north side’ means where the good of truth dwells in obscurity. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the north side’ as the place where truth dwells in obscurity, dealt with in 3708; and from the meaning of ‘length’ as good, dealt with in 1613, 9487.

sRef Ex@27 @11 S0′ 9751. ‘The hangings shall be a hundred in length’ means likewise complete with truths that spring from good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the hangings of the court’ as the truths of the lowest heaven, dealt with above in 9743; from the meaning of ‘a hundred’ as what is complete, also dealt with above, in 9745; and from the meaning of ‘length’ as good, dealt with in 1613, 9487.

sRef Ex@27 @11 S0′ 9752. ‘And its pillars twenty’ means forms of the good of truth which provide complete support, as above in 9747.

sRef Ex@27 @11 S0′ 9753. ‘And their bases twenty, [made] from bronze’ means the truths springing from good which also provide complete support, as too above, in 9748.

sRef Ex@27 @11 S0′ 9754. ‘The hooks of the pillars and their bands [made] from silver’ means the modes by which they are linked together through truth, as also above, in 9749.

sRef Ex@27 @12 S0′ 9755. ‘And the breadth of the court on the side of the sea’ means the state of that heaven in respect of truths on the level of factual knowledge. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the breadth’ as truth, dealt with in 1613, 3433, 3434, 4482, 9487; from the meaning of ‘the court’ as the lowest heaven, dealt with above in 9741; and from the meaning of ‘the sea’ as the place where items of knowledge on which reasoning about truths is based are gathered together, thus also the natural level and the sensory level of the mind, for these are containers. Here ‘the side of the sea’ is an expression denoting the west side, and by ‘the west’ good dwelling in obscurity is meant. However, since the words ‘the west’ are not used but ‘the sea’, factual knowledge is meant, which too dwells in comparative obscurity because factual knowledge belongs to the natural or external man, and the natural or external man dwells in the light of the world. This light, compared with the light of heaven in which the internal man dwells, is like the shade when the sun is going down in the west.

[2] This may also be recognized from things as they appear in the next life. The Sun of heaven, which is the Lord, appears there midway above the horizon in the direction of the right eye. It is for the angels of heaven the Source of all light, and with the light the Source of all intelligence and wisdom. The sun of the world however does not appear as such when they think about it, but instead as a gloomy object in the opposite direction behind the back. That is also where the west is, in the heavens; for the Lord there as the Sun is the east. From all this it becomes clear that ‘the west’ means good dwelling in obscurity, and that this is the good that governs the external or natural man. The natural man, as has been stated, dwells in the light of the world, and this light in comparison with the light of heaven is like the shade when the sun is going down in the west. The natural man’s truth however is meant by the water of the sea. This truth consists in factual knowledge, for truth in the natural or external man is truth present in knowledge, whereas truth in the spiritual or internal man is truth present in faith. And truth present in knowledge comes to be truth present in faith when it is raised from the natural or external man to the spiritual or internal man. So it is that truths with a person in childhood are truths present in knowledge; but in adult life, if the person allows himself to be regenerated, they come to be truths present in faith. For the internal man is being opened gradually as the person advances into adult life.

sRef Ps@24 @1 S3′ sRef Ps@24 @2 S3′ [3] The reason why ‘the sea’ means a place where items of knowledge are gathered together is that truths are meant by ‘waters’, ‘springs’, and ‘rivers’, so that gatherings of them are meant by ‘seas’. That this is so is also clear from places in the Word where ‘the sea’ and ‘the seas’ are mentioned, as in David,

The earth is Jehovah’s and the fullness of it, the world and those who dwell in it. He has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the rivers. Ps. 24:1, 2.

‘The earth’ and ‘the world’ stand for the Church. ‘The seas’ on which He has founded the world are truths on the level of factual knowledge, ‘the rivers’ on which He has established it are the truths of faith. The fact that the earth, world, seas, or rivers should not be understood here is self-evident; for the world has not been founded upon the seas, nor has it been established upon the rivers.

sRef Ps@74 @14 S4′ sRef Ps@74 @15 S4′ sRef Ps@74 @13 S4′ sRef Hab@3 @15 S4′ [4] In the same author,

You broke up the sea by Your strength, You broke the heads of the monsters upon the waters. You broke in pieces the heads of Leviathan; You gave him as food to the people, the Ziim. You dried up the rivers of strength. Ps. 74:13-15.

This refers in the internal sense to knowledge that destroys the truths of faith. ‘The monsters’ whose heads will be broken are factual knowledge in general, 42, 7293; and ‘Leviathan’ has a similar meaning, 7293. ‘The people, the Ziim’, to whom it was to be given as food, are those steeped in falsities, or actual falsities. From this it is evident what ‘the sea’ means, namely factual knowledge misapplied in order to weaken and destroy truths. In Habakkuk,

You trampled the sea with Your horses, the mud of many waters. Hab. 3:15.

‘Trampling the sea with horses’, when said to have been done by Jehovah, stands for teaching the natural man, where factual knowledge belongs.

sRef Hos@11 @10 S5′ sRef Hos@11 @11 S5′ sRef Zech@14 @8 S5′ [5] In Zechariah,

On that day living waters will flow out from Jerusalem, part of them to the eastern sea, and part of them to the western* sea. Zech. 14:8.

‘Living waters from Jerusalem’ are truths of faith that receive their life from the good of love, ‘the eastern sea’ and ‘the western sea’ being the natural level and the sensory level of the mind where items of knowledge reside, that is, truths that have been gathered together. In Hosea,

They will go after Jehovah, and respectfully [His] sons from the sea** will draw near; respectfully they will come like a bird from Egypt. Hosea 11:10, 11.

‘Sons from the sea’ are truths on the level of factual knowledge which belong to the natural man. This explains why it says that ‘they will come like a bird from Egypt’, for ‘Egypt’ in the Word means factual knowledge, 9340, 9391.

sRef Ezek@26 @17 S6′ sRef Ezek@26 @16 S6′ [6] In Ezekiel,

All the princes of the sea will step down from their thrones, and will cast away their robes and strip off their embroidered clothes. They will clothe themselves with tremblings, they will say, How you have perished, O one inhabited in the seas, O praised city which was powerful in the sea. Ezek. 26:16, 17.

This has to do with the ruination of the cognitions of good and truth, meant by Tyre, to which the words here refer, 1201, cognitions of good and truth being items of knowledge which the Church possesses. ‘The princes of the sea’ are leading cognitions, 1482, 2089, 5044; and ‘casting away robes and embroidered clothes’ means removing truths as they exist on the level of factual knowledge, 9688. Since such truths are meant by ‘Tyre’, Tyre is called ‘one inhabited in the seas’ and ‘a city powerful in the sea’.

sRef Jer@51 @42 S7′ sRef Jer@51 @43 S7′ [7] In Jeremiah,

The sea has come up over Babel, she has been covered with the multitude of its waves; her cities have been reduced to a desolation. Jer. 51:42, 43.

‘Babel’ stands for worship which to outward appearances is holy but inwardly is unholy, 1182, 1326. ‘The sea’ spread over Babel is falsity rising up from factual knowledge; ‘its waves’ are reasonings that consist of that knowledge, and the resulting denials; ‘cities’ which were turned into a desolation are matters of doctrine.

sRef Rev@18 @19 S8′ sRef Rev@18 @17 S8′ sRef Rev@18 @18 S8′ sRef Rev@18 @21 S8′ [8] Something similar occurs in the Book of Revelation,

Every shipmaster, and everyone on board ships, and sailors, and all who trade on the sea, stood at a distance [and were crying out] as they saw the smoke of Babylon’s burning, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who have ships on the sea have been made rich by her wealth.*** Then an angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, Thus with vehemence will Babylon be thrown down. Rev. 18:17-21.

‘Ships’ are teachings drawn from the Word, 6385, and from this it is evident what ‘shipmaster’ means, and ‘sailor’, also ‘the sea’, and ‘those who trade on it’. ‘A stone like a millstone’ is truth through which faith develops; ‘being thrown into the sea’ means being consigned to the falsity of factual knowledge. In the next life seas appear, and also ships on them; I have often been allowed to see such ships and seas. The seas there are in a bad sense a sign of the falsities of factual knowledge, and people on ships a sign of those who traffic in and supply such falsities.

sRef Jer@31 @35 S9′ [9] In Jeremiah,

Thus said Jehovah who gives the sun for light by day and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea that its waves may roar, … Jer. 31:35.

‘The sun for light by day’ is the good of love from which light comes to truths. ‘The ordinances of the moon and of the stars for light by night’ are forms of the good of faith and of cognitions from which truth has light in darkness. ‘Stirring up the sea that its waves may roar’ means dispelling the falsities of factual knowledge on which mere reasonings about truths are based.

sRef Isa@50 @2 S10′ [10] In Isaiah,

Has My hand been altogether shortened, that it cannot redeem? Or is there no power in Me to deliver? Lo, by My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a desert. Their fish will putrify because there is no water and they die of thirst. Isa. 50:2.

‘Drying up the sea’ stands for doing away with the good and truth of factual knowledge, ‘making the rivers a desert’ for laying actual truths waste. ‘The fish’ which will putrify means the factual knowledge that the natural man possesses, 40, 991; ‘because there is no water’ means the non-existence of truth, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 8568; ‘dying of thirst’ means owing to the lack of truth, 8568.

sRef Isa@11 @9 S11′ sRef Isa@19 @6 S11′ sRef Isa@19 @5 S11′ [11] Something similar occurs elsewhere in the same prophet,

The waters will fail from the sea, and the river will be parched and dry; and the streams will recede, the rivers of Egypt will diminish and dry up. Isa. 19:5, 6.

‘The waters will fail from the sea’ stands for the departure of truths in the place where they are gathered together; ‘the rivers of Egypt’ which are going to dry up are factual knowledge. In the same prophet,

The earth is full of the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters cover the sea. Isa. 11:9.

‘The waters’ stands for truths, ‘the sea’ for a gathering together of them, that is, for knowledge of them, which is why it speaks of the earth’s being full of ‘the knowledge of Jehovah’.

sRef Rev@8 @8 S12′ sRef Rev@8 @9 S12′ [12] In John,

The second angel sounded, and so to speak a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea. And a third part of the sea became blood resulting in the death of a third part of the creatures which had their being in the sea.**** And a third part of the ships was destroyed. Rev. 8:8, 9.

‘A great mountain burning with fire’ is self-love; ‘the sea’ into which it was thrown is factual knowledge in general; ‘blood’ which it became is truth that has been falsified and made profane, 4735, 4978, 7317, 7326; and ‘the creatures’ which died as a result are those in possession of teachings which present the truth.

sRef Rev@13 @1 S13′ sRef Rev@16 @3 S13′ sRef Rev@16 @4 S13′ [13] Something similar occurs elsewhere in the same book,

The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of one dead, from which every living soul died in the sea. Rev. 16:3, 4.

Factual knowledge serving evils in the destruction of truths and in the substantiation of falsities is meant here by ‘the sea’. In the same book,

… a beast coming up out of the sea, speaking blasphemies. Rev. 13:1ff.

‘A beast out of the sea’ is factual knowledge destroying the truths of faith. From all this it becomes clear that ‘the sea’ means a place where factual knowledge is gathered together and is the resource which reasoning about the truths of faith makes use of.

sRef Gen@49 @19 S14′ sRef Deut@33 @19 S14′ [14] Since ‘the sea’ has this meaning Zebulun is spoken of as dwelling at the shore of the seas and at the haven of ships, Gen. 49:13, and in another place as one who ‘will suck the plentifulness of the sea, and the hidden treasures of the sand, Deut. 33:19. Zebulun is used in the representative sense to mean those who make use of factual knowledge to arrive at conclusions about the truths of faith; this is why it says that he was going to dwell ‘at the shore of the seas’.

sRef Matt@18 @6 S15′ [15] In the contrary sense however ‘the sea’ means factual knowledge which has the world as the end in view; in this case its ‘waves’ are reasonings that are the product of worldly notions about Divine matters. Consequently ‘being immersed in the sea’ means being immersed so thoroughly in factual knowledge which is the product of worldly and earthly notions that there is no belief whatever in God’s truth, as in Matthew,

Whoever causes one of the little ones believing in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if an ass’s millstone***** were hung onto his neck and he were plunged into the depth of the sea. Matt. 18:6.

‘A millstone’ is truth which is of service to faith, 4335, 7780, ‘an ass’ is the natural because it is a servant, 2781, 5741, 5958, 6389, 8078, so that ‘an ass’s millstone’ is natural and worldly knowledge. ‘The neck’ means the joining of interior things to exterior ones, 3542; ‘being hung on it’ means a blocking and cutting off of good and truth, 3542, 3603; ‘being plunged into the depth of the sea’ means sinking into what is merely worldly and bodily, thus into hell. These words, like all others spoken by the Lord, are accordingly such as carry a spiritual meaning.

sRef Rev@21 @1 S16′ [16] But [the nature of] the factual knowledge meant by ‘the sea’ depends altogether on the density and blackness of its waters, or conversely on the clearness and transparency of them. So it is that factual knowledge looking towards heaven, which is the spiritual dimension within the natural man, is called the glassy sea in Rev. 15:1, 2. A time when no one will use factual knowledge to reason about the truths of faith, but truths will be imprinted on people’s hearts is meant by the sea will be no more in Rev. 21:1.
* lit. posterior or hinder
** i.e. the west
*** lit. preciousness
**** lit. whence there died a third part of the creatures which are in the sea, having souls
***** i.e. the upper, rotating stone of an ass-driven mill

sRef Ex@27 @12 S0′ 9756. ‘The hangings shall be fifty cubits’ means the quantity of truths needed for the purposes they have to serve. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the hangings of the court’ as truths such as they are in the lowest heaven, dealt with above in 9743; and from the meaning of ‘fifty’ as all belonging to one side, and also a sufficient amount. ‘Fifty’ is similar in meaning to ‘five’ (for what ‘five’ means, see 9604, 9689), and therefore also means the quantity needed for the purposes they have to serve, since this is a sufficient amount.

sRef Ex@27 @12 S0′ 9757. ‘Their pillars, and the bases of these, ten’ means the quantity also of supporting forms of good, and of truths springing from these, needed for the purposes they have to serve. This is clear from the meaning of ‘pillars’ as forms of good which provide support, as above in 9747; from the meaning of ‘bases’ as truths springing from good which also provide support, dealt with above in 9748; and from the meaning of ‘ten’ as a sufficient amount or the amount needed for the purposes they have to serve. The situation with the forms of good and the truths that provide support is similar to that with the actual truths that are being supported, 9756; therefore ‘ten’ here implies much the same as ‘fifty’ or ‘five’, that is to say, the amount needed for the purposes they have to serve. Ten is also a product of five when multiplied, being the double of it, and multiple numbers are similar in meaning to the simple ones which are their factors, 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973.

sRef Ex@27 @13 S0′ 9758. ‘And the breadth of the court on the east side, towards the sunrise’ means the state of the truth of that heaven where forms of good reside. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the breadth’ as the state of truth, dealt with in 1613, 3433, 3434, 4482, 9487; from the meaning of ‘the court’ as the lowest heaven, dealt with above in 9741; and from the meaning of ‘the east’ and ‘the sunrise’ as the good of love, dealt with in 1250, 3249, 3708.

sRef Ex@27 @13 S0′ 9759. ‘Fifty cubits’ means the quantity needed for the purposes to be served, as above in 9756.

sRef Ex@27 @14 S0′ 9760. ‘And hangings of fifteen cubits shall there be for [one] wing’ means the sufficient quantity of truths dwelling in light. This is clear from the meaning of ‘fifteen’ as a sufficient amount; from the meaning of ‘the hangings’ as truths, dealt with above in 9743; and from the meaning of ‘wing’ as the place where truths dwell in light. The reason why [this] wing has this meaning is that ‘wing’ describes one part of the breadth of the court on the east side. For the breadth of the court was fifty cubits, in the middle of which was the gate with a screen twenty cubits wide, verse 16. The two parts, one to the right of the gate and the other to the left, are called wings, the hangings for each being fifteen cubits, so that the full breadth, as stated, was fifty cubits. It is evident therefore that one wing extended towards the south, but the other towards the north, so that by ‘the hangings’ of the wing extending towards the south truths dwelling in light are meant (‘the south’ being where truth dwells in light, 9642), and by ‘the hangings’ of the wing extending towards the north, which the next verse refers to, truths dwelling in obscurity are meant (‘the north’ being where truth dwells in obscurity, 3708).

sRef Ex@27 @14 S0′ 9761. ‘Their pillars three, and the bases of these, three’ means the forms of good and the truths springing from them which provide complete support. This is clear from the meaning of ‘pillars’ as forms of good which provide support, as above in 9747, 9757; from the meaning of ‘the bases’ as truths springing from good which also provide support, also dealt with above, in 9748; and from the meaning of ‘three’ as what is complete, dealt with in 2788, 4495, 7715.

sRef Ex@27 @15 S0′ 9762. ‘And hangings [of] fifteen [cubits] for the [other] wing, their pillars three, and the bases of these, three’ means the same things as above but where truths dwell in obscurity; for they are the same words as those which have been explained immediately above, except that by ‘the hangings’ of this wing truths dwelling in obscurity are meant, see just above in 9760.

sRef Ex@27 @16 S0′ 9763. ‘And for the gate of the court there shall be a screen’ means introduction into that heaven, and a guard that prohibits entry into it except by those who have been prepared. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the gate’ as communication with and introduction into, dealt with in 8989; from the meaning of ‘the court’ as the lowest heaven, dealt with in 9741; and from the meaning of ‘a screen’ as a guard that prohibits entry; for the screen served to guard the gate. The reason why it is a guard prohibiting entry except by those who have been prepared is that no one is introduced into heaven unless he has been prepared. The situation is that people who pass from the world into the next life, which happens immediately after death, bring with them worldly and earthly interests that are not in accord with the spiritual and heavenly things that angels are interested in. Therefore those who are to be raised to heaven first undergo preparation, which is carried out through the separation of the worldly and earthly interests which the person has brought with him. For if he were raised to heaven before he had undergone preparation he could not possibly remain in the communities there, since he has a taste for and loves things too crude to come up to the level of angelic purity. When people have been prepared however they are raised by the Lord and introduced into heaven, and are then sent into those angelic communities with which they are in tune so far as truths and forms of the good of faith and love are concerned. All this shows what should be understood by a guard that prohibits entry into heaven except by those who have been prepared.

sRef Ex@27 @16 S0′ 9764. ‘Of twenty cubits’ means to the full. This is clear from the meaning of ‘twenty’ as what is full or complete, dealt with in 9641.

sRef Ex@27 @16 S0′ 9765. ‘From violet, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, and fine twined linen’ means forms of the good of charity and faith. This is clear from what has been shown in 9687, where similar words occur.

sRef Ex@27 @16 S0′ 9766. ‘The work of an embroiderer’ means things belonging to factual knowledge. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the work of an embroiderer’ as factual knowledge, dealt with in 9688.

sRef Ex@27 @16 S0′ 9767. ‘Its pillars four, and the bases of these, four’ means the forms of good, and the truths springing from them, which support the linking together. This is clear from the meaning of ‘pillars’ and ‘bases’ as the forms of good, and the truths springing from them, which provide support, as above in 9761; and from the meaning of ‘four’ as a linking or joining together, dealt with in 8877, 9601, 9674.

sRef Ex@27 @17 S0′ 9768. ‘All the pillars of the court round about’ means every form of good supporting heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘all the pillars round about’ as every form of good providing support (for the meaning of ‘pillars’ as forms of good providing support, see 9747, 9757); and from the meaning of ‘the court’ as the lowest heaven, dealt with in 9741.

sRef Ex@27 @17 S0′ 9769. ‘Shall be banded with bands of silver, and their hooks [made] from silver’ means all the modes of linking together through truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘bands’ and ‘hooks’ as the modes of linking together, dealt with above in 9749; and from the meaning of ‘silver’ as truth, dealt with in 1551, 2954, 5658, 6112, 6914, 6917, 7999.

sRef Ex@27 @17 S0′ 9770. ‘And their bases from bronze’ means forms of support received through good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘bases’ as forms of support, dealt with in 9643; and from the meaning of ‘bronze’ as good, dealt with in 425, 1551.

sRef Ex@27 @18 S0′ 9771. ‘The length of the court shall be a hundred cubits’ means the good of that heaven, to the full. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the length’ as good, dealt with in 1613, 9487; from the meaning of ‘the court’ as the lowest heaven, dealt with in 9741; and from the meaning of ‘a hundred’ as to the full or what is complete, dealt with above in 9745.

sRef Ex@27 @18 S0′ 9772. ‘And the breadth fifty throughout’ means truth in a sufficient amount. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the breadth’ as truth, dealt with in 1613, 3433, 3434, 4482, 9487; and from the meaning of ‘fifty’ as a sufficient amount, dealt with in 9756.

sRef Ex@27 @18 S0′ 9773. ‘And the height five cubits’ means the degrees of good and truth, also in a sufficient amount. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the height’ as degrees so far as good is concerned, dealt with in 9489, and since it has reference to the lowest heaven they are also degrees so far as truth is concerned, for the good and truth of faith are foremost in that heaven; and from the meaning of ‘five’ as a sufficient amount, dealt with in 9689. The reason why ‘the height’ means degrees so far as good and truth are concerned is that what is high means what is internal, 1735, 2148, 4599, and therefore the higher anything is, the more internal it is. What is more internal in heaven is closer to the Lord; for the Lord is at the inmost point, and what is inmost is the source from which everything emanates. Distances away from what is inmost are degrees of good and truth emanating from Him. Since the Lord is the inmost point He is also the highest point; for He is the Sun of heaven, from which all height in the heavens exists. This explains why in the Word the Lord is called the Most High.

sRef Ex@27 @18 S0′ 9774. ‘[With hangings made] from fine twined linen’ means coming out of the understanding. This is clear from the meaning of ‘fine twined linen’ as the understanding, dealt with in 9596, 9744.

sRef Ex@27 @18 S0′ 9775. ‘And their bases from bronze’ means the support they all receive through good, as above in 9770. The reason why all are meant is that this verse refers to all things forming the court.

sRef Ex@27 @19 S0′ 9776. ‘And as for all the vessels of the dwelling-place, in all [its] service’ means the truths and the forms of good on the level of factual knowledge which the external man possesses. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the vessels’ as factual knowledge, dealt with in 3068, 3079, 9394, 9544; from the meaning of ‘the dwelling-place’ as heaven, dealt with in 9594, 9596, 9632; and from the meaning of ‘service’ as the external or natural level in a person, dealt with in 3019, 3020, 5305, 7998. The external or natural level in a person is a servant because it ought to serve the internal or spiritual level in a person. For the human being has been created to conform to an image of heaven and to an image of the world, the internal or spiritual man to an image of heaven and the external or natural man to an image of the world, 9279. Just as the world ought to serve heaven, so the external or natural level in a person ought to serve his internal or spiritual. The external has also been created to be a servant; for it has no life of its own and so cannot do anything by itself. It is dependent on the internal or spiritual, that is, through this on the Lord. From this it is also evident that the external or natural level in a person is not anything unless it is a servant to the internal or spiritual, and that so far as it does serve the internal it is something. To be a servant is to be obedient, and the external is obedient when it does not take ideas stored in the understanding and use them as reasons to justify the evils of self-love and love of the world, but complies with reason and the teachings of the Church which dictate that what is good and true should be done not for selfish and worldly reasons but for goodness and truth’s own sake. When all this is so, the Lord – acting through the person’s heaven, that is, through the person’s internal man – is the doer of those things. For all goodness and truth spring from the Lord, so much so that what is good and true in anyone is the Lord Himself. From all this it becomes clear why it is that the external man must be a servant to the internal.

sRef Ex@27 @19 S0′ 9777. ‘[And] all its pins and all the pins of the court, [they shall be made] from bronze’ means everything that joins together and strengthens the two heavens, the middle and the lowest, through good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘pins’ as things that serve to join and strengthen, dealt with below; from the meaning of the dwelling-place, to which ‘its’ relates here, as heaven, in particular the middle heaven, dealt with in 9594, 9596, 9632; from the meaning of ‘the court’ as the lowest heaven, dealt with in 9741; and from the meaning of ‘bronze’ as external good, dealt with in 425, 1551.

sRef Isa@54 @2 S2′ [2] The reason why things that serve to join and strengthen are meant by ‘pins’ or pegs is that these articles do so. They have a similar meaning wherever else they are mentioned in the Word, as in Isaiah,

Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwelling-places; do not stop [them]. Lengthen your ropes, and make your pegs firm. Isa. 54:2.

This refers to the New Church founded by the Lord. ‘Enlarging the place of the tent, and stretching out the curtains of the dwelling-places’ stands for the enhancement of teachings that present what is good and true, and worship that springs from them, 9596. ‘Long ropes’ and ‘the pegs’ stand for a far-reaching connection among truths and full corroboration of them. As for the court, that this too had ropes, see Exod. 35:18; Num. 3:37; 4:32.

sRef Isa@33 @20 S3′ [3] In Isaiah,

Look upon Zion. May your eyes see Jerusalem, a quiet dwelling-place, a tabernacle which is not overthrown. Its pegs will never be removed, and none of its ropes will be pulled away. Isa. 33:20.

‘Pegs’ and ‘ropes’ here stand in like manner for what serves to corroborate or strengthen and join together. ‘Peg’ again stands for strengthening and joining together in Isaiah 41:7 and Jeremiah 10:4; but these verses refer to idols, by which teachings of what is false are meant, because they are the product of self-intelligence, 8941, 9424. A peg however on which something is hung means affixing and joining [one thing to another], in Isaiah 22:23, 24, and in Ezekiel 15:3.

sRef Ex@27 @20 S0′ sRef Ex@27 @21 S0′ 9778. Verses 20, 21 And you shall command the children of Israel, and let them bring to you olive oil – pure, beaten – for the light, to cause a lamp to go up* continually. In the tent of meeting, outside the veil which is over the Testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend** it from evening until morning before Jehovah. It shall be the statute of an age*** for their generations among**** the children of Israel.

‘And you shall command the children of Israel’ means the Lord’s command to the Church through the Word. ‘And let them bring to you olive oil’ means the good of charity and faith. ‘Pure, beaten’ means what is therefore authentic and perceptible. ‘For the light’ means the spiritual heaven. ‘To cause a lamp to go up continually’ means faith from there, and through that faith an intelligent understanding of truth and a wise discernment of good from the Lord. ‘In the tent of meeting’ means where the Lord’s presence is. ‘Outside the veil which is over the Testimony’ means where there is communication and, through the uniting intermediary, a joining to the Lord in the inmost heaven. ‘Aaron and his sons shall tend it’ means an everlasting influx from the Lord. ‘From evening until morning before Jehovah’ means unceasingly in every state. ‘It shall be the statute of an age’ means Divine order. ‘For their generations among the children of Israel’ means eternity for the spiritual kingdom.
* i.e. burn
** lit. set in order
*** i.e. an everlasting law
**** lit. from with

sRef Ex@27 @20 S0′ 9779. ‘And you shall command the children of Israel’ means the Lord’s command to the Church through the Word. This is clear from the representation of Moses, to whom ‘you’ refers here, as the Lord in respect of the Word, or the Word which comes from the Lord, dealt with in 4859 (end), 5922, 6752, 7014, 7089, 9372; and from the representation of ‘the children of Israel’ as members of the spiritual Church, dealt with in 9340. From this it is evident that Moses’ being told to ‘command the children of Israel’ means the Lord’s command to the Church through the Word.

sRef Ex@27 @20 S0′ 9780. ‘And let them bring to you olive oil’ means the good of charity and faith. This is clear from the meaning of ‘olive oil’ as the good of celestial love, dealt with in 886, but in the present verse the good of spiritual love, which is the good of charity towards the neighbour and the good of faith. The reason why the good of charity and faith is meant here by ‘olive oil’ is that it was for the light or lampstand, and ‘the lampstand’ means the spiritual heaven, 9548, the spiritual heaven on earth being the spiritual Church. ‘Oil’ and ‘the olive tree’ mean in the Word both celestial good and spiritual good, celestial good when the celestial kingdom or Church is the subject, and spiritual good when the spiritual kingdom or Church is the subject. What makes these kingdoms or Churches different from each other is the types of good. The celestial kingdom or Church’s types of good are the good of love to the Lord and the good of mutual love, and the spiritual kingdom or Church’s types of good are the good of charity towards the neighbour and the good of faith, 9741. These types of good and the types of truth that spring from them are the subject throughout the Word; for the Word consists wholly of teachings about good. It does so because it consists wholly of teachings about love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour, Matt. 22:35-40, and all good is an attribute of love, including the good of faith since this comes into being from the good of love and does not exist without it.

[2] Since the Word consists of teachings about good, people need to know what good is if they are to have any understanding of the Word. But no one can know what good is unless he tries to lead a good life in accordance with the Word. For when someone tries to lead a good life in accordance with the Word the Lord instills good into that person’s life. The person then comes to perceive that good and has a feeling for it, and as a result recognizes the essential nature of it. In no other circumstances does it appear, because it does not come to be perceived. All this makes clear what the condition is of those who merely know the things contained in the Word, convince themselves that they are true, yet fail to act on them. They are people with no real awareness of good, nor consequently of truth, for truth is known from good, and never exists without good except as some piece of lifeless knowledge which passes away in the next life.

sRef Rev@11 @4 S3′ sRef Zech@4 @3 S3′ sRef Zech@4 @14 S3′ sRef Rev@11 @3 S3′ sRef Zech@4 @11 S3′ sRef Zech@4 @2 S3′ [3] The fact that ‘oil’ and ‘olive’ mean good is clear from places in the Word where they are mentioned, as in Zechariah,

I saw a lampstand of gold, two olive trees beside it, one on the right of the bowl and one to the left of it. These are the two sons of oil, standing beside the Lord of the whole earth. Zech. 4:2, 3, 14.

‘Two olive trees’ and ‘the two sons of oil’ are the good of love to the Lord, which is on His right, and the good of charity towards the neighbour, which is to His left. Something similar occurs in John,

The two witnesses prophesied one thousand two hundred and sixty days. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. Rev. 11:3, 4.

‘The two olive trees and the two lampstands’ are the same two types of good, which, since they come from the Lord, are called ‘the two witnesses’.

sRef Joel@1 @10 S4′ sRef Jer@31 @12 S4′ sRef Joel@2 @24 S4′ sRef Isa@41 @19 S4′ sRef Rev@6 @6 S4′ [4] In the same book,

I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, Do no harm to oil and wine. Rev. 6:6.

‘Oil’ stands for the good of love and charity, ‘wine’ for the good and truth of faith. In Isaiah,

I will plant* in the wilderness the cedar of shittah, and the myrtle, and the oil tree.** Isa. 41:19.

In Jeremiah,

They will come and sing on the height of Zion, and converge towards the goodness of Jehovah, towards wheat, and towards new wine, and towards oil. Jer. 31:12.

In Joel,

The field has been devastated, the land has been mourning because the grain has been laid waste, the new wine has failed, the oil languishes. Joel 1:10.

In the same prophet,

The threshing-floors are full of clean grain, and the presses overflow with new wine and oil. Joel 2:24.

In Moses,

I will give the rain for your land in its season, that you may gather your grain, your new wine, and your oil. Deut. 11:14.

sRef Deut@11 @14 S5′ [5] This verse speaks of grain, new wine, and oil, but it becomes clear to anyone who stops to consider the matter that it is not these actual products that are meant. For being Divine the Word is spiritual, not worldly, so that what it says does not have to do with grain, new wine, or oil of the land, inasmuch as they serve the body as forms of food, only inasmuch as they serve the soul. For all forms of food in the world mean, when mentioned in the Word, heavenly kinds of food, as also the bread and wine in the Holy Supper do. What it is that ‘grain’ and ‘new wine’ mean in the places quoted above, see 3580, 5295, 5410, 5959, from which it is evident what ‘oil’ means.

sRef Luke@10 @34 S6′ sRef Luke@10 @33 S6′ [6] The same applies to all those things spoken by the Lord when He was in the world, such as those regarding the Samaritan – that he went near the one wounded by the robbers, bound his wounds, and poured in oil and wine, Luke 10:33, 34. In this instance oil and wine are not what is meant but the good of love and charity, the good of love by ‘oil’ and the good of charity and faith by ‘wine’. For the subject is the neighbour, thus charity towards him. As regards this meaning of ‘wine’, see 6377.

sRef Matt@25 @4 S7′ sRef Matt@25 @3 S7′ sRef Matt@25 @8 S7′ sRef Matt@25 @5 S7′ sRef Matt@25 @6 S7′ sRef Matt@25 @13 S7′ sRef Matt@25 @11 S7′ sRef Matt@25 @10 S7′ sRef Matt@25 @9 S7′ sRef Matt@25 @12 S7′ sRef Matt@25 @7 S7′ [7] The same applies to the things spoken by the Lord regarding the ten virgins, five of whom took their lamps without at the same time any oil, and five who took theirs with oil as well – that the latter five were admitted into heaven, whereas the former five were turned away, Matt. 25:3, 4ff. ‘Oil in the lamps’ is the good of love and charity within the truths of faith; ‘the virgins who took lamps but no oil’ are those who hear the Word, read it, and say that they are believers, yet do not on that account perform any good deed at all, or who if they do, are not moved by a love of good or of truth but by selfish and worldly love.

sRef Mark@6 @13 S8′ sRef Ps@23 @5 S8′ sRef Deut@32 @13 S8′ [8] Since oil was a sign of the good of charity the sick were also anointed with oil and healed, as it says about the Lord’s disciples, that when they went out they cast out demons, and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them, Mark 6:13. In David,

You will make my head fat with oil, my cup will overflow. Ps. 23:5.

‘Making the head fat with oil’ stands for endowing with heavenly good. In Moses,

Jehovah fed [the people] with the produce of the fields; He caused them to suck honey out of the crag and oil out of the stony rock. Deut. 32:13.

This refers to the Ancient Church. ‘Sucking oil out of the stony rock’ stands for being imbued with good through the truths of faith.

sRef Hab@3 @17 S9′ [9] In Habakkuk,

The fig tree will not blossom, neither will there be any produce on the vines; the olive crop will fail,*** and the fields will not yield food. Hab. 3:17.

Neither the fig tree, vines, olives, nor fields should be understood here but the heavenly sources of food to which they correspond. This is also something which all who acknowledge that the Word has to do with such things as belong to heaven and the Church, and so to the soul, can recognize for themselves. But people who have no thought of anything other than worldly, earthly, and bodily things do not see it, indeed have no wish to see it. They say to themselves, What are spiritual things? What are heavenly realities? and so say, What are heavenly sources of food? They indeed know, when they are told, that these are the kinds of things which contribute to intelligence and wisdom, but they have no wish to know that they are what contribute to faith and love. They have no wish to know because they do not let such things enter into their life and as a result do not go far enough to attain intelligence and wisdom in heavenly truths and forms of goodness.

sRef Ezek@16 @10 S10′ sRef Ezek@16 @9 S10′ sRef Ezek@16 @18 S10′ sRef Ezek@16 @13 S10′ [10] In Ezekiel,

I washed you with water, and washed away the blood**** from upon you, and anointed you with oil. I clothed you with embroidered cloth. Your garments were fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, and honey, and oil. But you took your embroidered garments and covered the images, and you set My oil and My incense before them. Ezek. 16:9, 10, 13, 18.

Is there anyone who cannot see that garments made of embroidered cloth, fine linen, or silk are not meant here, nor oil, honey, or fine flour, but Divine things belonging to heaven and the Church? For these words refer to Jerusalem, by which the Church is meant, and therefore the matters that are mentioned mean such things as have to do with the Church. Each detail clearly means something specific about the Church, for in the Word, which is Divine, not a single word is devoid of meaning. For the meaning of Jerusalem as the Church, see 3654; and as regards what anything further means, for ’embroidered cloth’, 9688; ‘fine linen’, 5319, 9469; ‘fine flour’, 2177; ‘honey’, 5620, 6857; ‘washing with water’, 3147, 5954 (end), 9088; and ‘washing away the blood’, 4735, 9127.

sRef Hos@12 @1 S11′ [11] In Hosea,

Ephraim feeds the wind; they make a covenant with the Assyrian, and oil is carried down into Egypt. Hosea 12:1.

These words are altogether unintelligible unless one knows what is meant by ‘Ephraim’, ‘the Assyrian’, and ‘Egypt’. They describe the understanding part in the mind of a member of the Church when that part is perverted by means of mere reasonings based on factual knowledge. For ‘Ephraim’ is that understanding part, 3969, 5354, 6222, 6238, 6267; ‘the Assyrian’ reasoning, 1186; and ‘Egypt’ factual knowledge, 9391. Consequently ‘carrying oil down into Egypt’ means defiling the Church’s good in that manner.

sRef Zech@14 @4 S12′ sRef Zech@14 @3 S12′ [12] The reason why the Lord went so often up to the Mount of Olives, Luke 21:37; 22:39, was that ‘oil’ and ‘olive’ were signs of the good of love, as also was ‘a mountain’, 6435, 8758. This was so because while the Lord was in the world all things in Him were representative of heaven; through them the whole of heaven was linked to Him. Therefore whatever He did and whatever He spoke was Divine and heavenly, and the last and lowest things were representative. The Mount of Olives represented heaven in respect of the good of love and charity, as also becomes clear in Zechariah,

Jehovah will go out and fight against the nations; His feet will stand on that day upon the Mount of Olives, which faces***** Jerusalem. And the Mount of Olives will be split, that part of it [may lean] towards the east and towards the sea,****** with a large valley; and part of the mountain will move away towards the north, and part of it towards the south. Zech. 14:3, 4.

sRef Luke@13 @28 S13′ sRef Luke@13 @29 S13′ [13] This refers to the Lord and His Coming. ‘The Mount of Olives’ means the good of love and charity, and so means the Church, for those forms of good make the Church. The fact that the Church would depart from the Jewish nation and be established among gentile nations is meant by the description that this mountain would be split towards the east, towards the sea, and towards the north and south. Something similar is meant by the Lord’s words in Luke,

You yourselves will be thrown out of doors. On the other hand people will come from the east and the west, and from the north and the south, and sit at table in the kingdom of God. Luke 13:28, 29.

The overall meaning of the statement that Jehovah will go out and fight against the nations, and His feet will stand upon the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem, is that the Lord would fight from Divine Love against the hells; for evils springing from the hells are meant by ‘the nations’, 1868, 6306, and Divine Love by ‘the Mount of Olives’ on which His feet will stand.
* lit. give
** lit. the wood of oil
*** lit. the work of the olive will lie (i.e. prove false)
**** lit. your bloods
***** lit. which is before the face of
****** i.e. the west

sRef Deut@9 @21 S0′ sRef Ex@27 @20 S0′ 9781. ‘Pure, beaten’ means what is [therefore] authentic and perceptible. This is clear from the meaning of ‘pure’ – when it refers to the good meant by ‘oil’ – as what is authentic, for the more heavenly and so more authentic the good is, the purer it is; and from the meaning of ‘beaten’ – when it refers to the good meant by ‘oil’ – as what is perceptible. Good is said to be perceptible when it is converted into truth, for good reveals itself through truth. Indeed truth is the outward form of good, and the good cannot be seen in light except within that form. The more perfect the form in which good presents itself therefore, the more clearly perceptible it becomes. For the good itself shines so plainly from that form that it moves both the understanding part of another person’s mind and at the same time the will part. For what applies to goodness and truth applies also to a person’s will and understanding, since the will has been dedicated to the reception of good and the understanding to the reception of truth. The will cannot manifest itself in light except through the understanding, for the understanding serves the will as its outward form and renders it perceptible. When a thing receives outward form it can be divided into its parts, and the various relationships and connections among the parts can be established when analysis shows how they are tied together. This is how good is presented in the understanding and made perceptible. Good made perceptible in the understanding is the truth of that good. This now explains why the oil had to be beaten, and the frankincense likewise, regarding which it says that it must be pure and that some of it shall be beaten very small and in this condition burned as incense, Exod. 30:34-36. Something similar to what is meant by that which has been ‘beaten’ is also meant by that which has been ‘ground’, as becomes clear from the meaning of ‘wheat’ and ‘fine flour’; ‘wheat’ means good, and ‘fine flour’ the truth of that good. Even as that which has been ‘beaten’ or ‘ground’ means in the genuine sense good that is perceptible, so in the contrary sense that which has been ‘beaten’ or ‘ground’ means evil that is perceptible. This is meant by Moses’ action, when he crushed the golden calf by grinding it right down, and having turned it into fine dust threw it into the brook descending from the mountain, Deut. 9:21, regarding which, see 9391.

sRef Ex@27 @20 S0′ 9782. ‘For the light’ means the spiritual heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the light’, or lampstand, as the spiritual heaven, dealt with in 9548.

sRef Ex@27 @20 S0′ 9783. ‘To cause a lamp to go up continually’ means faith from there, and through that faith an intelligent understanding of truth and a wise discernment of good from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a lamp’ as faith, and from this an intelligent understanding of truth and a wise discernment of good, dealt with in 9548. ‘A lamp’ means faith because Divine Truth emanating from the Lord composes the light in heaven. This light when received by the angels there, or by a person in the world, resembles a lamp; for it casts light into all parts of the mind and imparts intelligence and wisdom. This light so received is faith. But it should be remembered that faith is not a lamp or that which casts light into the mind unless it is fed by charity, and so unless it is charity. The situation with faith and charity is the same as it is with truth and good. Just as truth is the outward form of good, or good embodied in an outward form, enabling it to be seen in light, so faith is the outward form of charity, or charity embodied in an outward form. Faith furthermore is that to which truth belongs, and charity is that to which good belongs. For truth, when believed, passes into faith; and good, when loved, passes into charity. The good and truth themselves that are loved are the neighbour, and the love of the neighbour is charity.

sRef Ex@29 @43 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @46 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @44 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @42 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @45 S0′ sRef Ex@40 @33 S0′ sRef Ex@40 @37 S0′ sRef Ex@40 @34 S0′ sRef Ex@40 @35 S0′ sRef Ex@40 @36 S0′ sRef Ex@40 @38 S0′ sRef Ex@27 @21 S0′ 9784. ‘In the tent of meeting’ means the Lord’s presence. This is clear from the consideration that the tent was made for the express purpose of providing a place for the Lord to meet Moses and Aaron, and also the children of Israel. Therefore also the holy act of worship was performed there, as the following verses in Exodus make clear,

They shall make the continual burnt offering at the door of the tent of meeting before Jehovah, where I will meet you to speak to you there. And there I will meet the children of Israel; and it shall be sanctified by My glory. And I will sanctify the tent of meeting and the altar; and Aaron and his sons I will sanctify to perform the priestly function for Me. And I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel. Exod. 29:42-45.

And there is another place which declares that the Lord would meet them there or would be present there,

When all these things had been completed the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of Jehovah filled the dwelling-place. And Moses could not enter the tent of meeting, because the cloud dwelt over it, and the glory of Jehovah filled the dwelling-place. The cloud of Jehovah was over the dwelling-place by day, and fire was in it by night, in the eyes of all the house of Israel. Exod. 40:33-end.

From these places it becomes clear that ‘the tent of meeting’ means the place where the Lord’s presence is. It does so because the tent represented heaven, and heaven is heaven by virtue of the Lord’s presence there, on which account also it was called Jehovah’s dwelling-place.

sRef Ex@27 @21 S0′ 9785. ‘Outside the veil which is over the Testimony’ means where there is communication and, through the uniting intermediary, a joining to the Lord in the inmost heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the veil’ as the intermediary uniting the inmost heaven and the middle heaven, dealt with in 9670, 9671, thus where there is communication and a joining together; and from the meaning of ‘the Testimony’ as the Lord in respect of Divine Truth.

sRef Ex@27 @21 S0′ 9786. ‘Aaron and his sons shall tend it’ means an everlasting influx from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘tending’ – when it has regard to the Lord, who was represented by Aaron – as influx. For all communication of Divine Good and Divine Truth from the Lord, and all joining to Him is accomplished by influx, angels and men being the forms that receive it. The reason why an everlasting influx is meant is that tending the lamps from evening until morning, which means unceasingly and everlastingly, is the subject. The reason why from the Lord is meant is that Aaron represented the Lord’s Divine Goodness, while his sons represented the Lord’s Divine Truth; these representations are the subject in the chapters that follow.

sRef Ex@27 @21 S0′ 9787. ‘From evening until morning before Jehovah’ means unceasingly in every state. This is clear from the meaning of ‘evening’ as the end of one state, dealt with in 8426; and from the meaning of ‘morning’ as the beginning of another one, dealt with in 8427. The reason why unceasingly in every state is meant is that ‘evening’ implies all the state of shade, which is meant by the subsequent night, and morning implies all the state of light, which is meant by the subsequent day. For with the Lord things that are subsequent and lie in the future exist together in the present, since everything with man and angel that the Lord ordains, that is, provides, is eternal. From all this it becomes clear that ‘tending the lamp from evening until morning’ means an everlasting influx of good and truth from the Lord unceasingly in every state.

sRef Ex@27 @21 S0′ 9788. ‘It shall be the statute of an age’ means Divine order. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the statute’ as Divine order, dealt with in 7884, 7995, 8357; and from the meaning of ‘an age’ as what is eternal. What is Divine is also eternal.

sRef Ps@33 @11 S0′ sRef Isa@51 @8 S0′ sRef Ps@145 @4 S0′ sRef Ex@3 @15 S0′ sRef Isa@34 @10 S0′ sRef Isa@51 @9 S0′ sRef Ex@27 @21 S0′ sRef Ps@145 @3 S0′ sRef Isa@60 @15 S0′ sRef Ps@145 @2 S0′ 9789. ‘For their generations among the children of Israel’ means eternity for the spiritual kingdom. This is clear from the meaning of ‘generations’ as eternity, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘the children of Israel’ as the spiritual Church, dealt with in 9340, thus also the spiritual kingdom. For the Lord’s spiritual kingdom in heaven is the spiritual heaven; on earth it is the spiritual Church. The reason why ‘generations’ means eternity is that in the internal sense generations of faith and charity are meant, 613, 2020, 2584, 6239, 9042, 9079, and so things of heaven and the Church, which things are eternal. Also the children of Israel, to whom the word ‘generations’ applies, mean the Church, 9340. The fact that eternity is meant by ‘generations’ is evident from the following places in the Word: In Isaiah,

My righteousness will exist to eternity, and My salvation from generation to generation.* Awake as in the days of old, the generations of eternity.** Isa. 51:8, 9.

In the same prophet,

I will make you an eternal magnificence,*** a joy of generation after generation. Isa. 60:15.

In the same prophet,

Its smoke will go up to eternity. From generation to generation it will be laid waste; no one will pass through it for ever and ever.**** Isa. 34:10.

In David,

The counsel of Jehovah will stand to eternity, the thoughts of His heart to all generations.***** Ps. 33:11.

In the same author,

I will praise Your name to eternity and forever.****** Generation to generation will praise Your works. Ps. 145:2-4.

In the same author,

They will fear You with the sun, and before the moon, from generation to generation.******* Ps. 72:5.

In Moses,

This is My name to eternity, and this is My memorial from one generation to another.******** Exod. 3:15.

There are very many other places besides these. When it says that things will exist ‘to eternity’ and from ‘generation to generation’, ‘eternity’ has regard to the Divine Celestial or Good, and ‘generation’ to the Divine Spiritual or Truth. For in the Word, especially the prophetic part, two expressions that have reference to one and the same thing are very frequently used, as in the places quoted above in which eternity and generation to generation occur. They are used because of the heavenly marriage that is present in every single part of the Word. The heavenly marriage is a marriage of good and truth, or the Lord and heaven joined together, see the places referred to in 9263.
* lit. to generations of generations
** lit. the days of antiquities, the generations of eternities
*** lit. a magnificence of eternities
**** lit. into perpetuity of perpetuities
***** lit. to what is eternal and perpetual
****** lit. generation and generation
******* lit. from the generation of generations
******** lit. into generation and generation

9790. THE FIRST PLANET OUT IN SPACE WHICH I HAVE SEEN – continued

I was also allowed to see several inhabitants who belonged to the lower ranks of society; their clothing was like that worn by peasants in Europe. I also saw a man and woman together. She had a beautifully upright figure and lovely movement of the body; and so did the man. But what astonished me was the fact that he walked majestically, with a seemingly proud step, whereas the woman in contrast to him walked with a humble step. Angels told me that this was the custom on that planet, and that men like the one I saw were loved because they were nevertheless good. They went on to tell me that the men were not permitted to have several wives, because polygamy was contrary to their laws.

9791. When the Lord allows it, a person who is in the spirit can see the things to be met with on a planet to which he is near. For space does not exist in the next life, nor therefore any distance to separate from one another those whose states are alike, as accords with what has been stated previously in 9579-9581. What has happened to me in the spirit has been like the experiences of spirits belonging to certain planets in our solar system who have been permitted by the Lord to see through my eyes many things on our planet, a subject dealt with several times before.

9792. The woman I saw had in front of her breast a broad garment behind which she could conceal herself. It had been made in such a way that she could insert her arms into it, wrap it around herself, and then move off. The lower part of it could be drawn up; and when drawn up and fitted to the body it looked like a kind of upper garment that women on our planet wear. Yet the same piece of clothing also served as a garment for the man. I saw him take it from the woman, fit it to his back, undo the lower part, which then flowed down to his feet like a robe, and so attired begin to walk.

9793. Afterwards I talked to spirits who had come from that planet. I told them a number of things about our planet, for example, the existence here of branches of knowledge that are not found anywhere else, such as those of astronomy, geometry, mechanics, physics, chemistry, medicine, optics, and philosophy; and in addition to these, the existence of skills unknown anywhere else, such as those of ship-building, metal-casting, writing things on sheets of paper, printing and publishing these things, and in this way communicating them to all throughout the planet, as well as preserving them for thousands of years to come. I told them that by these skills the Word received from the Lord has been so published and preserved, and that the revealed Word is therefore going to remain forever on this planet, see 9350-9360.

9794. Finally I was shown the hell of those who have come from that planet. When they are seen those from there are extremely frightening; I would not dare to describe their monstrous faces. I have also seen witches there who play dreadful tricks; they appear clothed in green, and make one shudder.

9795. ‘The second planet out in space which I have seen’ will be dealt with at the end of the next chapter.

9796. 28

TEACHINGS ABOUT CHARITY AND FAITH

Once people know what the internal man is and what the external man is they can see where the understanding of truth and the will for good come from.

9797. The internal man, to the extent that it has been opened towards heaven, and so to the Lord, dwells in the light of heaven and so has an understanding of truth. The light of heaven is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, and to be enlightened by that light is to understand what is true.

sRef Ps@72 @5 S0′ 9798. The internal man, to the extent that it has been opened to the Lord, and the external man is subordinate to it, dwells in the fire of heaven and so has a will for good. The fire of heaven is Divine Love emanating from the Lord, and to be set ablaze by that fire is to will what is good.

9799. An understanding of truth therefore consists in seeing the truths of the Word as a result of enlightenment by the Lord; and a will for good consists in willing them out of affection for them.

9800. People governed by love to and belief in the Lord, and by charity towards the neighbour, are the ones who possess an understanding of truth and a will for good, because goodness and truth flowing from the Lord find acceptance with them.

9801. But to the extent that the internal man has been closed towards heaven and to the Lord it dwells in coldness and thick darkness so far as things of heaven are concerned. And to the extent then that the external man has been opened towards the world it thinks what is false and wills what is bad, and for this reason is insane. For the light of the world residing with the external man banishes the light of heaven, and the fire of the life of the world banishes the fire of the life of heaven.

9802. People steeped in self-love and convinced of their own intelligence and wisdom dwell in that kind of coldness and thick darkness.

sRef Matt@13 @13 S0′ sRef John@14 @17 S0′ 9803. From all this it is evident that being intelligent and wise does not consist in understanding a great number of worldly matters and being wise about them, but in understanding those that belong to heaven and willing them. For there are people who understand and are wise about a great number of worldly matters, and yet have no belief in things which belong to heaven and do not will them, and for this reason are insane. These are the ones the Lord is talking about when He says in Matthew,

I speak by means of parables, because those who see do not see, and those who hear do not hear, nor do they understand. Matt. 13:13.

And in John,

The world cannot receive the Spirit of truth, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. John 14:17.

EXODUS 28

1 And you, cause Aaron your brother to come near to you, and his sons with him, from the midst of the children of Israel, so that he may serve Me in the priestly office – Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron.

2 And you shall make holy garments* for Aaron your brother, for glorious adornment.**

3 And you shall speak to all the wise at heart, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, and they shall make Aaron’s garments, to sanctify him, so that he may serve Me in the priestly office.

4 And these are the garments which they shall make: A breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a checkered tunic, a turban, and a belt. And they shall make the holy garments* for Aaron your brother and his sons, to serve Me in the priestly office.

5 And they shall take the gold, and the violet, and the purple, and the twice-dyed scarlet, and the fine linen,

6 And they shall make the ephod from gold, violet, and purple, twice-dyed scarlet, and fine twined linen, with the work of a designer.

7 Two shoulders*** joined together shall it have at its two ends, and it shall be joined together.

8 And the girdle of his ephod, which is on it, shall be of the same workmanship,**** of [one piece with] it, [made] from gold, violet, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, and fine twined linen.

9 And you shall take two shoham***** stones, and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel,

10 Six of their names on one stone, and the remaining six names on the other stone, according to their generations.******

11 With the work of one who works on stones,******* [like] the engravings of a signet, you shall engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel; enclosed in sockets of gold you shall make them.

12 And you shall place the two stones on the shoulders of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel; and Aaron shall bear their names before Jehovah on his two shoulders for remembrance.

13 And you shall make sockets of gold;

14 And two small chains of pure gold; on the borders******** you shall make them, with the work of slender rope;********* and you shall put the small chains of slender rope in the sockets.

15 And you shall make a breastplate of judgement, with the work of a designer; like the work of the ephod you shall make it; from gold, violet, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, and fine twined linen you shall make it.

16 It shall be square when doubled,********** a span the length of it, and a span the breadth of it.

17 And you shall adorn it with settings of stones.*********** There shall be four rows of stones, the order being, A ruby, a topaz, a carbuncle – one row;

18 And the second row, A chrysoprase, a sapphire, and a diamond;

19 And the third row, A lapis lazuli, an agate, and an amethyst;

20 And the fourth row, A tarshish,************ and a shoham,************* and a jasper. Enclosed in gold shall they be in their settings.

21 And the stones shall be according to the names of the sons of Israel, twelve according to their names; with the engravings of a signet, each according to its name, they shall be for the twelve tribes.

22 And you shall make on the breastplate small chains on the border******** with the work of slender rope,********* from pure gold.

23 And you shall make on the breastplate two rings of gold, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.

24 And you shall put the two slender ropes of gold in the two rings at the ends of the breastplate.

25 And the two ends of the two slender ropes you shall put into the two sockets, and put them onto the shoulders of the ephod before the face of it.

26 And you shall make two rings of gold, and place them on the two ends of the breastplate, on the edge of it which is on this side of the ephod, inwards.

27 And you shall make two rings of gold, and put them on the two shoulders of the ephod, below before the face of it, against the join above the girdle of the ephod.

28 And they shall tie the breastplate from its rings to the rings of the ephod with a cord of violet, so that it is above the girdle of the ephod and the breastplate will not come away from upon the ephod.

29 And Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel in the breastplate of judgement over his heart, when he goes into the holy place, for a remembrance before Jehovah continually.

30 And you shall put into the breastplate of judgement the Urim and Thummim; and they shall be over Aaron’s heart, when he goes in before Jehovah. And Aaron shall carry the judgement of the children of Israel over his heart before Jehovah continually.

31 And you shall make the robe of the ephod, the whole from violet.

32 And its hole for the head************** shall be in the middle of it; its hole*************** shall have a border round about, the work of a weaver; something like the hole*************** of a corslet it must have, so that it does not tear.

33 And you shall make on its hem pomegranates of violet, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet on its hem round about, and bells of gold in the middle of them round about –

34 A bell of gold and a pomegranate, a bell of gold and a pomegranate, on the hem of the robe round about.

35 And it shall be on Aaron when he ministers, and his voice**************** will be heard when he goes into the holy place before Jehovah, and when he comes out, that he may not die.

36 And you shall make a plate of pure gold, and engrave on it, [like] the engraving of a signet, Holiness to Jehovah.

37 And you shall place it on a cord of violet, and it shall be on the turban; before the face of the turban***************** it shall be.

38 And it shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel shall sanctify, even in all their gifts of holy things; and it shall be on his forehead continually, so that they may be pleasing****************** before Jehovah.

39 And you shall weave the tunic in chequer work of fine linen,******************* and you shall make the turban of fine linen; and the belt you shall make with the work of an embroiderer.

40 And for Aaron’s sons you shall make tunics, and you shall make belts for them, and you shall make headdresses for them, for glorious adornment.********************

41 And with these you shall clothe Aaron your brother, and his sons with him; and you shall anoint them, and fill their hand,********************* and sanctify them, and they shall serve Me in the priestly office.

42 And make for them linen undergarments to cover their naked flesh; from the loins even to the thighs they shall be.

43 And they shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they go into the tent of meeting or when they approach the altar to minister in the holy place, that they may not bear iniquity and die. It shall be the statute of an age********************** for him and his seed after him.
* lit. garments of holiness
** lit. for glory and for adornment (decus)
*** i.e. shoulder-pieces
**** lit. shall be according to the work of it
***** A Hebrew word for a precious stone, probably an onyx
****** i.e. in order of birth
******* lit. the work of a workman of stone i.e. the work of an engraver
******** Most English versions take the Hebrew word to mean of braided thread.
********* i.e. gold threads braided together which look like a cord or slender rope
********** i.e. the material, which was a cubit long and half a cubit or a span wide, was folded in half to form a square.
*********** lit. set it with a setting of stone
************Possibly a beryl
************* A Hebrew word for a precious stone, probably an onyx
************** lit. its mouth of the head
*************** lit. mouth
**************** i.e. the sound made by the bells as he moves
***************** i.e. on the front of it
****************** i.e. may be accepted
******************* i.e. an all-white garment made of linen containing checks in the weave
******************** lit. for glory and for adornment (decus)
********************* i.e. consecrate them
********************** i.e. an everlasting law

9804. CONTENTS

The subject here is the holy garments which Aaron and his sons had to wear whenever they ministered. The priestly office in which Aaron and his sons were to serve represented the Lord in respect of the Divine Celestial, which is the Divine Good in heaven; and his garments represented the Divine Spiritual, which is the Divine Truth emanating from that Good.

sRef Ex@28 @1 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @2 S0′ 9805. THE INTERNAL SENSE

Verses 1, 2 And you, cause Aaron your brother to come near to you, and his sons with him, from the midst of the children of Israel, so that they may serve Me in the priestly office – Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron. And you shall make holy garments* for Aaron your brother, for glorious adornment.**

‘And you, cause Aaron your brother to come near to you’ means the joining of Divine Truth to Divine Good within the Lord’s Divine Human. ‘And his sons’ means Divine Truth emanating from Divine Good. ‘From the midst of the children of Israel’ means in heaven and in the Church. ‘So that they may serve Me in the priestly office’ means that which is representative of the Lord. ‘Aaron’ means in respect of the Divine Celestial. ‘Nadab and Abihu’ means in respect of the Divine Spiritual that springs from it. ‘Eleazar and Ithamar’ means in respect of the Divine Natural. ‘The sons of Aaron’ means things which emanate from the Divine Celestial. ‘And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother’ means a representative sign of the spiritual kingdom lying adjacent to the celestial kingdom. ‘For glorious adornment’ means in order to display Divine Truth as it exists in its inward form and its outward form in the spiritual kingdom lying adjacent to the celestial kingdom.
* lit. garments of holiness
** lit. for glory and for adornment (decus)

sRef Ex@28 @1 S0′ 9806. ‘And you, cause Aaron your brother to come near to you’ means the joining of Divine Truth to Divine Good within the Lord’s Divine Human. This is clear from the representation of Moses, the one here who was to cause Aaron to come near him, as the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, dealt with in 6752, 6771, 7014, 9372; from the meaning of ‘drawing near’ as a joining to and presence with, dealt with in 9378; from the representation of ‘Aaron’ as the Lord in respect of Divine Good, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘brother’ as good, dealt with in 3303, 3803, 3815, 4121, 4191, 5686, 5692, 6756. From all this it is evident that the words telling Moses that he should cause Aaron his brother to come near to him mean the joining of Divine Truth to Divine Good within the Lord, the reason why within His Divine Human is meant being that this was where that joining together had to take place. For the Lord had first to make His Human Divine Truth, then afterwards Divine Good, see the places referred to in 9199, 9315. The reason why Aaron was chosen to serve in the priestly office was that he was Moses’ brother, and in this way the brotherly relationship of Divine Truth and Divine Good in heaven was at the same time represented. For as stated above, Moses represented Divine Truth and Aaron Divine Good.

[2] Everything throughout creation, both in heaven and in the world, has connection with good and with truth, to the end that it may be something. For good is the inner being (Esse) of truth, and truth is the outward manifestation (Existere) of good. Good without truth therefore cannot manifest itself, and truth without good has no real being. From this it is evident that they must be joined together. In the Word the two joined together are represented by a married couple or by two brothers, by a married couple when the heavenly marriage – the marriage of good and truth – and the succeeding generations which spring from that marriage, are the subject, and by two brothers when two kinds of ministry, namely those of judgement and worship, are the subject. Those who served as ministers of judgement were called judges, and at a later time kings, whereas those who served as ministers of worship were called priests. And since all judgement is arrived at through truth and all worship springs from good, truth founded on good is meant in the Word by ‘judges’, in the abstract sense, in which no actual person is envisaged; but truth from which good results is meant by ‘kings’, and good itself by ‘priests’. So it is that in the Word the Lord is called Judge, also Prophet, as well as King, in places where the subject has reference to truth, but Priest where it has reference to good. He is in like manner called Christ, Anointed, or Messiah in places where the subject has reference to truth, but Jesus or Saviour where it has reference to good.

sRef Ps@118 @3 S3′ sRef Ps@118 @2 S3′ sRef Ps@115 @9 S3′ sRef Ps@135 @19 S3′ sRef Ps@115 @10 S3′ sRef Ps@115 @12 S3′ [3] It was on account of this brotherly relationship of the truth which belongs to judgement and the good which belongs to worship that Aaron, brother of Moses, was chosen to serve in the priestly office. The fact that ‘Aaron’ and ‘his house’ because of this mean good is clear in David,

O Israel, trust in Jehovah! He is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in Jehovah! He is their help and their shield. Jehovah has remembered us, He blesses [us]. He will bless the house of Israel, He will bless the house of Aaron. Ps. 115:9, 10, 12.

In the same author,

Let Israel now say that His mercy [endures] to eternity; let the house of Aaron now say that His mercy [endures] to eternity. Ps. 118:2, 3.

In the same author,

O house of Israel, bless Jehovah! O house of Aaron, bless Jehovah! Ps. 135:19.

‘The house of Israel’ stands for those with whom truths exist, ‘the house of Aaron’ for those with whom forms of good are present; for in the Word wherever truth is the subject so too is good, on account of the heavenly marriage, 9263, 9314. For the meaning of ‘the house of Israel’ as those with whom truths exist, see 5414, 5879, 5951, 7956, 8234. In the same author,

Jehovah sent Moses His servant, Aaron whom He chose. Ps. 105:26.

Moses is called a servant because ‘servant’ is used in regard to truths, 3409, whereas one chosen or elected has regard to good, 3755 (end).

sRef Ps@133 @1 S4′ sRef Ps@105 @26 S4′ sRef Isa@15 @2 S4′ sRef Ps@133 @2 S4′ [4] In the same author,

Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brothers to dwell also together! It is like the good oil upon the head running down onto the beard, the beard of Aaron, which runs down over the collar* of his garments. Ps. 133:1-3.

Anyone who does not know what ‘brother’ means, nor what ‘oil’, ‘the head’, ‘the beard’, and ‘garments’ mean, nor also what ‘Aaron’ represents, can have no understanding of why such things have been compared to brothers who dwell together. For what similarity is there between oil running from Aaron’s head down onto his beard, then onto his garments, and the unanimity of brothers? But the similarity in the comparison is evident from the internal sense, in which the flow of good into truths is the subject and is described by their brotherliness. For ‘the oil’ means good, ‘Aaron’s head’ the inmost level of good, ‘the beard’ the very outermost level of it, ‘garments’ truths, and ‘running down’ a flowing in. From this it is plain that those words mean the flow, from inner to outer levels, of good into truths, and a joining together there. Without the internal sense how can anyone see that those words hold these heavenly matters within them? For the meaning of ‘oil’ as the good of love, see 886, 4582, 4638, 9780, and for that of ‘the head’ as what is inmost, 5328, 6436, 7859, 9656. The fact that ‘the beard’ means what is the very outermost is evident in Isaiah 7:20; 15:2; Jeremiah 48:37; and Ezekiel 5:1. For the meaning of ‘garments’ as truths, 2576, 4545, 4763, 5319, 5954, 6914, 6917, 9093, 9212, 9216; and for the representation of ‘Aaron’ as celestial good, see above.

sRef Ex@32 @5 S5′ sRef Ex@32 @4 S5′ sRef Deut@9 @20 S5′ [5] Seeing that Aaron was chosen to serve in the priestly office, thus to administer the most sacred things, people can understand what the situation was with representations in the Jewish Church. No attention was paid to the person who represented, only to the thing represented by that person. Thus something holy, indeed most holy, could be represented by persons who were inwardly unclean, indeed idolatrous, provided that outwardly they had an air of holiness when engaged in worship. The fact that Aaron was one such person becomes clear from the following details in Moses,

Aaron took the gold from the hands of the children of Israel, and fashioned it with a chisel, and made out of it a molded calf. And Aaron built an altar in front of it, and Aaron made a proclamation and said, Tomorrow there will be a feast to Jehovah. Exod. 32:4, 5, 25.

And elsewhere in the same author,

Jehovah was greatly moved with anger against Aaron and would have destroyed him;** but I prayed for Aaron also at that time. Deut. 9:20.

As regards the representatives of the Church among the Israelite and Jewish nation, that no attention was paid to the persons, only to the actual things represented, see the places referred to in 9229.
* lit. the mouth
** lit. to destroy him

sRef Ex@28 @1 S0′ 9807. ‘And his sons’ means Divine Truth emanating from Divine Good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘sons’ as truths, dealt with in 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3373, 3704, at this point Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good, since they were Aaron’s sons and Aaron as the high priest represented the Lord in respect of Divine Good, as shown immediately above. Truths are meant by ‘sons’ because everything in the internal sense of the Word is spiritual, and ‘sons’ in the spiritual sense are those who are born anew from the Lord, thus are in possession of truths springing from good, so that in the abstract sense – when the persons are not envisaged – ‘sons’ are the actual truths which spring from good. These truths therefore are what should be understood in the Word by ‘the sons of God’, ‘the king’s sons’, and ‘the sons of the kingdom’. They are also the sons of new birth or regeneration. Furthermore the truths and forms of good present with the person who has been regenerated or born anew from the Lord are exactly like families in wide and long lines of descent from the one same father. There are those which resemble sons and daughters, those which resemble grandsons and granddaughters, those which resemble sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, and so relationships belonging to many degrees, thus to many kinds. Truths and forms of good arranged like this are what sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, in short, relatives belonging to different degrees and therefore different kinds, denote in the spiritual sense. I have been shown by actual experience that spiritual generations follow one another in that kind of order. And at the same time I have been told that this being so the truths and forms of good with a person who has been regenerated follow in that kind of order, since the angelic communities in heaven are arranged in that way and the truths and forms of good present with a person correspond to those communities. Therefore also the person whose truths and forms of good possess that kind of correspondence is heaven in the smallest form it takes, 9279.

sRef John@12 @36 S2′ sRef John@12 @34 S2′ sRef John@12 @35 S2′ [2] Anyone who knows that truths are meant by ‘sons’ and forms of good by ‘daughters’ can see many arcana in the Word, especially the prophetical part, which would otherwise lie hidden from view. For example he can see what is meant specifically by the Son of Man, which the Lord often calls Himself in the Word, namely Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Human, as is clear from the places where that title appears. Let these be quoted, in order that at the same time it may be established that ‘the Son’ means truth, as in John,

The crowd said to Jesus, Why do you say, The Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man? Jesus answered them, The light is with you for a brief while longer. Walk, as long as you have the light, lest the darkness overtakes you. As long as you have the light believe in the light, that you may be sons of the light. John 12:34-36.

From these words it is evident that ‘the Son of Man’ has the same meaning as ‘the light’; for when the crowd asked, ‘Who is this Son of Man?’ the Lord answered that He was ‘the light’ in which they should believe. ‘The light’ means Divine Truth, see the places referred to in 9548, 9684, and so therefore does ‘the Son of Man’.

sRef Luke@17 @23 S3′ sRef Luke@17 @22 S3′ sRef Luke@6 @22 S3′ [3] In Luke,

Blessed are you when people will hate you on account of the Son of Man. Luke 6:22.

‘On account of the Son of Man’ is on account of Divine Truth, which emanates from the Lord. Divine Truth constitutes the all of faith in and love to the Lord; and ‘being hated’ on account of these is blessedness. In the same gospel,

The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see. Then they will say to you, Behold here! or Behold there! Do not go away or go in search. Luke 17:22, 23.

‘Desiring to see one of the days of the Son of Man’ means desiring to see one of the states of truth that is authentically God’s. The subject here is the end of the Church, when no faith exists any longer because there is no charity, at which time every truth that is genuinely God’s is going to perish. And since God’s truth is meant by ‘the Son of Man’ it says, ‘Then they will say, Behold here! or Behold there! Do not go in search’, which may be said of God’s truth emanating from the Lord, but not of the Lord Himself.

sRef Matt@24 @27 S4′ sRef Luke@18 @8 S4′ sRef Matt@24 @30 S4′ [4] In the same gospel,

When the Son of Man comes will He find faith on the earth? Luke 18:8.

That is, when God’s truth is revealed from heaven there will be no belief in it. Here also ‘the Son of Man’ is the Lord in respect of God’s truth, or God’s truth emanating from the Lord, the Lord’s coming being the revelation of God’s truth at the end of the Church.

[5] In Matthew,

As the lightning comes from the east and is seen as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then the sign will appear, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn; and they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and glory. Matt. 24:27, 30.

‘The coming of the Son of Man’ stands for the revelation of God’s truth at the close of the age, that is, at the end of the Church. ‘All the tribes of the earth’ who will mourn then are all the truths and forms of the good of faith and love in their entirety that are derived from the Lord and so are offered to the Lord. ‘The clouds of heaven’ in which He is going to come are the literal sense of the Word, ‘power and glory’ being the internal sense, the subject of which at its inmost level is the Lord alone. For further explanation of these matters, see 4060.

sRef Matt@26 @64 S6′ sRef Luke@22 @69 S6′ [6] Something similar occurs elsewhere in the same gospel,

I say to you, Hereafter you will see the Son of Man seated on the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven. Matt. 26:64.

And in Luke,

Hereafter the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God. Luke 22:69.

‘The Son of Man’ stands for Divine Truth emanating from the Lord. ‘Sitting at the right hand of power’ stands for the reality that in Him there is almighty power; for Divine Good exercises its almighty power through Divine Truth. The declaration that ‘hereafter they would see this’ means that Divine Truth would be in its almighty power, when the Lord in the world had overcome the hells and restored to order everything there and in the heavens, as a result of which those who received Him in faith and love could be saved, see 9715.

‘Sitting at the right hand’ means almighty power, see 3387, 4592, 4933 (end), 7518, 8281, 9133.
All the power good possesses is exercised through truth, 6344, 6423, 8304, 9327, 9410, 9639, 9643.
Actual Divine power consists in Divine Truth, 6948.

‘The clouds’ in which the Son of Man, that is, Divine Truth, will come are the Word in the letter, Preface to Genesis 18, and 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343, 6752, 8443, 8781; and ‘the glory’ is Divine Truth itself as it exists in the internal sense of the Word, Preface to Genesis 18, and 4809, 5922, 8267, 9429.

sRef Matt@19 @28 S7′ sRef Rev@14 @14 S7′ sRef John@5 @27 S7′ sRef Matt@25 @31 S7′ sRef Matt@16 @27 S7′ sRef Dan@7 @13 S7′ [7] All this now makes clear what the following words in the Book of Revelation mean,

I saw, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud one was sitting, like the Son of Man, having on His head a crown of gold. Rev. 14:14.

And in Daniel,

I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of the heavens One like the Son of Man came. Dan. 7:13.

In John,

The Father has given Him [authority] to execute judgement also, because He is the Son of Man. John 5:27.

The basis on which all judgement is executed is truth, and this explains why it says that [authority] to execute judgement has been given to the Lord because He is the Son of Man. ‘The Son of Man’, as has been stated, is Divine Truth; ‘the Father’ from whom that Truth springs is Divine Good, 2803, 3704, 7499, 8328, 8897. The fact that ‘executing judgement’ rests with Divine Truth explains why it says that when the Son of Man comes He will sit on the throne of His glory, Matt. 19:28; 25:31, and that the Son of Man will repay everyone according to his deeds, Matt. 16:27.

sRef Matt@13 @38 S8′ sRef Matt@13 @37 S8′ [8] In Matthew,

He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the seed are the sons of the kingdom, the tares are the sons of the evil one. Matt. 13:37, 38.

‘The good seed’ is God’s truth, therefore it says that ‘the Son of Man’ sows it. ‘The sons of the kingdom’ are God’s truths in heaven and in the Church. For ‘son’ means truth, 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, and in the contrary sense falsity, which is also meant by ‘son of the evil one’; and ‘the kingdom’ means heaven, and also the Church.

sRef John@3 @13 S9′ sRef Matt@8 @20 S9′ [9] In John,

No one has gone up into heaven except Him who came down from heaven, the Son of Man who is in the heavens. John 3:13.

From these words it is evident that ‘the Son of Man’ means Divine Truth present in the heavens. This Truth comes down from there and then goes up, for no one can go up into heaven unless Divine Truth has come down into Him from heaven; the flow starts from God, not from the opposite direction. And since the Lord is that Truth He calls Himself ‘the Son of Man who is in the heavens’. In Matthew,

The Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head. Matt. 8:20.

‘The Son of Man’ stands for Divine Truth; ‘having nowhere to lay His head’ stands for the fact that at that time there was no place for Him anywhere, that is, with any person.

sRef Jer@51 @43 S10′ sRef Matt@26 @2 S10′ sRef Mark@9 @12 S10′ sRef Matt@20 @18 S10′ sRef Mark@9 @31 S10′ sRef John@14 @6 S10′ sRef Matt@17 @23 S10′ sRef Mark@8 @31 S10′ sRef Matt@17 @22 S10′ sRef Jer@49 @33 S10′ sRef Matt@26 @25 S10′ sRef Matt@26 @24 S10′ sRef Matt@17 @12 S10′ sRef Jer@49 @18 S10′ [10] The declarations that the Son of Man is about to suffer and will be killed, in Matt. 17:12, 22; 20:18; 26:2, 24, 45; Mark 8:31; 9:12, 31; and elsewhere, imply that this was how Divine Truth was treated, and therefore how the Lord was treated since He was Divine Truth itself, as He also says in John, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. John 14:6.

In Jeremiah,

No man (vir) will dwell there, nor will any son of man stay in it. Jer. 49:18, 33.

And in the same prophet,

Not a man (vir) will dwell in the cities, nor will any son of man pass through them. Jer. 51:43.

Anyone who has no knowledge of the spiritual sense of the Word will suppose that ‘the cities’ here is used to mean cities, and ‘a man’ and ‘son of man’ to mean a man and a son, and that the cities would be made so desolate that no one would be there. But it is the state of the Church so far as the teaching of truth is concerned that is being described. For ‘cities’ are the doctrinal teachings of the Church, see 402, 2449, 3216, 4492, 4493; ‘a man’ is the Church’s truth itself joined to good, 3134, 7716, 9007, ‘son of man’ accordingly meaning truth.

[11] Since ‘son of man’ meant Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, the prophets too through whom it was revealed were called sons of man, as Daniel and Ezekiel were – Dan. 8:17; Ezek. 2:1, 3, 6, 8; 3:1, 3, 4, 10, 17, 25; 4:1, 16; 8:5, 6, 8, 12, 15; 12:2, 3, 9, 18, 22, 27; and in many other places.

sRef Ps@146 @3 S12′ sRef Isa@51 @12 S12′ [12] The majority of expressions in the Word have also a contrary sense, and this applies equally to the meaning of the expression son of man, which in that contrary sense is falsity opposed to truth, as in Isaiah,

What are you that you are afraid of man (homo), [who] dies, and of the son of man, [who] is given grass? Isa. 51:12.

‘Grass given to the son of man’ is factual knowledge that gives rise to falsity. In David,

Do not put your trust in princes, in the son of man who has no salvation. Ps. 146:3.

‘Princes’ are primary truths, 2089, 5044, and so in the contrary sense primary falsities, while ‘the son of man’ is falsity itself.

sRef Ex@28 @1 S0′ 9808. ‘From the midst of the children of Israel’ means in heaven and in the Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘Israel’ as those who belong to the Church, thus in the abstract sense the Church itself, dealt with in 4286, 6426, 6637, 6862, 6868, 7035, 7062, 7198, 7201, 7215, 7223, 8805, 9340. And since ‘Israel’ means the Church it also means heaven; for heaven and the Church make one, and also the Church is the Lord’s heaven on earth. Every member of the Church furthermore has heaven within himself when truth and at the same time good which come from the Lord reside in him.

sRef Ex@28 @1 S0′ 9809. ‘So that they may serve Me in the priestly office’ means that which is representative of the Lord. This is clear from the representation of ‘the priestly office’ in the highest sense as all the service performed by the Lord as the Saviour. And the moving force behind whatever He does as the Saviour is Divine Love, thus Divine Good since all good is an aspect of love. So it is also that in the highest sense ‘the priestly office’ means the Divine Good of the Lord’s Divine Love. There is Divine Good and there is Divine Truth. Divine Good exists within the Lord, and so is His Essential Being (Esse), which in the Word is called Jehovah. But Divine Truth is an emanation from the Lord, and so is the Coming-into-being (Existere) from that Essential Being; this is meant in the Word by God. And since that which is the Coming-into-being from Himself is nonetheless Himself, the Lord is also Divine Truth, which is what is Divine and His in the heavens. For the heavens are a coming-into-being from Him, because the angels there are recipients of what is Divine and His, celestial angels being recipients of the Divine Good which emanates from Him, but spiritual angels recipients of the Divine Truth springing from that Good. All this helps to make clear what it was belonging to the Lord that was represented by the priestly office, and what it was belonging to the Lord that was represented by the royal office, namely the Divine Good of His Divine Love by the priestly office, and the Divine Truth springing from that Good by the royal office.

sRef Ps@110 @2 S2′ sRef Ps@110 @4 S2′ sRef Ps@110 @3 S2′ sRef Ps@110 @5 S2′ sRef Ps@110 @6 S2′ sRef Ps@110 @7 S2′ sRef Ps@110 @1 S2′ [2] The truth that the priestly office represented the Divine Good of the Lord’s Divine Love, thus all the service performed by the Lord as the Saviour, is clear from the following declarations in the Word: In David,

Jehovah said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies as Your footstool. Jehovah will send the rod of strength from Zion; have dominion in the midst of Your enemies. Your people will be prompt to offer themselves on the day of Your power, in the beauty of holiness. From the womb of the dawn You have the dew of Your birth. Jehovah has sworn and will not repent, You are a priest for ever, after the manner* of Melchizedek. The Lord is on Your right hand; He struck kings on the day of His anger. He has judged among the nations, He has filled [the places] with dead bodies, He has stricken [one who was] head over much land. He will drink from the stream by the way; therefore he will lift up his head. Ps. 110:1-7.

These declarations show what the Lord as a priest, consequently what the priestly office within the Lord represented, namely the whole work of saving the human race. For the subject in this Psalm is the Lord’s conflicts with the hells when He was in the world. Through those conflicts He acquired for Himself a power over the hells that was almighty and Divine, by means of which He saved the human race and also today saves all who accept Him. This very salvation, because the Divine Good of Divine Love is the moving force behind the accomplishment of it, is the reason why it says in reference to the Lord, ‘You are a priest for ever, after the manner of Melchizedek’. The name Melchizedek means King of Righteousness, which the Lord was called because He had become [the One in whom there was] righteousness and consequently salvation, as accords with what has been shown in 9715.

[3] But since the declarations in this Psalm each contain arcana which have to do with the Lord’s conflicts when He was in the world, and those arcana cannot be revealed without the internal sense, let a brief explanation of them be supplied. Jehovah said to my Lord means that the subject is the Lord when He was in the world. ‘Lord’ here is used to mean the Lord’s Divine Human, as is clear in Matt. 22:43-45; Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42-44. Sit at My right hand means the almighty power of Divine Good, exercised through Divine Truth, the Lord being Divine Truth at that time, and Divine Truth being that with which He entered into and won the battle. For the meaning of ‘sitting at the right hand’ as a state of power, and in reference to the Divine as almighty power, see 3387, 4592, 4933, 6948, 7518, 7673, 8281, 9133; and the fact that all the power which good possesses is exercised through truth, 6344, 6423, 8304, 9327, 9410, 9639, 9643.

[4] Till I make Your enemies as Your footstool means until the time when the evils which exist in and spring from the hells have been subdued and made subject to His Divine power. Jehovah will send the rod of strength from Zion means the power at that time received from celestial good, ‘Zion’ meaning this good, see 2362, 9055. Have dominion in the midst of Your enemies means that this good has dominion over evils. Evils are enemies because they are contrary to what is Divine, especially to the Lord. Your people will be prompt to offer themselves on the day of Your power means the Divine Truths engaging in conflict then. In the beauty of holiness means which spring from Divine Good. From the womb of the dawn You have the dew of Your birth means conception from Divine Good itself, from which He had Divine Truth. Jehovah has sworn and will not repent means what is sure and certain.

[5] You are a priest for ever means the Divine Good of Divine Love within Him. After the manner of Melchizedek means that His Divine Human is of a like nature. The name Melchizedek means King of Righteousness, thus Jehovah who has become Righteousness through conflicts and victories, 9715. The Lord is on Your right hand means Divine Truth from Him at that time, through which almighty power is exercised, as above. He struck kings on the day of His anger means the destruction of falsities then, ‘the day of anger’ being the time when He fought against evils and destroyed them. ‘Kings’ are truths and in the contrary sense falsities, 2015, 2069, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148. He has judged among the nations means the dispersion of evils; for ‘nations’ are forms of good and in the contrary sense evils, 1259, 1260, 1849, 6005. He has filled [the places] with dead bodies means the resulting spiritual death, which is a total deprivation of truth and good. He has stricken [one who was] head over much land means casting hellish self-love down into the hells, and the damnation of that love. He will drink from the stream by the way; therefore he will lift up his head means the endeavour to rise up from there by means of reasonings about truths. This is the meaning which those in heaven perceive within these words when that Psalm is read by someone in the world.

[6] Since the priestly office was representative of the Lord’s whole work of salvation which was motivated by Divine Love, the performance of all the worship of God furthermore belonged to the office of the priest. Acts of worship at that time consisted first and foremost in offering burnt offerings, sacrifices, and minchahs, in setting the loaves on the table of the Presence, in keeping the lamps alight day by day, and in offering incense, and consequently in expiating or making atonement for the people and forgiving sins. In addition to all this their office consisted, when they were at the same time prophets, in explaining God’s law and in teaching. The fact that all these duties were performed by Aaron and his sons is clear from the description in Moses of the establishment of the priesthood; and all those duties, it is self-evident, were representative of the Lord’s acts of salvation. All this also explains why the portions of the sacrifices and minchahs that were Jehovah’s, that is, the Lord’s, were given to Aaron, likewise various kinds of first fruits as well as tithes, see Exod. 29:1-36; Lev. 7:35, 36; 23:15-22; 27:21; Num. 5:6-11; 18:8-20, 25-end; Deut. 18:1-4. The firstborn were also given; but in place of all the firstborn of human beings stood the Levites, who were given as a gift to Aaron, see Num. 1:47; 3:9, because they were Jehovah’s, Num. 3:12, 13, 40-45.

sRef Deut@18 @2 S7′ sRef Num@26 @61 S7′ sRef Num@26 @60 S7′ sRef Num@26 @62 S7′ sRef Num@26 @59 S7′ sRef Num@18 @20 S7′ sRef Deut@10 @9 S7′ sRef Num@26 @63 S7′ sRef Deut@18 @1 S7′ sRef Num@26 @58 S7′ [7] Because the Lord as regards His whole work of salvation was represented by the high priest, and the actual work of salvation by his office, which is called the priestly office, no inheritance and portion among the people was given to Aaron and his sons; for it says that Jehovah God is their inheritance and portion, Num. 18:20. Nor was any given to the Levites, because they belonged to Aaron, Num. 26:58-63; Deut. 10:9; 18:1, 2. For the people represented heaven and the Church; but Aaron and his sons, and the Levites, represented the good of love and faith, which composes heaven and the Church, and so represented the Lord, who is the source of that good. Therefore He gave over the land to the people as an inheritance, but not to the priests, for the Lord is present in people, but not among them as an individual person.

sRef Isa@61 @6 S8′ [8] Something similar is implied by the following words in Isaiah,

You will be called the priests of Jehovah, you will be spoken of as the ministers of our God. You will eat the wealth of the gentiles, and in their glory you will glory. Isa. 61:6.

‘Eating the wealth of the gentiles’ stands for making forms of good one’s own, ‘glorying in their glory’ for having the benefit of truths, and so for the joy and happiness which those forms of good and truths give. As regards the meaning of ‘the gentiles’ or ‘the nations’ as forms of good, see 1259, 1260, 4574, 6005; and as regards that of ‘glory’ as truth from the Divine, 9429.

sRef Jer@2 @26 S9′ sRef Jer@8 @1 S9′ sRef Matt@1 @20 S9′ sRef Rev@1 @6 S9′ sRef Matt@1 @21 S9′ sRef Jer@4 @9 S9′ [9] Various places in the Word mention ‘kings and priests’, also ‘kings, princes, priests, and prophets’ in a series. But in these places truths in their entirety are meant in the internal sense by ‘kings’, and leading truths by ‘princes’; forms of good in their entirety are meant by ‘priests’, and doctrinal teachings by ‘prophets’, as in the Book of Revelation,

Jesus Christ has made us kings and priests. Rev. 1:6; 5:10.

In Jeremiah,

The house of Israel is ashamed, they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets. Jer. 2:26.

In the same prophet,

On that day the heart of the king and the heart of the princes will perish, and the priests will be dumbfounded and the prophets left wondering. Jer. 4:9.

In the same prophet,

At that time they will bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets. Jer. 8:1.

In the abstract sense, separate from actual persons, truths in their entirety are meant by ‘kings’, see 1672, 2015, 2069, 4581, 4966, 5044, 6148; leading truths by ‘princes’, 1482, 2089, 5044; forms of good by ‘priests’, 1728, 2015 (end), 3670, 6148; and doctrinal teachings derived from and concerning all these by ‘prophets’, 2534, 7269. The Lord’s kingship furthermore is meant by His name Christ, Anointed One, or Messiah, and His priesthood by the name Jesus; for Jesus means Saviour or Salvation, regarding which the following is stated in Matthew,

The angel appearing to Joseph in a dream said to him, You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. Matt. 1:21.

Since this** belonged to the priestly office the high priest’s duty of expiating or making atonement for people’s sins had the same representation, Lev. 4:26, 31, 35; 5:6, 10, 13, 16, 18; 6:7; 9:7; 15:15, 30.

sRef Lev@21 @20 S10′ sRef Lev@22 @5 S10′ sRef Lev@22 @4 S10′ sRef Lev@22 @8 S10′ sRef Lev@21 @10 S10′ sRef Lev@22 @7 S10′ sRef Lev@21 @18 S10′ sRef Lev@21 @19 S10′ sRef Lev@22 @2 S10′ sRef Lev@22 @3 S10′ sRef Lev@21 @17 S10′ sRef Lev@22 @6 S10′ sRef Lev@21 @15 S10′ sRef Lev@21 @13 S10′ sRef Lev@21 @11 S10′ sRef Lev@21 @14 S10′ sRef Lev@21 @12 S10′ sRef Lev@22 @9 S10′ [10] Since evil cannot possibly be combined with good, because each repels the other, various kinds of acts of purification were ordained for Aaron and his sons whenever they served in the priestly office, whether at the altar or in the tent of meeting. It was also ordained for example that the high priest should not marry anyone other than a virgin; he was not allowed to marry a widow, divorced woman, or prostitute, Lev. 21:13-15. If any of Aaron’s sons who were unclean had eaten from the holy offerings they should be cut off, Lev. 22:2-9. None of Aaron’s seed who had a defect should offer bread, Lev. 21:17-21. The high priest should not use a razor on his head, nor tear his clothes, nor defile himself with any dead body, not even for his father or mother, nor go out of the sanctuary, Lev. 21:10-12. These and many other laws, as has been stated, were laid down because the high priest represented the Lord and His Divine Goodness, and the nature of good is such that no evil can be combined with it. For good recoils from evil, and evil has a horror of good, as hell has of heaven; therefore it is impossible for them to be joined to each other. [11] As regards truth however, its nature is such that it can be combined with falsity, but not falsity that has evil in it, only that which has good in it. That is, it can be combined with the kind of good that exists with very young children or older boys and girls who are still at the age of innocence, or with upright gentiles who are uninformed; and it can be combined with the kind of good that exists with all who are confined to the literal sense of the Word and to teachings derived from it and yet have the good of life as their end in view. For this good, if it is the end in view, dispels from falsity all inclination towards evil, and uses it in such a way that it makes it look to outward appearance like truth.
* The Latin means according to My word but the Hebrew means after the manner of, which Sw. has in some other places where he quotes this verse.
** i.e. the work of salvation

sRef Ex@28 @1 S0′ 9810. ‘Aaron’ means in respect of the Divine Celestial, that is to say, that which is representative of the Lord in this respect. This is clear from the representation of ‘Aaron’ as the Lord in respect of Divine Good, dealt with above in 9806. The Divine Celestial is what is Divine and the Lord’s in the inmost heaven; for the angels there are called celestial angels, being recipients of Divine Truth in the will part of their mind. Divine Truth emanating from the Lord that has been received in that part is called celestial good, whereas that received in the understanding part is called spiritual good. As regards the nature of each kind of good – celestial good and spiritual good – and what the difference is between them, see the places referred to in 9277, 9543.

sRef Ex@28 @1 S0′ 9811. ‘Nadab and Abihu’ means in respect of the Divine Spiritual that springs from it. This is clear from the representation of Aaron’s sons as Divine Truth emanating from Divine Good, dealt with above in 9807. The Divine Spiritual is Divine Truth emanating from the Divine Celestial, thus what is Divine and the Lord’s as it is received in the middle or second heaven. That which is received there is represented by Aaron’s two older sons, since it emanates and is so to speak born from the celestial good present in the inmost heaven, like a son from his father. But Aaron’s two younger sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, represent – as long as the older ones Nadab and Abihu were alive – what is Divine in the lowest heaven, which follows on immediately from the previous or middle heaven. That is, the younger sons represent the Divine Natural, dealt with in the very next paragraph.

sRef Ex@28 @1 S0′ 9812. ‘Eleazar and Ithamar’ means in respect of the Divine Natural. This is clear from the fact that they were Aaron’s younger sons; and since Aaron represents the Lord in respect of the Divine Celestial his sons too represent the Lord in respect of succeeding levels of what is Divine. That is, the older ones represent the Lord in respect of the Divine Spiritual, while the younger represent Him in respect of the Divine Natural. For this is the order in which the levels of Divine Good in the heavens follow one another; indeed the actual heavens in which such levels of good exist follow one another in that same order. Also one level of good comes into being and is also kept in being through another.

[2] Divine Celestial Good, which composes the third or inmost heaven, is the good of love to the Lord. Divine Spiritual Good, which composes the middle or second heaven, is the good of charity towards the neighbour. And Divine Natural Good, which composes the first or lowest heaven, is the good of faith and obedience. Divine Natural Good includes public good, which is called justice among all citizens, and also private good, which consists of all the virtues that constitute honourable behaviour.

[3] Those three levels of good follow one another in order as end, cause, and effect. And just as the end is the soul of the cause, and the cause is the all and the efficient power in the effect, so is celestial good the soul of spiritual good, and spiritual good the all in natural good. That which is the soul in another, and that which is the all there, are inwardly present as effort is within motion or as will is within action. The fact that the will is the soul and the all in action is self-evident, for when will ceases, so does action. All this makes clear what the situation is with the celestial, the spiritual, and the natural; that is to say, inmostly within natural good there must be celestial good, that is, the good of love to the Lord, which also is the good of innocence.

sRef Ex@28 @1 S0′ 9813. ‘The sons of Aaron’ means things which emanate from the Divine Celestial. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the sons’ as things which are born from another as from a father, thus things which emanate from it; and from the representation of ‘Aaron’ as the Lord in respect of the Divine Celestial, dealt with just above in 9810. From this it is evident that by ‘the sons of Aaron’ things which emanate from the Divine Celestial are meant.

sRef Ex@28 @2 S0′ 9814. ‘And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother’ means a representative sign of the spiritual kingdom lying adjacent to the celestial kingdom. This is clear from the meaning of ‘garments’ in general as truths, and more particularly as truths clothing good, dealt with in 5954, 9212, 9216. The meaning of ‘garments’ as truths owes its origin to things in heaven, where angels appear dressed in clothes in keeping with the truths they have that spring from good, 165, 5248, 5954, 9212; and from this it may be recognized that Aaron’s garments represented the Lord’s spiritual kingdom lying adjacent to His celestial kingdom. For Aaron represented the Lord in respect of the Divine Celestial, 9810, and therefore the garments he wore represented the Divine Spiritual adjacent to the celestial kingdom like clothing next to the body, the Divine Spiritual being Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good. It presents itself in heaven as light, indeed it is the light which illuminates both the outward and the inward powers of sight that angels possess. Modifications of this light – which are determined by the subjects, that is, the angels, that receive it – produce different visible phenomena, such as clouds, rainbows, and various colours and brightnesses; they also produce shining garments about the angels. From all this it may be recognized that the Lord’s spiritual kingdom was represented by Aaron’s holy garments. For there are two kingdoms into which the heavens are divided, the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom, regarding which, see 9277. Those in the celestial kingdom appear naked, but those in the spiritual kingdom appear in clothing. From this it is again clear that Divine Truth, or the Divine Spiritual, which appears as light, is that which serves to clothe.

[2] But who would ever credit it that, even though the Word exists within the Church and consequently enlightenment regarding Divine and heavenly realities, ignorance reigns there, so great that no one knows that angels and spirits take on the human form, appear to themselves as human beings, and see, hear, and talk to one another? Still less does anyone know that they appear clothed in garments. The idea that they do so is met not merely with doubt but also with complete denial on the part of those so blind to everything other than external things, that they think that the body alone lives, and that what they cannot see with the eyes in their body or touch with the hands on their body has no existence whatever, see 1881. But in actual fact the heavens are full of human beings, who are angels, and these are clothed with garments shining in varied degrees of brightness. But these beings cannot at all be seen by a person on earth through the eyes of his body, only through the eyes of his spirit, when the Lord opens them. The angels who were seen by the ancients, such as Abraham, Sarah, Lot, Jacob, Joshua, Gideon, and also the Prophets, were not seen by those persons’ bodily eyes but by those of their spirit which had been opened then. The fact that they would also have appeared clothed in robes is clear from the angels sitting at the Lord’s tomb, whom Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James saw, and who were wearing shining white garments, Matt. 28:3; Mark 16:5; Luke 24:4, and in particular from the Lord Himself when seen in His glory by Peter, James, and John, in that His clothing was dazzling white and like the light, Matt. 17:2; Luke 9:29. This clothing too represented the Divine Spiritual, or the Divine Truth that emanated from Him.

sRef Rev@3 @5 S3′ sRef Rev@3 @4 S3′ sRef Rev@19 @11 S3′ sRef Rev@19 @14 S3′ sRef Rev@4 @4 S3′ [3] All this makes clear what ‘white garments’ means in the Book of Revelation,

You have a few names also in Sardis, who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with Me in white ones, for they are worthy. He who conquers will be clad in white garments. Rev. 3:4, 5.

‘Garments’ here are spiritual truths, which are truths springing from good, as shown above; and ‘white’ is authentic truth, 3301, 4007, 5319. The following words that occur elsewhere in the same book are similarly made clear,

I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse; and He who sat on it was called faithful and true, and in righteousness He judges and goes into battle. His armies in heaven were following Him, clothed in linen white and clean. Rev. 19:11, 14.

And elsewhere again in that book,

On the thrones I saw twenty-four elders, clad in white garments. Rev. 4:4.

sRef Ex@28 @2 S0′ 9815. ‘For glorious adornment’ means in order to display Divine Truth as it exists in its inward form and its outward form in the spiritual kingdom lying adjacent to the celestial kingdom. This is clear from the meaning of ‘glory’ as Divine Truth, dealt with in the Preface to Genesis 18, and in 5922, 9429; and from the meaning of ‘adornment’ too as Divine Truth, but as it exists in its outward form. For the splendour and beauty of Divine Truth as they appear in outward things are meant by ‘adornment’. So it is that the Word as to its internal sense is described as ‘glory’, but as to its external sense, in respect of the splendour and beauty which the internal imparts to it, is described as ‘adornment’. Consequently the spiritual heaven, meant here by the holy garments that were ‘for glorious adornment’, is the glory, insofar as Divine Truth in its inward form is present there; and it is the adornment too, insofar as Divine Truth in its outward form is also present there.

sRef Dan@11 @16 S2′ sRef Dan@11 @41 S2′ sRef Dan@8 @9 S2′ sRef Isa@46 @13 S2′ sRef Lam@2 @1 S2′ sRef Isa@63 @15 S2′ [2] Something similar is meant by ‘adornment’ in the following places: In Jeremiah,

In His anger the Lord covers the daughter of Zion with a cloud. He has cast down from heaven to earth the adornment of Israel, and does not remember His footstool. Lam. 2:1.

‘The daughter of Zion’ stands for the celestial Church, ‘the adornment of Israel’ for the spiritual Church, which is called ‘the adornment’ by virtue of the splendour and beauty of truth. Something similar occurs in Isaiah,

I have caused My righteousness to draw near, it is not far off, and My salvation will not delay. I will give salvation in Zion, My adornment to Israel. Isa. 46:13.

In the same prophet,

Look out from heaven, from the dwelling-place of Your holiness and of Your adornment. Isa. 63:15.

‘The dwelling-place of holiness’ stands for the celestial kingdom, and ‘the dwelling-place of adornment’ for the spiritual kingdom. In Daniel,

There came out one small-sized horn, and it grew exceedingly towards the south, and towards the east, and towards the adornment.* Dan. 8:9.

And elsewhere in the same prophet,

The king of the north too will stand in the land of adornment* with destruction in his hand;** and when he comes into the land of adornment* many will collapse. Dan. 11:16, 41.

‘The land of adornment’ stands for the Lord’s Church where God’s truth or the Word is.
* i.e. the land of Israel
** lit. consummation through his hand

sRef Ex@28 @3 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @4 S0′ 9816. Verses 3, 4 And you shall speak to all the wise at heart, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, and they shall make Aaron’s garments, to sanctify him, so that he may serve Me in the priestly office. And these are the garments which they shall make: A breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a checkered tunic, a turban, and a belt. And they shall make the holy garments* for Aaron your brother and his sons, to serve Me in the priestly office.

‘And you shall speak to all the wise at heart’ means an influx from the Lord through the Word into all who are governed by the good of love. ‘Whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom’ means who have Divine Truth inscribed upon them. ‘And they shall make Aaron’s garments’ means through whom the spiritual kingdom exists. ‘To sanctify him’ means that a representative sign of the Divine Truth in that kingdom will therefore exist. ‘So that he may serve Me in the priestly office’ means that which is representative of the Lord. ‘And these are the garments which they shall make’ means forms of Divine Truth in the spiritual kingdom, in their proper order. ‘A breastplate’ means Divine Truth shining forth from Divine Good. ‘And an ephod’ means Divine Truth there in an outward form, in which inner things terminate. ‘And a robe’ means Divine Truth there in its inward form. ‘And a chequered tunic’ means Divine Truth inmostly present there, emanating directly from the Divine Celestial. ‘And a turban’ means intelligence and wisdom. ‘And a belt’ means a common bond to ensure that everything has the same end in view. ‘And they shall make the holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons’ means that a representative sign of the spiritual kingdom lying adjacent to the celestial kingdom will therefore exist. ‘To serve Me in the priestly office’ means that which is representative of the Lord.
* lit. garments of holiness

sRef Ex@28 @3 S0′ 9817. ‘And you shall speak to all the wise at heart’ means an influx from the Lord through the Word into all who are governed by the good of love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘speaking’ as influx, dealt with in 2951, 5481, 5743, 5797, 7270; and from the meaning of ‘the wise at heart’ as those who are governed by the good of love, dealt with below. The reason why influx from the Lord through the Word is meant is that for members of the Church the main channel by which the Lord flows in is the Word. This is so because the nature of the Word is such that all things without exception there correspond to the Divine spiritual and Divine celestial realities that exist in the heavens; and as a result of this a person shares affections and thoughts with angels, in so complete a manner that he and they are seemingly one. So it is that the world has been joined to heaven through the Word, but only among those who are governed by the good of faith and love. From all this it becomes clear that for members of the Church the Lord flows in through the Word; for the Lord is the all in the heavens, since what is Divine and emanates from the Lord, and is received by angels, composes heaven.

[2] The reason why ‘the wise at heart’ means those who are governed by the good of love is that the presence of wisdom in a person is attributable to the life of heaven in him, also that ‘heart’ means the good of love. In the Word ‘spirit’ and ‘heart’ are expressions that have regard to the life of heaven present with a person, ‘spirit’ being used to mean that life in the understanding part of the person’s mind and ‘heart’ that life in the will part. To the understanding part belongs truth, but to the will part belongs good; the former has to do with faith, but the latter with love. For the understanding receives truths that constitute faith, and the will forms of good that are aspects of love. From this it is evident that by ‘the wise at heart’ those governed by the good of love received from the Lord are meant. The good of love is celestial good, through which spiritual good comes into being; and spiritual good is that which covers celestial good, like garments the body. And since Aaron’s garments represented the Lord’s spiritual kingdom lying adjacent to His celestial kingdom, and the former comes into being through the latter, the present verse goes on to say that ‘the wise at heart’, that is, those governed by the good of love received from the Lord, should make the garments for Aaron and his sons. As regards ‘heart’, that it means the good of love or celestial good, see 3635, 3880, 3883-3896, 9050; and that it therefore means the will, 2930, 3888, 7542, 8910, 9113, 9300, 9495.

sRef Ex@28 @3 S0′ sRef Matt@5 @37 S0′ 9818. ‘Whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom’ means who have Divine Truth inscribed upon them. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the spirit of wisdom’, when used in reference to those governed by celestial good, as Divine Truth, dealt with below. People are said to be filled with it when it is inscribed permanently on them. The situation is that those in the Lord’s celestial kingdom are acquainted with truths not as a result of coming to know and consequently believe them, but as a result of inward perception; for they are governed by the good of love received from the Lord, and this good has all truths rooted within it. The actual good itself has been implanted in the will part of their minds, and truth springing from it in the understanding part. And with these people the will and understanding parts act altogether as one, quite differently from the way the two parts act with those who are in the spiritual kingdom. So it is that the understanding part of the mind in those who are in the Lord’s celestial kingdom serves to give them not a knowledge but a perception of truths. For the good implanted in the will presents itself – its inward nature and its outward form – in the understanding, and in so to speak blazing light there. For those people the outward form of the good and its inward nature is truth, which they do not see, but instead perceive from good. For this reason they never argue about truths; they so avoid it that whenever there is talk about truths they say Yes or No, and no more than that. For if they said anything more it would not come from good. These are the ones who are meant in Matthew,

Let your words be Yes, yes; No, no; anything beyond this is from evil.* Matt. 5:37.

The fact that those who are in the Lord’s celestial kingdom are like this, see 2715, 2718, 3246, 4448, 5113, 6367, 7877, 9166 (end), 9543. What the difference is between those who are in the celestial kingdom and those who are in the spiritual kingdom, see the places referred to in 9277.

sRef Isa@28 @6 S2′ sRef Isa@28 @5 S2′ [2] From all this people may now recognize what should be understood when it is said that Divine Truths have been inscribed upon someone. Many places in the Word use the term ‘spirit’, and when they use it in reference to a person his ‘spirit’ means goodness and truth inscribed on the understanding part of his mind and consequently on the life of that part of it. The reason why ‘spirit’, when attributed to a person, has this meaning is that inwardly a person is a spirit, indeed inwardly is in the company of spirits. See what has already been shown abundantly on this matter in the following places,

Spirits and angels reside with a person, and the person is governed by the Lord through them, 50, 697, 986, 2796, 2886, 2887, 4047, 4048, 5846-5866, 5976-5993.
A person is among spirits and angels such as he himself is like, 4067, 4073, 4077, 4111.
Every person has a spirit through which his body has life, 4622.

[3] From this one may know what ‘spirit’ means when used in reference to the Lord, namely that it is Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Good, and that when this Divine Truth flows in and is received by a person it is the Spirit of truth, Spirit of God, and Holy Spirit; for it flows directly from the Lord, and also indirectly through angels and spirits, see the places referred to in 9682. The fact that the Spirit of truth, Spirit of God, and Holy Spirit have this meaning will be seen further on below; for prior to that it must be shown that, when used in the Word in reference to a person, ‘spirit’ means goodness and truth inscribed on the understanding part of a person’s mind and consequently means the life of that part of it. For there is the life of the understanding part, and there is the life of the will part. That of the understanding part consists in knowing, seeing, and understanding that truth is indeed truth and good is indeed good. But the life of the will part consists in willing and loving truth for truth’s sake and good for goodness’ sake. In the Word the life of the will is called ‘heart’, but that of the understanding ‘spirit’.

sRef Zech@12 @1 S4′ sRef Ezek@36 @26 S4′ sRef Ezek@18 @31 S4′ [4] The following places in the Word show that this is so: In Ezekiel,

Make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? Ezek. 18:31.

And in the same prophet,

I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit will I give in the midst of you. Ezek. 36:26.

‘A new heart’ stands for a new will. and ‘a new spirit’ for a new understanding. In Zechariah,

Jehovah stretches out the heavens, and founds the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him. Zech. 12:1.

‘Stretching out the heavens and founding the earth’ stands for the establishment of a new Church, this Church being meant by ‘heaven and earth’, see 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118 (end), 3355 (end), 4535. ‘Forming the spirit of man within him’ stands for regenerating a person as to his understanding of truth and good.

sRef Ps@51 @12 S5′ sRef Ps@51 @17 S5′ sRef Ps@78 @8 S5′ sRef Ps@51 @10 S5′ sRef Ps@51 @11 S5′ [5] In David,

Create for me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from before You, and do not take the spirit of Your holiness from me. Bring back to me the joy of Your salvation, and let a generous spirit uphold me. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.** Ps. 51:10-12, 17.

‘A clean heart’ stands for a will that detests evils, which are forms of uncleanness; ‘a steadfast spirit’ stands for an understanding of and belief in truth; ‘a broken spirit’ and ‘a broken heart’ stand for a state of temptation and the consequent humbling of the life in both. The fact that ‘spirit’ means life is evident from every detail in these verses. Divine Truth, from which that life springs, is meant by ‘the spirit of holiness’. In the same author,

A generation that did not make its heart right, nor was its spirit steadfast with God. Ps. 78:8.

‘Heart that is not right’ stands for a will that is not right, and ‘spirit that is not steadfast with God’ stands for an understanding of and belief in God’s truth that are not steadfast.

sRef Isa@26 @9 S6′ sRef Isa@42 @5 S6′ sRef Ezek@21 @7 S6′ sRef Deut@2 @30 S6′ [6] In Moses,

Jehovah God had hardened the spirit of Sihon king of Heshbon and made his heart obstinate. Deut. 2:30.

Here also ‘spirit’ and ‘heart’ stand for the life in both parts, which is said to have been ‘made obstinate’ when the will has no desire to understand truth and good and put them into practice. In Ezekiel,

Every heart will melt, and all hands will hang down, and every spirit will shrink. Ezek. 21:7.

Here the meaning is similar. In Isaiah,

Jehovah is He who gives soul*** to the people on the earth, and spirit to those who walk on it. Isa. 42:5.

‘Giving soul to the people’ stands for endowing with the life of faith, ‘soul’ meaning the life of faith, see 9050; and ‘giving spirit’ stands for providing with an understanding of truth. In the same prophet,

With my soul I desired You in the night; even with my spirit within me I waited for You early. Isa. 26:9.

Here the meaning is similar.

sRef Ezek@20 @32 S7′ sRef Matt@5 @3 S7′ sRef Isa@33 @11 S7′ sRef Ps@32 @2 S7′ sRef Ezek@13 @3 S7′ sRef Matt@26 @41 S7′ sRef Mal@2 @15 S7′ [7] In the same prophet,

Conceive chaff, bring forth stubble; fire will devour your spirit. Isa. 33:11.

‘Spirit’ which fire will devour stands for an understanding of truth, and so for intelligence; ‘fire’ stands for a craving which, because it springs from evil, is destructive.

[8] In Ezekiel,

Woe to the foolish prophets, who go away after their own spirit! Ezek. 13:3.

In the same prophet,

What comes up onto your spirit**** will not ever be brought about. Ezek. 20:32.

In Malachi,

Not one has done so, nor those remaining who had spirit. Why then is there one seeking God’s seed? Therefore take heed through your spirit, to see that it does not act treacherously against the wife of your youth. Mal. 2:15.

In David,

Blessed is the person to whom Jehovah does not impute iniquity; only let there be no guile in his spirit. Ps. 32:2.

In Matthew,

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matt. 5:3.

In the same gospel,

Jesus said to the disciples, Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is eager, but the flesh is weak. Matt. 26:41.

In these places, as is plainly evident, ‘spirit’ is used to mean the actual life in a person. That the life of the understanding, or the life of truth, is meant becomes clear from the consideration that in the natural sense ‘spirit’ is used to mean human life and breath. And drawing breath, which is the work of the lungs, corresponds to the life of truth, which is the life of faith and consequently of the understanding, whereas the beating of the heart corresponds to the life of the will and so of love. For this correspondence of lungs and heart, see 3635, 3883-3896, 9300, 9495. All this makes clear what type of life is meant in the spiritual sense by ‘spirit’. sRef Ezek@37 @9 S9′ sRef Ps@104 @30 S9′ sRef Jer@10 @14 S9′ sRef Ezek@37 @1 S9′ sRef Ezek@37 @10 S9′ sRef Luke@8 @54 S9′ sRef Ezek@37 @5 S9′ sRef Luke@8 @55 S9′ sRef Rev@11 @7 S9′ sRef Rev@11 @11 S9′ sRef Job@17 @1 S9′ sRef Jer@51 @17 S9′ sRef Ps@104 @29 S9′ sRef Ps@143 @7 S9′ [9] The fact that ‘spirit’ in the ordinary sense means human life and breath is clearly evident in David,

You hide Your face, they are dismayed; You gather up their spirit, they breathe their last. You send forth Your spirit, they are created. Ps. 104:29, 30.

In the same author,

Answer me, O Jehovah. My spirit is consumed. Do not hide Your face from Me. Ps. 143:7.

In Job,

My spirit is consumed, my days are extinguished. Job 17:1.

In Luke,

Jesus took the dead girl’s hand, saying, Girl, arise. Her spirit therefore returned, and she arose at once. Luke 8:54, 55.

In Jeremiah,

Every person has been made stupid by knowledge; his graven image is a lie, and there is no spirit in it. Jer. 10:14; 51:17.

In Ezekiel,

He brought me out in the Spirit of Jehovah and set me down in the midst of the valley. And there the Lord Jehovih said to the dry bones, Behold, I am bringing spirit into you that you may live. Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Come from the four winds, O spirit, and breathe into these killed. And spirit came into them, and they were alive again. Ezek. 37:1, 5, 9, 10.

In the Book of Revelation,

The two witnesses were killed by the beast ascending from the abyss. But after three and a half days the spirit of life from God entered them, so that they stood on their feet. Rev. 11:7, 11.

sRef Dan@5 @12 S10′ sRef John@3 @34 S10′ sRef John@4 @24 S10′ sRef John@4 @23 S10′ sRef Luke@1 @80 S10′ sRef Luke@2 @40 S10′ sRef Dan@5 @14 S10′ [10] From these places it is plainly evident that ‘spirit’ is a person’s life. The fact that more specifically it is the life of truth, which is the life of the understanding part of a person’s mind, and is called intelligence, is made plain in John,

The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. God is a Spirit, therefore those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. John 4:23, 24.

In Daniel,

… that there was in him an excellent spirit, both of knowledge and of intelligence. Dan. 5:12, 14.

In Luke,

John grew and became strong in spirit. Luke 1:80.

And regarding the Lord, in the same gospel,

The child Jesus grew and became strong in spirit, and was filled with wisdom. Luke 2:40.

In John,

He whom the Father has sent speaks the words of God, for God has not given Him the spirit by measure.***** John 3:34.

Here ‘the spirit’ stands for intelligence and wisdom; ‘speaking the words of God’ means declaring Divine Truths.

sRef John@3 @5 S11′ sRef John@3 @6 S11′ [11] From all this it may now be seen what ‘spirit’ means in John,

Jesus said to Nicodemus, Unless a person has been born from water and the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, but that which has been born from the spirit is spirit. John 3:5, 6.

‘Being born from water’ means [being regenerated] by means of truth, and ‘being born from the spirit’ means life from the Lord which comes as a result of this, called spiritual life. For the meaning of ‘water’ as the truth by means of which regeneration is accomplished, see 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 8568, 9323. ‘Flesh’ however means the human proprium or selfhood, in which there is no spiritual life at all, 3813, 8409.

sRef Isa@31 @3 S12′ sRef John@6 @63 S12′ [12] Something similar is meant by ‘spirit’ and ‘flesh’ in the same gospel,

It is the Spirit which bestows life, the flesh does not profit anything. The words which I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life. John 6:63.

‘The words’ which the Lord spoke are Divine Truths, the life which comes as a result being ‘the spirit’. In Isaiah,

Egypt is man (homo), not God, and his horses are flesh and not spirit. Isa. 31:3.

‘Egypt’ stands for knowledge in general, ‘his horses’ for factual knowledge supplied from the understanding, which is spoken of as ‘flesh and not spirit’ when it does not have any spiritual life at all within it.

‘Egypt’ is knowledge, see the places referred to in 9340, 9391. ‘Horses’ are the power of understanding, 2761, 2762, 3217, 5321. ‘The horses of Egypt’ are known facts supplied from the understanding, 6125, 8146, 8148.

Anyone who does not know what is meant by ‘Egypt’, what is meant by ‘his horses’, and also what is meant by ‘flesh’ and ‘spirit’, cannot possibly know what these words [in Isa. 31:3] imply.

sRef John@6 @63 S13′ [13] Once people know what ‘spirit’ present in a person means they may know what is meant by ‘spirit’ when this term is used in reference to Jehovah or the Lord. Everything a human being has, such as face, eyes, ears, arms, and hands, also heart and soul, He is said to have. Thus spirit as well is attributed to Him, and in the Word it is called Spirit of God, Spirit of Jehovah, Spirit of His mouth, and Spirit of Holiness or Holy Spirit. The fact that the term is used to mean Divine Truth emanating from the Lord is clear from a large number of places in the Word. The reason why Divine Truth emanating from the Lord is meant by ‘Spirit of God’ is that all of a person’s life comes from there, as does the heavenly life possessed by those who receive that Divine Truth in faith and love. The Lord Himself teaches in John that this is what ‘Spirit of God’ means,

The words which I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life. John 6:63.

‘The words’ which the Lord spoke are Divine Truths.

sRef John@7 @39 S14′ sRef John@7 @37 S14′ sRef John@7 @38 S14′ [14] In the same gospel,

Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, If anyone thirsts let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, Out of his belly will flow rivers of living water. This He said about the Spirit which those believing in Him were to receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:37-39.

‘The Spirit’ which those believing in the Lord were to receive from Him means the life coming from the Lord that is the life of faith and love, as is evident from the specific expressions used in these verses. For ‘thirsting’ and ‘drinking’ means the desire to know and understand truth; and ‘rivers of living water’ which will flow from the belly are God’s truths. From this it is clear that ‘the Spirit’ which believers were to receive, also called ‘the Holy Spirit’, means the life brought by Divine Truth emanating from the Lord. This life, as stated just above, is called the life of faith and love, being the spiritual and heavenly life itself present in a person. The reason why it says ‘the Holy Spirit was not yet because Jesus was not yet glorified’ is that while He was in the world the Lord Himself taught Divine Truth; but when He had been glorified, which was after the Resurrection, He taught it through angels and spirits. That holy influence present with a person, emanating from the Lord through angels and spirits, whether in a discernible manner or an indiscernible one, is the Holy Spirit there. For in the Word Divine Truth emanating from the Lord is called that which is holy, 9680.

sRef John@16 @14 S15′ sRef John@20 @21 S15′ sRef John@20 @22 S15′ sRef John@16 @13 S15′ [15] This explains why the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of truth and why it is said that He would lead into all truth, that He would not speak on His own [authority], but speak what He hears from the Lord, and that He would receive from the Lord what He was to declare, John 16:13, 14. It also explains why the Lord, when He was going to leave the disciples, breathed into them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit, John 20:21, 22. ‘Breathing’ means the life of faith, 9229, 9281, so that the Lord’s breathing into someone means imparting the ability to understand Divine Truths and thereby receive that life. So it is also that ‘the Spirit’, being a name derived from ‘breathing’, is a derivation also of ‘blowing’ and of ‘wind’; and this is why the spirit is frequently called the wind. Breathing, which is the work of the lungs, corresponds to the life of faith, while the beating of the heart corresponds to the life of love, see 3883-3896, 9300, 9495.

sRef Job@4 @9 S16′ sRef Gen@2 @7 S16′ sRef Lam@4 @20 S16′ sRef Ps@33 @6 S16′ sRef John@1 @14 S16′ sRef Ps@18 @15 S16′ sRef John@1 @3 S16′ sRef John@1 @1 S16′ [16] Something similar is meant by ‘breathing into’ in the Book of Genesis,

And Jehovah breathed into man’s nostrils the soul of life. Gen. 2:7.

This is why in Lamentations 4:20 the Lord is called the Spirit of our nostrils; and since Divine Truth consumes and devastates the evil it says in David,

The foundations of the world were revealed at the blast of the Spirit of Your nose. Ps. 18:15.

And in Job,

By the breath of God they perish, and by the Spirit of His nose they are consumed. Job 4:9.

In David,

By the Word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and all their host by the Spirit of His mouth. Ps. 33:6.

‘The Word of Jehovah’ is Divine Truth, as is ‘the Spirit of His mouth’. The fact that the Lord is that Word is clear in John,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made though Him. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. John 1:1-3, 14.

sRef Isa@11 @1 S17′ sRef Isa@42 @1 S17′ sRef Isa@11 @2 S17′ [17] The fact that Divine Truth, from which heavenly life comes to a person, is the Holy Spirit is further evident from the following places: In Isaiah,

There will come forth a shoot from the trunk of Jesse, and the Spirit of Jehovah will rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and intelligence, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of Jehovah. Isa. 11:1, 2.

These words refer to the Lord, in whom there is Divine Truth. Consequently Divine Wisdom and Intelligence is called ‘the Spirit of Jehovah’, and in these verses ‘the Spirit of wisdom and intelligence, counsel, strength, and knowledge’. In the same prophet,

I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth judgement to the nations. Isa. 42:1.

These words too refer to the Lord. ‘The Spirit of Jehovah’ upon Him is Divine Truth, and consequently Divine Wisdom and Intelligence. Divine Truth is also called ‘judgement’, 2235.

sRef Isa@61 @1 S18′ sRef Isa@59 @19 S18′ [18] In the same prophet,

He will come like a rushing****** river; the Spirit of Jehovah will place a sign on Him. Isa. 59:19.

In the same prophet,

The Spirit of the Lord Jehovih is upon Me, therefore Jehovah has anointed Me to bring good tidings to the poor. Isa. 61:1.

This too refers to the Lord. Divine Truth, which was in the Lord when He was in the world, and which He was then, is meant by ‘the Spirit of Jehovah’.

sRef Isa@32 @15 S19′ sRef Isa@32 @16 S19′ [19] The fact that ‘the Spirit of Jehovah’ means Divine Truth and consequently heavenly life that comes to the person who receives that Truth is further evident from the following places: In Isaiah,

… until the Spirit is poured out on us from on high; then the wilderness will become a ploughed field, then judgement will dwell in the wilderness. Isa. 32:15, 16.

The subject here is regeneration. ‘The Spirit from on high’ is life from the Divine; for the promises that ‘the wilderness will become a ploughed field’ and that ‘judgement will dwell in the wilderness’ mean the presence of intelligence where none existed previously, thus new life there.

sRef Isa@44 @3 S20′ sRef Joel@2 @28 S20′ sRef Ezek@39 @29 S20′ sRef Ezek@37 @14 S20′ sRef Ezek@37 @13 S20′ sRef Micah@3 @8 S20′ sRef Joel@2 @29 S20′ sRef Zech@6 @8 S20′ [20] Something similar occurs in Ezekiel,

… in order that you may know that I will put My Spirit in you, in order that you may live. Ezek. 37:14.

In the same prophet,

I will no longer hide My face from them, because I shall pour out My Spirit on the house of Israel. Ezek. 39:29.

In Joel,

I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; and on men servants and women servants in those days I will pour out My Spirit. Joel 2:28, 29.

In Micah,

I have been filled with strength by******* the Spirit of Jehovah, and with judgement and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin. Micah 3:8.

In Zechariah,

The horses going out into the north land have caused My Spirit to rest on the north land. Zech. 6:8.

In Isaiah,

I will pour out waters upon the thirsty land, and streams upon the dry. I will pour out My Spirit upon your seed. Isa. 44:3.

In these places it is evident that ‘the Spirit of Jehovah’ means Divine Truth and the life of faith and love which come through that Truth. It flows in directly from the Lord, also indirectly from Him through spirits and angels, see 9682 (end).

[21] Something similar occurs elsewhere in Isaiah,

On that day Jehovah Zebaoth will be a crown of adornment and a tiara of beauty for the remnant of His people, and a Spirit of judgement to him who sits in judgement, and strength to those … Isa. 28:5, 6.

‘A crown of adornment’ stands for the wisdom that comes with good, ‘a tiara of beauty’ for the intelligence that comes with truth, and ‘a Spirit of judgement’ for Divine Truth, since ‘judgement’ is spoken of in reference to truth , 2235, 6397, 7206, 8685, 8695, 9260, 9383.

sRef Isa@63 @9 S22′ sRef Isa@63 @11 S22′ sRef Isa@63 @14 S22′ sRef Isa@63 @10 S22′ sRef Rev@19 @10 S22′ [22] In the same prophet,

The angel of Jehovah’s face******** delivered them; because of His love and His pity He redeemed them. But they rebelled, and exasperated the Spirit of His holiness; consequently He was turned by them into an enemy. He put the Spirit of His holiness in the midst of them. The Spirit of Jehovah led them. Isa. 63:9-11, 14.

‘The Spirit of holiness’ here is the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, thus Divine Truth which comes from the Lord; ‘the angel of His face’ is the Lord in respect of Divine Good, for ‘Jehovah’s face’ is love, mercy, and good. In the Book of Revelation,

The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy. Rev. 19:10.

‘The testimony of Jesus’ is Divine Truth that comes from Him and has regard to Him, 9503.

sRef Matt@3 @11 S23′ sRef Ps@104 @4 S23′ [23] In David,

Jehovah God makes His angels spirits,********* and [His] ministers flaming fire. Ps. 104:4.

‘Making angels spirits’ stands for making them recipients of Divine Truth; ‘making them flaming fire’ stands for making them recipients of Divine Good or Divine Love. In Matthew,

John said, I baptize you with water for repentance. But He who will come after me will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Matt. 3:11.

‘Baptizing’ means regenerating; ‘with the Holy Spirit’ means doing so through Divine Truth; and ‘with fire’ means springing from the Divine Good of Divine Love. For the meaning of ‘baptizing’ as regenerating, see 5120 (end), 9088; and for that of ‘fire’ as the Divine Good of Divine Love, 4906, 5215, 6314, 6832, 6834, 6849, 7324.

sRef Rev@4 @5 S24′ sRef Luke@11 @13 S24′ sRef Rev@5 @6 S24′ [24] In Luke,

If you, being wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father who is in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? Luke 11:13.

‘Giving the Holy Spirit’ means enlightening with Divine Truth and endowing with life from that Truth, which is the life of intelligence and wisdom. In the Book of Revelation,

The seven lamps of fire burning before the throne are the seven spirits of God. Rev. 4:5.

And in addition,

In the midst of the elders [there was] a Lamb standing, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Rev. 5:6.

It is self-evident that the word ‘spirits’ in these places is not used to mean spirits, since they say that the lamps and the Lamb’s eyes are the spirits of God . For Divine Truths are meant by ‘lamps’, 4638, 7072; the understanding of truth is meant by ‘the eyes’, or Divine Intelligence and Wisdom when the expression refers to the Lord, 2701, 4403-4421, 4523-4534, 9051; and the power of truth derived from good is meant by ‘horns’ 2832, 9081, 9719-9721. From all this it is evident that Divine Truths are meant by ‘the spirits of God’.

sRef John@14 @26 S25′ sRef John@14 @16 S25′ sRef John@14 @18 S25′ sRef John@14 @17 S25′ [25] When people know therefore that the Holy Spirit is the Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, which is real Holiness, they may know the Divine meaning in the Word wherever the terms ‘Spirit of God’ and ‘Holy Spirit’ are used, as in the following places: In John,

I will ask the Father to give you another Paraclete, to remain with you forever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, because He remains with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans. The Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and remind you of all that I said to you. John 14:16-18, 26.

And in another place,

When the Paraclete comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes forth from the Father, He will bear witness to Me. And you will bear witness. John 15:26, 27.

And in yet another place,

I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away. If I do not go away the Paraclete will not come to you; but if I go away I will send Him to you. John 16:7.

sRef John@16 @7 S26′ sRef John@15 @26 S26′ sRef John@15 @27 S26′ [26] From these places it is again evident that the Divine Truth which emanates from Divine Good, or from the Father, is the Paraclete and Holy Spirit. This also explains why He is called ‘the Spirit of truth’, and why it is said that He will remain in them, teach them all things, and bear witness to the Lord. In the spiritual sense ‘bearing witness to the Lord’ means teaching about Him. The reason why [in the first of these quotations] it is said that the Paraclete, who is the Holy Spirit, is sent in the Lord’s name from the Father, then [in the second] that the Lord Himself will send Him from the Father, and after this [in the third] that the Lord will send Him, is that ‘the Father’ means the Divine [Being] Himself within the Lord, so that the Father and He are one, as the Lord teaches explicitly in John 10:30; 14:9-11.

sRef Matt@12 @32 S27′ sRef Matt@12 @31 S27′ [27] In Matthew,

Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy of the Spirit will not be forgiven people. If anyone speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but he who speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the one to come. Matt. 12:31, 32.

‘Speaking a word against the Son of Man’ takes place when a person goes against God’s truth that has not yet been implanted in or inscribed on his life; for ‘the Son of Man’ is Divine Truth, see above in 9807. But ‘speaking a word against the Holy Spirit’ takes place when a person goes against Divine Truth, especially Divine Truth concerning the Lord, that has been implanted in or inscribed on his life. Speaking against or denying that Truth when it has formerly been acknowledged is profanation; and profanation is such that it completely destroys a person interiorly. This is why it says that this sin cannot be forgiven. What profanation is, see 3398, 3898, 4289, 4601, 6348, 6960, 6963, 6971, 8394, 8882, 9298.

sRef John@14 @9 S28′ sRef John@14 @10 S28′ sRef Matt@28 @19 S28′ sRef John@14 @7 S28′ [28] And in the same gospel,

Jesus said to the disciples, Go and baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Matt. 28:19.

‘The Father’ is the Divine [Being] Himself, ‘the Son’ is that Divine [Being] Himself in a human form, and ‘the Holy Spirit’ is the emanation from the Divine [Being], so that there is one Divine [Being] yet still a Trinity. The truth that the Lord is the Divine [Being] Himself under human form is His own teaching in John,

From now on you know the Father and have seen Him. He who sees Me sees the Father. I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. John 14:7, 9, 10.
* or from the evil one
** The Latin means God does not despise but the Hebrew means O God, You will not despise
*** or breath
**** i.e. What you have in mind
***** Sw. here follows the Latin version of Sebastian Schmidt. The Greek means He who God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the spirit by measure.
****** lit. narrow
******* lit. with
******** i.e. presence
********* or makes winds His messengers

sRef Ex@28 @3 S0′ 9819. ‘And they shall make Aaron’s garments’ means through whom the spiritual kingdom exists. This is clear from the meaning of ‘Aaron’s garments’ as a representative sign of the Lord’s spiritual kingdom lying adjacent to His celestial kingdom, dealt with above in 9814. The reason why the wise at heart, filled with the spirit of wisdom, were to make those garments is that by these people those in the celestial kingdom are meant, and the spiritual kingdom is what springs from and so what covers that celestial kingdom like a garment next to the body, as also becomes clear from the things that have been stated in 9818.

sRef Ex@28 @3 S0′ 9820. ‘To sanctify him’ means that a representative sign of the Divine Truth in that kingdom will therefore exist. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being sanctified’ or ‘being made holy’ as being endowed with Divine Truth from the Lord. For in the Word Divine Truth emanating from the Lord is called ‘Holy’, because the Lord alone is Holy, as therefore is whatever emanates from Him, see 9680. So it is that the Holy [Influence] emanating from Him is called the Holy Spirit, as has been shown just above in 9818, regarding which see also the matters brought forward in the places referred to in 9229.

[2] From this it is evident what to understand when the adjective ‘holy’ is applied to the words ‘angels’, ‘prophets’, and ‘apostles’ – to ‘angels’ in Matt. 25:31; Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26; to ‘prophets’ in Rev. 16:6; 18:24; and to ‘apostles’ in Rev. 18:20. They were holy not by virtue of anything their own, only by virtue of what was the Lord’s. Angels are called holy because they are recipients of Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, for which reason they mean in the Word God’s truths, and in general something that is the Lord’s, 1925, 2821, 4085, 4295. But prophets are called holy because the Word, which is Divine Truth, and in particular teachings drawn from the Word, is meant by them, 2534, 3652, 7269; and apostles because every truth of faith and good of love in their entirety are meant by them, 3488, 3858 (end), 6397.

sRef John@17 @17 S3′ sRef John@17 @19 S3′ [3] The fact that Divine Truth emanating from the Lord is Holiness itself, thus is the Lord who is its Source, is clear from a large number of places in the Word, of which for now let just the following words of the Lord in John be quoted,

Father, make them holy in Your truth; Your Word is truth. For their sakes I make Myself holy, that they also may be made holy in the truth. John 17:17, 19.

From this it is evident that the Lord is the One who makes man, spirit, and angel holy, for He alone is Holy, Rev. 15:4, and that they are holy in the measure that they receive the Lord, that is, in the measure that they receive from Him the power to believe in Him and to love Him.

sRef Ex@28 @3 S0′ 9821. ‘So that he may serve Me in the priestly office’ means that which is representative of the Lord. This is clear from what has been shown above in 9809.

sRef Ex@28 @4 S0′ 9822. ‘And these are the garments which they shall make’ means forms of Divine Truth in the spiritual kingdom, in their proper order. This is clear from the meaning of ‘Aaron’s garments’ as the spiritual kingdom lying adjacent to the celestial kingdom, dealt with above in 9814. The reason why forms of Divine Truth there are meant is that truths are meant by ‘garments’ see 5954, 9212, 9216, and that kingdom is called the spiritual kingdom because of the forms of Divine Truth there. For there are two kingdoms into which heaven is divided, the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom. In the celestial kingdom good holds sway, and in the spiritual kingdom truth, both of which are derived from the Lord. And since Aaron’s garments represented that spiritual kingdom, and those garments consisted of an ephod, a robe, and a tunic, they mean the forms of Divine Truth there in their proper order.

sRef Ex@28 @30 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @29 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @4 S0′ 9823. ‘A breastplate’ means Divine Truth shining forth from Divine Good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a breastplate’ as Divine Truth shining forth from Divine Good, in this instance within the last and lowest things in progression from inmost ones in the heavens. For the ephod which that breastplate rested on represented the lowest things of the spiritual kingdom, and therefore the lowest things of heaven. The reason why ‘the breastplate’ has this meaning is that it was tied on over the breast, where the heart lies, and was filled with precious stones, and the heart corresponds to celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord received from the Lord, while the twelve precious stones correspond to Divine Truths springing from that good. This is the reason why in the highest sense ‘the breastplate’ means Divine Truth shining forth from the Lord’s Divine Good. For the correspondence of the heart to celestial good, or the good of love to the Lord received from the Lord, see 170, 172, 176, 3635, 3883-3896, 7542, 9050, 9300, 9494; and for the correspondence of the twelve precious stones to Divine Truths which spring from Divine Good, see further on in the present chapter where the full description of this breastplate occurs. There it is called ‘the breastplate of judgement’, also the Urim and Thummim, because of the twelve precious stones with which it was filled. The fact that it was tied on over the breast, where the heart lies, is evident from the description of it below, where that fact is stated explicitly in these words,

Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel in the breastplate of judgement over his heart. Verse 29.

And after this,

They shall be over Aaron’s heart, when he goes in before Jehovah. And Aaron shall carry the judgement of the children of Israel over his heart before Jehovah continually. Verse 30.

‘Judgement’ too means Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good, as will be seen in what follows.

sRef Ex@28 @4 S0′ 9824. ‘And an ephod’ means Divine Truth there in an outward form, in which inner things terminate. This is clear from the meaning of ‘an ephod’ as Divine Truth in an outward form. The reason why ‘an ephod’ has this meaning is that Aaron’s holy garments represented forms of Divine Truth in the spiritual kingdom, in their proper order, see above in 9822, and the ephod was the outermost of the three garments, Aaron’s holy garments being the ephod, the robe, and the checkered tunic. Not only does what is outermost contain inner things; but inner things also terminate in it. This applies to the human body, and therefore also applies to the heavens, to which aspects of the human body correspond. It applies similarly to truths and forms of good, for both these constitute the heavens.

[2] Since the ephod represented the most external part of the Lord’s spiritual kingdom it was holier than all the other garments; and on it there was the breastplate containing the Urim and Thummim, by means of which answers from the Divine were given. The reason why the most external part is holier than the things within is that what is outermost contains all inner things in their proper order. It contains them in an outward form and in a connection which are so perfect that if what is outermost were taken away the things within would disintegrate; for the things within not only terminate there, but also exist together there. The truth of this may be recognized by people who know about the nature of things that succeed one another and those that exist together with one another, namely that those which succeed one another, that is, proceed and follow one another in their proper order, also stand together with one another at the last and lowest levels. Let end, cause, and effect exemplify this. The end is the first in order, the cause is the second, and the effect is the last and lowest, so that these too progress one after another. Yet within the effect, which is last, the cause at the same time manifests itself, as does the end within the cause. Consequently the effect is the completion of the inner or prior things, which have also been brought together in it and lodge there.

[3] The situation is similar with human will, thought, and action; will comes first, thought second, and action last. Action is also the effect that has the two prior or inner things existing together within it. For to the extent that action contains what the person thinks and what the person wills, inner things are contained in a form and in connection. This explains why the Word says that a person will be judged according to his deeds or works, which means that he will be judged according to his thought and will, for these are present within deeds as the soul is within its body. Now since inner things present themselves together in what is last and lowest, then if the order is perfect that which is last and lowest, as has been stated, is held to be holier than the inner things, because it is there that the holiness of the inner things exists in its fullness.

[4] Since inner things exist together in the last and lowest in the same way, as has been stated, as a person’s thought and will – or, on a spiritual level, his faith and love – exist together in his deeds or works, John more than all the other disciples was loved by the Lord and leaned on His breast, John 13:23; 21:20, 22. This was because that disciple represented the works of charity, see Prefaces to Genesis 18 and 22, and also 3934. This too shows why what is outermost or last within perfect order is holier than the things within if considered separately from it. For when the Lord is present in what is last and lowest He is at the same time present on all levels; and when He is present in it inner things are contained in their proper order, connection, and form, and are under His control and guidance, subject to His good will. This is the arcanum that was meant in 9360, as you may see.

aRef Ex@29 @5 S5′ sRef Hos@3 @4 S5′ [5] This then is the reason why the ephod, being representative of the last and lowest part of the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, was held to be holier than the rest of the garments belonging to the priestly office. Therefore the ephod was the chief of the priestly vestments, being made from threads of gold in among the violet, purple, twice-dyed scarlet, and fine twined linen, Exod. 39:3, though the rest of the priests had ephods made of linen, 1 Sam. 2:18; 22:18. This goes to explain why the word ‘ephod’ stood for a priest’s whole attire and why he was said ‘to wear the ephod’, meaning that he was a priest, 1 Sam. 2:28; 14:3. It also goes to explain why the breastplate was tied to the ephod and why answers were given through the Urim and Thummim there. That is to say, this vestment was a representative sign of the lowest part of the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, and answers from God present themselves in things last and lowest; for they pass through all the inner levels one after another, declaring themselves on the last and lowest because they terminate there. The fact that answers were given when they wore the ephod is clear from 1 Sam. 23:6-13; 30:7, 8, and also in Hosea,

The children of Israel sat many days with no king, and no prince, and no sacrifice, and no pillar, and no ephod, and no teraphim*. Hosea 3:4.

‘Teraphim’ means answers from God, for in former times answers were given through them, Zech. 10:2. Furthermore the word ‘ephod’ in the original language is derived from the root ‘to enclose all inner things’, as is evident from the meaning of that word in Exod. 29:5; Lev. 8:7.
* A plural Hebrew word denoting images

sRef Ex@28 @4 S0′ 9825. ‘And a robe’ means Divine Truth there in its inward form. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a robe’ as the middle of the spiritual kingdom, thus the actual truth that is there. For Aaron’s garments represented the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, 9814, and so represented the forms of truth present in their proper order there, 9822; and since that kingdom was divided into three degrees – the inmost, the middle, and the outermost – ‘the robe’ was a sign of what belongs in the middle of that kingdom. That kingdom was divided into three degrees because the inmost part there is in touch with the celestial [heaven], and the outermost with the natural; and the middle part thereby draws equally on both. Indeed for anything to be perfect it must be divided into three degrees. This is so with heaven, and it is so with the forms of good and truth there. As is well known, there are three heavens; consequently there are three degrees of good and truth there. Each heaven too is divided into three degrees. The inmost part of it must be in direct touch with what lies above, and the outermost with what lies below, and so the middle through them with what lies both above and below, all of which brings perfection to that heaven. The situation is just the same with a person’s interiors. These in general have been divided into three degrees – into celestial, spiritual, and natural. And each of these has in like manner been divided into its own three degrees. For a person who has the good of faith and love to the Lord within him is heaven in the smallest form it takes, corresponding to the largest, 9279. The situation is also the same in everything belonging to the natural order. The natural level of a person too has been divided into three degrees, see 4570, as generally have all things present in him on interior and exterior levels, 4154. The reason why this should be so is that end, cause, and effect must be present everywhere. The end must be that which is inmost, the cause that which comes in the middle, and the effect that which is last, if a thing is to be perfect. This is why ‘three’ in the Word means what is complete from beginning to end, 2788, 4495, 7715, 9198, 9488, 9489. From all this people may know why Aaron’s holy garments consisted of an ephod, a robe, and a tunic, and that the ephod represented the outermost part there, the robe the middle, and the tunic the inmost.

sRef 1Sam@24 @11 S2′ sRef 1Sam@24 @5 S2′ sRef 1Sam@15 @28 S2′ sRef 1Sam@18 @4 S2′ sRef 1Sam@24 @4 S2′ sRef 1Sam@18 @3 S2′ sRef 1Sam@15 @27 S2′ sRef 1Sam@24 @20 S2′ [2] Since the robe represented the middle in the spiritual kingdom, and the middle draws on both the other parts, this robe stood in a representative sense for that very kingdom, as in the first Book of Samuel,


Samuel turned to go away, but Saul took hold of the skirt of his robe, and it was torn away. Consequently Samuel said to him, Jehovah will tear away the kingdom of Israel from upon you this day, and He has given it to your companion, who is better than you. 1 Sam. 15:27, 28.

From these words it is evident that the tearing off of the skirt of Samuel’s robe was a sign of the tearing away of the kingdom of Israel from Saul; for ‘the kingdom of Israel’ means the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, see 4286, 4598, 6426, 6637, 6862, 6868, 7035, 7062, 7198, 7201, 7215, 7223, 8805. Something similar occurs again in the same book,

David secretly cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe. And when he showed it to Saul, Saul said, Now I know that you will indeed reign, and the kingdom of Israel will be firmly established in your hand. 1 Sam. 24:4, 5, 11, 20.

Also, when Jonathan made a covenant with David he took off the robe from upon himself and gave it to David, [with his armour,] even to his sword, bow, and belt, 1 Sam. 18:3, 4. All this represented the renunciation of the kingdom of Israel by Jonathan, who was the heir, and his passing it over to David.

aRef Ex@28 @32 S3′ aRef Ex@28 @34 S3′ sRef Matt@23 @5 S3′ aRef Ex@28 @33 S3′ sRef Ezek@26 @16 S3′ aRef Ex@28 @35 S3′ aRef Ex@28 @31 S3′ [3] Since the robe represented the spiritual kingdom, it also represented the truths of that kingdom generally, the truths of that kingdom being what are called the spiritual truths that are present in the understanding part of a person’s mind. These truths are meant by ‘robes’ in Ezekiel, All the princes of the sea will step down from upon their thrones, and will cast away their robes and will strip off their embroidered garments. Ezek. 26:16.

This refers to Tyre, by which cognitions or knowledge of good and truth are meant, 1201; the ruination of them in the Church is described here. ‘The robes’ which they will cast away are truths of faith present in the understanding part of the mind; but ‘the embroidered garments’ are truths on the level of factual knowledge that are present in the natural, 9688. The reason why those truths are meant is that in the Lord’s spiritual kingdom truth, which belongs to the understanding, holds sway, whereas in His celestial kingdom good, which belongs to the will, holds sway. In Matthew,

The scribes and Pharisees do all their works to be seen by people, and they enlarge the hems of their robes. Matt. 23:5, 6.

‘Enlarging the hems of robes’ stands for speaking about truths in a majestic way solely in order that they may be heard and regarded by other people. The fact that such things are meant by ‘a robe’ will become clearer still from the description of it further on, in verses 31-35 of this chapter.

sRef Ex@28 @4 S0′ 9826. ‘And a checkered tunic’ means Divine Truth inmostly present there, emanating directly from the Divine Celestial. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a tunic’ as natural truth. But when the subject is Aaron, whose garments represented the forms of truth belonging to the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, 9814, 9822, ‘a tunic’ means Divine Truth inmostly present in that kingdom, thus that which emanates from what is right next to it, namely the Divine Celestial, which is the Lord’s Divine Good in the inmost heaven. The fact that such things are meant by ‘tunics’, see 4677. For the heavens are three – the inmost, which is called celestial; the middle, which is called spiritual; and the lowest, which approaches what is natural. In the inmost heaven the good of love to the Lord is predominant, in the middle one the good of charity towards the neighbour, and in the lowest the good of faith. Those heavens are completely distinct and separate from one another, so much so that nobody in one can possibly pass over into the next. Yet in order that they may still make one heaven they are joined together by means of intermediate angelic communities; in this way one heaven leads on from another. Since therefore Aaron’s garments represent the spiritual heaven, and so the forms of truth there in their proper order, it is evident that the inmost garment, called ‘a checkered tunic’, represents the truth inmostly present there, emanating directly from the Divine Celestial. The word ‘checkered’ is used because it was a woven garment, as is clear from what follows later on in the Book of Exodus,

They made tunics of fine linen, the work of a weaver, for Aaron and for his sons. Exod. 39:27.

It was made from fine linen in order that truth from a celestial origin might be represented, such truth being meant by ‘fine linen’, see 9469.

sRef Ex@28 @4 S0′ 9827. ‘And a turban’ means intelligence and wisdom. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a turban’ as intelligence and wisdom. ‘A turban’ has this meaning because it is a covering for the head, and ‘the head’ means a person’s inward powers, which are those of intelligence and wisdom, 9656. All items of clothing derive their meaning from that part of the body which they cover, as for example with an item of clothing that covers the breast, such as a breastplate; those that cover the loins, such as trousers; those that cover the feet, such as stockings; those that cover the soles of the feet, such as sandals; and so also one that covers the head, such as a turban, headdress, or cap.

[2] The truth of all this is clear from representatives in the next life. There, when wisdom and intelligence are taken away from spirits, which happens when angelic communities are removed from them, the covering on their head is seen to be taken away from them. Once this has been done a spirit becomes stupid, devoid of any perception of what is true and good. But afterwards, as intelligence and wisdom return, his head is covered again. But items of clothing on the head there mean not so much wisdom belonging to good as intelligence belonging to truth. The turban that belonged to Aaron however means wisdom as well, since it was made from fine linen, and a holy crown was placed on it, which was a plate made from pure gold, on which Holiness to Jehovah was engraved, described further on in verses 37, 39, of the present chapter, and also Exod. 29:6; 39:28. But the turban of [ordinary] linen, and the rest of the garments of [such] linen which were also Aaron’s, meant intelligence belonging to truth, but not wisdom belonging to good. Regarding those garments and that turban, see Lev. 16:4; Ezek. 44:18. For ‘linen’ or ‘flax’ means truth in the natural level of a person’s mind, 7601, so that ‘a turban of [ordinary] linen’ means intelligence there.

[3] People who have no knowledge of the nature of representatives and correspondences can scarcely be brought to believe that such things are meant. But let them weigh up this, that in heaven spiritual realities are envisaged instead of natural things, so that instead of a turban, and in general instead of garments, such things are envisaged as belong to intelligence and wisdom, also to faith and love, in general such as belong to truth and goodness. For all these are spiritual, since heaven is a spiritual world. Let them also weigh up this, that it was Jehovah on Mount Sinai who described and decreed what Aaron’s garments should be, which being so, every detail of the description holds within itself the Divine Celestial, which is disclosed solely by means of knowledge about correspondences and representatives.

sRef Ex@28 @4 S0′ 9828. ‘And a belt’ means a common bond to ensure that everything has the same end in view. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a belt’ or girdle as a common bond; for it gathers together, encloses, holds in connection within itself, and strengthens everything within, which without it would fall apart and drift away. The reason why it is a common bond whose purpose is to ensure that everything has the same end in view is that in the spiritual world the end in view holds sway, so much so that everything there should be called an end. For the Lord’s kingdom, which is a spiritual world, is a kingdom of useful services, and such services there are ends in view, so that it is a kingdom of ends. But the ends there follow one another in various order, and they also stand in association with one another. The ends which follow one another are called middle ends, but those which stand in association with one another are called associate ends. All these ends have been so linked together and made subordinate to one another that without exception they have one end in view. This end is the Lord; and in heaven, among those who accept it, it is a love of and faith in Him. Love there is the end in view of all the powers of the will there, and faith is the end in view of all the powers of thought, which are those of the understanding.

[2] When every single thing has the same end in view all things are then held in uninterrupted connection and make one; for everything is then under the eye, government, and providence of the One who, acting in accord with the laws of subordination and association, turns everyone towards Himself, and thereby joins them to Himself. At the same time He turns all to face their companions, and thereby joins them to one another. This explains why the faces of all who are in heaven are kept turned towards the Lord, who is the Sun there, and so is the centre point in front of everyone’s eyes; and the marvel is that He is there in whatever direction angels turn round to face, 3638. And since the Lord is present within the good of mutual love and within the good of charity towards the neighbour – for all are loved by Him, and are joined to one another by Him through love – their regard for their companions, which that love gives them, also serves to turn them towards the Lord.

sRef Jer@13 @6 S3′ sRef Jer@13 @7 S3′ sRef Jer@13 @4 S3′ sRef Jer@13 @9 S3′ sRef Jer@13 @3 S3′ sRef Jer@13 @2 S3′ sRef Jer@13 @1 S3′ sRef Jer@13 @8 S3′ sRef Jer@13 @10 S3′ sRef Jer@13 @11 S3′ sRef Jer@13 @12 S3′ sRef Jer@13 @5 S3′ [3] Those things therefore on last and lowest levels, gathering others together and enclosing them so they may be held, every single one, in such connection, were represented by belts or girdles, which in the spiritual world are nothing other than the forms of good and the truths present on lowest or outermost levels which enclose more internal ones. Celestial forms of good on lowest or outermost levels were represented by girdles that went around the loins, and spiritual forms of good and truths on those levels by girdles that went around the thighs and also around the breast.

sRef Isa@11 @5 S4′ [4] Such things are meant by ‘girdles around the loins’ in the following places: In Jeremiah,

Jehovah said to the prophet, Buy yourself a linen girdle, and place it over your loins; but you are not to pass it through water. I therefore bought a girdle, and placed it over my loins. Then the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Take the girdle, and go away to the Euphrates, and hide it in the cleft of a rock. At the end of many days I went away to the Euphrates, and took the girdle, and behold, it was ruined; it was profitable for nothing. Then Jehovah said, This people is evil, refusing to hear My words; and they have gone after other gods. Therefore they will be just like this girdle that is profitable for nothing. Jer. 13:1-12.

‘A linen girdle’ here is used to mean in the spiritual sense the Church’s good, which encloses the truths there and holds them in connection within itself. The non-existence of the Church’s good at that time, and the consequent dispersal of its truths, are the reason for its being said that the girdle was not to be passed through water; for ‘water’ means truth that purifies and thereby restores. ‘The cleft of a rock’ in which it was hidden is falsified truth; ‘the Euphrates’ is the full extent and boundary of the celestial realities that belong to good on its lowest level. Anyone unacquainted with the essential nature of the Word may think that the passage is no more than a comparison of the people and their ruination with a girdle and its ruination. But in the Word all comparisons and metaphorical ways of speaking are real correspondences, 3579, 8989. Unless each detail in this description were of a correspondential nature the prophet would never have been told not to pass the girdle through water, or to place it over his loins, or to go to the Euphrates and hide it there in the cleft of a rock. The reason why it says that the girdle should be placed over his loins is that by ‘the loins’, because of their correspondence, is meant the good of celestial love, 3021, 4280, 5050-5062. A girdle placed over the loins accordingly means being joined to the Lord through the good of love, the Word serving as the intermediary.

sRef Ex@12 @11 S5′ sRef Rev@15 @6 S5′ sRef Isa@11 @1 S5′ [5] The meaning of ‘a girdle’ as good that acts as a boundary and holds things together is also evident in Isaiah,

There will come forth a shoot from the trunk of Jesse. Righteousness will be the girdle of His loins, and truth the girdle of His thighs. Isa. 11:1, 5.

This refers to the Lord. ‘Righteousness’ that will be ‘the girdle of His loins’ is the good of His love, which protects heaven and the Church. The requirement stated in Exod. 12:11 that when the children of Israel ate the Passover their loins were to be girded means that all things should be present in their proper order, made ready to receive good from the Lord and to take action, 7863. This explains why those who have been made ready are said to be ‘girded’, as is also said of the seven angels in the Book of Revelation,

Out of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in linen, white and splendid, and girded around their breasts with golden girdles. Rev. 15:6.

sRef 2Ki@1 @8 S6′ sRef Matt@3 @4 S6′ [6] It is said of Elijah in 2 Kings 1:8 that he was a hairy man and wore a girdle of skin around his loins. Much the same is said of John,

John had a garment of camel hair and a skin girdle around his waist. Matt. 3:4.

The reason why Elijah and John were clothed and girded in this way was that both men represented the Word, and therefore their clothes mean the Word in its external sense, which is the natural sense. For ‘hair’ means the natural, 3301, 5247, 5569-5573, and ‘camels’ general facts within the natural, 3048, 3071, 3143, 3145. And ‘skin’ means the external, 3540, so that ‘a girdle of skin’ means that which collects together, encloses, and holds in connection the things within itself. For the representation of Elijah as the Word, see Preface to Genesis 18, and 2762, 5247 (end), and John the Baptist similarly, 9372.

sRef Isa@3 @24 S7′ sRef 1Ki@2 @5 S7′ [7] Since truths and forms of good are dissolved and dispersed by wicked deeds it says of Joab that after he had tricked and killed Abner he put the blood of war on his girdle that was on his loins, 1 Kings 2:5. This means that he dispersed and destroyed such truths and forms of good. This accounts for its being said, when truths have been dispersed and destroyed, that instead of a girdle there will be a falling apart, and instead of well-set hair, baldness, Isa. 3:24. This refers to the daughters of Zion, by whom forms of good belonging to the celestial Church are meant. ‘Instead of a girdle, a falling apart’ stands for the dispersal of celestial good.

sRef Ezek@23 @15 S8′ sRef Ezek@23 @14 S8′ sRef Ezek@23 @16 S8′ [8] It is also said in Ezekiel of Oholibah, who is Jerusalem, that when she looked at men portrayed on the wall, images of Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion, girded with girdles on their loins, she fell in love with them, Ezek. 23:14-16. Here truths which have been rendered profane are meant, for ‘the Chaldeans’ are those who outwardly claim to believe in truths but inwardly repudiate them, and in so doing render them profane. ‘Men portrayed on the wall’ are the appearances of truth in outward things, as in like manner are ‘images portrayed in vermilion’. ‘Girdles’ with which their loins were girded are the forms of good which they fake to induce belief in their truths.

[9] From all this it may now be clear what it was that girdles gathering garments into one served to mean in the representative Church. Yet the natural man can scarcely be brought to believe that such things were meant, because he finds it difficult to put aside the natural idea of a girdle, and in general of garments, and instead adopt a spiritual idea, which is that of good holding truths in connection within itself. For the natural level on which a person sees things holds the mind down on that level, and it is not removed from there unless the sight of the understanding is able to be raised right up into the light of heaven and the person is for this reason able to think on a level virtually divorced from natural things. When this happens to a person spiritual ideas of the truth of faith and of the good of love, which the merely natural man cannot understand, enter in.

sRef Ex@28 @4 S0′ 9829. ‘And they shall make the holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons’ means that a representative sign of the spiritual kingdom lying adjacent to the celestial kingdom will therefore exist. This is clear from what has been shown above in 9814.

sRef Ex@28 @4 S0′ 9830. ‘To serve Me in the priestly office’ means that which is representative of the Lord, as above in 9809, 9810.

sRef Ex@28 @8 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @7 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @6 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @5 S0′ 9831. Verses 5-8 And they shall take the gold, and the violet, and the purple, and the twice-dyed scarlet, and the fine linen, and they shall make the ephod from gold, violet, and purple, twice-dyed scarlet, and fine twined linen, with the work of a designer. Two shoulders* joined together shall it have at its two ends, and it shall be joined together. And the girdle of his ephod, which is on it, shall be of the same workmanship,** of [one piece with] it, [made] from gold, violet, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, and fine twined linen.

‘And they shall take the gold’ means the good reigning universally. ‘And the violet, and the purple, and the twice-dyed scarlet, and the fine linen’ means the good of charity and faith. ‘And they shall make the ephod from gold, violet, and purple, twice-dyed scarlet, and fine twined linen’ means the outermost part of the spiritual kingdom springing from that good. ‘With the work of a designer’ means a product of the understanding. ‘Two shoulders joined together shall it have at its two ends, and it shall be joined together’ means an everlasting preservation of good and truth on every side by all exertion and power through a total uniting together. ‘And the girdle of his ephod, which is on it’ means the outward bond that gathers things together. ‘Shall be of the same workmanship, of [one piece with] it’ means that which is like the outermost part of the spiritual kingdom and is a continuation from it. ‘From gold, violet, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, and fine twined linen’ means thus from the good that belongs to faith and to charity on outermost levels.
* i.e. shoulder-pieces
** lit. shall be according to the work of it

sRef Ex@28 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@39 @3 S0′ 9832. ‘And they shall take the gold’ means the good reigning universally. This is clear from the meaning of ‘gold’ as the good of love, dealt with in 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 9490, 9510. Its reigning universally is meant by the fact that the gold was interwoven everywhere in the ephod, as is clear from what is stated later on in this book,

They beat out* the plates of gold and cut them up into threads, to work in among the violet, and in among the purple, and in among the twice-dyed scarlet, and in among the fine linen. Exod. 39:3.

‘Reigning universally’ describes that which is dominant and so is present in each individual part, see 5949, 6159, 7648, 8067, 8853-8858, 8865. The reason why the gold was interwoven everywhere was that Aaron’s garments represented the spiritual heaven, 9814, and in that heaven good holds sway, as it also does in the remaining heavens. In the inmost heaven it is the good of love to the Lord, in the middle one the good of charity towards the neighbour, and in the lowest the good of faith. The truth however which belongs to faith leads the way to good, and afterwards is brought forth from it. From this it is evident that a person is not in heaven until good is present within him. If merely the knowledge of truths, called the truths of faith, is present in a person he does no more than stand in front of the door; or if, knowing those truths, he is looking towards good he goes through into the porch. But if, in knowing those truths, he is not looking towards good he cannot see heaven, not even from a long way off. The reason for saying that a person is not in heaven until good is present within him is that a person must have heaven within him while in the world if he is to enter it after death. For heaven exists within people; and it is granted in mercy to those who during their life in the world allow themselves to be led by means of the truths of faith into charity towards the neighbour and into love to the Lord, that is, into good. People are not in heaven until they have come into that state in which the Lord leads them by means of good, see 8516, 8539, 8722, 8772, 9139. By good is meant the good of life; and the good of life consists in the performance of what is good because there is a will for what is good, and a will for what is good springs from love; for what a person loves, he wills.
* lit. expanded

sRef Ex@28 @5 S0′ 9833. ‘And the violet, and the purple, and the twice-dyed scarlet, and the fine linen’ means the good of charity and faith. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the violet’ as the celestial love of truth, dealt with in 9466; from the meaning of ‘the purple’ as the celestial love of good, dealt with in 9467; from the meaning of ‘the twice-dyed scarlet’ as spiritual good, dealt with in 4922, 9468; and from the meaning of ‘the fine linen’ as truth which has a celestial origin, dealt with in 5319, 9469. Thus these threads taken all together mean the good of love and faith, though at this point they mean the good of charity and faith since they have regard to things in the spiritual kingdom, 9814. ‘The violet’, ‘the purple’, ‘the twice-dyed scarlet’, and ‘the fine linen’ come to mean forms of love or charity and aspects of faith because of their colours. For the colours which appear in heaven owe their origin to the light of heaven, this light being Divine Truth which emanates from the Lord, the Source of all intelligence and wisdom. Consequently all the variations of that light, which appear visually there as colours, are variations of intelligence and wisdom consisting of truths and forms of the good of faith, charity, and love, see 1042, 1053, 1624, 3993, 4530, 4677, 4741, 4742, 4922, 9466; and in the measure that colours there are derived from red they are the sign of good, whereas in the measure that they are derived from white they are the sign of truth, 9467.

sRef Ex@28 @6 S0′ 9834. ‘And they shall make the ephod from gold, violet, and purple, twice-dyed scarlet, and fine twined linen’ means the outermost part of the spiritual kingdom springing from that good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the ephod’ as the outermost part of the spiritual kingdom, dealt with in 9824; from the meaning of ‘gold’ as good, at this point the good reigning universally, dealt with above in 9832; and from the meaning of ‘violet, purple, double-dyed scarlet, and fine twined linen’ as the good of charity and faith, dealt with immediately above in 9833. This is why it is said to spring from ‘that’ good.

sRef Ex@28 @6 S0′ 9835. ‘With the work of a designer’ means a product of the understanding. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a designer’ as the power of understanding, dealt with in 9598, 9688, so that ‘the work of a designer’ means that which is a product of that power. ‘A designer’ (excogitator) means the power of understanding because thought (cogitatio) belongs to the understanding, even as love and affection belong to the will. In the internal sense ‘a designer’ and ‘thought’ have the same meaning; for in that sense no attention is paid to the person, only to the actual reality that is meant, and ‘designer’ carries the idea of a person. For the truth of this, see 5225, 5287, 5434, 8343, 8985, 9007. What ‘a product of the understanding’ means must be stated briefly. The subject at present is the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, and this kingdom – so far as all truths and forms of good there are concerned – belongs to the understanding part of the mind, whereas things in the Lord’s celestial kingdom belong to the will part. For there are two entities with which everything in all creation has connection, good and truth; and this is why in the human being there are two mental powers, will and understanding. The will exists for the sake of good, and the understanding for the sake of truth; for the will is the recipient of good, and the understanding that of truth.

[2] The situation in the heavens is similar. There two kingdoms exist, the celestial and the spiritual. The celestial kingdom exists to be a recipient of good and the spiritual kingdom to be a recipient of truth. And since the whole heaven corresponds to everything that exists with the human being, and heaven in the Lord’s sight is consequently like one complete human being, this as well has the two powers of will and understanding, the will residing in the celestial kingdom and the understanding in the spiritual kingdom. Now because the spiritual kingdom was represented by Aaron’s garments and heaven’s power of understanding resides in this kingdom, ‘the work of a designer’ accordingly means the power of understanding.

The whole heaven, by virtue of the correspondence with every single thing that exists with the human being, is like one complete human being and is called the Grand Man, see the places referred to at the end of 9276. The forms of good and the truths present with those in the Lord’s spiritual kingdom have been inscribed on the understanding part of their mind, but with those in His celestial kingdom on the will part, see the places referred to in 9277, 9596.

sRef Ex@28 @7 S0′ 9836. ‘Two shoulders joined together shall it have at its two ends, and it shall be joined together’ means an everlasting preservation of good and truth on every side by all exertion and power through a total uniting together. This is clear from the meaning of ‘shoulders’ as all the force and power, dealt with in 1085, 4931-4937, though the expressions ‘placing on the shoulders’ and ‘carrying on them’, used below in reference to the two shoham stones on which the names of the sons of Israel were engraved, mean an everlasting preservation of good and truth (for all forms of good and truths in their entirety are meant by ‘the names of the sons of Israel’, a subject dealt with further on); from the meaning of ‘joined together’ as a total uniting; and from the meaning of ‘the two ends’, or to the right and to the left, as on every side, dealt with in 8613.

[2] The implications of all this are that the ephod, as has been shown above, represented the outermost part of the Lord’s spiritual kingdom. Thus the shoulder-pieces, on which the two shoham stones with the names of the sons of Israel had been placed, represented the everlasting preservation of good and truth; and the joining together of the ephod on the shoulders, and also in front of the breast and behind the back, represented a total uniting. This helps to make clear what is meant by the details stated further on regarding the shoulder-pieces and the engravings on them, namely the everlasting preservation of the good and truth present by all exertion and power, thus the preservation of the heavens. The stones with the names of the sons of Israel had been placed on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, which represented the outermost part of the spiritual kingdom, because all preservation is dependent on the condition of what exists on last and lowest levels. For everything within terminates and forms a base for itself there on which to rest and remain in existence. Things on last and lowest levels resemble the soles and the upper parts of the feet on which the entire body stands; they are also like the hands and arms through which the body exercises its powers. Furthermore the strength of the body is concentrated there. This also explains why the hands and arms, the soles and feet too, correspond to the last and lowest parts of heaven. The fact that power and might reside in things which are last and lowest was represented in the Ancient Church by Nazirites and the hair on their head, in which their might resided, as is evident from Samson in Judges 14-16, and also their holiness, 3301. Regarding the hair, which on those men’s heads was their Naziriteship, that it corresponds to the lowest levels of good and truth, or good and truth on lowest levels, see 3301, 5247, 6437.

[3] The residing of power in last and lowest things, and also the preservation in these of more internal ones in their proper condition, are matters which may be understood by people who know what the situation is with things in the natural order which follow one another in sequence and consequently exist together with one another. Things which follow in sequence finally come together on the last and lowest level, where they exist side-by-side in the same order. This being so, the things existing together with one another, which are last and lowest, serve those following one another in sequence, which are prior and higher, as corresponding supports on which they rest and are thereby preserved.

sRef Ezek@29 @6 S4′ sRef Ezek@29 @7 S4′ sRef Ezek@34 @21 S4′ [4] ‘The shoulders’ means all the force and power exerted in offering resistance, breaking, or impelling. This is clear in Ezekiel,

You push with side and shoulder, and butt with your horns all the weak sheep, until you have scattered them abroad. Ezek. 34:21.

In the same prophet,

Egypt has been a staff of reed to the house of Israel. When they took hold of you by the hand, you were broken, and you tore open their whole shoulder.* Ezek. 29:6, 7.

‘Tearing open the whole shoulder’ stands for depriving of all the power to grasp truths, ‘Egypt’ being the perverted factual knowledge which causes such deprivation.

sRef Ps@21 @11 S5′ sRef Zech@7 @11 S5′ sRef Ps@21 @12 S5′ [5] In Zechariah,

They refused to listen, and turned** a stubborn shoulder. Zech. 7:11.

‘Turning a stubborn shoulder’ stands for offering resistance. In David,

They thought a wicked deed, [but] they did not prevail; for You will set a shoulder against them. Ps. 21:11, 12.

‘Setting a shoulder against them’ too stands for offering resistance, and so stands for power. The fact that ‘shoulder’ means power is evident from representatives in the next life, where those who offer resistance are seen setting an opposing shoulder.

sRef Isa@49 @22 S6′ sRef Luke@15 @5 S6′ sRef Num@7 @9 S6′ [6] Placing onto the shoulders and carrying on them means preserving everlastingly in a state of good and truth through all exertion and power. This is clear in Isaiah,

The nations will bring your sons in their bosom, and carry your daughters on their shoulder. Isa. 49:22.

This refers to a new Church. ‘Sons’ means truths, and ‘daughters’ forms of good; and ‘carrying on the shoulder’ stands for preserving them. The preservation of good in its proper condition was also represented by the action of the children of Israel, who carried their dough on their shoulder when they were going out of Egypt, Exod. 12:34; and by that of the sons of Kohath, who carried holy things*** on their shoulder, Num. 7:9. This explains why the Lord, who spoke by means of correspondences, said that when the lost sheep was found the owner placed it on his shoulder, rejoicing, Luke 15:5. ‘The sheep that was lost and found’ is good as it resides with someone who comes to his senses.

sRef Isa@46 @7 S7′ sRef Ex@28 @12 S7′ [7] Since ‘carrying on the shoulder’ had this meaning it is also said of those who love and preserve gold and silver that they carry them on their shoulder, Isa. 46:7. Carrying also means holding something in its proper state or condition, see 9500. All this shows what was meant by the engraving of the names of the sons of Israel on the two shoham stones and the placement of them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, and by the injunction that ‘Aaron shall bear (or carry) them on his two shoulders for a remembrance’, verse 12. ‘Carrying on the shoulder’, when it has reference to subjection, means servitude, see Gen. 49:15; Ps. 81:6; Isa. 9:4; 10:27; Matt. 23:4; Zeph. 3:9. But when it has reference to dominion it means supreme power, Isa. 9:6; 22:22.
* lit. you dug through for them all the shoulder
** lit. gave
*** lit. the works of the holy place (or of holiness)

sRef Ex@28 @8 S0′ 9837. ‘And the girdle of his ephod, which is on it’ means the outward bond that gathers things together. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the girdle’ as a common bond by which everything within is held in connection, dealt with above in 9828, thus a bond that gathers things together. The reason why an outward bond is meant is that ‘the ephod’ means the outermost part of the spiritual kingdom, 9824.

sRef Ex@28 @8 S0′ 9838. ‘Shall be of the same workmanship, of [one piece with] it’ means that which is like the outermost part of the spiritual kingdom and is a continuation from it. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the same workmanship’ as that which is like, for what is of the same workmanship as another is like it; and from the meaning of ‘of [one piece with] it’ as a continuation, for that which is of a piece with another is not only like it but is also a continuation from it. The reason why a continuation from the outermost part of the spiritual kingdom is meant is that the description implies a continuation from the ephod, and ‘the ephod’ means the outermost part of the spiritual kingdom, 9824.

sRef Ex@28 @8 S0′ 9839. ‘From gold, violet, and purple, and the twice-dyed scarlet, and fine twined linen’ means thus from the good that belongs to faith and to charity on outermost levels. This is clear from the meaning of all those materials, taken together, as the good of faith and charity, dealt with in 9687, 9833. On outermost levels is meant because the bond, which had to be woven from the gold, violet, purple, scarlet, and fine linen threads, means the outward bond that gathers things together, 9837.

sRef Ex@28 @8 S0′ 9840. Verses 9-14 And you shall take two shoham* stones, and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, six of their names on one stone, and the remaining six names on the other stone, according to their generations.** With the work of one who works on stones,*** [like] the engravings of a signet, you shall engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel; enclosed in sockets of gold you shall make them. And you shall place the two stones on the shoulders of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel; and Aaron shall bear their names before Jehovah on his two shoulders for remembrance. And you shall make sockets of gold; and two small chains of pure gold; on the borders**** you shall make them, with the work of slender rope;***** and you shall put the small chains of slender rope in the sockets.

‘And you shall take two shoham stones’ means the interior memory formed from the truths of faith that spring from love. ‘And engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel’ means on which the truths and forms of good that belong to the spiritual kingdom – the entire essential nature of them – have been imprinted. ‘Six of their names on one stone’ means the entire essential nature of truths springing from good. ‘And the remaining six names on the other stone’ means the [entire] essential nature of truths through which good comes. ‘According to their generations’ means both kinds in the order in which they are begotten and proceed one from the other. ‘With the work of one who works on stones, [like] the engravings of a signet, you shall engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel’ means the heavenly pattern which all the truths arranged into their proper order in the memory by the good of love take on, that is, the truths there which have been grasped by a regenerated person’s understanding and then set in order by his will. ‘Enclosed in sockets of gold you shall make them’ means their being brought into being and kept in being by good. ‘And you shall place the two stones on the shoulders of the ephod’ means the preservation of good and truth by all exertion and power. ‘As stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel’ means out of mercy, for evermore for the spiritual kingdom. ‘And Aaron shall bear their names before Jehovah on his two shoulders for remembrance’ means a representative sign of the Divine preservation of good and truth for evermore, out of mercy. ‘And you shall make sockets of gold’ means being brought into being and kept unceasingly in being by good. ‘And two small chains of pure gold’ means coherence with the good of the whole kingdom. ‘On the borders you shall make them’ means at the most external parts through which influx comes. ‘With the work of slender rope’ means the mode of the joining together. ‘And you shall put the small chains of slender rope in the sockets’ means being joined to the good from which truths spring, and so the preservation of the spiritual kingdom by all exertion and power.
* A Hebrew word for a precious stone, probably an onyx
** i.e. in order of birth
*** lit. the work of a workman of stone i.e. the work of an engraver
**** Most English versions take the Hebrew word to mean of braided thread.
***** i.e. gold threads braided together which look like a cord or slender rope

sRef Ex@28 @9 S0′ sRef Isa@49 @16 S1′ sRef Isa@49 @15 S1′ 9841. ‘And you shall take two shoham stones’ means the interior memory formed from the truths of faith that spring from love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘stones’ as truths, dealt with in 114, 643, 1298, 3720, 6426, 8609, and of ‘shoham stones’ as the truths of faith springing from love, 9476. The reason why the memory is meant by these stones is that the names of the sons of Israel were engraved on them and an engraving on stones means a memory composed of real things which are to remain there permanently. The engraving or inscription of the Law on tablets of stone for example means those things which have been imprinted on a person’s memory and life and which for this reason are to remain there permanently, see 9416 (end). The engraving or inscription on stones has this meaning because the human memory has truths imprinted on it, also ideas that have the appearance of truth, so much so that it is fashioned from them. Stones furthermore mean truths, and when an engraving on them is mentioned a memory where truths reside is meant, as is meant by ‘the engraving on the hands’ in Isaiah,

Even though they may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you upon [My] hands. Isa. 49:15, 16.

This explains why those stones are called ‘stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel’ in verse 12 below.

[2] The reason why the interior memory is meant by ‘the shoham stones’, on account of the engraving on them, is that even as the inscriptions, which were the names of the sons of Israel, mean spiritual truths, regarding which, see what follows below, and also the actual stones mean spiritual truths, so a person’s interior memory must consist of such truths. For a person has two memories, exterior and interior; the exterior memory is natural, shaped therefore by such things as occur in the world, whereas the interior memory is spiritual, shaped by such as occur in heaven, see 2469-2494, 5212, 8067.

[3] The meaning of stones with engraving on them as the [interior] memory on which truths have been inscribed has its origin in representatives in heaven. People who enter the next life after death, bringing with them truths of faith that are present solely in the natural or exterior memory, and not in the spiritual or interior memory, seem to themselves when they go out to be wandering about among stony rocks and in forests. But those bringing with them truths of faith present in the spiritual memory as well seem to themselves when they go out to be walking among cultivated hills and also in gardens. The reason for this is that truths present in the exterior or natural memory, where they exist as known facts, are not at all part of life unless they are present at the same time in the interior or spiritual memory, for the truths present in this memory have become part of life, the interior or spiritual memory being the book of a person’s life, 2474; and the things that compose life are represented in heaven by gardens, olive groves, and vineyards, and by rose beds and lawns, and those that compose charity by the hills where such places are situated, 6435. Those however which do not compose life are represented by stony places and thickets which are bare and rugged.

[4] What the truths of faith that spring from love are must also be stated briefly. Truths of faith springing from love are ones which love dictates, and so ones which derive their very being from love; in those truths there is life, because whatever springs from love has life in it. Truths of faith springing from love therefore are those which are directly concerned with love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour, these being the truths which love dictates. The whole Word consists of teachings that present such truths, for in its spiritual sense the Word deals solely with such things as have to do with the Lord and such as have to do with the neighbour, thus such things as have to do with love to the Lord and towards the neighbour. For this reason the Word too has life in it. This is what is meant by the statement ‘on these two commandments the Law and the Prophets depend’, Matt. 22:38, 40, ‘the Law and the Prophets’ being the Word in its entirety. The truths of faith springing from love however do not consist in a bare knowledge of such truths that resides in a person’s memory and consequently in his understanding. Rather they are affections inherently present in the person’s life; for what a person loves and therefore does is inherently present in his life. There are also truths of faith which are not directly concerned with love, but merely lend support closely or remotely to those which are directly concerned with it. These truths of faith are called secondary truths. For the truths of faith are like families and their successive generations coming down from one and the same father. The father of those truths is the good of love, received from the Lord and consequently offered to Him. Thus their father is the Lord, for whether you say the Lord or love received from Him and consequently offered to Him, it amounts to the same thing. Love is spiritual togetherness and causes Him to be where that love is; for assuredly love causes the one who is loved to be present within itself.

sRef Ex@28 @9 S0′ 9842. ‘And engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel’ means on which the truths and forms of good that belong to the spiritual kingdom – the entire essential nature of them – have been imprinted. This is clear from the meaning of ‘engraving on stones’ as imprinting on the memory, dealt with immediately above in 9841; from the meaning of ‘the names’ as the essential nature, dealt with in 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 6674; and from the representation of ‘the sons of Israel’ as all the truths and forms of good that belong to the spiritual kingdom. ‘The sons of Israel’ here is used to denote the twelve tribes, for it was these – the names of the tribes – that were engraved on those stones, and the twelve tribes mean all the truths and forms of good in their entirety, 3858, 3926, 3939, 4060, 6335, 6337. And since these are what constitute the Church or heaven, the Church and the Lord’s spiritual kingdom are meant by ‘the sons of Israel’, 4286, 6426, 6637, 7836, 7891, 7996, 7997, 9340. From all this it is evident that ‘you shall engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel’ means an imprinting on the memory of the entire essential nature of the truths and forms of good that belong to the spiritual kingdom, or an imprinting of the truths and forms of good of that kingdom as to their entire essential nature.

sRef Ex@28 @10 S0′ 9843. ‘Six of their names on one stone’ means the entire essential nature of truths springing from good. This is clear from the meaning of the number ‘six’ as all, dealt with in 3960(end), 7973, 8148, at this point all the truths that spring from good, dealt with below; from the meaning of ‘the names’ as the essential nature, as immediately above in 9842; and from the meaning of ‘on the stone’ as being imprinted on the memory, also dealt with above, in 9841. The reason why all the truths springing from good are meant is that there were two stones on which the names of the sons of Israel were engraved. One stone went on the right shoulder and the other on the left shoulder, and things that exist on a person’s right side correspond to the good from which truths spring, or to truths that spring from good, and those on a person’s left side to truths through which good comes, see 9604 (end), 9736. Thus the names of the sons of Israel engraved on the stone that went on the right shoulder meant truths springing from good, and those on the one that went on the left meant truths through which good comes.

sRef Ex@28 @10 S0′ 9844. ‘And the remaining six names on the other stone’ means the entire essential nature of truths through which good comes. This is clear from what has been stated immediately above in 9843.

sRef Ex@28 @10 S0′ 9845. ‘According to their generations’ means both kinds in the order in which they are begotten and proceed one from the other. This is clear from the meaning of ‘generations’ as matters of faith and charity, or forms of truth and goodness in the spiritual world, dealt with in 613, 2020, 2584, 6239, 9042, 9079, so that ‘according to generations’ means according to the order in which they are begotten and proceed one from the other, that is to say, good from truth and truth from good. For there are two states which the person undergoing new birth from the Lord passes through, the first being a state of truth, the other a state of good. While in the first state the person is led by means of truths towards good, but in the second he is led by means of good. This second state is the state of heaven with a person; for a person is not in heaven until good is present within him, see what has been shown above in 9832. From all this it is evident what ‘according to the generations of the sons of Israel’ means. The words ‘in the order in which they are begotten and proceed one from the other’ are used because even as good is begotten by means of truths, so does it afterwards proceed from them; and in a similar way even as truths are begotten from good, so do they afterwards proceed. For they are begotten in consecutive stages and proceed subsequently in the order of their consecutive stages of birth. But these matters have been stated for the benefit of those who know about the way in which series of things are produced in consecutive stages.

sRef Ex@28 @11 S0′ 9846. ‘With the work of one who works on stones, [like] the engravings of a signet, you shall engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel’ means the heavenly pattern which all the truths arranged into their proper order in the memory by the good of love take on, that is, the truths there which have been grasped by a regenerated person’s understanding and then set in order by his will. This is clear from the meaning of ‘one who works on stones’ as the good of love, thus the will part in the mind of one who has been regenerated, for this consists of the good of love (the will part of one who has been regenerated is a recipient of the good of love, and the understanding part is a recipient of the truths of faith); from the meaning of ‘the engravings of a signet’ as the heavenly pattern that all the truths possess, such as exists in the understanding of one who has been regenerated because the truths of faith there have been arranged into the heavenly pattern (for this reason a person who has been regenerated conforms to a small image of heaven, see the places referred to at the end of 9279, and the understanding part in the mind of a person who has been regenerated corresponds to the spiritual kingdom in heaven, while the will part corresponds to the celestial kingdom there, 9835; and from all this it is evident what the heavenly pattern of the truths present with a person may be); from the meaning of ‘engraving stones’ as imprinting on the memory, dealt with above in 9842, at this point imprinting such a pattern on the truths there; and from the meaning of ‘the names of the sons of Israel’ as the entire essential nature of truths and forms of good in their proper order, also dealt with above, in 9842-9845.

[2] The reason why ‘one who works on stones’ means the good of love or the will of someone who has been regenerated is that the good of love is at work arranging truths into order with a person while he is being regenerated, and afterwards, when he has been regenerated, is at work maintaining them in their proper order. For the truths are created to have complete similarity with the good and to respond to its every demand, and so to every demand of love since the good is an attribute of love. (The truth of this is clear from the consideration that a person acknowledges as truths things that he loves, and this being so, his love is what determines his understanding and acknowledgement of truths.) So it is that the truths constitute the form taken by the good. From all this one may recognize how the Lord leads a person by means of the truths of faith or by means of faith, namely by means of the good of love present with him, and in addition how the Lord also governs a person in an indirect way by means of heaven. For a person who has been regenerated conforms to a small image of heaven, as stated above, and since He governs heaven He also at the same time governs a person such as that.

sRef Ex@28 @11 S0′ 9847. ‘Enclosed in sockets of gold you shall make them’ means their being brought into being and kept in being by good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘gold’ as the good of love, dealt with in 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 9490, so that ‘being enclosed in sockets of gold’ means being a continuation from good and deriving being from it. And since deriving being is meant, being kept in being is also meant; for that which brings something into being also keeps it in being, since being kept in being is unceasing coming into being. The relationship between the good and truth is like that between gold and a precious stone enclosed by it. For the good resembles the ground, and the truths resemble seeds there, since the truths are born nowhere else than in the good, and also how well they flourish is determined by the character of the good.

sRef Ex@28 @12 S0′ 9848. ‘And you shall place the two stones on the shoulders of the ephod’ means the preservation of good and truth by all exertion and power. This is clear from what has been shown above in 9836.

sRef Ex@28 @12 S0′ 9849. ‘As stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel’ means out of mercy, for evermore for the spiritual kingdom. This is clear from the meaning of ‘stones of remembrance’ on the shoulders of the ephod as the preservation of good and truth out of mercy, for evermore (the fact that the preservation of good and truth is meant by ‘stones on the shoulders’ is clear from what has been shown in 9836; and the fact that mercy is meant by ‘remembrance’, when attributed to the Lord, will be clear from what follows below); and from the meaning of ‘the sons of Israel’ as the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, dealt with above in 9842. There are places in the Word which say of Jehovah, that is, the Lord, that He remembers or does not remember. When either is said of Him the meaning is that whatever takes place then, whether preservation or deliverance, is done out of mercy. The same applies to places saying that He sees, hears, or knows, or does not see, hear, or know; His pity or failure to pity are meant there. Such things are said of Him on account of His being likened to a human being and on account of what seems to happen. For when a person turns away from the Lord, as is the case when he does anything bad, it seems to that person, since the Lord is now behind his back, as though the Lord fails to see him, does not hear or know him, indeed fails to remember him, when in fact the failure is in the person. It is because of this appearance therefore that in the Word such things are said of the Lord. The situation is completely different however when a person turns towards the Lord, as is the case when he does what is right, see the places referred to in 9306. Anyone may recognize that the Lord cannot really be said to remember or call to mind, because in Him things that are past and those that are future are eternal, that is, they are ever present from eternity to eternity.

sRef Ps@111 @4 S2′ sRef Ps@79 @8 S2′ sRef Ps@98 @2 S2′ sRef Ps@106 @45 S2′ sRef Ps@25 @7 S2′ sRef Ps@136 @23 S2′ sRef Luke@1 @72 S2′ sRef Ps@98 @3 S2′ sRef Ps@111 @5 S2′ [2] The fact that ‘remembering’, when attributed to the Lord, means having compassion, and so preserving or delivering out of mercy, is clear from the following places: In David,

Jehovah has made known His salvation, before the eyes of the nations He has revealed His righteousness. He has remembered His mercy and His truth to the house of Israel. Ps. 98:2, 3.

In the same author,

Jehovah has remembered us in our lowly state, for His mercy is forever. Ps. 136:23.

In the same author,

Do not remember the sins of my youth,* nor my transgressions. According to Your mercy remember me, for Your goodness’ sake, O Jehovah. Ps. 25:7.

In the same author,

For their sake He remembered His covenant, and relented because of the multitude of His mercies. Ps. 106:45.

In the same author,

He has made His wonderful works to be remembered;** Jehovah is gracious and merciful. He has given food to those fearing Him; forever He remembers*** His covenant. Ps. 111:4, 5.

In the same author,

Do not remember former iniquities. Let Your tender mercies come to meet [us]. Ps. 79:8.

In Luke,

God has accepted His servant Israel, so that He remembered His mercy … to perform mercy to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant. Luke 1:54, 72.

In David,

What is man that You remember him? Ps. 8:4.

In the same author,

Remember me, O Jehovah, in the good pleasure of Your people. Ps. 106:4.

In the same author,

Jehovah has remembered us, He blesses [us]. Ps. 115:12.

In the first Book of Samuel,

If You will indeed look on the misery of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant … 1 Sam. 1:11.

These words begin the vow made by Hannah, Samuel’s mother; and verse 19 says that when she bore him Jehovah remembered her, that is, He looked on her misery and had mercy on her. ‘Remember’ has a similar meaning in many other places, such as Lev. 26:41, 42, 45; Num. 10:9; Isa. 43:25; 49:1; 64:9; Jer. 31:34.
* lit. childhood
** lit. He has made a remembrance (or memorial) for His wonders
*** Reading recordatur (remembers) for recordatus (has remembered)

sRef Ex@28 @13 S0′ 9850. ‘And Aaron shall bear their names before Jehovah on his two shoulders for remembrance’ means a representative sign of the Divine preservation of good and truth for evermore, out of mercy. This is clear from the meaning of ‘bearing (or carrying) on two shoulders’ as the Divine preservation of good and truth, dealt with in 9836; from the meaning of ‘the names of the sons of Israel’ as forms of good and truths, the entire essential nature of them, dealt with in 9842; and from the meaning of ‘remembrance’, when attributed to the Lord, as mercy, dealt with immediately above in 9849. The fact that a representative sign of such things is meant is self-evident.

sRef Ex@28 @13 S0′ 9851. ‘And you shall make sockets of gold’ means being brought into being and kept unceasingly in being by good. This is clear from what has been stated above in 9847. The reason why unceasingly is meant is that this is a second mention of ‘sockets’.

sRef Ex@28 @14 S0′ 9852. ‘And two small chains of pure gold’ means coherence with the good of the whole kingdom. This is clear from the meaning of ‘small chains’ as coherence (the reason why ‘small chains’ has this meaning is that such chains serve to join things together, and when joined together those things cohere, coherence with the spiritual kingdom being meant here because the small chains were fabricated to make [the shoulder-pieces] cohere with the ephod, which represented the spiritual kingdom in general, 9824); and from the meaning of ‘gold’ as the good of love, dealt with in 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 9490. The words ‘pure gold’ are used because good from the Divine is meant; for this good is pure, and it holds all things in heaven in connection and in an outward form. The meaning of ‘chains’ as coherence is also evident in Isaiah,

The craftsman casts a graven image, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts silver chains for it. Isa. 40:19.

‘A graven image’ means teachings presenting falsity, which are a product of self-intelligence, and so are devoid of life from the Divine, 8869, 8941. Producing such teachings is meant by ‘the craftsman casts a graven image’. The effort to make them look like a product of good is meant by ‘a goldsmith overlays it with gold’. To make falsities cohere is meant by ‘he casts silver chains for it’, ‘silver’ meaning truth and in the contrary sense falsity, see 1551, 2954, 5658, 6112, 6911, 6917, 8932.

sRef Ex@28 @14 S0′ 9853. ‘On the borders you shall make them’ means at the most external parts through which influx comes. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the borders’ as the most external parts. The reason why these are the parts through which influx, the influx of good, comes is that coherence is meant by ‘the small chains’, 9852, and all coherence in the spiritual world is brought about by means of influx.

sRef Ex@28 @14 S0′ 9854. ‘With the work of slender rope’ means the mode of the joining together. This is clear from the meaning of ‘slender rope’ as that which serves to join things together. The reason why ‘slender rope’ means that which so serves to join things together is that such a cord is used to join one object to another. But in this instance it means the mode of the joining together, for the narrative is saying that the small chains of pure gold had to be made ‘with the work’ of slender rope. ‘Slender rope’ is used in the original language to describe a cord made from twisted and intertwined work, by which is meant in the internal sense a joining together such as that of truths within known facts and interlinking such facts, thus a joining together in the natural or external memory. The reason why this kind of joining together is meant is that the subject at this point is the joining together of truths through good in the last and lowest parts of the spiritual kingdom. For ‘the ephod’ and ‘the breastplate’, to which [the shoulder-pieces] were joined by means of the small chains made from ‘the work of slender rope’, mean the lowest levels of the spiritual kingdom, 9824. As regards what is intertwined or tangled, that it denotes factual knowledge, see 2831.

sRef Isa@33 @20 S2′ sRef Isa@5 @18 S2′ sRef Isa@33 @23 S2′ [2] In the next life also ropes appear, varying in the ways in which their strands are twisted together and varying in thickness; and they represent the varying modes by which things are joined together. This explains also why in the Word things which serve to join others together are meant by ‘ropes’, as in the following places: In Isaiah,

Woe to those who draw iniquity with ropes of vanity, and [whose] sin is like a cart rope! Isa. 5:18.

‘Ropes of vanity’ are joinings together of falsities, through which iniquity or evil in life is brought in. In the same prophet,

Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feast. May your eyes see Jerusalem, a quiet dwelling-place, a tent which will not be overthrown. Its pegs will never be removed, and none of its ropes will be pulled away. Your ropes have been loosed; they will not strengthen their mast. Isa. 33:20, 23.

‘Pegs’ and ‘ropes’ stand for the things which serve to join together heaven’s truths and forms of good; for the dwelling-place and tent, which the ropes spoken of here belong to, are heaven, 9457, 9481, 9485, 9615, 9784.

sRef Isa@54 @2 S3′ sRef Hos@11 @4 S3′ sRef Jer@10 @20 S3′ sRef Ezek@27 @24 S3′ sRef Ezek@27 @23 S3′ [3] In the same prophet,

Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwelling-places; do not stop [them]. Lengthen your ropes, and make your pegs firm. Isa. 54:2.

And in Jeremiah,

My tent has been laid waste, and all My ropes torn away. Jer. 10:20.

Here also ‘ropes’ stands for things that serve to join others together and make them firm. ‘Tent’ stands for the Church, which is the Lord’s heaven on earth. In Hosea,

I drew them with ropes of human kindness,* with thick ropes of love. Hosea 11:4.

Here ‘ropes’ plainly stands for things which join others together; for love is spiritual togetherness. In Ezekiel,

Asshur and Kilmad, they were your traders with the treasures of garments tied by means of ropes. Ezek. 27:23, 24.

This refers to Tyre, by which cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth are meant, 1201. Outward joinings together of these are meant by ‘garments tied by means of ropes’. In addition ‘ropes’ is also used in the Word to mean apportionments of inheritances and of the land, because ropes were used in measurements of them, as in Deut. 32:9; Amos 7:17; Micah 2:4, 5; Zech. 2:1; Ps. 16:6; 78:55; 105:11; 140:5; and many times elsewhere.
* lit. with ropes of man (homo)

sRef Ex@28 @14 S0′ 9855. ‘And you shall put the small chains of slender rope in the sockets’ means being joined to the good from which truths spring, and so the preservation of the spiritual kingdom by all exertion and power. This is clear from the meaning of ‘small chains’ made from the work ‘of slender rope’ as coherence with good and being joined to it, dealt with above in 9852, 9854; and from the meaning of ‘the sockets of gold’ as the good that brings truths into being and keeps them in being, also dealt with above, in 9847. The preservation of good and truth in the spiritual kingdom, or what amounts to the same thing, the preservation of the spiritual kingdom by all exertion and power, is meant by the two shoham stones placed on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, on which the names of the sons of Israel were engraved, 9836, 9848, 9849.

sRef Ex@28 @19 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @17 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @18 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @16 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @30 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @21 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @20 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @26 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @22 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @24 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @27 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @29 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @25 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @15 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @23 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @28 S0′ 9856. Verses 15-30 And you shall make a breastplate of judgement, with the work of a designer; like the work of the ephod you shall make it; from gold, violet, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, and fine twined linen you shall make it. It shall be square when doubled,* a span the length of it, and a span the breadth of it. And you shall adorn it with settings of stones.** There shall be four rows of stones, the order being, A ruby, a topaz, a carbuncle – one row; and the second row, A chrysoprase, a sapphire, and a diamond; and the third row, A lapis lazuli, an agate, and an amethyst; and the fourth row, A tarshish,*** and a shoham,**** and a jasper. Enclosed in gold shall they be in their settings. And the stones shall be according to the names of the sons of Israel, twelve according to their names; with the engravings of a signet, each according to its name, they shall be for the twelve tribes. And you shall make on the breastplate small chains on the border***** with the work of slender rope,****** from pure gold. And you shall make on the breastplate two rings of gold, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate. And you shall put the two slender ropes of gold in the two rings at the ends of the breastplate. And the two ends of the two slender ropes you shall put into the two sockets, and put them onto the shoulders of the ephod before the face of it. And you shall make two rings of gold, and place them on the two ends of the breastplate, on the edge of it which is on this side of the ephod, inwards. And you shall make two rings of gold, and put them on the two shoulders of the ephod, below before the face of it, against the join above the girdle of the ephod. And they shall tie the breastplate from its rings to the rings of the ephod with a cord of violet, so that it is above the girdle of the ephod and the breastplate will not come away from upon the ephod. And Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel in the breastplate of judgement over his heart, when he goes into the holy place, for a remembrance before Jehovah continually. And you shall put into the breastplate of judgement the Urim and Thummim; and they shall be over Aaron’s heart, when he goes in before Jehovah. And Aaron shall carry the judgement of the children of Israel over his heart before Jehovah continually.

‘And you shall make a breastplate of judgement’ means that which has regard to Divine Truth shining forth from Divine Good. ‘With the work of a designer’ means a product of the understanding. ‘Like the work of the ephod you shall make it’ means a continuation from the outermost part of the spiritual kingdom. ‘From gold, violet, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, and fine twined linen you shall make it’ means the good of charity and faith. ‘It shall be square when doubled’ means that which is righteous and perfect. ‘A span the length of it, and a span the breadth of it’ means equally in respect of good and in respect of truth. ‘And you shall adorn it with settings of stones’ means the actual truths in their proper order, all springing from the one same good. ‘There shall be four rows of stones, the order being’ means all of them joined together. ‘A ruby, a topaz, a carbuncle’ means the celestial love of good. ‘One row’ means a group of three there existing as one. ‘And the second row’ means this group of three also existing as one. ‘A chrysoprase, a sapphire, and a diamond’ means the celestial love of truth, from which the things that follow spring. ‘And the third row’ means a group of three here also existing as one. ‘A lapis lazuli, an agate, and an amethyst’ means the spiritual love of good. ‘And the fourth row’ means a last group of three existing as one. ‘A tarshish, and a shoham, and a jasper’ means the spiritual love of truth, in which higher things terminate. ‘Enclosed in gold shall they be in their settings’ means that all of them in general and each in particular must emanate from the good belonging to the love that is received from the Lord and shown to the Lord. ‘And the stones shall be according to the names of the sons of Israel’ means forms of good and truths arranged distinctly and separately in accord with their entire essential nature. ‘Twelve according to their names’ means each one without exception. ‘With the engravings of a signet’ means in accord with the heavenly pattern. ‘Each according to its name’ means for each one in particular. ‘They shall be for the twelve tribes’ means for all in general. ‘And you shall make on the breastplate small chains on the border’ means all heaven joined together in the most external parts. ‘With the work of slender rope’ means an indissoluble joining together. ‘From pure gold’ means through celestial good. ‘And you shall make on the breastplate two rings of gold’ means a sphere of Divine Good, a sphere through which there is a joining to the higher part of heaven. ‘And put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate’ means in the most external parts. ‘And you shall put the two slender ropes of gold in the two rings’ means the mode of the indissoluble joining together. ‘At the ends of the breastplate’ means in the most external parts. ‘And the two ends of the two slender ropes you shall put into the two sockets’ means the mode by which it is joined to the supports in the most external parts. ‘And put them onto the shoulders of the ephod’ means the support given thereby to heaven, and the preservation of the good and truth there by all exertion and power. ‘Before the face of it’ means to eternity. ‘And you shall make two rings of gold’ means a sphere of Divine Good. ‘And place them on the two ends of the breastplate’ means in the most external parts. ‘On the edge of it which is on this side of the ephod, inwards’ means the joining to and preservation of the middle part. ‘And you shall make two rings of gold’ means a sphere of Divine Good. ‘And put them on the two shoulders of the ephod, below’ means the preservation of good and truth in the lowest part of heaven. ‘Before the face of it’ means to eternity. ‘Against the join above the girdle of the ephod’ means where the joining together of all things is accomplished, immediately within the outward bond holding everything in connection and form. ‘And they shall tie the breastplate from its rings to the rings of the ephod’ means the joining to and preservation of everything in heaven by means of the sphere of Divine Good in the outermost parts of the spiritual kingdom. ‘With a cord of violet’ means through the celestial love of truth. ‘So that it is above the girdle of the ephod’ means in order that it may be preserved for evermore in its connection and form. ‘And the breastplate will not come away from upon the ephod’ means that all things in heaven are inseparable from the outermost parts of the spiritual kingdom. ‘And Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel’ means the preservation of good and truth, of their entire essential nature imparted to them by the Lord. ‘In the breastplate of judgement’ means that which is representative of heaven in respect of the Divine Truth shining forth from the Lord’s Divine Good. ‘Over his heart’ means out of Divine Love to eternity. ‘When he goes into the holy place’ means in all worship. ‘For a remembrance before Jehovah continually’ means out of mercy to eternity. ‘And you shall put into the breastplate of judgement the Urim and Thummim’ means the radiance of Divine Truth from the Lord in last and lowest things. ‘And they shall be over Aaron’s heart’ means out of the Divine Good of His Divine Love. ‘When he goes in before Jehovah’ means in all worship. ‘And Aaron shall carry the judgement of the children of Israel’ means Divine Truth in heaven and the Church. ‘Over his heart before Jehovah continually’ means for evermore shining forth from good.
* i.e. the material, which was a cubit long and half a cubit or a span wide, was folded in half to form a square.
** lit. set it with a setting of stone
*** Possibly a beryl
**** A Hebrew word for a precious stone, probably an onyx
***** Most English versions take the Hebrew word to mean of braided thread.
****** i.e. gold threads braided together which look like a cord or slender rope

sRef Num@27 @21 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @15 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @30 S1′ 9857. ‘And you shall make a breastplate of judgement’ means that which has regard to Divine Truth shining forth from Divine Good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a breastplate’ as Divine Truth shining forth from the Lord’s Divine Good within last and lowest things, dealt with in 9823. It is called ‘a breastplate of judgement’ because it gave answers, and through these Divine Truth was revealed; furthermore Divine Truth, and therefore doctrinal teachings and a life in accord with them, is meant in the Word by ‘judgement’. This then is why this breastplate is referred to as ‘the breastplate of judgement’, and also further on in this chapter as ‘the judgement’, in verse 30 – ‘Aaron shall carry the judgement of the children of Israel over his heart before Jehovah continually’. And when Joshua was chosen to be leader of the people, it says that he was to stand before Eleazar the priest, who would inquire for him by the judgement of the Urim before Jehovah, Num. 27:21.

sRef Isa@5 @7 S2′ [2] ‘Judgement’ means Divine Truth and intelligence springing from It, as a consequence of which it means religious teachings and a life in accord with them. This is clear from a large number of places in the Word, such as the following: In Isaiah,

The vineyard of Jehovah Zebaoth is the house of Israel. He looked for judgement, but behold, festering; for righteousness, but behold, a cry. Isa. 5:7.

‘Looking for judgement’ means intelligence springing from Divine Truth, and a life in accord with the commandments. In the same prophet,

On the throne there sat in truthfulness, in the tabernacle of David, one who judges and seeks judgement. Isa. 16:5.

This refers to the Lord’s Coming. ‘The throne’ on which He is going to sit means Divine Truth that emanates from Him, and consequently means the spiritual kingdom, see 2129, 5313, 6397, 8625, 9039. ‘Judging judgement’ means teaching Divine Truth, and ‘seeking judgement’ people’s acceptance of it.

sRef Isa@28 @6 S3′ sRef Isa@33 @5 S3′ sRef Isa@28 @5 S3′ [3] In the same prophet,

On that day Jehovah will be a tiara of beauty for the remnant of His people, and a spirit of judgement to him who sits in judgement. Isa. 28:5, 6.

‘A tiara of beauty’, when these words have reference to Jehovah, that is, the Lord, means Divine Intelligence, see above in 9827; and ‘a spirit of judgement’ means wisdom that springs from Divine Truth, 9818. ‘To him who sits in judgement’ means one who informs people about or teaches Divine Truth. In the same prophet,

Jehovah has filled Zion with judgement and righteousness. Isa. 33:5.

‘Zion’ stands for the celestial Church, ‘being filled with judgement’ for intelligence that springs from Divine Truth, and ‘being filled with righteousness’ for wisdom that comes from Divine Good.

sRef Jer@8 @7 S4′ sRef Isa@40 @14 S4′ sRef Isa@40 @13 S4′ sRef Jer@8 @8 S4′ [4] In the same prophet,

Who has directed the Spirit of Jehovah? With whom did He deliberate, that He might make Him intelligent, and instruct Him in the way of judgement, and teach Him knowledge, and show Him the way of intelligence? Isa. 40:13, 14.

‘The Spirit of Jehovah’ means Divine Truth, 9818. ‘Instructing Him in the way of judgement’ self-evidently means making him knowledgeable, intelligent, and wise. In Jeremiah,

The stork in the sky knows her appointed times, but Jehovah’s people do not know the judgement of Jehovah. How can you say, We are wise, and the law of Jehovah is with us? Jer. 8:7, 8.

‘Not knowing the judgement of Jehovah’ stands for ignorance of Divine Truth, the source of wisdom; and this is why it says, ‘How can you say, We are wise?’

sRef Amos@6 @12 S5′ sRef Hos@2 @20 S5′ sRef Hos@2 @19 S5′ sRef Jer@22 @13 S5′ sRef Amos@5 @24 S5′ [5] In the same prophet,

Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness, and his upper rooms without judgement! Jer. 22:13.

‘Building upper rooms without judgement’ stands for absorbing ideas that are not true. In Hosea,

I will betroth you to Me forever in righteousness and in judgement, and I will betroth you to Me in truth. Hosea 2:19, 20.

‘Betrothing in judgement’ stands for joining by means of Divine Truth, thus by means of faith and the life of faith. In Amos,

Let judgement flow like water, and righteousness like a mighty torrent. Amos 5:24.

In the same prophet,

You have turned judgement into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood. Amos 6:12.

Here also ‘judgement’ stands for intelligence that springs from Divine Truth, and for a life based on this.

sRef Ps@119 @149 S6′ sRef Zeph@3 @5 S6′ sRef Ps@37 @6 S6′ sRef Ps@36 @6 S6′ sRef Deut@32 @4 S6′ sRef Ps@36 @5 S6′ [6] In Zephaniah,

Jehovah in the morning will bring His judgement to light. Zeph. 3:5.

‘Bringing judgement to light’ stands for revealing Divine Truth. In Moses,

All the ways of Jehovah are judgement. Deut. 32:4.

In David,

O Jehovah, Your truth reaches up to the skies, Your righteousness is like the mountains of God, Your judgements [like] the great abyss. Ps. 36:5, 6.

In the same author,

Jehovah will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your judgement as the noonday. Ps. 37:6.

In the same author,

Hear my voice according to Your mercy; O Jehovah, revive me according to Your judgements. Ps. 119:149.

In these places ‘judgement’ and ‘judgements’ stand for Divine Truth.

sRef Isa@9 @7 S7′ sRef Isa@16 @5 S7′ sRef Isa@5 @16 S7′ sRef Luke@11 @42 S7′ sRef Isa@16 @3 S7′ [7] In Luke,

Woe to you Pharisees! You pass by the judgement and the love of God. These you ought to have done. Luke 11:42.

‘Passing by the judgement of God’ stands for shunning Divine Truth, and ‘passing by the love of God’ for shunning Divine Good and a life inspired by them both. The fact that this life is also meant accounts for their being told, These you ought to have done. In Isaiah,

Jehovah Zebaoth will be exalted in judgement, and God will be made holy in righteousness. Isa. 5:16.

In the same author,

… upon the throne of David to establish the kingdom in judgement and in righteousness, from now and even for evermore. Isa. 9:7.

In the same author,

Give counsel, execute judgement, set your shade like the night in the middle of the day. Isa. 16:3.

‘Executing judgement’ stands for acting in accordance with God’s truth.

sRef Isa@42 @1 S8′ sRef Ezek@18 @9 S8′ sRef Jer@23 @5 S8′ sRef Isa@42 @4 S8′ sRef Ezek@18 @5 S8′ sRef Zeph@2 @3 S8′ [8] In Jeremiah,

I will raise up for David a righteous branch, who will execute judgement and righteousness in the land. Jer. 23:5; 33:15.

In Ezekiel,

If a man has been righteous, one who has executed judgement and righteousness … [if he] walks in My statutes, and keeps My judgements, to execute truth, he is righteous; he will surely live. Ezek. 18:5, 9.

In Zephaniah,

Seek Jehovah, O all the meek of the earth, who have executed His judgement. Zeph. 2:3.

‘Executing God’s judgement’ stands for carrying out Divine Truth or acting in accord with it. In Isaiah,

I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth judgement to the nations. He will not quench nor will He break until He has set judgement on the earth. Isa. 42:1, 4.

This refers to the Lord. ‘Bringing forth judgement to the nations’ and ‘setting judgement on the earth’ stand for teaching Divine Truth and establishing it in the Church.

sRef Jer@30 @13 S9′ sRef Isa@51 @4 S9′ sRef Jer@4 @2 S9′ sRef John@9 @39 S9′ [9] In the same prophet,

Law will go out from Me, and I will raise up My judgement to be the light of peoples. Isa. 51:4.

‘Judgement’ stands for Divine Truth, ‘to be the light of peoples’ for to bring enlightenment. In John,

For judgement I came* into this world, that those who do not see may see, but those who see may become blind. John 9:39.

‘Coming into the world for judgement’ stands for coming to reveal Divine Truth, which gives people vision if the Lord is the source of their wisdom, but makes them blind if they themselves are the source of it and on account of this are reputed to be learned.

sRef Ezek@5 @10 S10′ sRef Ezek@5 @7 S10′ sRef Ezek@5 @8 S10′ sRef Ezek@5 @15 S10′ sRef Ezek@5 @6 S10′ sRef Jer@48 @21 S10′ sRef Ps@89 @14 S10′ [10] In Jeremiah,

Swear by the living Jehovah, in truth, in judgement, and in righteousness. Jer. 4:2.

In the same prophet,

There is none judging judgement for healthiness; you have no restorative medicaments. Jer. 30:13.

In David,

Righteousness and judgement are the support of Your throne; mercy and truth will stand firm before Your face. Ps. 89:14.

‘Righteousness’ stands for the good that belongs to mercy, and ‘judgement’ for the truth that belongs to faith, which is why the expression ‘mercy and truth’ is also used. In Ezekiel,

Jerusalem has changed My judgements into wickedness more than the nations, and My statutes more than the lands. Therefore I will execute in you [My] judgements in the eyes of the nations, and I will scatter all your remnant. Ezek. 5:6-8, 10, 15.

‘Changing judgements’ stands for altering truths as they exist in the civic state, these truths being meant by ‘judgements’ when ‘statutes’ are also mentioned, see 8972. But ‘executing judgements’ means passing judgement that points to death, which is damnation, or to life, which is salvation. Salvation or damnation is also meant by ‘judgement’ when the expression ‘day of judgement’ or ‘hour of judgement’ is used, for example in Matt. 11:22, 24; 12:36, 41, 42; Luke 10:14; 11:31, 32; John 5:28, 29; Rev. 14:7; 18:10. The same thing is also meant by ‘judgement’ when judgement-making is referred to, for example in Matt. 5:21, 22; 7:1, 2; 23:14, 33; John 5:24, 26, 27; 7:24; 8:15, 16; 12:31, 47, 48; Luke 6:37; 12:13, 14, 56, 57; 19:21, 22; 20:47; 22:30; Mark 12:40; Isa. 3:41; 41:1; Jer. 25:31; 48:21; Joel 3:12; Ps. 7:7, 8; 9:4, 7, 8; Lev. 19:15; Deut. 1:16, 17; 25:1; Rev. 17:1; 18:10; 20:12, 13.
* The Latin means I come but the Greek means I came, which Sw. Has in other places where he quotes this verse.

sRef Ex@28 @15 S0′ 9858. ‘With the work of a designer’ means a product of the understanding. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a designer’ as the power of understanding, dealt with in 9598, 9688. The words ‘a product of the understanding’ are used because the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, which is represented by Aaron’s garments, is heaven’s power of understanding, even as His celestial kingdom is its power of will. And the powers of understanding and will that a human being has correspond to those heavens, see 9835.

sRef Ex@28 @15 S0′ 9859. ‘Like the work of the ephod you shall make it’ means a continuation from the outermost part of the spiritual kingdom. This is clear from the representation of ‘the ephod’ as Divine Truth in an outward form in the spiritual kingdom, in which inner things terminate, dealt with in 9824, and therefore as the outermost part of that kingdom. A continuation of this is meant by ‘like the work of the ephod’, as also in 9838.

sRef Ex@28 @15 S0′ 9860. ‘From gold, violet, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, and fine twined linen you shall make it’ means the good of charity and faith, as above in 9687, 9832, 9833.

sRef Ex@28 @16 S0′ 9861. ‘It shall be square when doubled’ means that which is righteous and perfect. This is clear from the meaning of ‘square’ as that which is righteous, dealt with in 9717. The reason why that which is also perfect is meant is that the breastplate was doubled, and that which is doubled implies all aspects of good and all aspects of truth. What is on the right side implies the good from which truth springs, and what is on the left implies the truth springing from good, 9495, 9604 (end), 9736, thus also the two perfectly joined to each other. This accounts furthermore for the meaning of ‘two’ as things joined together, 8423, also every single aspect of them, 9166, and their completeness as well, 9103.

sRef Ex@28 @16 S0′ 9862. ‘A span the length of it, and a span the breadth of it’ means equally in respect of good and in respect of truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the length’ as good, dealt with in 1613, 9487; and from the meaning of ‘the breadth’ as truth, dealt with in 1613, 3433, 3434, 4482, 9487. Equally in respect of both these is meant by the length and the breadth, that they were equal.

sRef Ex@28 @17 S0′ 9863. ‘And you shall adorn it with settings of stones’ means the actual truths in their proper order, all springing from the one same good. This is clear from the meaning of the breastplate, to which ‘it’ refers here, as Divine Truth shining forth from the Lord’s Divine Good, dealt with in 9823; from the meaning of ‘settings of stones’ as truths in their proper order. For the breastplate was adorned with stones in accord with the names of the sons of Israel, and in a general sense truths on the lowest level of order are meant by ‘stones’, 114, 643, 1298, 3720, 6426, 8609, and truths shining forth from good by ‘precious stones’ such as those in the breastplate, 9476. The expression ‘springing from the one same good’ is used because there is just one good that all the truths spring from. This good is the good of love within the Lord, thus is the Lord Himself, and is consequently the good of love from the Lord, which is the good of love to the Lord. For the good which flows in from the Lord and resides with man, spirit, or angel, has all the appearance of being theirs; and so it is that love to the Lord is love received from the Lord. This good is the one and only good from which all the truths spring, and from which the order among them begins; for the truths are outward forms of the good.

sRef Rev@21 @19 S2′ sRef Rev@21 @20 S2′ [2] The fact that the precious stones in the breastplate meant Divine Truths springing from Divine Good is clear from places in the Word where precious stones are mentioned, such as in John’s Revelation,

The foundations of the wall of the city, the new Jerusalem, were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. Rev. 21:19, 20.

These precious stones mean the Church’s truths, which are God’s truths. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the city, the new Jerusalem’, ‘the wall of it’, and ‘the foundations of the wall’. ‘The new Jerusalem’ means a new Church which will take the place of the one that is ours at the present day; for the Book of Revelation deals with the state of the Church that exists now, through to its end, and then with a new Church, which is the holy Jerusalem coming down out of heaven. ‘The wall of it’ means the truths of faith that serve to defend it, and ‘the foundations’ truths that spring from good. Those actual truths in their proper order are specified by the precious stones mentioned by name there. Anyone may see that no Jerusalem is going to come down out of heaven or that anything else mentioned there is literally going to take place, but that this description in every detail means such things as have to do with the Church. The fact that the truths of faith are meant by the foundations of its wall is clear from the consideration that they are the things which guard the Church from every attack, as walls do a city.

‘Jerusalem’ is the Church, see 2117, 9166.
‘Walls’ are the truths of faith guarding the Church, 6419.
‘Foundations’ are truths springing from good, 9643.

sRef Ezek@28 @12 S3′ sRef Ezek@28 @13 S3′ sRef Ezek@28 @14 S3′ [3] In Ezekiel,

Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty, you were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was your covering – ruby, topaz, and diamond; tarshish, shoham, and jasper; sapphire, chrysoprase, and carbuncle – and gold. You were on the mountain of the holiness of God, you walked in the midst of stones of fire. Ezek. 28:12-14.

Here also precious stones mean truths springing from good. For ‘Tyre’ in the representative internal sense is one who has intelligence and wisdom arising from cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth, 1201. This is why its king is said to be ‘full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty’. ‘Wisdom’ has regard to good, and ‘beauty’ to truth; for all wisdom in heaven is derived from good, and all beauty there is derived from truths springing from good. ‘The garden of Eden’ means intelligence composed of good, 100, ‘garden’ meaning real intelligence, 100, 108, 2702. From this it is evident that the stones there mentioned by name mean truths springing from good.

[4] But precisely which truths springing from good are meant by each of the stones in the breastplate will be clear from what is to follow. The fact that they mean all truths and forms of good in their entirety is clear from the following considerations: They were twelve and had the names of the sons of Israel or the tribes inscribed on them, the forms of good and the truths of heaven and the Church in their entirety being meant by the twelve tribes, 3858, 3926, 3939, 4060, 6335, 6337, 6397; they therefore meant heaven and all the communities there, 7836, 7891, 7996, 7997; the meaning of them varied, depending on the order in which they are mentioned in the Word, 3862, 3926, 3939, 4303, 6337, 6640; and ‘twelve’ means all, 3272, 3858, 7973.

sRef Ex@28 @17 S0′ 9864. ‘There shall be four rows of stones, the order being’ means all of them joined together, that is to say, all the truths springing from good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘four’ as a joining together, dealt with in 1686, 9601, 9674; and from the meaning of ‘rows of stones’ as truths springing from good in their proper order. The setting of them in four rows, three in each row, was decreed in order that the joining together of all the truths springing from the same good, and so their perfection, might be represented; for ‘four’ means a joining together, as has been stated, and ‘three’ means perfection, 9825. Indeed since one and the same good is the source from which they all emanate, 9863, and is consequently the one to which they all look back, that good is what joins them all together.

[2] Things that happen in heaven may serve to cast light on all this and show that it is so. All without exception in heaven turn their face towards the Lord; and – marvel that it is – this happens whatever direction they turn to face. As a consequence of this all who are in heaven are joined together as one. But those who are outside heaven turn their face away from the Lord; and the further away they are from heaven the further away their faced is turned. As a consequence of this there is division among them, because they do not love God or their neighbour, only themselves and the world. But this is an arcanum which for those whose thought is ruled by the illusions of the senses is inconceivable; for they cannot at all comprehend how every face in heaven can be always looking, in whatever direction its owner turns, towards the Lord, who is the Sun there. See what has been introduced above in 9828 on this subject.

sRef Ex@28 @17 S0′ 9865. ‘A ruby, a topaz, a carbuncle’ means the celestial love of good. This is clear from the meaning of these stones as the good of celestial love, celestial love being love to the Lord, received from the Lord. Those stones mean that love on account of their red and flaming colour; for ‘red’ means love, 3300, and so does ‘flaming’, 3222, 6832, 7620-7622, 9570. But here celestial love is meant because those stones are in the first row; and those in the first row correspond to the realities that exist in the inmost heaven, where celestial love, which is love to the Lord, reigns. Since the twelve stones in the breastplate represented all the truths that spring from good they also represented the whole of heaven; for heaven is heaven by virtue of the Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good, the angels there who constitute heaven being recipients of that Truth. So it is that the three stones which are in the first row represent the inmost heaven, consequently the love that reigns there, which is called the celestial love of good and celestial love of truth. The stones in the first row represent the celestial love of good, those in the second row the celestial love of truth. These stones represent that love, as has been stated, on account of their colour; for what precious stones represent is determined by their colours. [2] In heaven colours of indescribable beauty appear; for they are modifications of heavenly light, and heavenly light is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord. From this it is evident that colours present themselves there in accord with variations of goodness and truth; thus they are modifications of the light emanating from the Lord, through the angels. The light emanating from the Lord appears in the inmost heaven as a flame; therefore the colours resulting from it are red and flashing. But the same light appears in the middle heaven as a brilliantly white light; therefore the colours resulting from it are brilliant, and to the extent that they have good within them they are gleaming. This explains why there are two basic colours to which all others are related, namely the colour red and the colour white; and the colour red is representative of good, while the colour white is representative of truth, see 9467.

sRef Job@28 @19 S3′ [3] From all this it is now clear why it was that stones of so many colours were set in rows in the breastplate, namely in order that they might represent all the forms of good and the truths that exist in heaven in their proper order, and consequently represent the whole of heaven. The reason why the stones in the first row – a ruby, a topaz, and a carbuncle – represented the celestial love of good is that they are different hues of red. Furthermore the noun used in the original language for ‘a ruby’, the first in the row, is derived from a word that means ‘redness’; and that for ‘a carbuncle’, the third in the row, is derived from a word meaning ‘flashing’, as if from fire. But as for the derivation of ‘a topaz’, the middle one in the row, this is unknown, though it very probably comes from something describing a red and flaming colour. This may be why in Job something similar is said of a topaz as is said of gold,

With wisdom the topaz of Ethiopia will not compete, it cannot be valued in pure gold. Job 28:19.

‘Gold’ too means the good of love, 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 8932, 9490, 9510.

sRef Ex@28 @17 S0′ 9866. ‘One row’ means a group of three there existing as one. This is clear from the meaning of ‘row’ as a group of three; for three stones constituted it, and ‘three’ means that which is complete from beginning to end, 2788, 4495, 7715, 9198, 9488. They are said to exist as one because a sequence of three makes one; for the resulting presence of three together, side by side at the lowest level, corresponds to the consecutive order which has given rise to their presence together on that level and maintains it, see 9825. So it is that the three heavens make one on the last and lowest level; and the same applies in each heaven. The origin of this lies in God Himself, in whom there is a Trinity, consisting of His Essential Divinity, Divine Humanity, and Divine Proceeding, which make one. And this Divine Trinity making One is the Lord. From all this it may be seen why in each row there were three stones and that a group of three existing as one is meant by each row. The reason why there were four rows is that in heaven there are two kingdoms, the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom, and in each there is an internal part and an external. The internal and external of the celestial kingdom was represented by the two rows on the right side of the breastplate, and the internal and external of the spiritual kingdom by the two rows on its left side. For the breastplate was a square when doubled over.

sRef Ex@28 @18 S0′ 9867. ‘And the second row’ means this group of three also existing as one. This is clear from what has been shown immediately above. In general every unified whole arises from the harmony and agreement of many constituent parts, see 457.

sRef Ex@28 @18 S0′ 9868. ‘A chrysoprase, a sapphire, and a diamond’ means the celestial love of truth, from which the things that follow spring. This is clear from the meaning of these stones as the celestial love of truth, dealt with below. The reason for saying ‘from which the things that follow spring’ is that all the forms of good and truths that follow emanate in order from those that go before; for the existence of anything unconnected with others prior to itself is not possible. First in order is the celestial love of good; second is the celestial love of truth; third is the spiritual love of good; and fourth is the spiritual love of truth. This order is what was represented in the rows of stones in the breastplate of judgement, and it is the actual order of the forms of good and the truths in the heavens. In the inmost heaven there is the celestial love of good and the celestial love of truth, the celestial love of good constituting the internal part of that heaven, and the celestial love of truth the external part of it. But in the second heaven there is the spiritual love of good, which constitutes the internal part of it, and the spiritual love of truth, which constitutes the external part of it. Each love furthermore flows into the next in the same order, and they constitute a unified whole so to speak. From this it is evident what should be understood by ‘from which the things that follow spring’.

[2] As regards the stones belonging to this row, they derive their meaning, as the previous ones and also all the others do, from their colours. For the meaning of precious stones is determined by their colours, see above in 9865; colours in heaven are modifications of the light and shade there, and so are diverse forms of intelligence and wisdom among angels, 3993, 4530, 4677, 4742, 4922, 9466, the light in heaven being Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, the source of all intelligence and wisdom. Being of different shades of red the stones belonging to the first row mean the celestial love of good; but the stones belonging to the present row are of different shades of blue that is the product of red. For there is blue which is the product of red and blue which is the product of white. Blue which is the product of red shines inwardly from a source that is flaming; this is the kind of blue by which the celestial love of truth is meant. But blue which is the product of white, such as is present in the stones belonging to the next row, which means the spiritual love of good, does not shine inwardly from a source that is flaming but from one that is clear and bright. sRef Ezek@27 @16 S3′ [3] Whether chrysoprase, the first stone belonging to this row, was of a blue colour cannot be proved from the derivation of that word in the original language. But the fact that it means the celestial love of truth is evident in Ezekiel,

Syria was your merchant because of the multitude of your handiworks; [they exchanged for your wares] chrysoprase, purple, and embroidered work. Ezek. 27:16.

This refers to Tyre, by which wisdom and intelligence arising from cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth are meant, 1201. Chrysoprase is linked here with purple, and since ‘purple’ means the celestial love of good, 9467, it follows that ‘chrysoprase’ means the celestial love of truth; for wherever good is spoken of in the prophetical part of the Word, truth belonging to the same class is also spoken of, on account of the heavenly marriage in every detail there, 9263, 9314. ‘Syria’ too, which was ‘the merchant’, means cognitions of good, 1232, 1234, 3249, 4112, the cognitions of good being the truths of celestial love. sRef Ex@24 @10 S4′ [4] A sapphire, the second stone belonging to this row, is – as is well known – of a blue colour, like that of the sky; therefore it says in the Book of Exodus,

Seventy of the elders saw the God of Israel, and under His feet there was so to speak a work of sapphire, and it was like the substance of the sky for clearness. Exod. 24:10.

This stone means what is translucent with inner truths, which are the truths of celestial love, see 9407.

[5] But a diamond, the third stone belonging to this row, means the truth of celestial love, on account of its translucence that tends to have a blueness in it. Thus it is through this stone, being the last, that the colours of the stones belonging to this row and also the previous one shine, and are then brought in contact with those in the next row. The situation is similar with the goodness and truths in the inmost heaven and the goodness and truths in the heavens that come after it. The latter goodness and truths derive their life of charity and faith from the former by transmission, as if by a shining through.

sRef Ex@28 @19 S0′ 9869. ‘And the third row’ means a group of three here also existing as one, as above in 9866.

sRef Ex@28 @19 S0′ 9870. ‘A lapis lazuli, an agate, and an amethyst’ means the spiritual love of good. This is clear in a similar way from their colour; for the blue colour which is a product of white means spiritual good, or what amounts to the same thing, the spiritual love of good, see above in 9868. The spiritual love of good is charity towards the neighbour, and the spiritual love of truth is faith rooted in charity. That good and this truth are what constitute the second heaven. The internal part of that heaven consists in the good of charity, and the external in the good of faith. It is well known that a lapis lazuli is of a blue colour, and an amethyst as well. But it is less well known that an agate too is of this colour; for no one knows what kind of stone the word in the original language describes, whether an agate, turquoise, or some other.

sRef Ex@28 @20 S0′ 9871. ‘And the fourth row’ means a last group of three existing as one. This is clear from what has been introduced above in 9866.

sRef Ezek@10 @9 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @20 S0′ 9872. ‘A tarshish, and a shoham, and a jasper’ means the spiritual love of truth, in which higher things terminate. This is clear from the meaning of these stones, which they derive from their colours; for the colour of all the stones in this row is on the white side tinged with blue. The fact that tarshish means the spiritual love of truth is clear from places in the Word where it is mentioned, as in Ezekiel,

Behold, there were four wheels beside the cherubs; the appearance of the wheels was like that of tarshish stone. Ezek. 1:16; 10:9.

The cherubs’ wheels are similar in meaning to a person’s arms and feet, which is the power to act and go forward, this power being that of truth springing from good, see 8215. This explains why the appearance of those wheels was like that of tarshish stone; for ‘tarshish’ means truth springing from spiritual good, which possesses power.

sRef Dan@10 @6 S2′ sRef Dan@10 @5 S2′ [2] In Daniel,

I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, a man clothed in linen whose loins were girded with gold of Uphaz, and his body was like tarshish; and his face was like [the appearance] of lightning, and his eyes were like fiery torches. Dan. 10:5, 6.

‘A man clothed in linen’ was an angel from heaven. ‘Linen’ means truth that is the clothing of good, 7601. By ‘loins’ conjugial love, which belongs to goodness and truth, is meant, 3021, 4280, 5050-5062. This is why the man’s loins are said to have been ‘girded with gold of Uphaz’, for ‘gold’ means the good of love, 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 9490, 9510. ‘The body’ however, by virtue of its correspondence, means the good of celestial love and also the good of spiritual love, 6135, while the surface of the body means the truth that springs from that good, which is why the man’s body looked like tarshish. So it is that ‘tarshish’ means the truth that spiritual love desires. sRef Rev@21 @18 S3′ sRef Rev@21 @19 S3′ sRef Rev@21 @11 S3′ [3] For the meaning of a shoham, the second stone in this row, as the truths of faith that spring from love, see what has been shown in 9476, 9841. As for a jasper, the third and last stone belonging to this row, that it means the truth of faith, this is clear in John’s Revelation,

The light of the city, the holy Jerusalem, was like a most precious stone, as if it were a jasper stone, shining like crystal. Rev. 21:11.

‘The holy Jerusalem’ means the Church that is going to take the place of the one that is ours at the present day. Its ‘light’ is the truth of faith and resulting intelligence, 9548, 9551, 9555, 9558, 9561, 9684. Therefore it is likened to ‘a jasper stone, shining like crystal’. ‘Crystal’ as well means the truth of faith springing from good, in the same book,

The construction of the wall of the holy Jerusalem was jasper, and the city was pure gold, like pure glass. Rev. 21:18.

The wall of the city is described as jasper because ‘the wall’ means the truth of faith protecting the Church, 6419. And since ‘the wall’ has this meaning, verse 19 of that chapter says that the first stone constituting its foundations was jasper. For by ‘foundation’ is meant the truth of faith springing from good, see 9643.

sRef Ex@28 @20 S0′ 9873. All this now makes clear what the twelve precious stones in the breastplate of judgement served to mean, namely all the kinds of good and truth of heaven in their proper order. Heaven is divided into two kingdoms, the celestial and the spiritual. The good of the celestial kingdom was represented by the first two rows, which were on the right side of the breastplate, and the good of the spiritual kingdom by the next two rows, which were on the left side. The internal good of the celestial kingdom is the good of love to the Lord; this is the good that is meant by the celestial love of good. The external good of the celestial kingdom however is the good of mutual love; this is the good that is meant by the celestial love of truth. But the internal good of the spiritual kingdom is the good of charity towards the neighbour; this is the good that is meant by the spiritual love of good. And the external good of the spiritual kingdom is the good of faith; this is the good that is meant by the spiritual love of truth. These kinds of good and truth in this order constitute the heavens, see 9468, 9473, 9680, 9683, 9780.

[2] From this it is now evident what the twelve stones, which were called the Urim and Thummim, represented. But in what way the Divine Truths which were answers were made known by means of them will be stated below in 9905. The fact that the good of love occupied the first place there and the truth of faith the last is clear from the first stone’s being a ruby and the last’s being a jasper, thus from the first stone’s being red in colour, and the last’s being white, both of them translucent. For the meaning of ‘red’ as the good of love, see 3300, 9467; and for that of ‘white’ as the truth of faith, 3301, 3993, 4007, 5319.

[3] Much the same as is meant by the stones in the breastplate was also meant by the materials used in weaving the ephod. The ephod was woven from violet, purple, twice-dyed scarlet, and fine linen, as is evident from verse 6 of the present chapter, and ‘violet’ meant the truth of celestial love, ‘purple’ the good of celestial love, ‘twice-dyed scarlet’ the good of spiritual love, and ‘fine linen’ the truth of spiritual love, 9833. The reason why much the same was meant is that ‘the ephod’ meant heaven on last and outermost levels, in the same way as ‘the breastplate’ does, 9824. But the kinds of good and truth are listed in a different order there, because ‘the ephod’ meant the spiritual heaven, whereas ‘the breastplate’ means all heaven from first to last. And since the dwelling-place along with the tent also represented heaven, 9457, 9481, 9485, 9615, the material from which its curtains and veils were woven were likewise violet, purple, double-dyed scarlet, and fine twined linen, see the previous Chapters 26:1, 31, 36; 27:16, and 9466-9469.

[4] In addition it should be recognized that in the general sense SAPPHIRE means the external part of the celestial kingdom and SHOHAM the external part of the spiritual kingdom. And because these two stones had this meaning they were the middle stones belonging to the secondary rows, that is to say, the sapphire was the middle stone in the second row, and the shoham the middle stone in the fourth row. The stones belonging to the second row meant the external good of the celestial kingdom, which has been called the celestial love of truth, and the stones belonging to the fourth row meant the external good of the spiritual kingdom, which has been called the spiritual love of truth, see what has been stated about them above in this paragraph 9873.

sRef Isa@54 @11 S5′ sRef Ex@24 @10 S5′ [5] The fact that ‘sapphire’ means the external part of the celestial kingdom is evident from places in the Word where it is mentioned, such as in the Book of Exodus,

Seventy of the elders saw the God of Israel, and under His feet there was so to speak a work of sapphire, and it was like the substance of the sky for clearness. Exod. 24:10.

The external part of the celestial kingdom is so described, because the words ‘under His feet’, meaning what is external, are used, and where ‘the God of Israel’, who is the Lord, is, there heaven is. In Isaiah,

O afflicted one and storm-tossed, and receiving no comfort! Behold, I am arranging your stones with antimony, and will lay your foundations in sapphires. Isa. 54:11.

The subject in this chapter is the celestial kingdom. The foundations which will be laid in sapphires, are the external things there; for foundations lie underneath.

sRef Ezek@1 @26 S6′ sRef Lam@4 @7 S6′ [6] In Jeremiah,

Her Nazirites were brighter than snow, they were whiter than milk. Their bones* were ruddier than pearls,** polished like sapphires.*** Lam. 4:7.

Nazirites represented the celestial man, which is why it says ‘polished like sapphires’, ‘polished’ referring to what is external. In Ezekiel,

Above the expanse that was above the heads of the cherubs, in appearance like a sapphire stone, there was the likeness of a throne, and above the likeness of a throne there was the appearance of a man (homo) sitting upon it. Ezek. 1:26; 10:1.

Here also ‘sapphire’ is used to describe the external part of the celestial kingdom; for what is above the expanse or round about is outside, that which is inmost being the one ‘sitting upon a throne’. sRef Job@28 @16 S7′ [7] Just as sapphire stone means the external part of the celestial kingdom, so shoham stone means the external part of the spiritual kingdom. Therefore also this was the stone which was placed on the two shoulder-pieces of the ephod with the names of the sons of Israel inscribed on them, which are dealt with in verses 9-14 of the present chapter; for the ephod represented the external part of the spiritual kingdom, 9824. Since shoham and sapphire in the general sense meant the external parts of two heavens, they were placed in the middle of the sets of three stones forming the second and fourth rows, as stated above. For the middle includes the whole, as is also true of the robe, which in the general sense has represented the spiritual kingdom, because it comes in the middle, as shown above in 9825. Because those two stones include everything meant by all the other stones in those rows, it says in Job,

Wisdom cannot be compared with the gold of Ophir, with the precious shoham and the sapphire. Job 28:16.
* i.e. bodies
** In other places Sw. has rubies or gem stones.
*** lit. sapphires their polishing

sRef Ex@28 @12 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @20 S0′ 9874. ‘Enclosed in gold shall they be in their settings’ means that all of them in general and each in particular must emanate from the good belonging to the love that is received from the Lord and shown to the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘gold’ as the good of love, dealt with in 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 8932, 9490, 9510; and from the meaning of ‘being enclosed in it in their settings’ as emanating from that good. For every single stone was surrounded by and so enclosed in gold, and since ‘gold’ means the good of love what is enclosed means that which exists or emanates from that good. The like is meant in verse 11 of the present chapter by the sockets of gold which surrounded the two shoham stones placed on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod.

[2] The implications of all this are that the breastplate and its twelve stones represented every good and truth in the heavens and so represented all heaven, as shown above. Moreover not only the heavens but also every community in the heavens, indeed each angel within a community, is surrounded by a Divine sphere, which consists of Divine Good and Truth emanating from the Lord, see where this is dealt with in 9490-9492, 9498, 9499, 9534. And since the good and truth of this sphere is received by the angels, so also every single thing present with them emanates from there; for each angel is heaven in the smallest form it takes. The actual good emanating from the Lord is what the gold around the stones and enclosing them represents.

[3] The truth that this good is the good of love that is received from the Lord and shown to the Lord may be recognized from the consideration that all good belongs to love, for what a person loves he calls good and also feels to be such. From this it is evident that heavenly good is the good of love to the Lord, for this love is what joins angel and man to the Lord; through this love they are brought to Him and enjoy all the good of heaven. It is well known in the Church that this good comes from the Lord, for the teaching of the Church is that all good originates in God and none at all in oneself. From this it is evident that the good of love shown to the Lord must come from the Lord, and that good from any other source is not good.

sRef Ex@28 @21 S0′ 9875. ‘And the stones shall be according to the names of the sons of Israel’ means forms of good and truths arranged distinctly and separately in accord with their entire essential nature. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the stones’ as forms of good and truths arranged distinctly and separately, for each stone means some distinct form of good or truth, see what has been shown in 9865-9872; and from the meaning of ‘the names of the sons of Israel’ as the same forms of good and truths arranged in accord with their entire essential nature, dealt with in 9842, 9843.

sRef Ex@28 @21 S0′ 9876. ‘Twelve according to their names’ means each one without exception. This is clear from the meaning of ‘twelve’ as all, dealt with in 3272, 3858, 3913, 7973; and from the meaning of ‘the names of the sons of Israel’ as forms of good and truths in their entirety in accord with their entire essential nature, dealt with in 9875.

sRef Ex@28 @21 S0′ 9877. ‘With the engravings of a signet’ means in accord with the heavenly pattern. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the engravings of a signet’ as the heavenly pattern, dealt with in 9846. As regards what the heavenly pattern is, it is the one which all the communities in heaven have been arranged in accordance with. Thus it is the pattern in accordance with which all truths springing from good have been arranged into order; for the angels in heaven are recipients of truths springing from good, the Divine Good emanating from the Lord being the creator of that pattern. In accordance with that pattern all the affections belonging to love, and from this all the thoughts belonging to faith flow; indeed in accordance with that pattern they spread out into the angelic communities and place them in communion with one another. So it is that those with whom the good of love to the Lord resides, and springing from this good the truths of faith, are in the greatest state of freedom in willing and thinking. But those with whom that good and consequently truths springing from it do not reside are in a state of bondage; for their will and thought begin in self and not the Lord, the creator of that pattern. But it is not possible to have a detailed knowledge of what that pattern is like, because it lies beyond human understanding.

sRef Ex@28 @21 S0′ 9878. ‘Each according to its name’ means for each one in particular; and ‘they shall be for the twelve tribes’ means for all in general. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the names of the sons of Israel’ as forms of good and truths in respect of their entire essential nature – dealt with above in 9842, 9843 – and since each stone was named after one of the tribes, each one in particular is accordingly meant; and from the meaning of ‘the twelve tribes’ as all the forms of good and truths in their entirety. For all is meant by ‘twelve’, 3272, 3858, 3913, 7973, and forms of the good of love and the truths of faith in their entirety by ‘the tribes’, 3858, 3926, 3939, 4060, 6335, 6397, 7836, 7891, 7996, 7997, thus all in general.

sRef Ex@28 @22 S0′ 9879. ‘And you shall make on the breastplate small chains on the border’ means all heaven joined together in the most external parts. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the breastplate’ as Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good, dealt with in 9823, thus also heaven, dealt with below; from the meaning of ‘small chains’ as coherence, dealt with above in 9852, thus also a joining together; and from the meaning of ‘the border’ as the most external part, as also above in 9853. The reason why ‘the breastplate’ means heaven as well is that all the kinds of good and truth in their entirety were represented there by the twelve stones and by the names of the twelve tribes; and those kinds of good and truth in their entirety constitute heaven, so completely that whether you say heaven or those kinds of good and truth it amounts to the same thing. For the angels who constitute heaven are recipients of good and truth from the Lord, and being recipients of these they are also forms of them, or forms of love and charity. Truths of faith make for beauty, but a beauty in keeping with truths that spring from good, that is, in keeping with truths through which good shines forth. Outward forms of love and charity, which is what the forms of angels in the heavens are, are human forms; they are such because the kinds of good and the truths which emanate from the Lord, and the angels are recipients of, are effigies and images of the Lord.

sRef Ex@28 @22 S0′ 9880. ‘With the work of slender rope’ means an indissoluble joining together. This is clear from the meaning of ‘slender rope’ as a joining together, dealt with above in 9854. The reason why an indissoluble joining together is meant is that a slender rope made from twisted and intertwined work, as is evident from the original language in which a cord such as this is called slender rope. What is made from twisted and intertwined work means in the spiritual sense something indissoluble.

sRef Ex@28 @22 S0′ 9881. ‘From pure gold’ means through celestial good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘gold’ as the good of love, dealt with in 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 8932, 9490, 9510; and since the words ‘pure gold’ are used celestial good is what is meant. For there is celestial good and there is spiritual good, both of which may be internal or external, celestial good being the good of love to the Lord, and spiritual good the good of love towards the neighbour. In the Word all those kinds of good are called ‘gold’. But they are distinguished from one another by being called gold ‘from Uphaz’, ‘from Ophir’, ‘from Sheba’ and ‘Havillah’, and also ‘from Tarshish’ – gold from Uphaz in Jer. 10:9; Dan. 10:5, by which celestial good is meant; gold from Ophir in Isa. 13:12; Ps. 45:9; Job 22:24; 28:16, by which spiritual good is meant; gold from Sheba in Isa. 60:6; Ezek. 27:22; Ps. 72:15, by which good on the level of religious knowledge is meant, as it is by gold from Havillah in Gen. 2:11, 12; and also silver and gold from Tarshish, in Isa. 60:9, by which truth and good on the level of factual knowledge are meant.

sRef Ex@28 @22 S0′ 9882.. ‘And you shall make on the breastplate two rings of gold’ means a sphere of Divine Good, a sphere through which there is a joining to the higher part of heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the breastplate’ as a representative sign of heaven, dealt with in 9879; and from the meaning of ‘two rings of gold’ as a sphere of Divine Good, by which a joining together is accomplished, dealt with in 9498, 9501. The reason why it is a joining to the higher part of heaven is that this is what is meant by the requirement for the rings to be on the upper part of the breastplate; for from there the small chains were taken up to the sockets of gold on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod.

sRef Ex@28 @23 S0′ 9883. ‘And put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate’ means in the most external parts. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the two rings’ as a sphere of Divine Good, by which a joining together is accomplished, dealt with immediately above in 9882; from the meaning of ‘the two ends’ as the last or most external parts; and from the meaning of ‘the breastplate’ as a representative sign of heaven, dealt with above in 9879. From these meanings it is evident that ‘you shall put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate’ means a joining to the sphere of Divine Good in the most external parts of heaven.

sRef Ex@28 @24 S0′ 9884. ‘And you shall put the two slender ropes of gold in the two rings’ means the mode of the indissoluble joining together. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the slender ropes’ as an indissoluble joining together, dealt with above in 9880; from the meaning of ‘gold’ as the good of love, also dealt with above, in 9881; and from the meaning of ‘the two rings’ as a Divine sphere through which a joining together is accomplished, also dealt with above in 9881, the mode of the joining together being meant however by ‘putting them in the two rings’. From all this it is evident that ‘you shall put the two slender ropes of gold in the two rings’ means the mode of the indissoluble joining of good to the Divine sphere.

sRef Ex@28 @24 S0′ 9885. ‘At the ends of the breastplate’ means in the most external parts. This is clear from what has been stated above in 9882.

sRef Ex@28 @25 S0′ 9886. ‘And the two ends of the two slender ropes you shall put into the two sockets’ means the mode by which it is joined to the supports in the most external parts. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the ends’ as the last or most external parts, dealt with above in 9882; from the meaning of ‘slender ropes’ as an indissoluble joining together, also dealt with above, in 9880, the mode of the joining together being meant by ‘putting them into the sockets’; and from the meaning of ‘the sockets’, which were above the shoulders, as being brought into being and kept in being, dealt with in 9847, 9851. The reason why support is also meant by ‘the sockets’ is that they were above the shoulders, and supports are meant by ‘the shoulders’ since objects are supported by and carried on them.

sRef Ex@28 @25 S0′ 9887. ‘And put them onto the shoulders of the ephod’ means the support given thereby to heaven, and the preservation of the good and truth there by all exertion and power. This is clear from the meaning of ‘putting onto the shoulders of the ephod’ as the support given to good and truth in the heavens, and the preservation of them. Regarding that support, see immediately above in 9886; and regarding that preservation by all exertion and power, 9836. The reason why the support given to heaven by means of the Divine emanating from the Lord and also the preservation of the good and truth there are meant is that ‘the breastplate’, which was tied to the shoulder-pieces of the ephod by means of the slender ropes, and thereby supported, means the Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good, 9823, and so means all the forms of good and the truths in their entirety which make heaven, 9879.

sRef Ex@28 @25 S0′ 9888. ‘Before the face of it’ means to eternity. This is clear from the meaning of ‘before the face’ as to eternity; for ‘the breastplate’ means heaven and every good and truth that constitutes it, 9879. What is ‘before the face’ in heaven is in the Lord’s everlasting sight, thus is preserved to eternity.

sRef Ex@28 @26 S0′ 9889. ‘And you shall make two rings of gold’ means a sphere of Divine Good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘rings’ as a sphere of Divine Good by which a joining together is accomplished, dealt with in 9882; and from the meaning of ‘gold’ as the good of love, dealt with in 9881.

sRef Ex@28 @26 S0′ 9890. ‘And place them on the two ends of the breastplate’ means in the most external parts. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the ends’ as the last or most external parts; and from the meaning of ‘the breastplate’ as a representative sign of heaven, both of which are dealt with in 9882, [9883.]

sRef Ex@28 @26 S0′ 9891. ‘On the edge of it which is on this side of the ephod, inwards’ means the joining to and preservation of the middle part. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the edge of the breastplate which is on this side of the ephod, inwards’ as a joining to the middle part of heaven, and so the preservation of it; for ‘the ephod’ means Divine Truth in the spiritual heaven in an outward form, 9824, thus heaven in outermost things, and ‘the edge which is on this side of the ephod’ means the middle part. The subject is the joining of all the forms of good and the truths of heaven to the last and lowest things there, and thereby the preservation of the whole and all its parts. [2] All those forms of good and truths are represented by the twelve stones in the breastplate and by the names of the twelve tribes inscribed on the stones there. The joining of them to the last and lowest things of heaven is represented by the tying of the breastplate to the ephod in six places – two at the shoulder-pieces above, two at the middle part, and two at the shoulder-pieces below, above the girdle. From all this the preservation of the whole of heaven and all its parts is demonstrated in a representative fashion.

[3] The joining of the breastplate at the shoulder-pieces above represents the preservation of the celestial forms of good and truths there; but the joining at ‘the edge on this side of the ephod, inwards’, or to the middle part, represents the preservation of the spiritual forms of good and truths. And the joining at the shoulder-pieces below against the join above the girdle of the ephod represents the preservation of the natural forms of good and truths coming forth from the celestial and spiritual ones. For the forms of good and the truths of heaven exist in a threefold order. Those on the highest levels are called celestial, those on the middle levels are called spiritual, and those on levels below are called natural coming forth from those celestial and spiritual ones; these will be dealt with below.

sRef Ex@28 @27 S0′ 9892. ‘And you shall make two rings of gold’ means a sphere of Divine Good, as above in 9882, 9889.

sRef Ex@28 @27 S0′ 9893. ‘And put them on the two shoulders of the ephod, below’ means the preservation of good and truth in the lowest part of heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘putting onto the shoulders’ as preserving with all exertion and power, as above in 9887. ‘Below’ there means the lowest part of heaven, where good and truth exist in a natural form, see just above in 9891.

sRef Ex@28 @27 S0′ 9894. ‘Before the face of it’ means to eternity, as above in 9888.

sRef Ex@28 @27 S0′ 9895. ‘Against the join above the girdle of the ephod’ means where the joining together of all things is accomplished, immediately within the outward bond holding everything in connection and form. This is clear from the meaning of ‘against the join of the ephod’ as where the joining together of all the things meant by ‘the ephod’ is accomplished, those things being the forms of good and the truths in the spiritual kingdom in an outward form, 9824; and from the meaning of ‘above the girdle of the ephod’ as immediately within the outward bond holding everything in connection and form. For ‘above’ means within, because things that are more internal are meant by those said to be higher above, 2148, 3084, 4599, 5146, 8325; and ‘the girdle of the ephod’ means an outward bond holding all things in connection and form, 9828, 9837.

[2] What the situation is in this must be stated briefly. The tying of the breastplate to the shoulder-pieces above it, on its inside, and below, means the joining to all things of heaven, as shown above in 9891; and this lowest tying, above the girdle, means the preservation of the things in the lowest part, where good and truth present themselves in a natural form, 9893. As regards those things which are lowest, or which stand last, and their holding higher or more internal ones in connection and form, see 9828; and that which is lowest or last is represented by the girdle of the ephod, 9828, 9837. But what lies immediately within or above was represented by the part ‘against the join above the girdle’, where the breastplate was tied below to the ephod.

sRef Ex@28 @28 S0′ 9896. ‘And they shall tie the breastplate from its rings to the rings of the ephod’ means the joining to and preservation of everything in heaven by means of the sphere of Divine Good in the outermost parts of the spiritual kingdom. This is clear from the meaning of ‘tying’ as joining to and preserving, dealt with in the places above where the tying of the breastplate to the ephod has been the subject; from the meaning of ‘the breastplate’ as a representative sign of all things of heaven, dealt with in 9879, 9887; from the meaning of ‘the rings’ as a sphere of Divine Good by which the joining together is accomplished, dealt with in 9498, 9501, 9882; and from the meaning of ‘the ephod’ as Divine Truth in the spiritual kingdom in an outward form, in which inner things terminate, dealt with in 9824, thus the whole outermost part of that kingdom.

sRef Ex@28 @28 S0′ 9897. ‘With a cord of violet’ means through the celestial love of truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a cord of violet’ as the celestial love of truth, dealt with in 9466, 9687, 9833.

sRef Ex@28 @28 S0′ 9898. ‘So that it is above the girdle of the ephod’ means in order that it may be preserved for evermore in its connection and form. This is clear from what has been stated above in 9895.

sRef Ex@28 @28 S0′ 9899. ‘And the breastplate will not come away from upon the ephod’ means that all things in heaven are inseparable from the outermost parts of the spiritual kingdom. This is clear from the meaning of ‘not coming away from’ as not being separated; from the meaning of ‘the breastplate’ as a representative sign of all things composing heaven, dealt with in 9879, 9887; and from the meaning of ‘the ephod’ as the whole outermost part of the spiritual kingdom, dealt with in 9824, 9896.

sRef Ex@28 @29 S0′ 9900. ‘And Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel’ means the preservation of good and truth, of their entire essential nature imparted to them by the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘carrying’ – when it refers to ‘the breastplate’, by which all the forms of good and the truths belonging to heaven are meant, 9879, 9887 – as preserving, for what is carried on the breast is preserved (‘carrying’ also means, when it refers to the Divine, holding in a state of goodness and truth, see 9500, 9737); from the representation of ‘Aaron’ as the Lord in respect of Divine Good, dealt with in 9806; and from the meaning of ‘the names of the sons of Israel’ as the forms of good and the truths that belong to heaven and the Church, the entire essential nature of them, dealt with in 9842.

sRef Ex@28 @29 S0′ 9901. ‘In the breastplate of judgement’ means that which is representative of heaven in respect of the Divine Truth shining forth from the Lord’s Divine Good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the breastplate of judgement’ as Divine Truth shining forth from the Lord’s Divine Good, dealt with in 9857, and as a representative sign of heaven, 9879, 9882.

sRef Ex@28 @29 S0′ 9902. ‘Over his heart’ means out of Divine Love to eternity. This is clear from the meaning of ‘heart’ as the good of love, dealt with in 3313, 3635, 3883-3896, 7542, 9050, so that when the Lord, represented here by Aaron, is the subject, Divine Love is meant. This is why ‘carrying over the heart’ means preserving out of Divine Love to eternity.

sRef Job@19 @9 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @29 S0′ 9903. ‘When he goes into the holy place’ means in all worship. This is clear from the meaning of ‘going into the holy place’ as worship. For the word ‘holy’ refers to the whole of Aaron’s ministration at the altar and in the tent of meeting, and that ministration constitutes their worship.

sRef Ex@28 @29 S0′ 9904. ‘For a remembrance before Jehovah continually’ means out of mercy to
eternity. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a remembrance’, when it has reference to the Divine, as preservation or deliverance performed out of mercy, dealt with in 9849; and from the meaning of ‘continually’ as to eternity.

sRef Ex@28 @30 S0′ 9905. ‘And you shall put into the breastplate of judgement the Urim and Thummim’ means the radiance of Divine Truth from the Lord in last and lowest things. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the breastplate of judgement’ as Divine Truth shining forth from the Lord’s Divine Good, dealt with in 9857; and from the meaning of ‘the Urim and Thummim’ as the light and radiance from there. The reason why light and radiance are meant by ‘the Urim and Thummim’ is that through the stones in the breastplate varying radiations of the light of heaven were emitted, these being determined by the answers given through them. This also explains why they assumed different colours. For the Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good manifests itself to the angels as light; it is the source of all the light of heaven. The colours from it, which are modifications of that light among the angels, are variations of intelligence and wisdom among them; for all wisdom and intelligence is a product of that Divine Truth or light. From this it may be recognized that radiations of that light in various colours are the medium through which Divine Truths coming as answers present themselves in the heavens. A similar function was served by the Urim and Thummim when God was asked something. But it should be remembered that whenever a radiance was seen in them the answer was declared at the same time by an audible voice. This declaration was made through angels, to whom what they declared had been revealed by the Lord through such a radiance; for as has been stated, this is how Divine Truths coming as answers present themselves in heaven.

[2] The light of heaven is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good, see 1053, 1521-1533, 1619-1632, 2776, 3094, 3138, 3167, 3190, 3195, 3222, 3223, 3337, 3339, 3341, 3636, 3643, 3862, 3993, 4060, 4180, 4302, 4408, 4414, 4415, 4419, 4527, 4598, 5400, 6032, 6313, 6315, 6608, 6907, 7174, 8644, 8707, 8861, 9399, 9407, 9570, 9571 (end).
Colours appear in heaven, being modifications of that light among the angels, and so variations of intelligence and wisdom among them, 3993, 4530, 4677, 4742, 4922, 9466, 9467, 9865.

[3] The meaning of the words ‘Urim’ and ‘Thummim’ also goes to show that all this is so; for ‘Urim’ means a shining fire, and ‘Thummim’ the radiance from it. A shining fire is the Divine Truth emanating from the Divine Good of the Lord’s Divine Love, and the radiance is that Truth on last and lowest levels, thus in effects. It should be recognized however that ‘Thummim’ in the Hebrew language means wholeness; it is in the angelic language that it means radiance. The expression ‘in the angelic language’ is used because when angels talk to one another they are thinking of the very essence of some matter as perceived deep within themselves, thus they speak in terms of its essential nature. What they express flows from those insights into appropriate sounds audible to the angels alone. The appropriate sound for the radiance of Divine Truth is Thummim. This then is the source of the term. Angels have a similar understanding of the word thum, meaning that which is whole or wholeness, whenever someone reads it in the Hebrew language. This explains why in the internal sense of the Word ‘that which is whole’ is used to mean Divine Truth on the level of effects, which is a life led in keeping with Divine commandments, as is made clear in a large number of places in the Word, such as Joshua 24:14; Judges 9:16, 19; Psalms 25:21; 37:37; 84:11; 101:2; 119:1. [4] This also explains why the Urim and Thummim are called the judgement of the children of Israel, as well as the breastplate of judgement, and also the judgement of the Urim; for ‘judgement’ means Divine Truth in doctrine and life, see above in 9857. From all this it may now become clear that by means of the Urim and Thummim, that is, by means of the radiance produced by the light of heaven, the breastplate revealed Divine Truths in the natural sphere, thus on last and lowest levels. A like radiance also presents itself in the minds of those who are guided by truths springing from good. This radiance declares to them, so to speak provides the answers, when with heartfelt desire they seek to know what is true and love it as that which is good. That this kind of radiance is the means by which Divine Truth from heaven is revealed in the natural man of those who are enlightened by the Word is something which the world has no idea of, because the world does not know of any light from heaven that shines in the human understanding. But I have been allowed to realize and actually see that all this is so.

sRef Ex@28 @28 S5′ [5] In addition it should be recognized that this radiance appears on last and lowest levels because all forms of light from the Divine reach right down to the furthest ends; and since they reach down that far they also shine in them and from them. This now explains why the breastplate was placed over the ephod and above the girdle of it; for the ephod represented Divine Truth on last and lowest levels, 9824, while its girdle represented a common bond that existed to hold all things in connection, 9828, 9837. This is why verse 28 of the present chapter says, And they shall tie the breastplate from its rings to the rings of the ephod, so that it is above the girdle of the ephod and the breastplate will not come away from upon the ephod. The reason why the names of the sons of Israel were in addition engraved [on the stones] was that the twelve tribes also represented all aspects of Divine Good and Truth in the heavens, consequently heaven and all the communities there, though that representation varied according to the order in which they are mentioned in the Word, see 3858, 3862, 3926, 3939, 4060, 4603, 6335, 6337, 6397, 6640, 7836, 7891, 7973, 7996, 7997.

sRef Ex@28 @30 S0′ 9906. ‘And they shall be over Aaron’s heart’ means out of the Divine Good of the Lord’s Divine Love, as above in 9902.

sRef Ex@28 @30 S0′ 9907. ‘When he goes in before Jehovah’ means in all worship. This is clear from the meaning of ‘going in before Jehovah’ – or what amounts to the same thing, going in to holiness – as worship, dealt with above in 9903.

sRef Ex@28 @30 S0′ 9908. ‘And Aaron shall carry the judgement of the children of Israel’ means Divine Truth in heaven and the Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the judgement’ as Divine Truth in doctrine and life, dealt with in 9857. Because it is the Urim and Thummim that ‘the judgement’ here refers to, Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, shining and radiant on last and lowest levels, is what ‘the judgement’ is used to mean here; for that is what is meant by ‘the Urim and Thummim’, 9905.

sRef Ex@28 @30 S0′ 9909. ‘Over his heart before Jehovah continually’ means for evermore shining forth from good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘heart’ as the good of love, dealt with in 3313, 3635, 3883-3896, 7542, 9050; and from the meaning of ‘continually’ as for evermore. Shining forth is meant because the breastplate was over the heart, and ‘the breastplate’ means Divine Truth shining forth from the Lord’s Divine good, 9823.

sRef Ex@28 @32 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @33 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @31 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @35 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @34 S0′ 9910. Verses 31-35 And you shall make the robe of the ephod, the whole from violet. And its hole for the head* shall be in the middle of it; its hole** shall have a border round about, the work of a weaver; something like the hole** of a corslet it must have, so that it does not tear. And you shall make on its hem pomegranates of violet, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet on its hem round about, and bells of gold in the middle of them round about – a bell of gold and a pomegranate, a bell of gold and a pomegranate, on the hem of the robe round about. And it shall be on Aaron when he ministers, and his voice*** will be heard when he goes into the holy place before Jehovah, and when he comes out, that he may not die.

‘And you shall make the robe’ means Divine Truth in its inward form in the spiritual kingdom. ‘The whole from violet’ means through an inflow from the good of the celestial kingdom. ‘And its hole for the head shall be in the middle of it’ means the course which the inflow from the higher source takes. ‘And its hole shall have a border round about’ means that it is bounded and enclosed on every side. ‘The work of a weaver’ means from the celestial. ‘And the hole of a corslet it must have, so that it does not tear’ means so that it has been made strong and safe from damage. ‘And you shall make on its hem’ means in the most external parts, where the natural is. ‘Pomegranates’ means factual knowledge of good. ‘Of violet, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet’ means springing from the good of charity and faith. ‘On its hem round about’ means in the most external parts, where the natural is, in every direction. ‘And bells of gold’ means all aspects of religious teachings and of worship springing from good which come across to those who belong to the Church. ‘In the middle of them round about’ means consisting of the more internal features of the factual knowledge of good in every direction. ‘A bell of gold and a pomegranate, a bell of gold and a pomegranate, on the hem of the robe round about’ means that this shall be so everywhere, at every point. ‘And it shall be on Aaron’ means that which is representative of the Lord. ‘When he ministers’ means while engaged in worship and preaching the gospel. ‘And his voice will be heard’ means the inflow of truth among those in heaven and those on earth. ‘When he goes into the holy place before Jehovah, and when he comes out’ means in every state of good and truth in worship. ‘That he may not die’ means so that what is representative, and the joining to heaven through it, may not be lost.
* lit. its mouth of the head
** lit. mouth
*** i.e. the sound made by the bells as he moves

9911. ‘And you shall make the robe’ means Divine Truth in its inward form in the spiritual kingdom. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the robe’ in general as the spiritual kingdom, and in particular as Divine Truth in its inward form there, dealt with in 9825.

9912. ‘The whole from violet’ means through an inflow from the good of the celestial kingdom. This is clear from the meaning of ‘violet’ as the celestial love of truth, dealt with in 9466, which is the good of mutual love, the good of mutual love being the external good of the celestial kingdom. (The kinds of good that exist in the heavens proceed in order from inmost ones to outermost; and in the order in which they proceed they also flow in, for to proceed is to flow in. In what order those kinds of good proceed, see 9873.) That good is the one which flows into the internal good of the spiritual kingdom, which is meant by ‘the robe’; from there springs the good of this kingdom, which is the good of charity towards the neighbour. This then is why the robe, the whole of it, consisted of violet. The nature of the inflow of the kinds of good into one another is such that none which is indeed good can exist unless it has within itself a more internal kind of good from which it proceeds; the more internal from which it proceeds constitutes its essence. So it is that this internal good comes to be present in that which follows it, almost as the soul is present in its body. The description ‘that which follows’ refers to that which proceeds from the other more internal good. The fact that the good of charity towards the neighbour proceeds from the good of mutual love, which is the prior or more internal good, has been shown several times. The good of mutual love is the external good of innocence, and unless the good of charity has within itself the good of innocence it is not the good of charity, 2526, 2780, 3183, 4797, 6765, 7840, 9262, consequently is not such unless it has within itself the good of mutual love. All this now explains why the robe consisted, the whole of it, of violet; for ‘violet’ means the good of mutual love, or what amounts to the same thing, the external good of innocence, and ‘the robe’ means Divine Truth in its inward form in the spiritual kingdom, which is the same thing as the good of charity, 9825.

sRef Ex@28 @32 S0′ 9913. ‘And its hole for the head shall be in the middle of it’ means the course which the inflow from the higher source takes. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the robe’s hole for the head in the middle of it’ as the place where the inflow enters from the higher, or what amounts to the same thing, more internal source, thus from the celestial kingdom into the spiritual kingdom; for the external good of the celestial kingdom flows into the internal good of the spiritual kingdom, see immediately above in 9912. The reason why the ‘robe’s hole for the head in the middle of it’ has this meaning is that the spiritual kingdom, in particular the inward part of it, is meant by ‘the robe’, 9825, and the inflow, communication, and joining of celestial things to spiritual ones by the neck where the robe’s ‘hole for the head’ was, 3542, 5320, 5328. For the head on a person corresponds to the Lord’s celestial kingdom, and the body to His spiritual kingdom, so that the neck in between, which the robe’s hole for the head encircles and clothes, corresponds to the mediation or inflowing of the celestial kingdom into the spiritual kingdom.

[2] That such things are meant by ‘the robe’s hole for the head in the middle of it’ may seem to be absurd, altogether so to those who know nothing about heaven, or about spirits and angels there, and consequently know nothing about correspondence. The existence of a correspondence of all aspects of the human being with all things in heaven has been shown at the ends of a number of chapters, see the places referred to in 9280. In general the head corresponds to celestial things, the body to spiritual things, and the feet to natural things, 4938, 4939. From this it is evident that ‘the neck’ by virtue of its correspondence means the inflow, communication, and joining of celestial things to spiritual things. Therefore ‘the robe’s hole for the head’, which was made to go round the neck, means the course which that inflow takes; for Aaron’s garments represented in general those things that belong to the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, 9814. From this it is evident that the reference in this verse to the hole or part of the robe that goes round the neck describes the actual inflowing. Furthermore it should be remembered that angels and spirits appear wearing garments, and that each one of their garments is representative, as everyone in heaven knows. So it is that each one of Aaron’s garments too is representative of such things as exist in the heavens. For the Word from the Lord has been written in such a way that everything there even to the smallest detail has a correspondence with heavenly things, and in such a way that it is a means serving to join things together. The reason why the member of the Church does not know about all this, even though he has such a Word, is that he has turned his interiors round to the world, so far round that he cannot be raised towards heaven and learn about it, see 9706, 9707, 9709.

sRef Ex@28 @32 S0′ 9914. ‘And its hole shall have a border round about’ means that it is bounded and enclosed on every side. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a border’, or edging, around the hole or opening on the upper part of the robe, as being bounded and enclosed on every side; for that border or edging which went all round served to bound and enclose. The words here and those following immediately after describe the course which the inflow of celestial good into spiritual good takes. What is involved in this inflow is similar to the course taken by the forces flowing from a person’s head through the neck into the body, as is clear from what has been stated regarding correspondence in the paragraph immediately above.

[2] The nature of this influx must also be stated briefly. All the chief things that belong to the head, that is to say, to the cerebrum and cerebellum, are assembled into bundles of fibres and tiny nerves there, and so assembled pass down through the neck into the body. Within the body they spread out in every direction and move its parts altogether as the will, which begins in the brain, desires. Similar to all this is the flow of powers and forces down from the celestial kingdom, which is the head in the Grand Man or heaven, into the spiritual kingdom, which is so to speak the body there. This inflowing is also what is meant and described by ‘the robe’s hole for the head in the middle’, and the limits of it by ‘a border round about’. This then is why a boundary and enclosure on every side is meant by ‘the border’ which that hole possessed. The actual boundary is described next.

sRef Ex@28 @32 S0′ 9915. ‘The work of a weaver’ means from the celestial. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the work of a weaver’ as from the celestial. ‘The work’ means that which is created or comes into being, thus that which arises from another, while ‘a weaver’ is the one who causes it to exist or come into being. He accordingly means the celestial, for from this and through this the spiritual derives its being. It has been shown above in 9913, 9914, that the good of the celestial kingdom flows into the good of the spiritual kingdom, giving it its being. But whether you say the good of the celestial kingdom or the celestial, it amounts to the same thing; for the celestial is the good of that kingdom. And the same applies to the good of the spiritual kingdom and the spiritual. What the good of the celestial kingdom or the celestial is, and what the good of the spiritual kingdom or the spiritual is, see the places referred to in 9277.

[2] In the heavens there are three realities that follow one another in order – the celestial, the spiritual, and the natural. The celestial composes the inmost heaven, the spiritual the middle heaven, and the natural emanating from the spiritual the lowest heaven. The same three are present in the human being, and in him they follow one another in the same order as they do in the heavens; for a person who has been regenerated is heaven in the smallest form this can take, corresponding to the largest, 9279. But the mental powers that receive those three are called will, understanding, and factual knowledge from which springs the power of thought or imagination that the external or natural man possesses. The will is the recipient of the celestial, or good, and the understanding is the recipient of the spiritual, or truth from that good; and factual knowledge, which composes the level of understanding in the natural man, embodies the first two within itself. These three are meant in the Word by ‘an embroiderer’, ‘a designer’, and ‘a weaver’. ‘An embroiderer’ or embroidery means factual knowledge, see, 9688, and ‘a designer’ or designing means the power of understanding, 9598, 9688, so that ‘a weaver’ means the power of will. The reason why ‘a weaver’ has this meaning is that the will flows into the understanding and weaves it, to such an extent that the contents of the understanding are weavings produced by the will. For what the will desires it fashions in such a way that it may appear to the sight in the understanding. This sight is thought (cogitatio), which is why ‘a designer’ (excogitator) means the power of understanding.

[3] Since Aaron’s garments represented the spiritual heaven lying adjacent to the celestial kingdom, 9814, and the celestial kingdom corresponds to the human power of will and the spiritual kingdom to the human power of understanding, 9835, the terms ‘work of an embroiderer’, ‘work of a designer’, and ‘work of a weaver’ are used in special reference to those garments. These terms serve to mean the things that spring from factual knowledge, from the understanding, and from the will, or what amounts to the same thing, from the natural, from the spiritual, and from the celestial.

sRef Ex@35 @35 S4′ [4] That such things are meant becomes clear to all those who believe that the Word is Divine and that for this reason it contains inwardly descriptions of things which belong to the Lord, to heaven, and to the Church, since these subjects are Divine. Why else would Jehovah Himself declare who should make Aaron’s garments and what kind of workmanship should be used? Why would He declare which ones should be the work of an embroiderer, which the work of a designer, and which the work of a weaver? These three are also mentioned specifically in the following words later on in the Book of Exodus,

These He has filled with wisdom of heart to do every work of a workman, and of a designer, and of an embroiderer in violet and in purple and in twice-dyed scarlet, and of a weaver – of those doing every work, of those who compose designs.* Exod. 35:35.

‘A workman’ here means Divine Good that is celestial, which composes the power of will in one who has been regenerated, 9846. His work is mentioned first because [that kind of Good] springs directly from the Divine, and then indirectly from celestial good all things are born and emanate.
* lit. of those designing designs

sRef Ex@28 @32 S0′ 9916. ‘And the hole of a corslet it must have, so that it does not tear’ means so that it has been made strong and safe from damage. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a corslet’ as something strongly woven; and this is why it says ‘so that it does not tear’, that is, in order that it may be safe from damage. Something strongly woven is meant by the actual word used in the original language. An idea of that kind of weaving may be gained from correspondence. The subject at this point in the internal sense is the flow of celestial good into spiritual good; this inflow is what is meant by ‘the robe’s hole for the head’ and what is described by ‘the work of a weaver’ and ‘of a corslet’. To this flow from one heaven into another the flow of life in the human being corresponds, that is, the flow from the head by way of the neck into the body, 9913, 9914. The network of strong sinews belonging to the neck, and the circle so to speak of interwoven bones below the neck, both of which keep the flow of life safe from any harm, therefore have correspondence with that flow from one heaven to another. From such correspondence, as has been stated, an idea may be gained regarding the details in this verse, that is to say, an idea of what is meant by a hole for the head in the middle, by a border which the hole has round about, by the work of a weaver, and by the hole of a corslet which the robe must have so that it does not tear. It should be remembered that all representative objects on the natural level are related in some way to the human form, and that their meaning is determined by that relationship, 9496. Every garment covering the body takes its meaning from that part of the body it serves to cover, 9827, as applies also to this upper part of the robe which encircles and covers the neck.

sRef Ex@28 @33 S0′ 9917. ‘And you shall make on its hem’ means in the most external parts, where the natural is. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the hem of the robe’ as the most external parts, where the natural is; for in particular ‘the robe’ means Divine Truth in the spiritual kingdom in its inward form, and in general the spiritual kingdom, 9825, while ‘the hem’ that is underneath round about means its most external parts, the most external of the spiritual kingdom being things on the natural level. For forms of good and truths in the heavens follow one another in this order. In the highest or inmost parts they are celestial forms of good and truths; in the middle parts they are spiritual forms of good and truths; and in the lowest parts they are natural forms of good and truths. Regarding their following one another in this order in heaven and with the individual human being, see what has been stated just above in 9915. And since factual knowledge of truth and good exists in the external or natural man pomegranates were placed on the hem; for factual knowledge of good is meant by ‘pomegranates’. Also in [among] the pomegranates there were bells of gold, and this was because such things as are derived from factual knowledge are meant by ‘bells’.

sRef Isa@6 @1 S2′ [2] The fact that ‘the hem of the robe’ means the most external parts, where the natural is, is clear from places in the Word where ‘the hem’ is mentioned, as in Isaiah,

I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His hem filling the temple. Isa. 6:1.

‘The throne’ on which the Lord was seated means heaven, and in particular the spiritual heaven, 5313, 8625. His ‘hem’ there means Divine Truths on lowest or most external levels, such as the truths of the Word in the sense of the letter are. Those truths are said ‘to fill the temple’ when they fill the Church. Something similar is meant by ‘the hem filling the temple’ as is meant by smoke and cloud filling the tabernacle and also the temple, referred to several times in the Word. For the meaning of ‘smoke’ in those places as Divine Truth on lowest levels, such as the sense of the letter of the Word is, see 8916, 8918, and for that also of ‘cloud’, 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343.

sRef Matt@9 @22 S3′ sRef Matt@23 @5 S3′ sRef Matt@14 @36 S3′ sRef Matt@9 @20 S3′ [3] The healing of the woman suffering from the flow of blood when she touched the hem of the Lord’s garment, Matt. 9:20, 22, and in general the healing of as many as touched the hem of His garment, Matt. 14:36; Mark 6:56, was a sign that salvation went out from God as He is present on most external or lowest levels. For on the lowest levels of good and truth which spring from the Divine there is might and power, see 9836; and also on these levels answers are given, 9905. In Matthew,

Jesus said regarding the scribes and Pharisees that they do all their works to be seen by people, that they make their phylacteries broad, and enlarge the hems of their robes. Matt. 23:5.

Here it is plainly evident that ‘the hem of the robe’ means outward things which are clearly visible, and that ‘enlarging it’ means doing works on that level of things in order that they may be apparent or be seen.

sRef Lam@1 @9 S4′ sRef Lam@1 @8 S4′ [4] In Jeremiah,

Jerusalem sinned grievously; her uncleanness was in her hem. Lam. 1:8, 9.

‘Uncleanness in the hem’ stands for uncleanness in deeds and words, thus in things that are outermost. For outermost things derive their true nature from inner ones, and therefore when inner things are unclean, the outermost are also unclean, though no uncleanness is apparent to human eyes, because people regard only the outward form and so fail to see the inner things. But that uncleanness in inner things is apparent to angels’ eyes; and furthermore it is uncovered with every one in the next life, because there external things are taken away. And this then shows what the true nature of someone’s works has been.

sRef Nahum@3 @5 S5′ [5] In Nahum,

I will uncover your hem upon your face,* and I will show the nations your nakedness. Nahum 3:5.

‘Uncovering the hem upon the face’ means removing external things, in order that internal ones may be apparent. For external things, which belong to the natural man, in various ways conceal internal ones, which are varieties of hypocrisy, deceit, lying, hatred, vengeance, adultery, and other similar vices. When therefore the external things are taken away the internal ones in their uncleanness and foulness are apparent.

sRef Jer@13 @22 S6′ sRef Jer@13 @27 S6′ sRef Jer@13 @26 S6′ [6] In Jeremiah,

… if you say in your heart, Why have these things happened to me? On account of the greatness of your iniquity your hem has been revealed, your heels have been violated.** I will lay bare your hem upon your face*, that your shame, your adulterous acts, may be seen. Jer. 13:22, 26, 27.

This refers to the abominations of Jerusalem. ‘Revealing the hem’ and ‘laying it bare’ stand for taking away external things that serve to veil and conceal, in order that more internal ones may be seen. For a person who is bad learns – for the sake of reputation, position, and gain – to make a pretence of being good, honest, and upright, when in fact he has various kinds of evil desires and false notions hidden away inside himself. Since ‘the hem’ means external things ‘heels’ too are spoken of, because the lowest parts of the natural are meant by ‘heels’, see 259, 4938-4952. From all this it is now clear that ‘the hem of the robe’ means forms of good and truths in the lowest or most external parts, which exist in the natural world.
* i.e. I will lift your skirts above your head
** i.e. your skirts have been pulled up, your heels made bare

sRef Ex@28 @33 S0′ 9918. ‘Pomegranates’ means factual knowledge of good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘pomegranates’ as factual knowledge of good, dealt with in 9552. The reason why pomegranates were placed on the hem of the robe was that ‘the hem’ meant the last and lowest or most external things of heaven and the Church, and the last or most external things there consist in factual knowledge, as is clear from what has been stated above, in 9915, 9917, about the order in which degrees of good and truth follow one another in heaven and with the individual human being. Factual knowledge of good and truth, which is meant by ‘pomegranates’, consists of matters of doctrine drawn from the Word; these matters of doctrine exist as factual knowledge to the extent that they are present in the memory which resides in the external or natural man. But when they pass into the memory which resides in the internal or spiritual man, which happens when a person’s life is led in accord with them, the matters of doctrine that have to do with truth become matters of faith, and those that have to do with good become impulses of charity, and are called spiritual. When this happens they virtually disappear from the external or natural memory and seem to be as though instinctive, because they have been implanted in the person’s life, just as anything through frequent practice becomes second nature. From all this it is evident what factual knowledge is and what use it serves, consequently what use matters of doctrine serve so long as they are retained merely as items of knowledge. For when they are retained merely as items of knowledge they occupy a position underneath intelligence and wisdom and do not rise up or pass into life until they become matters of faith and charity in the internal man.

sRef Ex@28 @33 S0′ 9919. ‘Of violet, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet’ means springing from the good of charity and faith. This is clear from the meaning of these threads, 9687, 9833. The reason why fine linen thread as well was not interwoven, as it was in the ephod, is that the tunic, the inmost garment, consisted of fine linen; and it did so because ‘fine linen’ means truth from a celestial origin, 5319, 9469, which is spiritual good itself emanating from the celestial.

sRef Ex@28 @33 S0′ 9920. ‘On its hem round about’ means in the most external parts, where the natural is, in every direction. This is clear from the meaning of ‘hem’ as the most external parts, where the natural is, dealt with above in 9917; and from the meaning of ’round about’ as on every side. For when ‘the hem’ means the most external parts the whole circumference of the hem means all the most external part, consequently everywhere or in every direction there.

sRef Ex@28 @33 S0′ 9921. ‘And bells of gold’ means all aspects of religious teachings and of worship springing from good which come across to those who belong to the Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘bells’ as all aspects of religious teachings and worship which come across to those who belong to the Church, dealt with below. Springing from good is meant by the bells’ being made from gold; for ‘gold’ means good, 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 8932, 9490, 9510, 9874, 9881, 9884. The reason why all aspects of religious teachings and of worship which come across to those who belong to the Church are meant by ‘bells’ is that by means of those bells the people heard and recognized the presence of Aaron engaged in his ministry; for those who belong to the Church are meant by ‘the people’, and all aspects of religious teachings and of worship by ‘Aaron’s ministry’. Therefore it says in what follows, And they shall be on Aaron when he ministers, and his voice will be heard when he goes into the holy place before Jehovah, and when he comes out. From all this it is evident what is meant by ‘bells’. The reason why those bells were placed on the hem was that the holiness which religious teachings possess resides on the most external levels, and on these levels and from these levels the hearing and understanding of them takes place, see 9824, 9905.

sRef Ex@28 @33 S0′ 9922. ‘In the middle of them round about’ means consisting of the more internal features of the factual knowledge of good in every direction. This is clear from the meaning of ‘in the middle’ as what is more internal, dealt with in 1074, 2940, 2973, 5897, so that ‘in the middle’ – when it has reference to the hearing and understanding of religious teachings and of worship, which are meant by ‘bells’ – means from more internal features; from the meaning of ‘pomegranates’, in the middle of which the bells were, as factual knowledge of good, dealt with above in 9918; and from the meaning of ’round about’ as in every direction, as above in 9920. Bells were placed in the middle of the pomegranates because known facts, meant by ‘pomegranates’, are the recipients, so to speak vessels, that hold truth and good within them, 1469, 1496, 3068, 5373, 5489, 7770; and religious teachings and worship, meant by ‘bells’, must consist of the good and truth which reside inwardly in known facts as their vessels. If they do not consist of that good and truth, only of known facts, they have no life in them.

[2] But since few can understand the nature of what has just been said – that religious teachings and worship must consist of the good and truth which reside inwardly in known facts, but not of known facts devoid of them – an intelligible explanation, so far as this is possible, will be given. The term ‘known facts’ or ‘factual knowledge’ describes all things contained in the external or natural memory; for there is the external memory, consisting of things in the natural world, and there is the internal memory, consisting of things in the spiritual world, see 2469-2494, 2831, 5212, 9394, 9723, 9841. The things which have been inscribed on the internal memory are not called known facts, because they are the things constituting a person’s life; instead they are called truths belonging to faith and forms of good belonging to love. These are what must be present inwardly in known facts. For in the human being there is an external, called the external man, and an internal, called the internal man; the internal must be in the external, as the soul is in its body. Accordingly those things which are in the internal man must reside in those which are in the external, for in this way the external has a soul or life within it. Therefore if the internal things, or things of the internal man, are not in the external ones there is no soul in them, nor thus any life. Because the good of love and faith is internal it follows that external things must have that good in them, and so must known facts since known facts, as already stated, are recipients, so to speak vessels, that hold internal things. Consequently religious teachings and worship must consist of those things contained in the recipients or vessels; they do not reside in recipients and vessels that are empty or devoid of such contents. From all this it is evident how to understand the explanation that all aspects of religious teachings and of worship must spring from the more internal features of the factual knowledge of good, which are meant by the declaration that bells of gold should be in the middle of the pomegranates.

[3] In addition it should be recognized that there is factual knowledge of good and factual knowledge of truth, and that truths residing on this level are once again recipient vessels of good; for the truths of faith are vessels for the good of love. For light on this matter, see what has been stated and shown already regarding factual knowledge or known facts,

Known facts are things belonging to the memory in the natural man, 3293, 3309, 3310, 4967, 5212, 5774, 5874, 5886, 5889, 5934.
By means of known facts the internal man is opened, 1495, 1548, 1563, 1895, 1940, 3085, 3086, 5276, 5871, 5874, 5901.
Known facts are a means to make people wise and also a means to make them insane, 4156, 4760, 8628, 8629.
Known facts are vessels for truth, and truths are vessels for good, 1469, 1496, 3068, 3079, 3318, 5489, 5881, 6023, 6071, 6077, 6750, 7770, 8005, 9394, 9724.
Known facts give service to the internal man, 1486, 1616, 2576, 3019, 3020, 3665, 5201, 5213, 6052, 6068, 6084, 9394.
When known facts, which are things belonging to the external memory, become part of life, they pass from the external memory, but remain inscribed on the internal memory, 9394, 9723, 9841.
People guided by truths of faith rooted in the good of charity can be raised above factual knowledge, 6383, 6384; this is called being raised above the level of the senses, 5089, 5094, 6183, 6313, 6315, 9730.
A person carries with him into the next life when he dies the known facts or things belonging to the external memory, but they become dormant then, and in what manner, 2475-2486, 6931.

sRef Ex@28 @34 S0′ 9923. ‘A bell of gold and a pomegranate, a bell of gold and a pomegranate, on the hem of the robe round about’ means that this shall be so everywhere, at every point, that is to say, religious teachings and worship consisting of the interior features of factual knowledge must be so everywhere. This is clear from what has been shown immediately above regarding ‘bells’ and ‘pomegranates’. The repetition of the same words implies that everywhere shall it be so.

sRef Ex@28 @35 S0′ 9924. ‘And it shall be on Aaron’ means that which is representative of the Lord. This is clear from the representation of ‘Aaron’ as that which is representative of the Lord in respect of the good of love, dealt with in 9806, 9809, at this point in respect of things that have to do with preaching the gospel and with worship, since such things are meant by the bells in among the pomegranates and by the sound they made, to be heard when Aaron went into the holy place.

sRef Ex@28 @35 S0′ 9925. ‘When he ministers’ means while engaged in worship and preaching the gospel. This is clear from the meaning of ‘ministering’ – when said of Aaron, who represents the Lord – as worship and preaching the gospel. By this worship is meant everything representative of that worship which springs from the good of love and the truths of faith. For worship that springs from these is indeed worship; but worship devoid of them is like the shell without the nut, and like the body without the soul. This is what the worship among the Jewish and Israelite nation was like, since their worship did no more than represent inward things, which are those of love and faith, as has been stated. Even so, the Lord saw to it that such worship should be discerned in the heavens, so that through it a link with mankind might be established, not through inner things but through the correspondences of these with outward things, regarding which, see the places referred to in 9320 (end), 9380. This worship is what is meant by Aaron’s ministering.

[2] The reason why preaching the gospel is also meant is that preaching the gospel implies all those things in the Word which have to do with the Lord, and all those in worship which served to represent Him. For preaching the gospel involves declaring the truth about the Lord, about His Coming, and about the things of which He is the author, namely things that belong to salvation and eternal life. And since everything in the Word in its inmost sense has to do solely with the Lord, and also everything in worship served to represent Him, the whole of the Word is the gospel, as likewise was all the worship which was performed in accord with what was commanded in the Word. And since the priests had charge of worship, and also gave instruction, worship and preaching the gospel were meant by their ministry.

sRef Ex@28 @35 S0′ 9926. ‘And his voice will be heard’ means the inflow of truth among those in heaven and those on earth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being heard’ as reception and perception, dealt with in 5017, 5471, 5475, 7216, 8361, 9311, and therefore also an inflowing, since things that are received and perceived must flow in; and from the meaning of ‘voice’ – when Aaron, who represents the Lord, is the subject – as Divine Truth, dealt with in 8813. For ‘voice’ means the declaration of that truth; and because the declaration is meant, truth among those in heaven and those on earth is meant. Divine Truth fills all things of heaven, and composes all things of the Church. Such declaration was represented by the ‘voice’ or sound made by the bells of gold when Aaron ‘went into the holy place before Jehovah, and when he came out’, as stated by the words that immediately follow in the present verse.

sRef Ps@29 @7 S2′ sRef Ps@29 @9 S2′ sRef Ps@29 @8 S2′ sRef Ps@29 @6 S2′ sRef Ps@29 @4 S2′ sRef Ps@29 @5 S2′ sRef Ps@29 @3 S2′ [2] The fact that ‘voice’ in the Word means Divine Truth that is heard and perceived in heaven and on earth is clear from the following places: In David,

The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters; the voice of Jehovah is powerful; the voice of Jehovah is majestic; the voice of Jehovah breaks the cedars; the voice of Jehovah strikes as a flame of fire; the voice of Jehovah causes the wilderness to shake; the voice of Jehovah causes the hinds to calve. But in His temple everyone says, Glory! Ps. 29:3-9.

The subject in this Psalm is the Divine Truth which destroys falsities and evils. This Divine Truth is meant by ‘the voice of Jehovah’, but by ‘Glory’ that is uttered is meant Divine Truth present in heaven and in the Church. For the meaning of ‘glory’ as Divine Truth, see 9429; and for that of ‘temple’ as heaven and the Church, 3720.

sRef John@10 @2 S3′ sRef John@10 @3 S3′ sRef John@10 @16 S3′ sRef John@10 @5 S3′ sRef John@10 @26 S3′ sRef John@10 @4 S3′ sRef John@10 @27 S3′ [3] In John,

He who is the Shepherd of the sheep, to him the gate-keeper opens, and the sheep hear His voice. The sheep follow Him, because they know His voice. A stranger they do not follow, because they do not know the voice of strangers. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice. But you are not of My sheep, for My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. John 10:2-5, 16, 26, 27.

Here it is plainly evident that ‘voice’ means Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, which is the Word, ‘the voice of strangers’ being falsity.

sRef Isa@40 @5 S4′ sRef Isa@40 @3 S4′ sRef Isa@40 @6 S4′ sRef Isa@40 @9 S4′ sRef Isa@40 @10 S4′ [4] In Isaiah,

The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of Jehovah. For the glory of Jehovah will be revealed. The voice says, Cry! Get up on to the high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings. Lift it up; [say,] Behold, the Lord Jehovih comes with might. Isa. 40:3, 5, 6, 9, 10; John 1:23.

‘The voice’ here means the declaration from the Word, telling about the Lord’s Coming, and therefore also means Divine Truth, which the Word tells. ‘The wilderness’ is the state of the Church then, which is so to speak in the wilderness because the Word is no longer understood. ‘The glory’ which will be revealed is the Word on its more internal levels, for which meaning of ‘glory’ see 9429. ‘Jehovah’ for whom the way should be prepared, and ‘the Lord Jehovih’ who is to come in might, is plainly the Lord, for this is what it clearly says.

sRef Isa@52 @8 S5′ sRef Jer@10 @12 S5′ sRef Jer@10 @13 S5′ [5] In Isaiah,

The voice of your watchmen, they will lift up [their] voice, when they see eye to eye that Jehovah returns to Zion. Isa. 52:8.

‘Watchmen’ stands for those who search the Scriptures regarding the Lord’s Coming. Their ‘voice’ is the Word, which is Divine Truth, their source. In Jeremiah,

He who makes the earth, by His intelligence He spreads out the heavens; when He utters His voice,* there is a multitude of waters in the heavens. Jer. 10:12, 13; 51:15, 16.

‘Voice’ stands for Divine Truth, ‘waters’ for truths which are in the heavens and come from the heavens (for the meaning of ‘waters’ in the Word as truths, see 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 8568, 9323), as also in the Book of Revelation,

sRef Rev@1 @15 S6′ sRef Ps@68 @33 S6′ sRef Ps@68 @32 S6′ sRef Joel@2 @11 S6′ sRef John@5 @25 S6′ sRef Joel@3 @16 S6′ sRef Ps@29 @3 S6′ sRef Rev@14 @2 S6′ [6] … the voice of the Son of Man as the sound of many waters. Rev. 1:15. I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters. Rev. 14:2.

And in David,

The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters, Jehovah is upon great waters. Ps. 29:3.

In Joel,

Jehovah uttered His voice before His army; for those who execute His Word are uncountable. Joel 2:11.

Here also ‘voice’ stands for Divine Truth, as does ‘the Word’ which they execute. In the same prophet,

Jehovah from Jerusalem will give forth His voice, that the heavens and the earth may be shaken. Joel 3:16.

In David,

O kingdoms of the earth, make melody to the Lord who rides above the heaven of the heaven of old. Behold, He will utter His voice, a mighty voice.** Ps. 68:32, 33.

In John,

I say to you, that the hour will come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. John 5:25.

Here, it is evident, ‘the voice’ means Divine Truth and therefore the Word of the Lord.

sRef Ezek@10 @5 S7′ sRef Ezek@3 @13 S7′ sRef Ezek@3 @12 S7′ [7] In Ezekiel,

The Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice*** of a great earthquake, Blessed is the glory of Jehovah. And [I heard] the voice*** of the wings of the living creatures, and the voice*** of the wheels, and the voice*** of the great earthquake. Ezek. 3:12, 13.

And after this,

The voice*** of the wings of the cherubs was heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God Shaddai when He speaks. Ezek. 10:5.

Here also ‘the voice’ is Divine Truth, for by ‘the cherubs’ is meant the Lord’s providence and watchfulness, guarding against access to Himself, or into heaven, except through the good of love, 9277 (end), 9509. ‘The voice of the wings’ and ‘the voice of the wheels’ are spiritual truths.

[8] In the present verse, in which Aaron is the subject, the sound or ring from the bells is what ‘the voice’ refers to. There are also places in the Word in which the sounds or blasts from trumpets, or else the sounds or peals of thunder, are called ‘voices’, and by these in like manner Divine Truths are meant, see 7573. Furthermore the sounds made by different types of musical instruments have a similar meaning, though those producing separate vibrating notes mean Divine Truths that are spiritual, whereas those producing notes continuing one into the next mean Divine Truths that are celestial, 418-420, 4138, 8337. From this it is evident that by the sounds or ‘the voices’ of the bells Divine Truths that are spiritual are meant; for Aaron’s garments, and in particular the robe, which had the bells on its hem round about, represented the Lord’s spiritual kingdom or heaven, 9814, 9825.
* lit. at [His] voice which He gives [forth]
** lit. He will give in voice a voice of might
*** i.e. the noise

sRef Ex@28 @35 S0′ 9927. ‘When he goes into the holy place before Jehovah, and when he comes out’ means in every state of good and truth in worship. This is clear from the meaning of ‘going into the holy place’ and ‘going in before Jehovah’ as worship, dealt with above in 9903, 9907. The reason why the state of good and truth in worship is what is meant is that everything constituting the worship of the Israelite and Jewish nation was representative of internal worship, and internal worship springs from good and truth, or rather from an affection for good and a belief in truth. The reason why their every state is meant is that it says ‘when he goes in’ and ‘when he comes out’, and ‘going in and coming out’ means all aspects of the state. For actions that involve movement from place to place, such as walking, moving about, or advancing, mean the state of the thoughts and affection belonging to whatever thing they refer to, and so in a general sense they mean the state of life. As regards ‘walking’, that it has this meaning, see 519, 1794, 3335, 4882, 5493, 5605, 8417, 8420, as likewise do ‘advancing’ and ‘journeying on’, 8103, 8181, 8397, 8557; and in the next life movements and advancements from place to place are states, 1273-1277, 1376-1381, 2837, 3356, 9440. From this it is evident that ‘going in and coming out’ means the whole of a state of life or of whatever thing these words refer to. And because they refer here to worship springing from good and truth, the entire state of good and truth in worship is what ‘going in and coming out’ means.

sRef 1Sam@29 @6 S2′ [2] The origins of this meaning of ‘going in and coming out’ lie in representatives in the next life. For they who are there move about, walk, advance, go in and come out, just as in the world. But all these movements take place in accord with the state of the life of their thoughts and affections, see the places referred to above. They are not however immediately aware of the fact that these are the origin of the movements they make, or that those movements are correspondences, and for this reason real appearances. From this it is evident that all forms of movement mean things which constitute states of life. So it is that ‘going in and coming out’ means the entire state of life, thus the state of whatever thing these words refer to, from beginning to end. This is the source of the customary saying used by the ancients, that they knew someone’s going in and coming out, or entering and departing, by which they meant that they knew the entire state of his life. And since this saying traces its origin back, as stated above, to correspondences in the next life, a similar use of the saying occurs in the Word; and where it occurs it has a similar meaning, as in the following places: In the first Book of Samuel,

Achish called David and said to him, You have been upright, and your going out and your coming in with me in the camp has been good in my eyes. For I have not found evil in you. 1 Sam. 29:6.

‘Your going out and your coming in has been good in my eyes’ stands for the fact that he was well pleased with the entire state of the other’s life.

sRef 2Sam@3 @25 S3′ sRef Ps@121 @7 S3′ sRef Num@27 @17 S3′ sRef 2Ki@19 @27 S3′ sRef Ps@121 @8 S3′ sRef Num@27 @16 S3′ [3] In the second Book of Samuel,

You know Abner, that he has come to persuade you, and in order that he may know your departing and your entering, and that he may know everything that you do. 2 Sam. 3:25.

‘Knowing the departure and entrance’ stands for knowing all the thoughts and deeds of his life, which is why it also says, ‘and that he may know everything that you do’. In the second Book of Kings,

I know your sitting, and your going out, and your coming in, and that you rage* against Me. 2 Kings 19:27; Isa. 37:28.

This refers to Sennacherib, king of Assyria. ‘Knowing his going out and his coming in’ stands for knowledge of all aspects of what he plans. In David,

Jehovah will guard you from all evil, He will guard your soul. Jehovah will guard your going out and your coming in from now and even for evermore. Ps. 121:7, 8.

‘Guarding the going out and the coming in’ stands for protecting every aspect of life in keeping with a state of good and truth.

sRef John@10 @2 S4′ sRef John@10 @9 S4′ sRef John@10 @7 S4′ sRef John@10 @1 S4′ [4] In Moses,

Let Jehovah God of the spirits of all flesh set** a man over the congregation, who may go out before them, and who may come in before them, and who may lead them out, and who may bring them in, that the congregation of Jehovah may not be like a flock which have no shepherd. Num. 27:16, 17.

‘Who may go out before them, and who may come in before them’ stands for one who may lead them, and so whom they may look to and follow in every state of life. In John,

He who does not go through the door into the sheepfold but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who goes in through the door is the shepherd of the sheep. I am the door; if anyone goes in through Me he will be saved, and will go in and come out and find pasture. John 10:1, 2, 9.

‘Going in’ here means doing so into heaven, thus into the good of love and faith since that good composes heaven. ‘Going in and coming out’ consequently means being led by the Lord in every state of life, and therefore thinking and willing good in freedom, that is, in love and faith received from the Lord since love and faith constitute freedom.

sRef Luke@9 @4 S5′ sRef Luke@9 @1 S5′ sRef Luke@9 @2 S5′ [5] In Luke,

Jesus sent the twelve disciples to preach the kingdom of God, and said to them, Whatever house you go into, there stay, and from there come out. Luke 9:4.

‘Going into a house, staying there, and from there coming out’ stands for the enjoyment of heavenly fellowship with those who receive the Lord in faith and love; for in heaven those who live together in the same community are also in the same house, which they go into and come out from, since they are governed by a like good. But those governed by an unlike good cannot do so; or if they do get in, they do not go in through the doors but by some other way. Anyone who does not know that these kinds of things are meant cannot know what is implied by the command that whatever house they went into, there they were to stay and from there come out.

sRef Ezek@46 @9 S6′ sRef Ezek@46 @10 S6′ sRef Ezek@46 @8 S6′ [6] In Ezekiel,

When the prince goes in he shall go in by way of the porch of the gate, and come out by the same way. When the people of the land go in before Jehovah at the appointed feasts, anyone going in by way of the north gate to worship shall come out by way of the south gate; and anyone going in by way of the south gate shall come out by way of the north gate. He shall not return by way of the gate through which he had gone in, but shall come out straight before him. The prince however shall be in their midst; when they go in he shall go in, and when they come out he shall come out. Ezek. 46:8-10.

These verses refer in the internal sense to a new heaven and a new Church, ‘the prince’ meaning the truth of faith springing from the good of love. In what manner that truth enters in with angels in heaven and with people of the Church on earth, and how after this it develops when it passes by an external way to more internal things, and when it passes by an internal way to more external ones, is described in those verses by the going in and coming out of the prince and the people of the land. ‘The south’ is the state of the truth of faith in the internal man, and ‘the north’ the state of it in the external man. ‘Going in and coming out’ is the state of life so far as good and truth, thus so far as worship, are concerned.

[7] From all this it may be recognized quite plainly that ‘going in’ and ‘coming out’ are descriptive of things such as belong to states of life conditioned by good and truth. For apart from this what real meaning could the prescription have, that the prince should go in by the one or the other gate, and the people of the land likewise? ‘The house’ here, or the temple, which they went into and came out from, means heaven and the Church, see 3720; ‘the prince’ the truth of faith, 5044; ‘the people of the land’ those who are in heaven or who belong to the Church, 2928; ‘the way’ that which leads to truth, 627, 2333; ‘the gate’ doctrinal teachings, 2851, 3187; ‘the south’ where truth dwells in light, 9642, thus truth in the internal man; and ‘the north’ where truth dwells in obscurity, 3708, thus truth in the external man.
* lit. shake yourself
** Reading Praeficiat (Let … set) for Praeficiet ( … will set)

sRef Ex@28 @35 S0′ 9928. ‘That he may not die’ means so that what is representative, and the joining to heaven through it, may not be lost. This is clear from the meaning of ‘dying’, when the subject is Aaron and his office, as the demise of things that are representative and consequently of the joining to heaven. For Aaron represented the Lord, while his office represented the whole work of salvation, and – on man’s part – worship. This worship, as has been shown extensively before, was representative, and through representative worship a joining to heaven was effected, see the places referred to in 9320 (end). It has also been shown what a representative of the Church among the Israelite and Jewish nation was, in 9280, as well as 9457, 9481, 9576, 9577, and that the Lord and heaven were joined to mankind at that time through things that were representative, 9481. So it was also that Aaron wore garments that represented heavenly realities whenever he performed sacred duties, and that if he did otherwise he would die. Especially would he die if he went to perform sacred duties and the people were not aware of it; for with the people that which was representative of the Church existed, and with Aaron that which was representative of the Lord, the Source and the Object of all worship.

sRef Ex@28 @36 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @38 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @37 S0′ 9929. Verses 36-38 And you shall make a plate of [pure] gold, and engrave on it, [like] the engraving of a signet, Holiness to Jehovah. And you shall place it on a cord of violet, and it shall be on the turban; before the face of the turban* it shall be. And it shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel shall sanctify, even in all their gifts of holy things; and it shall be on his forehead continually, so that they may be pleasing** before Jehovah.

‘And you shall make a plate of pure gold’ means enlightenment received from the Lord’s Divine Good. ‘And engrave on it, [like] the engraving of a signet’ means what is everlasting and has been imprinted on their hearts in accord with a heavenly sphere. ‘Holiness to Jehovah’ means the Lord’s Divine Human, and all celestial and spiritual good from there. ‘And you shall place it on a cord of violet’ means an influx into the truth of celestial love. ‘And it shall be on the turban’ means from infinite wisdom. ‘Before the face of the turban it shall be’ means to eternity. ‘And it shall be on Aaron’s forehead’ means from the Lord’s Divine Love. ‘And Aaron shall bear the iniquity of the holy things’ means a consequent removal or shifting away of falsities and evils with those who are governed by good derived from the Lord. ‘Which the children of Israel shall sanctify, even in all their gifts of holy things’ means acts of worship representative of removal from sins. ‘And it shall be on Aaron’s forehead continually’ means a representative sign of the Lord’s love to eternity. ‘So that they may be pleasing before Jehovah’ means what is Divine and the Lord’s in them.
* i.e. on the front of it
** i.e. may be accepted

9930. ‘And you shall make a plate of pure gold’ means enlightenment received from the Lord’s Divine Good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a plate’ as enlightenment; and from the meaning of ‘gold’ as the good of love, at this point the Lord’s Divine Good since ‘Holiness to Jehovah’ was inscribed on the plate. For the meaning of ‘gold’ as the good of love, see 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 8932, 9490, 9510, 9874, 9881. ‘A plate’ means enlightenment on account of its brightness, for light shone from the gold on Aaron’s forehead, and all brightness is a sign of enlightenment, as that in the heavens is which radiates from the Lord as the Sun. Enlightenment there consists in wisdom and intelligence derived from Divine Truth emanating from the Lord; for this Truth brings light to the interiors of those who are there. Their interiors answer to the understanding part of a person’s mind, which is enlightened by the Lord when the person has a perception of the Church’s and heaven’s truth and goodness, the understanding being the subject that receives; for there is no reception without a subject.* The reason why ‘the plate’ means enlightenment from the Lord’s Divine Good is that ‘Holiness to Jehovah’ was inscribed on it, and it was placed on the front of the turban which was on Aaron’s head. Holiness which comes from Jehovah is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good, 6788, 8302, 8330, 9229, 9680, 9820. In order to represent the radiance or enlightenment that result in intelligence and wisdom the plate was tied to the front of the turban.

sRef Ex@39 @30 S2′ sRef Ex@29 @6 S2′ sRef Lev@8 @9 S2′ [2] Since ‘the plate’ meant enlightenment received from the Lord’s Divine Good it was also called ‘the plate of the crown of holiness’ as well as ‘the crown of holiness’; for a crown is a representative sign of Divine Good, and holiness is the Divine Truth emanating from that Good, as has been stated above. The fact that it was called the plate of the crown of holiness is evident further on in this Book of Exodus,

Finally they made the plate of the crown of holiness from pure gold; and they wrote an inscription on it, like the engraving of a signet,** Holiness to Jehovah. Exod. 39:30.

The fact that it was also called the crown of holiness is evident elsewhere in Exodus,

You shall place the turban on his head, and put the crown of holiness onto the turban. Exod. 29:6.

And in Leviticus,

He placed the turban on his head, and placed on the turban, on the front of it,*** the plate of gold, the crown of holiness. Lev. 8:9.

[3] The fact that the crown represented Divine Good from which Divine Truth emanates is clear from the crowns that the kings wore. For the kings represented the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, see 2015, 2069, 3009, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148, and this was why they wore a crown on their head and held a sceptre in their hand, government animated by Divine Good being meant by the crown, and government inspired by Divine Truth by the sceptre.

sRef Ps@132 @18 S4′ sRef Ps@132 @17 S4′ [4] This meaning of ‘the crown’ is clear from the following places: In David,

I will make the horn of David to spring forth, I will make ready a lamp for My Anointed. His enemies I will clothe with shame, but upon Himself His crown will flourish. Ps. 132:17, 18.

‘David’ here is the Lord, 1888, as is ‘the Anointed’, 3008, 3009. His ‘horn’ is power, 2832, 9081; ‘lamp’ is Divine Truth, which is the source of intelligence, 9548, 9783; ‘crown’ is Divine Good, which is the source of wisdom and also the mainspring of His government. It says that His crown, meaning wisdom, is going ‘to flourish’ on account of what He acquired to Himself in the world, to His Humanity, through conflicts with and victories over the hells, 8273, 9528 (end), the hells being His enemies who will be clothed with shame.

sRef Ps@89 @39 S5′ sRef Ps@89 @38 S5′ [5] In the same author,

You are angry**** with Your Anointed, You have condemned His crown right down to the ground.***** Ps. 89:38, 39.

Here also ‘the Anointed’ stands for the Lord. ‘Anger’ stands for a state involving temptations, which was a state when He was engaged in conflicts with the hells. An expression of grief in that state is what the anger and condemnation describe (a final phase of temptation seems like condemnation), such as with the Lord’s last grievous cry on the Cross that He was forsaken. For the Cross was the last of His temptations or conflicts with the hells; and after that last temptation He took on Divine Good, and in so doing united His Divine Human to Deity itself, which was within Him.

sRef Isa@28 @5 S6′ [6] In Isaiah,

On that day Jehovah Zebaoth will be a crown of adornment and a turban of beauty for the remnant of His people. Isa. 28:5.

‘A crown of adornment’ stands for wisdom, which is a discernment of good from God, and ‘a turban of beauty’ for intelligence, which is an understanding of truth from that good. What is stated in this verse has regard to things among the people which were Divine, ‘people’ meaning the Church since they were where the Church existed.

sRef Isa@62 @3 S7′ sRef Isa@62 @1 S7′ [7] In the same prophet,

For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp [that] burns. And you will be a crown of beauty in the hand of Jehovah, and a royal turban in the hand of your God. Isa. 62:1, 3.

‘Zion’ and ‘Jerusalem’ are used to mean the Church, ‘Zion’ the celestial Church, and ‘Jerusalem’ the spiritual Church that extends from it. ‘A crown of beauty’ is wisdom, which is a discernment of good, and ‘a royal turban’ is intelligence, which is an understanding of truth. And since ‘a crown’ means wisdom, or discernment of good, it is said to be ‘in the hand of Jehovah’; and since ‘a turban’ means intelligence, or an understanding of truth, it is said to be ‘in the hand of God’. For when the subject is good the name ‘Jehovah’ is used, and when it is truth the name ‘God’ is used, 2586, 2769, 6905.

sRef Jer@13 @18 S8′ sRef Lam@5 @16 S8′ sRef Lam@5 @15 S8′ [8] In Jeremiah,

Say to the king and queen mother,****** Lower yourselves, sit down, for the adornment of your head, the crown of your beauty, has come down. Jer. 13:18.

‘The crown of beauty’ stands for wisdom which is a discernment of good derived from Divine Truth; for ‘beauty’ is the Church’s Divine Truth, 9815. In the same prophet,

The joy of our heart has ceased, our dance has been turned into mourning. The crown of our head has fallen. Lam. 5:15, 16.

‘Crown of the head’ stands for wisdom which those who belong to the Church derive from Divine Truth, which sets them above all other peoples and gives them a kind of authority.

sRef Ezek@16 @12 S9′ [9] In Ezekiel,

I put******* a jewel on your nose, and earrings on your ears, and a crown of adornment on your head. Ezek. 16:12.

This refers to the establishment of the Church. ‘A jewel on the nose’ stands for the perception of good; ‘earrings on the ears’ for the perception of truth, and obedience; and ‘a crown of adornment on the head’ for wisdom resulting from such perception. In Job,

He has withdrawn glory from me, and has removed the crown of my head. Job 19:9.

‘Glory’ stands for intelligence, which is an understanding of Divine Truth, 9429, ‘crown of the head’ for resulting wisdom.

sRef Rev@4 @4 S10′ sRef Rev@4 @10 S10′ [10] In the Book of Revelation,

On the thrones I saw twenty-four elders seated, clad in white garments, who had on their heads crowns of gold. They fell down before the one seated on the throne, and worshipped the one who lives for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne. Rev. 4:4, 10.

‘Twenty-four elders’ means all those who are governed by good that is a product of truths, and in the abstract sense all forms of good that result from truths, 6524, 9404. ‘Thrones’ are truths from God, 5313, 6397, 8625, 9039; ‘crowns of gold on their heads’ are representative signs of wisdom received from God, and because it is received from Him they cast their crowns before the one seated on the throne.

sRef Rev@6 @2 S11′ [11] Since the good of wisdom is acquired through conflicts brought about by temptations, in which the truths of faith are used to fight with, those who fought against evils and falsities and were victorious were rewarded with crowns. Therefore also the crowns of martyrdom were emblems provided by the Lord which are signs of dominion over evils. The fact that crowns are the rewards of victory over evils, and that crowns consequently mean forms of the good of wisdom because these are rewards, is also clear from the Book of Revelation,

I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; to him a crown was given; he went out conquering and to conquer. Rev. 6:2.

‘A white horse and he who sat on it’ is the Lord in respect of the Word, 2760-2762; and ‘a bow’ is teachings of truth that are used to fight with, 2686, 2709. From this it is evident that since the Lord is the subject ‘a crown’ means Divine Good, which is the reward of victory.

sRef Rev@2 @10 S12′ sRef Rev@14 @14 S12′ sRef Rev@3 @11 S12′ [12] And in another place,

Afterwards I saw, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud one was sitting, like the Son of Man, having on His head a crown of gold, and in His hand a sharp sickle. Rev. 14:14.

‘A white cloud’ stands for the literal sense of the Word, 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343 (end), 6752, 8781; ‘the Son of Man’ stands for Divine Truth which emanates from the Lord, 9807; ‘a crown of gold’ for Divine Good from which Divine Truth springs; and ‘a sharp sickle’ for the dispersal of evil and falsity. In another place,

Be faithful right through to death, and I will give you the crown of life. Rev. 2:10.

And in another,

Behold, I come quickly. Hold on to what you have, that no one may take your crown. Rev. 3:11.

‘Crown’ stands for good that results from truths, thus for wisdom since this is the discernment of the good of love resulting from the truths of faith. From all this it may now be seen what a crown means, and from this what is meant by a crown of holiness, which was the plate of gold on which ‘Holiness to Jehovah’ was engraved.
* Subject is used here to mean something which really exists yet depends for its existence on something prior to itself.
** lit. they wrote on it with the writing of engravings of a signet
*** lit. against the face of it
**** lit. You exercise anger
***** lit. earth or land
****** The Latin domina means a female person who rules or commands. The Hebrew word is used to denote a queen or else a queen mother.
******* The Latin means He put but the Hebrew means I put, which Sw. Has in another place where he quotes this verse.

9931. ‘And engrave on it, [like] the engraving of a signet’ means what is everlasting and has been imprinted on their hearts in accord with a heavenly sphere. This is clear from the meaning of ‘engraving’ as imprinting on the memory, 9841, 9842, thus also on the heart (for what is imprinted on the interior memory, or on one’s life, is said to have been imprinted on the heart), and since this remains forever, what exists everlastingly is also meant; and from the meaning of ‘the engraving of a signet’ as a heavenly sphere, dealt with in 9846. The expression ‘what has been imprinted on their hearts in accord with a heavenly sphere’ is used because things which have been imprinted on the memory – in particular on the interior memory, which is ‘the book of life’, 2474 – have been imprinted in accord with a heavenly sphere. For a person governed by the good of love resulting from the truths of faith resembles heaven, indeed he is heaven in the smallest form it takes, see the places referred to above in 9279, 9632. This being so, the heavenly pattern resides in him; for all the communities in heaven have been arranged according to the heavenly pattern, because all affections for good and consequently thoughts of truth flow in accordance with that pattern, 9877. All factual knowledge too is arranged into the heavenly pattern when a person is governed by heavenly love, love being that which so arranges it, see 6690.

9932. ‘Holiness to Jehovah’ means the Lord’s Divine Human, and all celestial and spiritual good from there. This is clear from the meaning of ‘holiness’ as what is Divine and emanates from the Lord, thus as the Lord Himself in respect of the Divine Human, from which comes everything Divine in heaven. This explains why celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord derived from the Lord, and spiritual good, which is the good of love towards the neighbour derived from the Lord, are holy; for the Lord alone is holy, and what emanates from Him, this alone, is holy in heaven and on earth, 9229, 9680, 9820. Also that which is holy, emanating from the Lord, is called the Holy Spirit, 9818; angels, prophets, and apostles are called holy by virtue of their reception of Divine Truth from the Lord, 9820; and ‘the sanctuary’ or holy place means heaven by virtue of what is Divine there, 8330, 9479. ‘Holiness to Jehovah’ is a designation that is used because in the Word Jehovah is the Lord, see the places referred to in 9373. The reason why ‘Holiness to Jehovah’ was engraved on a plate of gold and placed on the turban over Aaron’s forehead was that so placed it could then be seen by all the people. As a consequence of this they had in mind what is holy when they engaged in worship, and this idea of something holy corresponded to that which is holy and is present in the whole of heaven, namely the Lord’s Divine Human. For as has been stated, this is what composes heaven. What can be seen generally by all the people and for this reason reigns in everyone’s mind enters into every aspect of thought and affection, consequently into every aspect of worship, and influences it, 6159, 6571, 7648, 8067, 8865. Therefore since what was supremely holy was kept continually before their eyes, and consequently reigned in everyone’s mind, it rendered everything of worship holy.

sRef Ex@28 @37 S0′ 9933. ‘And you shall place it on a cord of violet’ means an influx into the truth of celestial love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘violet’ as the truth of celestial love, dealt with below. An influx into that truth is meant by the placing of the plate, on which ‘Holiness to Jehovah’ had been engraved, on a cord made from violet. For it thereby hung from the cord, having been attached to it, and being attached to and hanging from in the spiritual sense means flowing in, since any joining together in the spiritual world, whatever kind it may be, is accomplished through influx. The reason why the influx is into the truth of celestial love derived from the Lord’s Divine Human, meant by ‘Holiness to Jehovah’, is that in that sphere of heaven where the truth of celestial love is, nothing Divine is perceived other than the Lord’s Divine Human.

[2] The situation in all this is that there are three heavens, which are separated from one another by their degrees of good. In the inmost heaven there is the good of celestial love, which is the good of love to the Lord; in the second or middle heaven there is the good of spiritual love, which is the good of charity towards the neighbour; and in the first or lowest heaven there is the good of natural love from the spiritual and from the celestial, which is the good of faith and obedience. In each heaven there is an internal part and an external. The internal in the inmost heaven consists in the good of love to the Lord, as stated above; and the external there consists in the good of mutual love, which is that of the love of good for its own sake. This good is what should be understood by the truth of celestial love, meant by ‘a cord of violet’. In the sphere where this kind of truth exists the perception reigns that the Lord’s Human is God Himself in the heavens. Therefore as soon as an angel is raised into that sphere he also passes into that light. Such perception flows in from the Lord since the Lord’s Divine Human composes heaven; and this influx is what is meant here. For the meaning of ‘violet’ as the celestial love of truth, or what amounts to the same thing, the truth of celestial love, see 9466, 9687, 9833.

sRef Ex@28 @37 S0′ 9934. ‘And it shall be on the turban’ means from infinite wisdom. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the turban’ as intelligence, dealt with in 9827; and when the Lord, represented by Aaron, is the subject ‘the turban’ means Divine or infinite wisdom.

sRef Ex@28 @37 S0′ 9935. ‘Before the face of the turban it shall be’ means to eternity. This is clear from the meaning of ‘before the face of the turban’ – when the Lord, represented by Aaron, is the subject – as to eternity, dealt with in 9888.

sRef Ex@28 @38 S0′ 9936. ‘And it shall be on Aaron’s forehead’ means from the Lord’s Divine Love. This is clear from the representation of ‘Aaron’ as the Lord in respect of Divine Good, which is the Good of His Divine Love, dealt with in 9806; and from the meaning of ‘forehead’, when the Lord is the subject, as His Divine Love. ‘The Lord’s face’, which is the same as ‘Jehovah’s face’, means all attributes of Divine Love, such as mercy, peace, goodness, or wisdom, 222, 223, 5585, 6848, 6849, 9306, 9545, 9546. These are meant by ‘Jehovah’s face’ or ‘the Lord’s face’ because in general ‘the face’ means a person’s interiors, that is, a person’s affections and consequent thoughts, thus the things which constitute his love and faith, see the places referred to in 9546. These are meant by ‘the face’ because they shine from the face, as if seen in their imprint or image, which also is why the face is called the image of the mind. So it is that when ‘face’ is mentioned in connection with Jehovah or the Lord the attributes of His Divine Love are meant. ‘Forehead’ in particular means Divine Love itself, because interiors have been allotted their own provinces in the face. The interiors that belong to love reside in the province of the forehead, those belonging to wisdom and intelligence in the province of the eyes, those belonging to perception in the province of the nose, and those belonging to utterance in the province of the mouth.

sRef Rev@14 @1 S2′ sRef Ezek@9 @4 S2′ sRef Ezek@9 @6 S2′ sRef Ezek@9 @5 S2′ sRef Rev@22 @4 S2′ [2] From all this it is evident why ‘forehead’ – when the Lord, represented by Aaron, is the subject – means Divine Love. Since someone’s forehead corresponds to his love those governed by celestial love, that is, by love to the Lord derived from the Lord, are said ‘to have a sign on their foreheads’, meaning that they are under the Lord’s protection because they abide in His Love, as in Ezekiel,

Jehovah said, Go through the middle of Jerusalem and make a sign on the foreheads of the men (vir) who groan and sigh over all the abominations done in the midst of it, and strike; do not let your eye spare. But against any man (vir) on whom there is a sign do not go near. Ezek. 9:4-6.

In John, in the Book of Revelation,

Behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him a hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads. Rev. 14:1.

In the same book,

They will see the face of God and of the Lamb, and His name will be on their foreheads. Rev. 22:4.

In the same book,

It was declared that they should not harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only the people who did not have God’s sign on their foreheads. Rev. 9:4.

sRef Rev@9 @4 S3′ [3] ‘Having God’s sign on their foreheads’ and ‘having God and the Lamb’s name on them’ stand for their being kept safe from molestation by evils from hell, because they abide in the Lord through love. ‘The grass’ and ‘any green thing’, which were not to be harmed, stand for true factual knowledge by means of which the truth of faith develops, 7571, 7691; and ‘any tree’, which too was not to be harmed, stands for the perception of truth springing from good, 103, 2163, 2722, 2972, 4552, 7692.

sRef Deut@6 @5 S4′ sRef Deut@6 @8 S4′ [4] In Moses,

You shall love Jehovah your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. You shall bind these words as a sign onto your hand, and let them be as frontlets between your eyes. Deut. 6:4, 5, 8.

‘As frontlets’ stands for as a sign of love to Jehovah God. The words ‘between your eyes’ are used because intelligence and wisdom which are born from that love are meant by ‘eyes’; and wisdom born from that love consists in having God constantly before one’s eyes. This is self-evidently so because the subject is love to Jehovah God. The declaration that they should love Him with all their heart, with all their soul, and with all their strength, means that they should do so with all their human powers. ‘With the heart’ means with the will where the good of love resides, 7542, 9050, 9300, 9495; and ‘with the soul’ means with the understanding where the truth of faith resides, and so with faith, 9050. These two powers belong to the internal man. ‘With all their strength’ means with those powers of will and understanding as they exist in the external man. The strength and power of the love of both, of the external man and of the internal, are meant by ‘hands’, 4931-4937, 7518; and this is why it says that those words were to be bound ‘as a sign on the hand’.

sRef Rev@17 @5 S5′ sRef Rev@13 @16 S5′ [5] Since ‘the forehead’ by virtue of its correspondence means celestial or heavenly love with those who are good, with those who are bad it accordingly means hellish love, which is the opposite of heavenly. The forehead of the latter is called a bronze forehead in Isaiah 48:4, and an obstinate forehead in Ezekiel 3:7, 8. And in reference to those ruled by hellish love it is said that they had the mark of the beast on their foreheads, Rev. 13:16; 14:9; 20:4, and also the name of Babylon on their foreheads, Rev. 17:5.

sRef Ex@28 @38 S0′ 9937. ‘And Aaron shall bear the iniquity of the holy things’ means a consequent removal or shifting away of falsities and evils with those who are governed by good derived from the Lord. This is clear from the representation of ‘Aaron’ as the Lord in respect of the good of love, dealt with in 9806, and from the representation of ‘the priestly office’ in which Aaron served as all the service performed by the Lord as the Saviour, dealt with in 9809; from the meaning of ‘bearing the iniquity’ as a removal of falsities and evils with those who are governed by good, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘the holy things’ as the gifts which they offered to Jehovah or the Lord to expiate them from sins, those gifts being burnt offerings, sacrifices, and minchahs. It is plain that these should be understood by ‘the holy things’, for it says, Which the children of Israel shall sanctify, even in all their gifts of holy things. The reason why ‘bearing the iniquity’ means a removal or shifting away of falsities and evils, or sins, with those who are governed by good is that what is said refers to the Lord; for the Lord is represented by Aaron, and all the work of salvation by his service or priestly office. It is well known in the Church that the Lord is said to have borne sins on behalf of the human race, yet there is no knowledge of what to understand by bearing iniquities and sins. Some think it means that He took the sins of the human race onto Himself and allowed Himself to be condemned even to death on a cross, and that since, because of this, the condemnation for sins was cast onto Him, people in the world have been made free from condemnation. It is also thought that condemnation was taken away by the Lord through His fulfilling the law, for the law would have condemned everyone who did not fulfill it.

[2] But no such ideas should be understood by ‘bearing iniquity’, for every individual person’s deeds await him after death, when he is judged according to the essential nature of those deeds either to life or to death. The essential nature of them depends on his love and faith, for love and faith constitute the life of a deed. No one’s deeds therefore can be taken away by transference onto another who will bear them. From these considerations it is evident that something other than those ideas should be understood by ‘bearing iniquities’; but what should be understood may be recognized from the actual bearing of iniquities or sins by the Lord. The Lord bears them when He fights on behalf of a person against the hells; for no one is able by himself to fight against them. Rather the Lord alone does so, indeed constantly for every individual person, yet differently with each one according to their reception of Divine Good and Divine Truth.

[3]When He was in the world the Lord fought against all the hells and completely subdued them, as a result of which also He became Righteousness. By doing that He has rescued from damnation those who receive Divine Good and Truth from Him. If the Lord had not done so no person could have been saved, for the hells are unceasingly present with a person, exercising control over him to the extent that the Lord does not shift them away. And He shifts them away to the extent that the person refrains from evils. He who is victorious once over the hells is victorious forever over them; and to achieve this the Lord made Divine His Human. The One therefore who alone fights for a person against the hells – or what amounts to the same thing, against evils and falsities, since they arise from the hells – is said to bear sins; for He bears that burden, alone. The reason why ‘bearing sins’ also means moving evils and falsities away from those who are governed by good is that this is the consequence. For the more remote the hells are from a person, the more remote evils and falsities are, since falsities and evils come, as has been stated, from the hells – evils and falsities being sins and iniquities. For the implications of all this, see what has been shown above in 9715 and 9809, where the Lord’s merit and righteousness, and also the subjugation of the hells by Him, are dealt with.

[4] The reason for its being said that Aaron would bear iniquities was that He represented the Lord, while his priestly office represented the Lord’s entire work of salvation, see 9806, 9809; and the work of salvation consists primarily in rescuing and delivering a person from hell, and so in shifting evils and falsities away. The expression ‘a shifting of evils and falsities away’ is used because deliverance from sins or forgiveness of them is nothing other than a shifting away of them; for they still remain with the person. But to the extent that the good of love and the truth of faith are implanted evil and falsity are shifted away. The situation in this is like that with heaven and hell. Heaven does not annihilate hell or those who are there, but moves it away from itself; for the good and truth received from the Lord are what compose heaven, and they are what move hell back. The situation is similar with a person. In himself a person is an embodiment of hell, but when he is being regenerated he becomes an embodiment of heaven; and to the extent that he becomes an embodiment of heaven, hell is moved away from him. It is commonly supposed that evils, that is, sins, are not shifted away in that manner, but that they are completely separated from a person. But those who think this do not know that in himself the whole of a person is nothing but evil, and that to the extent that the person is maintained by the Lord in good, the evils that are his appear as though they have been obliterated. For when a person is maintained in good he is withheld from evil. Yet nobody can be withheld from evil and maintained in good except one in whom the good of faith and charity received from the Lord is present, that is, one who allows himself to be regenerated by the Lord. For through regeneration heaven is implanted with a person, and through this the hell residing with him is moved away, as stated above.

[5] From all this it may again be recognized that ‘bearing iniquities’, when the Lord is the subject, means fighting constantly for a person against the hells, thus constantly moving them away, for that removal of them goes on unceasingly not only while a person is in the world but also forever in the next life. No mere human being is able to move evils away in that manner, for by himself no one is able to move even the smallest amount of evil away, less still to move the hells, and least of all to do so forever. But see what has been shown previously about these matters –

Evils with a person are not completely separated from him, but they are moved away to the extent that he is governed by good received from the Lord, 8393, 9014, 9333-9336, 9444-9454.
While in the world the Lord overcame the hells by means of conflicts brought about by temptations, and thereby set all things in order; He was stirred by Divine Love to do this, in order that the human race might be saved; and He also thereby made Divine His Human, see the places referred to in 9528 (end).
The Lord fights for a person in temptations, which are spiritual conflicts against evils that come from hell, 1692, 6574, 8159, 8172, 8175, 8176, 8273, 8969.

In what way the Lord bore the iniquities of the human race when He was in the world, that is, fought with the hells and subdued them, and in so doing acquired Divine power to Himself to remove them with all who are governed by good, and that He thereby became merit and righteousness, is described in Isaiah 59:16-20, and also 63:1-9, for explanations of which, see 9715, 9809.

sRef Isa@53 @8 S6′ sRef Isa@53 @7 S6′ sRef Isa@53 @1 S6′ sRef Isa@53 @10 S6′ sRef Isa@53 @9 S6′ sRef Isa@53 @6 S6′ sRef Isa@53 @3 S6′ sRef Isa@53 @2 S6′ sRef Isa@53 @5 S6′ sRef Isa@53 @4 S6′ sRef Isa@53 @12 S6′ sRef Isa@53 @11 S6′ sRef Isa@63 @9 S6′ sRef Isa@63 @8 S6′ [6] From all this, once it is understood, people may then know what all those things mean that are stated regarding the Lord in Chapter 53 of the same prophet, a chapter dealing from beginning to end with the state of temptations He underwent, thus with the state He was passing through when He was engaged in conflict with the hells. For temptations are nothing other than conflicts with them. This state is described in [verses 4-6, 9-12, of] that chapter in the following way,

He bore our griefs* and carried our sorrows.
He was pierced because of our transgressions and bruised because of our
iniquities.
Jehovah has laid on** Him the iniquity of us all.
So He consigned the wicked to [their] grave.
The will of Jehovah will prosper by means of His hand.
Out of the distress*** of His soul He will see and be satisfied, and through His wisdom He will justify many, because He has carried their iniquities.
So He has borne the sin of many.

The Lord is also called there [in Isa. 53:1] the arm of Jehovah, by which Divine Power is meant, 4932, 7205. ‘Carrying griefs, sorrows, and iniquities’, and ‘being pierced and bruised because of them’ self-evidently means the state of temptations; for at that time there are experiences involving distress of mind, anguish, and despair, which cause the pain described in those verses. The hells bring such feelings about; for in temptations they assault the actual love of the one against whom they fight. Everyone’s love is the inmost core of his life. The Lord’s love was that of saving the human race; and this love was the Essential Being (Esse) of His life, since the Divine within Him was that love. This too is so described in Isaiah, where the Lord’s conflicts are the subject, in the following words,

He said, Surely they are My people. Therefore He became their Saviour. In all their affliction He suffered affliction; because of His love and His compassion He redeemed them, and took them and carried them all the days of eternity. Isa. 63:8, 9.

sRef John@12 @30 S7′ sRef John@12 @28 S7′ sRef John@12 @27 S7′ sRef John@12 @31 S7′ sRef Isa@53 @7 S7′ [7] The description of the Lord’s suffering of such temptations when He was in the world is brief in the Gospels, but in the Prophets, and especially in the Psalms of David, it is extensive. The Gospels merely state that He was led into the wilderness, where He was then tempted by the devil, and that He was there forty days, and was with the beasts, Mark 1:12, 13; Matt. 4:1. But the fact that He had been undergoing temptations from earliest childhood through to the end of His life in the world, that is, had been engaged in conflicts with the hells, was not revealed by Him, as accords with the following words in Isaiah,

He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. He is led like a lamb to the slaughter, and like a sheep before its shearers is dumb, He did not open His mouth. Isa. 53:7.

His final temptation was in Gethsemane, Matt. 26; Mark 14, followed by the passion of the Cross. Through this temptation He completely subdued the hells, as He Himself teaches in John,

Father, rescue Me from this hour. But on account of this I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name. [Then] a voice came from heaven, [saying,] I have both glorified it and will glorify it again. Then Jesus said, Now is the judgement of this world, now will the prince of this world be cast outdoors. John 12:27, 28, 31.

‘The prince of [this] world’ is the devil, thus all hell. ‘Glorifying’ means making Divine the Human. The reason why only the temptation after the forty days in the wilderness is mentioned is that ‘forty days’ means and implies temptations to completeness, thus over a number of years, see 8098, 9437. ‘The wilderness’ means hell, ‘the beasts’ He fought with there being the devil’s crew.

sRef Lev@16 @22 S8′ sRef Lev@16 @21 S8′ [8] The removal of sins with those who are governed by good or who have repented was represented in the Jewish Church by the he-goat called Azazel. Aaron was to lay his hands on its head and to confess the iniquities of the children of Israel and all transgressions in respect of all their sins, after which he was to send it into the wilderness; thus the he-goat was to bear on itself all their iniquities into a land of separation, Lev. 16:21, 22. ‘Aaron’ here represents the Lord, ‘the he-goat’ means faith, ‘the wilderness’ and ‘a land of separation’ hell, and ‘bearing the iniquities of the children of Israel to that place’ removing and casting them into hell. Nobody can know that such things were represented except from the internal sense. For anyone can see that the iniquities of the entire assembly could not have been carried off into the wilderness by any he-goat; for what did a he-goat have in common with iniquities? But since everything representative at that time was a sign of such things as belong to the Lord, heaven, and the Church, so were these things that were done with the he-goat. The internal sense therefore teaches what those things imply, namely that the truth of faith is the means by which a person is regenerated, consequently by which sins are removed. And since faith or belief in what is true is derived from the Lord, the Lord Himself is the One who accomplishes that removal of them, as accords with what has been stated and shown in the Preface to Genesis 22, and also in 2046, 3332, 3876, 3877, 4738. Aaron represents the Lord, see 9806, 9808; and ‘a he-goat of the she-goats’ is the truth of faith, 4169 (end), 4769. The reason why ‘the wilderness’ is hell, is that the camp where the children of Israel were meant heaven, 4236; and for the same reason also the wilderness is called ‘a land of separation’ or a land that is cut off. ‘Bearing iniquities into that land’ or into the wilderness accordingly means casting evils and falsities into hell from where they come; and they are cast into that place when they become so remote that they cannot be seen, which is what happens when a person is withheld from them because he is maintained in good by the Lord, as accords with what has been stated above.

sRef Micah@7 @19 S9′ [9] The same thing as is meant by casting out sins into the wilderness is also meant by casting them into the depths of the sea, as in Micah,

He will be merciful to us, He will sink our iniquities, and He will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:19.

‘Depth of the sea’ too means hell. sRef Num@18 @1 S10′ sRef Num@18 @22 S10′ sRef Num@18 @23 S10′ sRef Isa@46 @4 S10′ sRef Isa@46 @3 S10′ [10] From all this it is now evident that the words saying that Aaron was to bear the iniquity of the holy things means a removal or shifting away of sins from those who are governed by good derived from the Lord, and that this removal of them is done constantly by the Lord. This is what ‘bearing iniquities’ means, as also in another place in Moses,

Jehovah said to Aaron, You and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary. Also you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood. The children of Israel shall no longer come near the tent of meeting, or else they will bear sin and die.**** But Levites shall perform the work of the tent, and these shall bear their iniquity. Num. 18:1, 22, 23.

‘Bearing’ or ‘carrying’ is used with a similar meaning in Isaiah,

Hearken to Me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel who have been carried from the womb. Even to [your] old age I am the Same, and even to grey hair I will carry [you]; I have made, and I will carry, and I will bear, and I will deliver. Isa. 46:3, 4.

sRef Lev@4 @31 S11′ sRef Lev@10 @16 S11′ sRef Lev@4 @35 S11′ sRef Lev@4 @26 S11′ sRef Lev@10 @17 S11′ [11] ‘Bearing iniquity’ means making expiation, thus removing sins, in Moses,

Moses was annoyed with Eleazar and Ithamar, because the he-goat of the sin-sacrifice had been burnt, saying, Why have you not eaten it in a holy place, since Jehovah has given it to you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make expiation for them before Jehovah? Lev. 10:16, 17.

For the meaning of ‘expiation’ as cleansing from evils, thus removal from sins, see 9506. Also Aaron was commanded to make expiation for the people, and to pardon their sins, Lev. 4:26, 31, 35; 5:6, 10, 13, 16, 18; 6:7; 9:7; 15:15, 30. But bearing sins, when the phrase is not used in reference to the priesthood, means being damned, and so means dying, Lev. 5:1, 17; 7:18; 17:16; 19:8; 20:17, 19, 20; 22:9; 24:15; Num. 9:13; 18:22; Ezek. 18:19, 20; 23:49.
* lit. sicknesses
** lit. has caused to run to
*** lit. labour
**** lit. no longer come near the tent of meeting to bear sin, dying

sRef Ex@28 @38 S0′ 9938. ‘Which the children of Israel shall sanctify, even in all their gifts of holy things’ means acts of worship representative of removal from sins. This is clear from the meaning of ‘gifts’ – or presents, which among the Israelite and Jewish nation were primarily burnt offerings, sacrifices, and minchahs – as the inner realities of acts of worship; for those realities were represented by these acts. The inner realities of worship are the fruits of love and faith; they are therefore pardonings of sins, that is, removals from them, since faith and love are the means by which the Lord moves sins away. For in the measure that the good of love and faith comes in, or what amounts to the same thing, heaven comes in, sins are removed, that is, hell is removed – the hell within the person as well as the hell outside him. From this it is evident what should be understood by the gifts which they made holy, that is, offered. The gifts were called holy, and giving or offering them was called sanctifying them, because they represented holy realities. For they were offered to expiate people, thus to remove them from their sins, which is accomplished by means of faith in and love to the Lord received from the Lord.

[2] Gifts and presents were said to be made to Jehovah, though Jehovah, that is, the Lord, is not the receiver of gifts or presents, but the giver of them, freely to everyone. Even so, His will is that they should come from a person as though they did so from that person himself, provided the person acknowledges that they do not actually come from him but from the Lord. For the Lord imparts a desire to do good because he loves it, and a desire to speak the truth because he believes it. The actual desire flows in from the Lord, yet appears to be inherent in the person and so to flow from the person. For whatever a person does out of love and desire for it, he does from his life, love being what composes anyone’s life. From this it is evident that the things that are called gifts and presents made to the Lord by a person are essentially gifts and presents made to a person by the Lord, and that they are called gifts and presents on account of what they appear to be. All who are wise at heart recognize this appearance, but not so the simple. Yet their gifts and presents are acceptable, so far as they are made in ignorance that has innocence within it. Innocence is the good of love to God, and dwells within ignorance, especially with the wise at heart. Those who are wise at heart know, indeed perceive, that nothing whatever of the wisdom within themselves originates in themselves, but that the all of wisdom is attributable to the Lord, that is, the all of the good of love and the all of the truth of faith are attributable to Him, and that for this reason even with the wise innocence dwells in ignorance. From this it is evident that the acknowledgement of this matter, and especially the perception of it, constitutes the innocence of wisdom.

[3] The gifts offered in the Jewish Church, which were primarily burnt offerings, sacrifices, and minchahs, were also spoken of as offerings made for the expiations of sins; for they were offered for the sake of being pardoned from sins, that is, being removed from them. Those who belonged to that Church also thought that sins were pardoned, indeed completely taken away, by means of these offerings; for it is said of people who have offered them that they will be pardoned, see Lev. 4:26, 31, 35; 5:6, 10, 13, 16, 18; 6:7; 9:7; 15:15, 30. But they were unaware of the fact that their gifts represented more internal things, thus the kinds of things that are done by a person from love and faith received from the Lord; that these are what expiate, that is, remove sins; and that when they have been removed they appear to have been completely removed or banished, as has been shown above in the present paragraph and the one before it. The worship of that nation was representative, and so was external devoid of anything internal; and it was by means of this worship that heaven was joined to mankind, in those times, see the places referred to in 9320 (end), 9380.

sRef Ex@28 @38 S0′ 9939. ‘And it shall be on Aaron’s forehead continually’ means a representative sign of the Lord’s love to eternity. This is clear from the meaning of ‘forehead’ as love, dealt with in 9936; from the representation of ‘Aaron’ as the Lord, dealt with in 9806; and from the meaning of ‘continually’ as to eternity. ‘Continually’ means to eternity because all terms descriptive of time, when the Lord is the subject, mean things that are eternal. This includes the term ‘continually’, for ‘continually’, ‘daily’, and ‘always’ have reference to time. So it is also that yesterday and today, when the Lord is the subject, mean what is eternal, 2838.

sRef Ex@28 @38 S0′ 9940. ‘So that they may be pleasing before Jehovah’ means what is Divine and the Lord’s in them. This is clear from the meaning of ‘pleasing’ – when Jehovah, that is, the Lord, is the subject – as what is Divine and comes from Him. For what is pleasing to the Lord is that present with man, spirit, or angel, which is Divine and His; then it is another in whom He sees it, and for this reason it is pleasing. Things from the Lord are relatively near or further away from Him; and they are said to exist by His will, or good pleasure, or consent, or permission. Those that exist by His will are the nearest to Him; those that do so by His good pleasure are a little further away from Him; those that exist by His consent are further away than that; and those that do so by His permission are the furthest away from Him. These are degrees of influx and reception of what is Divine; but each degree contains countless aspects, which are distinct and separate from those in the next degree; and those countless aspects are arcana of heaven, of which only a few fall within the range of human understanding, as for example merely with those which come to exist by His permission. Although these are in the lowest degree, nevertheless because the arcana they embrace in that degree are countless, they confuse a person when he views them from the standpoint of cycles that recur in the natural order, appearances, and especially the illusions of the senses. But the arcana belonging to permission are relatively few in comparison with the arcana belonging to the higher degrees, which are the things which come to exist by the Lord’s consent, good pleasure, and will.

sRef Ex@28 @38 S0′ 9941. Verses 39, 40 And you shall weave the tunic in checker work of fine linen,* and you shall make the turban of fine linen; and the belt you shall make with the work of an embroiderer. And for Aaron’s sons you shall make tunics, and you shall make belts for them, and you shall make headdresses for them, for glorious adornment.**

‘And you shall weave the tunic in checker work of fine linen’ means the inmost things of the spiritual kingdom, emanating from the truths of celestial love. ‘And you shall make the turban of fine linen’ means the wisdom there. ‘And the belt’ means a bond, and a separation from the outward things of that kingdom. ‘You shall make with the work of an embroiderer’ means through cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth. ‘And for Aaron’s sons’ means Divine Truths emanating in the heavens from the Lord’s Divine Good. ‘You shall make tunics’ means the things that belong to faith there. ‘And you shall make belts for them’ means a holding in connection. ‘And you shall make headdresses for them’ means the intelligence there. ‘For glorious adornment’ means the spiritual Church’s truth.
* i.e. an all-white garment made of linen containing checks in the weave
** lit. for glory and for adornment (decus)

sRef Ex@28 @39 S0′ 9942. ‘And you shall weave the tunic in checker work of fine linen’ means the inmost things of the spiritual kingdom, emanating from the truths of celestial love. This is clear from the meaning of Aaron’s garments in general as the spiritual kingdom lying adjacent to the celestial kingdom, dealt with in 9814, and since the tunic was the inmost of those garments the inmost things of that kingdom are meant by it (for the meaning of ‘Aaron’s tunic’ as Divine Truth in the spiritual kingdom, emanating directly from the Divine Celestial, see 9826); and from the meaning of ‘fine linen’ as truth from a celestial origin, dealt with in 9469. In the words stating that the tunic should be woven in checker work something produced by a weaver should be understood by ‘checker work’; and by ‘the work of a weaver’ is meant that which is from the celestial, 9915. The same word is used in the original language to express the idea of producing checker work as is used to mean weaving.

sRef Ex@39 @27 S2′ [2] The fact that this tunic was woven, or was made from the work of a weaver, is clear from the following words in the Book of Exodus,

They made the tunics of fine linen, the work of a weaver, for Aaron and his sons. Exod. 39:27.

The reason why the tunic consisted of checker work or was woven from fine linen was in order that it might represent that which emanates directly from the celestial; in comparison it resembles a continuation from it. For what emanates from the celestial is akin to what does so from the will part of a person’s mind, in that everything which belongs to a person’s understanding emanates from that will part. What emanates from the will part and exists more internally is so to speak continuous from it, in contrast to what does so but exists more externally. Therefore that more internal emanation from the will has primarily the affection for truth within it; for all affection belonging to love that is present in the understanding flows in from its will part. A similar situation exists in the heavens, where the celestial kingdom corresponds to the will part of a person’s mind, and the spiritual kingdom to the understanding part, see 9835. And since Aaron’s garments represented the Lord’s spiritual kingdom lying adjacent to His celestial kingdom, 9814, the tunic represented that which is inmost there, namely that which emanates from and exists closest to the celestial kingdom; for the tunic was the inmost garment. From this it is evident why it was woven or made of checker work, and why it was made from fine linen. For ‘woven’ means that which originates in the will part or the celestial, 9915, and ‘fine linen’ means truth that springs from celestial love, 9469.

[3] What is spiritual emanating from what is celestial is also meant in other places in the Word by tunics, for example by the tunics of skin which Jehovah God is said to have made for the man and his wife after they ate from the tree of knowledge, Gen. 3:20, 21. No one can know that truth from a celestial origin is meant by those ‘tunics’ unless the inner meaning of the details of that story is unfolded; therefore it must be explained. ‘The man and his wife’ there is used to mean the celestial Church, ‘the man’ as the husband to mean that Church in respect of good, and ‘his wife’ that Church in respect of truth; this truth and that good were the celestial Church’s truth and good. But then came the fall of that Church, which was brought about by reasonings, based on factual knowledge, about God’s truths, meant in the internal sense by ‘the serpent’ who persuaded them. The first state after the fall of that Church is what is described here, its truth by ‘the tunics of skin’.

[4] It should be remembered that the creation of heaven and earth in the first chapter of Genesis means and describes in the internal sense the new creation or regeneration of the member of the Church then, thus the establishment of the celestial Church; that paradise means and describes the wisdom and intelligence of that Church, and eating from the tree of knowledge its fall, brought about by their reasoning, based on factual knowledge, about Divine matters. For more which demonstrates that all this is so, see what has been shown regarding these matters in the explanations to those chapters. For all the narratives contained in the early chapters of Genesis are made-up history, in the internal sense of which there are Divine matters regarding the new creation or the regeneration of the member of the celestial Church, as has been stated. This was the customary way of writing in most ancient times, not only among those who belonged to the Church but also among those outside the Church, for example among the Arabians, Syrians, and Greeks, as is evident from the books of those times, both sacred and secular.

[5] It was in imitation of those books, since he derived it from them, that Solomon composed the Song of Songs, a book that is not a sacred one because it does not inwardly contain heavenly and Divine matters forming a continuous train of thought, such as sacred books contain. The Book of Job too is a book of the Ancient Church. Mention is also made in Moses of sacred books of the Ancient Church which have now been lost, in Num. 21:14, 15, 27ff, the historical sections of which were called The Wars of Jehovah and the prophetical parts The Utterances, see 2686, 2897. The fact that such was the style in the historical narratives of the sections called The Wars of Jehovah is evident from the parts of them which were extracted and quoted by Moses. Their historical narratives were therefore such as came near to a kind of prophetic style, the kind that would allow young children and also simple people to retain things in their memory. The fact that the books referred to in Numbers 21 were sacred is evident from the parts of them extant in verses 28-30 of that chapter, when compared with Jeremiah 48:45, 46, where similar words occur. This kind of style was the most common, virtually the one and only style adopted among those who were outside the Church, as is plain from the myths and legends of those writers who were outside the Church which held within them notions of right and wrong or such as have to do with what people feel and how they conduct their life.

sRef Gen@37 @31 S6′ sRef Gen@37 @23 S6′ sRef Gen@37 @32 S6′ sRef Gen@37 @33 S6′ [6] In the narratives consisting not of made-up but of genuine history – which are those that appear in the Books of Moses after the chapters of made-up history, and also those in the Books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings – spiritual truth and good of truth emanating from celestial truth and good are again meant by ‘tunics’. (It should be remembered that spiritual truth and good is the kind of truth and good that spiritual angels in the middle or second heaven enjoy, but that celestial truth and good is the truth and good such as angels in the third and inmost heaven enjoy, see the places referred to in 9277.) The Books of Moses mention that Israel the father of Joseph gave his son a tunic of various colours, and that because of that tunic his brothers were annoyed; and that subsequently they stripped him of it, dipped it in blood, and sent it in that condition to their father, Gen. 37:3, 23, 31-33. All this was part of genuine history; and since it in like manner contained inwardly or in its internal sense the holy things of heaven and the Church, thus those that were Divine, that tunic of various colours served to mean the state of the good and truth which Joseph was to represent, namely the state of spiritual truth and good emanating from the celestial, see 3971, 4286, 4592, 4963, 5249, 5307, 5584, 5869, 5877, 6417, 6526, 9671. For all the sons of Jacob represented things such as belong to heaven and the Church in their proper order, 3858, 3926, 4060, 4603 and subsequent paragraphs, 6335, 6337, 6397, 6640, 7836, 7891, 7996. But in the chapter referred to above they represented the opposite.

sRef John@19 @24 S7′ sRef Ps@45 @9 S7′ sRef John@19 @23 S7′ [7] Since all things that are in the books of the Word are representative of and serve to mean Divine celestial and spiritual realities, both those things in the historical books and those in the prophetical books, the affection for spiritual truth is described in David by ‘the king’s daughter’ and the actual truth by her garments,

Daughters of kings are among your precious ones; at your right hand stands the queen in the finest gold of Ophir. The daughter of Tyre will bring an offering, the rich of the people will entreat your face. All glorious is the king’s daughter within, from woven threads (or checker work) of gold will her vesture (her tunic) be; in an embroidered [robe] she will be led to the king. Ps. 45:9ff.

‘Daughter’ in general means the affection for spiritual truth and good, and so means the Church as well, see 2362, 3024, 3963, 9055 (end); and ‘king’, when this refers to the Lord, means Divine Truth, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4581, 4966, 5068, 6148. From this it is evident that everything mentioned in that Psalm regarding ‘the king’s daughter’ means such things as belong to the affection for truth and good received from the Lord in the Church. When it says that ‘the daughter of Tyre will bring an offering’ cognitions or knowledge of good and truth are meant, ‘Tyre’ meaning these, see 1201. The like is meant by ‘the rich of the people’, for nothing other than cognitions of good and truth is meant in the spiritual sense by ‘riches’, 1694, 4508. From this it is evident what the meaning is of the declaration that the king’s daughter is ‘all glorious within’, and that her vesture was made ‘from woven threads of gold’. By ‘her vesture’ a tunic should be understood, as is evident from the meaning that word has in the original language; for the word in that language means a garment worn next to the body. The fact that a tunic is meant is clear in John 19:24, where reference is made to the Lord’s tunic, which David in Ps. 22:18 calls by the same word ‘vesture’. It is also clear in 2 Sam. 13:18, where it says that the king’s daughters were clothed with tunics of various colours; this matter is dealt with just below. By ‘woven threads of gold’ in David something similar is meant to what is meant by the checker work of Aaron’s tunic, the same term being used in the original language. As regards what ‘an embroidered [robe]’ is in which she will be led to the king, see 9688.

sRef 2Sam@13 @18 S8′ [8] Since the king’s daughter and her vesture or tunic served to represent such things, a king’s daughters at that time wore that kind of clothing, as is clear in the second Book of Samuel,

On Tamar there was a tunic of various colours, for daughters of the king wore such clothes. 2 Sam. 13:18.

sRef Lev@10 @2 S9′ sRef Lev@10 @5 S9′ sRef Lev@10 @4 S9′ sRef Lev@10 @1 S9′ sRef Lev@10 @3 S9′ [9] Since, then, spiritual forms of good and truths were represented by tunics it may be seen what it is that Aaron’s ‘tunic’ means, and also what is meant by his sons’ tunics, mentioned in the next verse of this chapter, which says that for Aaron’s sons they were to make tunics, belts, and headdresses, for glorious adornment. And since their tunics served to represent those holy forms of good and truths, it was declared that Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu, who were devoured by fire from heaven because they were offering incense on foreign* fire, should be taken outside the camp in their tunics, Lev. 10:1-5. For ‘foreign fire’ means love from a source other than what is heavenly, since ‘sacred fire’ in the Word denotes love that is heavenly or Divine, 6832, 6834, 6849, 7324, 9434. Because of what his sons had done spiritual forms of good and truths, meant by their ‘tunics’, had been defiled, and this was why they were taken outside the camp in their tunics.

sRef Micah@2 @8 S10′ [10] ‘Tunic’ is used with a similar meaning in Micah,

My people have taken a stand as an enemy on account of the garment; you strip the tunic from those confidently passing through. Micah 2:8.

Here a different word is used in the original language for ‘tunic’; even so spiritual truth and good is meant. ‘Stripping the tunic from those passing through in confidence’ means depriving of their spiritual truths those who lead a life of simple goodness. ‘Having [them] as enemy on account of the garment’ means doing ill to them on account of the truth they think, when in fact no one ought to suffer harm on account of whatever he believes to be true, provided that he is governed by good, 1798, 1799, 1834, 1844.

sRef Matt@5 @36 S11′ sRef Matt@5 @37 S11′ sRef Matt@5 @40 S11′ sRef Matt@5 @35 S11′ sRef Matt@5 @34 S11′ [11] From all this it may now be seen what ‘tunic’ means in Matthew,

Jesus said, You shall not swear at all, neither by heaven, nor by the earth, nor by Jerusalem, nor by [your] head. Let your words be, Yes, yes; No, no; anything beyond this is from evil.** If anyone wishes to drag you to court and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. Matt. 5:34-37, 40.

Anyone unacquainted with what the angelic state is like in the Lord’s celestial kingdom cannot have any idea at all of what these the Lord’s words imply. For they refer to the state of goodness and truth with those who are in the Lord’s celestial kingdom, with whom all truth resides within, imprinted on their hearts. For the good of love to the Lord leads them to know all truth, so completely that they never engage in any reasoning about it, as those in the spiritual kingdom do. Therefore whenever truths are referred to they say simply, Yes, yes; or, No, no. Nor indeed in that kingdom do they even make mention of faith. Regarding the state of these angels, see the places referred to in 9277. From this it is now evident what the meaning is of the command that they must not swear at all; for ‘swearing’ means confirming truths, 3375, 9166, which is done in the spiritual kingdom by the use of reason and factual knowledge drawn from the Word. ‘Dragging to court and wishing to take away the tunic’ means arguing about truths and wishing to convince others that something is not true, ‘tunic’ meaning truth from a celestial origin; for [those who are celestial] leave every one with the truth he has and do not go on to reason with him.

sRef Matt@10 @7 S12′ sRef Matt@10 @10 S12′ sRef Matt@10 @5 S12′ sRef Matt@10 @9 S12′ [12] ‘Tunic’ again means truth from a celestial origin elsewhere in Matthew,

Jesus sent the twelve to preach the kingdom of heaven, saying, that they should not possess gold, or silver, or bronze in their belts, nor a bag for the road, nor two tunics, or [pairs of] shoes, or rods. Matt. 10:9, 10.

All this served to represent that those with forms of good and truths received from the Lord possess no good or truth at all that originates in themselves, but that every truth and form of good they have comes from the Lord. The twelve disciples represented all whose forms of good and truths come from the Lord, and in the abstract sense represented all forms of the good of love and all truths of faith derived from the Lord, 3488, 3858 (end), 6397. Forms of good and truths that originate in the self and not in the Lord are meant by ‘possessing gold, silver, and bronze in their belts’ and by ‘a bag’. But truths and forms of good coming from the Lord are meant by ‘tunic, shoe, and rod’, inner truth or truth from a celestial origin by ‘tunic’, outer truth or truth in the natural by ‘shoe’, 1748, 6844, and the power of truth by ‘rod’, 4876, 4936, 6947, 7011, 7026. By ‘two tunics’ however, ‘two [pairs of] shoes, and two rods’ are meant truths and their powers that originate both in the Lord and in the self. The fact that they were allowed to have one tunic, one pair of shoes, and one rod is clear in Mark 6:8, 9, and Luke 9:2, 3.

sRef John@19 @24 S13′ sRef John@19 @23 S13′ [13] Once it is known from all this what ‘a tunic’ means it is evident what ‘the Lord’s tunic’ referred to in John means,

They took the garments and made four parts, a part for each soldier, and the tunic. And the tunic was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said, Do not let us divide it, but let us cast lots for it, whose it may be – so that the Scripture might be fulfilled, saying, They divided My garments for themselves, and for My tunic they cast lots. The soldiers did these things. John 19:23, 24; Ps. 22:18.

Is there anyone, thinking with reason that is to some extent enlightened, who cannot see that in all this Divine things were meant, and that if this had not been so none of it would have been prophesied in David? Yet no one can know what is meant without the internal sense, thus without knowledge gained from that sense no one can know what is meant by ‘the garments’, ‘casting lots for’ or ‘dividing them’, ‘the tunic’ and its being ‘without seam’ or ‘woven from the top throughout’, and ‘the soldiers’. From the internal sense it is evident that truths are meant by ‘garments’, and Divine Truths by ‘the Lord’s garments’; ‘casting lots for’ and ‘dividing them’ pulling apart and dispersing them, 9093; and ‘the tunic’ Divine Truth on the spiritual level, emanating from the Divine Celestial, the same as is meant by ‘Aaron’s tunic’ since Aaron represented the Lord, for which reason also its being ‘without seam’ or ‘woven from the top throughout’ has the same meaning as ‘checkered’ or ‘woven’, which describes Aaron’s tunic. The tunic’s not being divided was a sign that Divine Truth on the spiritual level, emanating directly from Divine Truth on the celestial level, could not be dispersed, because this truth is the inner truth of the Word, such as exists with angels in heaven.

[14] When it says that ‘the soldiers did it’ the meaning is that it was done by those who ought to have been fighting for truths, that is, the Jews themselves with whom the Word existed, but whose characters were nevertheless such that they would disperse it. For they had the Word, yet nevertheless did not wish to know from it that the Lord was the Messiah and Son of God who was to come. Nor did they wish to know anything of the inner meaning of the Word, only the outward, which they also drafted to serve their own loves, which were self-love and love of the world, and so to support their desires gushing out of those loves. These things are meant by dividing up the Lord’s garments; for whatever they did to the Lord represented the state of Divine Truth and Good among them then, thus the way they treated God’s truths was similar to that in which they were treating Him; for while in the world the Lord was Divine Truth itself, see the places referred to in 9199 (end), 9315 (end).
* i.e. unauthorized or profane fire
** or from the evil one

sRef Ex@28 @39 S0′ 9943. ‘And you shall make the turban of fine linen’ means the wisdom there. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the turban’ as intelligence and – when it has reference to the Lord, represented here by Aaron – as wisdom, dealt with in 9827; and from the meaning of ‘fine linen’ as truth from a celestial origin, dealt with in 9469, for from such truth wisdom, meant here by ‘the turban’, is derived. All wisdom and intelligence springs from Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good. No other wisdom and intelligence that is real wisdom and intelligence can exist, because none can arise from any other source. Intelligence consists in coming to know and understand God’s truths, and afterwards believing in them, while wisdom consists in willing and loving them, and consequently living in accordance with them.

sRef Ex@28 @39 S0′ 9944. ‘And the belt’ means a bond, and a separation from the outward things of that kingdom. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the belt’ as an outward bond that holds all things of love and faith in connection and form within itself, in order that they may all have the same end in view, dealt with in 9341(end), 9828, 9837. The reason why a separation from the outward things is also meant is that the bond gathers and holds together within itself the inward things; and this also separates them from the outward ones. The inward things of the spiritual kingdom are meant by ‘the tunic’ because it was the inmost garment, and the outward things of that kingdom by ‘the robe’ and ‘the ephod’ because they were the outer garments. For ‘Aaron’s garments’ represented the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, see 9814, ‘the ephod’ representing the outermost part of it, 9824; ‘the robe’ the inner part of it, 9825; and ‘the tunic’ the inmost, 9826.

sRef Ex@28 @39 S0′ 9945. ‘You shall make with the work of an embroiderer’ means through cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the work of an embroiderer’ as something that consists of factual knowledge, dealt with in 9688. The reason for saying through cognitions of goodness and truth is that ‘cognitions’ is used to mean knowledge about things of a more internal nature such as the Church possesses regarding faith and love. The reason why this kind of factual knowledge is meant here by ‘the work of an embroiderer’ is that ‘the belt of the tunic’, which was made from the work of an embroiderer, means the bond holding together the inmost things* of the spiritual kingdom, dealt with immediately above; and everything in the spiritual world is held in connection by means of cognitions and the affections resulting from them.
* Reading vinculum intimorum (the bond holding together the inmost inmost bond)

sRef Ex@28 @40 S0′ 9946. ‘And for Aaron’s sons’ means Divine Truths emanating in the heavens from the Lord’s Divine Good. This is clear from the representation of ‘Aaron’s sons’ as Divine Truths emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good, dealt with in 9807, in the heavens being meant because that which is Divine and the Lord’s in the heavens is what the priestly office of Aaron and his sons represents. Divine Good in the heavens is represented by Aaron’s priestly office, and Divine Truth from Divine Good there by that of his sons. The words ‘in the heavens’ are used because the Lord Himself, being the Sun of heaven, is above the heavens, yet has a presence within the heavens, which is such that it seems as though He Himself were there. The Lord as He is in the heavens – that is, His Divine Good and Divine Truth there – is able to be represented, but not that which is Divine and His above the heavens, because this cannot fall within the range of what human minds or even angelic minds can grasp, since it is infinite. But what is Divine and emanates from it into the heavens is suited to reception there.

sRef Ex@28 @40 S0′ 9947. ‘You shall make tunics’ means the things that belong to faith [there]. This is clear from the meaning of ‘tunic’, when Aaron is the subject, as Divine Truth in the spiritual kingdom inmostly, thus truth that emanates directly from the celestial, dealt with in 9826, 9942. But when Aaron’s sons are the subject ‘tunic’ means that which belongs to faith; for this is what emanates from the spiritual that comes from the celestial. And this emanation is what is called the faith of truth.

sRef Ex@28 @40 S0′ 9948. ‘And you shall make belts for them’ means a holding in connection. This is clear from the meaning of ‘belts’ as outward bonds holding the truths and forms of the good of faith and love in connection, dealt with in 9341 (end), 9828, 9837, 9944.

sRef Ex@28 @40 S0′ 9949. ‘And you shall make headdresses for them’ means the intelligence there. This is clear from the meaning of ‘turban’, and in general of a covering for the head, as intelligence and wisdom, dealt with in 9827. Consequently this is also what ‘headdress’ means, since the covering for the head for Aaron’s sons was referred to as ‘a headdress’.

sRef Ex@28 @40 S0′ 9950. ‘For glorious adornment’ means the spiritual Church’s truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘for glorious adornment’ as in order to display Divine Truth as it exists in its inward form and its outward form in the spiritual kingdom lying adjacent to the celestial kingdom, dealt with above in 9815, but at this point the spiritual Church’s truth which comes from there. For Aaron represents Divine Good in the heavens, and his sons Divine Truth springing from that Good. Furthermore Divine Good exists there as the Father, and Divine Truth springing from that Good, as the Son; and this being so, ‘father’ in the Word means good, and ‘sons’ truths. The latter are also born from the former when a person is generated anew, that is, when he is being regenerated.

sRef Ex@28 @41 S0′ 9951. Verse 41 And with these you shall clothe Aaron your brother, and his sons with him; and you shall anoint them, and fill their hand,* and sanctify them, and they shall serve Me in the priestly office. ‘And with these you shall clothe Aaron your brother’ means such a state of Divine Good in the spiritual kingdom. ‘And his sons with him’ means such a state there in the outward things emanating from that [Divine Good]. ‘And you shall anoint them’ means a representative sign of the Lord in respect of the good of love. ‘And fill their hand’ means a representative sign of the Lord in respect of the truth of faith. ‘And sanctify them’ means thus a representative sign of the Lord in respect of the Divine Human. ‘And they shall serve Me in the priestly office’ means a representative sign of the Lord in respect of all the work of salvation carried out by the Divine Human.
* i.e. consecrate them

sRef Ex@28 @41 S0′ 9952. ‘And with these you shall clothe Aaron your brother’ means such a state of Divine Good in the spiritual kingdom. This is clear from the meaning of ‘to clothe’ as to bring about the state of whatever reality is represented by garments, in this instance the state of Divine Truth in the spiritual kingdom. For ‘Aaron’ represents the Lord in respect of Divine Good, and so also Divine Good that comes from the Lord, dealt with in 9806, and ‘his garments’ the Lord’s spiritual kingdom lying adjacent to His celestial kingdom, 9814. The meaning of ‘to clothe’ as to bring about the state which is represented by garments that are put on has its origin in representatives in the next life. Spirits there and angels all appear wearing garments, each wearing ones that accord with the state of the truth that governs him, thus each wearing ones that accord with his power of understanding that harmonizes with the power of will within it. The reason why this should be so is that a person’s understanding serves to clothe his will, the understanding being formed from truths, and the will from forms of good, and that good is what is clothed, 5248. So it is that in the Word truths are meant by ‘garments’, see 165, 1073, 4545, 4763, 5954, 6378, 6914, 6917, 9093, 9814, and that this has its origin in representatives in the next life, 9212, 9216, 9814.

sRef Ex@28 @41 S0′ 9953. ‘And his sons with him’ means such a state there in the outward things emanating from that [Divine Good]. This is clear from the meaning of ‘to clothe’ as to bring about a state such as is represented by garments, dealt with immediately above in 9952, at this point that which is represented by the garments of Aaron’s sons, which is the state in the spiritual kingdom of the outward things emanating from Divine Truth. For that which emanates is meant by ‘sons’, and so too by their ‘garments’, as accords with what has been stated just above in 9950.

sRef Ex@28 @41 S0′ 9954. ‘And you shall anoint them’ means a representative sign of the Lord in respect of the good of love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘anointing’ as consecrating to serve as a representative sign, dealt with in 9474. The reason why to serve as a representative sign of the Lord in respect of the good of love is meant, or what amounts to the same thing, to serve as a representative sign of the good of love that comes from the Lord, is that ‘oil’, which was used to carry out anointing, means the good of love, 886, 4582, 4638, 9780. It is of interest to know what is implied in all this, since anointing has remained in practice from ancient times down to the present day (monarchs are anointed), and anointing is held to be holy today in just the same way as it was in former times. It was among the ancients – in whose times every act of worship involved the use of representative signs, that is to say, of such things as served to represent realities of a more internal nature, which are those of faith and love derived from the Lord and offered back to Him, thus which are Divine – that the practice of anointing came in; it came in because ‘the oil’ that was used to carry out the anointing was a sign of the good of love. For the ancients knew that the good of love was the essential reality which gives life to everything constituting the Church and worship. That good is the Essential Being (Esse) of life; for the Divine flows in by way of the good of love with a person and composes his life – heavenly life when truths are received within good. From this it is evident what anointing represented, and that because of its representation objects which had been anointed were called holy and also held to be holy. Such objects served the Church to represent Divine and heavenly realities, and in the highest sense the Lord Himself, who is Good itself, thus to represent the good of love which comes from Him, and also the truth of faith, to the extent that this has life from the good of love. This now explains why in ancient times they anointed stones set up as pillars, and also weapons of war, such as shields; later on the altar and all its vessels, as well as the tent of meeting and everything in it; and in addition those who were to serve in the priestly office, and their garments, also prophets, and at length kings, who were therefore called Jehovah’s Anointed. It also became a common practice to anoint oneself and others to bear witness to gladness of mind and goodwill.

sRef Gen@28 @19 S2′ sRef Gen@28 @18 S2′ sRef Gen@28 @21 S2′ sRef Gen@28 @22 S2′ [2] 1 They anointed stones set up as pillars

This is clear in the Book of Genesis,

In the morning Jacob rose up early, and took the stone which he had placed as his headrest, and placed it as a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. Gen. 28:18.

The reason why stones were anointed in this manner was that truths were meant by ‘stones’, and truths devoid of good do not have the life of heaven, that is, life from the Divine, within them. When therefore stones had been anointed with oil they represented truths oiled with good, and in the highest sense Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good, and so represented the Lord Himself, who was consequently called The Stone of Israel, 6426.

Truths are meant by ‘stones’, see 643, 1298, 3720, 3769, 3771, 3773, 3789, 3798, 6426, 8941, 9476.
They are in like manner meant by ‘pillars’, 3727, 4580, 9388, 9389.
‘Anointing pillars’ means causing truths to be oiled with good, thus to be the truths of good, and so to exist as good, 3728, 4090, 4582.

The fact that stones set up as pillars were held to be holy is clear in the same chapter of Genesis, where it says,

Jacob called the name of that place Bethel, and said, If I come back in peace to my father’s house, this stone which I have placed as a pillar will be God’s house. Gen. 28:19, 21, 22.

Bethel is [a name meaning] God’s house, and God’s house is the Church, also heaven, and in the highest sense it is the Lord Himself, 3720.

sRef Isa@21 @5 S3′ sRef 2Sam@1 @21 S3′ [3] 2 They anointed weapons of war, such as shields

This is clear in Isaiah,

Rise up, O princes, anoint the shield. Isa. 21:5.

And in the second Book of Samuel,

The shield of heroes was defiled, the shield of Saul was not anointed with oil. 2 Sam. 1:21.

The reason why weapons of war were anointed was that they were a sign of truths engaged in conflict against falsities, truths oiled with good being what prevail over them, but not truths devoid of good. When weapons of war had been anointed therefore they represented truths emanating from good that comes from the Lord, thus truths which the Lord Himself, when present with people, employs to fight on their behalf against falsities arising from evil, that is, against the hells. Regarding ‘weapons of war’, that they mean truths engaged in conflict against falsities, see 1788, 2686. For in the Word ‘war’ means spiritual conflict, 1664, 2686, 8273, 8295, and ‘enemies’ the hells, in general evils and falsities, 2851, 8289, 9314.

sRef Ex@40 @11 S4′ sRef Ex@29 @36 S4′ sRef Ex@30 @25 S4′ sRef Ex@30 @26 S4′ sRef Ex@40 @10 S4′ sRef Ex@40 @9 S4′ sRef Ex@30 @29 S4′ sRef Ex@30 @27 S4′ sRef Ex@30 @28 S4′ [4] 3 They anointed the altar and all its vessels, also the tent of meeting and everything in it

This is clear in Moses,

Jehovah said to Moses, You shall anoint the altar and sanctify it. Exod. 29:36.

In the same author,

You shall make the holy anointing oil,* with which you shall anoint the tent of meeting, and the ark of the Testimony, and the table and all its vessels, and the lampstand and all its vessels, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering and all its vessels, and the laver and its base. Thus you shall sanctify them, that they may be most holy. Everyone who touches them will make himself holy. Exod. 30:25-29.

In the same author,

You shall take the oil of anointing, and anoint the dwelling-place and all that is in it, and sanctify it and all its vessels, that it may be holy. You shall also anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its vessels, and make the altar holy, that the altar may be most holy; and you shall anoint the laver and its base, and sanctify it. Exod. 40:9-11.

In the same author,

Moses anointed the dwelling-place and everything that was in it. After this he sprinkled some of the oil over the altar and all its vessels, and the laver and its shaft, to sanctify them. Lev. 8:10-12; Num. 7:1.

sRef Lev@8 @12 S5′ sRef Lev@8 @10 S5′ sRef Lev@8 @11 S5′ [5] The reason why the altar had to be anointed, also the dwelling-place and everything there, was that they might represent the Divine and holy things of heaven and of the Church, consequently the holy things of worship. They could not have represented these things unless they had been consecrated to do so by something such as served to represent the good of love. For the Divine comes in through the good of love, and through this good is present in heaven and in the Church, and therefore also in worship. Without that good the Divine cannot come in or be present, only what composes the human self, and with that self hell, and with hell evil and falsity; for the human self is nothing else. From this it is evident why anointing was effected by the use of oil; for ‘oil’ in the representative sense is the good of love, see 886, 4582, 4638, 9780; the altar was the chief representative of the Lord, and consequently of worship springing from the good of love, 2777, 2811, 4489, 4541, 8935, 8940, 9388, 9389, 9714; and the dwelling-place with the ark in it was the chief representative of heaven in which the Lord was present, 9457, 9481, 9485, 9594, 9596, 9632, 9784. As regards the human self or proprium, that it consists of nothing but evil and falsity, thus nothing but hell, 210, 215, 694, 874-876, 987, 1047, 3812 (end), 5660, 8480, 8941, 8944; and in the measure that what composes the human self is removed, the Lord can be present, 1023, 1044, 4007 (end).

sRef Ex@40 @15 S6′ sRef Ex@30 @30 S6′ sRef Ex@29 @7 S6′ sRef Ex@40 @13 S6′ sRef Ex@40 @14 S6′ sRef Lev@8 @30 S6′ sRef Lev@8 @12 S6′ [6] 4 They anointed those who were to serve in the priestly office, and their garments

This is clear in Moses,

Take the oil of anointing, and you shall pour it over Aaron’s head, and you shall anoint him. Exod. 29:7; 30:30.

In the same author,

Clothe Aaron with the holy garments,** and you shall anoint him and make him holy, that he may serve Me in the priestly office. And you shall anoint his sons, as you anointed the father; and it shall be, that their anointing may make them an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.*** Exod. 40:13-15.

In the same author,

Moses poured some of the oil over Aaron’s head, and anointed him, to make him holy. Then he took some of the oil of anointing and some of the blood which was on the altar, and sprinkled it over Aaron, over his garments, over his sons, and over the garments of his sons with him, and sanctified Aaron, his garments, his sons also, and the garments of his sons with him. Lev. 8:12, 30.

[7] The reason why Aaron had to be anointed, and his sons had to be anointed, also their actual garments, was that they might represent the Lord in respect of Divine Good, and in respect of Divine Truth emanating from that Good, Aaron representing the Lord in respect of that Divine Good and his sons in respect of the emanating Divine Truth, and in general that the priesthood might represent the Lord in respect of all the work of salvation. They had to be anointed in their garments, Exod. 29:29, because Aaron’s garments represented the Lord’s spiritual kingdom lying adjacent to His celestial kingdom. The celestial kingdom is where the good of love to the Lord derived from the Lord reigns, so that the flow of the Divine into the spiritual kingdom is accomplished by way of the good of love. This was why being consecrated to serve as a representative sign was accomplished by the use of oil, which in the spiritual sense is the good of love.

Aaron represented the Lord in respect of Divine Good, see 9806.
His sons represented the Lord in respect of Divine Truth emanating from Divine Good, 9807.
The priestly office in general represented the Lord in respect of all the work of salvation, 9809.
Aaron’s garments represented the Lord’s spiritual kingdom lying adjacent to His celestial kingdom, 9814.
His sons’ garments represented the things that emanate from there, 9946, 9950.
The good of love to the Lord reigns in the celestial kingdom, see the places referred to in 9277.

sRef Lev@7 @35 S8′ sRef Num@18 @13 S8′ sRef Lev@7 @36 S8′ sRef Num@18 @16 S8′ sRef Num@18 @15 S8′ sRef Lev@7 @34 S8′ sRef Num@18 @12 S8′ sRef Num@18 @11 S8′ sRef Num@18 @9 S8′ sRef Num@18 @8 S8′ sRef Num@18 @10 S8′ sRef Num@18 @17 S8′ sRef Num@18 @18 S8′ sRef Num@18 @14 S8′ sRef Num@18 @20 S8′ sRef Num@18 @19 S8′ [8] Since being consecrated to serve as a representative sign was accomplished by means of anointing, and since Aaron and his sons represented the Lord and what comes from Him, the holy things of the children of Israel – that is, the gifts which they presented to Jehovah, called ‘heave offerings’ – were given to Aaron and his sons; and they are spoken of as ‘the anointing’ and also as ‘for the anointing’,**** meaning the representation or for the representation of the Lord, and what comes from Him, as is clear from the following in Moses,

The breast of the wave offering, and the flank of the heave offering I have received from the children of Israel, from the sacrifices of peace offerings; I have given them to Aaron and his sons. This is the anointing of Aaron and the anointing of his sons from the fire offerings to Jehovah, which I decreed to give them, on the day they were anointed,***** from among the children of Israel. Lev. 7:34-36.

And elsewhere in the same author,

Jehovah spoke to Aaron, Behold, I have given you charge of My heave offerings, even all the holy things of the children of Israel; I have given them to you for the anointing, and to your sons, as a statute forever. Every offering of theirs, even every minchah of theirs, even every sacrifice of sin offering and guilt offering, every wave offering of the children of Israel, all the best****** of pure oil, and all the best****** of the new wine and the grain, their firstfruits which they will give to Jehovah I have given to you. Also every devoted thing in Israel, everything opening the womb, thus every heave offering of holy things [shall be yours]. You shall not have an inheritance in their land, nor shall any portion be yours in their midst. I am your portion and your inheritance in the midst of the children of Israel. Num. 18:8-20.

From these quotations it is evident that ‘the anointing’ means the representation, for it was through being anointed that they were consecrated to serve as a representative sign, a sign which meant that everything in heaven and the Church is made holy through the good of love which comes from the Lord, and that the good of love is the Lord as He is present with them. This explains why it says that Jehovah is his******* ‘portion and inheritance’.

sRef 1Ki@19 @16 S9′ sRef 1Ki@19 @15 S9′ [9] 5 They also anointed prophets

This is clear in the first Book of Kings,

Jehovah said to Elijah, Anoint Hazael as king over the Syrians, and anoint Jehu as king over Israel, and anoint Elisha as prophet in place of you. 1 Kings 19:15, 16.

And in Isaiah,

The Spirit of the Lord Jehovih is upon Me, therefore Jehovah has anointed Me to bring good tidings to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the broken in heart, to preach liberty to the captives. Isa. 61:1.

The reason why prophets were anointed was that prophets represented the Lord in respect of teachings that present Divine Truth, thus in respect of the Word since this consists of teachings that present Divine Truth. Regarding prophets, that they represented the Word, see 3652, 7269, Elijah and Elisha in particular, 2762, 5247 (end), 9372. And – as the Lord Himself teaches in Luke 4:18-21 – the Lord in respect of His Divine Human is the One who is being represented, and so is the One who ‘He whom Jehovah has anointed’ is used to mean.

sRef Isa@61 @1 S10′ [10] 6 Afterwards they anointed kings, and these were called Jehovah’s Anointed

This is clear from a large number of places in the Word, such as 1 Sam. 10:1; 15:1, 17; 16:3, 6, 12; 24:6, 10; 26:9, 11, 16, 23; 2 Sam. 1:16; 2:4, 7; 5:3; 19:21; 1 Kings 1:34, 45; 19:15, 16; 2 Kings 9:3; 11:12; 23:30; Lam. 4:20; Hab. 3:13; Ps. 2:2, 6; 20:6; 28:8; 45:7; 84:9; 89:20, 38, 51; 132:17; and elsewhere. The reason why they anointed kings was in order that they might represent the Lord in respect of judgement based on Divine Truth. Consequently truths that are God’s are meant in the Word by ‘kings’, see 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148.

[11] Kings were called Jehovah’s Anointed, and therefore it was utterly forbidden to do them harm, because ‘Jehovah’s Anointed’ is used to mean the Lord’s Divine Human, though in the sense of the letter the title is applied to a king who had been anointed with oil. While He was in the world the Lord was Divine Truth itself as to His Humanity, and Divine Good itself as to that Essential Being (Esse) constituting the life within Him, the equivalent of which in people is called the soul from the father; for He was conceived from Jehovah. In the Word Jehovah is the Divine Good of Divine Love, and that Good is the Essential Being (Esse) of every human life. Consequently the Lord alone was ‘Jehovah’s Anointed’ in all that He was and in all that He did (ipsa essentia et ipso actu); for Divine Good was within Him, and Divine Truth emanating from that Good was within His Humanity while He was in the world, see the places referred to in 9194, 9315(end). Earthly kings were not Jehovah’s Anointed, but served to represent the Lord, who alone was Jehovah’s Anointed; and this was why, because they had been anointed, it was utterly forbidden to do harm to earthly kings. But the anointing of earthly kings was accomplished by the use of oil, whereas the anointing of the Lord in respect of His Divine Human was accomplished by means of the actual Divine Good of Divine Love which oil represented. This is why He was called Messiah and Christ, Messiah meaning the Anointed in Hebrew, and Christ meaning the like in Greek, John 1:41; 4:25.

sRef Luke@4 @17 S12′ sRef Luke@4 @18 S12′ sRef Luke@4 @19 S12′ sRef Isa@61 @1 S12′ sRef Luke@4 @21 S12′ sRef Luke@4 @20 S12′ [12] From all this it becomes clear that where the term ‘Jehovah’s Anointed’ is used in the Word the Lord is meant, as in Isaiah,

The Spirit of the Lord Jehovih is upon Me, therefore Jehovah has anointed Me to bring good tidings to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the broken in heart, to preach liberty to the captives. Isa. 61:1.

The truth that the Lord in respect of His Divine Human is the One whom Jehovah had anointed is clear in Luke, where the Lord declares it explicitly in the following words,

The book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Jesus, and He unrolled the book, and found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me. He has sent Me to bring good tidings to the poor, to heal the crushed at heart,******** to preach good tidings of forgiveness to the bound, and of sight to the blind, to release the wounded with forgiveness, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. After this He rolled up the book, gave it to the minister, and sat down. The eyes however of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. He began to say to them, Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your ears. Luke 4:17-21.

sRef Dan@9 @25 S13′ sRef Dan@9 @24 S13′ [13] In Daniel,

Know therefore and perceive that from the going forth of the Word to restore and to build Jerusalem until the Messiah, the Prince, there will be seven weeks. Dan. 9:25.

‘Building Jerusalem’ means establishing the Church, ‘Jerusalem’ being the Church, 3654. ‘The Messiah, the Prince’, or the Anointed One, is the Lord in respect of the Divine Human. In the same prophet,

Seventy weeks have been decreed to seal up vision and prophet, and to anoint the Holy of Holies. Dan. 9:24.

‘Sealing up vision and prophet’ means drawing to a close those things that have been declared in the Word regarding the Lord and fulfilling them. ‘Anointing the Holy of Holies’ refers to the Lord’s Divine Human in which the Divine Good of Divine Love, or Jehovah, was present.

sRef Ps@2 @6 S14′ sRef Ps@2 @2 S14′ [14] ‘Jehovah’s Anointed’ is again used to mean the Lord in the following places: In David,

The kings of the earth have set themselves, and the masters of the earth have taken counsel together, against Jehovah and against His Anointed. I have anointed My king over Zion, the mountain of My holiness. Ps. 2:2, 6.

‘The kings of the earth’ are falsities, and ‘the masters’ evils, that come from the hells, against which the Lord fought while He was in the world, and which He overcame and subdued. ‘Jehovah’s Anointed’ is the Lord in respect of His Divine Human, for from this Human He fought them. ‘Zion, the mountain of holiness’ over which, it says, the Anointed will be king, is the celestial kingdom, which is governed by the good of love. This kingdom is the inmost part of heaven and the inmost of the Church.

sRef Ps@89 @27 S15′ sRef Ps@89 @25 S15′ sRef Ps@89 @26 S15′ sRef Ps@89 @28 S15′ sRef Ps@89 @20 S15′ sRef Ps@89 @29 S15′ sRef Ps@89 @19 S15′ [15] In the same author,

I have found My servant David; with the oil of holiness I have anointed him. Ps. 89:20.

By ‘David’ here the Lord is meant, as also elsewhere, see 1888. ‘The oil of holiness’ with which Jehovah anointed Him is the Divine Good of Divine Love, 886, 4582, 4638. The fact that the Lord is the One who is meant in this verse by ‘David’ is evident from other verses before and after it, for among much else they say,

You spoke in a vision regarding Your Holy One, I will set His hand in the sea, and His right hand in the rivers. He will cry to Me, You are My Father. I will also make Him the Firstborn, supreme over the kings of the earth. I will establish His seed forever, and His throne as the days of the heavens. Ps. 89:19, 25-29.

sRef Ps@132 @7 S16′ sRef Ps@132 @6 S16′ sRef Ps@132 @9 S16′ sRef Ps@132 @18 S16′ sRef Ps@132 @17 S16′ sRef Ps@132 @8 S16′ [16] The like occurs elsewhere in the same author,

In Zion I will make the horn of David to spring forth, I will make ready a lamp for My Anointed; His enemies I will clothe with shame, and upon Himself His crown will flourish. Ps. 132:17, 18.

Here also the Lord is meant by ‘David’, as is evident from previous verses in the Psalm which say,

Behold, we heard of Him in Ephrathah, we found Him in the fields of the wood. We will enter His dwelling-places, we will bow down at His footstool. Your priests will be clothed with righteousness, and Your holy ones will shout for joy. For Your servant David’s sake do not turn away the face of Your Anointed. Ps. 132:6-10.

From these verses it becomes clear that the Lord in respect of His Divine Human is meant by ‘David, Jehovah’s Anointed’.

sRef Lam@4 @20 S17′ sRef Lam@4 @19 S17′ [17] In Jeremiah,

They pursued us over the mountains, they lay in wait for us in the wilderness. The Breath******** of our nostrils, Jehovah’s Anointed, was caught in their pits, of whom we had said, In His shadow we shall live among the nations. Lam. 4:19, 20.

Here also ‘Jehovah’s Anointed’ is used to mean the Lord, for the subject is the assault made on Divine Truth by falsities and evils, meant by their pursuing over the mountains and lying in wait in the wilderness. ‘The Breath of nostrils’ is real heavenly life which comes from the Lord, 9818.

sRef 1Sam@26 @9 S18′ sRef 2Sam@1 @16 S18′ sRef 1Sam@24 @6 S18′ sRef 1Sam@24 @10 S18′ sRef 2Sam@19 @21 S18′ [18] From all this it may now be recognized why it was utterly forbidden to do harm to Jehovah’s Anointed, as is again evident from the Word, for example in the first Book of Samuel,

David said, Jehovah forbid me that I should do this thing to my master, Jehovah’s Anointed, and raise********** my hand against him, since he is Jehovah’s Anointed. 1 Sam. 24:6, 10.

And in another place,

David said to Abishai, Do not destroy him, for who can raise*********** a hand against Jehovah’s Anointed and be innocent? 1 Sam. 26:9.

In the second Book of Samuel,

David said to him who said he had killed Saul, Your blood is on your own head, because you have said, I have killed Jehovah’s Anointed. 2 Sam. 1:16.

And in another place,

Abishai said, Shall not Shimei be killed on account of this, that he cursed Jehovah’s Anointed? 2 Sam. 19:21.

Shimei was therefore put to death by Solomon’s command, see 1 Kings 2:36-end.

sRef Matt@6 @18 S19′ sRef Deut@28 @40 S19′ sRef Matt@6 @17 S19′ sRef Dan@10 @2 S19′ sRef Ezek@16 @9 S19′ sRef Amos@6 @6 S19′ sRef Dan@10 @3 S19′ sRef Micah@6 @15 S19′ [19] 7 It became a common practice to anoint oneself and others, to bear witness to gladness of mind and goodwill

This is clear in the following places: In Daniel,

I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. I did not eat pleasant bread, and flesh and wine did not come to my mouth, and I did not anoint myself at all, until the three whole weeks were completed. Dan. 10:2, 3.

In Matthew,

When you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to people to be fasting, but to your Father in secret. Matt. 6:17, 18.

‘Fasting’ means being in mourning. In Amos,

… who drink from bowls of wine, and anoint themselves with the best of oils, but feel no grief over the ruin of Joseph. Amos 6:6.

In Ezekiel,

I washed you with water, and washed away the blood from upon you,************ and anointed you with oil. Ezek. 16:9.

This refers to Jerusalem, by which the Church is meant. In Micah,

You will tread olives but not anoint yourself with oil. Micah 6:15.

In Moses,

You will have olive trees within all your borders, but you will not anoint yourself with oil, because your olive will be shaken off. Deut. 28:40.

In Isaiah,

To give them beauty************* for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning. Isa. 61:3.

In David,

Your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions. Ps. 45:7.

In the same author,

You spread a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You make my head fat with oil. Ps. 23:5.

In the same author,

You will exalt my horn like that of a unicorn; I will grow old with green oil.************** Ps. 92:10.

In the same author,

Wine gladdens the human heart, to cheer the face with oil. Ps. 104:15.

In Mark,

The disciples went out and anointed many sick people with oil, and healed them. Mark 6:13.

In Luke,

Jesus said to Simon, I entered your house, and you did not anoint My head with oil; but this woman has anointed My feet with ointment. Luke 7:44, 46.

sRef Ex@30 @33 S20′ sRef Ps@45 @7 S20′ sRef Ps@23 @5 S20′ sRef Luke@7 @46 S20′ sRef Ps@104 @15 S20′ sRef Ex@30 @32 S20′ sRef Luke@7 @44 S20′ sRef Isa@61 @3 S20′ sRef Ex@30 @38 S20′ sRef Ps@92 @10 S20′ sRef Mark@6 @13 S20′ [20] From all this it is evident that it became the practice to anoint themselves and others with oil. They did so not with ‘the holy oil’ with which priests, kings, the altar, and the tabernacle were anointed, but with ordinary oil because this oil was a sign of the gladness and bliss that belong to the good of love. ‘The holy oil’ however was a sign of Divine Good, about which it says, It shall not be poured on human flesh, and as to the composition of it, you shall not make any other like it; it shall be holy to you. The man who prepares any other like it, or who puts any of it on a foreigner, shall be cut off from his people. Exod. 30:32, 33, 38.
* lit. the oil of anointing of holiness
** lit. garments of holiness
*** lit. that for them their anointing may be for the priesthood of an age, into their generations
**** The Hebrew word behind the Latin rendered the anointing in the two quotations that follow is said to have two meanings – 1 Ointment or holy oil, and 2 Consecrated portion.
***** lit. on the day He (or he) anointed them
****** lit. fat
******* i.e. Aaron’s
******** or the contrite in heart
********* lit. Spirit
********** lit. send
*********** lit. will have sent
************ lit. your bloods
************* lit. a turban or some other attractive headdress
************** i.e. first-press oil

sRef Ex@28 @41 S0′ 9955. ‘And fill their hand’ means a representative sign of the Lord in respect of the truth of faith. This is clear from the meaning of ‘filling the hand’ of Aaron and his sons as consecrating to serve as a representative sign of the Lord in respect of Divine Truth that constitutes faith. For ‘the hand’ means the power that truth from good possesses, and therefore the hand is spoken of in reference to truth, see 3091, 3387, 4931-4937, 7518, 8281, 9025. Consequently, then, just as anointing served to represent the Lord in respect of Divine Good, so the filling of hands represented the Lord in respect of Divine Truth. For everything throughout creation has connection with goodness or truth, or both if it is to have any real existence. In the Word therefore wherever the subject has to do with good, it has to do also with truth, see the places referred to in 9263, 9314. In what way the filling of hands was carried out is described in the next chapter; therefore what needs to be said about it will in the Lord’s Divine mercy appear there.

sRef Lev@8 @30 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @25 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @26 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @36 S0′ sRef Ex@40 @13 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @41 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @28 S0′ sRef Lev@8 @12 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @27 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @29 S0′ 9956. ‘And sanctify them’ means thus a representative sign of the Lord in respect of the Divine Human. This is clear from the meaning of ‘sanctifying or ‘making holy’ as representing the truly holy, namely the Lord in respect of the Divine Human, for this alone is holy, and it is the source of everything holy in heaven and on earth. Anyone may recognize that the oil did not make them holy, but that it acted as a representative sign of holiness. To take further the implications of all this, the Lord Himself is above the heavens, for He is the Sun of the angelic heaven. The Divine which emanates from Him – from that Sun – in the heavens is what is called holy. There could be no representation of that which is Divine and the Lord’s above the heavens because this is infinite; only what is Divine and the Lord’s in the heavens could be represented, for this is suited to reception by the angels there, who are finite. This presence of the Divine in the heavens, perceived by those there as the Lord’s Divine Human, which alone is holy, is what was represented. From this it is evident what ‘being made holy’ means, and why it is mentioned after anointing, as in Moses in these among other examples elsewhere,

You shall anoint the altar and sanctify it. Exod. 29:36.
You shall anoint the tent of meeting, and all that is in it, and sanctify
them. Exod. 30:25-29.
You shall anoint Aaron and sanctify him. Exod. 40:13.
He anointed Aaron and his garments, his sons and their garments, and
sanctified them. Lev. 8:12, 30.

The Lord alone is holy, everything holy comes from Him, and everything made holy served to represent Him, see 9229, 9680.
The Lord in the heavens, thus also heaven, is meant by the sanctuary or holy place, 9479.
The Holy Spirit is that which is Divine emanating from the Lord, 9818, 9820.

sRef Ex@28 @41 S0′ 9957. ‘And they shall serve Me in the priestly office’ means a representative sign of the Lord in respect of all the work of salvation carried out by the Divine Human. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the priestly office’ as the representative sign of the Lord in respect of all the work of salvation, dealt with in 9809. Mention of this is made after their being sanctified by the anointing because the work of salvation is done by the Lord’s Divine Human, as accords with what has been shown immediately above in 9956.

sRef Ex@28 @42 S0′ sRef Ex@28 @43 S0′ 9958. Verses 42, 43 And make for them linen undergarments to cover their naked flesh; from the loins even to the thighs they shall be. And they shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they go into the tent of meeting or when they approach the altar to minister in the holy place, that they may not bear iniquity and die. It shall be the statute of an age* for him and his seed after him.

‘And make for them linen undergarments’ means an external level of conjugial love. ‘To cover their naked flesh’ means to prevent inner desires of that love from appearing when they are foul and hellish. ‘From the loins even to the thighs they shall be’ means the range of those things [composing that external level]. ‘And they shall be on Aaron and on his sons’ means safety from the hells. ‘When they go into the tent of meeting’ means in worship representative of all things of heaven and the Church. ‘Or when they approach the altar to minister in the holy place’ means in worship representative of the Lord Himself. ‘That they may not bear iniquity and die’ means the elimination of the whole of worship. ‘It shall be the statute of an age for him and his seed after him’ means laws of order in the representative Church.
* i.e. an everlasting law

sRef Ex@28 @42 S0′ 9959. ‘And make for them linen undergarments’ means an external level of conjugial love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘undergarments’ as an external level of conjugial love, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘linen’ as external truth or natural truth, also dealt with below. The reason why an external level of conjugial love is meant by ‘undergarments’ is that garments or coverings derive their meaning from the part of the body they cover, 9827, and the loins and genital organs, which the undergarments clothe or cover, mean conjugial love. For ‘the loins’ and their meaning this love, see 3021, 4280, 4575; and for ‘the genital organs’ and their meaning it, 4462, 5050-5062. What truly conjugial love is will be stated below in 9960.

sRef Lev@16 @1 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @13 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @4 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @11 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @12 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @5 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @8 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @9 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @7 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @10 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @6 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @14 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @15 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @17 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @16 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @26 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @25 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @24 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @29 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @28 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @27 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @20 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @19 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @18 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @23 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @22 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @21 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @30 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @32 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @33 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @34 S2′ sRef Ex@39 @27 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @31 S2′ sRef Ex@39 @28 S2′ [2] The undergarments were made from linen because ‘linen’ or ‘flax’ means external truth or natural truth, 7601, and what constitutes the actual external is truth. The reason why truth constitutes the external is that internal things terminate in external ones and rest on them as their underlying supports, and the underlying supports of good are truths. These are like the foundations on which a house is built or on which a house rests, which is why the truths of faith springing from good are meant by the foundations of a house, 9643. Truths furthermore are what protect forms of good from and withstand evils and falsities, all the power that good possesses being exerted by means of truths, 9643. So it is also that the last and lowest part of heaven is inhabited by those who are guided by truths of faith springing from good. So it is also therefore that what is last or most external with a person, namely his external skin, corresponds to those in heaven who are guided by the truths of faith, 5552-5559, 8980, yet not to those who uphold faith separated from good, since they are not in heaven. From all this it may now be recognized why the undergarments were made from linen or flax. Aaron’s undergarment however, when he was clothed with the garments which were ‘for glorious adornment’, and which have been the subject in the present chapter, was made of fine linen together with interwoven fine linen, as is evident from a later chapter where it says,

They made tunics of fine linen, the work of a weaver, and a turban of fine linen, and attractive headdresses* from fine linen, and linen undergarments with fine twined linen. Exod. 39:27, 28.

But when he was clothed with the ‘holy garments’ Aaron’s undergarment was made of linen alone, as is clear from the following in Moses,

When Aaron comes into the sanctuary within the veil he shall put on the holy linen tunic, and the linen undergarment shall be over his flesh, and he shall gird himself with the linen belt, and place the linen turban on himself. These are holy garments. He shall also wash his flesh with water when he puts them on. He shall then first offer burnt offerings and sacrifices, by means of which he will expiate the holy place from uncleannesses. Lev. 16:1-end.

[3] The reason why Aaron was to go at that time clothed in the linen garments, which were also called ‘the holy garments’, was that at that time he was performing the duty of expiating the tent, and also the people and himself from uncleannesses. And every expiation, which was accomplished by means of washings, burnt offerings, and sacrifices, represented purification of the heart from evils and falsities, and so represented regeneration; and purification from evils and falsities, or regeneration, is accomplished by means of the truths of faith. This was why Aaron wore the linen garments then, for the truths of faith are meant by ‘linen garments’, as stated above.

All purification from evils and falsities is accomplished by means of the truths of faith, see 2799, 5954 (end), 7044, 7918, 9089. So therefore is regeneration, 1555, 2046, 2063, 2979, 3332, 3665, 3690, 3786, 3876, 3877, 4096, 4097, 5893, 6247, 8635, 8638-8640, 8772, 9088, 9089, 9103.

sRef Lev@6 @11 S4′ sRef Ezek@44 @15 S4′ sRef Lev@6 @10 S4′ sRef Ezek@44 @16 S4′ sRef Ezek@44 @17 S4′ sRef Ezek@44 @18 S4′ [4] It was for the same reason also that the priest was to put on the linen robe and the linen undergarment when he carried the ash away from the altar, Lev. 6:9-11, and also that ‘the priests, the Levites, from the sons of Zadok’ were to put it on, when they entered the sanctuary, regarding whom the following is stated in Ezekiel,

The priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, shall enter My sanctuary, and they shall draw near My table to minister to Me. When they enter the gates of the inner court they shall put on the linen garments, and no wool shall come upon them. When they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within, the linen turbans shall be on their heads, and the linen undergarments shall be over their loins. They shall not gird themselves with sweat.** Ezek. 44:15-18.

The subject in this passage is the new temple, by which a new Church is meant. By ‘the priests, the Levites’ those guided by truths springing from good are meant, and by ‘the linen garments’ the truths of faith by means of which purification and regeneration are accomplished. ‘Not girding themselves with sweat’ means that the holy things of worship should not be mingled with the human self; for ‘sweat’ means the human self or proprium, and the human proprium is nothing but evil and falsity, 210, 215, 694, 874-876, 987, 1047, 3812 (end), 8480, 8941.

[5] The reason why the undergarment Aaron wore when he was clothed with the garments ‘for glorious adornment’ was made of linen together with fine twined linen, as is evident from Exod. 39:27, 28, quoted above, was that Aaron in those garments represented the Lord in respect of Divine Good in the heavens, Aaron himself representing the Lord in respect of the Divine Celestial there, his garments the Lord in respect of the Divine Spiritual there emanating from the Divine Celestial, 9814, and fine linen the Divine Spiritual emanating from the Divine Celestial, 5319, 9469.
* lit. adornments of headdresses
** i.e. They must not wear garments that will make them sweat

sRef Ex@28 @42 S0′ 9960. ‘To cover their naked flesh’ means to prevent inner desires of that love from appearing when they are foul and hellish. This is clear from the meaning of ‘covering’ as preventing them from appearing; and from the meaning of the genital organs and loins, which ‘naked flesh’ is used to mean here, as inner desires of conjugial love. For when ‘undergarment’ means things composing the external level of that love, 9959, ‘flesh’ which they cover means those on its internal levels. Conjugial love is meant by ‘the loins’, see 3021, 4280, 4575, also by ‘the genital organs’, 4462, 5050-5062, and the good of love by ‘flesh’, 3813, 7850, 9127; but since most things in the Word can also have a contrary meaning, so can the loins, genital organs, and flesh. In that contrary sense they mean evil, foul, and hellish desires of that love, 3813, 5059. The fact that here they mean evil, foul, and hellish desires is evident from the consideration that the words ‘to cover their naked flesh’ are used, ‘naked flesh’ here being that which is the opposite of the good of conjugial love, namely delight that is adulterous and for that reason hellish, which will be spoken of below.

[2] As regards ‘nakedness’, it derives its meaning from the parts of the body that appear naked, just as garments derive theirs from the parts of the body they clothe, 9827. ‘Nakedness’ has one meaning therefore when it applies to the head, which is baldness; another meaning when it applies to the whole body; and yet another when it applies to the loins and genital organs. When nakedness applies to the head, which is baldness, it means the deprivation of an intelligent understanding of truth and of a wise discernment of good; when it applies to the whole body it means the deprivation of truths that belong to faith; but when it applies to the loins and genital organs it means the deprivation of the good of love.

sRef Isa@7 @20 S3′ [3] 1 When nakedness applies to the head, which is baldness, it means the deprivation of an intelligent understanding of truth and of a wise discernment of good This is clear in Isaiah,

On that day the Lord by means of the king of Asshur will shave the head and the hair of the feet, and will consume the beard. Isa. 7:20.

‘Shaving the head’ stands for depriving of the internal truths of the Church, ‘shaving the hair of the feet and consuming the beard’ for depriving of its external truths, and ‘by means of the king of Asshur’ for by means of reasonings based on falsities. It is evident to anyone that no head, hairs of the feet, or beard was going to be shaved by means of the king of Asshur, and that those words must have some other meaning. ‘The head’ means more internal things that belong to wisdom and intelligence, see 6292, 6436, 9166, 9656; ‘the king of Asshur’ means reasoning, 119, 1186; ‘hair’ means the external truth of the Church, 3301, 5247, 5569-5573; ‘the feet’ too means external or natural things, 2162, 3147, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952, 9406; and ‘the beard’ means items of knowledge on sensory levels, that is, truths on last and lowest levels, as is clear from places in the Word mentioning ‘the beard’.

sRef Ezek@7 @19 S4′ sRef Jer@47 @5 S4′ sRef Isa@15 @2 S4′ sRef Ezek@7 @18 S4′ [4] In the same prophet,

On all heads there is baldness; every beard is shaved off. Isa. 15:2.

Here the meaning is similar. In Jeremiah,

Baldness will come upon Gaza. How long will you cut yourself? Jer. 47:5.

In Ezekiel,

On all faces there will be shame, and on all heads baldness. They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will become an abomination. Ezek. 7:18, 19.

‘On all heads baldness’ stands for the deprivation of an intelligent understanding of truth and of a wise discernment of good. Since this is meant it also says ‘they will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will become an abomination’; for ‘silver’ means truth that belongs to intelligence, and ‘gold’ good that belongs to wisdom, 1551, 5658, 6914, 6917, 8932. The fact that baldness on all heads should not be understood literally, that they would not literally throw silver into the streets, and that gold would not literally become an abomination, is self-evident.

sRef Lev@10 @6 S5′ sRef Ezek@44 @20 S5′ [5] In Moses,

Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar his sons, You shall not shave your heads and you shall not rip apart the seams of your garments, lest you die and He is angry with the whole congregation. Lev. 10:6.

And in Ezekiel,

The priests, the Levites, shall not shave their head and shall not let their hair grow long. Ezek. 44:20.

Since Aaron and his sons represented the Lord in respect of Divine Good and in respect of Divine Truth, 9806, 9807, and since ‘a shaved head’ and ‘garments ripped apart at the seams’ meant the deprivation of that Good and Truth, they were forbidden to shave their heads or so rip apart their garments. It also says ‘lest you die and He is angry with the whole congregation’, meaning that as a consequence what was representative of the Lord in respect of Divine Good and in respect of Divine Truth, and so what was representative of the Church, would be destroyed.

sRef Jer@16 @6 S6′ sRef Micah@1 @16 S6′ sRef Amos@8 @10 S6′ [6] Since mourning represented spiritual mourning, which is mourning because of the deprivation of the Church’s truth and good, those in mourning made themselves bald, as in Jeremiah,

They will not lament for them, nor will they make themselves bald* because of them. Jer. 16:6.

In Amos,

I will turn your feasts into mourning, and cause baldness to come up over every head; and I will make it as the mourning for an only-begotten son. Amos 8:10.

And in Micah,

Make yourself bald,** and shave your head for the sons of your delight; extend your baldness like an eagle, for they have departed from you. Micah 1:16.

‘The sons of delight’ are God’s truths, and their ‘departure’ is the deprivation of them, ‘sons’ meaning truths, see 9807.

sRef Rev@3 @18 S7′ sRef Rev@3 @17 S7′ sRef Rev@3 @14 S7′ [7] 2 When nakedness applies to the whole body it means the deprivation of the truths of faith
This is clear in John,

To the angel of the Church of the Laodiceans write, Because you say, I am rich and in need of nothing – when you do not know that you are wretched and miserable, and needy, and blind, and naked – I counsel you to buy from Me gold purified in fire, and white garments that you may put on, that the shame of your nakedness may not be manifested. Rev. 3:14, 17, 18.

‘The angel of the Church’ is God’s truth there. ‘Saying it is rich’ means that it is in possession of cognitions or knowledge of truth and good. ‘Wretched, needy, blind, and naked’ means being nevertheless devoid of truths implanted in life, thus being devoid of good. ‘Buying gold purified in fire’ means acquiring good to itself, ‘white garments’ authentic truths of faith springing from good. From this it is evident what ‘that the shame of nakedness may not be manifested’ means.

sRef Rev@16 @15 S8′ sRef Rev@17 @16 S8′ [8] In the same book,

Behold, I am coming like a thief; blessed is he who is awake and keeps his garments, so that he may not walk naked and they see his shame. Rev. 16:15.

Here the meaning is similar. In the same book,

They will hate the prostitute, and make her devastated and naked. Rev. 17:16.

‘The prostitute’ stands for those who falsify God’s truths. ‘Making her naked’ plainly stands for depriving of those truths; for the words ‘devastated’ and ‘naked’ are used, and ‘devastating’ means depriving of truths.

sRef Isa@58 @8 S9′ sRef Matt@25 @44 S9′ sRef Matt@25 @43 S9′ sRef Matt@25 @36 S9′ sRef Matt@25 @38 S9′ sRef Isa@58 @7 S9′ [9] Nakedness also means having no knowledge of truth and putting on clothes being taught it, in Isaiah,

When you see the naked and cover him, your light will break forth like the dawn. Isa. 58:7, 8.

And in Matthew,

The King will say to those who are on the right, I was naked and you clothed Me. And He said to those on the left, I was naked and you did not clothe Me. Matt. 25:36, 38, 43, 44.

‘Naked’ here stands for those who have no truths and still desire truths, also those who acknowledge that no good or truth at all exists within them, see 4956, 4958.

sRef Isa@47 @2 S10′ sRef Isa@47 @3 S10′ [10] 3 When nakedness applies to the loins and genital organs it means the deprivation of the good of love
This is clear in Isaiah,

O virgin daughter of Babel, take a mill and grind flour, uncover your hair, bare your feet, uncover your thigh, pass through the rivers. Let your nakedness be uncovered, also let your reproach be seen. Isa. 47:1-3.

‘Daughter of Babel’ means the Church or semblance of the Church, where holiness resides outwardly but profanity inwardly. The profanity residing inwardly is such that people have themselves and the world in mind, thus domination and abundant riches as their end in view, holy things being regarded as means to that end. ‘Taking a mill and grinding flour’ means producing teachings out of such matters as will serve as means to the end, 7780. ‘Uncovering the hair, baring the feet, and uncovering the thigh’ means prostituting without any shame or fear things that are outwardly and inwardly holy, so that ‘uncovering nakedness’ means causing foul and hellish things, which are the ends, to appear.

sRef Lam@1 @8 S11′ sRef Lam@1 @9 S11′ sRef Nahum@3 @5 S11′ [11] In Jeremiah,

Jerusalem sinned grievously; those who honoured her despise her, because they see her nakedness, her uncleanness in her skirts. Lam. 1:8, 9.

‘Jerusalem’ stands for the Church, in this instance for a Church that is steeped in falsities arising from evil. ‘Seeing her nakedness’ stands for beholding foul and hellish loves; ‘uncleanness in her skirts’ stands for such loves on most external levels, ‘skirts’ or ‘hem’ meaning most external levels, see 9917. In Nahum,

I will uncover your skirts upon your face,*** and I will show the nations your nakedness and the kingdoms your shame. Nahum 3:5.

‘Uncovering skirts’ stands for taking away outward things in order that more internal ones may appear. ‘Nakedness’ which will be shown to the nations and ‘shame’ to the kingdoms mean hellish kinds of love, which are self-love and love of the world, which defile the more internal things.

sRef Ezek@23 @29 S12′ sRef Ezek@23 @28 S12′ sRef Ezek@16 @22 S12′ sRef Ezek@16 @36 S12′ sRef Ezek@16 @7 S12′ [12] In Ezekiel,

You reached full beauty, your breasts were formed and your hair had grown; [but] you were naked and bare. With all your abominations and your acts of whoredom you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, and were downtrodden in your blood. Your nakedness has been uncovered through your whoredoms with your lovers. Ezek. 16:7, 22, 36.

In the same prophet,

I will give you into the hand [of those] whom you hate, that they may deal with you out of hatred; and let them leave you naked and bare, and let the nakedness of your whoredoms be uncovered. Ezek. 23:28, 29.

In Hosea,

Contend with your mother, that she may remove her whoredoms from her sight,**** and her adulteries from between her breasts, lest perhaps I strip her naked, and present her as on the day she was born, and make her like a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst. I will return and take back My grain, My new wine, My wool, and My flax, which [I gave her] to cover her nakedness; and I will uncover her foulness in the eyes of her lovers. Hosea 2:2, 3, 9, 10.

sRef Hos@2 @10 S13′ sRef Hos@2 @2 S13′ sRef Hos@2 @9 S13′ sRef Hos@2 @3 S13′ [13] The words in the preceding as well as in this present quotation refer to Jerusalem, which is also called ‘mother’; and by it the Church is meant. Its perversity is described by ‘the whoredoms’, ‘the adulteries’, and ‘the uncovering of nakedness’, which are nothing other than the foul and hellish kinds of love – that is, self-love and love of the world, when they are ends in view – from which all evils and derivative falsities gush out. Falsifications of truth therefore and adulterations of good are described in the Word by acts of whoredom and adultery, and are also actually called whoredoms and adulteries there, see 8904. And from this it is evident what ‘nakedness’ and ‘uncovering of nakedness’ are used to mean. Since reference is being made to the Church’s truths when falsified and to its forms of good when adulterated, the verses quoted declare ‘I will make her like a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst’. ‘A wilderness’ is that which is devoid of forms of good, ‘a dry land’ that which is devoid of truths, and ‘thirst’ the deprivation of all matters of faith.

[14] It also declares that [the Lord] would take back His grain, His new wine, His wool, and His flax, with which He had covered her nakedness, because ‘grain’ means the spiritual Church’s more internal good, ‘new wine’ its more internal truth, ‘wool’ its more external good, and ‘flax’ its more external truth. All who read these things with a power of reason that is to some degree enlightened, who believe that no expression used in the Word is meaningless, and that the Word is altogether holy in every part because it is Divine, can see that flax, wool, new wine, and grain are not meant literally.

sRef Lam@4 @21 S15′ sRef Ezek@22 @10 S15′ sRef Hab@2 @15 S15′ sRef Hab@2 @16 S15′ sRef Ezek@22 @9 S15′ [15] In Jeremiah,

O daughter of Edom, to you also the cup will pass, you will be made drunk and naked. Lam. 4:21.

In Habakkuk,

Woe to him who gives drink to his companion,***** making him drunk, and looking on their nakedness! You will be sated with shame rather than glory. Drink, you also – that your foreskin may be revealed. Hab. 2:15, 16.

And in Ezekiel,

They have shed blood in you; they have uncovered their father’s nakedness in you. Ezek. 22:9, 10.

What these statements mean no one can know unless he knows what the meaning is of ‘the cup’, ‘drinking’, ‘being made drunk’, ‘being made naked’, ‘looking on their nakedness, and uncovering them’, and also ‘foreskin’. All these, it is self-evident, should be understood spiritually. ‘Drinking’ understood spiritually is receiving instruction in truths, or in the contrary sense in falsities, that is, absorbing them, 3069, 3168, 3772, 8562, 9412; and from this it is clear what ‘the cup’ that is drunk from means, 5120. ‘Being made drunk’ means becoming insane as a result, and ‘being made naked’ becoming completely destitute of them. ‘Uncovering nakedness’ means uncovering the evils of self-love and love of the world, which are hellish evils. ‘Uncovering their father’s nakedness’ means uncovering those evils when they have a hereditary origin and are present in the will. ‘Revealing the foreskin’ means defiling them, ‘the foreskin’ meaning the defilement of heavenly forms of good by those two kinds of love, see 2056, 3412, 4462, 7045. ‘Circumcision’ therefore means purification from them, 2039, 2632.

sRef Gen@9 @21 S16′ sRef Gen@9 @23 S16′ sRef Gen@9 @22 S16′ [16] All this makes clear what the meaning is of Noah’s drunkenness and the consequent uncovering of his nakedness, described as follows in Genesis,

Noah drank of the wine, and was drunk, and was uncovered in the middle of his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness and pointed it out to his two brothers. And Shem and Japheth took a garment and both of them put it on a shoulder, and went backwards and covered their father’s nakedness; and their faces were backwards, and they did not see their father’s nakedness. Gen. 9:21-23.

This describes members of the Ancient Church, whom Noah represents. ‘The wine’ which he drank and which made him drunk is the falsity which that Church was at the start imbued with. His lying as a result ‘uncovered in the middle of the tent’ means evils owing to the lack of truth in worship. ‘The garment’ with which Shem and Japheth covered his nakedness is the truth of faith, by means of which those evils were covered and corrected. An implanting of the truth and good of faith in the understanding part of the mind is described by their putting a garment on a shoulder, going backwards, and turning their faces away backwards; for this is exactly how it is with the truths and forms of the good of faith present with a member of the spiritual Church. ‘Shem and Japheth’ means those belonging to the spiritual Church, who received the truths of faith within good, which is charity; but ‘Canaan’ means those who did not receive the truths of faith in good or charity.

[17] Noah represents members of the Ancient Church at the start, who were such as has been described, see 736, 773, 788, 1126.
Shem is those belonging to the internal spiritual Church, and Japheth those belonging to the external, 1062, 1127, 1140, 1141, 1150.
Canaan represented those whose faith was separated from charity, or what amounts to the same thing, whose worship was external separated from anything internal, so that in particular he represented the Jewish nation, 1093, 1140, 1141, 1167.
With members of the spiritual Church the truth and good of faith are implanted in the understanding part of the mind, 9596.
‘The wine’ that made Noah drunk means falsity, 6377.
‘The tent’ in which he lay uncovered means the holiness of worship, 2145, 2152, 3312, 4128, 4391.
‘The garment’ with which they covered their father’s nakedness means the truth of faith, 5954, 9212, 9216.
His actual nakedness means the evil occupying the will part of his mind. That evil is covered by means of the truths of faith, and when it is being covered truths look away backwards.

The presence of such arcana, embodied in these details of the story, is evident from the internal sense. And the fact that these arcana are arcana which have to do with the Church may be seen from the consideration that Shem and Japheth simply because they covered their father’s nakedness were blessed, and all their descendants too, and that Canaan was cursed and all his descendants simply because their father had pointed it out to his brothers.

sRef Ex@20 @26 S18′ [18] Because the interiors of the Jewish and Israelite nation were foul, for they were steeped in self-love and love of the world more than all the other nations, and since conjugial love is meant by ‘the genital organs and loins’ and this love is fundamental to and so embraces all celestial and spiritual forms of love, precautions had to be taken to prevent the nakedness of those parts of Aaron’s or his sons’ bodies from being in any way visible when they were engaged in holy worship. This is the reason for its being said that linen undergarments should be made for them to cover their naked flesh, from the loins even to the thighs; and in another place for the declaration that they were not to go up by steps to the altar, in order that their nakedness should not be revealed on it, Exod. 20:26.

The interiors of the Jewish and Israelite nation were foul, and when they were engaged in worship those interiors were closed off, see the places referred to in 9320 (end), 9380.
Conjugial love is meant by ‘the genital organs and loins’, 3021, 4280, 4462, 4575, 5050-5062.
Conjugial love is fundamental to all celestial and spiritual forms of love, and therefore these forms of love are understood as well by it, 686, 2739, 3021, 4280, 5054.

From all this it is now clear what ‘nakedness’ means, in particular nakedness of the bodily parts devoted to procreation, when people’s interiors are foul.

sRef Gen@3 @21 S19′ sRef Gen@3 @7 S19′ sRef Gen@3 @6 S19′ sRef Gen@3 @9 S19′ sRef Gen@3 @10 S19′ sRef Gen@2 @25 S19′ sRef Gen@3 @8 S19′ sRef Gen@3 @11 S19′ [19] But when the interiors are chaste ‘nakedness’ means innocence. It does so because conjugial love is meant, and innocence is the indispensable element of truly conjugial love.

Truly conjugial love belongs to innocence, see 2736.
Therefore ‘nakedness’ in that sense means innocence, 165, 8375.
For the same reason angels of the inmost heaven, who are called celestial angels, appear naked, 165, 2306, 2736.

Since the Most Ancient Church, described in the opening chapters of Genesis and meant in the internal sense by Man or Adam and his wife, was a celestial Church, it says in Gen. 2:25 that both were naked, and they were not ashamed. But when that Church fell, which came about through eating from the tree of knowledge, by which reasoning about Divine matters that was based on factual knowledge was meant, it says that they knew that they were naked, and sewed fig leaves together for themselves and made themselves girdles, thus that they covered their nakedness. It also says that when Jehovah called to him the man said that he was afraid because he was naked, and further on that Jehovah God made for them tunics of skin and clothed them, Gen. 3:6-11, 21. [20] By ‘fig leaves’ from which they made themselves girdles, and also by ‘tunics of skin’ truths and forms of good belonging to the external man should be understood. The reason why their state after the fall is so described is that from being internal people they became external. Their internal is meant by ‘paradise’, for paradise is the intelligence and wisdom of the internal man, and the closing of their internal by being cast out of paradise.

‘Leaf’ means natural truth, which is factual knowledge, see 885. ‘Fig’ means natural good or the external man’s good, 217, 4231, 5113. ‘Tunic of skin’ too means the external man’s truth and good, 294-296. ‘Skin’ means what is external, 3540.

sRef Ex@28 @42 S0′ 9961. ‘From the loins even to the thighs they shall be’ means the range of those things, that is to say, of those composing that more external level of conjugial love, meant by ‘the linen undergarments’. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the loins’ and ‘the thighs’ as those things which constitute conjugial love, ‘the loins’ those that belong to the more internal levels of conjugial love, ‘the thighs’ those that belong to the more external levels, so that the range of that love from internal to external levels is meant. The reason why the more internal levels of that love are meant by ‘the loins’ is that these are above; and the reason why the more external levels are meant by ‘the thighs’ is that these are below. For parts of a person that are above mean things which are more internal, and parts that are below mean those which are more external; this is why in the Word more internal things are meant by higher ones, and more external by lower ones, see 3084, 4599, 5146, 8325. The higher parts of a person correspond to celestial and spiritual things, which are the more internal ones, and the lower parts correspond to natural things, which are the more external. This is why natural things are meant by ‘the feet’, 2162, 3147, 3986, 4382, 4938-4952. And since the lower part of the loins which leads down towards the feet is understood by ‘the thighs’ the more external or lower levels of conjugial love are meant by them, see 4277, 4280. [2] The loins in general however mean conjugial love, 3021, 3294, 4575, 5050-5062; they have this meaning by virtue of their correspondence. Regarding the correspondence with heaven of everything present with a human being, see what has been shown abundantly in the places referred to in 9276(end), 9280. The words ‘range of conjugial love from internal to external levels’ are used because all aspects of love and all matters of faith, or what amounts to the same thing, all those of good and all those of truth, have a wide range in the heavens; for all who are there are joined together in accord with the degree of similarity between the truths of their faith and the forms of good of their love. A range such as this exists in each separate heaven. But the range in each heaven also extends into heavens that are below, because all the heavens make one. Indeed they extend right down to mankind, in order that mankind also may make one with the heavens. This range is what is meant by the range from higher or more internal levels to lower or more external ones. The higher or more internal levels are called celestial and spiritual, and the lower or more external ones are called natural or worldly.

[3] As regards conjugial love specifically, whose range is the subject here, this love is fundamental to all other kinds of love; it descends from the marriage of good and truth in the heavens. And since the marriage of good and truth exists in and makes the heavens, truly conjugial love constitutes heaven itself with a person. But the marriage of good and truth in the heavens descends from the joining of the Lord to the heavens; for what emanates from the Lord and flows into the heavens is the good of love, and what is received there by the angels is the truth springing from it, thus truth which originates in good or in which there is good. This is why in the Word the Lord is called bridegroom and husband, and heaven together with the Church is called bride and wife.

[4] All this makes clear how holy marriages are in heaven, and how profane adulterous relationships are there. For in themselves marriages are so holy that there is nothing holier, and are so for the added reason that they are the seed-bed of the human race, and the human race is the seed-bed of heaven, since all people who have led an angelic life in the world go there. On the other hand adulterous relationships are so profane that nothing is more profane, because they are destructive of heaven and the Church with a person. For the truth of all this, see what has been stated and shown in 2727-2759 regarding marriages and regarding adulterous situations.

sRef Ex@28 @43 S5′ sRef Ex@28 @42 S5′ [5] All this once again makes it clear why foul and hellish things are meant by the kinds of ‘nakedness’ dealt with in 9960 above, and why it was commanded so strictly that when they ministered Aaron and his sons should be wearing the undergarments covering the loins, and that if they did not they would die, for it says,

Make for them linen undergarments to cover their naked flesh; from the loins even to the thighs they shall be. And they shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they go into the tent of meeting or when they approach the altar to minister in the holy place, that they may not bear iniquity and die. It shall be the statute of an age****** for him and his seed after him.

[6] It should be recognized therefore that by conjugial love all celestial and spiritual love is meant, because truly conjugial love, as has been shown above, is fundamental to all other kinds of love. People therefore in whom that fundamental love is present have all other loves belonging to heaven and the Church present in them; for as has been stated, it descends from the marriage of good and truth in the heavens, the marriage that makes heaven. This also explains why heaven is compared in the Word to a marriage, and is also actually called a marriage. From this too it is evident why precautions were taken to prevent the nakedness of Aaron or his sons from being visible while they ministered; for their nakedness served to mean all loves contrary to heavenly loves, which in general are called self-love and love of the world when they are the ends in view, and are foul and hellish loves. People at the present day have no knowledge that all this is so because they are steeped in these loves and take delight in nothing except that which arises from them. So it is that when spiritual love and celestial love are mentioned they are perplexed, not knowing what they may be, nor consequently what heaven may be; and perhaps they are astonished when they hear and consider that spiritual and celestial love separated from self-love and love of the world holds eternal happiness within it that is indescribable.
* lit. nor will baldness be induced
** lit. Put on baldness
*** i.e. I will lift your skirts above your head
**** lit. faces
***** lit. Woe to him causing his companion to drink
****** i.e. an everlasting law

sRef Ex@28 @43 S0′ 9962. ‘And they shall be on Aaron and on his sons’ means safety from the hells. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the undergarments’, to which ‘they shall be on Aaron and on his sons’ refers, as the things composing the external level of conjugial love, dealt with in 9959; and from the meaning of their ‘nakedness’, which the undergarments were to cover, as the inner desires of that love when they are foul and hellish, also dealt with above in 9960. And since ‘nakedness’ had that meaning, the purpose of the undergarments which were on Aaron and his sons was to keep them safe from the hells. The implications of all this are that so far as their interiors were concerned members of the Jewish and Israelite nation were steeped in self-love and love of the world, and so in hellish kinds of love, more than all the other nations; but so far as their exteriors were concerned they could be in a state of holiness, again more than all the other nations. For that reason when they were in a state of holiness their interiors were closed off; for then through that nation outwardly holy things were communicable to the heavens, and in this way they could be linked to heaven. It would have been altogether different if their internals, which were foul and hellish, as has been stated, had not been closed off. This is why no Church existed among them, only what was representative of the Church; for a Church that is indeed a Church resides in things of an internal nature, which are those of faith and love, not in those of an external nature separated from them. The things of an external nature among them were all representative.

[2] Since then things composing the external level of conjugial love – and in general those composing the external levels of all heavenly kinds of love – are meant by ‘the undergarments’, and since external levels were what covered internal ones, and since the internals with that nation were foul and hellish, the declaration that the undergarments should be on Aaron and on his sons means safety from the hells. For, as long as they were in a state of outward holiness, their internals having been covered or closed off, they were also remote from the hells and consequently in safety.

Internals with the Jewish and Israelite nation were foul and hellish, therefore no Church existed among them, only a representative of the Church, see the places referred to in 9320 (end), 9380.
When engaged in worship they were in a state of solely outward holiness, 3479, 4293, 4311, 6304, 8588, 9373, 9380.
And their interiors at such times were closed off, 8788, 8806.

sRef Ex@28 @43 S0′ 9963. ‘When they go into the tent of meeting’ means in worship representative of all things of heaven and the Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘going into the tent of meeting’ as worship representative of all things of heaven and the Church. For ‘the tent’ represented heaven where the Lord was, 9457, 9481, 9485, 9784, so that ‘going into it’, when it refers to Aaron and his sons, means worship of the Lord. Furthermore all the worship at that time took place within the tent and at the altar; for within the tent the loaves of the presence were laid out, the lamps were lit, and incense was offered, and at the altar sacrifice took place. These things primarily were the ones in which representative worship consisted. Representative worship is the outward performance of worship representing the inward virtues of love derived from the Lord and offered back to Him, thus all things of heaven and the Church; for in heaven and in the Church everything has connection with the good belonging to love and the truth belonging to faith which are derived from the Lord and offered to Him.

sRef Ex@28 @43 S0′ 9964. ‘Or when they approach the altar to minister in the holy place’ means in worship representative of the Lord Himself. This is clear from the consideration that the altar was the chief representative of the Lord in respect of Divine Good, see 9714, so that ‘approaching the altar’ and ‘ministering in the holy place’ there mean worship of the Lord Himself. The worship representative of the Lord consisted chiefly in burnt offerings and sacrifices offered on the altar, 922, 923, 2180, 6905, 8680, 8936. Worship representative of the Lord in respect of Divine Good took place at the altar, and worship representative of Him in respect of Divine Truth took place in the tent of meeting. This is the reason for saying that ‘going into the tent of meeting’ means worship representative of all things of heaven and the Church, 9963, and ‘approaching the altar’ worship representative of the Lord Himself. For heaven and the Church are recipients of Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, Divine Truth emanating from the Lord being truth emanating from the good of love that is His and implanted where that good is also received, consequently where the Lord, the Source of that good, is received.

sRef Ex@28 @43 S0′ 9965. ‘That they may not bear iniquity and die’ means the elimination of the whole of worship. This is clear from the meaning of ‘bearing the iniquity’, when the subject is the priestly office of Aaron and his sons, as a removal or shifting away of falsities and evils with those who are governed by good derived from the Lord, dealt with above in 9937. But when it speaks of them ‘bearing iniquity and dying’ the elimination of the whole of worship is meant, see 9928; for the representative worship died because nothing of it appeared any longer in heaven. The situation in all this may become clear from what has been stated and shown above in 9959-9961. They also died when they did not act in accordance with the statutes,* as is evident from Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu, who were devoured by fire from heaven when they did not take the fire of the altar to burn incense but foreign** fire, Lev. 10:1, 2ff. ‘The fire of the altar’ represented God’s love, thus love from the Lord, whereas ‘foreign fire’ represented love from hell. The elimination of worship was meant by their burning incense with this fire and their consequent death. For the meaning of ‘fire’ as love, see 5215, 6832, 7324, 7575, 7852.

sRef Lev@5 @18 S2′ sRef Lev@5 @17 S2′ [2] Many places in the Word state that they would bear iniquity when they did not do things in accordance with the statutes, and by this was meant damnation because sins had not been removed. Not that they themselves were condemned on account of disobeying the statutes. Rather by doing so they eliminated representative worship and in so doing represented the damnation of those who remain in their sins. For none are condemned because they fail in their performance of outward religious observances, only because of evils in the heart, thus because of failing in such observances as a result of evil in the heart. This is what ‘bearing iniquity’ means in the following places: In Moses,

If a soul sins and acts against any of Jehovah’s commandments regarding what ought not to be done,*** though he does not know it, yet he will be guilty and will bear his iniquity. Lev. 5:17, 18.

Here the retention of evils and consequent damnation should not be understood literally by ‘bearing iniquity’, although that is the spiritual meaning; for it says ‘though he does not know it’, implying that what the person has done does not spring from evil in the heart.

sRef Lev@7 @18 S3′ [3] In the same author,

If any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering is eaten at all on the third day, the one offering it will not be accepted. It is an abomination, and the soul that eats it will bear his iniquity, and will be cut off from his people. Lev. 7:18; 19:7, 8.

Here also ‘bearing iniquity’ means remaining in his sins and being as a result in a state of damnation. It does so not because the person ate some of his sacrifice on the third day, but because ‘eating it on the third day’ represented something abominable, namely an action leading to damnation. Thus ‘bearing iniquity and being cut off from his people’ represented the damnation of those who performed the abomination meant by that deed. Nevertheless there was no condemnation on account of his having eaten it, for interior evils that were represented are what condemn, not exterior actions in which those evils are not present.

sRef Num@18 @22 S4′ sRef Num@18 @23 S4′ sRef Lev@17 @16 S4′ sRef Num@9 @13 S4′ sRef Lev@17 @15 S4′ [4] In the same author,

Every soul who eats a carcass**** or that which has been torn, and does not wash his clothes and bathe his flesh shall bear his iniquity. Lev. 17:15, 16.

Since ‘eating a carcass or that which has been torn’ represented making evil or falsity one’s own, the expression ‘bearing iniquity’ also has a representative meaning. In the same author,

If a man who is clean fails to keep the Passover, this soul shall be cut off from his people, because he did not bring the offering of Jehovah at its appointed time; he shall bear his sin. Num. 9:13.

‘The Passover’ represented deliverance by the Lord from damnation, 7093 (end), 7867, 7995, 9286-9292; and ‘the Passover supper’ represented being joined to the Lord through the good of love, 7836, 7997, 8001. And since these things were represented it was decreed that anyone who did not keep the Passover should be cut off from his people and that he should bear his sin. The failure to keep it was not really so great a crime; rather it represented those who at heart refuse to accept the Lord and consequently deliverance from sins, and so who have no wish to be joined to Him through love. Thus it represented their damnation.

[5] In the same author,

The children of Israel shall not come near the tent of meeting, or else they will bear iniquity and die.***** Levites shall perform the work of the tent of meeting, and these shall bear the iniquity. Num. 18:22, 23.

The reason why the people would bear iniquity and die if they were to go near the tent of meeting to do the work there was that they would thereby eliminate the representative worship assigned to the function of the priests. The function of the priests or the priestly office represented the Lord’s entire work of salvation, 9809; and this is why it says that the Levites, who also were priests, should bear the people’s iniquity, by which expiation or atonement was meant, that is, removal from evils and falsities with those who are governed by good derived from the Lord alone, 9937. ‘Bearing iniquity’ means real damnation when this expression is used in reference to those who perform evil deeds because their heart is evil, such as those mentioned in Lev. 20:17, 19, 20; 24:15, 16; Ezek. 18:20; 23:49; and elsewhere.
* i.e. the laws of worship; see 8972.
** i.e. unauthorized or profane
*** lit. and does one of [all] Jehovah’s commandments [about] things which ought not to be done
**** i.e. an animal that had not been slaughtered but had died naturally
***** lit. to bear iniquity, dying

sRef Ex@28 @43 S0′ 9966. ‘It shall be the statute of an age for him and his seed after him’ means laws of order in the representative Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the statute of an age’ as a law of Divine order in heaven and in the Church, dealt with in 7884, 7995, 8357. The reason for saying ‘in the representative Church’ is that ‘statutes’ was the term given to outward forms of worship which represented inner realities, 8972, thus which were the things of the Church that were representative. And since the inner realities which were represented were Divine, and so eternal, the words ‘the statute of an age’ are used; for ‘an age’ means something eternal.

9967. THE SECOND PLANET OUT IN SPACE WHICH I HAVE SEEN

Afterwards I was taken by the Lord to a planet in the universe which was further away from ours than the first dealt with at the ends of several foregoing chapters. I was allowed to know that it was further away by the fact that it took two days to convey me there as to my spirit. This planet lay to the left, but the first to the right. Lying further away in the next life is not due to spatial remoteness but to difference of state, which however produces there the appearance of a spatial remoteness, in accord with what has been stated previously in 9440. From the time therefore that it took to get there, which was two days, as has just been said, I was able to deduce that the state of the interiors with those people, that is, the state of affections and consequent thoughts, was in like measure different from the state of the interiors that exists with spirits from our planet. And since I was conveyed there as to my spirit by means of changes of the state of the interiors I was allowed to note the actual changes taking place one after another before arrival there. This happened when I was wide awake.

9968. On my arrival there the actual planet did not appear, only spirits from that planet; for as I have noted several times previously, the spirits of each planet appear around their own planet. One reason for this is that being of differing character or disposition spirits differ as to their state of life (difference of state in the next life sets people apart, while likeness of state draws them together); and another more important reason is that they may be present with the inhabitants of their planet who are like themselves in character or disposition. For no person can live without spirits, and everyone has like spirits linked to him, see 5846-5866, 5976-5993. Those spirits appeared in a position very high above head-level, from where they had a clear view of me coming.

[2] It should be remembered that those positioned high up can have a clear view of those who are below, and that the higher they are, the wider their view is; and not only do they have a clear view of them, they can also speak to them. They observed from where they were that I was not from their planet but from somewhere else far away. Consequently they addressed me from up there, asking about various matters to which I was also allowed to reply. Among other things I told them what planet I was from and what it was like. After that I spoke about the planets in our solar system, and at the same time also about the spirits of the planet Mercury, who are allowed to wander around to very many planets, gathering items of knowledge about different things, as is their delight, see 6808-6817, 6921-6932, 7069-7079. On hearing this they said that they too had seen them among themselves.

9969. Angels from our planet told me that the inhabitants and spirits of that planet correlated in the Grand Man with the external ability to see, and that this is why they appear in a position high up. They told me that they are also extremely sharp-sighted.

9970. Since that was what they correlated with in the Grand Man, which is heaven, and since they saw so clearly the things below, I also likened them during the course of our conversation to eagles flying high up, which look all around and have a clear and wide view of things. But they were distressed by this, supposing that I therefore thought them to be like eagles as birds of prey, thus that I thought them to be bad. But I replied that I was not likening them to eagles as birds of prey but as creatures with keen eyesight, adding that people who are like eagles as birds of prey are bad, but those who are like them only as creatures with keen eyesight are good.

9971. When asked about the God they worshipped they replied that they worshipped God the visible and the invisible, the visible God under the human form and the invisible God under no form at all. I realized from what they said, as well as from the ideas in their minds that were conveyed to me, that their visible God was our Lord Himself; indeed they called Him the Lord. I was allowed to reply that on our planet also God the visible and the invisible is worshipped, and that the invisible God is called the Father and the visible the Lord, but that the two are one. This He Himself has taught us, saying that no one has ever seen the Father’s shape, but that the Father and He are one, and that whoever has seen Him has seen the Father, and that the Father is in Him and He is in the Father, consequently that these two who are Divine exist in one person. These are the Lord’s own words, see John 5:37; 10:30; 14:7, 9-11.

9972. Later I saw spirits from the same planet in a place below them, and I talked to these spirits as well. But they were idolaters, for they worshipped an idol of stone which resembled a human being, though not a beautiful one. (It should be remembered that all when they first enter the next life possess worship similar to their worship in the world, but that they are gradually drawn away from it. The reason why this should be so is that all worship remains embedded in the inward parts of a person’s life, from which it cannot be taken away and rooted out except gradually.) On seeing all this I was allowed to tell them that they ought to adore the living, not the lifeless. To this they replied that they knew God was a living God and not stone, but that it was when they beheld the stone resembling a human being that they thought of the living God, and that there was no other way in which they could focus their minds on and have a definite idea of the invisible God. At this point I was allowed to tell them that they could focus their minds on and have a definite idea of the invisible God if they focused them on the Lord who is the visible God, and thus that a person can be joined to the invisible God in thought and affection, consequently in faith and love, when he is joined to the Lord, but not in any other way.

9973. ‘This second planet out in space’ is continued at the end of the next chapter.

9974. 29
——————————————————————————

TEACHINGS ABOUT CHARITY AND FAITH

Those who think that by the good deeds they perform they merit heaven perform good deeds which commence in self, not in the Lord.

9975. No good deeds performed by people which commence in self are really good, for they are done for a selfish reason since they are done for the sake of some kind of return; thus in such deeds those people have chiefly themselves in view. But all good deeds performed by people which commence in the Lord are truly good, since they are done for the Lord’s sake and the neighbour’s sake; thus in their deeds these people have chiefly the Lord and the neighbour in view.

9976. Those therefore who think that merit lies in works love themselves, and those who love themselves despise the neighbour, indeed are irate with God Himself if they do not receive the hoped-for reward; for they do things for the sake of reward.

9977. From this it is evident that these people’s works do not spring from heavenly love, nor for that reason from true faith; for if the faith that has good in view commences in self and not in God it is not true faith. Such people cannot receive heaven into themselves. Heavenly love and true faith are what cause heaven to exist with a person.

9978. Those who think that merit lies in works cannot fight against the evils that come from hell, for no one can do so by his own efforts. But if people do not think that merit lies in works, then the Lord fights on behalf of them and is victorious.

9979. The Lord alone has earned merit, for He alone, by His own efforts, has conquered the hells and subdued them. Consequently the Lord alone is merit and righteousness.

9980. Furthermore a person in himself is nothing but evil, and so the performance of good commencing in himself springs from evil.

sRef Luke@6 @32 S0′ sRef John@15 @5 S0′ sRef John@3 @27 S0′ sRef Luke@6 @33 S0′ sRef Luke@6 @35 S0′ sRef Luke@6 @34 S0′ 9981. That good ought not to be done for the sake of reward is the Lord’s own teaching, in Luke,

If you love those who love you, what thanks do you have? If you do good to those who do good to you, what thanks do you have? For sinners do the same. Rather, love your enemies and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing; then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Highest. Luke 6:32-35.

That no good deed performed by a person, if it is to be truly good, commences in himself, only in the Lord, is likewise the Lord’s teaching, in John,

Man cannot receive anything unless it is given him from heaven. John 3:27.

And elsewhere,

Jesus said, I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing. John 15:5.

9982. The belief that they will be rewarded if they do what is good does no harm to those in a state of innocence, such as young children and simple people; but if they become fixed in that belief when they are adult it is harmful. For a person is initially introduced to good by the prospect of reward and deterred from evil by the prospect of punishment. But to the extent that he
comes into the good of love and faith he is removed from the thought of merit in the good deeds he performs.

9983. Good that is truly good must be done from a love of good, thus must be done for its own sake. People governed by that love detest merit, for they love to do it and derive feelings of delight out of doing it. On the other hand they are saddened if there is any thought that it is done for some selfish reason. The situation with them is very much like that with people who do good to a friend for friendship’s sake, to a brother for brotherhood’s sake, to wife and children for wife and children’s sake, or to their country for their country’s sake, thus people who act for reasons of friendship and love. Those who are sound in their thinking also say emphatically that they do good not for their own but other people’s benefit.

9984. The actual delight that resides in the love of doing good without thought of benefit to oneself is a reward that lasts forever; for all love and affection inscribed on a person’s life remains permanently. Into that good* heaven is introduced, and eternal happiness from the Lord.
* The meaning of the Latin here (in illum) is not certain. But in the small work De Nova Hierosolyma Et Ejus Doctrina Coelesti, published two years later, Sw. wrote in id bonum (into that good).

EXODUS 29

1 And this is the word* which you shall do to them to sanctify them to serve Me in the priestly office: Take one young bull, a son of the herd, and two rams without defect**,

2 And unleavened bread, and unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil; of fine wheat flour you shall make them.

3 And you shall put them in one basket and bring*** them in the basket, and the young bull and the two rams.

4 And Aaron and his sons you shall bring to the door of the tent of meeting, and wash them with water.

5 And you shall take the garments, and clothe Aaron with the tunic, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate; and you shall gird him with the girdle of the ephod.

6 And you shall put the turban on his head, and put the crown of holiness on the turban.

7 And you shall take the anointing oil and pour it on his head, and anoint him.

8 And you shall bring*** his sons, and clothe them with tunics.

9 And you shall gird them with belts, Aaron and his sons, and bind headdresses on them. And the priesthood shall be theirs by the statute of an age****; and you shall fill the hand***** of Aaron and the hand of his sons.

10 And you shall bring*** the young bull, before the tent of meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the young bull.

11 And you shall slaughter the young bull before Jehovah, at the door of the tent of meeting.

12 And you shall take some of the blood of the young bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and shall pour out all the blood at the base of the altar.

13 And you shall take all the fat covering the intestines, and the omentum over the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them; and you shall burn [them on] the altar.

14 And the flesh of the young bull, and its skin, and its dung, you shall burn with fire outside the camp. It is a sin [offering].

15 And you shall take one ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the ram’s head.

16 And you shall slaughter the ram, and take its blood and sprinkle it over the altar round about.

17 And you shall cut the ram into its pieces, and wash its intestines and its legs, and put them on top of its pieces and of its head.

18 And you shall burn the whole ram on the altar******. It is a burnt offering to Jehovah; it is an odour of rest, a fire offering to Jehovah.

19 And you shall take the second ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the ram’s head.

20 And you shall slaughter the ram, and take some of its blood and put it on the tip of Aaron’s right ear and on the tip of the right ear of his sons, and on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot; and you shall sprinkle the blood over the altar round about.

21 And you shall take some of the blood which is on the altar, and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it over Aaron and over his garments, and over his sons and over the garments of his sons with him; and he and his garments shall be holy, and his sons and the garments of his sons with him.

22 And you shall take the fat of the ram, and the tail, and the fat covering the intestines, and the omentum on the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, and the right flank – for it is the ram of fillings [of the hand] –

23 And one loaf of bread, and one cake of bread with oil, and one wafer from the basket of unleavened bread which is before Jehovah.

24 And you shall put all these on Aaron’s palms and on the palms of his sons, and you shall wave them as a wave offering before Jehovah.

25 And you shall take them from their hands and burn [them on] the altar with******* the burnt offering, for an odour of rest before Jehovah; it is a fire offering to Jehovah.

26 And you shall take the breast of the ram of fillings [of the hand], which is Aaron’s, and wave it as a wave offering before Jehovah; and it shall be the portion for you.

27 And you shall sanctify the breast of the wave offering and the flank of the heave offering – that which has been waved and that which has been heaved up – from the ram of fillings [of the hand], from that which is for Aaron and from that which is for his sons.

28 And it shall be for Aaron and his sons by the statute of an age**** from among the children of Israel; for it is a heave offering, and it shall be a heave offering from among the children of Israel from their peace-offering sacrifices, their heave offering to Jehovah.

29 And the holy garments which are Aaron’s shall be for his sons after him, to anoint [them] in them, and to fill their hand in them.

30 For seven days shall the priest coming after him, one of his sons********, put them on – he who will enter the tent of meeting to minister in the holy place.

31 And you shall take the ram of fillings [of the hand] and boil its flesh in a holy place.

32 And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread which is in the basket, at the door of the tent of meeting.

33 And they shall eat those things containing what has been expiated, to fill their hand, to sanctify them; and a stranger shall not eat them, because they are something holy.

34 And if anything of the flesh of fillings [of the hand], and of the bread, is left until the morning, you shall burn what is left with fire; it shall not be eaten, because it is holy.

35 And thus you shall do to Aaron and his sons, according to all that I have commanded you; seven days you shall fill their hand.

36 And a young bull of sin [offering] you shall offer daily at********* propitiations. And you shall cleanse from sin on the altar when you make propitiation on it; and you shall anoint it to sanctify it.

37 Seven days you shall make propitiation on the altar, and sanctify it. And the altar shall be the holy of holies**********; everyone touching the altar will be sanctified.

38 And this is what you shall offer on the altar: Two lambs, the sons of a year,*********** each day – a continual [offering].

39 You shall offer one lamb in the morning, and you shall offer the other lamb between the evenings,

40 And a tenth [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with beaten oil, a quarter of a hin, and a drink offering of a quarter of a hin of wine, for the first lamb.

41 And you shall offer the second lamb between the evenings; according to the morning minchah and according to its drink offering you shall do for it, for an odour of rest, a fire offering to Jehovah,

42 A continual burnt offering throughout************ your generations at the door of the tent of meeting before Jehovah, where I will meet with you to speak to you there.

43 And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and it will be sanctified in My glory.

44 And I will sanctify the tent of meeting and the altar, and Aaron and his sons I will sanctify, to serve Me in the priestly office.

45 And I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel, and I will be their God.

46 And they will recognize that I am Jehovah their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell in their midst; I am Jehovah their God.
* i.e. thing
** lit. two whole (or perfect) rams
*** lit. cause to come near
**** i.e. a perpetual statute
***** i.e. you shall consecrate
****** lit. you shall burn with the whole ram the altar
******* lit. over or upon
******** lit. from among his sons
********* lit. over or upon
********** i.e. the altar shall be a most holy object
*********** i.e. in their first year
************ lit. into

sRef Ex@29 @0 S0′ 9985. CONTENTS

The subject in the internal sense of this chapter is the glorification of the Lord’s Human, which is meant by the consecration of Aaron and his sons to the priestly office.

9986. THE INTERNAL SENSE

Verses 1-3 And this is the word* which you shall do to them to sanctify them to serve Me in the priestly office: Take one young bull, a son of the herd, and two rams without defect**, and unleavened bread, and unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil; of fine wheat flour you shall make them. And you shall put them in one basket and bring*** them in the basket, and the young bull and the two rams.

‘And this is the word which you shall do to them’ means a law of order. ‘To sanctify them’ means the representation of the Lord’s Divine Human. ‘To serve Me in the priestly office’ means to represent all the work of salvation carried out by Him. ‘Take one young bull, a son of the herd’ means purification of the natural or external man. ‘And two rams without defect’ means purification of the spiritual or internal man. ‘And unleavened bread’ means purification of what is celestial in the inmost part of a person. ‘And unleavened cakes mixed with oil’ means purification of the mid-celestial. ‘And unleavened wafers anointed with oil’ means what is celestial in the external man. ‘Of fine wheat flour you shall make them’ means truth which springs from Divine Good, [of which those celestial kinds of good consist.] ‘And you shall put them in one basket’ means the level of the senses, containing them. ‘And bring them in the basket’ means the resulting presence of them all. ‘And the young bull and the two rams’ means the natural or external level of a person, and the spiritual or internal level of him, which must be purified.
* i.e. thing
** lit. two whole (or perfect) lambs
*** lit. cause to come near

sRef Ex@29 @1 S0′ sRef Ps@33 @6 S1′ 9987. ‘And this is the word which you shall do to them’ means a law of order. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the word’ as Divine Truth, and consequently a law of order, dealt with below. The ordinary meaning of ‘word’ is an expression spoken by the mouth, or utterance; and since utterance is thought taking place in the mind which is expressed by means of vocal sounds, ‘word’ also means a thing that is being thought about. This explains why in the original language whatever comes into actual being and is indeed something is called ‘a word’. But a grander meaning of ‘word’ is Divine Truth, because the source of all that comes into being and is indeed something is Divine Truth. This accounts for the statement in David,

By the Word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and all their host by the Spirit of His mouth. Ps. 33:6.

Here ‘the Word of Jehovah’ is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord; ‘the Spirit of Jehovah’s mouth’ is the life brought by His Truth; and ‘the heavens’ made by His Word, also ‘all their host’, are angels, to the extent that they are recipients of Divine Truth. The reason why angels are meant by ‘the heavens’ is that they constitute heaven. Furthermore, since angels are recipients of Divine Truth, Divine Truths coming from the Lord are meant by them in the abstract sense, see 8192; and in that same sense ‘the host of the heavens’ means Divine Truths, 3448, 7236, 7988.

sRef John@1 @14 S2′ sRef John@1 @1 S2′ sRef John@1 @3 S2′ [2] From this it becomes clear what ‘the Word’ means in John,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory. John 1:1, 3, 14.

Here it is self-evident that the Word is used to mean the Lord, for it says that the Word became flesh. The Lord is the Word because while He was in the world the Lord was Divine Truth itself; and since His departure from the world Divine Truth has emanated from Him, see the places referred to in 9199 (end), 9315 (end).

sRef John@17 @17 S3′ sRef John@5 @40 S3′ sRef Ps@107 @19 S3′ sRef Ps@107 @20 S3′ sRef John@17 @14 S3′ sRef John@5 @40 S3′ sRef Rev@19 @16 S3′ sRef John@5 @39 S3′ sRef John@5 @38 S3′ sRef Rev@19 @13 S3′ [3] In the highest sense the Word is the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, or what amounts to the same thing, the Word is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord. This is clear from very many places, for example in David,

They cried out to Jehovah, and He sent His Word and healed them. Ps. 107:19, 20.

In John,

You do not have the Father’s word abiding in you, because the One whom He has sent, Him you do not believe; nor are you willing to come to Me that you may have life. John 5:38, 40.

In the same gospel,

I have given them Your word; therefore the world hates them. Sanctify them in Your truth; Your word is truth. John 17:14, 17.

And in the Book of Revelation,

The One seated on the white horse was clothed in a garment dyed with blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And on His garment and on His thigh He had a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. Rev. 19:13, 16.

From these and many other places it is clear that Divine Truth emanating from the Lord is meant by ‘the Word’, and in the highest sense the Lord in respect of Divine Truth; for it says that the name of the One seated on the white horse is The Word of God, and that He is King of kings and Lord of lords. And since the Word is Divine Truth it says that He was clothed in a garment dyed with blood, for ‘garment’ means truth, 9952, and ‘blood’ truth from good, 9393. For a fuller explanation of these things, see 2760-2762.

sRef Joel@2 @11 S4′ sRef Matt@13 @20 S4′ sRef Matt@13 @21 S4′ sRef Matt@13 @23 S4′ sRef Matt@13 @19 S4′ sRef Matt@13 @22 S4′ [4] This now explains why every truth that comes from God is called His word, as in Joel,

Jehovah uttered His voice before His army, His camp is exceedingly great; for those who execute His word are uncountable. Joel 2:11.

‘The voice’ which Jehovah utters is the truth from God, 9926, Jehovah’s ‘camp’ is heaven, 4236, 8193, 8196, from which it is evident that ‘those who execute His word are uncountable’ means those who do God’s truth. In Matthew,

[As for the one] who hears the word of the kingdom and does not give heed to it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. [The one] who has been sown on stony ground is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root. [The one] who is sown among thorns is he who hears the word but the cares of this world* and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word. [The one] who is sown in good soil is he who hears the word and gives heed to it, and consequently bears fruit. Matt. 13:19-23.

It is evident without explanation that ‘the word’ here is God’s truth. The expression ‘the word of the kingdom’ is used because it is the truth that is heaven and the Church’s; for ‘the kingdom’ means heaven and the Church.

aRef Ex@34 @28 S5′ sRef John@6 @63 S5′ [5] From all this it becomes clear that ‘words’ means Divine Truths that come from the Lord, as in John,

The words that I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life. John 6:63.

Therefore also the ten commandments are called Ten Words in Exod. 34:28. The reason why ‘the word’ is a law of order is that Divine Truth emanating from the Lord brings order to the heavens, to such an extent that it constitutes order there. Consequently the laws of heavenly order consist of Divine Truths, see 1728, 1919, 2258, 2447, 4839, 5703, 7995, 8513, 8700, 8988. The law of order meant by ‘the word’ in this chapter is the manner in which the Lord glorified His Human, that is, made it Divine. This is the subject here in the internal sense, the subject in the relative sense consequently being human regeneration, since human regeneration is an image of the glorification of the Lord, 3138, 3212, 3245, 3246, 3296, 4402, 5688. The reason why this in particular is a law of order is that the Lord’s Divine Human constitutes order in the heavens and everyone who is being regenerated is being remade to conform to that order. Those therefore with whom that order exists abide in the Lord.
* lit. the age

sRef Ex@29 @1 S0′ 9988. ‘To sanctify them’ means to represent the Lord’s Divine Human. This is clear from the meaning of ‘sanctifying’ as representing the Lord’s Divine Human, dealt with in 9956. ‘Sanctifying or ‘making holy’ has this meaning because the Lord alone is holy, and because everything holy emanates from Him, and all sanctification represents Him, 9479, 9680, 9820.

sRef Ex@29 @1 S0′ 9989. ‘To serve Me in the priestly office’ means to represent all the work of salvation carried out by Him. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the priestly office’ as that which is representative of the Lord in respect of all the work of salvation, dealt with in 9809.

sRef Ex@29 @1 S0′ 9990. ‘Take one young bull, a son of the herd’ means purification of the natural or external man. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a young bull’ as the good of innocence and charity in the natural or external man, dealt with in 9391. And since the words ‘a son of the herd’ are used, the truth of that good is also meant, truth being meant by ‘a son’, and the natural level by ‘the herd’. For the meaning of ‘a son’ as truth, see 489, 491, 533, 2623, 3373, 9807, and for that of ‘the herd’ as the natural level, 2566, 5913, 8937. The reason why purification of the natural or external man is meant here by ‘a young bull, a son of the herd’ is that the animal was offered in sacrifice, and sacrifices were signs of purification from evils and falsities, or expiation, in this instance purification from evils and falsities present in the natural or external man. But purification in the spiritual or internal man is meant by the burnt offering of a ram.

[2] To know what each kind of burnt offering or sacrifice represented one must first know that in a human being there is the external and the internal, and that in each there is that which belongs to truth and that which belongs to good. Therefore when a person is to be regenerated he must be regenerated as to the external and as to the internal, and in each as to truth and as to good. But before a person can be regenerated he must be purified from evils and from falsities, for these stand in the way. Purifications of the external man were represented by burnt offerings and sacrifices of oxen, young bulls, and he-goats, but purifications of the internal man by burnt offerings and sacrifices of rams, kids, and she-goats, and purification of the internal itself, or that which is inmost, by those of lambs. Consequently from the actual animals offered in sacrifice one may see what kind of purification or expiation was being represented.

[3] The reason for saying ‘was being represented’ is that burnt offerings and sacrifices did not purify or expiate a person, but merely served to represent purification or expiation. For is there anyone who fails to recognize that such offerings of animals do not take away any evil or falsity at all that is present with a person? – see the places in the Word quoted in 2180. The reason why those offerings did not take evil or falsity away, but merely represented such a removal of it, was that only a representative of the Church was established among the Israelite and Jewish nation, which served to join them to heaven, and through heaven to the Lord, see what has been shown on this subject in the places referred to in 9320 (end), 9380. But what was represented specifically by burnt offerings and sacrifices of young bulls, rams, and lambs, will be seen in what follows in the present chapter, since they are the subject there.

sRef Ex@29 @1 S0′ 9991. ‘And two rams without defect’ means purification of the spiritual or internal man. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a ram’ as that which is internal and so spiritual in a person, dealt with in 2830; for the internal with a person is called spiritual and the external, natural. Purification is meant because the rams were offered as burnt offerings, and burnt offerings and sacrifices in general represented purifications from evils and falsities, or expiations, burnt offerings and sacrifices of rams representing purifications or expiations of the internal or spiritual man, which are dealt with in what follows in the present chapter, where they are the subject.

sRef Ex@29 @2 S0′ 9992. ‘And unleavened bread’ means purification of what is celestial in the inmost part of a person. This is clear from the meaning of ‘bread’ as that which is celestial, dealt with in 2165, 2177, 3478, 9545; and from the meaning of what is ‘unleavened’ as what has been purified, dealt with below. The inmost part of a person is meant because what is celestial consists in the good of love, and the good of love is inmost. There are three degrees in a person that follow one another in order; and these three are called celestial, spiritual, and natural. The celestial degree is the good of love to the Lord, the spiritual is the good of charity towards the neighbour, and the natural descending from this is the good of faith, which, since it descends from the spiritual, is called spiritual-natural. The situation with a person resembles that in the heavens. The inmost heaven, also called the third heaven, is where the celestial degree is situated; the second or middle heaven is where the spiritual degree does so; and the first or lowest heaven is where the natural descending from the spiritual, or the spiritual-natural degree, does so. The reason why the situation with a person resembles that in the heavens is that a person in whom good is present is heaven in the smallest form it takes, see the places referred to in 9279. The celestial heaven or kingdom and the division of this too into three will be spoken of in what follows next where cakes and wafers made from fine wheat flour are the subject.

sRef Ex@12 @19 S2′ sRef Ex@23 @18 S2′ sRef Ex@12 @20 S2′ sRef Ex@12 @18 S2′ sRef Lev@2 @11 S2′ sRef Ex@12 @15 S2′ [2] ‘Unleavened’ means what has been purified because ‘yeast’ means falsity arising from evil, 2342, 7906, so that ‘unleavened’ or made without yeast means pure or free from that falsity. ‘Yeast’ means falsity arising from evil because such falsity defiles good, and truth as well, and also because it gives rise to conflict; for when that falsity gets near good, agitation occurs, and when it gets near truth, a collision takes place. All this explains why a minchah consisting of unleavened bread was included in burnt offerings and sacrifices. Therefore it was decreed that every minchah which they brought to Jehovah should be made without yeast, Lev. 2:11; that they should not sacrifice the blood of a sacrifice with anything made with yeast, Exod. 23:18; and that during the feast of Passover they should not eat anything made with yeast, and that anyone eating it should be cut off from Israel, Exod. 12:15, 18-20. The reason why anyone who ate anything made with yeast during the feast of Passover should be cut off from Israel was that the feast of Passover was a sign of deliverance from damnation, and in particular of deliverance from falsities arising from evil, accomplished with those who allow themselves to be regenerated by the Lord, see 7093, 9286-9292. This also explains why it was called the feast of unleavened bread.

sRef Ex@29 @2 S0′ 9993. ‘And unleavened cakes mixed with oil’ means purification of the mid-celestial. This is clear from the meaning of ‘cakes’ as the mid-celestial, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘oil’ as the good of love, dealt with in 886, 4582, 4638. From this it is evident that ‘cakes mixed with oil’ means the celestial that springs directly from the inmost part, for ‘oil’ is the good of love, which is inmost. The situation is that the heavens are divided into two kingdoms, one of which is called spiritual, the other celestial. The understanding part of the human mind corresponds to the spiritual kingdom in the heavens and the will part of it to the celestial kingdom there, 9835. In each kingdom there is an internal part and an external, as there is also in the human understanding and will. For the human understanding has an internal part and an external, and so does the human will. The internal part of the understanding forms the spiritual life of the internal man, and the external part of the understanding forms the spiritual life of the external man. But the internal part of the will forms the celestial life of the internal man, while the external part of the will forms the celestial life of the external man. The existence in the human mind of an internal part and an external may be recognized by anyone who stops to reflect. It may be recognized in particular in hypocrites, cheats, crafty types, and villains. What all these think deep within themselves is contrary to the truths of faith, and also what they will is the opposite of the good deeds of heavenly love; but on the surface their thought and will are in line with those truths and good deeds, which they also consequently declare and perform for all the world to see.

[2] In addition it should be recognized that each kingdom in the heavens, the spiritual kingdom and the celestial, has three parts; each has an inmost part, a middle, and an outward, see 9873. The inmost part of the celestial kingdom consists in the good of love to the Lord; the middle part there consists in the good of mutual love, which is good emanating from that of love to the Lord; and the outward part consists in delight emanating from the good of mutual love. The first two reside in the internal man of inhabitants of the Lord’s celestial kingdom, whereas the third resides in their external man. These three were represented by unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil; and purification of them is represented by the offering of the three on the altar together with a burnt offering or else a sacrifice. The fact that those kinds of good in their proper order are meant can be recognized solely from the consideration that these three types of cereal offering were commanded and also their preparation described in the Books of Moses. This would never at all have been done if those things had not embodied arcana of heaven and the Church. What other use could such things have had?

[3] But I realize that those arcana are intelligible to scarcely anyone at the present day, because what is worldly permeates everything that people understand and will at the present day, and those who think of heaven and wish to be there do not have, and do not wish to have any other notion of it apart from a natural and earthly one. And where that kind of notion and wish exist, thus where that kind of love is present, there is no room for the mysteries of heaven. It would be altogether different if the human mind delighted in heavenly more than in worldly things. For the things which a person delights in are the ones he finds intelligible, as for instance when he delights in the intricacies of countries’ public affairs, or in the intricacies of people’s moral attitudes. By moral attitudes is meant what constitutes their loves and affections, and consequently their thoughts. Such are easily discovered by a crafty person, because he takes delight in leading others by means of those he discovers, to the end that he may acquire important positions or monetary gain, or earn reputation on account of these.

[4] That which is celestial in the internal man is meant by ‘cakes’, the reason being that they are second in order; for first in order is the unleavened bread, second the cakes mixed with oil, and third the wafers anointed with oil. These three were called minchahs, and they were offered on the altar along with burnt offerings and sacrifices. How they were to be made is described in Leviticus 2, and how they were to be offered is described in various places, how for example they were to be offered by Aaron on the day of his anointing in Lev. 6:20-23.

sRef Lev@24 @7 S5′ sRef Lev@24 @5 S5′ sRef Lev@24 @8 S5′ sRef Lev@24 @6 S5′ sRef Lev@24 @9 S5′ [5] The term ‘cakes’ is also used in the Word to mean the good of love in general. So it is that the loaves of the Presence or the showbread are called ‘cakes’ in Moses,

You shall take fine flour and bake it into twelve cakes, two-tenths [of an ephah] shall there be in one cake. And you shall place them on the table before Jehovah. And you shall put pure frankincense on each row. Lev. 24:5-9.

‘Pure frankincense’ that was put on the cakes was a sign of truth springing from celestial good, which is the lowest or outermost of the celestial kingdom.

sRef Jer@7 @18 S6′ [6] The good of love in general is again meant by ‘cakes’ in Jeremiah,

The sons gather pieces of wood, and the fathers kindle fire, the women knead dough to make cakes for Melecheth* of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings to other gods. Jer. 7:18; 44:19.

‘Making cakes for Melecheth of heaven’ means offering worship to the devil with the good of celestial love, and ‘pouring out drink offerings to other gods’ means offering worship to Satan with the truths of faith. For ‘Melecheth of heaven’ means those who are in the hell of genii, and ‘other gods’ those who are in the hell of evil spirits, about whom see 5977, 8593, 8622, 8625. Those in the hell of genii taken all together are called the devil, and those in the hell of evil spirits are called Satan.

sRef Hos@7 @8 S7′ [7] The good of spiritual love however is meant by ‘cakes’ in Hosea,

Ephraim has become a cake not turned. Hosea 7:8.

But here ‘a cake’ is expressed by a different word in the original language, which means the good of spiritual love. ‘A cake not turned’ is a situation in which the external man rules the internal. When this situation comes about in a person it is an inversion of order, for then the external is the master and the internal the servant. ‘Ephraim’ is the Church’s power of understanding, which receives light and is stirred with affection when truths and forms of the good of faith are accepted, 3969, 5354, 6222, 6234, 6238, 6267.
* Melecheth is a Hebrew word for a queen.

sRef Ex@29 @2 S0′ 9994. ‘And unleavened wafers anointed with oil’ means what is celestial in the external man. This is clear from the meaning of ‘wafers’ as what is celestial in the external man, dealt with below; from the meaning of ‘unleavened’ as what has been purified, dealt with above in 9992; and from the meaning of ‘oil’ as the good of love, dealt with in 886, 4582, 4638. From these meanings it is evident that ‘unleavened wafers anointed with oil’ means what is celestial in the external man, which proceeds in order from the first two. The wafers are said to be ‘anointed with oil’ but the cakes ‘mixed with oil’ because the wafers are third in order and the cakes second, as stated immediately above in 9993. What is second in order proceeds directly from the inmost and consequently has the inmost celestial within it, meant by ‘oil’; and what is third in order proceeds indirectly from the inmost, that is to say, through what is second in order, and does not consequently have the inmost within it in quite the same way as that second in order. So it is that the cakes, since they mean the celestial that is second in order, are said to be ‘mixed with oil’, whereas the wafers, since they mean the celestial that is third in order, are said to be ‘anointed with oil’. But these matters are hardly intelligible to anyone unless he knows something about the way things come into existence in succession; this has the same relation as end, cause, and effect. What is inmost constitutes the end, what is in the middle constitutes the cause, and what stands last constitutes the effect. The end must be within the cause if this is to be the cause belonging to that end, and the cause must be within the effect if this is to be the effect belonging to that cause. The end is not apparent within the effect as it is within the cause, because the effect lies further away from the end than the cause does. All this may enlighten the mind to recognize the nature of the inmost, middle, and external following one another in successive order.

sRef Ex@29 @2 S0′ 9995. ‘Of fine wheat flour you shall make them’ means truth which springs from Divine Good, of which those [celestial kinds of good] consist. This is clear from the meaning of ‘fine flour’ as truth, dealt with below; from the meaning of ‘wheat’ as the good of love, dealt with in 3941, and so in the highest sense as Divine Good; and from the meaning of ‘making them’ as the requirement that those kinds of celestial good, meant by unleavened bread, cakes, and wafers, must consist of that truth. The situation in all this is that all the truths and forms of good that exist in heaven have their origin in Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good. This Divine Truth as received by angels in the celestial kingdom is called celestial good, but as received in the spiritual kingdom by angels there it is called spiritual good; for no matter how often Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good is called Truth it is still good. The reason for referring to it as Truth is that it appears in heaven, before angels’ outward sight there, as light; for the light there is Divine Truth, but the heat within that light, which is the good of love, causes it to be good. The situation is similar with people in this world. When the truth of faith emanates from the good of charity, as happens when a person has been regenerated, truth appears as good, which is also as a consequence called spiritual good since the inner being of truth is good, and truth is the outward form of good.

[2] From all this it may become clear why a person finds it so hard to distinguish between thinking and willing, for when he wills something he says that he thinks it, and often when he thinks something that he wills it. Yet they are as distinct and separate as truth and good are; for the inner being of thought is the will and the outward form of the will is thought, just as the inner being of truth is good and the outward form of good is truth, as stated immediately above. Since a person finds it so hard to distinguish one from the other he does not know what the inner being of his life is, or that good constitutes it, not truth except insofar as it springs from good. Good belongs to the will, and the will consists in what a person loves, so that truth does not become the being of a person’s life until he loves it; and when the person loves it he does it. Truth however belongs to the understanding, whose function is thinking; and when he thinks it he is able to speak about it. Also it is possible to understand the truth and think it without willing or doing it; but then it does not become the person’s own, part of his life, because it does not have within itself the inner being of his life. Knowing nothing about any of this a person consequently ascribes salvation wholly to faith and scarcely at all to charity, when in fact faith receives its inner being of life from charity, even as truth receives it from good.

[3] Furthermore all good with a person is given form by truth, for good flows in from the Lord by an inward path, while truth enters by an outward path. They then marry in the internal man, though in one way in the case of a spiritual person or angel and in another in the case of a celestial person or angel. With a spiritual person or angel the marriage takes place in the understanding part of the mind, but in a celestial person or angel in the will part. The outward path by which truth enters lies through hearing and sight into the understanding, but the inward path by which good flows in from the Lord lies through what is inmost in the person into the will. On this subject see what has been shown in the places referred to in 9596. From all this it is evident that the celestial kinds of good meant by unleavened bread, cakes, and wafers, come into being through Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good, and that this is what should be understood by ‘of fine wheat flour you shall make them’. This goes to explain why minchahs, though varying in how they were made, all consisted of fine flour mixed with oil, see Lev. 2:1-end; 6:20-23; Num. 7:13ff; 15:2-15; 28:11-15.

sRef Ezek@16 @13 S4′ [4] The fact that ‘fine flour’, and also ‘flour’, mean truth that springs from good is clear from the following places: In Ezekiel,

You ate fine flour, honey, and oil; therefore you became extremely beautiful. Ezek. 16:13.

These things are said of Jerusalem, by which the Ancient Church is meant in that chapter in Ezekiel. ‘Fine flour’ means that Church’s truth which springs from good, ‘honey’ its delight, ‘oil’ the good of love, and ‘eating’ making it one’s own. The words ‘you became beautiful’ are consequently used, for spiritual beauty comes as a result of truths and forms of good.

sRef Hos@8 @7 S5′ [5] In Hosea,

He does not have any standing grain; the ears will yield no flour. [If] by chance they do yield it, aliens will swallow it up. Hosea 8:7.

‘Standing grain’ means the truth of faith springing from good, in the process of being conceived, 9146, ‘the ears will yield no flour’ sterility because there is no truth springing from good, and ‘aliens’ who ‘will swallow it up’ falsities arising from evil that will consume it.

sRef 1Ki@17 @14 S6′ sRef 1Ki@17 @12 S6′ sRef 1Ki@17 @13 S6′ sRef 1Ki@17 @15 S6′ [6] In 1 Kings 17:12-15 the Sidonian woman in Zarephath told Elijah that she had nothing to make a cake with except a handful of flour in a jar and a tiny amount of oil in a flask. So Elijah told her that she should make a cake for him first, and that ‘the jar of flour will not be used up, nor will the flask of oil fail’, which was indeed what happened. Here ‘flour’ means the Church’s truth, and ‘oil’ its good; for the woman in Sidon represents a Church that is in possession of cognitions or knowledge of truth and good, while Elijah the Prophet represents the Lord in respect of the Word. From this it is evident what this miracle has to do with, for all the miracles described in the Word have to do with things such as belong to the Church, 7337, 8364, 9086. From this it is evident what is meant by ‘the jar of flour will not be used up, nor will the flask of oil fail’ if from the little she had she made a cake for Elijah first and for her son after that. For the meaning of ‘the woman’ as the Church, see 252, 253; for that of ‘Sidon’ as cognitions of truth and good, 1201; and for that of ‘Elijah’ as the Lord in respect of the Word, 2762, 5247 (end).

sRef Lam@5 @12 S7′ sRef Isa@47 @2 S7′ sRef Lam@5 @13 S7′ [7] In Isaiah,

O daughter of Babel, take a mill, and grind flour. Isa. 47:1, 2.

‘Daughter of Babel’ stands for those within the Church who are outwardly holy but inwardly unholy. ‘Grinding flour’ stands for choosing matters from the literal sense of the Word such as serve to strengthen the evils of self-love and love of the world. For any such evil is unholy, ‘grinding’ describes choosing, and also explaining in support of those kinds of love, while ‘flour’ means truth that serves, see 4335.

sRef Ex@32 @20 S8′ sRef Matt@24 @41 S8′ sRef Matt@24 @40 S8′ [8] From all this it is evident what ‘grinding’ means and therefore what something ‘ground up’ means, as in Jeremiah,

Princes have been hung up by their hands, the faces of the old men have not been honoured; the young men have been led away to grind at the mill. Lam. 5:12, 13.

In Moses,

Moses took the calf which they had made, and burned it in the fire, and ground it up till it became fine powder*. Then he sprinkled it over the face of the water and made the children of Israel drink it. Exod. 32:20; Deut. 9:21.

And in Matthew,

At that time two will be in the field, one will be taken, the other left behind. Two women grinding; one will be taken, the other will be left behind. Matt. 24:40, 41.

From these places it is evident what ‘grinding’ means, namely this: In a good sense it means choosing truths from the Word and explaining them in such a way that they are made to serve what is good, and in a bad sense in such a way that they are made to serve what is bad, see 7780. And from this it is also clear what something ‘ground up’ means, consequently what ‘flour’ and ‘fine flour’ mean.
* lit. became the minutest

sRef Ex@29 @2 S0′ 9996. ‘And you shall put them in one basket’ means the level of the senses, containing them. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a basket’ as the level of the senses. It has this meaning because the senses constitute the last and lowest level of a person’s life, and the last and lowest conceals all inward levels in sequence within itself, see 9828, 9836; also external things that hold more internal ones are meant in the Word by vessels of any kind, 3079. This now explains why it says that the unleavened bread, cakes, and wafers should be put into and brought in a basket. Regarding the level of the senses, that it is the last and lowest of a person’s life, see 9212, 9216. The implications of all this are that there are two powers of mind that compose a person’s life – understanding and will. The lowest level of the understanding is called sensory knowledge, and the lowest level of the will is called sensory delight. Sensory knowledge, the lowest level of the understanding, is drawn in through two senses, those of hearing and sight; and sensory delight, the lowest of the will, is also drawn in through two senses, those of taste and touch. And the lowest level of perception belonging to both powers of mind is the sense of smell.

[2] Sensory knowledge, the lowest level of the understanding, is meant in the Word by ‘cup’, for the wine within it, or the water, is the truths that belong to the understanding part of the mind; but sensory delight, the lowest level of the will, is meant in the Word by ‘basket’. And since what is last and lowest is the container of all more internal things, the interior things are also meant by those vessels. Truths in the understanding, and in the contrary sense falsities, are meant by ‘cup’, and forms of good in the will, and in the contrary sense evils, by ‘basket’; for forms of good belong to the will, and truths to the understanding. ‘Cups’ are truths present all together in the understanding, see 5120, 9557, and ‘baskets’ are forms of good present all together in the will, 5144. Whether you say forms of good in the will or kinds of celestial good, it amounts to the same thing; likewise whether you say truths in the understanding or spiritual truths. Regarding the things which were put in the basket, that they mean kinds of celestial good, see immediately above in 9992-9994. And since the sensory level is the last and lowest of them and so contains them all it says that all those things should be put in a basket.

sRef Ex@29 @3 S0′ 9997. ‘And bring them in the basket’ means the resulting presence of them all. This is clear from the meaning of ‘bringing them’ as togetherness and presence, dealt with in 9378; and from the meaning of ‘the basket’ as the level of the senses which contains them all, dealt with immediately above in 9996.

sRef Ex@29 @3 S0′ 9998. ‘And the young bull and the two rams’ means the natural or external level of a person, and the spiritual or internal level of him, which must be purified. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the young bull’ as the natural or external level of a person, which must be purified, dealt with above in 9990; and from the meaning of ‘the rams’ as the spiritual or internal level of a person, which must be purified, also dealt with above, in 9991.

9999. Verses 4-9 And Aaron and his sons you shall bring* to the door of the tent of meeting, and wash them with water. And you shall take the garments, and clothe Aaron with the tunic, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate; and you shall gird him with the girdle of the ephod. And you shall put the turban on his head, and put the crown of holiness on the turban. And you shall take the anointing oil and pour it on his head, and anoint him. And you shall bring* his sons, and clothe them with tunics. And you shall gird them with belts, Aaron and his sons, and bind headdresses on them. And the priesthood shall be theirs by the statute of an age**; and you shall fill the hand*** of Aaron and the hand of his sons.

‘And Aaron and his sons’ means the Lord in respect of Divine Good and in respect of Divine Truth emanating from that Good. ‘You shall bring to the door of the tent of meeting’ means the joining together of the two, in heaven. ‘And wash them with water’ means purification by means of the truths of faith. ‘And you shall take the garments, and clothe Aaron’ means a representative sign of the Lord’s spiritual kingdom. ‘With the tunic’ means the inmost part of that kingdom. ‘The robe of the ephod’ means the middle part of that kingdom. ‘And the ephod’ means the last and lowest part of it. ‘And the breastplate’ means Divine Truth shining forth from the Lord’s Divine Good.**** ‘And you shall put the turban on his head’ means Divine Wisdom. ‘And put the crown of holiness on the turban’ means the Lord’s Divine Human. ‘And you shall take the anointing oil’ means a representative sign of the consecration to Divine Good. ‘And pour it on his head, and anoint him’ means a representative sign of Divine Good in the Lord, suffusing His whole Human. ‘And you shall bring his sons’ means the joining of Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good. ‘And clothe them with tunics’ means a representative sign of the emanating Divine Spiritual. ‘And you shall gird them with belts’ means a bond joining things together, in order that all may be held in connection and consequently in a heavenly form. ‘Aaron and his sons’ means the Lord in respect of Divine Good and of Divine Truth emanating from that Good. ‘And bind headdresses on them’ means intelligence springing from wisdom. ‘And the priesthood shall be theirs’ means the stages, following one after another, of the Lord’s work of salvation. ‘By the statute of an age’ means in accordance with eternal laws of order. ‘And you shall fill the hand of Aaron and the hand of his sons’ means a representative sign of the Lord’s Divine Power exercised through Divine Truth springing from Divine Good.
* lit. cause to come near
** i.e. a perpetual statute
*** i.e. you shall consecrate
**** Sw. failed here and again after 10007 to provide any explanation of the words you shall gird him with the girdle of the ephod. J.F.I. Tafel, editor of the second Latin edition, suggested – on the basis of what appears in 9828, 9944, 9948, 10005 – a wording that may be rendered a general bond holding all things of love and faith in connection and form within itself, in order that they may all have the same end in view.

sRef Ex@29 @4 S0′ 10000. ‘And Aaron and his sons’ means the Lord in respect of Divine Good and in respect of Divine Truth emanating from that Good. This is clear from the representation of ‘Aaron’ as the Lord in respect of Divine Good, dealt with in 9806; and from the representation of ‘his sons’ as the Lord in respect of Divine Truth emanating from that Good, dealt with in 9807.

sRef Ex@40 @29 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @4 S0′ 10001. ‘You shall bring to the door of the tent of meeting’ means the joining together of the two, in heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘bringing’ as presence and togetherness, as above in 9997, at this point the joining together of Divine Good and Divine Truth from the Lord, in heaven; from the meaning of ‘the door’ as introduction, dealt with in 8989; and from the representation of ‘the tent of meeting’ as heaven, dealt with in 9457, 9481, 9485, 9963. The reason why the young bull and the rams, the unleavened bread, cakes, and wafers in the basket, and Aaron together with his sons were presented at the door of the tent of meeting, and why the latter were then clothed with the garments and anointed there, and the former were offered on the altar there, was that the place where the door of the tent of meeting was, represented the marriage of Divine Good to Divine Truth. For the altar, which also was positioned before the door of the tent, represented the Lord in respect of Divine Good, while the tent of meeting represented the Lord in respect of Divine Truth. Consequently the place before the door of the tent represented the joining together of goodness and truth, a joining together that is called the heavenly marriage. Regarding the altar of burnt offering, that it represented the Lord in respect of Divine Good, see 9964; and regarding the tent of meeting, that it represented the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, 9963. The fact that the altar was positioned there is clear in Moses,

And Moses placed the altar of burnt offering at the door of the tent. Exod. 40:29.

As for the joining together of goodness and truth, that this is the heavenly marriage, and that in that marriage heaven consists, see 2173, 2508, 2618, 2803, 3004 and following paragraphs, 3132, 952, 4434, 6179. From all this it is now evident that bringing Aaron and his sons to the door of the tent of meeting means the joining together of the two, that is to say, of Divine Good and Divine Truth from the Lord, in heaven.

sRef Ex@29 @4 S0′ 10002. ‘And wash them with water’ means purification by means of the truths of faith. This is clear from the meaning of ‘washing with water’ as purification by means of the truths of faith, dealt with in 3147, 5954 (end), 9088. All purification and regeneration is accomplished by means of the truths of faith, see 2799 (middle), 7044, 8635-8640, 8772; and ‘water’ means the truths of faith, 739, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 7307, 8568.

sRef Ex@29 @5 S0′ 10003. ‘And you shall take the garments, and clothe Aaron’ means a representative sign of the Lord’s spiritual kingdom. This is clear from the meaning of ‘Aaron’s garments’ as a representative sign of the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, dealt with in 9814.

sRef Ex@29 @5 S0′ 10004. ‘With the tunic’ means the inmost part of that kingdom. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the tunic’ with which Aaron was clothed as the Divine Spiritual emanating directly from the Divine Celestial, thus the inmost part of the spiritual kingdom, dealt with in 9826, 9942.

sRef Ex@29 @5 S0′ 10005. ‘The robe of the ephod’ means the middle part of that kingdom. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the robe’ as the Divine Spiritual emanating indirectly from the Divine Celestial, thus the middle of the spiritual kingdom, dealt with in 9825. The reason why it is called ‘the robe of the ephod’ is that the robe went with the ephod; it was also kept distinct from the tunic by means of a girdle. For there were two girdles; the first was an overall one for the ephod and robe together, the second was for the tunic alone. This second girdle served to mean that the things of the spiritual kingdom which were represented by the tunic were distinct and separate from those represented by the robe and ephod together. ‘A girdle (or belt)’ means a common bond which holds more internal things in connection, 9828, and also serves to separate one thing from another, 9944.

[2] The implications of all this are that there are three realities which follow one another in consecutive order. In heaven those three are called celestial, spiritual, and the natural springing from these. That which is celestial is the good of love to the Lord, that which is spiritual is the good of charity towards the neighbour, and that which is natural and springs from them is the good of faith. What is celestial, or the good of love to the Lord, constitutes the inmost or third heaven; what is spiritual, or the good of charity towards the neighbour, constitutes the middle or second heaven; and what is natural springing from these, or the good of faith, constitutes the lowest or first heaven. Since Aaron’s garments represented the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, 9814, it is evident from things which have been mentioned what the tunic represented, what the robe represented, and what the ephod represented. That is to say, the tunic represented the intermediary that unites the spiritual kingdom to the celestial kingdom, and therefore also it was kept distinct by means of a girdle from the robe and ephod, which represented the spiritual kingdom, internal and external. Regarding the tunic, see 9826, 9942; regarding the robe, 9825; and regarding the ephod, 9824.

[3] Some idea of this matter may also be gained from what has been shown previously regarding the tent of meeting, which represented heaven in which the Lord was present. The inmost part of it, where the ark of the Testimony was, represented the inmost or third heaven; the dwelling-place, which was outside the veil, represented the middle or second heaven; and the court represented the
first or lowest heaven. And they in like manner were celestial, spiritual, and the natural springing from these. But the intermediary uniting the inmost and middle heavens was represented by the veil between the holy place and the holy of holies, in the same way as it was by the tunic on Aaron. Regarding the inmost part of the tent where the ark was, see 9485; regarding the dwelling-place which was outside the veil, 9594, 9632; regarding the court, 9741; and regarding the veil, the intermediary uniting the inmost and middle heavens, 9670, 9671.

[4] An even better idea of these things may be acquired from the correspondence of the human being with the heavens; for all the parts of the human being have a correspondence with everything that exists in the heavens, see what has been shown previously at the ends of a number of chapters. The human head corresponds to the inmost or third heaven, where there is celestial good; the breast down to the loins corresponds to the middle or second heaven, where there is spiritual good; and the feet correspond to the lowest or first heaven, where there is natural good. The neck however, by virtue of correspondence, is the intermediary uniting the inmost and middle heavens, 9913, 9914, in the same way as the veil in the tent was. For all representatives on the natural level resemble the human form and have the same meaning as the parts of it which they resemble, 9496. From all this it now becomes clear why the tunic was kept distinct from the robe and ephod by means of a girdle, and also why the robe is called ‘the robe of the ephod’.

sRef Ex@29 @5 S0′ 10006. ‘And the ephod’ means the last and lowest part of it, of the spiritual kingdom. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the ephod’ as the lowest part of the spiritual kingdom, dealt with in 9824.

sRef Ex@29 @5 S0′ 10007. ‘And the breastplate’ means Divine Truth shining forth from the Lord’s Divine Good. This is clear from what has been shown regarding the breastplate in 9823, 9863-9873, 9905.*
* Sw. failed here to provide any explanation of the words you shall gird him with the girdle of the ephod. J.F.I. Tafel, editor of the second Latin edition, suggested – on the basis of what appears in 9828, 9944, 9948, 10005 – a wording that may be rendered a general bond holding all things of love and faith in connection and form within itself, in order that they may all have the same end in view.

sRef Ex@29 @6 S0′ 10008. ‘And you shall put the turban on his head’ means Divine Wisdom. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the turban’ as intelligence, and – when the Lord, who is represented by Aaron, is the subject – as Divine Wisdom, dealt with in 9827.

sRef Ex@29 @6 S0′ 10009. ‘And put the crown of holiness on the turban’ means the Lord’s Divine Human. This is clear from the meaning of what has been stated previously in 9930-9932 regarding the gold plate on which Holiness to Jehovah was inscribed, which is called ‘the crown of holiness’ here.

sRef Ex@29 @7 S0′ 10010. ‘And you shall take the anointing oil’ means a representative sign of Divine Good in the Lord*. This is clear from the meaning of ‘oil’ as the good of love, and in the highest sense as the Divine Good of Divine Love in the Lord; and from the meaning of ‘anointing’ as consecrating to represent that good, dealt with above in 9474, 9954.
* In his rough draft Sw. first wrote words meaning a representative sign of the consecration to Divine Good; this was then altered to a representative sign of the consecration of Divine Good. cp 9999; also 10019 and the explanation of that verse in 9999.

sRef Ex@29 @7 S0′ 10011. ‘And pour it on his head, and anoint him’ means a representative sign of Divine Good in the Lord, suffusing His whole Human. This is clear from the meaning of ‘pouring oil on Aaron’s head’ as Divine Good suffusing the Lord’s whole Human, for ‘oil’ means Divine Good, 4582, 9474, ‘Aaron’ the Lord in respect of Divine Good, 9806, and ‘head’ the whole Human; and from the meaning of ‘anointing’ as a representative sign of this thing, dealt with in 9474, 9954. The reason why ‘the head’ means the whole Human, or the whole person, is that everything in the human being comes down from the head; for the body is an extension from the head. Therefore also what a person thinks or wills, an activity that takes place in the head, presents itself in the body as an effect. The situation with the head is like that with what is highest or inmost in the heavens. This comes down and flows into heavens below, bringing them into being and making them extensions from itself. Therefore also the human head corresponds to the inmost heaven, the body down to the loins to the middle heaven, and the feet to the lowest heaven. In short, in things that are extensions only that which is inmost has life essentially. From this it is evident that since God is the inmost in all things, or what amounts to the same thing, is the highest of them all, from Him alone comes the life that all things possess. Therefore insofar as a person receives what is of God he has life within him.

sRef Matt@26 @7 S2′ sRef Deut@33 @14 S2′ sRef Mark@14 @3 S2′ sRef Matt@26 @12 S2′ sRef Deut@33 @15 S2′ sRef Ps@133 @2 S2′ sRef Deut@33 @16 S2′ sRef Jer@30 @23 S2′ sRef Mark@14 @8 S2′ sRef Isa@35 @10 S2′ [2] Furthermore the oil that a priest was anointed with flowed from the top of his head right down onto his body, as may be seen in David,

It is like the good oil upon the head running down onto Aaron’s beard, which runs down over the collar* of his garments. Ps. 133:2.

In Matthew,

A woman poured an alabaster flask of balm over Jesus’ head as He reclined [at the table]. Jesus said, She has poured this balm over My body to [prepare it for] the tomb. Matt. 26:7, 12.

And in Mark,

A woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly spikenard**; and breaking the alabaster flask she poured it over Jesus’ head. And Jesus said, This woman has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. Mark 14:3, 8.

From these places it is also evident that ‘anointing the head’ is anointing the whole body.

sRef Ezek@13 @18 S3′ sRef Ps@68 @21 S3′ sRef Ezek@11 @21 S3′ [3] The use of ‘the head’ to mean the whole person is further clear from very many places in the Word, for example in Isaiah,

The redeemed of Jehovah will return, and will come to Zion with song, and everlasting joy upon their heads. Isa. 35:10.

In Moses,

Let the precious things of the produce of the sun, the firstfruits of the mountains of the east, and the precious things of the earth come on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of the Nazirite among his brothers. Deut. 33:14-16.

In Jeremiah,

Jehovah’s storm will burst upon the heads of the wicked. Jer. 30:23.

In Ezekiel,

I will bring their way upon their own heads. Ezek. 11:21; 16:43; 22:31.

[Similar words occur in] Joel 3:4, 7; Obadiah verse 15. In Ezekiel,

Woe to those who make veils upon the head [of persons] of every stature to hunt souls! Ezek. 13:18.

In David,

God will bruise the head of [His] enemies, the hairy scalp***. Ps. 68:21.

From all these places it is now evident that ‘head’ is used to mean the whole person, so that ‘pouring oil on Aaron’s head’ means Divine Good in the Lord, suffusing His whole Human. While He was in the world the Lord made Himself Divine Truth, and when He left the world He made Himself Divine Good, see the places referred to in 9315(end), 9199(end).
* lit. the mouth
** lit. flask of ointment of liquid and very costly
*** lit. the crown of hair

sRef Ex@29 @8 S0′ 10012. ‘And you shall bring his sons’ means the joining of Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good. This is clear from the representation of ‘Aaron’s sons’ as Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good, dealt with in 9807; and from the meaning of ‘bringing’ as joining together, dealt with in 9806, 10001.

sRef Ex@29 @8 S0′ 10013. ‘And clothe them with tunics’ means a representative sign of the emanating Divine Spiritual. This is clear from the meaning of ‘tunics’ made for Aaron’s sons as Divine Truth emanating from the Divine Spiritual, which is represented by Aaron’s tunic, dealt with in 9947.

sRef Ex@29 @9 S0′ 10014. ‘And you shall gird them with belts’ means a bond joining things together, in order that all may be held in connection and consequently in a heavenly form. This is clear from the meaning of ‘belt’ as an outward bond that holds all the truths and forms of the good of faith in connection and form within itself, dealt with in 9341(end), 9828, 9837, 9944.

sRef Ex@29 @9 S0′ 10015. ‘Aaron and his sons’ means the Lord in respect of Divine Good and of Divine Truth emanating from that Good. This is clear from the representation of ‘Aaron’ as the Lord in respect of Divine Good, dealt with in 9806; and from the representation of ‘Aaron’s sons’ as the Lord in respect of Divine Truth emanating from that Good, dealt with in 9807.

sRef Ex@29 @9 S0′ 10016. ‘And bind headdresses on them’ means intelligence springing from wisdom. This is clear from the meaning of ‘headdresses’ as intelligence springing from wisdom, dealt with in 9949.

sRef Ex@29 @9 S0′ 10017. ‘And the priesthood shall be theirs’ means the stages, following one after another, of the Lord’s work of salvation. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the priesthood’ or ‘the priestly office’ as that which is representative of the Lord’s whole work of salvation, dealt with in 9809. The reason why the stages following one after another is meant is that the priesthood of Aaron’s sons is the subject here, and his sons represent the things which emanate and so follow in order one after another, 9807. The situation in all this is that the priesthood which Aaron represents consists in the work of saving those who are in the Lord’s celestial kingdom, this kingdom being the proper meaning in the Word of ‘a kingdom of priests’. But the priesthood which Aaron’s sons represent consists in the work of saving those who are in the Lord’s spiritual kingdom emanating directly from His celestial kingdom. From this it is evident that ‘the priesthood’ is used in the present instance to mean the stages, following one after another, of the Lord’s work of salvation. But the priesthood which the Levites represent consists in the Lord’s work of salvation at a further stage.

[2] There are three realities which follow one another in order. These are the celestial, which is the good of love to the Lord; the spiritual, which is the good of charity towards the neighbour; and the natural springing from these, which is the good of faith. Since these three are realities which follow one another in order there are also three heavens, and in them the types of good follow in that order. The work of saving those with whom celestial good exists is represented by Aaron’s priesthood; but the work of saving those with whom spiritual good exists is represented by the priesthood of Aaron’s sons, and the work of saving those with whom the natural good springing from these exists is represented by the priesthood of the Levites. And since the things following one another in order emanate from the good of love to the Lord, which is represented by Aaron and his priesthood, it is said of the Levites that they were given to Aaron. For things which emanate belong to that from which they emanate; such emanations or stages following one after another owe their very existence to that source, as accords with what has been stated a little above in 10011. The fact that the Levites were given to Aaron and his sons to perform priestly duties under them, see Num. 3:1-end.

sRef Ex@29 @9 S0′ 10018. ‘By the statute of an age’ means in accordance with eternal laws of order. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the statute’ as a law of order, dealt with in 7884, 7995, 8357; and from the meaning of ‘an age’ as what is eternal.

sRef Ex@29 @9 S0′ 10019. ‘And you shall fill the hand of Aaron and the hand of his sons’ means consecration to represent the Lord’s Divine Power exercised through Divine Truth springing from Divine Good*. This is clear from the meaning of ‘filling the hand’ as being consecrated to represent the Lord in respect of Divine Truth springing from Divine Good, consequently to represent His power. Two practices existed through which consecration to the priesthood was effected, anointing and filling the hand. Through anointing consecration to represent the Lord in respect of His Divine Good was effected, for the oil used in anointing was a sign of the good of love, 10011; and through filling the hand consecration to represent the Lord in respect of Divine Truth springing from Divine Good, and so to represent His power, was effected, since ‘the hand’ means power, 878, 4931-4937, 5327, 5328, 6947, 7011, 7188, 7189, 7518, 7673, 8050, 8069, 8153, and ‘hand’ is used in reference to truth that springs from good, 3091, 3563, 4931, 8281, 9025. Because all power belongs to truth springing from good, 5623, 6344, 6423, 6948, 8200, 8304, 9327, 9410, 9639, 9643, and since the head and whole body exercise their power through the hands, and this power is the capacity to act that a human life possesses, ‘the hand’ also means whatever resides with a person, thus the entire person’s capacity to act, 9133. From all this it may be seen what ‘filling the hand’ means. All power belongs to the Lord alone, and none whatever exists with any angel, spirit, or man other than that derived from Him, see 8200, 8281, 9327, 9410, 9639. The reason why consecration to the priesthood was effected through the two practices of anointing and filling the hand was that all things without exception that exist or come into existence in heaven and on earth have connection with good and with truth.

[2] But in what way filling the hand was carried out is described in verses 9-36** of the present chapter and in Lev. 8:22-end. It was carried out by the use of the second ram, which for that reason is also called ‘the ram of fillings [of the hand]’. The procedure was that after this ram had been slaughtered some of its blood was put on the tip of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the big toe of the right foot of Aaron and his sons. Some blood from the altar and some of the anointing oil was then sprinkled over Aaron and his sons, and over their garments. The fat, the tail, the fat covering the intestines, the omentum on the liver, the kidneys with their fat, and the right flank of that ram, also unleavened bread, cakes, and wafers from the basket were placed on the palms of Aaron and his sons, and waved, after which they were burned on top of the burnt offering made from the first ram. But the breast, after it had been waved, and the left flank were for Aaron and his sons; the flesh from these was boiled in the holy place and, together with the remainder of the bread in the basket, was eaten by them at the door of the tent of meeting. Such was the procedure for ‘filling the hand’. What is meant by each detail however will in the Lord’s Divine mercy be stated further on.

[3] The Lord’s Divine Power, which was represented by filling the hand of Aaron

and his sons, is the Divine Power of saving the human race; and the power of saving the human race is power over the heavens and over the hells. By that power of the Lord’s and by no other is a person saved; for all good that belongs to love and all truth that belongs to faith flow in from the Lord by way of the heavens. But neither can flow in unless the hells are removed, for the hells are the source of all evil and of all falsity arising from it. It is by the removal of the evils and consequent falsities which come from the hells, and at the same time by the inflow of the good of love and the truth of faith from the Lord by way of heaven, that a person is saved. When He was in the world the Lord overcame the hells and restored the heavens to order, and acquired for Himself Divine Power over them, see 9486, 9715, 9809, 9937, and the places referred to in 9528 (end). This power that is the Lord’s is what was represented by filling the hand of priests; for the Lord’s whole work of salvation was meant by the priestly office, 9809.

sRef Luke@10 @17 S4′ sRef Matt@28 @18 S4′ sRef Luke@10 @19 S4′ sRef Luke@10 @22 S4′ [4] The truth that the Lord possesses this power is His own explicit teaching in Matthew,

All power in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Matt. 28:18.

And in Luke,

Jesus spoke to the seventy who were saying that the demons obeyed them, Behold, I give you the power to trample on serpents and on scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, that nothing whatever may hurt you. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father. Luke 10:19, 22.

These words describe the Lord’s power over the hells. ‘The demons’ are those in the hells, ‘serpents and scorpions’ are evils and the falsities of evil, ‘trampling on them’ is destroying them. The hells are also meant by ‘the enemy’ whom they would have power over.

sRef Isa@63 @6 S5′ sRef Isa@63 @5 S5′ sRef Isa@63 @8 S5′ sRef Isa@63 @7 S5′ sRef Isa@63 @3 S5′ sRef Isa@63 @4 S5′ sRef Isa@59 @21 S5′ sRef Isa@63 @1 S5′ sRef Isa@59 @19 S5′ sRef Isa@59 @18 S5′ sRef Isa@59 @16 S5′ sRef Isa@59 @17 S5′ sRef Isa@63 @10 S5′ sRef Ps@110 @1 S5′ sRef Isa@59 @20 S5′ sRef Isa@63 @9 S5′ sRef Isa@63 @2 S5′ [5] The truth that the Lord acquired that power for Himself when He was in the world is clear in Isaiah,

Who is This who comes from Edom, marching in the vast numbers of His strength, mighty to save? My own arm brought salvation to Me. Therefore He became their Saviour. Isa. 63:1-10.

The fact that these words refer to the Lord is well known in the Church, as in like manner do those which occur elsewhere in the same prophet,

His own arm brought salvation to Him, and His righteousness lifted Him up. Consequently He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon His head. And the Redeemer came to Zion. Isa. 59:16-21.

And in David,

Jehovah said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, till I make your enemies as your footstool. Jehovah will send the rod of your strength from Zion; have dominion in the midst of [your] enemies. The Lord is at your right hand. Ps. 110:1ff.

The fact that these statements refer to the Lord is His own teaching in Matthew 22:44. His dominion over the hells is described there by ‘sitting at the right hand’, for ‘the right hand’ means the power that Divine Truth springing from Divine Good possesses. The hells and the evils and falsities coming from them are the enemies that were to be made as His footstool; they are also the enemies in whose midst He was to have dominion.

sRef Ps@44 @3 S6′ sRef Isa@62 @8 S6′ sRef Ps@63 @8 S6′ sRef Ps@80 @17 S6′ sRef Ps@18 @35 S6′ sRef Ps@80 @18 S6′ sRef Ps@89 @13 S6′ sRef Ex@15 @6 S6′ [6] The truth that ‘Jehovah’s right hand’ means Divine Power is evident from a large number of places in the Word, as in Moses,

Your right hand, O Jehovah, is magnificent in strength; Your right hand, O Jehovah, breaks the enemy in pieces. Exod. 15:6.

In David,

O God, You give me the shield of salvation, and Your right hand supports me. Ps. 18:35.

In the same author,

Their arm did not save them, but Your right hand, and Your arm, and the light of Your face. Ps. 44:3.

The words ‘Your right hand, and Your right arm, and the light of [Your] face’ are used because ‘right hand’ means power, ‘arm’ strength, and ‘light of the face’ Divine Truth springing from Divine Good. For the meaning of ‘arm’ as strength, see 4932, 4934, 4935, 7205; ‘light’ as Divine Truth, 9548, 9684; and ‘Jehovah’s face’ as Divine Good, 222, 5585, 9306. In the same author,

O God, Your right hand supports me. Ps. 63:8.

In the same author,

O Jehovah, You have an arm with power; strong is Your hand. Your right hand will be lifted up. Ps. 89:13.

In Isaiah,

Jehovah has sworn by His right hand, by His mighty arm***. Isa. 62:8.

And in David,

O Jehovah, let Your hand be for the man of Your right hand, for the son of man [whom] You have made strong for Yourself. Then we will not turn back from You. Ps. 80:17, 18.

sRef Luke@22 @69 S7′ sRef Matt@26 @64 S7′ [7] From these things it may now be seen what the meaning of the Lord’s words in Matthew is,

Jesus said, Hereafter you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power. Matt. 26:64.

And in Luke,

Hereafter the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God. Luke 22:69.

‘The Son of Man’ means the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, see 9807, while ‘right hand’, as is clear from what has been shown immediately above, means Divine Power; and this also accounts for the expression ‘the right hand of power’.

From all this it is now evident what the anointing of Aaron and his sons represented, and what filling their hand represented, namely that anointing them represented the Divine Good of Divine Love within the Lord, 9954 (end), and filling their hand Divine Truth and therefore Divine Power. For all power resides with Divine Good exercised through Divine Truth, and that power belongs to the Lord alone, see the texts quoted above. Here also is the reason why in the Old Testament Word the Lord is called Hero, Man of War, and also Jehovah Zebaoth, that is, Jehovah of Armies.
* See 10010.
** Possibly 19-35 is intended.
*** lit. the arm of His strength

sRef Ex@29 @10 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @13 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @14 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @11 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @12 S0′ 10020. Verses 10-14 And you shall bring* the young bull, before the tent of meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the young bull. And you shall slaughter the young bull before Jehovah, at the door of the tent of meeting. And you shall take some of the blood of the young bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and shall pour out all the blood at the base of the altar. And you shall take all the fat covering the intestines, and the omentum over the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them; and you shall burn [them on] the altar. And the flesh of the young bull, and its skin, and its dung, you shall burn with fire outside the camp. It is a sin [offering].

‘And you shall bring the young bull’ means a state in which the natural or external man, as this is in its infancy, applies itself. ‘Before the tent of meeting’ means to purification, the reception of truth from heaven, and the joining of it to good. ‘And Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the young bull’ means a representative sign of the reception of goodness and truth in the natural or external man. ‘And you shall slaughter the young bull before Jehovah’ means preparation for the purification of goodness and truth from God in the external or natural man. ‘At the door of the tent of meeting’ means in order that they may be joined together. ‘And you shall take some of the blood of the young bull’ means Divine Truth accommodated in the natural or external man. ‘And put it on the horns of the altar with your finger’ means power that is Divine and the Lord’s, originating in Himself. ‘And shall pour out all the blood at the base of the altar’ means the whole of Divine Truth present on the level of sensory perception, which is the lowest level of life in a person. ‘And you shall take all the fat’ means the accommodated good. ‘Covering the intestines’ means which exists on last or lowest levels. ‘And the omentum over the liver’ means the more internal good of the external or natural man. ‘And the two kidneys and the fat on them’ means the more internal truth of the external or natural man, and the good of that truth. ‘And you shall burn [them on] the altar’ means springing from the Lord’s Divine Love. ‘And the flesh of the young bull’ means the evil of the earlier loves which are present there. ‘And its skin’ means falsity on lowest levels. ‘And its dung’ means all other unclean things. ‘You shall burn with fire outside the camp’ means that those things must be banished to hell and be consumed by the evils of self-love. ‘It is a sin [offering]’ means that which has been purified in this manner from evils [and falsities].
* lit. cause to come near

sRef Ex@29 @10 S0′ 10021. ‘And you shall bring the young bull’ means a state in which the natural or external man, as this is in its infancy, applies itself. This is clear from the meaning of ‘bringing near’ as effecting presence and togetherness, dealt with in 9378, 9997, 10001, and also application, 8439, at this point applying oneself to purification and to the reception of goodness and truth from the Divine, because by this sacrifice and by sacrifices generally such application is meant; and from the meaning of ‘the young bull’ as the good of charity and innocence in the natural or external man, dealt with in 9391, thus the external or natural man as this is in its infancy, for at this time the good of innocence reigns there. While in this state the external man is also in a state of applying itself to purification and to the reception of goodness and truth from the Divine.

[2] Since these matters are now the subject in the internal sense the nature of them must be mentioned. When a person is being regenerated, which happens when he has reached adult life, he is first let into a state of innocence, but a state of external innocence almost like young children’s; for their innocence is an external innocence that resides in lack of knowledge. This state serves as the basis for new life while the person is being regenerated; for at this time also the person is a young child so to speak, in that while being regenerated he is conceived anew, born, becomes a young child, and grows up, all of which is accomplished through truth implanted in good. Also to the extent that he comes at this time into authentic good he passes on into the good of internal innocence, which is innocence residing in wisdom. And since the regeneration of a person is an image of the glorification of the Lord, it is evident that the manner in which the Lord glorified Himself, that is, made Divine His Human, is the same. For the subject in the internal sense of this chapter is the glorification of the Lord, 9985; but since the glorification of the Lord’s Human is beyond understanding the likeness or image of it must be used to explain it and so give some idea of it. These things have been mentioned first so that people may know what to understand by purification and by reception of goodness and truth, and by joining together the things that are meant by sacrifices generally, and at this point specifically by the sacrifices offered at the consecration of Aaron and his sons to the priestly office.

The regeneration of a person is an image of the glorification of the Lord, see 3138, 3212, 3296, 3490, 4402, 5688.
Young children’s innocence is an external innocence, and it resides in lack of knowledge, 2305, 2306, 3494, 3504, 4563, 4797, 5608, 9301.
A person who is being regenerated is conceived anew, born, becomes a young child, then an older one, and grows up, 3203.
The innocence of early childhood serves as a basis, 2780, 3183, 3994, 4797, 5608, 7840.
Cognitions or knowledge of truth and good are implanted in the innocence which belongs to early childhood as their basis, 1616, 2299, 3504, 4797.
The innocence of those who have been regenerated is an internal innocence, and it resides in wisdom, 1616, 3494, 3994, 4797, 5608, 9301, 9938.
The difference between external innocence which young children possess and internal innocence which the wise possess, 2280, 4563, 9301.
The nature of the difference becomes clear from the upbringing and regeneration of children in the next life, dealt with in 2289-2309.
All the good of the Church and heaven holds innocence within itself, and without it good is not good, 2736, 2780, 6013, 7840, 7887, 9262.
What innocence is, 3994, 4001, 4797, 5236, 6107, 6765, 7902, 9262, 9936.

sRef Ex@29 @10 S0′ 10022. ‘Before the tent of meeting’ means to purification, the reception of truth from heaven, and the joining of it to good. This is clear from the representation of ‘the tent of meeting’ as heaven where the Lord is, dealt with in 9457, 9481, 9485. The reason why purification, the implantation of truth, and the joining of it to good are also meant here is that the young bull was led to that place to be sacrificed, and by sacrifices not only purification but also the implantation of truth and good and joining together of them are meant. For sacrifices represented purifications from evils and falsities, and expiations, see 9990, 9991, and the place before the tent, called its door, represented the joining together of truth and good, which is called the heavenly marriage, 10001. So it is then that ‘you shall bring the young bull near before the tent of meeting’ means the time when the external or natural man, as this exists in its infancy, applies itself to being purified from evils and falsities, and so to receiving truth from heaven and joining it to good.

[2] Since sacrifices and burnt offerings are the subject in what follows directly after this in the present chapter, what was represented by them in general must be stated. Burnt offerings and sacrifices in general represented purification from evils and falsities; and since purification was represented, so too was the implantation of goodness and truth from the Lord, and also the joining together of them. For when a person has been purified from evils and falsities, which is brought about by the removal of them, goodness and truth from the Lord flow in; and to the extent that goodness and truth flow in, in that state, they are implanted and joined together. For the Lord is unceasingly present with goodness and truth with every person, but He is received only to the extent that evils and falsities are removed, thus to the extent that the person is purified from them. The joining together of truth and good is regeneration. From this it may be seen what burnt offerings and sacrifices in general represented; but what each represented specifically is clear from the different kinds of living creatures that were
sacrificed.

[3] Because these three – purification from evils and falsities, the implantation of truth and good, and the joining together of them – were represented by sacrifices and burnt offerings, all worship springing from the truth of faith and the good of love is also meant by them, 6905, 8680, 8936; for the end in view of all worship is that a person may be purified from evils and falsities, consequently that he may have forms of goodness and truth from the Lord implanted in him, and so may be regenerated, which is accomplished by the joining together of that goodness and truth. These joined together constitute heaven or the Lord’s kingdom with a person.

sRef Ex@29 @10 S0′ 10023. ‘And Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the young bull’ means a representative sign of the reception of goodness and truth in the natural or external man. This is clear from the meaning of ‘laying hands on’ as transmitting what is one’s own to another, the reason why reception too is meant being that what is transmitted is received by another; from the meaning of ‘the head’ as the whole, dealt with in 10011; and from the meaning of ‘the young bull’ as the good of innocence and charity in the external or natural man, dealt with in 9391, 10021. The reason why ‘laying the hand on’ means transmission and reception is that by ‘the hands’ is meant power and since this power is the capacity to act, whatever resides with a person, thus the entire person engaged in action, is also meant by ‘the hands’, see the places referred to in 10019; and by ‘laying on’ is meant transmission on the part of the one who lays them on and reception on the part of the person on whom or thing on which they are laid. From this it is evident what ‘laying the hand on’ meant among the ancients, namely the transmission and transference of whatever thing it was that they had in mind, and also the reception of it by another, whether it was power, obedience, blessing, or testimony.

sRef Num@8 @9 S2′ sRef Num@8 @8 S2′ sRef Num@8 @11 S2′ sRef Num@8 @12 S2′ sRef Num@8 @10 S2′ sRef Num@8 @13 S2′ sRef Num@8 @14 S2′ sRef Num@8 @7 S2′ sRef Num@27 @18 S2′ sRef Num@27 @20 S2′ sRef Num@27 @19 S2′ [2] The fact that ‘laying the hand on’ meant power is clear from the following places in Moses,

Jehovah told Moses to lay his hand on Joshua and to set him before Eleazar the priest in front of the whole congregation, and thereby place some of his glory on him, that all the congregation might be obedient to him. Num. 27:18-20.

‘Laying his hand on’ here, it is evident, means a transmission and transference of power that Moses had, and the reception of it by Joshua. Therefore it says that he would thereby put some of his glory on him.

sRef Lev@16 @21 S3′ [3] In the same author,

It was commanded, when the Levites were to be purified and the priestly function under Aaron was to be assigned to them, that two young bulls together with a minchah should be brought forward, and that Aaron should bring the Levites before Jehovah. And the children of Israel were to lay their hands on the Levites, and the Levites were to lay their hands on the heads of the young bulls, one of which was to be offered as a sacrifice, the other as a burnt offering. And in this way were they to separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites would be Jehovah’s. Num. 8:7-14.

The laying of hands on the Levites by the children of Israel was a sign of the transference of power to the Levites to minister on their behalf, and a sign of the reception of that power by the Levites, thus a sign of the separation of the Levites. And the laying of hands on the heads of the young bulls by the Levites was a sign of the transference of that power to Jehovah, that is, the Lord. This is why it says that in that way were they to be separated from among the children of Israel and were to be Jehovah’s.

sRef Lev@24 @14 S4′ [4] In the same author,

After the children of Israel had confessed their sins Aaron was to lay both his hands on the head of the live he-goat Asasel, and he was to confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their sins; and he was to put them on the goat’s head, and send it into the wilderness. Lev. 16:21.

Laying hands on the he-goat, it is self-evident, meant the transmission and transference of all the iniquities and sins of the children of Israel onto that goat, and its reception of them, ‘the wilderness’ into which the goat was sent being hell. Lev. 24:14 required that the witnesses and all who had heard should lay their hands on him who was to be stoned. This action was a sign that the witness borne by them had been transmitted and transferred to him, and once it was received he was delivered up to death.

sRef Lev@1 @2 S5′ sRef Lev@1 @3 S5′ sRef Lev@4 @4 S5′ sRef Lev@1 @4 S5′ sRef Lev@3 @8 S5′ sRef Lev@3 @13 S5′ sRef Lev@4 @29 S5′ sRef Lev@4 @15 S5′ sRef Lev@4 @24 S5′ sRef Lev@3 @1 S5′ sRef Lev@3 @2 S5′ [5] In the same author,

A person who brings from the herd or from the flock a burnt offering as a gift to Jehovah shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering; then it will be received with pleasure from him, to make expiation for him. Lev. 1:2-4.

The hand had in like manner to be laid on the head of a gift offered as a sacrifice, Lev. 3:1, 2, 8, 13. A priest was required to do the same thing if he had sinned, and so were the elders, or the whole congregation, and also a leader if he had sinned; and any ordinary person* was required to do the same thing if he had sinned, Lev. 4:4, 15, 24, 29. Laying their hands on the burnt offering or on the sacrifice was a sign of all the worship of the one presenting the offering. That is to say, it was a sign of the acknowledgement of sins, confession, and consequent purification, and a sign of the implantation of goodness and truth, thus of being joined to the Lord, all of which was brought about by transmission, transference, and reception. By transference and reception that which is meant by ‘bearing iniquities’, dealt with in 9937, 9938, should be understood.

sRef Luke@13 @11 S6′ sRef Mark@7 @32 S6′ sRef Mark@7 @35 S6′ sRef Mark@7 @33 S6′ sRef Mark@8 @25 S6′ sRef Matt@9 @25 S6′ sRef Luke@13 @13 S6′ sRef Mark@6 @5 S6′ sRef Matt@9 @18 S6′ [6] Since the laying-on of hands was a sign of transmission, transference, and reception, one may recognize what the laying-on of hands means in Matthew,

A ruler came to Jesus and said, My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live. Jesus went in, took her hand, and the girl arose. Matt. 9:18, 19, 25.

In Mark,

Jesus laid hands on the blind man’s eyes, and he was restored. Mark 8:25.

In the same gospel,

They brought a deaf man to Jesus, that He might lay His hand on him. Taking him aside from the people He put His finger into his ears and touched his tongue, and his powers of hearing were opened. Mark 7:32, 33, 35.

In Luke,

There was a woman bent right over owing to a spirit of infirmity. Jesus laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight**. Luke 13:11, 13.

In Mark,

Jesus laid hands on the weak and healed them. Mark 6:5.

sRef Mark@5 @30 S7′ sRef Luke@8 @44 S7′ sRef Luke@6 @19 S7′ sRef Luke@8 @46 S7′ sRef Mark@5 @28 S7′ sRef Mark@5 @29 S7′ sRef Mark@5 @27 S7′ [7] In these places it is evident that when the Lord laid His hand on people, and also when He touched them, the meaning was the transmission and reception of Divine power. The fact that these things are meant is perfectly clear in Mark,

A certain woman came behind and touched Jesus’ garment, saying, If I touch merely His garment I shall be healed. And immediately she was healed of the affliction. And Jesus perceived within Himself that power had gone out of Him. Mark 5:27-30.

In Luke,

The woman, touching Jesus’ garment, was healed. Jesus said, Someone touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me. Luke 8:44, 46.

And in the same gospel,

The entire crowd sought to touch Jesus, because power went out from Him and healed them all. Luke 6:19.

sRef Matt@19 @15 S8′ sRef Matt@19 @13 S8′ sRef Matt@19 @14 S8′ sRef Luke@7 @15 S8′ sRef Mark@10 @16 S8′ sRef Luke@7 @14 S8′ [8] From this it is evident what ‘touching with the hand’ and ‘touching with the finger’ mean, and also what the following words in the same gospel mean,

Jesus came and touched the coffin in which the dead man was; and the bearers stood still. Then He said, Young man, I say to you, Arise. And the dead man sat up and began to speak. Luke 7:14, 15.

It is also evident what laying His hands on children and young children means. Laying them on children is described in Matthew,

Children were brought to Jesus that He might lay His hands on them. Jesus said, Let the children be and do not forbid them to come to Me; of such is the kingdom of heaven. And He laid His hands on them. Matt. 19:13-15.

And laying His hands on young children is spoken of in Mark,

Jesus took the young children up in His arms, and put His hands on them, and blessed them. Mark 10:16.

This laying of His hand on children and on young children likewise means the transmission and reception of Divine power, enabling a person’s interiors to be healed, which is salvation.

[9] The meaning of touch by the use of the hands has its origin in representatives in the next life. People there whose states of life are dissimilar appear far removed from one another, whereas those whose states of life are similar appear living in association with one another; and those who touch one another there transmit their state of life to another. If this is done by the use of the hands the whole of their life is transmitted, for as stated above, by the hands, by virtue of their correspondence, is meant power, which is a human being’s capacity to act, thus whatever resides with a person. Such representatives occur in the world of spirits, but they do so as a result of influx from heaven, where only the ties associating people as to affections for goodness and truth are perceived.
* lit. every soul
** The Latin means He healed [her], but the Greek, also what appears in Sw.’s rough draft, means she was made straight.

sRef Ex@29 @11 S0′ 10024. ‘And you shall slaughter the young bull before Jehovah’ means preparation for the purification of goodness and truth from God in the external or natural man. This is clear from the meaning of ‘slaughtering’, when the living creatures that were offered as a burnt offering or as a sacrifice are the subject, as preparation for the things that were represented by burnt offerings and sacrifices, those things being purification from evils and falsities, the implantation of goodness and truth, and the joining together of them, see above in 10022 (and since these things come from God the words ‘before Jehovah’ are used); and from the meaning of ‘the young bull’ as purification of the external or natural man, dealt with above in 9990. This explains why in the Word, when ‘slaughtering’ is mentioned in connection with burnt offerings and sacrifices, everything that an actual burnt offering or sacrifice represented is meant, because it then encompasses all those things.

sRef Lev@17 @8 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @11 S0′ sRef Lev@17 @9 S0′ sRef Lev@17 @4 S0′ sRef Lev@17 @3 S0′ 10025. ‘At the door of the tent of meeting’ means in order that they may be joined together. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the door of the tent of meeting’ as truth and good joined together, which is called the heavenly marriage, dealt with above in 10001. Since ‘the door of the tent of meeting’ has this meaning it was decreed that if the slaughtering were carried out anywhere else blood should be imputed and that soul should be cut off from the people*, Lev. 17:3, 4, 8, 9. The reason for this was that goodness and truth joined together, thus the heavenly marriage, was not represented then, but evil and falsity joined together, which is the hellish marriage.
* lit. the peoples

sRef Ex@29 @12 S0′ 10026. ‘And you shall take some of the blood of the young bull’ means Divine Truth accommodated to the natural or external man. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the blood’ as Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘the young bull’ as the natural level in a person, which must be purified and must have truth and good implanted in it, dealt with in 9990. The reason why the blood is here spoken of first* and why some of it must be put on the horns of the altar and the remainder poured out at the base of it is that in the Word ‘blood’ means Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good, and by means of that Truth all purification is accomplished. For truth teaches a person what good is and how he ought to live; and when the person knows this an affection for or love of good can start to be implanted, and he can thereby be regenerated. For knowledge must be received before a person can possess faith and lead the life of faith, which is the life of good. For the truth that all purification from evils and falsities, and consequently all regeneration, is accomplished by means of the truths of faith, see the places referred to in 9959.

sRef Luke@24 @26 S2′ [2] Those who are ignorant of the inner meaning of the Word, thus those who do not know that ‘blood’ means Divine Truth nor that purification is accomplished by the Lord by means of it, suppose that a person is made pure by the Lord’s blood, by which they understand His suffering on the Cross. But let them know that no one is made pure by the Lord’s suffering on the Cross, and so by His blood, only by a life in accord with His commandments, as He Himself teaches in many places. The suffering on the Cross was the final stage of temptation which the Lord underwent and through which He fully glorified His Human, as indeed He Himself says in Luke,

Ought not the Christ to have suffered this and to enter into His glory? Luke 24:26.

For the Lord came into the world to subdue the hells and to restore all things to order, even those in the heavens, which was accomplished through the temptations He allowed Himself to undergo. The suffering on the Cross was the final stage of temptation undergone by Him, through which He gained total victory over the hells, brought order to the heavens, and at the same time glorified His Human. And unless He had done all this, no one could have been saved. But see what has already been shown abundantly on these matters in the places referred to in 9528, 9715, 9937, 10019, and that by ‘blood’, and also ‘the Lord’s blood’, Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Good is meant, 4735, 6378, 6978, 7317, 7326, 7850, 9127, 9393.
* i.e. before the fat

sRef Ex@29 @12 S0′ 10027. ‘And put it on the horns of the altar with your finger’ means power that is Divine and the Lord’s, originating in Himself. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the horns of the altar’ as the power of truth that springs from good (for the meaning of ‘horns’ as power, see 9081, 9719-9721, and for the meaning of ‘the altar’ as that which was representative of the Lord in respect of Divine Good, or that which was representative of Divine Good within the Lord, 9388, 9389, 9714, 9964); and from the meaning of ‘finger’ as power, dealt with in 7430. His acting by the power that was His own, that is, the power originating in Himself is meant because Moses was the one who applied the blood, and he represents the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, 9372, 9806; this is why the words ‘with your finger’ are used. The reason why the blood was to be put first on the horns of the altar was in order that the actual power of Divine Truth springing from Divine Good might be represented; for by the power of Divine Truth springing from Divine Good all things were done or made, and nothing without it, see the places referred to above in 10019.

sRef Ex@29 @12 S0′ 10028. ‘And shall pour out all the blood at the base of the altar’ means the whole of Divine Truth present on the level of sensory perception, which is the lowest level of life in a person. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the blood’ as Divine Truth springing from the Lord’s Divine Good, dealt with just above in 10026; and from the meaning of ‘the base of the altar’ as the level of sensory perception, which is the lowest level of life in a person. ‘The base of the altar’ has this meaning because the altar was representative of the Lord’s Divine Human, and therefore the base of it means that which forms the lowest level of life in the human being, and that which forms the lowest level of life in the human being is called outward sensory perception, which is what is meant here. The altar was the chief representative of the Lord’s Divine Human, see 9388, 9389, 9714, 9964, ‘the base’, it is self-evident, being the lowest level of it. As regards this level in the human being, that it is outward sensory perception, and as regards the nature of it, see 9212, 9216, 9996.

[2] The implications of all this must be stated briefly. When a person is being purified he first of all learns the kinds of truths that someone who thinks on the sensory level can grasp; these are truths such as exist in the literal sense of the Word. Afterwards he learns more internal truths such as are gathered from the Word by those who have enlightenment; for these gather its inner meaning from various places where the literal sense there is explained. Then, once these truths are known, even more internal ones are taken in by those who have become enlightened. These even more internal truths together with the previous ones serve the Church as doctrinal teachings, the even more internal truths serving members of the internal Church, the other truths serving members of the external Church. Both groups of people, if they have led lives in accord with those truths, are raised to heaven among angels, and there they are endowed with angelic wisdom, which is the product of truths still more internal, and finally of inmost truths in the third heaven. These truths together with the previous ones in their own order terminate in the last and lowest, which belong to outward sensory perception, and exist together within them. From this it is evident that interior truths reside all together in the truths belonging to the literal sense of the Word, for the latter are the last and lowest, as has been stated. Within things that are last and lowest those which are more internal ones position themselves all in sequence, and within them they exist all together, see 9828, 9836. From this it is evident what should be understood by the whole of Divine Truth present on the level of sensory perception, meant by the requirement that all the blood was to be poured out at the base of the altar.

sRef Ex@29 @13 S0′ 10029. ‘And you shall take all the fat’ means the accommodated good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the fat’ as good, dealt with in 5943. The good is described as being accommodated because the subject here is the purifying of the external or natural man, also the implanting of truth and good and so the joining together of the two there; for these things are what are meant by sacrifices and burnt offerings. Here therefore the fat from the young bull serves to mean good which has been accommodated to the natural or external man and is able to be joined to the truth there. For truth must be accommodated to its good and good to its truth, the reason being that they must exist as one. It should also be remembered that truth and good in the natural or external man are different from truth and good in the internal man, just as outer and inner are different, or lower and higher, or – what amounts to the same thing – posterior and prior. Truth as it exists in the natural man is factual knowledge, and good as it exists there is the accompanying delight. Both of these are perceptible to a person while in the world, for when he gives thought to them they are immediately apparent. Truth in the internal man however is not like factual knowledge immediately making itself apparent; rather it is truth implanted in the understanding part of the internal man. The good too implanted in the internal man is not perceptible, for it is implanted in the will part there. Both belong to the person’s inner life, in which the truth is the truth of faith and the good is the good of love. Such is the difference between the truth and good in the internal or spiritual man and the truth and good in the external or natural man. The implantation and joining together of the truth and good in the external man is meant by the sacrifice of the young bull, but the implantation and joining together of the two in the internal man is meant by the burnt offering of the ram, described further on in this chapter. From all this it is evident what should be understood by the accommodated good, meant by ‘the fat’ from the young bull.

sRef Ex@29 @13 S0′ 10030. ‘Covering the intestines’ means which exists on last or lowest levels. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the intestines’ as last or lowest things. The reason why the intestines have this meaning is that they are the last and lowest of a person’s internal organs, not only as regards their location but also as regards their function. As regards their location, they are below the stomach, to which they are attached; and as regards their function, they are the last organs to receive the things undergoing digestion in a person. Above them, as is well known, come the stomach, liver, pancreas, and spleen; higher still, the heart and lungs; and still higher, the head. It is also well known that these higher parts of the body discharge their filth and waste products into the intestines and banish them through these, partly by way of the stomach, partly by way of the ducts from the liver – called the hepatic ducts, and also the cystic or biliary ducts – and partly by way of the ducts from the pancreas, which like all the other ducts have their outlet into the duodenum. From all this it is now evident why last or lowest things are meant by ‘the intestines’. The fact that the internal organs in the human body mean such things as belong to the spiritual world becomes clear from what has been abundantly shown at the ends of a large number of chapters where the correspondence of the Grand Man, which is heaven, with everything present in the human being has been the subject. For what specifically corresponds to the intestines, see 5392. The hells correspond to the impurities and excrement cast out from them, 5393-5396.

sRef Dan@2 @33 S2′ sRef Dan@2 @32 S2′ [2] Since several organs of the body are mentioned in what immediately follows, such as the lesser omentum, liver, kidneys, legs, breast, flank, and head, and the arrangement of them in sacrifices is dealt with, it must first be shown here that by parts of the human body in general the kinds of things that exist in the Grand Man, that is, in heaven, are meant. Here let the meaning of just those parts of the body which are used in Daniel to describe Nebuchadnezzar’s statue be indicated. There, in Chapter 2:32, 33, it says that its head was pure gold, breast and arms were silver, belly and side bronze, legs iron, and feet partly iron and partly clay. Anyone who does not know that the Lord’s Word is spiritual supposes that these things were said in reference to earthly kingdoms. But the Word is not dealing with earthly kingdoms, only with God’s kingdom, thus with heaven and the Church. The reason why these are described by means of the kinds of things that exist in earthly lands and their kingdoms is that worldly and earthly things correspond to the kinds of things that exist in heaven. For the whole natural order and the whole universe is a theatre representative of the Lord’s kingdom, see the places referred to in 9280, and earthly and worldly things are what a person comes to know of first.

sRef Dan@2 @34 S3′ sRef Dan@2 @35 S3′ [3] From this it may be recognized that Nebuchadnezzar’s statue seen in a dream does not mean worldly but heavenly things. But what specifically is meant by the head, the breast, the belly and side, the legs, and the feet may be known from their correspondence, thus from the internal sense of the Word. From correspondence one can know that the head means the first state of the Church, the breast and arms the second, the belly and side the third, the legs the fourth, and the feet the last. Since the first state of the Church was a state of the good of love to the Lord it says that the head was of pure gold; since the second state was a state of truth springing from that good it says that the breast and arms were of silver; since the third state was the good of love and its truth in the external or natural man it says that the belly and side were of bronze; since the fourth state was the truth of faith it says that the legs were of iron; and since the last state was truth which, though called the truth of faith, is devoid of good it says the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay. And such being the last state of the Church verses 34, 35 say that out of the rock a stone was cut, which smashed them all to pieces and scattered them, so that the wind carried them away, and no place was found for them, meaning that the good of love to the Lord, the good of charity towards the neighbour, and the good of faith were completely dispersed, so completely that there was no knowledge of what they were. No more than some knowledge of the truths of faith existed, without any knowledge of good; or if any knowledge of good existed it was not real good, thus was not the good that coheres with the truths of faith. [4] This good is external good without internal, which is what the good of merit is, and what good pursued for selfish and worldly reasons is, thus good pursued for the sake of gain, position, and reputation, for the sake of friendship cultivated because of these things, or for the sake of currying favour. Or else it is pursued solely on account of fear of the law. It is not pursued on account of the good of charity, which is the good of one’s fellow citizen, the good of human society, the good of one’s country, or the good of the Church. sRef Dan@2 @43 S5′ [5] The types of good mentioned above are meant by ‘the clay’ or ‘the mire’, the truth with which that good does not cohere being ‘the iron’. Therefore verse 43 says, [Just as] the iron which you saw was mixed with the miry clay, they will mingle through the seed of man (homo)*, but they will not cohere with one another, just as iron is not mingled with clay. ‘The seed of man’ is the truth of faith when it originates in the self, which is truth falsified and adulterated through application to evils that exist as the result of a regard for self and the world. From all this it is evident that the parts of a person’s body from his head to the soles of his feet mean such things as belong to the Church.

[6] In general ‘the head’ means celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord, ‘the breast’ spiritual good, which is the good of charity towards the neighbour, and ‘the feet’ natural good, which is the good and truth of faith, see 9913, 9914; and the same kinds of good are meant by ‘gold’, ‘silver’, ‘bronze’, and ‘iron’, 5658. But for what is meant specifically by ‘the head’, see 4938, 4939, 5328, 9913, 9914, by ‘gold’, 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 9510, 9881, by ‘the breast’, 4938, 4939, 5328, 6436, 9913, 9914, and by ‘silver’, 1551, 5658, 6914, 6917. From this it is evident what is meant by ‘the belly’ and ‘the side’, which are the parts below the breast. But for what ‘bronze’ means, [see] 425, 1551, ‘the feet’, 2162, 3147, 3761, 4938-4952, ‘iron’, 425, 426, and ‘clay’ or ‘mire’, 1300, 6669.

[7] From all this it may now be recognized that the members or organs of the human body mean such things as correspond to them in the Grand Man, which is heaven. They all have connection with the good of love and the truth of faith; and because they correspond to these they also correspond to the same realities in the Church, because the Lord’s heaven on earth is the Church.

There is a correspondence of the human being and all parts of the human being with the Grand Man, which is heaven; see what has been shown from actual experience at the ends of a number of chapters, in the following places, 3624-3649, 3741-3751, 3883-3896, 4039-4051, 4218-4228, 4318-4331, 4403-4421, 4527-4533, 4622-4633, 4652-4660, 4791-4805, 4931-4953, 5050-5061, 5171-5189, 5377-5396, 5552-5573, 5711-5727, 5846-5866, 5976-5993, 6053-6058, 6189-6215, 6307-6326, 6466-6495.
What correspondence is, 2987-3003, 3213-3227, 3337-3352, 3472-3485.
* i.e. they will become mixed together through intermarriages

sRef Ex@29 @13 S0′ 10031. ‘And the omentum over the liver’ means the more internal good of the external or natural man. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the omentum’, which is over the liver, as the more internal good of the external or natural man. ‘The omentum’ means this good because it consists wholly of fat, and by ‘fat’ good is meant, dealt with above in 10029. The reason why the good is more internal is that this fat is higher in the body or more internal than the fat covering the intestines, which is spoken of immediately above. Also ‘the liver’ means more internal purification, for the liver purifies the blood, whereas the intestines purify the substances from which blood is produced. And the reason why that good belongs to the external or natural man is that ‘the young bull’ in which this omentum resided means the good of innocence and of charity in the external or natural man, 9990. In other places ‘the liver’ means the external good of innocence, the kind of good that exists with young children or infants. The reason for this is that before every other organ has been fully formed to serve its particular function, which is done while they are still in the womb, infants are fed through the liver; for it is to this organ that all their fluid nourishment is brought from their mother’s womb by way of the placenta and umbilical cord. This fluid corresponds to the good of innocence.

sRef Lam@2 @12 S2′ sRef Lam@2 @11 S2′ [2] The fact that this good is meant by ‘the liver’ is clear in Jeremiah,

My eyes have been consumed by tears, my internal organs have been disturbed,* my liver has been poured out onto the earth, because of the destruction** of the daughter of my people, while the infant and the suckling faint in the streets; they say to their mothers, Where is grain and wine? Lam. 2:11, 12.

This describes the grief of a Church when it has been laid waste. Grief on account of truth that has been lost is meant by ‘eyes have been consumed by tears’; grief on account of the truth of innocence which has been lost is meant by ‘internal organs have been disturbed’; and grief on account of the good of innocence which has been lost is meant by ‘liver has been poured out onto the earth’. This is the reason for the words, ‘While the infant and the suckling faint in the streets’, and ‘they say to their mothers, Where is grain and wine?’ ‘The daughter of my people’ because of whose destruction that grief exists is the Church, 2362, 3963, 6729; ‘eyes’ are the powers of inward sight, thus the truths of faith, 4526, 4528, 9051; ‘internal organs’ or ‘bowels’ are the truths of innocence, 3294; ‘liver’ is the good of innocence, since the infants and sucklings who faint in the streets are those with whom the good of innocence is present, 430, 3183, 4563, 5608; ‘the grain and wine’ – about which they say to their mothers, Where are they? – are the good of truth and the truth of good, ‘grain’ being the good of truth, 5959, and ‘wine’ the truth of good, 1071, 1798.

sRef Ps@51 @6 S0′ sRef Ps@139 @13 S0′ sRef Jer@20 @12 S0′ sRef Ps@26 @2 S0′ sRef Rev@2 @23 S0′ sRef Ps@7 @9 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @13 S0′ 10032. ‘And the two kidneys and the fat on them’ means the more internal truth of the external or natural man, and the good of that truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the kidneys’ as more internal truths, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘the fat’ as good, dealt with above in 10029, the good of that truth being meant here because it was the fat on the kidneys. The expression ‘the good of that truth’ is used because all good has its own truth, and all truth has its own good. There are countless kinds of good, and each has truth of the same kind. For throughout heaven there are forms of good and of truth which constitute the life there, and everywhere these are different. What type of good it is that is meant by ‘the fat on the kidneys’ is clear from the truths meant by ‘the kidneys’. By ‘the kidneys’ are meant truths that serve to explore, purify, and correct; they derive this meaning from the function they perform. From this it is evident what ‘the kidneys’ means in the following places: In Jeremiah,

Jehovah tests the kidneys and the heart. Jer. 11:20.

In the same prophet,

Jehovah testing the righteous, seeing the kidneys and the heart. Jer. 20:12.

In David,

You test the heart and the kidneys, O righteous God. Ps. 7:9.

In the same author,

O Jehovah, explore my kidneys and my heart. Ps. 26:2.

In the same author,

O Jehovah, You possess my kidneys. Ps. 139:13.

In John,

I am He who examines closely the kidneys and the heart. Rev. 2:23.

‘Examining the kidneys closely’ and ‘testing them’ mean exploring the truths of faith, and ‘examining the heart closely’ and ‘testing it’ mean exploring forms of the good of love; for ‘the heart’ is the good of love, 3883-3896, 7542, 9050. The fact that the truths of faith are meant by ‘the kidneys’ is plainly evident in David,

O Jehovah, behold, You desire truth in the kidneys. Ps. 51:6.

The reason why more internal truth and the exploration of it is meant by ‘the kidneys’ is that by ‘the ureters and bladder’ which lead away from the kidneys is meant more external truth and the exploration of it, and also correction, 5381-5384.
* i.e. Tears so fill my eyes that I cannot see, I am in torment within.
** lit. shattering

sRef Ex@29 @13 S0′ 10033. Since the present chapter deals with the sacrifice and the burnt offering through which Aaron and his sons were consecrated to the priestly office a little more will be stated regarding the blood and the fat. All the blood of a sacrifice or of a burnt offering had to be poured out at the altar and all the fat had to be burned on the altar, as the statutes and laws in Leviticus relating to burnt offerings and sacrifices make clear. The reason why this was done to the blood and fat was that the blood meant Divine Truth and the fat Divine Good. The fact that the blood meant Divine Truth is clear from what has been shown regarding ‘blood’ in 4735, 6378, 6978, 7317, 7326, 7850, 9127, 9393, and that the fat meant Divine Good is clear from what has been shown in 5943.

sRef Ezek@39 @21 S2′ sRef Ezek@39 @17 S2′ sRef Ezek@39 @18 S2′ sRef Ezek@39 @22 S2′ sRef Ezek@39 @20 S2′ sRef Ezek@39 @19 S2′ [2] That ‘blood’ means Divine Truth is perfectly clear in Ezekiel,

Gather yourselves from all around to My sacrifice which I am sacrificing for you, a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, so that you may eat flesh and drink blood. You will eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth. You will eat fat till you are glutted, and drink blood till you are drunk, from My sacrifice which I will sacrifice for you. You will be glutted at My table with horse, chariot, the mighty, and every man of war. Thus will I set My glory among the nations. Ezek. 39:17-22.

Anyone can see that ‘blood’ is not used to mean blood here, for it states that they were going to drink the blood of the princes of the earth, doing so till they were drunk, and also that they were going to eat fat till they were glutted, and then that they would be glutted with horse and chariot. From these statements it is evident that ‘blood’ is used to mean something other than blood, ‘the princes of the earth’ to mean something other than princes of the earth, and also ‘fat’ as well as ‘horse and chariot’ something other than fat, or horse and chariot. What is meant however none can know except through the internal sense. This shows that ‘blood’ means Divine Truth, ‘the princes of the earth’ the Church’s primary or leading truths, ‘fat’ Divine Good, ‘horse’ the internal sense of the Word, and ‘chariot’ actual doctrinal teachings derived from there.

‘Blood’ means Divine Truth; this is clear from the places referred to above.
‘The princes of the earth’ means primary truths, 5044.
‘The earth’ means the Church, 9325.
‘Horse’ means the internal sense of the Word, 2760-2762.
‘Chariot’ means doctrinal teachings, 5321, 8215.

sRef John@6 @54 S3′ sRef John@6 @53 S3′ sRef John@6 @55 S3′ sRef John@6 @56 S3′ [3] From all this it is now evident what the meaning is of the Lord’s words in John,

Jesus said, Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood you will have no life in yourselves. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is truly food, and My blood is truly drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. John 6:53-56.

‘Flesh’ means Divine Good, see 3813, 7850, 9127; and ‘the Son of Man’ whose flesh they were to eat and blood they were to drink means the Lord in respect of Divine Truth emanating from Divine Good, 9807.

sRef Jer@31 @14 S4′ sRef Isa@55 @2 S4′ sRef Isa@25 @6 S4′ [4] But the fact that ‘fat’ means Divine Good is clear in Isaiah,

Jehovah will make for all peoples on this mountain a feast of fat things. Isa. 25:6.

In the same prophet,

Attend [diligently] to Me and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Isa. 55:2.

And in Jeremiah,

I will fill the soul of the priests with fat, and My people will be satisfied with My goodness. Jer. 31:14.

From these quotations it becomes clear why all the fat of a sacrifice was burned on the altar and why all the blood was poured out at the side of it.

sRef Lev@7 @23 S5′ sRef Lev@17 @14 S5′ sRef Lev@17 @10 S5′ sRef Lev@17 @13 S5′ sRef Lev@17 @12 S5′ sRef Lev@3 @17 S5′ sRef Lev@7 @25 S5′ sRef Lev@17 @11 S5′ [5] Because blood and fat were signs of those Divine Entities the Israelite people were totally forbidden to eat fat or blood, as is clear in Moses,

[This shall be] a perpetual statute throughout your generations: You shall eat no fat and no blood. Lev. 3:17.

In the same author,

You shall eat no fat, neither of ox, nor sheep, nor she-goat. Everyone who eats fat from a beast, from one that is offered as a fire-offering to Jehovah, that soul eating it will be cut off from his peoples. Lev. 7:23, 25.

And again in the same author,

Whoever eats any blood, I will set My face against the soul eating blood and will cut him off from among his people. Lev. 17:10-14; Deut. 12:16, 23-25.

[6] The reason why eating blood and fat was so strictly forbidden was that eating them represented the profanation of Divine Truth and Divine Good. For the Israelite and Jewish nation was interested in outward forms but not their inner substance, so that in their faith and love there was no Divine Truth nor any Divine Good; and their worship was external devoid of these. This was because they were ruled by self-love and love of the world more than other nations; consequently they were steeped in evils gushing out of those loves, these evils being contempt for others, enmity, hatred, vengeance, brutality, and cruelty. This also was the reason why internal truths were not revealed to them, for if these had been revealed that nation would have inevitably profaned them. Such was the character of that nation, as may be seen in the places referred to in 9320(end), 9380. Therefore they would have represented profanation if they had eaten blood and fat; for whatever was established among them was representative of the interior things of the Church and heaven.

[7] From these considerations it is even more evident what the meaning is of the words in Ezekiel 39:17-22, dealt with above, stating that they would eat fat till they were glutted and drink blood, the blood of the princes of the earth, till they were drunk. That is to say, the meaning is that when inner virtues were opened up, those with whom these virtues existed, that is, faith in and love to the Lord, would have Divine Truth and Divine Good imparted to them as their own, as happened among gentile nations when the Lord came into the world. Therefore also those words go on to say, Thus will I set My glory among the nations, ‘glory’ meaning Divine Truth emanating from the Lord as it exists in heaven, 9429, and ‘the nations’ meaning all who are governed by good, 1259, 1260, 1416, 1849, 4574, 6005, 8771, 9256.

sRef John@6 @56 S8′ sRef Matt@26 @27 S8′ sRef Matt@26 @26 S8′ sRef Matt@26 @28 S8′ sRef John@6 @55 S8′ [8] This the Lord Himself corroborates, in His declaration that His flesh was truly food and His blood was truly drink, and whoever ate His flesh and drank His blood would abide in Him, and He in that person, John 6:55, 56, and also in His institution of the Holy Supper, in which they were to eat His flesh and to drink His blood, Matt. 26:26-29, by which receiving Divine Good and Divine Truth from Him and making them their own was meant. Receiving Divine Good and Divine Truth from the Lord and making them their own is possible only with those who acknowledge the Lord’s Divinity, for this is the first and most essential of all matters of belief within the Church. To no others can the way to heaven be opened, because the whole of heaven assents to that belief, and therefore Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good, meant here by ‘blood’, cannot be imparted to them. Therefore let anyone who is within the Church beware of refusing to believe in the Lord and also His Divinity; for heaven is closed and hell opened to that refusal. For those people are separated from the Lord, and so are separated from heaven, where the Lord’s Divinity is the All in all since it composes heaven. And when heaven has been closed, knowledge of the truths of faith derived from the Word and from the teachings of the Church indeed exists, but not a particle of faith that is real faith because real faith comes from above, that is, from the Lord by way of heaven.

[9] The Lord spoke in this manner, that is to say, He called the Divine Good emanating from Himself His flesh, and the Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Good His blood, because the Word, which sprang from Him, was His Divinity filling the whole of heaven. Such a Word must manifest itself through the use of correspondences, as a result of which it is representative and carries a spiritual meaning in every single part; for in this and no other way could it link members of the Church to angels in heaven. For when people in the world understand the Word according to its literal meaning angels understand it according to its inner meaning. Thus instead of the Lord’s flesh they understand Divine Good, and instead of His blood they understand Divine Truth, both emanating from the Lord. As a consequence that which is holy flows in by way of the Word.

sRef Ex@29 @13 S0′ 10034. ‘And you shall burn [them on] the altar’ means springing from the Lord’s Divine Love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘burning’ as springing from Divine Love; and from the representation of ‘the altar’ as that which was representative of the Lord in respect of the Divine Good of Love, dealt with in 9388, 9389, 9714. The reason why springing from Divine Love is meant is that the fire on the altar was the sign of Divine Love, 6832.

sRef Ex@29 @14 S0′ 10035. ‘And the flesh of the young bull’ means the evil of the earlier loves which are present there. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the flesh’ as the good of love and in the contrary sense as the evil of [self] love, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘the young bull’ as the external or natural, dealt with before. In the good sense ‘a young bull’ or ‘a calf’ means a person’s external or natural level in respect of the good of innocence and charity, but in the contrary sense that level in respect of the evil which is the opposite of the good of innocence and charity; for most things that occur in the Word have a contrary meaning as well. The reason why ‘the flesh of the young bull’ here means the evil of the earlier loves which are present in the external or natural man is that ‘flesh’ means the will side of the human mind, thus that which is a person’s own or is his proprium; for what composes the will is his own. And since ‘flesh’ means the will or proprium it also means the good of love or else the evil of [self] love. For the human being has two powers of mind, called the understanding and the will; to the understanding belong truths or falsities but to the will belong forms of good or of evil. Thus to the understanding belong the things which a person believes, and to the will belong those which he loves; for the things that a person loves are felt to be forms of good and those that a person believes are felt to be truths. Falsities furthermore constitute the beliefs, and evils the love, of those steeped in falsities and evils. [2] All this shows what to understand by the proprium, the will side of it, meant by ‘flesh’ in both senses. Furthermore it should be remembered that all the will side of the human proprium is evil, because by himself the human being does not love anything other than self and the world, or if he does love his neighbour it is for a selfish reason. Therefore a person has to be regenerated, and through regeneration must receive a new will. But the will received through regeneration is not the person’s own; it is the Lord’s as it resides with him. When this will is what ‘flesh’ refers to it means the good of love, but when the will which is a person’s own is what ‘flesh’ refers to it means the evil of [self] love. But see what has been shown previously regarding flesh and regarding the proprium:

‘Flesh’ means the Lord’s Proprium, which is Divine Good, and consequently all the good of love present with a person who has been regenerated, 3813, 7850, 9127; and in the contrary sense it means the will side of the human proprium, which consists in the evil of [self] love, 999, 3813, 8409.
The Lord’s Proprium is Divine Good, and consequently the good of love to Him and towards the neighbour, because the Lord’s Proprium is what gives the life of heaven to a person when he is being regenerated, 1023, 1044, 1937, 1947, 3812, 5660, 5786, 8480.
The human proprium is nothing but evil, 210, 215, 694, 874-876, 987, 1047, 3812, 4328, 5660, 5786, 8480, 8497.

The fact that the evil of [self] love is meant by ‘the flesh’ of the young bull here is clear from what comes next in the present verse, namely words stating that the flesh, skin, and dung should be burned with fire outside the camp, because it was a sin [offering]. But as regards what was represented by the flesh of the sacrifice that was to be eaten in a holy place by the priest and by the people, see below in 10040.

sRef Ex@29 @14 S0′ 10036. ‘And its skin’ means falsity on lowest levels. This is clear from the meaning of ‘skin’ as truth on lowest levels, and in the contrary sense as falsity there. The origin of this meaning of ‘skin’ lies in correspondence; for those who in the Grand Man or heaven who correlate with the skin are people who are governed by the truths of faith and not so much by the good which goes with those truths, and who live on the borders of heaven, see 5552-5559. So it is that ‘skin’ means in the abstract sense truth on lowest levels, 3540, 8980. But here falsity on those levels is meant by it, because ‘flesh’ means the evil of [self] love, dealt with immediately above in 10035. When ‘flesh’ means the evil of [self] love its ‘skin’ means the falsity of faith arising from it.

sRef Ex@29 @14 S0′ 10037. ‘And its dung’ means all other unclean things. This is clear from the meaning of ‘dung’ as that which is unclean. ‘Dung’ means that which is unclean, and therefore means evil and falsity since these in the spiritual sense are the unclean things, because all food that has no use or has served its purpose passes away into dung, and food in the spiritual sense is the truth and good of faith and love, 4792, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5576, 5915, 8562, 9003. Therefore also dung and excrement correspond to evils that exist in hell, which in the Word is also called a latrine. Regarding this correspondence, see 954, 2755, 4948, 5394, 5395, 7161.

sRef Isa@4 @3 S2′ sRef Isa@4 @4 S2′ [2] Consequently such things in the Word mean those which are hellish, as may be recognized from the following places: In Isaiah,

He who remains in Zion, and he who is left in Jerusalem, will be called holy, everyone who has been written for life in Jerusalem, when the Lord will have washed the excrement of the daughters of Zion and washed away the blood* of Jerusalem. Isa. 4:3, 4.

‘Zion’ and ‘Jerusalem’ mean the Church, ‘Zion’ the Church among those who are governed by the good of love, and ‘Jerusalem’ the Church among those who are guided by truths springing from that good. ‘Washing the excrement of the daughters of Zion’ means purifying from evils those in the Church who are governed by the good of love, while ‘washing the blood of Jerusalem’ means purifying from falsities of evil those there who are guided by truths.

sRef Jer@8 @1 S3′ sRef Jer@16 @4 S3′ sRef Jer@8 @2 S3′ [3] In Jeremiah,

They will bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and they will spread them out before the sun and the moon, and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served. They will not be gathered nor buried; they will be as dung on the face of the earth. Jer. 8:1, 2.

These words describe the condition of those who rendered the Church’s forms of good and its truths unholy. Their condition at that time was represented by the bringing of the bones out of their tombs. ‘The bones of the kings’ and ‘of the princes’ brought out of their tombs mean truths rendered unholy; ‘the bones of the priests’ and ‘of the prophets’ mean forms of good rendered unholy. ‘Being spread out before the sun and the moon, and all the host of heaven’ means being removed from all goodness and truth; ‘not being gathered and buried’ means not being raised up to life; and ‘being dung on the face of the earth’ means being nothing but that which is hellish. In the same prophet,

They will die by the deaths of grievous illnesses, so that they are not mourned nor buried; they will become dung on the face of the earth. Jer. 16:4; 25:33.

‘Becoming dung on the face of the earth’ has the same meaning as the words used in the previous quotation.

sRef Lam@4 @5 S4′ sRef Mal@2 @3 S4′ sRef Mal@2 @2 S4′ [4] In Lamentations,

Those who ate delicacies are desolate** in the streets; those brought up in purple have embraced dunghills. Lam. 4:5.

‘Those who ate delicacies’ means those who have the Word and consequently have cognitions or knowledge of truth; ‘those brought up in purple’ means those with cognitions of good; and ’embracing dunghills’ means learning and choosing falsities instead of those things. In Malachi,

If you will not hear, and if you will not take it to heart, I will send a curse on you, and spread dung on your faces, the dung of your feasts. Mal. 2:2, 3.

‘Spreading dung on their faces’ means defiling the more internal things of life with the falsities of evil; ‘[spreading] the dung of feasts’ means defiling the holy things of worship.

sRef Ezek@4 @9 S5′ sRef Ezek@4 @10 S5′ sRef Ezek@4 @11 S5′ sRef Ezek@4 @16 S5′ sRef Ezek@4 @12 S5′ sRef Ezek@4 @17 S5′ sRef Ezek@4 @15 S5′ sRef Ezek@4 @14 S5′ sRef Ezek@4 @13 S5′ [5] In Ezekiel,

The prophet was commanded, Make a barley cake with human dung, for thus will the children of Israel eat their bread unclean. But he said, Ah Lord Jehovih! my soul has not been polluted; abominable flesh has not come into my mouth. Then He answered, I give you excrement of the ox instead of dung of the human being, that you may make your bread with it. For I will cause them to be in want of bread and water, and they will be dismayed with one another***, and waste away on account of their iniquity. Ezek. 4:9-17.

These things represented the character of goodness and truth in the Church of the Jewish nation. ‘A barley cake with dung of the human being’ means the Church’s interior good defiled with the evils of self-love; ‘a cake with excrement of the ox’ means the Church’s external good defiled with the evils of that love. sRef Deut@23 @13 S6′ sRef Deut@23 @12 S6′ sRef Deut@23 @14 S6′ [6] Since those things are meant by ‘cake’ it says that they would be in want of bread and water and would be dismayed. ‘Bread and water’ means goodness and truth; ‘being in want of them’ and ‘being dismayed’ means being deprived of [them].

sRef Deut@23 @13 S6′ sRef Deut@23 @12 S6′ sRef Deut@23 @14 S6′ [6] Since such things were meant by dung and excrement it is evident what the following words in Moses mean,

There shall be a space outside the camp, where you may go out, and you shall have a spade**** with which you shall cover your excrement. For Jehovah God will be walking in the midst of your camp, so that your camp may be holy, and so that He may see no indecent thing among you and turn away from you*****. Deut. 23:12-14.

This command was given because uncleanness was represented by dung. For the camp where the children of Israel were living represented heaven and the Church, in which the Lord is present through faith and love. The place outside the camp therefore represented a place where heaven and the Church did not exist, thus where the Lord was not present through faith and love. This is why it says, ‘Jehovah will be walking in the midst of the camp, so that the camp may be holy, and so that He may see no indecent thing and turn away’. ‘Indecent thing’ means uncleanness that results from evils and falsities. The fact that ‘the camp’ there meant heaven and the Church, in which the Lord is present, will be seen in what comes next.
* lit. bloods
** lit. have been laid waste
*** lit. will be desolated by a man and his brother
**** lit. peg or nail
***** lit. may not see in you the nakedness of any thing and turn back from after you

sRef Ex@29 @14 S0′ 10038. ‘You shall burn with fire outside the camp’ means that those things must be banished to hell and be consumed by the evils of self-love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘burning with fire’ as consuming by means of the evils of self-love, for ‘burning’ means consuming or devouring and ‘fire’ the evil of self-love (for these meanings of ‘burning’ and ‘fire’, see 1297, 5071, 5215, 6314, 6832, 7324, 7575, 9141, 9434); and from the meaning of ‘the camp’ as heaven and the Church, and in the contrary sense the place where heaven and the Church do not exist, thus where hell exists, dealt with below. The reason why ‘being burned with fire’ means being consumed by the evils of self-love is that that love consumes every good or truth of faith. Scarcely anyone at the present day knows that self-love does this, nor consequently that this love constitutes hell with a person and that it is what should be understood by hell-fire.

[2] There are two fires of life that exist with a person; one is self-love, the other is love to God. Those in whom self-love predominates cannot be governed by love to God, for those loves are opposites. They are opposites because self-love gives rise to all evils, which are contempt for others in comparison with self, enmity towards those who do not treat oneself favourably, and in the end to hatred, vengeance, brutality, and cruelty; and these evils act in total opposition to Divine influx, consequently annihilate truths and forms of the good of faith and charity, these being the things that flow in from the Lord. Anybody who stops to reflect may know that everyone’s love is the fire of his life – for without love there is no life, and the character of the love determines that of the life – and therefore that self-love gives rise to evils of every kind, doing so in the measure that he has only himself in view, that is, self-love reigns in him. The worst kind of self-love is the love of dominion over others for selfish reasons, that is, the love of possessing dominion solely for the sake of position and gain. Those in whom that love predominates may, it is true, make profession of faith and charity, but they do so with their lips, not with their heart; indeed the worst among them look on the things that belong to faith and charity, thus the holy things of the Church, as means to their own ends. But self-love and all the different types of it, also the evils that gush out of it, and the condition of the selfish in the next life, must in the Lord’s Divine mercy be stated in detail somewhere else. They have been referred to here to enable people to know what ‘being burned with fire outside the camp’ means.

sRef Num@5 @3 S3′ sRef Num@1 @53 S3′ sRef Num@1 @52 S3′ [3] The fact that ‘the camp’ where the children of Israel were encamped represented heaven and the Church, and therefore that ‘outside the camp’ represented the place where heaven and the Church did not exist, thus where hell was, becomes clear from those places in the Word which mention the camp and the encampment of the children of Israel in the wilderness, such as the following in Moses,

The children of Israel shall camp, [every] man by his own camp, and [every] man by his own standard, according to their armies. And the Levites shall camp around the dwelling-place of the Testimony, that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the children of Israel. Num. 1:52, 53; 2:2.

In addition, Num. 2:1-end says that the tribes of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun encamped to the east; the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad to the south; the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin to the west; and the tribes of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali to the north. But the Levites were in the middle of their camps. The like applied when they set out on their journeys, Num. 2:17; 10:1-end. The reason why their encampments were arranged in that kind of order was so that they might represent heaven and the Church, 9320 (end). Moreover the tribes according to which the children of Israel set up their camps represented all the forms of good and all the truths in their entirety that belonged to heaven and the Church, 3858, 3926, 3939, 4060, 6335, 6337, 6397, 6640, 7836, 7891, 7996, 7997. This explains why it says that Jehovah dwells in the middle of the camps, Num. 5:3, and that He walks in the middle of them and they will therefore be holy, Deut. 23:14, and why, in the prophecy uttered by Balaam, when he saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes, he said, How good are your tabernacles, O Jacob, and your dwelling-places, O Israel! Num. 24:2, 3, 5.

sRef Num@24 @3 S4′ sRef Num@24 @5 S4′ sRef Num@5 @2 S4′ sRef Num@24 @2 S4′ sRef Deut@23 @14 S4′ sRef Lev@24 @14 S4′ sRef Num@5 @3 S4′ [4] Since heaven and the Church was represented by the camp it follows that ‘outside the camp’ meant the place where neither heaven nor the Church existed, thus where hell was. That is why everyone who was unclean and also anyone who was guilty was sent out there, as may be recognized from the following,

You shall send out of the camp everyone who is leprous, and everyone suffering a discharge, and everyone unclean on account of a soul*. Whether they are male or female** you shall send them outside the camp, so that they may not defile the camps, in the middle of which Jehovah dwells. Num. 5:2, 3; Lev. 13:45, 46.
A man who is not clean by reason of an accident in the night shall go outside the camp and not come into the middle of the camp. When he has washed himself with water and the sun has set he shall enter the camp. There shall be a space for you outside the camp where you may go out, and you shall cover your excrement by means of a spade***, since Jehovah walks in the middle of the camp. Therefore the camp shall be holy. Deut. 23:10-14.

And the stoning of people was done outside the camp, Lev. 24:14; Num. 15:35, 36.
From all this it is now clear that ‘you shall burn with fire the flesh, skin, and dung of the young bull, outside the camp’ means that evils, meant by these things, must be banished to hell.

sRef Deut@23 @13 S5′ sRef Deut@23 @14 S5′ sRef Deut@23 @11 S5′ sRef Deut@23 @10 S5′ sRef Deut@23 @12 S5′ [5] The same thing as was represented by the camp and the area outside it was also represented by the land of Canaan and the lands around it after that land had been divided up as inheritances among the children of Israel. This is why in the Word ‘the land of Canaan’ or simply ‘the land’ means heaven and the Church, and ‘the children of Israel’ those who are in heaven and the Church. For the meaning of ‘the land’ as heaven and the Church, see the places referred to in 9325; and for that of ‘the children of Israel’ as those who are there, 9340.
* i.e. unclean through contact with a dead body
** lit. From male even to female
*** lit. peg or nail

sRef Ex@29 @14 S0′ 10039. ‘It is a sin [offering]’ means that which has been purified in this manner from evils and falsities. This is clear from the meaning of ‘sin’, when this word is used to mean a sacrifice, as purification from evils and falsities. For in the original language, when sacrifices are the subject, sin is used to mean a sacrifice for sin; and by sacrifice purification from evils and falsities is meant, 9990, 9991. The fact that in the Word a sacrifice for sin is called a sin [offering], see Lev. 4:3, 8, 14, 20, 21, 24, 25, 29, 33, 34; 5:6, 8, 9; 6:17, 25, 26, 30, and elsewhere.

sRef Ex@29 @14 S0′ sRef Deut@12 @23 S1′ 10040. Since the flesh of the young bull together with its skin and dung was burned with fire outside the camp, it becomes clear that the good of love was not meant by its ‘flesh’ but the evil of [self] love, as accords with the things stated above in 10035 regarding its ‘flesh’, and in 10038 just above regarding ‘the camp’. But the reason why they were allowed to eat the flesh of the sacrifice, as becomes clear from places which come further on, was that in its worship that nation was interested in the outward performance but not in anything internal, see the places referred to in 9320(end), 9380. And an outward performance devoid of anything internal is not at all holy because then it is something done merely by the body and spoken by the mouth, and the heart and soul are not in it. Nevertheless the outward performance devoid of anything internal was called holy because it represented holy and internal things, these being everything that belongs to love and faith received from the Lord and offered back to Him. Since that nation was by nature such they were not permitted to eat blood and fat, because ‘blood’ meant Divine Truth which composes faith, while ‘fat’ meant Divine Good which constitutes love, both of which are received from the Lord, see above in 10033. But they were permitted to eat the flesh of a sacrifice because this flesh meant the human proprium or selfhood, 10035; and the proprium of that nation was such that they worshipped the outward forms as being holy but made nothing whatever of their inward substance. And that worship – apart from the representative aspect of it, which was holy – was idolatrous, see 4281, 4311. Furthermore that flesh, as a representative sign, had no other meaning, when its blood represented Divine Truth and its fat Divine Good, 10033; for then that flesh represented something which was devoid of life and soul, as the outward devoid of the inward is, which is referred to as being dead and which is in keeping with the following words in Moses,

You shall not eat the blood, because the blood is the soul; and you shall not eat the soul with the flesh. Deut. 12:23.

[2] The worship of the nation of the catholic religion, as it is called*, is almost the same; that is to say, its worship is outward, devoid of anything inward. The common people are prevented from knowing the inner truths of the Word, because they are forbidden to read it, for which reason also it has come about in the Lord’s Divine Providence that in the Holy Supper the common people are given the bread or flesh, but not the wine or blood. And yet blood is that which gives life to flesh, even as wine gives it to bread. For just as the bread without the wine provides no nourishment to the body, neither therefore does the good of love, meant by the bread and the flesh, without the truth of faith, meant by the wine and the blood, provide any nourishment to the soul. In the Lord’s Divine Providence it has also come about there that the priest should drink the wine, because by this is meant nourishing the soul by means of Divine Truth devoid of the good of love, which is something outwardly holy devoid of anything inwardly so. They have no knowledge that this has happened in the Lord’s Divine Providence because they venerate outward things in an idolatrous manner and so have no idea about inward things. If it had been otherwise, then not unlike the Jews they would have profaned holy things. That drinking of the wine by the priest alone is also a sign that knowledge of Divine Truth resides with priests alone and not with the common people, except so far as they are willing to give them it. Regarding the Holy Supper, that the bread and flesh in it are the Divine Good of the Lord’s Divine Love towards the human race, and people’s love offered back to the Lord, and that the blood and wine are the Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good, and so the truth of faith received from the Lord and offered back to Him, see 3464, 3813, 4211, 4217, 4735, 4976, 6135, 6377, 6789, 7850, 9127.
As regards when it was that the flesh of sacrifices should be taken outside the camp to be burned with fire, see Lev. 4:11, 12, 21; and when it was, and by whom, that it should be eaten, Lev. 6:26-30; 7:6, 15-19; 19:5, 6; Deut. 12:7, 17, 18, 27; 27:6, 7.
* i.e. Roman Catholicism is seen to be a single nation whose secular as well as spiritual head is the Pope.

sRef Ex@29 @16 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @18 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @15 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @17 S0′ 10041. Verses 15-18 And you shall take one ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the ram’s head. And you shall slaughter the ram, and take its blood and sprinkle it over the altar round about. And you shall cut the ram into its pieces, and wash its intestines and its legs, and put them on top of its pieces and of its head. And you shall burn the whole ram on the altar*. It is a burnt offering to Jehovah; it is an odour of rest, a fire offering to Jehovah.

‘And you shall take one ram’ means the good of innocence in the internal man. ‘And Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands’ means the transmission of power … ‘On the ram’s head’ means, to the whole of it. ‘And you shall slaughter the ram’ means preparation for purification of the internal man. ‘And take the blood’ means Divine Truth. ‘And sprinkle it over the altar round about’ means a joining to Divine Good. ‘And you shall cut the ram into pieces’ means that the interior things must be arranged into order, distinct from one another. ‘And wash the intestines’ means purification of the lowest things. ‘And its legs’ means purification of the more external things belonging to the natural man. ‘And put them on top of its pieces and of its head’ means the arrangement into order of the more external things under the interior and under the inmost ones. ‘And you shall burn the whole ram on the altar’ means the internal of the Lord’s Divine Human united to the Divine Good of His Divine Love, which was within Him. ‘It is a burnt offering to Jehovah’ means the glorification of the Lord’s Human. ‘It is an odour of rest’ means the perception of peace. ‘A fire offering to Jehovah’ means all things springing from Divine Love.
* lit. you shall burn with the whole ram the altar

sRef Ex@29 @15 S0′ 10042. ‘And you shall take one ram’ means the good of innocence in the internal man. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a ram’ as the good of innocence and charity in the internal man, dealt with below. Since sacrifices and burnt offerings of rams and lambs are referred to in this chapter, the general meaning of the living creatures offered in sacrifices and burnt offerings must be stated. Those creatures were oxen, young bulls, and he-goats; rams, she-goats, and he-kids; and he-lambs, she-lambs, and she-kids of she-goats. Anyone who does not know what these creatures serve to mean cannot possibly know what is meant by a sacrifice or burnt offering of any of them in particular. It should be recognized that all living creatures on earth serve to mean things such as reside in the human being, which in general consist in affections present in his will and in thoughts present in his understanding, and so consist in forms of good and in truths; for forms of good belong to the will and truths to the understanding. And since those things consist in forms of good and in truths they also consist in love and faith; for all aspects of love are called forms of good, and all matters of faith are called truths.

[2] The reason why these different kinds of living creatures serve to mean such things lies in representatives in the next life, where creatures belonging to many genera and countless species appear. Such creatures there are wholly lifelike appearances corresponding to spirits’ and angels’ affections and thoughts. The truth of this is evident also from the visions of the prophets spoken of in places throughout the Word; for all the things that were seen by the prophets are such as appear in heaven before angels’ eyes. This explains why mention in the Word is so often made of beasts or animals, each of which serves to mean something belonging to one of the categories of things residing in the human being. As to his outward self the human being is no more than an animal; but his inward self makes him different. By means of his inward self both this inward self and his outward self can be raised towards heaven and up to God, and can as a consequence receive faith and love. This is why animals were used in sacrifices and burnt offerings. The person who knows nothing of all this cannot possibly know the reason why it was commanded to offer young bulls, rams, or he-lambs on one occasion, oxen, she-goats, and she-lambs on another, and he-goats, he-kids, and she-kids of she-goats on yet another. What other reason could there be for these differences? For the meaning of animals or beasts in the Word as forms of good or evils present with a person, and also truths or falsities, see 142, 143, 246, 714, 715, 776, 1823, 2179, 2180, 2781, 3218, 3519, 5198, 7523, 7872, 9090; and for their use in sacrifices on account of that meaning, 1823, 2180, 2805, 2807, 2830.

[3] So far however as sacrifices and burnt offerings of those creatures are concerned it should be recognized that,

1 Representative worship among the Jewish and Israelite nation consisted first and foremost in sacrifices and burnt offerings.
2 Sacrifices and burnt offerings in general served to mean the regeneration of a person by means of the truths of faith and forms of the good of love received from the Lord, and in the highest sense the glorification of the Lord’s Human.
3 Everything belonging to worship – all the different things constituting it, thus worship in all its variety – was represented by the sacrifices and burnt offerings; and this is why it was decreed that different kinds of living creatures should be used.

[4] But to deal with these considerations in detail,

1 Representative worship among the Jewish and Israelite nation consisted first and foremost in sacrifices and burnt offerings
This is clear from the fact that they were used for every sin and all guilt, and also for every consecration and admission to office, besides being used daily, on every sabbath, at each new moon, and at every feast; and for this reason the altar was the holiest object of all. Every other act of worship among that nation grew out of an occasion for sacrifice, which explains why it says in Daniel, when the abolition of representative worship is the subject, that the sacrifice and the offering will cease, Dan. 9:27, and the continual [sacrifice] will be removed, Dan. 8:10-13; 11:31; 12:11. In particular ‘the continual’ means the sacrifice that was offered daily, and in general all worship. But see what has been shown already on these matters,

Sacrifices in general mean all representative worship, 923, 2165, 6905, 8680, 8936.
The altar was the chief representative of the Lord and consequently of worship, 2777, 2811, 8935, 8940, 9388, 9389, 9714, 9964.
The ancients before Eber knew nothing about sacrifices, 2180.
Sacrifices were established in Eber’s time, existing from then on among the Hebrew nation, and consequently among the descendants of Jacob, and why they did so, 1128, 1343, 2180, 2818.
Sacrifices were not commanded, only permitted, 2180.

[5] 2 Sacrifices and burnt offerings in general served to mean the regeneration of a person by means of the truths of faith in the Lord and forms of the good of love to Him, both received from the Lord

This is clear from the fact that all aspects of worship have regard to purification from evils and falsities, the implantation of truth and good, and the joining together of these, thus to regeneration since by means of those three a person is regenerated. This explains why sacrifices and burnt offerings were offered for every sin and all guilt; and it says, when they were offered, that it was expiated and would be pardoned, Lev. 4:20, 26, 31, 35; 5:6, 10, 13, 18; 6:7; 7:7; 10:17; 14:18, 19; 15:30, 31; 16:6, 24; 17:11. The pardoning of sins, expiation, propitiation, and redemption are nothing other than purification from evils and falsities, the implantation of goodness and truth, and the joining together of these, which is regeneration, 9076, 9452-9454, 9937, 9938. The whole process of regeneration is also described by the specific observances belonging to each sacrifice and burnt offering, and a clear view of that process emerges when the internal sense is used to unfold the representative elements of it, 10022.

[6] In the highest sense sacrifices and burnt offerings serve to mean the glorification of the Lord’s Human

This is so because all the ritual observances belonging to worship that were established among the Israelite and Jewish nation had regard solely to the Lord; thus more than all else the sacrifices and burnt offerings – by which in general everything belonging to worship was represented, as shown above – had regard to Him. Furthermore the only source of human regeneration is the Lord, 9486, 9487, 9506, 9715, 9809, 10019. When therefore the Word deals with human regeneration the subject in the highest sense is the glorification of the Lord’s Human; for the regeneration of a person is an image of the glorification of the Lord, 3138, 3212, 3296, 3490, 4402, 5688. Glorifying His Human implies making it Divine, whereas regenerating a person implies making him heavenly, in order that what is Divine and the Lord’s may dwell in him.

[7] 3 Everything belonging to worship – all the different things constituting it, thus worship in all its variety – was represented by the sacrifices and burnt offerings; and this is why it was decreed that different kinds of living creatures should be used

This is clear from all the different situations for which sacrifices and burnt offerings were prescribed – for sins committed through error, and for sins not committed through error; for every trespass and uncleanness, whether on the part of a priest, the whole congregation, a leader, or any ordinary person*; for cleansing from leprosy; for purification after childbirth; for consecration of the altar, the tent of meeting, and everything in it; for the cleansing of these when Aaron went once a year into the holy of holies; for the admission of Aaron and his sons to the priestly office; for the consecration of Nazirites; and in general at the three feasts, at each new moon, on the sabbaths, and morning and evening** every day; and in addition votive offerings and free-will offerings.

[8] Since sacrifices and burnt offerings were prescribed for so many different situations and they represented all the different things constituting worship, it was also decreed that different kinds of creatures should be used – young bulls, oxen, and he-goats; rams, she-goats, and he-kids; and he-lambs, she-lambs, and she-kids of she-goats. Sacrifices and burnt offerings of young bull, ox, and he-goat represented the purification and regeneration of the external or natural man; those of ram, she-goat, and he-kid represented the purification and regeneration of the internal or spiritual man; and those of he-lamb, she-lamb, and she-kid of the she-goats represented the purification and regeneration of the inmost or celestial man. For there are three degrees that follow in order in a person, namely celestial, spiritual, and natural, see 9992, 10005, 10017; and if a person is to be regenerated the things that are internal and those that are external must be regenerated, see the places referred to in 9325(end).

sRef Isa@60 @7 S9′ [9] But what is meant specifically by the sacrifice and burnt offering of a ram that are referred to in the present chapter is clear from places in the Word where sacrifices and burnt offerings of rams are described or where a ram is mentioned. From those places it is evident that ‘a ram’ means the good of innocence and charity in the internal man, and that a sacrifice and burnt offering of it mean purification and regeneration of the internal man, and so the implantation of the good of innocence and charity there. This meaning of ‘a ram’ is clear from the following places: In Isaiah,

All the flocks of Arabia will be gathered to you, the rams of Nebaioth will minister to you; they will come up with acceptance on My altar. Isa. 60:7.

This refers to the Lord, and to heaven and His Church. ‘The flocks of Arabia’ are all the forms of good belonging to the internal man, ‘the rams of Nebaioth’ are the forms of the good of innocence and charity there, ‘flocks’ being forms of good that belong to the internal man, see 8937, 9135, ‘Arabia’ a place where good exists, 3268, and ‘Nebaioth’ those there who are governed by that good, 3268, 3686, 3688.

sRef Ezek@27 @21 S10′ [10] In Ezekiel,

Arabia and all the princes of Kedar, [these were] the merchants of your hand through [the trading of] small cattle, and rams, and he-goats. Ezek. 27:21.

This refers to Tyre, by which is meant the Church where cognitions or knowledge of good and truth exist, 1201. ‘The merchants’ are those who possess them and pass them on, 2967, 4453; ‘cattle’ are forms of the good of love, ‘rams’ forms of the good of charity, and ‘he-goats’ forms of the good of faith. In the Word reference is made to ‘flocks’, ‘small cattle’***, and ‘members of the flock’, for which the original language has distinct and separate terms. By ‘flocks’ internal things in general are meant, by ‘members of the flock’ the same things in particular, and by ‘small cattle’ inmost things in particular. But by ‘herds’ external things are meant. In Jeremiah,

I will cause them to come down like small cattle to the slaughter, like rams with he-goats. Jer. 51:40.

‘Small cattle’, ‘rams’, and ‘he-goats’ here have much the same meaning.

sRef Ezek@34 @17 S11′ [11] In Ezekiel,

Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Behold, I am judging between members of the flock and members of the flock****, between rams, and between he-goats. Ezek. 34:17.

‘Between members of the flock and members of the flock’ stands for between those with whom interior things of good and of evil are present. ‘Between rams and between he-goats’ stands for between those with whom charity and consequently faith are present and those with whom truths of faith without charity are present. ‘Rams’ here have the same meaning as ‘sheep’, rams being male sheep. For the meaning of ‘sheep’ as those with whom charity and consequently faith are present, see 4169, 4809; and for that of ‘he-goats’ as those with whom truths that are called the truths of faith are present but without charity, 4169(end), 4769. The ram and the he-goat in Daniel 8:1-end have the same meaning, as do the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25:32-end.

sRef Lev@5 @15 S12′ sRef Lev@6 @6 S12′ sRef Lev@5 @18 S12′ sRef Num@28 @19 S12′ sRef Num@28 @11 S12′ sRef Num@28 @27 S12′ sRef Num@28 @15 S12′ sRef Num@28 @22 S12′ [12] In Moses,

If a soul has sinned through error he shall bring his guilt offering to Jehovah, a ram without blemish out of the flock. Lev. 5:15, 18; 6:6.

By sacrifices of rams is meant purification of the internal man and the implantation of the good of innocence there; for sin committed through error is sin owing to ignorance that has innocence within it, and the innocence of ignorance belongs to the internal man.

[13] In the same author,

At new moons they were to offer two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs, and afterwards a he-goat of the she-goats. The same thing was to be done every day during Passover, and also on the day of the firstfruits. Num. 28:11, 15, 19, 22, 27,[30.]

All this was done in order that the purification of the whole person – the external, the internal, and the inmost – might be represented. The purification of the external man was represented by the sacrifice and burnt offering of the young bulls, of the internal by those of the ram, and of the inmost by those of the lambs. And since purification was represented, so too was the implantation of the good of innocence; for a young bull is the good of innocence in the external man, a ram that good in the internal man, and a lamb that good in the inmost man, as has been stated above. The reason why the last of the creatures was a he-goat was that ‘a he-goat’ means the truth of faith in the external man, and the truth of faith there is last and lowest, 9959. Since the forms of good and the truths present with a person follow one another in this order, therefore also the gifts of the princes of Israel when the altar and the tent of meeting were anointed were a young bull, a ram, and a lamb for burnt offerings, and a he-goat of the she-goats for a sacrifice, Num. 7:15-17, 21-23, 27-29, 33ff.
From all this it may now be recognized that ‘a ram’ means the good of innocence and charity in the internal man.
* lit. any soul
** lit. between the evenings
*** The expression small cattle describes animals belonging to a flock.
**** i.e. between good ones and bad ones

sRef Ex@29 @15 S0′ 10043. ‘And Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands’ means the transmission of power … This is clear from the meaning of ‘laying hands on’ as the transmission of power, dealt with above in 10023.

sRef Ex@29 @15 S0′ sRef Lev@6 @2 S1′ 10044. ‘On the ram’s head’ means, to the whole of it. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the head’ as the whole person, thus the whole [of the good of innocence in the internal man], dealt with in 10011. The reason why ‘the head’ means the whole is that it is highest and holds the inmost part of a person within it; and what is highest is the fountainhead of everything below it, just as what is inmost is the hub of everything outside it. For what lies outside or below is dependent on that which is inmost or highest. What is inmost in the human being is his will and understanding; these have their beginnings in the head. What flows from these inner powers is activity, that is, effects which they generate in the body. When therefore will and understanding are mentioned the whole person should be understood, for it is by virtue of these that a person is a person. The actions performed by the body also owe their entire nature to the will; and this is why a person is not regarded from the point of view of bodily actions or deeds but from that of the will within them. This being so, soul is used in the Word to mean the whole person, and a person is called a soul, as in Lev. 4:27; 5:1, 4, 17; 6:2; 17:10, 15, and elsewhere.

[2] There are two things that mean the whole, namely the highest and the lowest. The reason why the lowest or last also has this meaning is that all interior things, beginning with the first or highest, terminate in those that are lowest and exist together there, see 9828, 9836. So it is that the highest by means of the lowest holds all the interior or intermediate things in connection and form, in order that they may all have the same end in view, 9828. The fact that the lowest also means the whole is clear from very many places in the Word, such as those which speak of the whole person as ‘flesh’, for example, Gen. 6:12; Num. 16:22; 27:16; Isa. 40:5; Zech. 2:13, and elsewhere.

sRef Matt@10 @30 S3′ sRef Isa@7 @20 S3′ sRef Luke@21 @18 S3′ [3] Since the last things also mean all or the whole, the hair on the head, hair on the body, and the beard, which are last or outermost things growing out of a person’s body, are used to mean those things, as also are the feet, or rather the toes on them, and the fingers on the hands. The fact that the hair on the head, hair on the body, and the beard have this meaning is clear in Isaiah,

On that day the Lord will shave with a razor – by means of the king of Asshur – the head, the hair of the feet, and also the beard. Isa. 7:20.

‘The king of Asshur’ means reasoning, the kind that is used by people to destroy Divine things, 1186. ‘Shaving the head, the hair of the feet, and the beard’ means taking lowest things away, for when these have been taken away those within fall apart and perish. This also was why a priest was forbidden to shave his head, Lev. 21:10, as was a Nazirite, whose hair according to Num. 6[:7} was called the Naziriteship of God, 6437, 9407, and is what ‘the crown of the head of the Nazirite among [his] brothers’, Gen. 49:25, 26; Deut. 33:16, should be taken to mean. Therefore also it says in Matt. 10:30 that the hairs of one’s head are all numbered, meaning that every single thing in a person is so ‘numbered’, and in Luke 21:18 that not a hair on one’s head will perish.

sRef John@13 @10 S4′ sRef John@13 @9 S4′ sRef Ex@29 @20 S4′ [4] The fact that the feet, the toes on them, and the fingers on the hands mean all things and so the whole is clear in John,

Peter said, Lord, You shall not wash my feet only, but also my hands and head. Jesus said to him, He who has been washed has no need except to wash his feet, and the whole person is clean. John 13:9, 10.

‘Feet’ are the natural, which is last, 2162, 3147, 4938-4952, 9406. And in the following words of the present chapter,

You shall put some of the ram’s blood on the tip of Aaron’s ear, and on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot. Verse 20.

That is, it was to be put on every single thing, meant by ‘ear’, ‘hand’, and ‘foot’.

sRef Rev@1 @8 S5′ [5] Since highest and lowest, or what amounts to the same thing, first and last, equally mean every single thing, or the whole with all its parts, the Lord’s Omnipotence and Omniscience is described by the words stating that He is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega, Rev. 1:8; 21:6; 22:13; Isa. 41:4.

sRef Rev@2 @8 S6′ sRef Isa@44 @6 S6′ sRef Isa@48 @13 S6′ sRef Isa@48 @12 S6′ [6] The situation in which all things are held in connection and stand together, from that which is first or highest through to those that are last or lowest, is described in the following words in Isaiah,

I am the First and I am the Last, indeed My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and My right hand measured out heaven. I am summoning them; they stand together. Isa. 48:12, 13.

Jehovah’s or the Lord’s ‘hand’ and ‘right hand’ mean His almighty power, ‘the earth’ which He laid the foundation of is that which is last, ‘heaven’ which He stretched out is that which is between the first and the last, ‘summoning them, that they may stand together’ is holding all the interior things in connection and in form by means of what is last, that they may have a single end in view. This single end to be held in view is He who is the First and the Last. That this is the Lord is clear in Isaiah,

Thus said Jehovah, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, I am the First and I am the Last. Isa. 44:6.

‘The King of Israel’ is the Lord, John 18:37, and so, as is self-evident, is ‘his Redeemer’. And in the Book of Revelation,

These things says the First and the Last, who was dead and came to life. Rev. 2:8.

[7] The truth that what is first holds all things in connection by means of what is last may be recognized from the Word and from humanness. In the case of the Word its last and lowest things are its literal sense; that which is first and highest is the Lord; and the interior things within it are its internal sense, which the heavens perceive and which causes those who are there to have the same end in view, namely the Lord. Regarding this arcanum, see 9360, 9824.

sRef Isa@48 @13 S8′ sRef Isa@48 @12 S8′ [8] As to humanness, this as it exists in the things that are last is the Church on earth; as it exists in that which is first it is the Lord; and as it exists in the interior things it is heaven. For in the Lord’s sight the Church and heaven are like one human being; therefore heaven is called the Grand Man, which has been the subject at the ends of a number of chapters, see the places referred to in 10030 (end). There is an unbroken connection, and an influx in keeping with that connection, of all things from the Lord through the heavens to the Church on earth. By the heavens the angels who are there should be understood; by the Church people who are true members of the Church; and by humanness as it exists in that which is first the Lord in respect of His Divine Human. The truth that what is first by means of what is last holds all things in connection and makes them stand as one is meant by the Lord’s words in Isaiah quoted above,

I am the First and I am the Last, indeed My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and My right hand measured out heaven. I summoning them, they stand together. Isa. 48:12, 13.

The fact that ‘the earth’ is used in the Word to mean the Church has also been shown on many occasions, see the places referred to in 9325.

[9] An idea of this matter may be had from what is last or outermost with a person and what is inmost. His outermost is the skin, his inmost the heart, while the things in between or his interiors are the organs of the body. From the heart all the way to the skin by way of the organs there is an unbroken connection through blood vessels; for these emanate from the heart and end in the skin. The skin is self-evidently the last or outermost part holding the interior things in connection, for when the skin has been taken away the interiors fall apart.

sRef Luke@24 @39 S10′ sRef Luke@24 @37 S10′ [10] From all this it may be seen why it is that just as what is highest or inmost means every single thing, so too does what is lowest or last. Also evident from it all is the arcanum of why the Lord also glorified His Human right down to its last and lowest levels, called the bones and flesh, which explains why the Lord told His disciples, who thought that they were seeing a spirit,

See My hands and My feet, that it is I; handle Me and see; for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see Me having. Luke 24:37, 39.

It is well recognized that Divinity itself was the First in Him, for He was conceived from Jehovah, and what is conceived from the father is pre-eminently first in a person. The truth that the Lord also glorified the last and lowest levels of His Human in which they co-exist is evident from His words recorded in those verses, and also from the fact that He left nothing of His Human in the tomb. It is true of spiritual things as well that interior things terminate and come to rest in last and lowest ones in which they co-exist, and that the last hold the interior ones in connection, see 9216, 9828. Therefore the lowest things have might and power within them, 9836, and for the same reason have holiness within them, 9824; and revelations are made and answers are given in them, 9905.

sRef Ex@29 @16 S0′ 10045. ‘And you shall slaughter the ram’ means preparation for purification of the internal man. This is clear from the meaning of ‘slaughtering’, when the subject is a sacrifice or a burnt offering, as preparation for purification, dealt with in 10024; and from the meaning of ‘the ram’ as in respect of the internal man, dealt with above in 10042.

sRef Ex@29 @16 S0′ 10046. ‘And take the blood’ means Divine Truth, dealt with in 10026, 10033. Regarding all purification from evils and falsities, and all regeneration, that they are accomplished by Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, see the places referred to in 9959.

sRef Ex@29 @16 S0′ 10047. ‘And sprinkle it over the altar round about’ means a joining to Divine Good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the blood’, which was to be sprinkled over the altar round about, as Divine Truth, dealt with in 10026, 10033; and from the representation of ‘the altar’ as that which was representative of the Lord in respect of Divine Good, dealt with in 9388, 9389, 9714, 9964. From this it is evident that ‘sprinkling the blood over the altar round about’ means uniting Divine Truth to Divine Good within the Lord.

[2] The situation here is this: As has been stated above, the subject in the present chapter is the glorification of the Lord’s Human, and in the representative sense the regeneration of a person by the Lord. As regards the glorification of the Lord’s Human, this was accomplished by the uniting of Divine Truth to Divine Good. Divine Good, which is Jehovah, was within the Lord, as the soul from the father is within a person; for He had been conceived from Jehovah. He made His Human Divine Truth by Divine means, in particular by conflicts brought by temptations; and to the extent that He united Divine Truth to Divine Good He glorified His Human, that is, made it Divine. This uniting is what sprinkling the blood round about the altar means in the highest sense.

When in the world the Lord made His Human Divine Truth and united it to the Divine Good that was within Him, and in so doing He glorified His Human, see the places referred to in 9199 (end), 9315 (end).
Jehovah His Father means the Divine Good that was within Him, see the places referred to in 9194.

[3] Even as the Lord glorified His Human, so also He regenerates a person. For in the case of a person the Lord flows in with good by way of the soul, which is an inward path, and with truth by way of hearing and sight, which is an outward path. And to the extent that the person refrains from evils the Lord joins good to truth. The good then becomes the good of charity towards the neighbour and of love to God, while the truth becomes the truth of faith. In this way the Lord creates a new person or regenerates him, for the regeneration of a person, as stated above, is accomplished by purification from evils and falsities, the implantation of good and truth, and the joining together of them. The regeneration of a person, and in the highest sense the glorification of the Lord’s Human, are what were represented by sacrifices and burnt offerings, 10022.

[4] It should be remembered that in burnt offerings the blood was sprinkled over the altar round about, as was likewise done in eucharistic or thanksgiving sacrifices, but that in sacrifices for guilt and for sin the blood was sprinkled at the base of the altar. Sprinkling the blood over the altar round about represented the total uniting of Divine Truth and Divine Good both in the internal man and in the external man, whereas sprinkling the blood at the base of the altar represented the uniting of Divine Truth and Divine Good solely in the external man. sRef John@13 @10 S5′ sRef John@13 @9 S5′ [5] With those who have been regenerated a joining together takes place in the external man, according to the Lord’s words in John,

He who has been washed has no need except to wash his feet, and the whole person is clean. John 13:9, 10.

‘Washing’ means purification and regeneration, 3147, 9088, so that ‘he who has been washed’ means one who has been purified and regenerated; and by ‘feet’ the natural or external level in a person is meant, 2162, 3147, 4938-4952, 9406.

In burnt offerings the blood was sprinkled over the altar round about, Lev. 1:5:11, and also in eucharistic sacrifices, Lev. 3:2, 8, 13. In sacrifices for guilt and sin the blood was sprinkled at the base of the altar, Lev. 4:7, 18, 25, 30, 34; 5:9.

sRef Ex@29 @17 S0′ 10048. ‘And you shall cut the ram into pieces’ means that the interior things must be arranged into order, distinct from one another. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the ram’ as the good of innocence and charity in the internal man, dealt with in 10042, at this point preparation for the internal man’s purification, meant by the burnt offering of the ram; and from the meaning of ‘cutting into pieces’ as the arrangement of the interiors there into order. The reason why preparation for the arrangement of the interiors into order is meant by ‘cutting into pieces, members, and parts’ is that the arranging of them is described by the requirement to put the intestines and legs on top of the pieces and of the head. By ‘the intestines’ are meant the lowest things, which are called the outward things of the senses, and by ‘the legs’ those immediately above, which are called natural things, so that by ‘the pieces’, which were higher still, interior things are meant, and by ‘the head’ inmost ones.* The fact that the intestines, legs, and head mean those things will be clear from what follows below; and the fact that the organs and members of the human being mean such things arranged in order may be seen above in 10030.

[2] Since sacrifices and burnt offerings serve in the representative sense to mean the regeneration of a person, something brief must be stated about the nature of the arranging into order which takes place during regeneration. With those who are being regenerated interiors and exteriors are being arranged into order by the Lord for the purpose of all subsequent states, so much so that things in the present entail those in the future, as do things in the future when they become those in the present, and so on forever. For the Lord foresees all things and provides all things, and His Foresight and Providence looks to eternity, and so is everlasting; for the Divine nature, which He alone possesses, is in itself infinite, and what is infinite in duration is everlasting. Consequently whatever the Lord arranges into order is everlasting. This is what happens to those whom the Lord is regenerating; the regeneration of a person begins in the world and carries on forever, for when a person becomes an angel he is always being made more perfect. In the human being there are outward things, inward things, and inmost ones. All these are arranged into order simultaneously and in successive stages for the purpose of the things to be received in the subsequent states following on forever. But in what order the regeneration of outward, inner, and inmost things takes place, and the reverse, will in the Lord’s Divine mercy be stated in what follows.
* For the reason why the parts on top mean lower things, see 10051.

sRef Ex@29 @17 S0′ sRef John@3 @8 S0′ 10049. ‘And wash the intestines’ means purification of the lowest things. This is clear from the meaning of ‘washing’ as purifying, dealt with in 3147, 5954(end), 9088 (the purification that was represented by washing is a purification from evils and falsities, for these are what dirt is in the spiritual sense); and from the meaning of ‘the intestines’ as lowest things, dealt with above in 10030. The reason why it says that the intestines and legs had to be washed is that lowest things and natural things are meant by them, and lowest and natural things are sullied by evils and falsities, more so than interior ones. For they are based in the world, and the things of the senses – the lowest of all – stand exposed to the world and are therefore in direct receipt of influences from the world. Those influences enter them as the delights of self-love and love of the world, along with the delights of the senses and the illusions of the senses. But this is not so with interior things, for these are not based in the world but in heaven. Furthermore the things of the world cannot pass into those of heaven, for there is no such thing as physical influx; but the things of heaven can pass into those of the world present with a person. Therefore as soon as the external man wishes to enter the internal, which is done by means of reasonings that are products of self-love and love of the world, and products of the illusions of the senses, the internal man is closed; the Lord sees to this. Therefore when a person is being regenerated the purification of the internal man is effected in heaven by the Lord, with the consequence that while in the world the person does not see what is being accomplished in his internal man. These things are the ones that should be understood by the Lord’s words in John,

The spirit breathes where it wishes, and you hear its voice; but you do not know where it comes from and where it goes away to. So is everyone who is born from the spirit. John 3:8.

‘The spirit’ is the life of charity through faith.

sRef Ex@29 @17 S0′ 10050. ‘And its legs’ means purification of the more external things belonging to the natural man. This is clear from the meaning of ‘washing the legs’ as purification of the natural man (for the meaning of ‘washing’ as purifying, see immediately above in 10049); and from the meaning of ‘the legs’ as the more external things belonging to the natural man. The reason why these things are meant by ‘the legs’ is that one must at the same time understand the feet, since an animal’s four legs are closely connected to its feet, and ‘the feet’ by virtue of their correspondence mean the natural or external level in a person, see 2162, 3147, 3761, 4938-4952.

sRef Amos@3 @12 S2′ sRef Dan@2 @33 S2′ sRef Dan@2 @32 S2′ [2] Much the same is meant by ‘the legs’ in Amos,

As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs or a piece of an ear, so will the children of Israel dwelling in Samaria be rescued, on the corner of a bed and on the end of a couch. Amos 3:12.

‘The lion’ here means those who lay the Church waste, ‘legs’ the external part of it, which is also the external part of the natural man, ‘a piece of an ear’ its discernment, and those ‘dwelling in Samaria’ those whose worship is external. ‘The corner of a bed and the end of a couch’ is the lowest part of the natural, which is external sensory awareness and its truth and good.

[3] In Daniel’s description of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue – its head made of pure gold, breast and arms of silver, belly and side of bronze, legs of iron, and feet partly of iron and partly of clay, Dan. 2:32, 33 – what is meant by ‘the legs’ is the truth of faith in the external or natural man; and the same thing is also meant by ‘iron’, see 10030. The reason why the legs in the description are distinguished from the feet is that human legs are by nature different from animal legs.

sRef Ex@29 @17 S0′ 10051. ‘And put them on top of its pieces and of its head’ means the arrangement into order of the more external things under the interior and under the inmost ones. This is clear from the meaning of ‘pieces’ as the interior things, dealt with above in 10048; from the meaning of ‘the head’ as what is inmost, dealt with in 5328, 6436, 9656, 9913, 9914; from the meaning of ‘the intestines and the legs’, which were to be put on top of them, as the outermost and the more external things (for the meaning of ‘the intestines’ as the outermost or lowest things, see 10030, and for that of ‘the legs’ as the more external things, 10050); and from the meaning of ‘putting these on top of the others’ as arranging them into order. The reason why arranging the more external things into order under the interior ones is meant and not, according to the literal sense, above them is that the altar and the fire on the altar are the highest or inmost things. For the altar represented the Lord’s Divine Human in respect of Divine Good, and the fire His actual Divine Love, and therefore the parts of the ram and burnt offering nearest the fire of the altar were higher or more internal, while those on top of them, being further away from the fire of the altar, were lower or more external. For in the internal sense the things nearest to what is highest are regarded as being higher or more internal, and those that are further away from it are regarded as being lower or more external, unlike the way things are stated in the literal sense. Whether you say higher and lower ones, or more internal and more external, it amounts to the same thing, because what is higher is more internal and what is lower is more external, 2148, 3084, 4599, 5146, 8325. From this it is now evident that ‘you shall put the intestines and legs on top of the pieces and on top of the head’ means that the outermost and the more external things must be arranged into order under the interior and the inmost ones.

The altar was representative of the Lord’s Divine Human in respect of Divine Good, see 921, 2777, 2811, 9388, 9389, 9714, 9964.
The fire of the altar is His Divine Love, 6832.

sRef Ex@29 @18 S0′ 10052. ‘And you shall burn the whole ram on the altar’ means the internal of the Lord’s Divine Human united to the Divine Good of His Divine Love, which was within Him. This is clear from the meaning of ‘burning’ as uniting to the Divine Good of Divine Love, dealt with below; from the meaning of ‘the ram’ as that which is internal with a person, and so in the highest sense as the internal of the Lord’s Divine Human, dealt with in 10042; and from the meaning of ‘the altar’ as the chief representative of the Lord’s Divine Human in respect of His Divine Good, dealt with immediately above in 10051 (end).

[2] It should be remembered that with everyone there is that which is internal and that which is external, called his internal man and external man; that when a person is being regenerated he is being regenerated as to both the internal and the external; and that regeneration is the joining together of good and truth in both. A similar process took place in the Lord’s Human. Yet it cannot be said that His Human was regenerated, only that it was glorified, because what was inmost in Him, which in a person is called the soul from the father, was Divinity itself; for He was conceived from Jehovah. Divinity itself is the Divine Good of Divine Love. And since the Lord united His Human to this and thereby also made Divine His Human, it cannot be said that His Human was regenerated, only that it was glorified; for glorifying means making Divine, see immediately below in 10053. The glorification of His internal man, that is, of His internal Human, is what the representative signs associated with the burnt offerings of rams and of lambs serve to describe.

[3] ‘Burning the whole ram on the altar’ means uniting the Divine Good of Divine Love to the internal of His Human. It does so firstly because the altar was representative of the Lord’s Divine Human, and the fire on the altar, which burned the offering, meant the Divine Good of Divine Love, as may recognized from the places referred to immediately above in 10051 (end), and secondly because ‘the ram’ – the offering that was burned – means that which is internal with a person, and so the internal of the Lord’s Human, 10042. From all this it is evident that ‘you shall burn the whole ram on the altar as a burnt offering’ means the internal of the Lord’s Human united to the Divine Good of His Divine Love, which was within Him.

sRef Ex@29 @18 S0′ 10053. ‘It is a burnt offering to Jehovah’ means the glorification of the Lord’s Human. This is clear from the representation of ‘a burnt offering’ as the glorification of the Lord’s Human. The Jewish nation had sacrifices and burnt offerings; the sacrifices served to mean purification from evils and falsities and the implantation of truth, but burnt offerings served to mean the joining of truth to good, thus complete regeneration. In the highest sense however, in which the Lord is the subject, sacrifices meant the ejection of evils and falsities from His Human derived from the mother and the implantation of Divine Truth from the Divine Good that was within Him, while the burnt offerings meant the uniting of Divine Truth to Divine Good. This uniting is what should be understood by glorification. For when He was in the world the Lord made His Human Divine Truth, and also, by uniting this in stages to the Divine Good that was within Him and was the Essential Being (Esse) of His life, He also made His Human Divine Good, thus one with Jehovah. The Essential Being of His life was that which as it exists with others is called the soul from the father; and it was Divine Good itself or Divine Love. But regarding these matters, see what has been shown in the places referred to in 9194, 9315(end), 9528(end). As regards the Lord’s expulsion of everything human derived from the mother, till at length He was not her son, see 9315 (end); and as regards ‘the Son of Man’, which the Lord calls Himself, that He is not Mary’s son but Divine Truth, 9807.

sRef Isa@40 @5 S2′ sRef John@5 @37 S2′ sRef Isa@42 @7 S2′ sRef Isa@60 @3 S2′ sRef Isa@42 @8 S2′ sRef Isa@42 @6 S2′ sRef Isa@60 @2 S2′ [2] Glorification, where the Lord is the subject, means uniting His Human to Divinity itself that was within Him, thus to Jehovah His Father; and by uniting them He also made His Human Divine Good. This is clear from places in the Word which use the terms ‘glory’ and ‘glorification’ in reference to Jehovah or the Lord, as in Isaiah,

The glory of Jehovah will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. Isa. 40:5.

In the same prophet,

I Jehovah have called You in righteousness, to open the blind eyes, to bring the bound out of prison. I am Jehovah, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another. Isa. 42:6-8.

And in the same prophet,

Jehovah will arise over You, and His glory will be seen over You. Nations will walk to Your light. Isa. 60:2, 3.

In these places the Lord is the subject, ‘the glory of Jehovah’ being used to mean the Lord in respect of Divine Truth; for Jehovah’s glory is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, 9429. That Divine Truth does not come from any other source is the Lord’s teaching in John,

You have never heard the Father’s voice nor seen His shape. John 5:37.

And since He is the Lord He is Jehovah Himself, for He says, ‘I am Jehovah, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another’.

sRef Isa@9 @6 S3′ sRef Ps@24 @8 S3′ sRef Ps@24 @7 S3′ sRef Ps@24 @9 S3′ sRef Ps@24 @10 S3′ [3] For this reason also the Lord is called ‘the King of glory’ in David,

Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, O ancient doors*, and the King of glory will come in. Who is this King of glory? Jehovah strong and mighty, Jehovah mighty in battle. Ps. 24:7-10.

Here the Lord is called ‘the King of glory’ by virtue of Divine Truth, with which He fought against, overcame, and subdued the hells. This was accomplished by His Human when He was in the world, see 9715, 9809, 10019. This is why He is called ‘Jehovah strong and mighty in battle’, and also a mighty one or ‘hero’ in Isaiah,

To us a Boy is born, to us a Son is given; His name is God, Hero, Father of Eternity. Isa. 9:6.

sRef Matt@16 @27 S4′ sRef Luke@24 @26 S4′ [4] The Lord Himself teaches that Jehovah’s glory is the Lord in respect of Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Good, which is Jehovah or the Father, in John,

The Word became flesh, and we saw His glory, glory as of the Only Begotten from the Father. John 1:14.

Here, where it is self-evident that the Lord is meant by the Word which became flesh, ‘the Word’ is Divine Truth, and so too is ‘glory’. In Matthew,

The Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father. Matt. 16:27.

And in Luke,

Jesus said to the disciples, Ought not the Christ to have suffered this and to enter into His glory? Luke 24:26.

‘Entering into His glory’ means being united to Divine Good which was within Him, thus to Jehovah or His Father. For Jehovah the Father is God’s Essential Being (Esse), and God in His Essential Being is Divine Love, thus also Divine Good; and the uniting of the Human to that Good is meant by ‘entering into His glory’.

sRef John@7 @39 S5′ sRef John@13 @31 S5′ sRef John@13 @32 S5′ sRef John@12 @16 S5′ sRef John@12 @28 S5′ sRef John@12 @23 S5′ [5] From this it is evident what ‘being glorified’ means in the following places:
In John,

The Holy Spirit was not yet because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:39.

And in the same gospel,

These things Jesus’ disciples did not know, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered … . Jesus said, The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. And He said, Father, glorify Your name. [Then] a voice came from heaven, I have both glorified it and will glorify it again. John 12:16, 23, 27, 28.

And in the same gospel,

After Judas went out Jesus said, Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. And God will glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him at once. John 13:31, 32.

From these places it is evident that glorification is the uniting of the Lord’s Human to Divinity itself which was within Him and is called Jehovah the Father, for it is said that ‘God will glorify Him in Himself’. It is also evident from those places that the uniting was fully accomplished by the passion of the Cross, which was the last of His temptations. For the Lord glorified His Human by means of conflicts with hell, which are temptations, see the places referred to in 9528, 9937.

sRef John@16 @15 S6′ sRef John@14 @11 S6′ sRef John@16 @14 S6′ sRef John@16 @13 S6′ sRef John@16 @28 S6′ sRef John@14 @10 S6′ sRef John@7 @39 S6′ sRef John@17 @1 S6′ sRef John@10 @30 S6′ [6] The Lord Himself teaches that when He has been glorified Divine Truth emanates from Him, in John,

The Holy Spirit was not yet because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:39.

And in the same gospel,

The Paraclete, the Spirit of truth, whom I will send to you will not speak from Himself. He will glorify Me, for He will receive from what is Mine and declare it to you; all things whatever that the Father has are Mine. John 16:13-15, 28.

‘The Spirit of truth’ is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, 9818. The uniting of the Human to the Divine within Him is also described here by the declaration that all things the Father has are His, and elsewhere by the declarations that the Father and He are one and that the Father is in Him and He is in the Father, John 10:30; 14:10, 11; see 3704. Thus the glorification or uniting was reciprocal, which too is the Lord’s teaching in John,

Father, glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You. John 17:1.

‘Father’ is the Divinity itself that was within Him, and ‘Son’ is the Divine Human.

‘The Father’ is Divine Good which is within the Lord, see 3704, 7499.
Jehovah in the Word is the Lord, 2921, 6303, 8865.
The Lord is Divinity itself, or Jehovah, in a Human form, see the places referred to in 9315.
* lit. doors of the world

sRef Ex@29 @18 S0′ 10054. ‘It is an odour of rest’ means the perception of peace. This is clear from the meaning of ‘an odour’ as perception, dealt with in 3577, 4624-4634, 4748; and from the meaning of ‘rest’ as peace. What Divine peace in the heavens is, see 92, 93, 2780, 5662, 8455, 8665, 8722; in the highest sense ‘peace’ means the Lord, and the Divine emanation from Him that influences at an inmost level the good which reigns in the heavens, 3780, 8517. The reason why the burnt offering is called ‘an odour of rest to Jehovah’ is that a burnt offering represented the uniting of the Lord’s Divine Human to Divinity itself, dealt with above in 10053; and it was through that uniting that peace was attained in the heavens. For when the Lord was in the world all the hells were subdued by Him, and all the heavens were restored to order, 9715, 9809, 9937, 10019. From this it is evident how it comes about that a burnt offering is called ‘an odour of rest to Jehovah’, as it is many times elsewhere in which burnt offerings and minchah are the subject, such as Lev. 1:9, 13, 17; 2:2, 9, 12; 3:5; 4:31; 6:15, 21; 8:28; 23:13, 18; Num. 15:3, 7, 13; 28:6, 8, 13; 29:2, 6, 8, 13.

sRef Ex@29 @18 S0′ 10055. ‘A fire offering to Jehovah’ means all things springing from Divine Love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a fire offering to Jehovah’ as that which springs from Divine Love; for ‘fire’ in the Word means love in both senses, and when used in reference to Jehovah or the Lord it means Divine Love. For the meaning of ‘fire’ as love in both senses, see 4906, 5215, 6314, 7324; and for its meaning – in the highest sense, in which Jehovah or the Lord is the subject – as Divine Love, 6832, 6834, 6849. A burnt offering is called ‘a fire offering to Jehovah’ because when the Divine took on the Human, from that Human fought against and subdued the hells, and at the same time united it to the Divine, in order to save the human race, He did so out of pure love. That uniting is meant by a burnt offering, see 10042, 10053.

sRef Ex@29 @26 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @25 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @23 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @27 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @30 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @24 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @29 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @28 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @34 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @31 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @33 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @32 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @19 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @22 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @35 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @20 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @21 S0′ 10056. Verses 19-35 And you shall take the second ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the ram’s head. And you shall slaughter the ram, and take some of its blood and put it on the tip of Aaron’s right ear and on the tip of the right ear of his sons, and on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot; and you shall sprinkle the blood over the altar round about. And you shall take some of the blood which is on the altar, and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it over Aaron and over his garments, and over his sons and over the garments of his sons with him; and he and his garments shall be holy, and his sons and the garments of his sons with him. And you shall take the fat of the ram, and the tail, and the fat covering the intestines, and the omentum on the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, and the right flank – for it is the ram of fillings [of the hand] – and one loaf of bread, and one cake of bread with oil, and one wafer from the basket of unleavened bread which is before Jehovah. And you shall put all these on Aaron’s palms and on the palms of his sons, and you shall wave them as a wave offering before Jehovah. And you shall take them from their hands and burn [them on] the altar with* the burnt offering, for an odour of rest before Jehovah; it is a fire offering to Jehovah. And you shall take the breast of the ram of fillings [of the hand], which is Aaron’s, and wave it as a wave offering before Jehovah; and it shall be the portion for you. And you shall sanctify the breast of the wave offering and the flank of the heave offering – that which has been waved and that which has been heaved up – from the ram of fillings [of the hand], from that which is for Aaron and from that which is for his sons. And it shall be for Aaron and his sons by the statute of an age** from among the children of Israel; for it is a heave offering, and it shall be a heave offering from among the children of Israel from their peace-offering sacrifices, their heave offering to Jehovah. And the holy garments which are Aaron’s shall be for his sons after him, to anoint [them] in them, and to fill their hand in them. For seven days shall the priest coming after him, one of his sons***, put them on – he who will enter the tent of meeting to minister in the holy place. And you shall take the ram of fillings [of the hand] and boil its flesh in a holy place. And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread which is in the basket, at the door of the tent of meeting. And they shall eat those things containing what has been expiated, to fill their hand, to sanctify them; and a stranger shall not eat them, because they are something holy. And if anything of the flesh of fillings [of the hand], and of the bread, is left until the morning, you shall burn what is left with fire; it shall not be eaten, because it is holy. And thus you shall do to Aaron and his sons, according to all that I have commanded you; seven days you shall fill their hand.

‘And you shall take the second ram’ means the following state, which is that of Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good in the heavens. ‘And Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the ram’s head’ means the transmission of power with the whole. ‘And you shall slaughter the ram’ means preparation. ‘And take some of its blood’ means Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good in the heavens. ‘And put it on the tip of Aaron’s right ear and on the tip of the right ear of his sons’ means all the ability to perceive Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good in the heavens. ‘And on the thumb of their right hand’ means the resulting power of understanding in the middle heaven. ‘And on the big toe of their right foot’ means the power of understanding in the lowest heaven. ‘And you shall sprinkle the blood over the altar round about’ means the uniting of Divine Truth to Divine Good. ‘And you shall take some of the blood which is on the altar’ means Divine Truth united to Divine Good within the Lord. ‘And some of the anointing oil’ means the Divine Good of Divine Love which is within the Lord. ‘And sprinkle it over Aaron and over his garments’ means a reciprocal uniting of Divine Good to Divine Truth within the Lord’s Divine Human in the higher heavens. ‘And over his sons and over the garments of his sons’ means a reciprocal uniting of Divine Good to Divine Truth within the Lord’s Divine Human in the lower heavens. ‘And he and his garments shall be holy, and his sons and the garments of his sons’ means thus all Divine things in the heavens. ‘And you shall take the fat of the ram’ means good in the heavens. ‘And the tail’ means all truth there. ‘The fat covering the intestines’ means good on last and lowest levels. ‘And the omentum on the liver’ means the more internal, purified good of the natural man. ‘And the two kidneys and the fat that is on them’ means the more internal, purified truth of the natural man and its good. ‘And the right flank’ means inmost good. ‘For it is the ram of fillings [of the hand]’ means a representative sign of the Lord’s Divine power in the heavens which comes through Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Good, and the transmission and the reception of that Truth there. ‘And one loaf of bread’ means inmost celestial good from the Lord. ‘And one cake of bread with oil’ means mid-celestial good. ‘And one wafer’ means lowest celestial good. ‘From the basket of unleavened bread’ means which exist together on the level of the senses. ‘Which is before Jehovah’ means from the Lord’s Divine Good. ‘And you shall put all these on Aaron’s palms and on the palms of his sons’ means acknowledgement in the heavens that those things belong to and come from the Lord. ‘And you shall wave them as a wave offering before Jehovah’ means the life from God which comes as a result of this. ‘And you shall take them from their hands and burn [them on] the altar with the burnt offering’ means a uniting to the Divine Good of Divine Love. ‘An odour of rest before Jehovah’ means the perception of peace. ‘It is a fire offering to Jehovah’ means springing from Divine Love. ‘And you shall take the breast’ means the Divine Spiritual in the heavens, which those in heaven make their own. ‘Of the ram of fillings [of the hand], which is Aaron’s’ means a representative sign of the Lord’s Divine power in the heavens which comes through Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Good. ‘And wave it as a wave offering before Jehovah’ means being endowed with life. ‘And it shall be the portion for you’ means transmission to those who are governed by God’s truths. ‘And you shall sanctify the breast of the wave offering’ means the Divine Spiritual acknowledged in heaven and in the Church. ‘And the flank of the heave offering’ means the Divine Celestial, which is the Lord’s alone, perceived in heaven and in the Church. ‘That which has been waved, and that which has been heaved up’ means what has been acknowledged and what has been perceived. ‘From the ram of fillings [of the hand], from that which is for Aaron and from that which is for his sons’ means a representative sign of the Lord’s Divine power in the heavens which comes through Divine Truth emanating from Divine Good. ‘And it shall be for Aaron and his sons by the statute of an age from among the children of Israel’ means the law of order in the representative Church as regards the Lord’s Divine Good and the Divine Truth emanating from that Good. ‘For it is a heave offering’ means a representative sign of Divine Good and of the Divine Truth emanating from it. ‘And it shall be a heave offering from among the children of Israel from their peace-offering sacrifices, it is a heave offering to Jehovah’ means reception in the heavens and in the Church, and acknowledgement that they are the Lord’s alone. ‘And the holy garments which are Aaron’s’ means the Divine Spiritual emanating directly from the Divine Celestial. ‘Shall be for his sons after him’ means within the natural, successively. ‘To anoint [them] in them’ means to represent the Lord in respect of Divine Good. ‘And to fill their hand in them’ means a representative sign of Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good in the heavens. ‘For seven days shall the priest coming after him, one of his sons, put them on’ means complete acknowledgement and reception. ‘He who will enter the tent of meeting to minister in the holy place’ means in all worship in heaven and in the Church. ‘And you shall take the ram of fillings [of the hand]’ means a representative sign of the Lord’s Divine power in the heavens which comes through Divine Truth emanating from Divine Good, and the transmission and the reception of that Truth there. ‘And boil its flesh in a holy place’ means employing the truths of doctrine seen in light received from the Lord to make good ready for use in life. ‘And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram’ means the making of spiritual good their own [by those who are at home with internal things], from the Lord. ‘And the bread which is in the basket’ means making celestial good from the Lord their own. [‘At the door of the tent of meeting’ means for entering heaven.] ‘And they shall eat those things containing what has been expiated’ means the making of good their own by those who have been purified from evils and consequent falsities. ‘To fill their hand’ means in order to receive Divine Truth. ‘To sanctify them’ means in order that they may be in possession of truths from good which come from the Lord. ‘And a stranger shall not eat them’ means no making of good their own by those who do not acknowledge the Lord. ‘Because those things are holy’ means because they are Divine. ‘And if anything of the flesh of fillings [of the hand], and of the bread, is left until the morning’ means spiritual and celestial forms of good which have not been linked to the new state. ‘You shall burn what is left with fire’ means dispensing with them. ‘It shall not be eaten’ means, it shall not be made their own. ‘Because it is holy’ means [what is Divine] to which it must not be joined, because that would result in profanation. ‘And thus you shall do to Aaron and his sons’ means this whole process, representative of the glorification of the Lord and of His influx into the heavens and into the Church. ‘According to all that I have commanded you’ means according to the laws of Divine order. ‘Seven days you shall fill their hand’ means a representative sign of the Lord’s total power in the heavens, which comes through influx from the Divine Good of the Divine Love of His Human.
* lit. over or upon
** i.e. a perpetual statute
*** lit. from among his sons

sRef Ex@29 @19 S0′ 10057. ‘And you shall take the second ram’ means the following state, which is that of Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good in the heavens. This is clear from the things described in what has gone before and in what comes after. Those in what has gone before have to do with the sacrifice of the young bull and the burnt offering of the first ram, those in what comes after with the second ram and ‘filling the hand with it’, and finally with the sacrifice of a young bull and the daily burnt offering of lambs. Is there anyone at all rational in his thinking who does not see that these things in every detail have heavenly arcana lying within them? What other explanation could there be for the sacrifices and burnt offerings with so many ritual requirements? Why else was it necessary that the altar should be flooded with blood; that blood should be put on the tip of the ear, on the thumb, and on the big toe of Aaron and his sons, and also [sprinkled] over their garments; that in the case of the sacrifice the fat on the intestines, liver, and kidneys, and the kidneys themselves, should be burned on the altar (and all other parts burned with fire outside the camp, or else be eaten), and that in the case of the burnt offering the intestines and legs should be placed on top of the pieces and the head and burned on the altar; and also that the parts which were taken from the second ram should first be waved on the palms of Aaron and his sons, and that the other parts of it should be eaten? Let anyone who is willing to do so ask himself, Would not such requirements be earthly matters of no importance at all if they did not hold holy arcana within them? And if they are holy arcana, they must be altogether such as have to do with heaven and the Church, and in the highest sense such as have to do with the Lord; for these alone, being Divine, are holy. If people believe that the Word is holy and has been inspired by God in every single part, they must also believe that every single established practice in the sacrifices and burnt offerings embraces and contains such arcana within it. Yet what it is that those practices embrace and contain within them cannot by any means be known on earth unless it is known what is meant in heaven by such things. What is meant, however, the internal sense of the Word alone teaches, since this unfolds correspondences. For all things that exist in the natural world correspond to those which exist in the spiritual world, because the former comes into being from and is held in being by the latter.

[2] But what the sacrifices and burnt offerings described in the present chapter hold within them will be stated in the course of unfolding correspondences by means of the internal sense. The subject in the highest sense, in which all holy things are Divine, is the glorification of the Lord’s Human, and in the representative sense it is the regeneration of a person. The actual process by which the Lord’s Human was glorified and a person is regenerated is described fully by means of the things that were commanded regarding the sacrifices and burnt offerings. So that people may have some conception of that process let other things which their minds are capable of understanding serve to explain it. It is well known that the discernment of things seen with the eyes and heard by the ears takes place inwardly in a person; those things pass so to speak from the world by way of the eyes or ears into thought, and so into the understanding since thought belongs to the understanding. And if they are the kinds of things the person loves they pass from there into the will, and then from the will by way of the understanding into words spoken by the mouth and also into actions performed by the body. Such is the cycle in all this, passing from the world by way of the natural man into the spiritual man, and going out from there into the world again. Yet it should be remembered that this cycle is started off by the will, which is the inmost core of a person’s life, and that it begins there and is inspired by it to run its full course. The will of a person in whom good is present is governed from heaven by the Lord, though the situation appears to be other than this. Influx takes place from the spiritual world into the natural world, thus through the internal man into the external man, but not the other way round; for the internal man is in heaven, whereas the external man is in the world.

[3] This cycle is the cycle of a person’s life, and therefore when someone is being regenerated his regeneration proceeds in accord with that same cycle; and when he has been regenerated his life and actions proceed in accord with it. Consequently, while a person is being regenerated the truths which will compose his faith are instilled through hearing and sight; they are implanted in the memory belonging to his natural man. Then they are transferred from the memory into thought belonging to the understanding, and those which the person loves become part of his will. To the extent that they become part of his will they become part of his life, since a person’s will constitutes his actual life; and to the extent that they become part of his life they become part of his affection, and so of charity in his will and of faith in his understanding. That life, which consists of charity and faith, then becomes the source of the person’s words and actions. Out of the charity which occupies his will come the words he speaks with his mouth as well as the actions he performs with his body; and both come by way of his understanding, thus by way of his faith. From all this it is clear that the cycle of a person’s regeneration is akin to the cycle of his life in general, and that it is in like manner started off in the will by an influx coming from heaven and beginning in the Lord.

[4] From this also it is evident that there are two states that a person undergoing regeneration experiences, the first being a time when the truths of faith are being implanted and joined to the good of charity, the second a time when the good of charity through the truths of faith governs what he says and how he acts. The first state is accordingly one that goes from the world by way of the natural man into the spiritual man, thus into heaven, and the second from heaven by way of the spiritual man into the natural man, thus into the world. The spiritual or internal man, as has been stated above, is in heaven, and the natural or external man is in the world. This cycle is the cycle of a person’s regeneration, and therefore is the cycle of his spiritual life. Regarding those two states of a person who is being regenerated, see the places referred to in 9274.

[5] From what has been stated people may gain some idea of the glorification of the Lord’s Human; for as the Lord glorified His Human, so He regenerates a person, and therefore, as has already been stated a number of times, the regeneration of a person is an image of the Lord’s glorification. From this it is evident that the first state of His glorification consisted in making His Human Divine Truth and uniting it to the Divine Good that was within Him, and that the second state consisted in acting from Divine Good through Divine Truth. For by means of Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good heaven is built and the Church is built, and by means of Divine Truth all within the Church are regenerated. These matters are what the sacrifices, burnt offerings, and their ritual observances spoken of in the present chapter serve to describe. The sacrifice of the young bull and the burnt offering of the first ram serve to describe the first state, and ‘the fillings of the hand’ with parts of the second ram the second state, while the sacrifice of the young bull and the daily burnt offering of lambs mentioned last in the chapter serve to mean the continuation of that second state.

[6] It should be remembered that purification from evils and consequent falsities in the case of a person who is being regenerated goes on unceasingly; for to the extent that a person is purified from evils and falsities the truths of faith are implanted and joined to the good of charity and the good of charity becomes the source of the person’s actions. Purification from evils and falsities in man’s case is not a deliverance from them; rather it is a removal or moving away of them, see 868, 887, 894, 929, 1581, 2269, 2406, 4564, 8206, 8393, 8988, 9014, 9333, 9446-9451, 9938. In the Lord’s case however it was not a removal but a casting out of those which He had derived from His mother, thus a complete deliverance from them, so complete that He was no longer Mary’s son, see the places referred to in 9315 (end).
These matters have been mentioned by way of introduction in order that people may know what is meant by filling the hand with parts of the second ram, spoken of in what follows immediately below.

sRef Ex@29 @19 S0′ 10058. ‘And Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the ram’s head’ means the transmission of power with the whole. This is clear from the meaning of ‘laying hands on’ as the transmission, transference, and reception of power, dealt with in 10023; and from the meaning of ‘the head’ as the whole with all its parts, dealt with in 10011, thus every single thing which this second ram represents.

sRef Ex@29 @20 S0′ 10059. ‘And you shall slaughter the ram’ means preparation. This is clear from the meaning of ‘slaughtering’, in reference to a sacrifice or burnt offering, as preparation, dealt with in 10024.

sRef Ex@29 @20 S0′ 10060. ‘And take some of its blood’ means Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good in the heavens. This is clear from the meaning of ‘blood’, in reference to a sacrifice or burnt offering, as Divine Truth, dealt with above in 10026, 10033, at this point Divine Truth emanating from the Divine Good of the Lord’s Divine Human, transmitted and received in the heavens; for this is the subject in what immediately follows. It was stated above in 10057 that a person who is being regenerated experiences two states, the first being a time when truth is implanted and joined to good, the second when the person is governed by good and good is the source of his actions. In this second state the truths present with him emanate from good, for good is the standpoint from which he sees them, speaks of them, and acts them out. Good is present in everything at this time, as the soul is within a person, or as the heart is within the body, which one who is wise also discerns in the words and actions of those who are governed by good. From this idea of a person’s regeneration it is possible to have some conception of the glorification of the Lord’s Human; for the way in which the Lord regenerates a person is akin to the way in which He glorified His Human, 3138, 3212, 3296, 3490, 4402, 5688. For the first state of glorification of His Human involved the implanting of Divine Truth and uniting of this Truth to the Divine Good. While He was in the world therefore the Lord made His Human Divine Truth; He also united it to the Divine Good that was within Him and in so doing made it Divine Good, see the places referred to in 9199 (end), 9315 (end). The second state of His glorification is one in which the Divine Truth emanates from Divine Good; that Truth is His Divinity as this is present in the heavens. The first state of the glorification of the Lord’s Human is described in the internal sense by the things stated regarding the sacrifice of the young bull and the burnt offering of the first ram, dealt with in verses 10-18 of the present chapter. But the second state is described by those that immediately follow regarding the second ram, which is called ‘the ram of fillings [of the hand]’. From all this it is evident that ‘blood’ here means Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good, transmitted and received in the heavens.

sRef Ex@29 @20 S0′ 10061. ‘And put it on the tip of Aaron’s right ear and on the tip of the right ear of his sons’ means all the ability to perceive Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good in the heavens. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the blood’ which was put on the tip of the ear as Divine Truth which is present in the heavens and in the Church and emanates from the Lord’s Divine Good, dealt with immediately above in 10060; from the meaning of ‘the ear’ as the power of perception, dealt with in 9397, at this point the ability to perceive Divine Truth in the heavens and in the Church since all the power of perception there is used to perceive that Truth (in particular that power of perception in the celestial heaven is meant here, for those there perceive truth springing from good, see the places referred to in 9277); from the meaning of ‘the tip’ of the ear, which is the outermost part of it, as the whole or all, for even as what is first or highest means the whole or all, so does what is last or outermost, see above in 10044; and from the meaning of ‘the right ear’ as the ability to perceive truth emanating from good. The reason why ‘the right ear’ has this meaning is that parts on the right side of a human being correspond to the good from which truths spring, while those on the left side correspond to the truths through which comes good, 9604, 9736. It is likewise so with the brain, the face and sensory organs there, the breast, the loins, and the feet.

sRef Lev@14 @27 S2′ sRef John@21 @6 S2′ sRef Matt@25 @32 S2′ sRef Lev@14 @15 S2′ sRef Lev@14 @16 S2′ sRef Lev@14 @26 S2′ sRef Lev@14 @14 S2′ sRef Lev@14 @28 S2′ sRef Lev@14 @25 S2′ sRef Lev@14 @17 S2′ sRef Lev@14 @18 S2′ [2] Without knowledge of this arcanum no one can possibly know why it was commanded that the blood should be put on the tip of the right ear, on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of the right foot of Aaron and his sons, or why it was commanded that the right flank of this second ram together with the fat should be burned on the altar (spoken of below, in verses 22, 25 of the present chapter). Nor likewise can anyone know why it was commanded that the blood of the sacrifice should be put on the tip of the right ear of the one to be cleansed from leprosy, and on the thumb of his right hand and the big toe of his right foot, and that the priest should pour oil from a log* over his own left palm and dip his right finger in the oil that was on his left palm and sprinkle it with his right finger seven times before Jehovah, Lev. 14:14-18, 25-28. Nor can people know the meaning where it says that the Lord told the disciples when they were fishing to cast their net on the right side of the boat, and that when they did so their catch was so great that they were not strong enough, because of the very great number of fish, to draw the net in, John 21:6. This represented the reality that when good is the side on which people act or teach they net countless items of truth; but not the reverse. Those also who possess truths and are governed by good are meant by the sheep on the right, but those who possess truths and are not governed by good are meant by the goats on the left, Matt. 25:32.

sRef Ps@89 @12 S3′ sRef Ps@89 @11 S3′ [3] ‘The right hand’ is also used to mean those who dwell in the light of truth emanating from good, in David,

The heavens are Yours, and the earth is Yours. The world and the fullness of it You have founded; the north and the right hand** You have created. Ps. 89:11, 12.

‘The heavens’, ‘the earth’, and ‘the world’ mean the Church, 9325. ‘The fullness’ means all truth and goodness which constitute the Church, ‘the north’ being those there who dwell in a state of obscurity so far as truth is concerned, 3708, and ‘the right hand’ those who dwell in the light of truth emanating from good, so that much the same is meant by ‘the right hand’ as by ‘midday’ or ‘the south’, 9642. From this it becomes clear what ‘sitting at God’s right hand’ means when used in reference to the Lord in Ps. 110:1, 5; Matt. 26:63, 64; Mark 12:36; 14:61, 62; Luke 20:42, 43, namely Divine Power exercised through the Lord’s Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Good, 3387, 4592, 4933, 7518, 8281, 9133.

sRef Zech@11 @17 S4′ [4] Since most things in the Word also have a contrary meaning, so too do ‘the right’ and ‘the left’. In the contrary sense ‘the right’ means evil from which falsity arises, and ‘the left’ falsity through which comes evil, as in Zechariah,

Woe to the worthless shepherd deserting the flock! The sword will fall upon his arm and upon his right eye. His arm will become wholly withered, and his right eye will be utterly darkened. Zech. 11:17.

‘Arm’ here stands for the power of truth when used to justify evil; and because this power is ‘worthless’ it says that it ‘will become wholly withered’. ‘Right eye’ is the knowledge of good when used to substantiate falsity; and because this knowledge is ‘worthless’ it says that it ‘will be utterly darkened’. ‘Shepherd’ is one who teaches truths and leads by means of them towards good, 343, 3795, 6044, so that ‘the worthless shepherd’ is one who teaches and leads towards evil. ‘Arm’ means the power that truth springing from good possesses, 4931-4937, 7205, but ‘the arm of a worthless shepherd’ is the lack of power. ‘Eye’ is the understanding and perception of truth, 4403-4421, 4523-4534, 9051, but ‘the right eye of a worthless shepherd’ is a knowledge of good devoid of any understanding or perception of it because it is made to serve falsity. ‘Utter (or thick) darkness’ is falsity arising from evil, 7711.

sRef Matt@5 @30 S5′ sRef Rev@13 @16 S5′ sRef Matt@5 @29 S5′ [5] In Matthew,

Jesus said, If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away from you; it will be better for you that one of your members perish, than that your whole body be cast into gehenna. Matt. 5:29, 30.

‘Right eye’ means an understanding of and belief in falsity arising from evil, and ‘right hand’ falsity itself arising from evil. Anyone may recognize that ‘eye’ is not used here to mean the eye nor ‘right hand’ to mean the right hand, and that the eye causing a person to stumble should not be plucked out, nor should the right hand causing him to stumble be cut off, for that would contribute nothing to the person’s well-being. In John,

The beast placed on them all a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads. Rev. 13:16.

‘Right hand’ here is falsity arising from evil, and ‘forehead’ is the love of evil from which falsity arises. ‘Forehead’ means heavenly love and therefore in the contrary sense hellish love, see 9936.
* i.e. a container which takes its name from a Hebrew measure for liquids
** i.e. the south

sRef Ex@29 @20 S0′ 10062. ‘And on the thumb of their right hand’ means the resulting power of understanding in the middle heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the thumb’ as the power of good exercised through truth, or truth in its power springing from good, and the resulting power of understanding, dealt with below. The reason why the power of understanding in the middle heaven is meant is that ‘the blood’ which was put on the thumb means Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good in the heavens, dealt with above in 10060, at this point therefore the resulting power of understanding. For ‘the blood on the tip of the right ear’ means the power of perception in the inmost heaven; as a result ‘the blood on the thumb of the right hand’ means the power of understanding in the middle heaven, while [that on] ‘the big toe of the right foot’ means the power of understanding in the last and lowest heaven. For the things that belong to the inmost heaven are meant by the head and parts of the head, and therefore this heaven’s power of perception is meant here by ‘the right ear’, since the ear is part of the head. The things that belong to the middle heaven are meant by the body and parts of the body, and therefore the power of understanding is meant here by ‘the right hand’, while those things that belong to the lowest heaven are meant by the feet and parts of the feet. Regarding such correspondence of the heavens with the human being, see above in 10030 and the places referred to there. In the inmost heaven furthermore exists the ability to perceive truth springing from good; in the middle heaven however no ability to perceive truth exists, only the ability to understand it. And the like is so in the lowest heaven, see the places referred to in 9277, 9596, 9684.

[2] ‘The thumb of the right hand’ – which means truth in its power springing from good, and the resulting power of understanding in the middle heaven – seems, it is true, to be something too small and insignificant to mean heaven; for how, it may be asked, can the thumb come to have so great and significant a meaning? But it should be remembered that the last and lowest or outermost part of any member of the body has the same meaning as the whole member. ‘The hand’ means the whole power of the body, and the power which the body possesses is exercised through the arms and hands. Regarding what is last or outermost, that it means all or the whole, in the same way as what is first and highest,
see above in 10044.

sRef Ps@8 @3 S3′ sRef Luke@11 @20 S3′ [3] For the meaning of ‘the hands’ as power and the fact that all power belongs to truth springing from good, see the places referred to in 10019; and for the
meaning of ‘the right hand’ as the power of truth springing from good, and ‘the left hand’ as truth through which comes good, 10061. The reason why the power of understanding is what should be understood is that all the power of understanding is composed of truths, whereas all the power of will is composed of forms of good. For everything in the world and in heaven has connection with truth and with good, and the human understanding has been provided for truths and the will for forms of good. Therefore since truth in its power is meant by ‘the hands’, the understanding as well is meant by them. sRef Judg@1 @6 S4′ sRef Ps@144 @1 S4′ sRef Judg@1 @7 S4′ [4] Because the thumb, like the hands, meant the power that belongs to truth springing from good, it was the practice in ancient times among the nations, and also among the Israelite people, to cut off the thumbs and big toes of their enemies, Judg. 1:6, 7; this represented the removal of all power from them. In the thumb furthermore resides the main power of the hand, for when the thumb has been cut off the hand no longer has the strength to fight in battle. Just as the thumb means power, so do ‘the fingers’, as in David,

Jehovah trains my hands for conflicts, and my fingers for war. Ps. 144:1.

In the same author,

When I look at the heavens, the work of Your fingers … Ps. 8:3.

In Luke,

Jesus said, If I cast out demons by the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come to you. Luke 11:20.

sRef Ex@29 @20 S0′ 10063. ‘And on the big toe of their right foot’ means the power of understanding in the lowest heaven. This is clear from what has been stated and shown immediately above in 10062.

sRef Ex@29 @20 S0′ 10064. ‘And you shall sprinkle the blood over the altar round about’ means the uniting of Divine Truth to Divine Good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the blood’, when it refers to the sacrifice and burnt offering, as Divine Truth, dealt with above in 10026, 10033; and from the meaning of ‘the altar’ as that which is representative of the Lord in respect of Divine Good, dealt with in 9964. When the words ‘Divine Good’ are used Divine Love is also meant. For all good belongs to love; indeed whatever people love they perceive to be good and therefore also call it good. But all truth belongs to faith; for whatever people believe they perceive to be and also call the truth. From this it follows that the things which compose the human understanding belong to faith and those that compose the will belong to love; for a person’s understanding is dedicated to receiving truths that belong to faith and his will to receiving forms of good that belong to love. The character therefore of a person’s understanding is determined by that of the truths which compose it and by that of his belief in them; and the character of a person’s will is determined by that of the forms of good which constitute it and by that of his love of them. In the contrary sense there is a love of evil and belief in falsity, and also a will and understanding consisting of these. But the character of the understanding is determined by that of the falsity which composes it and by that of the belief in this falsity; and the character of the will is determined by that of the evil which constitutes it and by that of the love of this evil. The fact that a will consisting of evil and an understanding consisting of falsity come from hell, and that they constitute hell with a person, is self-evident, for they are the opposites of an understanding consisting of truth and a will consisting of good, which come from heaven and originate in the Lord, and so which constitute heaven with a person.

sRef Ex@29 @21 S0′ 10065. ‘And you shall take some of the blood which is on the altar’ means Divine Truth united to Divine Good within the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the blood on the altar’ as Divine Truth united to Divine Good, dealt with immediately above in 10064. The implications of this will be stated in what follows directly below.

sRef Ex@29 @21 S0′ 10066. ‘And some of the anointing oil’ means the Divine Good of Divine Love which is within the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the anointing oil’ as that which is representative of the Divine Good of Divine Love which is within the Lord, dealt with in 9954, 10019.

sRef Ex@29 @21 S0′ 10067. ‘And sprinkle it over Aaron and over his garments’ means a reciprocal uniting of Divine Good and Divine Truth within the Lord’s Divine Human in the higher heavens. This is clear from the representation of ‘Aaron’ as the Lord in respect of Divine Good, dealt with in 9806, which is the Lord’s Divine Good in the celestial kingdom, dealt with in 9946, or what amounts to the same thing, in the higher heavens; from the meaning of Aaron’s ‘garments’ as a representative sign of the Lord’s spiritual kingdom lying adjacent to His celestial kingdom, dealt with in 9814; and from the meaning of ‘sprinkling over them’ as uniting. For what was sprinkled or poured out over someone represented a uniting, as also previously with the blood sprinkled over the altar round
about, 10064.

sRef John@3 @34 S2′ sRef John@15 @5 S2′ sRef Matt@28 @18 S2′ sRef Luke@10 @22 S2′ sRef Matt@11 @27 S2′ sRef John@3 @35 S2′ sRef John@17 @10 S2′ sRef John@17 @2 S2′ [2] The reason why the Lord’s Divine Human in the heavens is what is meant is that the subject here and in what comes immediately after is the Lord’s Divine [Being] in the heavens and His union with the angels there, so that the subject is the second state of the glorification of the Lord’s Human, see 10057. So it is that here ‘Aaron’ represents the Lord in respect of Divine Good in the celestial kingdom and ‘his garments’ Divine Truth in the spiritual kingdom lying adjacent to the celestial kingdom; thus the Lord in respect of both in the higher heavens is represented. The reason why the Divine Human is what this Divine Good and Divine Truth come from is that nothing Divine is acknowledged and worshipped in the heavens other than the Lord’s Divine Human; for the Divine [Being] which the Lord called His Father was the Divinity within Himself. The truth that in the heavens nothing Divine is acknowledged and worshipped other than the Lord’s Divine Human becomes clear from the Lord’s words recorded many times in the Gospels, such as the following,

All things have been delivered to Me by the Father. Matt. 11:27; Luke 10:22.
The Father has given all things into the hand of the Son. John 3:34, 35.
The Father has given the Son power over all flesh. John 17:2.
Without Me you can do nothing. John 15:5.
Father, all Mine are Yours, and all Yours are Mine. John 17:10.
All power in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Matt. 28:18.
Jesus said to Peter, I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Matt. 16:19.

[3] The truth of all this is also evident from the consideration that no one can be joined through faith and love to the Divine [Being] Himself without the Divine Human; for it is impossible to form in the mind any idea of the Divine [Being] Himself, called the Father, because He is incomprehensible, and that of which it is impossible to have any mental picture forms no part of a person’s belief nor thus of what he loves. Yet the most important of all the elements of worship is believing in God and loving Him above all else. That the Divine [Being] Himself, or the Father, is incomprehensible is also the Lord’s teaching, in John,

Nobody has ever seen God; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known. John 1:18.

In the same gospel,

You have never heard the Father’s voice nor seen His shape. John 5:37.

sRef Matt@11 @27 S4′ sRef John@12 @45 S4′ sRef John@1 @18 S4′ sRef John@14 @10 S4′ sRef John@14 @6 S4′ sRef John@14 @9 S4′ sRef John@14 @7 S4′ sRef John@14 @8 S4′ sRef John@14 @11 S4′ sRef John@5 @37 S4′ [4] And that the Divine [Being] Himself, or the Father, is comprehensible within the Lord through His Divine Human is likewise His teaching, in John,

He who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. John 12:45.

In the same gospel,

If you know Me you know My Father also, and from now on you know Him and have seen Him. He who sees Me sees the Father. John 14:6-11.

And in Matthew,

All things have been delivered to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son wishes to reveal Him. Matt. 11:27; Luke 10:22.

The reason why it is also said that no one knows the Son except the Father is that ‘the Son’ is used to mean Divine Truth and ‘the Father’ Divine Good, each being within the Lord; and one cannot be known except from the other. That is why the Lord first says that all things have been delivered to Him by the Father, and afterwards that the Father is known to him to whom the Son wishes to reveal Him. For the meaning of ‘the Son’ as Divine Truth and of ‘the Father’ as Divine Good, each of which are the Lord’s, see 2803, 2813, 3704, 7499, 8328, 8897, 9807.
From all this it is now evident that the Divine [Being] in the heavens is the Lord’s Divine Human.

[5] Next it must be stated what was represented by the blood of the second lamb being sprinkled over the altar round about, and by some of the blood and some of the anointing oil being sprinkled over Aaron and over his garments. From what has been stated and shown above in 10064-10067 it is evident that the uniting of Divine Truth to Divine Good and of Divine Good to Divine Truth within the Lord’s Divine Human were meant. But the arcanum that lies hidden within this has not yet been disclosed. The arcanum is that the uniting of Divine Good and Divine Truth, thus of the Divine [Being] Himself, called the Father, and Divine Truth or the Son, was reciprocal. The uniting of Divine Truth to Divine Good is meant by the sprinkling of the blood over the altar, 10064. These when they have been united are meant by the blood on the altar, some of which was to be taken, 10065, and by the anointing oil, which means Divine Good, 10066. Consequently the reciprocal uniting of Divine Truth and Divine Good within the Lord’s Divine Human is meant by the sprinkling of that blood together with the anointing oil over Aaron and over his garments, as shown earlier on in this paragraph 10067. sRef John@16 @29 S6′ sRef John@10 @30 S6′ sRef John@16 @27 S6′ sRef John@16 @28 S6′ sRef John@14 @10 S6′ sRef John@10 @38 S6′ sRef John@13 @31 S6′ sRef John@13 @32 S6′ sRef John@16 @15 S6′ sRef John@17 @10 S6′ sRef John@14 @11 S6′ sRef John@17 @1 S6′ [6] That the uniting was reciprocal is absolutely clear from the Lord’s words in the following places: In John,

I and the Father* are one. Even though** you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father. John 10:30, 38.

In the same gospel,

Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. John 14:6-11.

In the same gospel,

Jesus said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You. All Mine are Yours, and all Yours are Mine. John 17:1, 10.

In the same gospel,

Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. And God will glorify Him in Himself. John 13:31, 32.

From these places it becomes clear that the Divine Good of Divine Love, which is the Father, has been united to Divine Truth, which is the Son, in a reciprocal manner within the Lord, and that consequently His Human is Divine Good. The like is also meant when the Lord says that He came from the Father, and has come into the world, and is going to the Father, John 16:27-29; that all things which are the Father’s are His, John 16:15; and that the Father and He are one, John 10:30.

sRef John@14 @20 S7′ sRef John@17 @21 S7′ sRef John@17 @10 S7′ [7] But a better way to understand these matters may lie in considering the reciprocal joining together of goodness and truth with a person who is being regenerated by the Lord, for, as has been stated previously, the Lord regenerates people just as He glorified His Human, 10057. When the Lord regenerates a person He instills truth that will become the truth of faith in the understanding part of the person’s mind and good that will become the good of love in the will part of it. There He joins the two together, and when they have been joined together the truth of faith derives its life from the good of love, and the good of love receives the specific quality of its life from the truth of faith. This joining together is accomplished in a reciprocal or mutual manner by good; it is called the heavenly marriage and constitutes heaven with the person. The Lord dwells in this heaven as that which is His, for all the good of love springs from Him, as does all the joining of truth to good. The Lord cannot dwell in anything that is the person’s own, because that is evil. sRef John@15 @4 S8′ sRef John@15 @5 S8′ [8] This mutual joining together is what is meant by the Lord’s words in John,

On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. John 14:20.

And in the same gospel,

All Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them … that they may all be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You, and they may be one in Us. John 17:10, 21, 22.

A mutual joining together is described in these words, yet they should not be taken to mean that a person joins himself to the Lord. Rather the Lord joins to Himself the person who abandons evils; for the abandonment of evils is left to the person’s own responsibility, and when he abandons them the reciprocal joining together of the truth belonging to faith and the good belonging to love is effected by the Lord, and not at all by that person. For as is well known in the Church, a person left to himself cannot do anything good, and so left to himself cannot receive any truth in his good. This too the Lord affirms in John,

Abide in Me, and I in you. He who abides in Me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you cannot do anything. John 15:4, 5.

[9] Light may be cast on this mutual joining together by a person’s understanding and will when joined together. His understanding is composed of truths and his will is composed of forms of good; the truths belong to the faith present in him and the forms of good to the love there. The person takes in the truths by hearing about them with his ears or reading about them with his eyes and stores them away in his memory. Those truths have to do either with circumstances involving public duties or with those involving private conduct; and they are called known facts. The person’s love, which belongs to his will, employs the understanding to look at the facts stored away there and to choose from them those that are in accord with that love. It then draws and joins to itself those that are chosen, and uses them day by day to strengthen itself. The truths made living in this manner by love constitute the understanding part of the person’s mind, while the actual forms of good belonging to his love constitute the will part of it. Those forms of the good of love are also like a fire burning there, while the truths which have been made living by the love and reside in the parts round about are like the light radiated from that fire. Gradually as the truths are kindled by that fire the desire is kindled in them for a mutual or reciprocal joining together. This leads to a mutual joining together that is everlasting.

[10] From all this it is clear that the good belonging to love is what effects the joining together and not the truth belonging to faith, except insofar as it has any of the good of love within it. Whether you say love or good it amounts to the same thing, for all good comes from love, and whatever comes from love is called good. Also whether you say love or the will, this too amounts to the same thing, for what a person loves, that he wills.

[11] It should be recognized that the things which have to do with circumstances involving public duties and private conduct, spoken of just above, join themselves together in the external man, whereas those which have to do with spiritual circumstances, spoken of previously, join themselves together in the internal man, and after that in the external man by way of the internal. For those that have to do with spiritual circumstances, namely those which are truths of faith and forms of the good of love to the Lord, and have regard to eternal life, link up with the heavens and open up the internal man. The extent to which this is opened, and the essential nature of that opening, is determined by the truths of faith – how many are received, and in what way they are received, within the good of love to the Lord and towards the neighbour, these loves being derived from the Lord. From this it is evident that thought remains on a merely external level in the case of those who fail to absorb the things which have to do with spiritual circumstances, and that it rises no higher than the level of the senses in the case of those who refuse to believe in their existence, however intelligent these people seem to be in what they say.
* The Latin means The Father and I but the Greek means I and the Father, which Sw. has in most other places where he quotes this verse.
** Reading si utique (even though) for si itaque (if therefore)

sRef Ex@29 @21 S0′ 10068. ‘And over his sons and over the garments of his sons’ means a reciprocal uniting of Divine Good and Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Human in the lower heavens. This is clear from the consideration that since the sprinkling of the blood taken from the altar and of the anointing oil over Aaron means the reciprocal uniting of Divine Good and Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Human in the higher heavens, 10067, a like sprinkling over Aaron’s sons and their garments means a similar uniting in the lower heavens. For what is Divine and the Lord’s in the lower heavens is represented by Aaron’s sons when what is Divine and the Lord’s in the higher heavens is represented by Aaron himself. The reason for this is that the lower heavens spring from the higher ones, like sons from their father, see 7004, 9468, 9473, 9680, 9683, 9780. It should be remembered that the Lord’s celestial kingdom is meant by the higher heavens and His spiritual kingdom by the lower heavens, and that the heavens in both kingdoms are distinct and separate, as stated and shown many times. In each kingdom what is Divine and the Lord’s is the same, yet different so far as reception by the angels there is concerned.

sRef Ex@29 @21 S0′ 10069. ‘And he and his garments shall be holy, and his sons and the garments of his sons’ means thus all Divine things in the heavens. This is clear from the meaning of ‘holy’ as that which emanates from the Lord – because He is the only Holy One, dealt with in 9229, 9479, 9680, 9818, 9820, 9956, 9988 – thus as that which is Divine; and since Aaron and his garments, and his sons and their garments, represented the holy or Divine things in the heavens, spoken of above in 10067, 10068, they mean all Divine things in the heavens. Clearly Aaron, his sons, and their garments were called holy on account of their representation of things holy and Divine, for everyone who gives proper thought to the matter can see that neither a ram’s blood nor anointing oil can sanctify anyone. Blood and oil are lifeless objects and so cannot have an effect on a person inwardly. Only the truths of faith and the good of love received from the Lord and offered back to the Lord, thus Divine things, have an effect on a person’s interiors; these Divine things are what sanctify, for they alone are holy.

sRef Ex@29 @22 S0′ 10070. ‘And you shall take the fat of the ram’ means good in the heavens. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the fat’ as good, dealt with in 10033. In the heavens is meant because filling the hand with parts of the second ram means what is Divine and emanates from the Lord in the heavens, 10057.

sRef Rev@9 @19 S0′ sRef Rev@9 @10 S0′ sRef Lev@3 @9 S0′ sRef Isa@9 @15 S0′ sRef Rev@12 @4 S0′ sRef Rev@12 @3 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @22 S0′ sRef Isa@9 @14 S0′ 10071. ‘And the tail’ means all truth there. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the ram’s tail’ as truth. ‘The tail’ means truth because it comes last, and truth resides in last or lowest things, 9959*. The tail is also the last part of the cerebrum and cerebellum, for these extend into the spinal cord, and this also terminates in the tail, which is for that reason the appendage at the end of all three. Therefore Lev. 3:9 says that in sacrifices the tail should be removed next to the backbone. The fact that ‘the tail’ means truth in last or lowest things, and in the contrary sense falsity, is clear from the following places: In Isaiah,

Jehovah will cut off from Israel head and tail. The old and the honourable [in face] is the head, but the prophet, the teacher of a lie, is the tail. Isa. 9:14, 15.

In the spiritual sense ‘cutting off head and tail’ means severing good and truth; for the subject is the Church, and when this has been laid waste ‘the head’ means evil and ‘the tail’ falsity. ‘The head’ means good, see 4938, 4939, 5328, 9913, 9914, as does ‘the old’, 6524, 9404; and ‘the prophet’ means a teacher of truth, and so in the abstract sense [without reference to persons] truth itself, 2534, 7269. In the contrary sense therefore ‘the head’ means evil, as do ‘the old’ and ‘the honourable’ who will perform it, while ‘the tail’ means falsity, as does ‘the prophet’, who is for that reason called ‘the prophet of a lie’; for ‘a lie’ means falsity. In the same prophet,

There will not be for Egypt [any] work which the head and tail may do. Isa. 19:15.

‘Egypt’ stands for those who, desiring to enter into the truths and forms of the good of faith, use reasonings based on factual knowledge, and not on revealed truths, thus not on belief in these, 1164, 1165, 1186. The lack of ‘work which the head and tail may do’ stands for the fact that they have neither good nor truth. The fact that ‘the tail’ means truth in last or lowest things is evident from its meaning in the contrary sense, in which ‘the tail’ means falsity. In John,

The locusts had tails like scorpions, and stings were in their tails, and they had power to harm people. Rev. 9:10.

‘Tails like scorpions, and stings in their tails’ are cunning reasonings based on falsities which they use to convince and thereby damage someone, which is why it says that they had power to harm people. Furthermore falsity in outermost things is meant by ‘locust’, see 7643. In the same book,

The horses’ tails were like serpents, having heads; and by means of them they do harm. Rev. 9:19.

‘Tails like serpents’ here also stands for reasonings based on falsities which are used to cause harm. In the same book,

The dragon’s tail drew a third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them down to the earth. Rev. 12:4.

‘The dragon’s tail’ stands for truths that have been falsified, in particular through the application of them to evils; ‘the stars’ are cognitions or knowledge of truth and good which has been falsified; and ‘casting them down to the earth’ means destroying them.
* This reference is thought to be incorrect. Suggestions as to what is really intended include 6952 and 9656.

sRef Ex@29 @22 S0′ 10072. ‘The fat covering the intestines’ means good on last and lowest levels. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the fat’ as good, dealt with in 10033; and from the meaning of ‘the intestines’ as last and lowest things, dealt with in 10030, 10049.

sRef Ex@29 @22 S0′ sRef Lev@3 @15 S0′ sRef Lev@3 @10 S0′ sRef Lev@3 @4 S0′ 10073. ‘And the omentum on the liver’ means the more internal, purified good of the natural man. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the omentum on the liver’ as the more internal good of the external or natural man, dealt with in 10031. The reason why purified good is meant is that the liver is a purifying organ, 10031; and since purified truth is meant by ‘the kidneys’, 10032, it is also stated in Lev. 3:4, 10, 15, that the omentum near by the kidneys must be removed.

sRef Ex@29 @22 S0′ 10074. ‘And the two kidneys and the fat that is on them’ means the more internal, purified truth of the natural man and its good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the kidneys’ as the more internal truth of the external or natural man; and from the meaning of ‘the fat that is on them’ as its good, dealt with above in 10032. The reason why purified truth is what is meant by ‘the kidneys’ is that the kidneys are organs purifying the blood, 10032, and ‘the blood’ means truth, 9393, 10026.

sRef Lev@7 @34 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @22 S0′ sRef Lev@7 @35 S0′ sRef Lev@7 @32 S0′ 10075. ‘And the right flank’ means inmost good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the right flank’ as inmost good. ‘The right flank’ means inmost good because animals’ flanks have the same meaning as the loins and thighs on a human being; a human being’s loins and thighs mean conjugial love and consequently the good of celestial love, which is the good of the inmost heaven, see 3021, 4277, 4280, 4575, 5050-5062, 9961; and the right side of the loins and the right thigh mean the inmost good there. For by virtue of their correspondence the parts on the right side of a human being mean good from which springs truth, and those on the left side truth through which comes good; and those in the middle therefore mean the joining together of the two, that is, of good and truth. From this also it becomes clear that the flanks are the hindquarters of an animal where its genital organs reside, but not the forequarters, for these are called its breast. Since it means inmost good or celestial good, when the right flank of a sacrifice was lifted up and was given to Aaron it is called ‘the anointing of him and of his sons’, in Moses,

The right flank you shall give as a heave offering to the priest out of your eucharistic sacrifices. The breast of the wave offering and the flank of the heave offering I have received from the children of Israel from their eucharistic sacrifices; I have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons by the statute of an age*. This is the anointing of Aaron and the anointing of his sons from the fire offerings to Jehovah. Lev. 7:32, 34, 35.

The breast and flank are called ‘the anointing’ on account of their representation of spiritual good and celestial good; for the breast by virtue of its correspondence means spiritual good, which is the good of the middle or second heaven, and the right flank celestial good, which is the good of the inmost or third heaven; and ‘anointing’ is a representation of the Lord in respect of Divine Good, 9954, 10019. Also the breast and the right flank were given to Aaron from sacrifices of the firstborn of ox, sheep, and goat, Num. 18:18. The meaning of ‘the right flank’ as inmost good is also evident from the fact that it is mentioned last; for the tail and the intestines are mentioned first, after these the omentum on the liver, and the kidneys, and finally the right flank. The things that are mentioned first are most external, those that are mentioned second are more internal, and what is mentioned last is inmost.
* i.e. a perpetual statute

sRef Ex@29 @22 S0′ 10076. ‘For it is the ram of fillings [of the hand]’ means a representative sign of the Lord’s Divine power in the heavens which comes through Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Good, and the transmission and the reception of that Truth there. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the ram’ as a person internally in respect of the good of innocence and charity within him, dealt with above in 9991, for all beasts serve to mean some human affection or inclination, 9280, which is why people possessing charity and innocence are called sheep and lambs, and ‘a ram’ therefore, being a male sheep, means the good of charity and innocence in the internal man, or in the highest sense that same good present internally in the Lord’s Human (for that which in the internal sense means something truly human, thus something constituting the Church or heaven with a person, in the highest sense means that same virtue present in a matchless degree within the Lord when He was in the world; indeed the subject everywhere in the Word in its inmost sense is the Lord, and this is what gives it its holiness); and from the meaning of ‘fillings of the hand’ as a representative sign of Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good in the heavens, and as the transmission of that Truth to the angels there and their reception of it. For as has been shown previously, just as a person who is being regenerated experiences two states, the first being a time when the truths of faith are being implanted in and joined to the good of love, and the second a time when the good of charity is the source of his actions, so it was in a matchless degree within the Lord. The first state of the glorification of His Human consisted in His making it Divine Truth and joining it to the Divine Good which was within Him and was called the Father, and in His thereby becoming the Divine Good of Divine Love, which is Jehovah. The second state of His glorification was when the Divine Good of Divine Love was the source of what He did, and the Divine Truth emanating from that Good was the means by which He accomplished it.

[2] In the case of a person, in the first state he learns things that must compose his faith, and while he is learning them, under the influence of good, that is, through good from the Lord, so the power of understanding is taking shape in him. When the truths giving shape to the understanding have been implanted in and joined to good he passes into the second state, in which his actions spring from good through the use of truths. From this it is evident what the second state of a person who is being regenerated is like, namely a state in which thought and actions spring from good, or what amounts to the same thing, from love, or what also amounts to the same thing, from the will; for what a person wills he loves, and what he loves he calls good. But a person begins to be in the second state when his entire self from head to toe is the same as his love, and so is the same as his will and his understanding springing from it. Who can ever credit it that the entire person is an image of his will and of his understanding rooted in it, consequently an image of his good and so of his truth, or else an image of his evil and so of his falsity? For good or evil compose the will, and truth or falsity compose the understanding. All angels in heaven are acquainted with this arcanum; but the reason why people in the world are not acquainted with it is that they have no knowledge of their soul, nor consequently any knowledge that the body is shaped so as to be a likeness of it, and therefore that the nature of the entire person is determined by that of his soul. This fact is clearly demonstrated by spirits and angels as seen in the next life. All these are human forms, and the nature of those forms is determined by that of the affections belonging to their love and faith, so much so that anyone in whom the good of love and charity is present may be called an embodiment of love and charity, and on the other hand anyone in whom evils resulting from self-love and love of the world are present, thus in whom hatred and the like are present, may be called an embodiment of hatred.

[3] The same fact is also clearly demonstrated by the three entities present in the whole natural order which flow one from another, namely effect, cause, and end. An effect owes its whole existence to the cause, for an effect is nothing other than the outward manifestation of a cause, because when a cause becomes an effect it clothes itself in things such as exist on external levels, in order that it may manifest itself in a lower sphere, which is the sphere of effects. The situation is similar with the cause of a cause, which in a higher sphere is called the final cause or the end. The end constitutes the all within the cause, making it a cause set to achieve something. For a cause that is not set to achieve something cannot be called a cause, for what other reason is there for its existence? Setting out to achieve something is the end, which is the first thing within the cause and also its last. From this it is evident that the end is so to speak the soul of the cause and so to speak its life, and consequently is also the soul and life of the effect. For if a cause and an effect lack the ability to complete the end in view, none of these has any real existence, because it does not set out to achieve anything, and so is like some dead object devoid of soul and life; and such a thing expires, like a body when the soul departs from it.

[4] The situation is the same with the human being. His actual soul is his will; the attendant cause by means of which his will produces the effect is his understanding; and the effect which is produced resides in the body and so belongs to the body. The truth of this is plainly evident from the consideration that what a person wills, and therefore thinks, fittingly presents itself in an effect within the body, in this way when he speaks, in that way when he acts. From all this it is again evident that what a person’s will is like determines what the entire person is like. Whether one speaks of the will, end, love, or good it amounts to the same thing; for everything that a person wills is seen by him to be the end, is loved by him, and is called good. Likewise whether one speaks of the understanding, the cause attending the end, faith, or truth, it again amounts to the same thing; for what a person under the influence of his will understands or thinks he takes to be the cause, believes, and calls the truth. When these things are understood by someone he may know what a person undergoing regeneration is like in his first state, and what he is like in the second.

[5] From all this people may have some idea of how to understand the teaching that when the Lord was in the world and glorified His Human He first made it Divine Truth, and step by step the Divine Good of Divine Love; and that ever after the Divine Good of Divine Love is the source of His acts in heaven and in the world, and of the life He imparts to them, which He accomplishes by means of Divine Truth emanating from the Divine Good of Divine Love of His Divine Human. For from this the heavens have come into being and are constantly coming into being, that is, being held in being; or what amounts to the same thing, from it the heavens have been created and are constantly being created, that is, preserved, for preservation is constant creation, even as being held in being is constant coming into being.

sRef John@1 @14 S6′ sRef John@1 @1 S6′ sRef John@1 @3 S6′ [6] Such considerations are also contained in the following words in John,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. And the Word became flesh. John 1:1, 3, 14.

‘The Word’ is Divine Truth. The first state is described by the statement, ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God’, and the second state by, ‘All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made’. The situation was similar when the Lord came into the world, restored the heavens to order, and so to speak created them anew. The Lord is clearly meant by ‘the Word’ in the above words, for they say that ‘the Word became flesh’. The transmission and the perception of Divine Truth emanating from the Divine Good of Divine Love of the Lord’s Divine Human is what ‘the filling of the hand’ means and what the representative acts associated here with the second ram describe.

sRef Lev@21 @10 S7′ [7] Since the Lord in respect of Divine Good is represented by Aaron, 9806, the glorification of the Lord’s Human is described in a representative manner by the process in which Aaron and his sons were consecrated. The first state of glorification is described by the things stated regarding the sacrifice of the young bull and the burnt offering of the first ram, and the second state of glorification by those stated regarding the second ram, called ‘the ram of fillings [of the hand]’. The first state is called the anointing, while the second state is called the filling of the hand. So it was when Aaron and his sons were consecrated to the priesthood by anointing and filling of the hand that they were referred to as ‘the anointed’ and ‘those whose hands he has filled’, as in Moses,

The chief priest, on whose head the anointing oil has been poured, and who has filled his hand to wear the garments, shall not shave his head or rip apart the seams of his garments. Lev. 21:10.

From these things also it is evident that ‘the filling of the hand’ is a representative sign of the transmission and the reception of Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good in the heavens, for it says ‘who has filled his hand’, not who has had his hand filled. It also says that he has filled his hand ‘to wear the garments’, for by Aaron and the anointing of him the Lord in respect of Divine Good is represented, and by his garments the same as is represented by ‘the filling of the hand’, namely Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good. For this representation of ‘the garments’, see 9814. The dispersion of that Truth is meant by ‘ripping apart the seams of garments’, and the dispersion of Divine Good in the heavens by ‘shaving the head’.

sRef Ex@32 @29 S8′ sRef Num@32 @12 S8′ sRef Ex@32 @28 S8′ sRef Num@14 @24 S8′ sRef Num@32 @11 S8′ [8] Since the inflowing and transmission of Divine Truth from the Lord, and the reception of it in the heavens, is meant by ‘the filling of the hand’, purification from evils and falsities is also meant by it. For to the extent that man or angel is purified from them he receives Divine Truth from the Lord. ‘Filling the hand’ is meant in this sense by the following words in Moses,

The sons of Levi struck down from the people three thousand men. And Moses said, Fill your hand today to Jehovah, so that He may bestow a blessing on you today. Exod. 32:28, 29.

In the spiritual sense being blessed means being endowed with the good of love and faith, thus receiving what is Divine emanating from the Lord, 2846, 3017, 3406, 4981, 6091, 6099, 8939. The expression ‘filling after Jehovah’* is also used in Moses, by which acting in accord with Divine Truth, and thus also the reception of it, is meant,

Another Spirit has been with Caleb, and he has filled after Jehovah. Num. 14:24; Deut. 1:36.

And in another place,

Jehovah has sworn, saying, Surely none of the men who are twenty years old and over** will see the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they have not filled after Me, except Caleb and Joshua, who have filled after Jehovah. Num. 32:11, 12.
* This Hebrew phrase is thought to suggest more than the words themselves actually express, i.e. it is a pregnant phrase for to go after with full commitment
** lit. the men, from the son of twenty years and over,

sRef Ex@29 @23 S0′ 10077. ‘And one loaf of bread’ means inmost celestial good from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘bread’ as celestial good, dealt with in 2165, 2177, 3478, 9545. Celestial good is the good of love to the Lord, the reason why it is called celestial being that it is the celestial kingdom’s good.

sRef Ex@29 @23 S0′ 10078. ‘And one cake of bread with oil’ means mid-celestial good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘cake of bread with oil’ as mid-celestial good, dealt with above in 9993.

sRef Ex@29 @23 S0′ 10079. ‘And one wafer’ means lowest celestial good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘wafer’ as celestial good in the external man, dealt with in 9994, thus that which is lowest. In the heavens there are two distinct and separate kingdoms; one is called the celestial kingdom, the other the spiritual kingdom. Each kingdom has three parts; each has an inmost part, a middle part, and a lowest part. The inmost good of the celestial kingdom is meant by ‘bread’, middle good by ‘cakes’, and lowest good by ‘wafers’, see above in 9993. It says that they were to take one loaf of bread, one cake, and one wafer, and after these had been waved they were to be burned with the burnt offering, and that Aaron and his sons were to eat the bread left over in the basket at the door of the tent of meeting. These things served to mean the transmission of the good of love from the Lord and the reception of it in the higher heavens, that is, in the celestial kingdom. The transmission of that good was meant by the bread which, after it had been waved, was burned on the altar, and the reception of it was meant by the bread that was eaten. It says ‘one’ loaf of bread, ‘one’ cake, and ‘one’ wafer because Good from God is essentially one.

[2] Next it must be stated why it was decreed that not only the ram’s fat and right flank had to be burned on the altar but also offerings of bread, which were called minchahs, when yet good is meant equally by the bread or minchahs as it is by the fat and flank. Without knowledge of why it had to be done offering bread as well would seem to be superfluous. But the reason was that sacrifices and burnt offerings were not demanded, only permitted, and that they were therefore unacceptable in the heavens. Therefore minchahs as well, or offerings of bread, were presented, and also drink offerings of wine, which were acceptable; for ‘bread’ means all celestial good and ‘wine’ all the truth that goes with it. This also explains why sacrifices and burnt offerings were called bread, and in addition minchahs or gifts; for minchahs in the original language denotes gifts. But see what has been shown previously on these matters,

Sacrifices and burnt offerings were first introduced by Eber and came down from him to the descendants of Jacob, 1128, 1343, 2818, 4874, 5702.
Sacrifices and burnt offerings were not demanded, only permitted, 2180.
Sacrifices and burnt offerings were called bread, 2165.
‘Bread’ means celestial good and ‘wine’ the truth that goes with it, 276, 680, 2165, 2177, 3735, 4217, 4735, 4976, 5915, 6118, 6377, 8410, 9323, 9545.
The like is meant by ‘minchah’ and ‘drink offering’, 4581.

From this it is evident that it was for the same reason also that the Lord abolished the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and retained the bread and wine. But it should be recognized that the flesh of a sacrifice or burnt offering served in particular to mean spiritual good, whereas the bread of a minchah served to mean celestial good, and that this was why not only flesh but also bread had to be offered.

sRef Ex@29 @23 S0′ 10080. ‘From the basket of unleavened bread’ means which exist together on the level of the senses. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the basket’ – in which there were the three kinds of bread, by which different kinds of good are meant – as the outward level of the senses on which they exist together, dealt with in 9996; and from the meaning of ‘unleavened bread’ as those which have been purified, dealt with in 9992.

sRef Ex@29 @23 S0′ 10081. ‘Which is before Jehovah’ means from the Lord’s Divine Good. This is clear from the consideration that ‘Jehovah’ in the Word is the Lord, who is called Jehovah by virtue of Divine Good and God by virtue of Divine Truth. All the things that are stated here regarding the second ram and that are called ‘fillings of the hand’ mean, as is evident from what has been shown above, that which is Divine and the Lord’s in the heavens, emanating from the Divine Good of His Divine Love.

‘Jehovah’ in the Word is the Lord, see the places referred to in 9373. The Lord is called Jehovah where the subject is Divine Good, and God where it is Divine Truth, 2769, 2807, 2822, 4402, 6303, 9167.

sRef Ex@29 @24 S0′ 10082. ‘And you shall put all these on Aaron’s palms and on the palms of his sons’ means acknowledgement in the heavens that those things belong to and come from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of all the parts taken from the ram – the fat, kidneys, and right flank – and all that was contained in the basket, namely the bread, cakes, and wafers, as forms of Divine Good and Divine Truth, which belong to the Lord because they come from the Lord, dealt with in 10070-10080; from the meaning of ‘the palms’ as things that come from one’s own power, thus that which is properly one’s own, dealt with below; and from the representation of ‘Aaron and his sons’ as the Lord in respect of Divine Good and of Divine Truth emanating from that Good, dealt with in 9806, 9807, 10017. The reason why things that come from one’s own power is meant by ‘the palms’, and why ‘being put on the palms’ consequently means the acknowledgement that all those things belong to the Lord and come from the Lord, is that the palms are part of the hands and power is meant by ‘the hands’, and ‘putting on the palms’ means attributing something, thus acknowledging the ownership of it. For what comes next states that the offering was to be waved on the palms, by which the life from God that comes as a result is meant; and that life from God is imparted through faith, the first phase of which is acknowledgement. Since power is meant by ‘the hands’ it follows that full power is meant by ‘the palms of the hands’, because in the palms lies the full grip of the hands. Consequently when palms are attributed to the Lord and to Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Good, as it is here, almighty power is meant. From all this it is evident that ‘putting on the palms of Aaron and his sons’ means acknowledgement of the Lord’s almighty power, thus that all things belong to Him because all things come from Him in the heavens.

‘The hands’ means power, see 4931-4937, 5327, 5328, 6947, 7188, 7189, 7518.
‘Hand’ and ‘right hand’ used in reference to the Lord mean almighty power, 3387, 4592, 4933, 7518, 7673, 8050, 8153, 8281, 9133.
Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good possesses all power, 6948, 8200, 9327, 9410, 9639, 10019.

sRef Ex@29 @24 S0′ sRef Lev@23 @11 S1′ sRef Lev@23 @10 S1′ 10083. ‘And you shall wave them as a wave offering before Jehovah’ means the life from God which comes as a result of this. This is clear from the meaning of ‘waving a wave offering’ as endowing with life, thus the life [present in something]; and since it says from ‘before Jehovah’ the life from God is meant. The fact that ‘waving a wave offering’ means endowing with life, that is, imparting the life from God, is clear from places in the Word where ‘waving a wave offering’ is spoken of, as in Moses,

When you bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, he shall wave the sheaf before Jehovah, so that you may be acceptable; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. Lev. 23:10, 11.

‘Harvest’ means a state when the truth of faith springing from good exists, thus a state when good is present, 9295; ‘a sheaf of the firstfruits’ means all collectively constituting that state. ‘Being waved by the priest’ therefore means being endowed with life to receive a blessing; for every blessing, to be a blessing, must have life from God within it.

sRef Num@8 @13 S2′ sRef Num@8 @15 S2′ sRef Num@8 @11 S2′ sRef Num@8 @21 S2′ [2] In the same author,

Aaron shall wave the Levites before Jehovah as a wave offering* from among the children of Israel, that they may be used in the service of Jehovah. You shall stand the Levites before Aaron and before his sons, and you shall wave them as a wave offering to Jehovah. After that the Levites shall go in to serve in the tent of meeting; and you shall purify them, and wave them as a wave offering. And when the Levites had been purified, Aaron waved them before Jehovah as a wave offering, and Aaron expiated them to purify them. Num. 8:11, 13, 15, 21.

These verses show what ‘waving a wave offering’ means, namely endowing with life through acknowledgement, which is the first phase of faith, and so the first phase of life from God with a person. Knowledge, it is true, comes before acknowledgement, but knowledge has none of God’s life within it until it becomes acknowledgement and then faith. The Levites represented truths serving good, while Aaron represented the good they served; that is why they were ‘waved’, that is, were endowed with life. This also accounts for its being said that they were to be purified. For truths must have life from God within them if they are to serve good, and that life first flows in through acknowledgement.

sRef Ex@35 @22 S3′ [3] Much the same is meant by ‘a wave offering of gold’ in Moses,

They came, the men with the women … they brought brooches, nose-jewels, rings, girdles**, all vessels of gold; and every man who waved a wave offering of gold to Jehovah. Exod. 35:22.

‘Waving a wave offering of gold to Jehovah’ means endowing with life through the acknowledgement that it was Jehovah’s, that is, the Lord’s. ‘Waving a wave offering’ means such things by virtue of what that action corresponds to; for every motion corresponds to a state of thought. In the Word therefore advancing, travelling on, and like movements mean states of life, see 3335, 4882, 5493, 5605, 8103, 8417, 8420, 8557.

sRef John@5 @6 S4′ sRef John@5 @7 S4′ sRef John@5 @5 S4′ sRef John@5 @4 S4′ sRef John@5 @2 S4′ sRef John@5 @3 S4′ [4] In John,

At the pool of Bethesda lay a large multitude of sick people; and an angel went down at a certain time to the pool and stirred up the water. Then whoever stepped in first after the movement of the water was cured of whatever disease he had. John 5:2-7.

‘Stirring up the water’ here was in like manner a sign of the endowment of life through acknowledgement and faith, and therefore also a sign of purification by means of truths.

‘Movement’ means states of life, see 2837, 3356, 3387, 4321, 4882, 5605, 7381, 9440, 9967.
‘Water’ means the truths of faith, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 8568, 9323.
All purification is accomplished by means of the truths of faith, 2799, 5954 (end), 7044, 7918, 9088.
Healings represented the restoration of spiritual life, 8365, 9031 (end).

[5] Since ‘the waving on Aaron’s palms’ means the endowment of life through acknowledgement of the Lord and the acknowledgement that all things come from Him, something brief must be stated with regard to that acknowledgement and resulting faith. The Lord often said, when sick people were being healed, that they should have faith, and, ‘Let it be to you according to your faith’, as in Matt. 8:10-13; 9:2, 22, 27-29; 13:57, 58; 15:28; 21:21, 22, 31, 32; Mark 5:34, 36; 10:49, 52; 16[:16]; Luke 7:9, 48-50; 8:48; 17:19; 18:42, 43. The reason why He said it was that the very first thing a person needs to do is to acknowledge that the Lord is the Saviour of the world; for unless he acknowledges this no one can receive any truth or good at all from heaven, or therefore receive faith from there. And since it was the very first and most essential thing, therefore in order that He might be acknowledged when He came into the world the Lord questioned the sick, when He healed them, about their faith; and those who had faith were healed. This faith was that He was the Son of God who was to come into the world, and that He had power to heal and save. Furthermore every healing of sickness by the Lord when He was in the world served to mean a healing of spiritual life, thus served to mean the things that belong to salvation, 8364, 9031(end), 9086.

aRef John@5 @39 S6′ aRef John@5 @40 S6′ [6] Since acknowledgement of the Lord is the first thing of all belonging to spiritual life and is the most essential feature of the Church, and since no one, unless he acknowledges Him, can receive any truth of faith or good of love at all from heaven, the Lord also often says that whoever believes in Him has eternal life, and whoever does not believe in Him does not have it, as in John 1:1, 4, 12, 13; 3:14-16, 36; 5:39, 40; 6:28-30, 33-35, 40, 47, 48; 7:37, 38; 8:24; 11:25, 26; 20:30, 31. But at the same time He also teaches that they have faith in Him who live according to His commandments, so that the life which results from doing so goes to compose their faith. These things have been stated to cast light on and corroborate the truth that acknowledging the Lord and acknowledging that all salvation comes from Him constitute the beginning of the life from God with a person. That beginning of it is meant by the offering waved on Aaron’s palms.
* i.e. the Levites were to be offered to Jehovah as though they were a wave offering
** i.e. bracelets, necklaces, etc

sRef Ex@29 @25 S0′ 10084. ‘And you shall take them from their hands and burn [them on] the altar with the burnt offering’ means a uniting to the Divine Good of Divine Love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘taking from their hands’ as the state following acknowledgement; for when ‘waving on the palms of Aaron and his sons’ means acknowledgement by means of which comes the life from God, ‘taking them from their hands’ means the state following acknowledgement, which is a state of being joined to good, meant by ‘burning [them on] the altar with the burnt offering’. For ‘burning [on] the altar’ means being joined to good, 10052, and ‘the burnt offering’ means and describes the actual bond, 10053.

sRef Ex@29 @25 S0′ 10085. ‘An odour of rest before Jehovah’ means the perception of peace. This is clear from the meaning of ‘an odour of rest’, when it has reference to Jehovah or the Lord, as the perception of peace, dealt with in 10054.

sRef Ex@29 @25 S0′ 10086. ‘It is a fire offering to Jehovah’ means springing from Divine Love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a fire offering to Jehovah’ as Divine Love, dealt with in 10055.

sRef Ex@29 @26 S0′ 10087. ‘And you shall take the breast’ means the Divine Spiritual in the heavens, which those in heaven make their own. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the breast’ as the good of charity, and in the highest sense as the Divine Spiritual, dealt with below. The reason why its being made their own by those in the heavens is meant is that the subject in what follows next is the flesh from the ram and the bread from the basket which were not burned on the altar but were left as a portion for and were eaten by Moses, Aaron, and his sons. By this is meant making it their own, the process of which is described in what follows next. The origin of the meaning of ‘the breast’ as the good of charity, and in the highest sense as the Divine Spiritual, lies in correspondence. For the human head corresponds to the good of love to the Lord, which is the good of the inmost heaven and is called the Divine Celestial, whereas the breast corresponds to the good of charity, which is the good of the middle or second heaven and is called the Divine Spiritual; and the feet correspond to the good of faith, thus to the good of obedience, which is the good of the lowest heaven and is called the Divine Natural. Regarding this correspondence, see what has been shown above in 10030.

sRef John@21 @21 S2′ sRef John@21 @16 S2′ sRef John@21 @20 S2′ sRef John@21 @22 S2′ sRef John@13 @25 S2′ sRef John@21 @15 S2′ sRef John@21 @17 S2′ sRef John@13 @23 S2′ sRef John@21 @18 S2′ sRef John@13 @22 S2′ sRef John@21 @19 S2′ [2] Since the breast because of its correspondence means the good of charity, and the good of charity results from the will to do good, John – who represented that good – leaned on the Lord’s breast or in His bosom, John 13:23, 25, by which the Lord’s love of that good is meant. For ‘leaning on the breast’ or ‘in the bosom’ means loving. Anyone who knows this may also know what the meaning is of the following words which the Lord addressed to Peter and to John,

Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon son of Jonah, do you love Me? He said, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Feed My lambs. He said to him again, Simon son of Jonah, do you love Me? He said, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Feed My sheep. He said to him a third time, Simon son of Jonah, do you love Me? Peter was grieved, therefore he said, Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You. Jesus said to him, Feed My sheep. Truly I say to you, When you were younger you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands and another will gird you and lead you where you do not wish. When He had said this He said to him, Follow Me. Having turned round Peter saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper. Seeing him Peter said, Lord, what about him? Jesus said to him, If I will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me. John 21:15-22.

None can know what these words mean except through the internal sense. This teaches that the Lord’s twelve disciples represented all aspects of faith and love in their entirety, just as the twelves tribes of Israel did, and that Peter represented faith, James charity, and John the works or good deeds that flow from charity.

The Lord’s twelve disciples represented all aspects of faith and love in their entirety, see 3488, 3858 (end), 6397.
The twelve tribes of Israel had the same representation, 3858, 3926, 4060, 6335, 6640.
Peter represented faith, James charity, and John the works that flow from charity, Prefaces to Genesis 18 and 22, and 3750, 4738, 6344 (end).
‘The rock’, as Peter is also called, means the Lord in respect of faith, 8581.

[3] Faith without charity does not love the Lord; nevertheless it is able to teach about things connected with faith and love, and the things that are the Lord’s. This was why the Lord said three times, ‘Do you love Me?’, and then, ‘Feed My lambs’ or ‘Feed My sheep’. For the same reason He says, ‘When you were younger you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands and another will gird you and lead you where you do not wish’, meaning that in its early stages the Church’s faith had possessed the good of innocence, like a young child; but when it was in decline, which is the final phase of the Church, faith would not possess that good any longer nor the good of charity, at which point evil and falsity would lead it. All this is what is meant by ‘when you are old you will stretch out your hands and another will gird you and lead you where you do not wish’, that is, you will pass from freedom into bondage. ‘Girding’ means being acquainted with and seeing truths in light that flows from good, 9952, and ‘walking’ leading a life in accord with those truths, 8417, 8420, so that ‘girding himself and walking where he wished’ means acting in freedom; and people act in freedom when an affection for truth springing from good governs their actions, 2870-2893, 9585-9591, and they are led by the Lord, 9096, 9586, 9589-9591. But ‘being girded by another and being led where he did not wish’ means being in bondage, and people are in bondage when evil governs their actions, and so they are led by hell, 9096, 9586, 9589-9591. ‘Lambs’, which the Lord mentions first, are those in whom the good of innocence is present, see 3994; ‘sheep’, which the Lord mentions the second and third times, are those in whom the good of charity, and faith springing from this, are present, 4169, 4809. Also three means the whole period from beginning to end, 2788, 4495, 7715, 9198; consequently, since the Lord spoke to Peter regarding the Church from its early stages to when it was in decline, He said three times, Do you love Me? sRef Isa@40 @11 S4′ sRef Isa@40 @10 S4′ [4] As regards John’s following the Lord, this was a sign of the truth that those who perform the good deeds of charity follow the Lord, are loved by the Lord, and do not leave Him, whereas those whose faith is separated from charity not only fail to follow the Lord but are also angered by that truth, as Peter was then; not to mention many more arcana within the words contained in that passage.

From all this it is evident also that leaning on the Lord’s breast or in His bosom means being loved by Him, and that this expression is used in reference to those who perform the good deeds of charity. Much the same is meant by carrying in the bosom, Isa. 40:10, 11, and lying in the bosom, 2 Sam. 12:3.

sRef Ex@29 @26 S0′ 10088. ‘Of the ram of fillings [of the hand], which is Aaron’s’ means a representative sign of the Lord’s Divine power in the heavens which comes through Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Good, and the transmission and the reception of that truth there, as above in 10076.

sRef Matt@11 @27 S0′ sRef John@17 @2 S0′ sRef John@15 @5 S0′ sRef John@3 @35 S0′ sRef Matt@28 @18 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @26 S0′ 10089. ‘And wave it as a wave offering before Jehovah’ means being endowed with life. This is clear from the meaning of ‘waving as a wave offering before Jehovah’ as being endowed with life through acknowledgement of the Lord and of the truth that all power in heaven and on earth is His, dealt with above in 10083. It is well known that the first thing of the Church consists in acknowledging the Lord, for the Church teaches that without the Lord there is no salvation. Many places in the Word teach that all power is His; indeed He Himself so teaches in the following places,

All things have been delivered to Me by the Father. Matt. 11:27; Luke 10:22.
The Father has given all things into the hand of the Son. John 3:34, 35.*
The Father has given the Son power over all flesh. John 17:2.
Without Me you can do nothing. John 15:5.
All power in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Matt. 28:18.
Jesus said to Peter, You are the rock; I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Matt. 16:18, 19.

By Peter here faith received from the Lord should be understood, thus the Lord in respect of faith, who possesses that power, see Preface to Genesis 22, and 4738, 6344(end). And ‘the rock’, as he is called there, means the Lord in respect of faith, 8581.
* The words in these two verses were in fact spoken by John the Baptist.

sRef Ex@29 @26 S0′ 10090. ‘And it shall be the portion for you’ means transmission to those who are governed by God’s truths. This is clear from the representation of Moses, whose portion the breast was to be, as the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, thus Divine Truth which comes from the Lord, dealt with in 6752, 7010, 7014, 9372; and from the meaning of ‘being the portion for’ as transmission, since those parts of sacrifices that were given to Moses, Aaron, his sons, and the people were signs of the transmission of what was Divine and holy with them. And all transmission takes place in accord with the character of the recipient, thus in accord with the character of the representation among those who were the recipients.

[2] The reason why the breast was apportioned to Moses and the flank, spoken of a little further on, to Aaron was that the subject at present is the transmission of Divine Truth and Divine Good from the Lord in heaven and in the Church, and their making that Truth and Good their own. These two – Divine Truth and Divine Good, both of which come from the Lord – are what are received there, Divine Truth by those in the Lord’s spiritual kingdom and Divine Good by those in the celestial kingdom, see the places referred to in 9277, 9684. This explains why the breast was apportioned to Moses and the flank to Aaron, for ‘the breast’ means Divine Truth in the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, 10087, while ‘the flank’ means Divine Good in the celestial kingdom, 10075, as also does ‘the bread in the basket’, which too was assigned to Aaron, 10077.

sRef Lev@8 @29 S3′ [3] As was shown just above, Moses represented the Lord in respect of Divine Truth; and Aaron, when consecrated to the priesthood, represented the Lord in respect of Divine Good, see 9806. The fact that the breast was assigned to Moses as his portion is clear in Leviticus, where again the consecration of Aaron and his sons to the priesthood is the subject,

Moses took the breast and waved it as a wave offering before Jehovah, from the ram of fillings [of the hand]; and it was Moses’ portion, as Jehovah had commanded Moses. Lev. 8:29.

10091. ‘And you shall sanctify the breast of the wave offering’ means the Divine Spiritual acknowledged in heaven and in the Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘sanctifying’ as representing the Lord and holy things that spring from Him, dealt with in 9956, 9988; from the meaning of ‘the breast’ as the Divine Spiritual in heaven, dealt with in 10087; and from the meaning of ‘the wave offering’ as endowing with life through acknowledgement, dealt with in 10083, 10089. The Divine Spiritual is Divine Truth in the middle or second heaven, the heaven that is also called the spiritual kingdom.

10092. ‘And the flank of the heave offering’ means the Divine Celestial, which is the Lord’s alone, perceived in heaven and in the Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the flank’ as the Divine Celestial in heaven and in the Church, dealt with in 10075; and from the meaning of ‘the heave offering’ as that which has been given and received, dealt with below. The Divine Celestial is Divine Good from the Lord which has been received in the inmost heaven, the heaven that is also spoken of as the celestial kingdom. So it is that Divine Good received in the inmost heaven is called celestial good.

10093. ‘That which has been waved, and that which has been heaved up’ means what has been acknowledged and what has been perceived. This is clear from the meaning of the words ‘that which has been waved’, when they refer to the breast, as that which has been endowed with life through acknowledgement, dealt with above in 10091; and from the meaning of ‘that which has been heaved up’ as the Divine Celestial, which is the Lord’s alone, perceived in heaven and in the Church, dealt with below. The implications of all this must be stated briefly. There are two kingdoms which comprise the heavens, the celestial and the spiritual. Divine Truth is acknowledged in the spiritual kingdom but perceived in the celestial kingdom. The reason why this should be so is that Divine Truth in the spiritual kingdom is received in the understanding part of the mind but in the celestial kingdom in the will part. What is received in the understanding part is termed ‘acknowledged’, and what is received in the will part is spoken of as ‘perceived’. Furthermore those in the spiritual kingdom can do no more than acknowledge Divine Truth, whereas those in the celestial kingdom are able to perceive it. See what has been shown abundantly regarding those two kingdoms in the places referred to in 9277, 9596, 9684.

sRef Num@18 @12 S2′ sRef Num@18 @19 S2′ sRef Num@18 @28 S2′ sRef Num@3 @12 S2′ sRef Num@18 @17 S2′ sRef Num@18 @18 S2′ sRef Lev@7 @34 S2′ sRef Num@18 @29 S2′ sRef Lev@7 @35 S2′ sRef Num@18 @20 S2′ sRef Num@3 @13 S2′ sRef Num@18 @8 S2′ sRef Num@18 @15 S2′ sRef Num@18 @16 S2′ sRef Num@18 @14 S2′ sRef Num@18 @11 S2′ sRef Num@18 @13 S2′ [2] As regards ‘the heave offering’, that which was Jehovah’s or the Lord’s and was given to Aaron on account of his representation is called ‘the heave offering’. And since Aaron represented the Lord in respect of Divine Good, 9806, that part of sacrifices which was heaved up and given to Aaron represented that which is Divine and the Lord’s, and is also called ‘the anointing’, in Moses,

The breast of the wave offering and the flank of the heave offering I have received from among the children of Israel from their eucharistic sacrifices, and I have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons by a statute forever* from among the children of Israel. This is the anointing of Aaron and the anointing of his sons from the fire offerings to Jehovah, on the day he presented them**, to serve Jehovah in the priestly office. Lev. 7:34, 35.

The expression ‘the anointing’ is used because ‘anointing’ means consecrating to serve as a representative sign of the Lord in respect of Divine Good, see 9954, 10019. And in another place in the same author,

Jehovah spoke to Aaron, Behold, I have given you charge of My heave offerings; as regards all the holy things of the children of Israel, I have given them to you for the anointing, and to your sons. Yours shall the heave offering of [their] gift be, as regards every wave offering of the children of Israel, all the best*** of pure oil, and all the best*** of the new wine and the grain, of the firstfruits; and as regards all the firstfruits which they will give to Jehovah, they shall be yours. As regards every devoted thing, everything opening the womb of all flesh which they will bring to Jehovah, [it shall be yours.] From the firstborn of cow, sheep, and she-goat, the flesh shall be yours, just as the breast of the wave offering and just as the right flank are. Every heave offering of the holy things [I have given you]. You shall have no portion or inheritance in the land, because Jehovah is your portion and inheritance. Also, every heave offering from the tithes and the gifts which have been made to the Levites. Num. 18:8-29.

From all this it is evident what the term ‘heave offering’ denotes, namely all the things that were Jehovah’s, that is, the Lord’s.

sRef Num@8 @17 S3′ sRef Num@8 @16 S3′ sRef Num@8 @18 S3′ [3] And since the Levites represented the Divine Truths in heaven and in the Church which serve Divine Good, they were also given to Aaron instead of all the firstborn, which were Jehovah’s, that is, the Lord’s. They are spoken of in Moses as follows,

I have taken the Levites from the midst of the children of Israel, instead of every firstborn, that which opens the womb, from the children of Israel, that the Levites may be Mine; for every firstborn is Mine. And since the Levites have been given to Me, I have given them as gifts to Aaron and his sons. Num. 3:12, 13; 8:16-19.

Heave offerings are spoken of as gifts presented to Jehovah, that is, to the Lord, from among the children of Israel; but it should be understood that they are Jehovah’s not by virtue of their being a gift but because He is the real owner; for nothing holy or Divine with a person belongs to the person, only to the Lord present with him. All that is good and true, as is well known in the Church, thus all that is holy and Divine, comes from the Lord God, and none at all from the person; and from this it is evident that when the gift is said to come from the person, this is due to appearances. This also is why the next verse states,

For it is a heave offering, and it shall be a heave offering from among the children of Israel, it is a heave offering to Jehovah.

This means that the heave offering from the children of Israel belongs to Jehovah, thus that the gift from them is a gift from the Lord. From this it is evident what a heave offering is.
* lit. a statute of eternity
** lit. he (i.e. Moses) caused them to draw near
*** lit. fat

10094. ‘From the ram of fillings [of the hand], from that which is for Aaron and from that which is for his sons’ means a representative sign of the Lord’s Divine power in the heavens which comes through Divine Truth emanating from Divine Good. This is clear from what has been shown above in 10076.

sRef Ex@29 @28 S0′ 10095. ‘And it shall be for Aaron and his sons by the statute of an age from among the children of Israel’ means the law of order in the representative Church as regards the Lord’s Divine Good and the Divine Truth emanating from that Good. This is clear from the representation of ‘Aaron and his sons’ as the Lord in respect of Divine Good and of the Divine Truth emanating from that Good, dealt with in 9806, 9807, 10068; from the meaning of ‘the statute of an age’ as a law of Divine order, dealt with in 7884, 7995, 8357; and from the representation of ‘the children of Israel’ as the Church, dealt with in 4286, 6426, 6637, 9340. The reason why the representative Church is meant is that this Church was established among the children of Israel, see the places referred to in 9320(end).

sRef Ex@29 @28 S0′ 10096. ‘For it is a heave offering’ means a representative sign of Divine Good and of the Divine Truth emanating from it. This is clear from what has been shown just above in 10093.

sRef Ex@29 @28 S0′ 10097. ‘And it shall be a heave offering from among the children of Israel from their peace-offering sacrifices, it is a heave offering to Jehovah’ means reception in the heavens and in the Church, and acknowledgement that they are the Lord’s alone. This too is clear from what has been shown above in 10093. The words ‘from peace-offering sacrifices’ are used because worship offered in freedom is meant by those sacrifices; for peace-offering or eucharistic sacrifices were voluntary ones, and voluntary offerings are those which a person gives in freedom. That which is done out of love, and so because the will desires it, is said to be ‘free’; for what a person loves, that he wills. The Lord flows into the person’s love, thus into his will, and enables him to receive what he receives in freedom; and what he receives in freedom, that too becomes free. The person loves it, and consequently it becomes part of his life. From this it is evident what worship offered in freedom, meant by ‘peace-offering sacrifices’ or voluntary ones, is. It is also evident what is meant by a heave offering from those sacrifices, namely the fact that they are the Lord’s alone.

All worship in general is meant by ‘sacrifices’, see 6905, 8936, 10042.
A person’s freedom belongs essentially to what he loves, 2870-2893, 3158, 4031, 7349, 9096, 9585-9591.

sRef Ex@29 @29 S0′ 10098. ‘And the holy garments which are Aaron’s’ means the Divine Spiritual emanating directly from the Divine Celestial. This is clear from the meaning of ‘Aaron’s garments’ as a representative sign of the Lord’s spiritual kingdom lying adjacent to His celestial kingdom, dealt with in 9814, thus also the Divine Spiritual; for the Lord’s spiritual kingdom owes its existence to what is Divine and the Lord’s there, which is called the Divine Spiritual. The whole of heaven consists in nothing other than what is Divine and the Lord’s, for angels there know, acknowledge, believe, and perceive that all the good of faith and good of love which compose heaven originate in the Lord, and none at all in themselves. Aaron’s garments are called ‘the holy garments’ because they represented Divine and holy things which originate in the Lord.

The Lord alone is Holy, everything holy originates in Him, and every ritual sanctifying some person or thing represented Him, see 9229, 9680, 9818, 9820, 9956, 9988.
Heaven is therefore called a sanctuary or especially holy place, 9479.

sRef Ex@29 @29 S0′ 10099. ‘Shall be for his sons after him’ means within the natural, successively. This is clear from the meaning of ‘Aaron’s sons’ as those things which emanate from Divine Good as the Father, dealt with in 9807, 10068; and from the meaning of ‘after him’ as successively or in successive order. And when those things are said of Aaron’s garments, which represented the Divine Spiritual, 10098, the statement that ‘they shall be for his sons after him’ means the Divine Spiritual within the natural, successively. For there are three entities which succeed one another in heaven and which, if people are to have any clear-cut idea of them, must be called by their particular names – celestial, spiritual, and natural. These three emanate there in order one from another; they are interconnected by an influx passing successively from one on to the next, and in this way they make one. What is Divine and the Lord’s in the heavens is referred to by these different names on account of differences in the reception of it.

[2] The subject at present is the second ram, called the ram of fillings [of the hand]; and ‘filling the hand’ means consecration to represent what is Divine and the Lord’s in the heavens, and the transmission and the reception of it there, 10019. Consequently, in order that the reception of it in the natural may also be described, the present verse speaks about Aaron’s garments, about their being worn in succeeding years by his sons after him. By this the succeeding stage of that reality in the heavens which is meant by ‘the filling of the hands’ should be understood. From this it is evident that these matters in the internal sense hold together in an unbroken sequence, even though in the sense of the letter a break in the series of details regarding what had to be done with the ram is apparent here.

Since things which exist in successive order in heaven are the subject here, something must also be stated to explain what ‘successive’ means. The majority of learned people at the present day have no other idea of things existing in successive order than of a continuation, or of things held together by continuing one into the next. This being their idea of the way that things succeed one another they can have no conception of the nature of the difference between exterior and interior things in a person, nor consequently of the difference between a person’s body and his spirit. When therefore they contemplate these matters with the ideas they have they cannot possibly understand how a person’s spirit can be alive within a human form after the decay or death of the body.

[3] But things existing in successive order are not continuous, merging one into the next; instead they are discrete, that is, belong to distinct degrees that are clear-cut one from the next. For interior things are entirely distinct from exterior ones, so distinct that the exterior things can be separated and the interior ones still retain the life they have. So it is that a person can be withdrawn from the body and think within his spirit or, as an expression commonly used by the ancients puts it, withdrawn from sensory perceptions and raised to more internal things. The ancients also knew that when a person is withdrawn from perceiving things with his physical senses he is drawn up or raised to the light belonging to his spirit, that is, the light of heaven. So it was also that learned ancients knew that when their body had decayed they would be living a more internal life, which they called their spirit. And since they regarded this life to be the truly human life they also knew that they would be living within a human form. Such was the idea they had regarding a person’s soul. And since that life partook of Divine life they perceived that their soul was immortal; for they knew that that part of a person which was a partaker of Divine life and for this reason linked to it could never die.

[4] But this idea of a person’s soul and spirit disappeared after those ancient times, for the reason, as stated above, that people did not have a right idea about things existing in successive order. This also explains why those who in their thinking rely on present-day learning do not know what the spiritual is, nor that this is distinct from the natural. For those who conceive of things in successive order as something continuous inevitably take the spiritual to be nothing more than a purer extension of the natural, when yet the spiritual and the natural are as distinct from each other as prior and posterior, and so as that which begets and that which is begotten. Consequently learned people such as these do not see the difference between the internal or spiritual man and the external or natural man, nor therefore between a person’s inward thought and will and his outward thought and will. Consequently also they cannot understand anything regarding faith and love, heaven and hell, or the life of a person after death.

[5] But those who have a right and distinct idea about things existing in successive order can in some measure comprehend that with a person who is being regenerated interior things are opened in successive order, and that as they are opened they are also raised to interior light and life, and nearer to the Divine; and that this opening and consequent raising is accomplished by means of God’s truths, which are vessels receptive of the good of love from the Divine. The good of love is what joins a person directly to the Divine, for love is spiritual togetherness. From this it follows that a person can be opened and raised up on increasingly internal levels, in the measure that the good of love from the Divine exists in him, and conversely that there is no such opening or consequent raising up with the person who does not receive God’s truths, which happens if evil resides in him. But a fuller statement regarding this successive order and its mysteries will in the Lord’s Divine mercy be presented elsewhere*.
* This intention was not fulfilled in Arcana Caelestia. But see Divine Love and Wisdom published in 1763, paragraphs 173-281, in particular 205-208.

sRef Ex@29 @29 S0′ 10100. ‘To anoint [them] in them’ means to represent the Lord in respect of Divine Good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘anointing’ as consecration to represent the Lord in respect of Divine Good, dealt with in 9954, 10019, at this point by those who receive what is Divine and the Lord’s in the natural; for the decree that ‘Aaron’s garments shall be for his sons after him’ means the Lord’s Divine Spiritual within the natural, 10098, 10099.

sRef Ex@29 @29 S0′ 10101. ‘And to fill their hand in them’ means a representative sign of Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good in the heavens. This is clear from the meaning of ‘filling the hand’ as consecration to represent Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good, and the transmission and the reception of that Truth in the heavens, dealt with in 10019, at this point by those on the lowest levels there.

sRef Ex@29 @30 S0′ 10102. ‘For seven days shall the priest coming after him, one of his sons, put them on’ means complete acknowledgement and reception. This is clear from the meaning of ‘seven days’ as a complete state, dealt with in 6508, 9228, and so something complete; and from the meaning of ‘the putting on of the garments by Aaron’s sons after him’ as representing the reception of the Divine Spiritual within the natural, dealt with above in 10098, 10099.

sRef Ex@29 @30 S0′ 10103. ‘He who will enter the tent of meeting to minister in the holy place’ means in all worship in heaven and in the Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the tent of meeting’ as that which is representative of heaven and the Church, dealt with in 9457, 9481, 9485; and from the meaning of ‘entering it to minister in the holy place’ as worship, dealt with in 9963, 9964.

sRef Ex@29 @31 S0′ 10104. ‘And you shall take the ram of fillings [of the hand]’ means a representative sign of the Lord’s Divine power in the heavens which comes through Divine Truth emanating from Divine Good, and the transmission and the reception of that Truth there, as above in 10076.

sRef Ex@29 @31 S0′ 10105. ‘And boil its flesh in a holy place’ means employing the truths of doctrine seen in light received from the Lord to make good ready for use in life. This is clear from the meaning of ‘boiling’ as employing the truths of doctrine to make ready for use in life; from the meaning of ‘flesh’ as good, dealt with in 7850, 9127; and from the meaning of ‘in a holy place’ as thanks to Divine enlightenment. For a holy place is one where what is Divine and the Lord’s is present, and so, when the expression has specific reference to the truths of doctrine, is one where Divine enlightenment exists; for where what is Divine and the Lord’s is present, so is enlightenment. The reason why ‘boiling the flesh of the sacrifice’ means employing the truths of doctrine to make good ready for use in life is that flesh, by which good is meant, is by that means made ready for the use of the body; consequently being made ready for use in life is meant in the spiritual sense. The fact that the truths of doctrine are what are employed to make good ready is self-evident, for use is what those truths teach. Also ‘the water’ in which the flesh is boiled means truths, see 2702, 3058, 3424, 5668, 8568, 9323.

[2] The words ’employing the truths of doctrine seen in light received from the Lord’ are used because truths drawn from the Word have to be marshalled into doctrine in order that they may be put to use. The marshalling must be done by those who see things in light received from the Lord; and those so enlightened when they read the Word are people who desire truth for its own sake and for the sake of goodness of life, not those who desire it for the sake of self-glorification, reputation, or gain. Doctrine drawn from the Word is wholly essential for understanding the Word, see 9025, 9409, 9410, 9424, 9430; and those who gather doctrine from the Word must see things in light received from the Lord, 9382, 9424.

sRef 2Ki@4 @41 S3′ sRef 2Ki@4 @40 S3′ sRef 2Ki@4 @38 S3′ sRef 2Ki@4 @39 S3′ [3] The meaning of ‘boiling in water’ as turning truths into doctrine and thereby making them ready for use in life seems at first sight to be implausible and far-fetched. Nevertheless that is indeed the meaning, as becomes clear from places in the Word where the words ‘boiling in water’ occur, and also where ‘a pot’ in which the boiling is done is mentioned, as in the second Book of Kings,

Elisha came again to Gilgal, when there was a famine in the land. When the sons of the prophets were sitting before him he said to his servant, Put on a great pot, and boil a soup for the sons of the prophets. One of them went out into the field to gather herbs and found a wild vine, and gathered from it wild gourds, and cut them up into the pot of soup. While they were eating of the soup they cried out, There is death in the pot, O man of God! Therefore he said that they should bring flour, which he threw into the pot, and said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. Then there was not anything bad in the pot. 2 Kings 4:38-41.

This miracle, like all others in the Word, holds holy things of the Church within it, which are made evident by the internal sense. This sense shows that Elisha represented the Lord in respect of the Word, as Elijah had done; that ‘the sons of the prophets’ are those who teach truths drawn from the Word; that ‘the pot’ which was put on at Elisha’s command is doctrine formed from them; that ‘a wild vine’ and ‘gourds’ from it are falsities; and from all this it is evident what ‘death in the pot’ is. ‘The flour which he threw into the pot’ is truth springing from good, as a result of which action – because doctrine had been cured – ‘there was not anything bad in the pot’. The internal sense also shows that ‘boiling in the pot’ means combining into doctrine and thereby making ready for use.

All miracles in the Word hold holy things of the Church within them, see 7337, 8364, 9086.
Elisha represented the Lord in respect of the Word, 2762.
‘Prophets’ are teachers of truths, thus in the abstract sense, without reference to persons, the truths of doctrine, 2534, 7269.
‘Vine’ is the Church’s truth, and ‘grapes’ its good, 5113, 5117, 9277, so that ‘a wild vine’ and ‘gourds’ are falsities and evils.
‘Flour’ is the authentic truth of faith derived from good, 9995.
‘The soup’ which they were to boil means matters of doctrine massed together, as those of the Jews were, 3316.

From all this people may deduce what ‘boiling’ means, and what ‘a pot’ means.

sRef Ezek@24 @4 S4′ sRef Ezek@24 @3 S4′ sRef Ezek@24 @6 S4′ sRef Ezek@24 @5 S4′ [4] In Ezekiel,

Tell a parable against the house of rebellion: Put on the pot, put it on, and also pour water into it; gather the pieces into it – every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder. Fill it with the choice of the bones, and let the bones be boiled in the midst of it. Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Woe to the city of blood*, to the pot whose scum is in it, and whose scum does not come out of it! Ezek. 24:3-6.

These verses describe what the Word is like so far as doctrine is concerned, that is to say, it contains Divine Truths emanating from Divine Good. Then they describe doctrine from the Word as it existed among the Jewish nation – full of unclean and false notions. ‘The pot’ is doctrine; ‘the thigh, the shoulder, and the choice of the bones’ are Divine Truths emanating from Divine Good in successive order; ‘the city of blood’ is the Jewish nation in respect of the truth of doctrine among them, and in the abstract sense, without reference to nation or person, doctrine destructive of good; ‘the scum in it’ is that which is external and favours foul kinds of love, which if not removed defile truth. From this also it is evident that ‘the pot’ is doctrine, and ‘boiling’ making ready for use.

sRef Ezek@11 @2 S5′ sRef Ezek@11 @7 S5′ sRef Ezek@11 @3 S5′ [5] In the same prophet,

The Spirit said to me, Son of man, these men think iniquity and give wicked counsel in the city, saying, [The time] is not near to build houses; [the city] itself is the pot and we are the flesh. Ezek. 11:2, 3, 7.

Here also ‘the pot’ stands for doctrine consisting of falsity arising from evil; for ‘the pot’ is used to describe the city in which iniquity is thought and wicked counsel is given. ‘The city’ too means doctrine, see 402, 2712, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493, in this instance doctrine of the same type.

sRef Jer@1 @14 S6′ sRef Jer@1 @13 S6′ [6] In Jeremiah,

Jehovah said, What do you see? I said, A puffed-out pot do I see, its face towards the north. Jehovah said, From the north evil will be opened over all the inhabitants of the land. Jer. 1:13, 14.

‘A puffed-out pot’ likewise means doctrine consisting of falsity arising from evil. ‘The north’ means an obscure state so far as the truth of faith is concerned, also thick darkness caused by falsities, 3708. From this it is evident what this prophetic vision holds within it.

sRef Zech@14 @21 S7′ sRef Lev@6 @28 S7′ [7] In Zechariah,

On that day every pot in Jerusalem [and] in Judah will be holiness to Jehovah Zebaoth, and all offering sacrifice will come, and take from them, and boil in them. Zech. 14:21.

Here ‘pot’ means doctrine teaching about charity and faith, thus doctrine consisting of truth springing from good; ‘Jerusalem’ is the Lord’s Church; and ‘[all] offering sacrifice’ are those engaging in Divine worship. From this it is evident that ‘boiling in the pots’ means making ready for use in spiritual life. [8] In Moses,

Every earthen vessel in which the flesh of the sacrifice of a guilt or a sin offering is boiled shall be broken. But if it has been boiled in a bronze vessel, it shall be scoured and rinsed** in water. Lev. 6:28.

‘An earthen vessel’ in which the boiling was done is falsity that does not go together with good; ‘a bronze vessel’ is doctrinal teaching that has good in it; ‘boiling the flesh of the sacrifice of a guilt or sin offering’ in them means making something ready for purification from evils and consequent falsities. From this it is evident what was represented by the decree that an earthen vessel should be broken and that a bronze vessel should be scoured and rinsed in water.
* lit. bloods
** lit. shall be scraped and immersed

sRef Ex@29 @32 S0′ 10106. ‘And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram’ means the making of spiritual good their own by those who are at home with internal things, from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘eating’ as making one’s own, dealt with in 3168, 3513(end), 3596, 4745; from the representation of ‘Aaron and his sons’ as the Lord in respect of Divine Good and Divine Truth, dealt with in 9806, 9807, 10068, at this point that Good and Truth in the heavens since ‘filling the hand’, which means the transmission and the reception of them, is the subject; and from the meaning of ‘the flesh of the ram’ as the good of the internal man or good on internal levels (‘flesh’ means good, see 3813, 7850, 9127, and ‘the ram’ the good of innocence and charity in the internal man, 9991, 10042). The words ‘the Lord in respect of Divine Good and Divine Truth in the heavens, and the transmission and the reception of that Good and Truth there’ are used because the Lord is above the heavens. He is the Sun of heaven and is also actually seen by those in heaven as the Sun; and all the light the heavens have comes from this. By means of the light and heat from it He is present in the heavens, so much so that He seems to be present there entirely; for He fills the heavens and constitutes them. The light radiating from Him as the Sun is essentially Divine Truth, from which angels derive the wisdom and intelligence they possess. And the heat radiating from Him as the Sun is the Divine Good of His Divine Love there. The transmission and the reception of this Divine Good and that Divine Truth in the heavens is what ‘filling the hand’ means.

The Lord is the Sun of heaven, the source of the light and heat in the heavens from which angels derive the life, that is, the wisdom and love, they possess, see 3636, 3643, 4321(end), 5097, 7078, 7083, 7171, 7173, 7270, 8644, 8812.

sRef Ex@29 @32 S0′ 10107. ‘And the bread which is in the basket’ means making celestial good from the Lord their own. This is clear from the meaning of ‘eating’ – at this point, eating the bread – as making one’s own, as immediately above in 10106; from the meaning of ‘the bread’ as the good of love and charity, dealt with in 2165, 2177, 3464, 3478, 3735, 3813, 4217, 4735, 4976, 5915, 6118, 9323, 9545; and from the meaning of ‘the basket’ as the level of the outward senses, dealt with in 9996. From these meanings it is evident that ‘eating the bread which is in the basket’ means making good from the Lord on outward levels their own. The bread in the basket consisted of unleavened loaves, unleavened cakes, and unleavened wafers, by which purified good is meant, both inward and outward kinds of it, 9992-9994. When therefore the words ‘the bread in the basket’ are used all those kinds of good present on the level of the outward senses are meant, that level being the last and lowest of a person’s life, containing inward things all together within itself.

The level of the outward senses is the last and lowest of a person’s life, see 5077, 5081, 5094, 5125, 5128, 5767, 6183, 6311, 6313, 6318, 6564, 7645, 9212, 9216, 9730, 9996.
That level contains all inward things, because it is last and lowest, 6451, 6465, 9216, 9828, 9836, 10044.

sRef Ex@29 @32 S0′ 10108. ‘At the door of the tent of meeting’ means on entering heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the door’ as admission, dealt with in 2145, 2152, 2356, 2385, and introduction, 8989; and from the representation of ‘the tent of meeting’ as heaven, where the Lord is, dealt with in 9457, 9481, 9485, 9963.

sRef Ex@29 @33 S0′ 10109. ‘And they shall eat those things containing what has been expiated’ means the making of good their own by those who have been purified from evils and consequent falsities. This is clear from the meaning of ‘eating’ as making one’s own, dealt with above in 10106; and from the meaning of ‘what has been expiated’ as that which has been purified from evils and consequent falsities, dealt with in 9506. The words ‘purified from evils and consequent falsities’ are used because falsities as well as truths exist with those ruled by evil, and also falsities as well as truths exist with those who are governed by good. The falsities present with those ruled by evil are falsities of evil, and the truths present with them are falsified truths, which are dead. But the falsities present with those governed by good are accepted as truths, for those falsities are tempered by the good and put to good and useful purposes, and the truths present with them are the truths of good, which are alive. Regarding both kinds of falsity and truth, see what has been shown in 2243, 2408, 2863, 4736, 4822, 6359, 7272, 7437, 7574, 7577, 8051, 8137, 8138, 8149, 8298, 8311, 8318 (end), 9258, 9298.

[2] Since ‘eating the holy things containing what has been expiated’ means the making of good their own by those who have been purified from evils and consequent falsities, anyone unclean was strictly forbidden to eat of those things; for uncleanness means defilement by evils and consequent falsities. For the situation is that as long as a person is steeped in evils and consequent falsities good cannot by any means be made his own. This is because evil comes up from hell and good comes down from heaven, and where hell is heaven cannot be, since they are diametrically opposed to each other. Therefore to make a place for heaven – that is, for good from heaven – hell, that is, evil from hell, must be removed. From this it may be seen that good cannot by any means be made a person’s own as long as he is ruled by evil. By making good his own the implanting of good in the will should be understood, for good cannot be said to have been made a person’s own until it becomes part of his will. A person’s will is the actual person, and his understanding also, to the extent that it derives from the will. For what is part of the will forms part of the person’s love and consequently his life, since what a person wills he loves and calls good, and also when it is done by him it is felt to be such. The situation is different with those things which are part of the understanding but not at the same time part of the will. It should also be recognized that when a person is said to make good his own, no more should be understood than his ability to receive good from the Lord, an ability he is endowed with through regeneration. Consequently good as it exists with a person is not that person’s; rather it is the Lord’s with him. And he is maintained in it to the extent that he allows himself to be withheld from evils. The impossibility for good to become a person’s own, that is, for it to be transmitted to him, as long as he is ruled by evil was the reason for the prohibition which prevented one who was unclean from eating the flesh and the bread of a sacrifice; for that eating represented making good one’s own, as stated above.

sRef Lev@7 @19 S3′ sRef Lev@7 @20 S3′ sRef Lev@7 @18 S3′ sRef Lev@7 @21 S3′ [3] Those who were unclean were forbidden on pain of death to eat from holy offerings, as is clear in Moses,

Everyone who is clean shall eat flesh. The soul who eats the flesh of sacrifices while uncleanness is on him shall be cut off from his people. The soul who touches anything unclean – the uncleanness of a human being or an unclean beast or any unclean creeping thing whatever – and eats of the flesh of the eucharistic sacrifice shall be cut off from [his] people. Lev. 7:19-21.

All those outward kinds of uncleanness represented inward kinds, which are a person’s evils; and they are evils present in his will, having been made his own by the life he actually leads.

sRef Lev@22 @4 S4′ sRef Lev@22 @5 S4′ sRef Lev@22 @14 S4′ sRef Lev@22 @10 S4′ sRef Lev@22 @15 S4′ sRef Lev@22 @6 S4′ sRef Lev@22 @9 S4′ sRef Lev@22 @2 S4′ sRef Lev@22 @11 S4′ sRef Lev@22 @7 S4′ sRef Lev@22 @13 S4′ sRef Lev@22 @1 S4′ sRef Lev@22 @16 S4′ sRef Lev@22 @3 S4′ sRef Lev@22 @12 S4′ sRef Lev@22 @8 S4′ [4] This matter is described further elsewhere in Moses,

Any man of the seed of Aaron who is a leper or suffers a discharge shall not eat of the holy things until he has been made clean. Whoever has touched anything made unclean by a corpse*, [or any] man who has had an emission of semen**, or [any] man who has touched any creeping thing by which he is defiled, or [has touched] a person by whom any one is defiled, as to all his uncleanness – the soul who has touched that thing shall be unclean until evening and not eat of the holy things. But when he has washed his flesh with water, and the sun has gone down, he shall be clean; and afterwards he shall eat of the holy things, because it is his bread. No outsider shall eat what is holy; a stranger staying with a priest, or a hired servant, shall not eat what is holy. If the priest buys a soul – a buying with his silver – [that soul] may eat of it, and one who is born in his house; these shall eat of his bread. When a priest’s daughter has married a man, an outsider, she shall not eat of the heave offering of holy things. But if the priest’s daughter has been made a widow or divorced and has no seed, and has indeed returned to her father’s house, as in her youth, she shall eat of her father’s bread. Lev. 22:1-16.

All these rules, it is plainly evident, serve to mean more internal considerations, that is, they imply the transmission of holy things to those in a receptive state of mind, who then make those things their own. The rule that no outsider could eat the holy things meant, not those who do not acknowledge the Lord within the Church, thus not those with whom none of the Church’s truth and good exists. The rule that no stranger or hired servant could eat them meant, neither those with whom natural good exists devoid of the good of faith, nor those who do good for the sake of reward. The rule that those bought with silver and those born in the house could eat them meant, those who have been converted, and those with whom the Church’s truth and good exists as the result of faith and love. The rule that a priest’s daughter married to a man who was an outsider could not eat them meant that the good which had not been wedded to the Church’s truths [but to something other] could not make the holy things of the Church its own. The rule however that a widow or a divorcee who had no seed could eat them meant that good can be made one’s own after the removal of things which do not belong to the Church, provided that no notions have been hatched or born out of that union that have become an integral part of one’s faith. The fact that such considerations are meant is evident from the internal sense of these specific rules.

sRef Lev@21 @18 S5′ sRef Lev@21 @21 S5′ sRef Lev@21 @20 S5′ sRef Lev@21 @23 S5′ sRef Lev@21 @17 S5′ sRef Lev@21 @22 S5′ sRef Lev@21 @19 S5′ [5] But hereditary evils do not prevent anyone from making good his own. This consideration too is described in Moses,

No man of the seed of Aaron in whom there is a blemish shall approach to offer the bread of God – no man who is blind, lame, mutilated, or [has a limb] too long; none who has a broken foot or hand, is a hunchback, is bruised, has a defect in his eye, has scabs, has warts, or has a crushed testicle. He shall not approach to offer the bread of his God; but he shall eat the bread of God from among the most holy and the holy things. Lev. 21:17-23.

These defects, as has been stated, serve to mean hereditary evils, some specific evil being meant by each particular defect. The reason why these men should not offer bread or approach the altar as priests was that if they did so the people would catch sight of those imperfections or ills, and in what was caught sight of some representation would take shape, none of which would happen if those defects remained hidden. For although a priest, Levite, or the people were unclean inwardly, they were nevertheless called clean and also thought to be sanctified, provided that outwardly they were washed and looked clean.
* lit. anything unclean on account of the soul
** lit. a man from whom the lying together of semen (i.e. semen from sexual intercourse) has gone out

sRef Ex@29 @33 S0′ 10110. ‘To fill their hand’ means in order to receive Divine Truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘filling the hand’ as representing the Lord in respect of Divine Truth in the heavens, and the transmission and the reception of that Truth there, dealt with in 10076. The implications of this statement – that ‘they shall eat the holy things containing what has been expiated, to fill their hand’ means the making of good their own by those who have been purified from evils and consequent falsities in order to receive Divine Truth – are as follows: [2] The first thing of all to be made a person’s own is good, followed in stages by truth. The reason why this should be so is that good is the ground and truth the seed. So in a similar way good adopts truth and joins it to itself, because it loves truth like a parent. For a heavenly conjugial relationship exists between good and truth, and good is what constitutes a person’s life, since good belongs to the will and a person’s will is the actual person. But truth does not constitute a person’s life except insofar as it originates in good. Because truth belongs to the understanding, and the understanding without the will is not the actual person, it is merely the doorway to the person; for the understanding is the doorway through which things pass into the will.

[3] A person may be compared to a house with a large number of rooms leading one into the next. People who have truths solely in their understanding are not in any room in the house but merely in the court outside. So far however as truth passes through the understanding into the will it passes into the rooms and lives in the house. A person is also compared in the Word to a house, and truth confined to the understanding is compared to the court. But truth which has also been made part of the will and becomes good there is compared to a room that is lived in and to the actual bedchamber.

[4] The fact that good is the first thing of all to come from the Lord and be made a person’s own is clear from his infancy and early childhood. At this time, as is well known, the good of innocence, the good of love towards parents and nursemaid, and the good of charity towards companions of his own age exist with him. This good flows from the Lord into young children to serve in the next stage of life as the first requirement for the presence of the Lord’s life with a person, and so to serve as the groundwork for receiving truths. That good with the person is also preserved as he grows up, unless he himself destroys it by a life of evil and consequent belief in what is false. When the word ‘good’ is used charity towards the neighbour and love to the Lord should be understood; for everything that is a manifestation of love and charity is good.

Good occupies the first place and truth the second with those who are being regenerated, though the appearance is other than this, see 3325, 3494, 3539, 3548, 3556, 3563, 3570, 4925, 4926, 4928, 4930, 6256, 6269, 6272, 6273.

sRef Ex@29 @33 S0′ 10111. ‘To sanctify them’ means in order that they may be in possession of truths from good which come from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being sanctified’ as representing the Lord and the holy things which come from Him, dealt with in 9956, 9988, and so in the spiritual sense as being led by the Lord, since the Lord alone is holy and He is the source of everything holy, 8806, 9229, 9479, 9688, 9818, 9820. From this it is evident that receiving truths through good from the Lord, thus receiving faith through love derived from Him and shown towards Him, is meant by being sanctified. Not that the person regarded in himself is therefore holy; only the Lord present with Him is holy. For faith and love constitute the Lord’s presence with a person, since He is the one to whom unceasingly they owe their existence.

sRef John@3 @36 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @33 S0′ 10112. ‘And a stranger shall not eat them’ means no making of good their own by those who do not acknowledge the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a stranger’ or a foreigner as one who is outside the Church, dealt with in 2049, 2115, 7996, and they are said to be outside the Church who do not acknowledge the Lord (among the Jewish nation those who did not acknowledge Jehovah as their God or allow themselves to receive instruction in the ritual observances of the Church [were called ‘outsiders’]; those who did acknowledge Him and allow themselves to receive instruction were called ‘sojourners’, who had the same rights as natives, see 8007, 8013, 9196); and from the meaning of ‘eating’ as making good one’s own, dealt with in 10109. The reason why good is not made their own by people who do not acknowledge the Lord is that acknowledging one’s God is the starting point of religion, and among Christians acknowledging the Lord is the starting point of the Church; for without acknowledgement of Him there can be no transmission of anything from Him, nor consequently any faith, nor thus any love. So it is that the chief thing the Christian Church teaches is that without the Lord there is no salvation. For whatever a person calls true and believes and whatever he calls good and loves cannot be said to be true or good unless it comes from the Divine, and so unless it comes from the Lord. For no one left to himself is able to believe what is true or do what is good; rather, as is also well known, everything true and everything good comes from above. From this it is plainly evident that people within the Church who do not acknowledge the Lord cannot possess faith, nor thus any love to God, and therefore cannot be saved. This was represented among the Israelite nation by their acknowledgement of Jehovah as their God, by the acceptance of their worship and its being called holy, and by their being sanctified then, regardless of what they were like inwardly. For things of a representative nature were no more than outward forms, and with that nation an interest in these alone was sufficient, see the places referred to in 9320(end). Those of them therefore who did not acknowledge Jehovah but some other God, however much they offered the same kinds of sacrifice and worshipped in the same kinds of ways, were nevertheless banished from the Church, such as those who honoured baal and other gods. From this it may be recognized what kind of fate in the next life awaits those who have been born within the Church and yet at heart fail to accept the Lord, whatever the ways in which they have behaved towards others. Much experience as well has led me to see that they cannot be saved, as also the Lord teaches explicitly in John,

He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not believe in the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him. John 3:36.

As regards nations outside the Church however, those who, true to their religion, have led lives in which some kind of charity towards their neighbour has figured, and some kind of love to God the Creator of the universe in a human form, are accepted in the next life by the Lord and saved. For after receiving instruction from angels they acknowledge the Lord, believe in Him, and love Him, see 2589-2604.

sRef Ex@29 @33 S0′ 10113. ‘Because those things are holy’ means because they are Divine. This is clear from the meaning of ‘holy things’ as those which come from the Lord, dealt with above in 10111, thus which are Divine.

sRef Ex@29 @34 S0′ 10114. ‘And if anything of the flesh of fillings [of the hand], and of the bread, is left until the morning’ means spiritual and celestial forms of good which have not been linked to the new state. This is clear from the meaning of ‘anything of the flesh and of the bread that is left’ as that which has not been made their own, for ‘eating’ means making one’s own, 10109, so that what has not been eaten means what has not been made their own; from the meaning of ‘the flesh’ as good, dealt with in 7850, 9127; from the meaning of ‘fillings [of the hand]’ as reception, dealt with in 10076, 10110, so that ‘the flesh of fillings [of the hand]’ means the reception of truth in good, and therefore the joining together of this truth and good, though in this instance the lack of any such reception or joining together is meant because what is left of the flesh must be understood; from the meaning of ‘the bread’ as celestial good, which is inmost good, dealt with in 10077; and from the meaning of ‘the morning’ as a new state, dealt with in 8211, 8427. From these meanings it is evident that ‘anything of the flesh of fillings [of the hand], and of the bread, left until the morning’ means spiritual and celestial forms of good which have not been linked to the new state. For the flesh of the sacrifice means spiritual good, which is the good of charity towards the neighbour, and the bread of it celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord.

sRef Lev@7 @18 S2′ sRef Lev@7 @17 S2′ sRef Ex@12 @10 S2′ sRef Ex@23 @18 S2′ sRef Lev@7 @16 S2′ [2] What more should be understood by not being linked to the new state must be stated briefly. A new state is every state in which good and truth are joined together, and this occurs when the actions of a person who is being regenerated spring from good, thus from affection and love, and not as previously from truth or mere obedience. A new state also occurs when the good of love arises among those in heaven, a state called ‘the morning’ there; for different states of love and faith come round there, like midday, evening, [pre-dawn] twilight, and morning on earth. In addition a new state occurs when an old Church comes to an end and a new one begins. All these new states are meant in the Word by ‘the morning’; each has been dealt with specifically in various places in the explanations of Genesis and Exodus.

Similar things are meant by the rule that ‘none of the flesh of the Passover lamb shall be left until the morning’ and that what did remain of it was to be burned with fire, Exod. 12:10, and also by the command that ‘the fat of the feast shall not remain through the night until morning’, Exod. 23:18. sRef Ex@16 @20 S3′ sRef Ex@16 @19 S3′ [3] Similar things were also meant by the rule that what remained from the flesh of a eucharistic sacrifice could be eaten on the following day as well, but had to be burned on the third day, Lev. 7:16-18; 19:6, 7, ‘the third day’ too meaning a new state, see 4901, 5123, 5159. The reason for the concession contained in this rule was that eucharistic sacrifices were offerings made in connection with vows or they were voluntary offerings. They were presented by people not so much, as all other sacrifices were, for the sake of being purified and sanctified, as in order that they might eat in a holy place and bear witness to the joy in their heart that Divine worship gave them. And these feasts, which they called holy, brought greater gladness to those people than all other worship. Similar things were also meant by the command that they should not leave any of the manna until the morning, spoken of in Moses as follows,

Moses said, Let no man leave any of the manna until the morning. But they did not obey Moses, for they did leave some of it* until the morning; and it produced worms and became putrid. Exod. 16:19, 20.
* lit. did make a remainder of it

sRef Lev@19 @7 S0′ sRef Lev@7 @18 S0′ sRef Lev@19 @8 S0′ sRef Ex@16 @20 S0′ sRef Lev@7 @16 S0′ sRef Lev@7 @17 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @34 S0′ 10115. ‘You shall burn what is left with fire’ means dispensing with them. This is clear from the meaning of ‘anything of the flesh and bread that is left’ as that which has not been made their own, as above in 10114; and from the meaning of ‘burning with fire’ as dispensing with, at this point by means of the loves that belong to the human self, thus by means of the evils which go with those loves. For love in both senses is meant by ‘fire’; here the love belonging to the self is meant, which is self-love.

Self-love is meant by ‘fire’, see 1297, 2446, 5071, 5215, 6314, 6832, 7575.
The human self is nothing other than evil, 210, 215, 694, 874-876, 987, 1023, 1044, 3812(end), 5660.

Love belonging to the self is meant here because ‘what is left until the morning’ means what has not been joined to good, 10114, and what cannot be joined comes not from the Divine but from the self. The fact that this was unclean, and so was evil, is clear in Moses,

Whoever eats what is left till morning shall bear his iniquity; and that soul shall be cut off from his people. Lev. 19:7, 8.

In the same author,

If any of the flesh of the eucharistic sacrifice is eaten at all on the third day, the one offering it will not be accepted, nor will it be imputed to him. It will be an abomination, and the soul that eats of it will bear his iniquity. Lev. 7:16-18.

The same thing is likewise clear from the statement that what was left of the manna produced worms and became putrid, Exod. 16:20.

sRef Ex@29 @34 S0′ 10116. ‘It shall not be eaten’ means, it shall not be made their own. This is clear from the meaning of ‘eating’ as making one’s own, dealt with above in 10106.

sRef Lev@19 @7 S0′ sRef Lev@19 @8 S0′ sRef Lev@7 @19 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @34 S0′ 10117. ‘Because it is holy’ means what is Divine, to which it must not be joined, because that would result in profanation. This is clear from the meaning of ‘holy’ as that which is Divine, dealt with above in 10111. The reason why it must not be joined to what is Divine is that ‘any of the flesh and bread that is left’ means that which has not been joined, 10114, and so also that which must not be joined. That which must not be joined is the human self, which is nothing other than evil, see above in 10115; and if what is Divine is joined to the human self, and so to what is evil, it is rendered profane, 6348, 9298. This is why it says, in Lev. 19:7, 8, that whoever eats what is left till morning profanes Jehovah’s holy offering, and that that soul shall be cut off from his people; and also, in Lev. 7:19, that the flesh of a sacrifice that touches any unclean thing shall be burned with fire. From this it is now evident that profaning that which is holy is meant by eating the flesh and bread of the sacrifice on the following day.

sRef Ex@29 @34 S0′ 10118. ‘And thus you shall do to Aaron and his sons’ means this whole process, representative of the glorification of the Lord and of His influx into the heavens and into the Church. This is clear from the representation of ‘Aaron’ as the Lord in respect of Divine Good that is celestial, dealt with in 9809, and from the representation of ‘his sons’ as the Lord in respect of Divine Good that is spiritual, dealt with in 10068; and from the meaning of ‘thus doing’ – that is, anointing them and filling their hands, and thereby consecrating them to the priestly office – as in order that they may represent the Lord’s glorification of His Human, and the influx from His glorified Human into the heavens and into the Church. For ‘anointing’ was representative of the glorification of His Human, and ‘filling the hand’ was representative of His influx from the glorified Human into the heavens and into the Church.

Anointing represented the Lord’s Divine Good within His Divine Human, see 9954, consequently the glorification, that is, the uniting of the Divine Human to Divinity itself, called the Father, 10053.
Filling the hand represented the Lord’s Divine power exercised through Divine Truth in the heavens and in the Church, and the transmission and reception of that Truth there, 10019, and so represented the influx of it.

sRef Ex@29 @34 S0′ 10119. ‘According to all that I have commanded you’ means according to the laws of Divine order. This is clear from the meaning of ‘commanding’ – when done by Jehovah, that is, the Lord – as according to the laws of Divine order. Whatever the Lord commands is according to Divine order, thus according to its laws; for Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good in the heavens, thus the Lord there, constitutes true order, and therefore everything the Lord commands is a law of order. Laws of order are Divine Truths which are the Lord’s, see 1728, 2258, 2447, 5703, 7995, 8512, 8700, 8988.

sRef Ex@29 @34 S0′ 10120. ‘Seven days you shall fill their hand’ means a representative sign of the Lord’s total power in the heavens, which comes through influx from the Divine Good of the Divine Love of His Human. This is clear from the meaning of ‘seven days’ as a complete state or that which is total, dealt with in 6508, 9228; and from the meaning of ‘filling the hand’ as a representative sign of the Lord’s Divine power in the heavens, and the transmission and the reception of it there, dealt with in 10019. And since this is accomplished by means of influx from the Divine Good of His Divine Love, coming from His Divine Human, this too is meant.

sRef Ex@29 @40 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @46 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @41 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @42 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @39 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @45 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @37 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @36 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @38 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @43 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @44 S0′ 10121. Verses 36-46 And a young bull of sin [offering] you shall offer daily at* propitiations. And you shall cleanse from sin on the altar when you make propitiation on it; and you shall anoint it to sanctify it. Seven days you shall make propitiation on the altar, and sanctify it. And the altar shall be the holy of holies**; everyone touching the altar will be sanctified. And this is what you shall offer on the altar: Two lambs, the sons of a year,*** each day – a continual [offering]. You shall offer one lamb in the morning, and you shall offer the other lamb between the evenings, and a tenth [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with beaten oil, a quarter of a hin, and a drink offering of a quarter of a hin of wine, for the first lamb. And you shall offer the second lamb between the evenings; according to the morning minchah and according to its drink offering you shall do for it, for an odour of rest, a fire offering to Jehovah, a continual burnt offering throughout**** your generations at the door of the tent of meeting before Jehovah, where I will meet with you to speak to you there. And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and it will be sanctified in My glory. And I will sanctify the tent of meeting and the altar, and Aaron and his sons [I will sanctify], to serve Me in the priestly office. And I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel, and I will be their God. And they will recognize that I am Jehovah their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell in their midst; I am Jehovah their God.

‘And a young bull of sin [offering] you shall offer daily at propitiations’ means the continuous removal of evils and consequently of falsities in the natural man by means of the good of innocence from the Lord. ‘And you shall cleanse from sin on the altar’ means purification from evils in heaven and in the Church. ‘When you make propitiation on it’ means the resulting ability to receive good from the Lord. ‘And you shall anoint it’ means consecration to represent the Divine Good of Love from the Lord as He exists in heaven and in the Church. ‘To sanctify it’ means thus the Lord there. ‘Seven days you shall make propitiation on the altar’ means the completeness of the influx into heaven and into the Church. ‘And sanctify it’ means in order to receive the Lord. ‘And the altar shall be the holy of holies’ means the celestial kingdom, where the Lord is present in the good of love. ‘Everyone touching the altar will be sanctified’ means whoever receives what is Divine and the Lord’s. ‘And this is what you shall offer on the altar’ means that which has regard in general to reception of the Lord in heaven and in the Church. ‘Lambs, the sons of a year, each day’ means the good of innocence in every state. ‘A continual [offering]’ means within all Divine worship. ‘You shall offer one lamb in the morning’ means the removal of evils by means of the good of innocence from the Lord in a state of love and consequently of light in the internal man. ‘And you shall offer the other lamb between the evenings’ means a similar removal of evils in a state of light and love in the external man. ‘And a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with beaten oil, a quarter of a hin’ means spiritual good derived from celestial good, the amount needed for a joining together. ‘And a drink offering of a quarter of a hin of wine’ means spiritual truth, the amount needed for a joining together. ‘For the first lamb’ means this [good and truth] in the internal man. ‘And you shall offer the second ram between the evenings’ means the removal of evils by means of the good of innocence from the Lord in a state of love and consequently of light in the external man. ‘According to the morning minchah and according to its drink offering you shall do for it’ means spiritual good derived from celestial good, and its truth, the amount needed for a joining together. ‘For an odour of rest’ means the perception of peace. ‘A fire offering to Jehovah’ means springing from the Lord’s Divine Love. ‘A continual burnt offering’ means all Divine worship in general. ‘Throughout your generations’ means what is everlasting in the Church. ‘At the door of the tent’ means the joining together of good and truth. ‘Before Jehovah’ means from the Lord. ‘Where I will meet with you to speak to you there’ means His presence and influx. ‘And there I will meet with the children of Israel’ means the Lord’s presence in the Church. ‘And it will be sanctified in My glory’ means reception of Divine Truth from the Lord. ‘And I will sanctify the tent of meeting’ means reception of the Lord in the lower heavens. ‘And the altar’ means reception of what is Divine from the Lord in the higher heavens. ‘And Aaron and his sons [I will sanctify], to serve Me in the priestly office’ means that which is representative of the Lord in both groups of heavens in respect of the work of salvation. ‘And I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel’ means the Lord’s presence and His influx through good in heaven and in the Church. ‘And I will be their God’ means the Lord’s presence and His influx into truth in the Church. ‘And they will recognize that I am Jehovah their God’ means perception that the Lord is the source of all good and all truth. ‘Who brought them out of the land of Egypt’ means salvation from hell by the Lord. ‘That I may dwell in their midst’ means what is Divine and the Lord’s, which is the All in all of heaven and of the Church. ‘I am Jehovah their God’ means the source of all the good of love and truth of faith.
* lit. over or upon
** i.e. the altar shall be a most holy object
*** i.e. in their first year
**** lit. into

sRef Ex@29 @36 S0′ 10122. ‘And a young bull of sin [offering] you shall offer daily at propitiations’ means the continuous removal of evils and consequently of falsities in the natural man by means of the good of innocence from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a young bull’ as the good of innocence in the natural man, dealt with in 9391, 9990; from the meaning of ‘sin’ as purification from evils and consequently falsities (by ‘sin’ a sacrifice for sin should be understood, 10039, and ‘a sin sacrifice’ means purification from evils and falsities, 9938, 9990, 10022, 10053), the reason for saying ‘the removal’ of evils and consequently of falsities being that the evils and falsities with a person are not cast out, only removed or moved back, see the places referred to in 10057; from the meaning of ‘daily’ or each day as continuously; and from the meaning of ‘propitiations’ as reception of the good of love and truth of faith from the Lord after the removal of evils and consequently of falsities, dealt with in 9506. [2] The words ‘removal of evils and consequently of falsities’ are used because all falsities exist as a result of evil; therefore to the extent that evil is removed falsities are removed. The situation is that all things in heaven have connection with good and consequently with truth, and all things in hell with evil and consequently with falsity. The same is so in people. All the things with a person that come from heaven have connection with good and truth, and all those that come from hell have connection with evil and falsity. Or what amounts to the same thing, all things with a person which originate in the Lord have connection with good and truth, but all that originate in the person himself have connection with evil and falsity. Since good and truth or falsity and evil are what everything throughout creation has connection with, and the human being is the place where they are received, a person has two mental powers to receive them. One is called the will and the other the understanding, the will being what receives good or evil, and the understanding what receives truth or falsity. The will formed by the Lord, also called the new will, receives good, while the understanding formed by the Lord, also called the new understanding, receives truth. But the will properly a person’s own, also called the old will, receives evil, and the understanding properly a person’s own, also called the old understanding, receives falsity. A person possesses the old will and understanding through being born from his parents, but he comes to have the new will and understanding through being born from the Lord, which happens when he is being regenerated. For when being regenerated a person is conceived anew and is born anew.

[3] The human being has been created in such a way that will and understanding may make one, so that these two together may constitute a whole person. For a person has been given an understanding to comprehend truth, yet to the end that truth may be implanted in his will and become good. And to the extent that it is integrated into the will it has a place in that person; for the will is the inmost part of a person and is the inner being of his life, whereas the understanding is more external and derives its being from the will. For what a person wills he loves, and what he loves gives him a feeling of delight and is therefore called good by him. The understanding lends support to and strengthens it by means of reasons which it calls truths. So it is that will and understanding in reality make one. The situation may indeed seem to be other than this, as when a person understands the truth and yet wills what is evil; even so, when he is left alone to think for himself, what he understands is in full agreement with what he wills, that is, what he loves.

[4] The fact that a person who wills what is evil can nevertheless speak what is true and also do what is good is due to hypocrisy, which uses truth and good as means to its own ends. If those means are taken away from such a person and he is left in freedom, he plunges, under the influence of his unrestrained will, into evils, and uses his power of understanding to defend them. This is above all evident from the same kind of people in the next life. There everyone comes into a state [of life] akin to that of his will, and then people in whom a new will has not been formed by the Lord plunge into evils of every kind and think such things as endorse evils, even though what they had spoken and what they had done in the world had been completely different from this. For it is a law of Divine order that will and understanding should form a mind at unity, thus a person at unity, consequently that the entire person should be either in heaven or in hell and not hanging between the two, that is, with his eye looking towards the things of heaven and his heart set on those of hell. By heart is meant the will, and by eye the understanding.

sRef Ex@29 @36 S0′ 10123. ‘And you shall cleanse from sin on the altar’ means purification from evils in heaven and in the Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘cleansing’ as purifying; from the meaning of ‘sin’ as evil, for all evil that a person is guilty of is called sin; and from the meaning of ‘the altar’ as that which is representative of the Lord in regard to Divine Good and of the worship of Him, dealt with in 9714, 9964, at this point in respect of Divine Good in heaven and in the Church. The subject is still the Lord’s influx, presence, and reception there, and for this reason ‘the altar’ also means heaven and the Church in respect of reception of Divine Good from the Lord there. For that which is Divine and the Lord’s is what makes heaven and the Church; this is so because the Lord dwells there in what is His and not in what is a person’s own. This too explains why ‘the altar’ also means the actual person in whom heaven is present or in whom the Church is present, and so in whom the Lord is present; and in the abstract sense, in which no actual person is envisaged, ‘the altar’ means the Good itself which comes from the Lord and is present with the angels of heaven and with members of the Church.

sRef Rev@11 @1 S2′ sRef Lam@2 @7 S2′ [2] The word ‘altar’ is used with these meanings in John,

I was given a reed like a rod, and the angel stood and said to me, Measure the temple of God, and the altar, and those who worship in it. Rev. 11:1.

Here ‘the temple of God, and the altar’ are heaven and the Church, ‘the temple’ being the spiritual Church and ‘the altar’ the celestial Church. ‘Measuring’ means recognizing the amount and the essential nature of truth and good; and this is why it says not only ‘Measure the temple, and the altar’ but also ‘those who worship in it’. For the meaning of ‘the temple’ as the spiritual Church, see 3720; and for that of ‘measuring’ as recognizing the state of affairs as regards truth and good, 9603. In the same book,

I heard another angel from the altar saying, O Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgements. Rev. 16:7.

‘From the altar’ means from the inmost heaven, where celestial good reigns, celestial good being the good of love to the Lord. In Jeremiah,

The Lord has abandoned His altar, He has abominated His sanctuary. Lam. 2:7.

‘Abandoning the altar and the sanctuary’ refers to everything of the Church, ‘the altar’ being everything of the Church as regards good, and ‘the sanctuary’ everything of the Church as regards truth.

sRef Ex@29 @36 S0′ 10124. ‘When you make propitiation on it’ means the resulting ability to receive good from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘making propitiation on the altar’ as the implantation – after evils and consequently falsities have been removed – of good from the Lord, and the reception of it by a person belonging to the Church or by an angel belonging to heaven, dealt with in 9506. For as shown immediately above in 10123, ‘the altar’ means heaven and the Church as regards the reception of good from the Lord. Since ‘the altar’ means the heaven and Church where celestial good reigns, which is the good of love received from the Lord and offered back to the Lord, a brief description of the nature of the reception of good in the celestial kingdom must be given. As has often been stated before, heaven is divided into two kingdoms, one of which is called the celestial kingdom and the other the spiritual kingdom. In both kingdoms good is implanted by means of truth; but with those who are in the spiritual kingdom good is implanted by means of truth in the understanding part of the mind, whereas with those who are in the celestial kingdom good is implanted by means of truth in the will part. The way in which the implantation of good by means of truth takes place in the spiritual kingdom is different from the way in which it does with those in the celestial kingdom. With those in the spiritual kingdom truth is implanted in the external or natural man, where at first it becomes knowledge. To the extent that the person has an affection for it, and lives in accord with it, it is then summoned into the understanding, where it becomes faith and at the same time charity towards the neighbour. This charity constitutes his new will and the faith a new understanding; and both constitute conscience.

sRef Matt@5 @37 S2′ [2] But with those in the celestial kingdom truth becomes neither knowledge, nor faith, nor conscience. Instead it becomes a power to receive that is subject to the good of love; and to the extent that they live a life in accord with it, it becomes a power of perception which grows fuller and more perfect as their love does so. This goes on in them day by day without their awareness, almost as it does with young children. The reason why it goes on without their awareness is that truth does not become fixed as knowledge in the memory, nor does it linger as a concept within the power of thought; rather it passes without delay into the will and becomes part of their life. Consequently they do not see truth but perceive it; and the extent and manner of their perception is determined by how much and in what way the good of love received from and offered back to the Lord is present in them. These in the celestial kingdom therefore are very different from those in the spiritual kingdom. And since their perception of truth springs from good they never substantiate it by the use of reasons. Instead whenever truths are the subject they merely say either ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’. [3] These are the ones who are meant by the Lord in Matthew,

Let your words be Yes, yes; No, no; anything beyond this is from evil*. Matt. 5:37.

For reasoning about truths, about whether they are such or not, does not spring from good, because in that case truth is not seen with perception, only believed as a result of receiving it on authority and then corroborating it for oneself. What one believes on authority consists of other people’s ideas within one’s self and are not one’s own; and anything believed on these grounds alone and then corroborated appears after such corroboration to be the truth, even when it is false. This becomes perfectly clear from the beliefs of any religion and from the variety of religions throughout the world.

From all this it is evident what the difference is between those who are in the Lord’s celestial kingdom and those who are in His spiritual kingdom. The reason for their difference is that those in His celestial kingdom by the way they live convert the Church’s truths immediately into forms of good, whereas those in the spiritual kingdom keep to truths, preferring faith to life. Those who by the way they live convert the Church’s truths immediately into good, that is, those who belong to the celestial kingdom, are described by the Lord in Mark 4:26-29, and many times elsewhere. Regarding the difference between the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom, see the places referred to in 9277.
* or from the evil one

sRef Ex@29 @36 S0′ 10125. ‘And you shall anoint it’ means consecration to represent the Divine Good of Love from the Lord as He exists in heaven and in the Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘anointing’ as consecration to represent the Lord in respect of the Divine Good of Divine Love from His Divine Human, dealt with in 9474, 9954, 10019, at this point from the Lord as He exists in heaven and in the Church; for the subject is the influx and reception of Him there. Whatever represents the Lord also represents Him as He is present with people of the Church and with angels of heaven, and so represents heaven and the Church, since people who have the Church within them constitute the Church in general, and angels who have heaven within them constitute heaven in general. Not that those people regarded in themselves constitute the Church, only the Lord present with them does so. Nor therefore do the angels regarded in themselves constitute heaven, only the Lord present with them. For the Lord does not dwell in anything that is a person’s or an angels’s own, only in what is His with them. So it is that when the words ‘the Church and heaven’ are used, what is Divine and the Lord’s with those who are there is meant. From all this it is evident how the statements that the Lord is the All in all of heaven and the Church and that the Lord Himself is heaven and the Church ought to be understood. This is also evident from the teaching known and accepted in the Christian world that all the good of faith and love comes from God and none at all from man, and that whatever comes from man’s own self is not good. For this reason also no one has any merit or any righteousness by virtue of what is his own.

[2] These matters have been stated in order that people may know what is meant by ‘the Lord as He exists in heaven and in the Church’, thus what heaven and the Church are, and consequently in what way the altar and the anointing of it were representative of the Lord. All the objects that were going to represent the Lord and the Divine things that came from the Lord were anointed – the altar, the tent of meeting, the tables within it, the lampstand, the ark, Aaron himself, his sons, and their garments. And when they had been anointed they were called holy, not because the oil imparted any holiness but because when anointed they would represent the Divine things from the Lord, which alone are holy. The reason why oil was employed for this purpose was that oil was a sign of the good of love, and the Divine Good of Divine Love is the Divine Himself, for He is the Essential Being (ipsum Esse) of all things. So in order to represent that Good, consecration was effected by the use of oil. The Divine Himself, the Essential Being of all things, was within the Lord alone, for He was conceived from Jehovah; and everyone derives the being (esse) of his life, called his soul, from his father. From this it is clear that the Divine Good of Divine Love was within the Lord’s Humanity as a father’s soul is within his child. With the human being nothing possesses life except the soul. The body without the soul has no life; indeed the whole body is fashioned by the soul in its own image, to bring the soul into a condition suitably adapted to the functions it performs on the lowest levels of order, that is, in the world. These facts about the human being lead to the conclusion that the Essential Being within the Lord’s Humanity was Jehovah, or the Divine Good of Divine Love, the Being of life, and that this Being makes everything which exists from it a likeness of itself. Thus the Lord, acting from the Divine [Being] that was within Him and so was His, also made His Human into the Divine Good of Divine Love.

sRef John@10 @30 S3′ sRef John@14 @11 S3′ sRef John@14 @10 S3′ [3] Furthermore the Athanasian Creed which hands down the faith accepted in the Christian world states,

As body and soul is one man (homo), so Divine and Human in the Lord is one Christ*.

Anyone therefore who knows about the union of soul and body in the body, and about the image of the soul in the body, can have some conception of the union of the Divine and Human within the Lord, and of the image of the one in the other. And from this he would recognize that the Divine, called the Father, and the Human, called the Son, were one, also that each was in the other, that is, the Father was in Him and He in the Father, according to the Lord’s words in John 10:30; 14:10, 11. But since there is no awareness at the present day of what the soul is, and scarcely any awareness that it is derived from the father, that the body is an image of it, and that the two are one, as prior and posterior are, or as being and manifestation of that being are, mankind has separated the Divine from the Human within the Lord, dividing them into two natures. As a consequence of this no other idea has been formed of the Lord’s Humanity than of its being like anyone else’s humanity. But in fact anyone else’s soul from his father is finite and has evil within it owing to heredity, whereas the Lord’s soul, being derived from Jehovah, was infinite and was nothing other than the Divine Good of Divine Love; and therefore His Human after glorification was not like anyone else’s.

sRef Luke@24 @39 S4′ sRef John@20 @19 S4′ [4] For the same reason the Lord took up into heaven His entire Humanity that had been glorified, that is, had been made Divine by Him; He left nothing of it in the tomb, which is different from what happens with anyone else. The fact that the Lord glorified His actual body right down to the last and lowest constituents of it, which are its bones and flesh, the Lord also made plain to the disciples, saying,

See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see Me having. Luke 24:39.

And yet He came in through closed doors, and after He had revealed Himself became invisible, John 20:19; Luke 24:31.
These things have been stated in order that people may know that the Lord alone in respect of His Human was Jehovah’s Anointed. He was not anointed with oil however but with the Divine Good of Divine Love, which ‘oil’ is the sign of and which ‘anointing’ represented, see 9954.
* Sw. does not use the exact words of the traditional version of the Athanasian Creed.

sRef Ex@29 @36 S0′ 10126. ‘To sanctify it’ means thus the Lord there. This is clear from the meaning of ‘sanctifying’ as representing the Lord and the holy things that come from him, and so His presence in heaven and in the Church, dealt with above in 10111. When a reality is represented that same reality is meant in the internal sense. The letter of the Word consists of descriptions representative of the celestial and spiritual realities that belong to heaven and the Church, and therefore those realities are meant in the internal sense. Consequently the Word of the Lord may be called a kind of heaven on lowest levels; for all the things that are seen and heard on heaven’s lowest levels are representative of what angels in higher heavens speak and think, all of which has regard to the truths of faith and forms of the good of love. The reason why such representative things are present on heaven’s lowest levels is that those who are on heaven’s lowest levels have no ability to grasp the more internal aspects of angelic wisdom, only such things as represent them. Furthermore it is in keeping with Divine order that when the higher realities pass down to lower levels they are converted into images bearing a similarity to them and are in this way presented to the outward senses, and so are accommodated to everyone’s ability to grasp them. So it is that the Word on its lowest levels, that is, in the sense of the letter, is representative of and consequently serves to mean the celestial and spiritual realities that exist in the higher heavens, and that by this means the Word is also presented to people on earth in a form accommodated to their ability to grasp it. Thus it also serves as a base and foundation for the heavens.

sRef Ex@29 @37 S0′ 10127. ‘Seven days you shall make propitiation on the altar’ means the completeness of the influx into heaven and into the Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘seven days’ as what is complete, dealt with below; from the meaning of ‘making propitiation’ as purification from evils and consequently falsities, also dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘the altar’ as that which is representative of the Lord’s Divine Human in respect of Divine Good, dealt with in 9388, 9389, 9714, 9964, at this point in heaven and in the Church, 10123. The reason why the sacrifice of a young bull to make propitiation and sanctify the altar should be carried out for seven days was that ‘seven days’, the same as ‘a week’, means a whole period, long or short, from start to finish. Therefore also ‘seven days’ means what is complete. The number three likewise means a whole period from start to finish, and therefore also what is complete. But the difference is that the word ‘seven’ is used where something holy is referred to, but ‘three’ when anything whatever is the subject.

[2] It should be remembered that spiritual realities are meant by all numbers in the Word, as is very well known in the next life, where sometimes sheets of paper full of numbers are sent down from heaven to spirits below. Those spirits who receive influx from the Lord see in them a whole chain of realities meant by the numbers, just as if letters had been used. I too have been allowed on several occasions to see such sheets of paper; and also I have been told about certain of the most ancient people, who inwardly lived in fellowship with angels, that they used numbers to embody matters of importance to their Church, and heavenly arcana, and stored those numbers away for themselves as a way of remembering. From this it becomes clear that all numbers in the Word serve to mean spiritual realities. For in the Word not a syllable is devoid of meaning, since the Word has been written not only for people in the world but also at the same time for angels in heaven. Consequently the Word consists of the Divine passing through all the heavens.

[3] All numbers in the Word mean spiritual realities or real things, see 575, 1963, 1988, 2075, 2252, 3252, 4264, 4495, 4670, 5265, 6175, 9659.
Seven in the Word implies holy things, 395, 433, 716, 881, 5265, 5268.
Seven also means a whole period from start to finish, thus a complete state, 6508, 9228, as does ‘a week’, 2044, 3845.
The number three has the same meaning, 2788, 4495, 4901, 5123, 5159, 7715, 9198, 9488, 9489, 9825.

[4] As regards ‘making propitiation’, it means purification from evils and consequently falsities, or what amounts to the same thing, the removal of them. And since ‘making propitiation and expiation’ has this meaning it also implies the implantation of goodness and truth and the joining together of the two by the Lord. The reason why this implantation is also implied is that to the extent that a person is purified from evils and falsities, goodness and truth are implanted and joined together by the Lord. When therefore the one has been postulated, the other is postulated. For the Lord is present with every person with the good of love; He loves all people and in His love wishes to join them to Himself, which is achieved through the good of love and the truth of faith. But the evils and consequent falsities which a person makes his own by a life of evil stand in the way and block influx from Him. From all this it is evident what propitiation and expiation is; see also 9506.

sRef Ex@29 @37 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @33 S0′ 10128. ‘And sanctify it’ means in order to receive the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being sanctified’ as receiving the Lord. The reason why ‘being sanctified’ means receiving the Lord is that the Lord alone is holy, and consequently whatever emanates from the Lord is holy. To the extent therefore that a person receives good, and with the good truth from the Lord, which are holy, he receives the Lord. Whether you say receiving goodness and truth from the Lord or receiving the Lord it amounts to the same thing; for goodness and truth are the Lord’s since they come from Him, and so they are the Lord in heaven and in the Church. On these matters – that the Lord alone is holy and that everything holy emanates from Him, and consequently that to receive Him is to be sanctified – see 9229, 9479, 9680, 9818, 9820, 9956, 9988, 10069. The meaning of ‘being sanctified’ as receiving the Lord is also evident from the consideration that the words used are ‘you shall make propitiation and sanctify’; for ‘making propitiation (or expiation)’ means purification from evils and consequent falsities, and at the same time the implantation of truth and good from the Lord, 10127. The implantation of truth and good from the Lord is the reception of Him, and so it is sanctification. The like occurs above in the present chapter,

They shall eat those things containing what has been expiated, to fill their hand, to sanctify them. Verse 33.

‘What has been expiated’ there means that which has been purified from evils and consequent falsities, 9506, 10109; ‘filling the hand’ means implanting goodness and truth and joining them together, 10076, so that ‘being sanctified’ means receiving them from the Lord, 10111.

sRef Ex@29 @37 S0′ 10129. ‘And the altar shall be the holy of holies’ means the celestial kingdom, where the Lord is present in the good of love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the altar’ as that which is representative of the Lord in respect of Divine Good, dealt with in 9388, 9389, 9714, 9964, at this point in respect of Divine Good in heaven and in the Church, 10123; and from the meaning of ‘the holy of holies’ as celestial good or the good of love from the Lord. The reason why it is the celestial kingdom that is meant here by ‘the altar’ and the good there that is meant by ‘the holy of holies’ is that the good received in that kingdom is the good of love which comes from and is offered back to the Lord, which is celestial good. For there are two kingdoms into which the heavens are divided, the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom. The celestial kingdom receives the good of love coming from and offered back to the Lord, whereas the spiritual kingdom receives from the Lord the good of charity towards the neighbour, see the places referred to in 9277, and what is stated in 9680, 10068.

[2] ‘The altar’ represents the celestial kingdom, or what amounts to the same thing, it represents the Lord where He is present in the good of love; and ‘the tent of meeting outside the veil’ represents the spiritual kingdom, or what amounts to the same thing, it represents the Lord where He is present in the good of charity towards the neighbour. The spiritual kingdom’s good, or spiritual good, is called the holy place, but the celestial kingdom’s good, or celestial good, is called the holy of holies. The reason why celestial good, which is the good of love received from and offered back to the Lord, is referred to as the holy of holies is that this good is a channel through which the Lord flows directly into the heavens; but spiritual good – the good of charity towards the neighbour – is a channel through which He does so indirectly, by way of celestial good, see 9473, 9683, 9873, 9992, 10005. The term ‘flow in’ is used because the Lord, being the Sun of heaven, is above the heavens and flows in from there, 10106; yet He is still as one present within the heavens.

sRef 1Ki@6 @16 S3′ sRef Ex@26 @33 S3′ sRef Ex@26 @34 S3′ sRef Lev@16 @33 S3′ [3] The fact that celestial good, which is the good of love received from and offered back to the Lord, is meant by ‘the holy of holies’ is clear from places in the Word where the expression ‘the holy of holies’ occurs, as in Moses,

The veil shall be for you a divider between the holy place and the holy of holies. And you shall put the mercy-seat onto the ark of the Testimony in the holy of holies. Exod. 26:33, 34.

From this it is evident that ‘the holy place’ refers to that part of the tent which was outside the veil, and ‘the holy of holies’ to the part within the veil. Regarding the tent or the dwelling-place outside the veil, that it represented the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, or the middle heaven, and regarding the tent or dwelling-place within the veil, that it represented the Lord’s celestial kingdom, or the inmost heaven, see 9457, 9481, 9485, 10001, 10025. The part of the tent within the veil is also called the holy sanctuary*, Lev. 16:33. Since the ark, which had the Testimony within it and the mercy-seat above it, represented the inmost heaven, where celestial good reigns, the innermost part of the temple, where the ark of the covenant was, is also called the holy of holies, 1 Kings 6:16; 8:6.

sRef Lev@2 @10 S4′ sRef Lev@24 @9 S4′ sRef Num@18 @9 S4′ sRef Lev@2 @3 S4′ sRef Num@18 @10 S4′ [4] Since the bread and the minchah were signs of the good of love received from and offered back to the Lord, which is celestial good, they too are called ‘the holy of holies’ in Moses,

The bread of faces (or of the presence) shall be eaten by Aaron and his sons in a holy place; for it is the holy of holies of the fire offerings to Jehovah. Lev. 24:9.

‘The bread of faces (or of the presence)’ means celestial good, see 9545. In the same book,

That which remains of the minchah shall be for Aaron and his sons, the holy of holies of the fire offerings to Jehovah. Lev. 2:3, 10.

‘The minchah’, which consisted of unleavened bread, unleavened cakes, and unleavened wafers mixed with oil, means celestial good or the good of love, see 4581, 9992, 10079; and ‘a fire offering to Jehovah’ means Divine Love, 10055.

[5] In the same author,

Every minchah – a sacrifice of sin offering and a sacrifice of guilt offering – which is for Aaron and his sons, is the holy of holies to Jehovah. Num. 18:9, 10.

Such minchahs too were called ‘the holy of holies’ because those sacrifices were signs of purification from evils, and all purification from evils is accomplished in a state of the good of innocence; and this good as well is celestial good. This explains why in sacrifices of sin offering or guilt offering female or male lambs, or rams, or young bulls, or turtle doves were offered, as is clear from Chapters 4 and 5 of Leviticus, that good being meant by these creatures. For its being meant by ‘lambs’, see 3994, 3519, 7840, by ‘rams’, 10042, by ‘young bulls’, 9391; and its being meant by ‘turtle doves’ is evident from the places in the Word where such birds are mentioned. As regards purification from evils and regeneration, that they are accomplished in a state of innocence, see 10021. Therefore those sacrifices are called ‘the holy of holies’ also in Lev. 6:25; 7:6; 10:17; 14:13. sRef Ezek@43 @12 S6′ sRef Ex@30 @29 S6′ sRef Ex@30 @28 S6′ [6] In the same author,

The minchah shall be eaten beside the altar; for it is the holy of holies. Lev. 10:12.

It has been shown above that the altar of burnt offering represented the Lord in respect of the good of love, and reception by angels and men. This accounts for the use of the following words concerning it in Moses,

You shall anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its vessels, its laver, and its pedestal. And you shall sanctify them, that they may be the holy of holies; everyone who touches them will make himself holy. Exod. 30:28, 29.

sRef Ex@30 @36 S7′ [7] The incense too, some of which was placed before the Testimony in the tent of meeting, is called the holy of holies, Exod. 30:36, because it meant celestial good in last and lowest things, and also meant the things that emanate from that good, 9475. In Ezekiel,

This is the law of the house**: On the top of the mountain shall its whole border round about be, the holy of holies. Ezek. 43:12.

The reason why ‘the house’ together with the border around it is called ‘the holy of holies’ is that ‘God’s house’ means the celestial kingdom, and in the highest sense the Lord in respect of the good of love, 3720. This is why the words ‘on the top of the mountain’ are also used, for ‘the top of the mountain’ has the same meaning, 6435, 9422, 9434.

sRef Dan@9 @24 S8′ [8] In Daniel,

Seventy weeks have been decreed concerning the people and concerning the holy city to seal up vision and prophet, and to anoint the holy of holies. Dan. 9:24.

This refers to the Coming of the Lord, who alone is Jehovah’s Anointed and who alone is the Holy One, and who also as to His Human is the Divine Good of Divine Love, and so is the holy of holies.

The Lord alone as to His Divine Human is Jehovah’s Anointed, see 9954.
He alone is the Holy One, 9229.
He is the Divine Good of Divine Love, see the places referred to in 9199(end).

[9] The reason why celestial good is meant by ‘the holy of holies’ but spiritual good by ‘the holy place’ is that celestial good is inmost good, and therefore also is the inmost heaven’s good, whereas spiritual good is good emanating from that celestial good and is therefore the middle heaven’s good. And this good is good and consequently holy to the extent that it has celestial good within it; for celestial good flows into spiritual, conceives it, and begets it as a father does his child. The words ‘celestial good’ are used to mean the good of love received from and offered back to the Lord, and ‘spiritual good’ to mean the good of charity towards the neighbour received from the Lord.

sRef Matt@25 @40 S10′ sRef Matt@25 @38 S10′ sRef Matt@25 @39 S10′ sRef Matt@25 @37 S10′ [10] The good of love to the Lord received from the Lord is ‘the holy of holies’ because the Lord joins Himself directly to others through it. But the good of charity towards the neighbour is ‘the holy place’ because He joins Himself through it indirectly; and He joins Himself to the extent that it has the good of love from the Lord within it. The good of love to the Lord received from the Lord is present within all genuine good of charity, and also within all genuine good of faith; for such good flows in from the Lord. No one by his own strength, only by the Lord’s, can love the neighbour and in love do good to him; and no one by his own strength, only by the Lord’s, can believe in God. When therefore the Lord is acknowledged and the neighbour is loved, the Lord is present within the love towards the neighbour, however unaware the person may be of it. This also is what the Lord’s words in Matthew serve to mean,

The righteous will answer, Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You? But the King will say to them, Truly I say to you, Insofar as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers you did it to Me. Matt. 25:37-40.

From these words it is evident that the Lord is within the good of charity, indeed is that good, even though those governed by this good are unaware of it. ‘Brothers’ is used in the proximate sense*** to mean those governed by the good of charity; and in the abstract sense, without reference to persons, ‘the Lord’s brothers’ are the good of charity itself, in all its forms, see 5063-5071.
* i.e. the internal historical sense. See the final words of 4690.
** i.e. the new temple
*** lit. the sanctuary of holiness

sRef Ex@29 @37 S0′ 10130. ‘Everyone touching the altar will be sanctified’ means whoever receives what is Divine and the Lord’s. This is clear from the meaning of ‘touching’ as an imparting, conveying, and being received, dealt with below; from the meaning of ‘the altar’ as that which is representative of the Lord in respect of the good of love, at this point in heaven and in the Church, dealt with above in 10129; and from the meaning of ‘being sanctified’ as receiving what is Divine and the Lord’s, also dealt with above, in 10128. The reason why ‘touching’ means an imparting, conveying, and being received is that a person’s inner feelings are expressed by outward means, in particular by touch, and are thereby imparted and conveyed to another; and insofar as the will of the other is in tune and at one with his they are received. Whether you say the will or the love, it amounts to the same thing; for whatever a person loves he likewise wills. From this it also follows that the inner feelings a person has as a result of what he loves and therefore thinks are expressed through touch, and by means of it are imparted and conveyed to another. And insofar as the other loves the person expressing those feelings or loves the things which that person says and does, those feelings are received.

[2] This is especially apparent in the next life, for all people’s actions there flow from the heart, that is, from their will or love. They are not allowed to act with gestures separate from their will or love, nor to speak with fraudulent lips, that is, separately from the thoughts of the heart. There it is evident how inner feelings are imparted and conveyed to another by touch, and how the other’s reception of them is determined by his own love. Everyone’s will or love constitutes the entire person there, and the sphere of life from it flows out from him like breath or an exhalation, envelops him, and constitutes an extension of himself, so to speak, around himself, in a way scarcely different from the emission around plants in the world, which is also detected at a distance through their odours, and also that around animals, which is actually detected by a dog with its keen sense of smell. There is a like emission from every human being, as also a wealth of experience makes known. But when a person lays aside the body and becomes a spirit or an angel that emission or exhalation is not material, as it was in the world; instead it is something spiritual flowing from his love. This love produces a sphere around him, which enables other spirits to detect at a distance what he is like. See what has been shown regarding this sphere in the places referred to in 9606. [3] Since in their world this sphere is imparted and conveyed to another, and is received by him in accordance with his love, very many wonders occur there which are unknown to people in the world, such as,

1 People’s presence with one another is always due to the likeness of their loves, and their absence from one another is always due to unlikeness.

2 All are brought into association with one another on the basis of their loves. Those governed by love to the Lord received from the Lord live in association with one another in the inmost heaven; those governed by love towards the neighbour received from the Lord live in association with one another in the middle heaven; and those governed by the obedience of faith, that is, those who do the truth for its own sake, live in association with one another in the lowest heaven. But those ruled by self-love and love of the world, that is, those who do what they do with selfish and worldly ends in view, live in association with one another in hell.

[4] 3 All turn their eyes towards those they love. Those who love the Lord turn their eyes towards the Lord as the Sun; those who love the neighbour with love received from the Lord turn their eyes towards the Lord as the Moon; and those who do the truth for its own sake act in a similar way. (Regarding the Lord as the Sun and as the Moon, see what has been shown in 1521, 1529-1531, 3636, 3643, 4060, 4321 (end), 5097, 5377, 7078, 7083, 7171, 7173, 8644, 8812.) And what is astonishing, whichever way they face, that is, whichever of the four quarters they turn towards, they still behold the Lord in front of them. The opposite is so with those in hell; the more they are ruled there by self-love and by love of the world, the more they turn from the Lord and have Him behind their back. And again this is so whichever way they face or whichever quarter they turn towards.

[5] 4 When an angel of heaven focuses his attention on others his inner feelings are imparted and conveyed to them, according to the amount and the essential nature of his love; and it is received by them according to the essential nature and the amount of their love. If therefore attention is focused by an angel of heaven on those who are good, it gives rise to gladness and joy; but if it is focused on the evil, it gives rise to pain and torment.

[6] But an imparting, conveying, and being received is also meant by touching with the hand because the whole body’s capacity to act is concentrated in the arms and hands, and in the Word interior things are expressed by means of exterior ones. So it is that power is meant by ‘the arms’, by ‘the hands’, and especially by ‘the right hand’, see the places referred to in 10019, and what has been stated in 10023, 10076; and so it is that whatever resides with a person, thus the entire person in his capacity to act, is meant by ‘the hands’, see the places referred to in 10019. Furthermore all the outward senses of sight, hearing, taste, and smell are connected with touch, being varieties of touch, as is well known in the learned world.

sRef Matt@9 @30 S7′ sRef Luke@8 @45 S7′ sRef Luke@8 @44 S7′ sRef Mark@6 @56 S7′ sRef Luke@8 @46 S7′ sRef Isa@6 @7 S7′ sRef Matt@20 @34 S7′ sRef Dan@10 @16 S7′ sRef Dan@10 @18 S7′ sRef Matt@9 @29 S7′ sRef Dan@10 @10 S7′ sRef Lev@6 @27 S7′ sRef Matt@8 @3 S7′ sRef Jer@1 @9 S7′ sRef Matt@8 @14 S7′ sRef Lev@6 @18 S7′ sRef Ex@30 @29 S7′ sRef Ex@30 @28 S7′ sRef Ex@30 @26 S7′ sRef Mark@10 @16 S7′ sRef Ex@30 @27 S7′ sRef Mark@10 @13 S7′ sRef Luke@8 @43 S7′ sRef Luke@22 @51 S7′ sRef Matt@8 @15 S7′ [7] The meaning of ‘touching’ as an imparting, conveying, and being received is clear from a great number of places in the Word, of which let the following be brought to the fore: In Moses,

You shall anoint the tent of meeting, and the ark of the Testimony, and the table and all its vessels, and the lampstand and its vessels, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering and all its vessels, and the laver and its pedestal. Thus you shall sanctify them, that they may be the holy of holies. Everyone who touches them will be made holy. Exod. 30:26-29.

In the same author,

Everything that touches the remainder of the minchah and the remainder of the flesh from the sacrifices, which are for Aaron and his sons, will be made holy. Lev. 6:18, 27.

In Daniel,

The angel touched Daniel* and raised him onto his knees; and he touched his lips and opened his mouth; and again he touched him and strengthened him. Dan. 10:10, 16, 18.

In Isaiah,

One of the seraphim touched my mouth with the burning coal; he said, Behold, this has touched your lips, therefore your iniquity has departed and your sin is expiated. Isa. 6:7.

In Jeremiah,

Jehovah put out His hand and touched my mouth, and said, I am putting** My words into your mouth. Jer. 1:9.

In Matthew,

Jesus, stretching out a hand to the leper, touched him, saying, I am willing; be clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Matt. 8:3.

In the same gospel,

Jesus saw Peter’s mother-in-law sick with a fever, and He touched her hand, and the fever left her. Matt. 8:14, 15.

In the same gospel,

Jesus touched the eyes of the blind, and their eyes were opened. Matt. 9:29, 30.

In the same gospel,

Jesus touched the eyes of the two blind men, and immediately they received sight. Matt. 20:34.

In Luke,

Jesus touched the servant’s*** ear and healed [him]. Luke 22:51.

In Mark,

They brought the sick to Jesus, that they might just touch the hem of His clothing; and as many as touched [Him] were made well. Mark 6:56; Matt. 14:36.

In Luke,

A woman suffering from a discharge of blood touched the hem of Jesus’ garment; and immediately the flow of blood stopped. Jesus said, Who is it who touched Me? Someone touched Me; I perceived that power had gone out from Me. Luke 8:44-48.

In Mark,

They brought young children to Jesus, that He might touch them. And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them. Mark 10:13, 16.

sRef Num@19 @21 S8′ sRef Num@19 @22 S8′ sRef Num@19 @11 S8′ sRef Num@19 @13 S8′ sRef Num@19 @16 S8′ [8] From these quotations it is evident that ‘touching’ means an imparting, conveying, and being received.

sRef Lev@11 @35 S9′ sRef Lev@11 @31 S9′ sRef Lev@11 @32 S9′ sRef Lev@11 @33 S9′ sRef Lev@11 @34 S9′ sRef Lev@11 @36 S9′ [9] This is similarly evident in places where uncleannesses are the subject, by which evils and falsities that come from the hells are meant in the internal sense, as in Moses,

Whoever touches the dead body of any person**** will be unclean for seven days. Whoever touches a dead body, that of a person who has died*****, and has not expiated himself, defiles Jehovah’s dwelling-place; therefore this soul shall be cut off from Israel. Everyone who has touched on the surface of the field one slain with the sword, or one dead, or a human bone, or a sepulchre will be unclean for seven days. Whoever touches the water of separation will be unclean until the evening. Everything that the unclean person has touched will become unclean; and the soul who has touched it will be unclean until the evening. Num. 19:11, 13, 16, 21, 22.

In the same author,

He who touches unclean beasts, unclean creeping things, will be unclean until the evening. Everything onto which [any of them] falls will be unclean; whether it is a wooden vessel, a garment, water, an earthenware vessel, food, drink, an oven, a spring, a cistern, [or] a water-tank, it will be unclean. Lev. 11:31-36.

The like occurs at Lev. 5:2, 3; 7:21.
In the same book,

[A person] who has a discharge is unclean. A man (vir) who touches that person’s bed …, if he sits on a vessel on which the person has sat …, whoever touches that person’s flesh [or] his garments …, if someone suffering from a discharge spits on one who is clean …, a seat****** on which he rides …, an earthenware vessel …, a wooden vessel …, he will be unclean. Lev. 15:1-end.

So too one who touches a leper, Lev. 22:4. In the same book,

If any of the carcass falls onto any sowing seed which is sown, it will be clean. But if water is put onto the seed, and the carcass falls onto it, it will be unclean. Lev. 11:37, 38.

sRef Lev@15 @22 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @21 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @5 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @28 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @29 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @27 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @26 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @33 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @31 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @24 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @23 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @25 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @30 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @32 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @13 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @14 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @15 S10′ sRef Lev@22 @4 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @8 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @12 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @2 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @3 S10′ sRef Lev@11 @37 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @9 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @17 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @4 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @7 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @1 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @19 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @20 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @6 S10′ sRef Lev@11 @38 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @18 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @11 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @10 S10′ sRef Lev@15 @16 S10′ [10] By these uncleannesses are meant various kinds of evils and consequent falsities coming from hell, which have been imparted, conveyed, and received. Each particular uncleanness means some specific evil; for evils are what render a person unclean, because they infect his soul. Also the evils in their hearts gush out of evil spirits and genii, and – depending on how convincing the false ideas accompanying evil are – they infect those who are present. This contagious influence is what is meant by touching uncleannesses.

sRef Hos@4 @2 S11′ sRef Hag@2 @12 S11′ sRef Hag@2 @13 S11′ sRef Hag@2 @14 S11′ sRef Gen@32 @25 S11′ sRef Num@16 @26 S11′ sRef Hos@4 @3 S11′ sRef Lam@4 @15 S11′ sRef Gen@3 @3 S11′ sRef Lam@4 @14 S11′ sRef Isa@52 @11 S11′ [11] In Moses,

Of the fruit from the tree which is in the middle of the garden you shall not eat, nor shall you touch it, or else you will die. Gen. 3:3.

In the same book,

The angel who wrestled with Jacob, seeing that he did not prevail against him, touched the socket of his thigh, and the socket of the thigh was out of
joint. Gen. 32:25.

In the same author,

Moses said that they should not touch anything that belonged to Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, lest they be consumed on account of all their sins. Num. 16:26.

In Isaiah,

Depart, depart. Do not touch the unclean thing. Go out from the midst of her; be purified, bearers of Jehovah’s vessels. Isa. 52:11.

In Jeremiah,

They went astray blind in the streets, they are defiled with blood. Things which have no power they touch with their garments. Depart; he is unclean. They cry out to them, Depart, do not touch [us]. Lam. 4:14, 15.

In Haggai,

Behold, if a man carries******* holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and his skirt touches bread, or wine, or oil, or any food whatever, still it will not be made holy. If one who is unclean from a dead body******** touches any of them whatever still he will be unclean. Hagg. 2:12-14.

In Hosea,

Perjuring, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery; they commit robbery, and blood touches blood*********. Therefore the land will mourn. Hosea 4:2, 3.
* Sw. adds five words here meaning literally and restored onto his station i.e. stood him on his feet again. They appear in Dan. 8:18 but are echoed in the angel’s command to Daniel in Dan. 10:11 to stand up, which comes after the words and raised him onto his knees.
** lit. I am giving
*** Reading servi (the servant’s) for surdi (the deaf man’s)
**** lit. the dead, as to every soul of man (homo)
***** lit. Whoever touches the dead, as to the soul of a man (homo) who dies
****** lit. chariot or carriage
******* lit. Behold, a man (vir) will carry
******** lit. from a soul
********* lit. bloods touch bloods i.e. bloodshed comes on top of bloodshed

10131. ‘And this is what you shall offer on the altar’ means that which has regard in general to reception of the Lord in heaven and in the Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘this is what you shall offer on the altar’ as that which has regard in general to reception of the Lord in the heavens; for ‘the altar’ means what is Divine and the Lord’s in the heavens, 10129, thus also the reception of Him, while ‘this you shall offer on it’ means that which has regard in general [to the reception]. For the words that come next refer to the burnt offerings of lambs that were to be presented daily, and these offerings represent in general that which has regard to reception of the Lord. By ‘lambs’ the good of innocence is meant, and the good of innocence is the one and only thing that receives the Lord. For without the good of innocence there can be no love to the Lord, nor can there be any charity towards the neighbour or any faith that has life within it; in general there can be no good that has what is Divine within it, see the places referred to in 10021. This is why ‘this you shall offer on the altar’ means that which has regard in general to reception of the Lord in heaven and in the Church. When the word ‘heaven’ is used the Church should also be understood, since the Lord’s heaven on earth is the Church, and each individual person in whom the Church exists has heaven as well within him; for the Lord is within him, and where the Lord is, so is heaven. Furthermore the Church makes one with heaven, for they are linked together inseparably and are dependent each on the other. The Word is what joins them together; the Word has the Lord within it, and the Lord is the Word, John 1:1ff.

10132. ‘Lambs, the sons of a year, each day’ means the good of innocence in every state. This is clear from the meaning of ‘lambs’ as the good of innocence, dealt with below; from the meaning of ‘the sons of a year’ as a form of it that is child-like but has truths implanted in it, also dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘each day’ as in every state. For ‘a day’ means a state, and ‘the morning’ and ‘the evening’ of a day, when the burnt offerings of lambs were presented, mean every state.

‘A day’ means a state, see 893, 2788, 3462, 3785, 4850, 7680.
Changes of states are like the changes in a day of morning, midday, evening, night, and morning again, 5672, 5962, 6110, 8426.

sRef Isa@11 @10 S2′ sRef Isa@11 @9 S2′ sRef Isa@11 @8 S2′ [2] The fact that the good of innocence is meant by ‘lambs’ is clear from places in the Word where ‘lambs’ are mentioned, as in Isaiah,

The wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child will lead them. A suckling will play over the viper’s hole, and a weaned child will put out his hand onto the basilisk’s den. They will not corrupt themselves on all My holy mountain. And it will happen on that day, that the nations will seek the root of Jesse, who is standing as an ensign of the peoples; and His rest will be glory. Isa. 11:6, 8-10.

These words describe the state of peace and innocence in the heavens and in the Church after the Lord came into the world. And because a state of peace and innocence is being described the lamb, kid, and calf are mentioned, also a little child, suckling, and weaned child, every one of which means the good of innocence. Inmost good of innocence is meant by ‘the lamb’, interior good of innocence by ‘the kid’, and exterior good of innocence by ‘the calf’; and these three degrees of good are likewise meant by ‘a child’, ‘a suckling’, and ‘a weaned one’. ‘The holy mountain’ is heaven and the Church where the good of innocence resides; ‘the nations’ are those who have that good within them; and ‘the root of Jesse’ is the Lord, who is the source of that good. For the good of love coming from Him and offered back to Him, also called celestial good, constitutes the good of innocence.

[3] ‘The lamb’ means the good of innocence in general, and the inmost good of innocence in particular. This is clear from the fact that it is mentioned first, and also from the fact that the Lord Himself is referred to as the Lamb, as will be seen below.

‘The kid’ means the interior good of innocence, see 3519, 4871.
‘The calf (or young bull)’ means the exterior good of innocence, 430, 9391.
‘A child’ means innocence, 5236, as do ‘a suckling’, ‘a weaned child’, that is, an infant, 430, 2280, 3183, 3494, 5608.
‘The holy mountain’ is where the good of love to the Lord resides, 6435, 8758.
‘The nations’ means those who have that good within them, 1416, 6005.

That the good of love to the Lord, called celestial good, constitutes the good of innocence is clear from those who are in the inmost heaven. Because they have that good within them they appear naked, as young children; they do so because nakedness depicts innocence, as does early childhood, see the places referred to in 9277, and what has been stated in 3887, 9680.

sRef Luke@10 @3 S4′ sRef Isa@65 @25 S4′ [4] It says that ‘the wolf will dwell with the lamb’ because ‘the wolf’ means those who are opposed to innocence, as also in the same prophet,

The wolf and the lamb will feed together. They will not do evil nor destroy on all My holy mountain. Isa. 65:25.

And in Luke,

Jesus said to the disciples whom He sent out, Behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Luke 10:3.

sRef John@1 @29 S5′ sRef Rev@7 @17 S5′ sRef John@1 @36 S5′ sRef Rev@14 @4 S5′ sRef Isa@16 @1 S5′ sRef Isa@53 @7 S5′ [5] Since the Lord when He was in the world was – as to His Human – Innocence itself, and since for this reason innocence emanates wholly from Him, the Lord is called the Lamb, and the Lamb of God, as in Isaiah,

Send the Lamb of the Ruler of the land from the rock towards the wilderness, to the mountain of the daughter of Zion. Isa. 16:1.

In the same prophet,

He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. He is led like a lamb to the slaughter. Isa. 53:7.

In John,

John the Baptist saw Jesus coming; he said, Behold, the Lamb of God who bears away the sin of the world. John 1:29, 36.

In Revelation,

The Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will feed them and will guide them to living springs of water. Rev. 7:17.

And elsewhere in the same book,

These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins; these are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were bought from men (homo), being the firstfruits to God and the Lamb. Rev. 14:4.

And many times elsewhere in Revelation besides these two places, such as Rev. 5:6, 8, 12, 13; 6:1, 16; 7:9, 10, 14; 12:11; 13:8; 14:1; 15:3; 17:14; 19:7, 9; 21:9, 14, 22, 23, 27; 22:1, 3.

sRef John@21 @16 S6′ sRef Isa@40 @11 S6′ sRef John@21 @17 S6′ sRef Isa@40 @10 S6′ sRef John@21 @15 S6′ [6] It was because those who possess innocence are meant by ‘lambs’ that the Lord first told Peter Feed My lambs, then afterwards Feed My sheep, and again, Feed My sheep, John 21:15-17. ‘Lambs’ in this instance are those who are governed by the good of love to the Lord, for they possess the good of innocence more than all others, whereas ‘sheep’ are those governed by the good of charity towards the neighbour and those governed by the good of faith.

[7] The word ‘lambs’ is used with a similar meaning in Isaiah,

Behold, the Lord Jehovih comes with might, and His arm exercises dominion for Him. He will pasture His flock like a shepherd, He will gather the lambs into His arm, He will carry them in His bosom, He will gently lead the sucklings*. Isa. 40:10, 11.

These verses refer, it is evident, to the Lord. Since those who are governed by love to Him and who for this reason possess the good of innocence are meant by ‘lambs’ it is said that ‘He will gather them into His arm’ and ‘He will carry them in His bosom’. For these people are joined to the Lord through love, and love is spiritual togetherness. And this also is why those verses go on to say, ‘He will gently lead the sucklings’, for sucklings and young children are those who possess the good of innocence, 430, 2280, 3183, 3494.

sRef Ex@12 @8 S8′ sRef Ex@12 @9 S8′ sRef Ex@12 @7 S8′ sRef Ex@12 @2 S8′ sRef Ex@12 @5 S8′ sRef Ex@12 @3 S8′ [8] From all this one may now see what the burnt offerings and sacrifices of lambs mean, why they were offered each day, on each sabbath, at each new moon, at each feast, and every day during the feast of Passover, and why at the feast of Passover the lamb called the Passover lamb was eaten, spoken of as follows in Moses,

This month shall be for you the head of months; the first shall it be for you in respect of months of the year. You shall take a member of the flock, a male, from the lambs or from the kids. And they shall take some of the blood and put it onto the [two] doorposts and onto the lintel, and onto the houses in which they will eat it. They shall not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted with fire. Exod. 12:1ff.

The feast of Passover was a sign of the deliverance from damnation of those who receive the Lord in love and faith, 9286-9292, thus who possess the good of innocence; for the good of innocence is inmostly present in love and faith and is their soul. This is why it says that they were to put the animal’s blood onto doorposts, lintel, and houses; for where the good of innocence is, hell cannot come in. The reason why they were to eat it roasted with fire was that this was a sign of the good of celestial love, which is the good of love to the Lord received from the Lord.

sRef Lev@5 @3 S9′ sRef Lev@5 @1 S9′ sRef Lev@5 @13 S9′ sRef Lev@5 @6 S9′ sRef Lev@5 @5 S9′ sRef Lev@5 @10 S9′ sRef Lev@5 @12 S9′ sRef Lev@5 @4 S9′ sRef Lev@5 @2 S9′ sRef Lev@5 @7 S9′ sRef Lev@5 @8 S9′ sRef Lev@5 @11 S9′ sRef Lev@5 @9 S9′ sRef Lev@12 @6 S9′ [9] Because a lamb was a sign of innocence, when the days [of purification] after giving birth had been fulfilled a lamb, the son of a year** was offered as a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or else a turtledove was offered as a sacrifice, Lev. 12:6. The young pigeon or the turtledove was a sign of innocence, just as the lamb was. By ‘giving birth’ is meant in the spiritual sense the Church’s giving birth, giving birth to the good of love; for no other kind of birth is thought of in heaven. And by the burnt offering and sacrifice of those creatures is meant purification from evils by means of the good of innocence; for this good is what the Divine flows into and uses to effect such purification.

sRef Num@6 @13 S10′ sRef Num@6 @14 S10′ sRef Num@6 @15 S10′ [10] The reason why someone who sinned through error had to offer a lamb or a a female kid, or two turtledoves, or two young pigeons as a guilt-offering, Lev. 5:1-13, was that ‘sin through error’ is sin owing to lack of knowledge, and if the lack of knowledge has innocence within it purification takes place. Regarding a Nazirite also it says that when he had completed his Naziriteship he had to offer a lamb, the son of a year**, as a burnt offering, a ewe lamb, the daughter of a year**, as a sin-sacrifice, and one ram as a eucharistic sacrifice, and also a basket of unleavened bread, cakes mixed with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread anointed with oil, Num. 6:13-15. All these – the lamb, ewe lamb, ram, unleavened bread, cakes, wafers, and oil – mean celestial things, that is, aspects of love to the Lord received from the Lord. The reason why they were offered as a sacrifice by a Nazirite after the days of his Naziriteship had been fulfilled was that a Nazirite represented the celestial man, or the Lord in respect of the Divine Celestial, 3301, the Divine Celestial being what is Divine and the Lord’s in the inmost heaven, and what is Divine there being innocence.

[11] From all this it may be recognized that ‘a lamb’ means the good of innocence, for all beasts that were sacrificed meant some aspect of the Church. It may be recognized primarily from the fact that the Lord Himself is called the Lamb, as is clear from the places referred to above; also that those people are called ‘lambs’ who love the Lord, as in Isaiah 40:10, 11, and in John 21:15; and in addition that upright people are called ‘sheep’, for example in Matt. 15:21-29; 25:31-41; 26:31; John 10:7-16, 26-31; 21:16, 17, and elsewhere, while bad people are called ‘goats’, Matt. 25:32; Zech. 10:3; Dan. 8:5-11, 25. All useful and gentle beasts mean good affections and inclinations, while useless and savage ones mean evil affections and inclinations, see the places referred to in 9280. [12] The good of innocence is meant not only by ‘a lamb’ but also by ‘a ram’ and by ‘a young bull’. But the difference is that the inmost good of innocence is meant by ‘a lamb’, interior or middle good of innocence by ‘a ram’, and external good of innocence by ‘a young bull’; for a person has an external level, an internal level, and an inmost level, on each of which the good of innocence must be present if the person is to be regenerate, the good of innocence being the very essence of all good. Because those three degrees of innocence are meant by a young bull, a ram, and a lamb, these three animals were offered as a sacrifice and a burnt offering whenever purification by means of that good was represented. That is, they were offered at each new moon, at feasts, on the day of firstfruits, and when the altar was consecrated, as is evident in Num. 7:15, 21, 27, 33ff; 28:1-end; 29:1-end. For the meaning of ‘a young bull’ as the external good of innocence, see 9391, 9990, and that of ‘a ram’ as the internal good of innocence, 10042. As regards what innocence is, what it is like with young children, what it is like with the simple lacking in knowledge, and what it is like with the wise, see the places referred to in 10021(end).

[13] When it says that the lamb to be offered as a burnt offering had to be ‘the son of a year’, the meaning was that then it was a lamb; for when it was more than a year old it was a sheep. And since a lamb was so to speak an infant sheep, the kind of good that belongs to infancy or early childhood, which is the good of innocence, was meant by it. This also was why lambs were offered as a burnt offering in the first month of the year, when the Passover was celebrated, Exod. 12:2ff, Num. 28:16, 19; on the day of firstfruits, Num. 28:26, 27; and on the day on which the sheaf was waved, Lev. 23:11, 12. For by the first month of the year, the day of firstfruits, and the day of waving the sheaf the state of early childhood, and so the state of innocence, was also meant.
* The Latin word here is lactentes (sucklings). When the word has occurred in previous quotations of the verse it has been assumed, in the light of the Hebrew, that lactantes (those giving suck) was intended.
** i.e. in its first year

10133. ‘A continual [offering]’ means within all Divine worship. This is clear from the meaning of ‘continual’, when it refers to such things as belong to Divine worship, as all and within all. For the subject is purification from evils and falsities by means of the good of innocence, this good being meant by ‘lambs’ and purification from evils and consequent falsities by a burnt offering of them. This is called ‘continual’ because it must be present in all Divine worship. Therefore also the offering was presented twice each day, in the morning and in the evening; and offerings made morning and evening served in general to represent all worship and what must be present within all worship. The good of innocence must be in all good, and consequently in all truth, if they are to be goodness and truth that have life from the Divine within them, and so it must be within all worship. For all worship, to be worship, must spring from the good of love and from the truths of faith.

All of the Church’s and of heaven’s good has innocence within it, and without that innocence good is not good, nor therefore is worship worship, see 2736, 2780, 6013, 7840, 7887, 9262.
What innocence is, 3994, 4001, 4797, 5236, 6107, 6765, 7902, 9262, 9936, and the places referred to in 10021 (end).

sRef Num@4 @7 S2′ sRef Lev@6 @13 S2′ [2] ‘Continual’ means all and within all – that is to say, the all of worship, and within all worship – because it is a term that has a temporal connotation and in heaven, where the Word is understood not in the natural but in the spiritual sense, people have no notions of time. Instead of periods of time they perceive the kinds of things that are states. By ‘continual’ at this point therefore they perceive a perpetual state within worship, thus the all of worship and within all worship. The same applies to all other terms in the Word which have temporal connotations, such as yesterday, today, tomorrow, two days, three days, daily, a week, a month, a year, also times of day and seasons of the year – morning, midday, evening, night, spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Therefore if the spiritual sense of the Word is to be understood, any idea of a period of time acquired from its natural sense, any idea of a place as well, indeed any idea of an actual person must be set aside, and states of things must be conceived of instead. From this it may be seen how perfect the Word is in its internal sense, and so how perfect is the perception of it by the angels in heaven, consequently how much more excellent angels’ wisdom and understanding are than the understanding and wisdom of people in the world, who think with solely natural vision focused on the completely finite things of this world and planet. Regarding periods of time in heaven, that they are states, see 1274, 1382, 2625, 2788, 2837, 3254, 3356, 3404, 3827, 4814, 4882, 4901, 4916, 6110, 7218, 7381, 8070; and regarding what states are, 4850.

sRef Ex@27 @20 S3′ [3] From all this it is evident what the continual burnt offering of lambs means, and so what ‘continual’ and ‘continually’ mean elsewhere, as in the commands that ‘the fire shall burn continually on the altar’, Lev. 6:13, and that ‘the continual bread shall be on the table’, Num. 4:7. ‘The fire’ there and ‘the bread’ mean the good of love received from the Lord and offered back to Him. For ‘the fire’, that it has this meaning, see 4906, 5215, 6314, 6832, 6834, 6849, 7324, 7852, 10055; and also for ‘the bread’, 2165, 2177, 3478, 3735, 3813, 4211, 4217, 4735, 4976, 9323, 9545. In those places as well ‘continual’ means in addition that this good must be present in all worship; and the fact that the same good is the source from which the truth of faith must shine, as if from its fire, is meant by the decree that they were to cause a lamp to go up* continually, Exod. 27:20, ‘a lamp’ being the truth and good of faith, see 9548, 9783.
* i.e. to burn

sRef Ex@29 @39 S0′ 10134. ‘You shall offer one lamb in the morning’ means the removal of evils by means of the good of innocence from the Lord in a state of love and consequently of light in the internal man. This is clear from the meaning of ‘offering a lamb’, or sacrificing it, as the removal of evils by means of the good of innocence from the Lord, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘the morning’ as a state of love and consequently of light in the internal man, also dealt with below. The reason why ‘offering (or sacrificing) a lamb’ means the removal of evils by means of the good of innocence from the Lord is that burnt offerings and sacrifices were signs of purification from evils and consequently from falsities, or what amounts to the same thing, the removal of them, and the implantation of goodness and truth and the joining together of these by the Lord, 9990, 9991, 10022, 10042, 10053. As regards purification from evils, that it is the removal of them, see the places referred to in 10057; and as regards ‘a lamb’, that the good of innocence is meant, 10132.

[2] The reason why the removal of evils, and the implantation of goodness and truth and the joining together of these, is accomplished by means of the good of innocence from the Lord is that all good, if it is to be good, must have innocence within it. Without it good is not good; for innocence is not only the ground in which truths are sown but also the very essence of good. Therefore how far a person possesses innocence determines how far his good becomes good and his truth has life from good, consequently how far he is endowed with life and the evils present with him are removed. And so far as these are removed determines how far goodness and truth are implanted and are joined together by the Lord. All this explains why the continual burnt offering was made with lambs.

All good in heaven and in the Church has innocence within it, and without it good is not good, see 2736, 2780, 6013, 7840, 7887, 9262.
What innocence is, 3994, 4001, 4797, 5236, 6107, 6765, 7902, 9262, 9936.

[3] The reason why ‘the morning’ means a state of love and consequently of light in the internal man is that in the heavens angels experience different states involving their love and therefore their faith, just as in the world people pass through different times of day that affect the heat and at the same time the light there, those times of day being, as is well known, morning, midday, evening, and night. So it is that in the Word ‘morning’ means a state of love, ‘midday’ a state of light in clearness, ‘evening’ a state of light set in obscurity, and ‘night’ or twilight prior to morning a state of love set in obscurity.

Such changes from one state to another take place in heaven, see 5672, 5962, 6110, 7218, 8426.
Morning there is a state of peace and innocence, thus a state of love to the Lord, 2405, 2780, 8426, 8812, 10114.
Midday is a state of light in clearness, 3708, 5672, 9642.
Evening is a state of light set in obscurity, 3056, 3833, 6110.
There is no night in heaven, only twilight, 6110, by which a state of love set in obscurity is meant.

[4] The reason why ‘the morning’ means a state of love and consequently of light in the internal man is that when an angel’s state is one of love and light he functions in his internal man; but when his state is one of light and love in obscurity he does so in his external man. For angels have an internal man and an external, but when they function in the internal the external is virtually dormant, whereas when they do so in the external their state is grosser and duller. So it is that when their state is one of love and light they function in their internal man, thus in what is for them the morning, and when their state is one of light and love set in obscurity they do so in their external, thus in what is for them the evening. From this it is evident that changes of state are effected by their being raised to more internal things, thus to a higher sphere of heavenly light and heat, consequently nearer to the Lord, or by their being let down to more external ones, into a lower sphere of heavenly light and heat, and therefore further away from the Lord. [5] It should be remembered that more internal things are higher ones and so are closer to the Lord, whereas more external things are lower ones and so are further away from the Lord, and that light in the heavens is Divine Truth which composes faith, while heat in the heavens is Divine Good that constitutes love, both emanating from the Lord. For the Lord is the Sun in heaven, the source of all the life that angels have, and consequently of all the spiritual and celestial life that people in the world have, see the places referred to in 9548, 9684. Regarding more internal things, that they are higher ones and so are closer to the Lord, see 2148, 3084, 4599, 5146, 8325.

[6] The love and faith of a person who is being regenerated, and also of a person who has been regenerated, in like manner undergo changes of state by being raised to more internal things or let down to more external ones. But there are few who are able to reflect on this matter, because they are unaware of what thinking and willing within the internal man and within the external man are, or even of what the internal man is and what the external man is. Thinking and willing in the internal man implies doing so in heaven, for this is where the internal man is; but thinking and willing in the external man implies doing so in the world, for that is where the external man is. Therefore when love to God and faith resulting from it govern a person he functions in his internal man, since he is now up in heaven; but when his love and resulting faith are set in obscurity he functions in his external, since he is then down in the world. [7] These states too are meant in the Word by ‘morning’, ‘midday’, ‘evening’, and ‘night’ or early morning twilight, as are states of the Church. The first state of the Church is likewise called ‘morning’ in the Word, the second state ‘midday’, the third ‘evening’, and the fourth or last ‘night’. But when the Church has reached its night time, that is, when love to God and faith exist there no longer, morning emerges from twilight for another nation, where a new Church is established. [8] For the situation with the Church in general is like that with a person in particular. His first state is a state of innocence, thus also one of love towards parents, nursemaid, and also children of his own age. His second state is a state of light, for when he becomes a youth he learns the things of light, that is, the truths of faith, and believes them. The third state is reached when he begins to love the world and to love himself, which happens when he becomes a young adult and when he thinks for himself; and to the extent that these loves increase, faith decreases, and together with faith charity towards the neighbour and love to God. The fourth and last state is reached when he has no interest in these, more so when he rejects them.

[9] Such states are also the states of every Church from its beginning to its end. Its first state is in like manner a state of early childhood, thus also one of innocence, and consequently of love to the Lord. This state is called ‘morning’. The second state is a state of light. The third state is a state of light set in obscurity, which is that Church’s ‘evening’. And the fourth state is a state when there is no love nor consequently any light, which is its ‘night’. This is so because evils increase daily; and to the extent that they increase, one person like a contagious disease infects another, especially parents their children. Furthermore hereditary evils are intensified by each succeeding generation and in that condition passed down.

sRef Dan@8 @13 S10′ sRef Dan@8 @14 S10′ [10] The fact that ‘morning’ means the first state of a Church and also a state of love is clear in Daniel,

The holy one said, For how long is this vision, the continual [burnt offering], and the desolating transgression? He said to me, Up to the evening, [when it is becoming] the morning, two thousand three hundred times; then the sanctuary will be made correct. Dan. 8:13, 14.

This refers to the Lord’s Coming. ‘The evening’ is the state of the Church before His Coming, but ‘the morning’ is the first state of the Church after His Coming, and in the highest sense it is the Lord Himself. The Lord is meant in the highest sense by ‘the morning’ because He is the Sun of heaven, and the Sun of heaven never sets but is always rising in the east. This also explains why the Lord is called ‘the Rising’ or ‘the East’, consequently ‘the Morning’ as well, see 101, 2405, 2780, 9668.

sRef Isa@21 @12 S11′ sRef Isa@17 @14 S11′ sRef Isa@21 @11 S11′ sRef Ps@30 @5 S11′ [11] In Isaiah,

One was calling to me from Seir, What of the night, what of the night, O watchman? The watchman said, Morning comes, and also the night. Isa. 21:11, 12.

‘The watchman’ is used to mean in the internal sense one who observes the states of the Church and the changes it undergoes, and so to mean every prophet. ‘The night’ is used to mean the final state of the Church, ‘morning’ its first state. ‘Seir’ from where the watchman calls means the enlightenment of nations who are in darkness, for which meaning of ‘Seir’, see 4240; and for that of ‘the night’ as the final state of the Church, 6000. ‘Morning comes, and also the night’ means that even though enlightenment comes to those who belong to the new Church, night remains with those who are in the old one. ‘Morning’ has the same meaning in David,

In the evening weeping will abide*, in the morning singing. Ps. 30:5.

And in Isaiah,

Around evening time, behold, terror! Before the morning, he is no more. Isa. 17:14.

sRef Ex@16 @8 S12′ sRef Ex@16 @13 S12′ sRef Ex@16 @21 S12′ sRef Ex@16 @12 S12′ [12] Since ‘the morning’ in the highest sense means the Lord, and consequently love received from Him and offered back to Him, the manna, which was heavenly bread, rained down every morning, Exod. 16:8, 12, 13, 21. For the Lord is meant by the bread which comes down from heaven, thus by the manna, see John 6:33, 35, 48, 50; and by ‘the bread’ heavenly or celestial love, which is love received from and offered back to the Lord, is meant, 2165, 2177, 3464, 4217, 4735, 5405, 5915, 9545. And it is because the Lord is the rising (or the east) and the morning, and because heavenly love comes wholly from Him, that He rose in the morning on the sabbath day, Mark 16:9**. Therefore also the day before the feast of Passover was called the evening or eve; for the feast of Passover was a sign of the Lord’s presence and of His deliverance of faithful believers from damnation, 7867, 9286-9292.

sRef Mark@13 @35 S13′ sRef Matt@26 @34 S13′ sRef Matt@26 @74 S13′ sRef Matt@26 @75 S13′ [13] Anyone acquainted with the internal sense of the Word may recognize what is implied by Peter’s denial of the Lord three times before the cock crowed twice, Matt. 26:34, 74, 75; Mark 14:30, 68, 72; Luke 22:34, 60, 61; John 18:27. For Peter represented the Church’s faith, or what amounts to the same thing, the Church as regards faith. The time when the cock crowed meant the final period of the Church, a time of day which was also called ‘cock-crow’. The triple denial meant a complete denial of the Lord at the end of the Church. That Peter represented the Church’s faith, and so the Church as regards faith, see Prefaces to Genesis 18 and 22, and also 3750, 4738; and that the words addressed to Peter [Matt. 26:34] meant that within the Church the Lord would be denied when it reached its final period, 6000, 6073(end), 10087. The Lord is denied when there is no longer any faith; and there is no faith when there is no longer any charity. ‘Three’ means what is complete, see 2788, 4495, 7715, 8347, 9198, 9488, 9489; and this is why Peter was told that he would deny three times. The fact that this happened in twilight, when morning was about to arrive, is clear in John 18:28; and the fact that cock-crow and early morning twilight are one and the same thing is evident in Mark,

Watch, for you do not know when the Master of the house will be coming – in the evening, or at midnight, or at cock-crow, or in the morning. Mark 13:35.

From all this it now becomes clear what ‘the morning’ means.
* lit. will pass the night
** Mark 16:9 describes the Resurrection as occurring on the first day of the week.

sRef Ex@29 @39 S0′ 10135. ‘And you shall offer the other lamb between the evenings’ means a similar removal of evils in a state of light and love in the external man. This is clear from the meaning of ‘offering a lamb’, or sacrificing it, as being removed from evils by means of the good of innocence from the Lord, as immediately above in 10134; and from the meaning of ‘between the evenings’ as in a state of light and love in the external man. In the Word ‘evening’ means a state involving interior things when the truths of faith are set in obscurity, and forms of the good of love are in some coldness; for angels experience different states of love and light, just as in the world different times of day – morning, midday, evening, night or twilight prior to morning, and morning again – give way to one another. When the angels experience a state of love, to them it is morning, and the Lord appears before them as the rising Sun. When they experience a state of light, to them it is midday. When however they experience a state of light set in obscurity, to them it is evening; and when after this they experience a state of love set in obscurity or some coldness, for them it is night, or rather the twilight before morning.

[2] Such states experienced by the angels follow unceasingly one after another, and serve unceasingly to make them more perfect. But those changes are not due to the Sun there, to its rising and setting, but to the state of the interiors within the angels themselves; for as with people in the world they have a desire at one time to turn towards their internal interests, at another towards their external ones. When they turn towards internal interests they experience a state of love and consequently of light in clearness, and when they turn towards external interests they experience a state of love and consequently of light set in obscurity; for what is external is such, compared with what is internal. This is the origin of the changes of state experienced by angels. The reason why they have such states and such changes is that the Sun of heaven, which in that world is the Lord, is the Divine Love itself. Therefore the heat radiating from it is the good of love, and the light from it is the truth of faith. For everything radiating from that Sun has life, unlike the things radiating from the sun in the world, which are dead.

[3] From this it becomes clear what heavenly heat is and what heavenly light is, also why it is that ‘heat’, ‘flame’, and ‘fire’ in the Word mean the good of love, ‘light’ and its ‘brightness’ the truth of faith, and ‘the sun’ the Lord Himself in respect of Divine Love.

The Lord in heaven is the Sun, see 3636, 3643, 4321(end), 5097, 7078, 7083, 7171, 7173, 8812.
The heat from it is the good of love, 3338, 3339, 3636, 3693, 4018, 5215, 6032, 6314.
The light from that Sun is Divine Truth, the source of faith, intelligence, and wisdom, see the places referred to in 9548, 9684.

From all this it now becomes clear what ‘morning’ and what ‘evening’ mean.

[4] But it should be recognized that in the present verse ‘the morning’ implies midday as well, and evening early morning twilight as well; for when the words ‘morning and evening’ are used in the Word an entire day is meant, so that ‘morning’ includes midday, and ‘evening’ night or twilight. This explains why ‘the morning’ in the present verse means a state of love and also of light in clearness, that is, in the internal man, and ‘the evening’ a state of light, as well as of love in obscurity, that is, in the external man.

sRef Deut@16 @6 S5′ sRef Deut@16 @7 S5′ sRef Ex@12 @6 S5′ sRef Num@9 @5 S5′ sRef Num@9 @11 S5′ [5] The fact that ‘between the evenings’ is not used to mean the period of time between the evening of one day and the evening of the next day, but the time between evening and morning, thus all of the night or twilight, is evident from the consideration that the continual burnt offering of a lamb was presented not only in the evening but also in the morning. From this it becomes clear that something similar is meant elsewhere by ‘between the evenings’, for example, where it says that the Passover should be kept between the evenings, Exod. 12:6; Num. 9:5, 11, which is explained in yet another place by the following words,

You shall sacrifice the Passover in the evening when the sun goes down, at the fixed time of the departure from Egypt. After that you shall cook and eat it in the place which Jehovah your God will have chosen; and in the morning you shall turn* and go into your tents. Deut. 16:6, 7.

sRef Jer@6 @5 S6′ sRef Zech@14 @9 S6′ sRef Zech@14 @8 S6′ sRef Dan@8 @13 S6′ sRef Zech@14 @7 S6′ sRef Jer@6 @4 S6′ sRef Dan@8 @14 S6′ [6] The fact that ‘evening’ in general means a state of light shining in obscurity is clear in Jeremiah,

Arise, and let us go up into the south. Woe to us, for the day goes away, for the shadows of evening are set at an angle! Arise, and let us go up at night, and let us destroy the palaces. Jer. 6:4, 5.

Here ‘evening’ and ‘night’ mean the last times of the Church, when all matters of faith and love have been destroyed. In Zechariah,

There will be one day, which is known to Jehovah, when around evening time there will be light. On that day living waters will go out from Jerusalem. And Jehovah will be King over all the earth. Zech. 14:7-9.

This refers to the Lord’s Coming. The end of the Church is meant by ‘evening time’; ‘light’ is the Lord’s Divine Truth. A similar example occurs in Daniel,

The holy one said to me, Up to the evening, [when it is becoming] the morning, two thousand three hundred times. Dan. 8:13, 14.

sRef Ex@29 @40 S0′ 10136. ‘And a tenth [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with beaten oil, a quarter of a hin’ means spiritual good derived from celestial good, the amount needed for a joining together. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a tenth of an ephah’ as a sufficient amount, and the amount needed for the purposes which have to be served, dealt with in 8468, 8540, 9757; from the meaning of ‘fine flour’ as truth derived from good, dealt with 9995, at this point truth derived from celestial good, which truth is called spiritual good; from the meaning of ‘oil’ as celestial good, dealt with in 886, 3728, 4582, 4638, 9474, 9780; and from the meaning of ‘a quarter of a hin’ as the amount needed for a joining together. For ‘four’ means a joining together, 9601, 9674, so that ‘a quarter’ or a fourth part means an amount sufficient to accomplish that joining together. The ephah and the hin were measures, and by measures the amount of the thing that is being referred to is meant. By ‘an ephah’, which was a measure of fine flour, wheat, or barley, the amount of good is meant, and by ‘a hin’, which was a measure of wine or oil, the amount of truth is meant. The fact that a tenth of an ephah is what should be understood by ‘a tenth’ is clear from Lev. 6:20, and elsewhere. From all this it is evident that ‘a tenth of fine flour mixed with beaten oil, a quarter of a hin’ means spiritual good derived from celestial good, the amount needed for a joining together. What spiritual good is and what celestial good is, see the places referred to in 9277.
* lit. you shall look back

sRef Ex@29 @40 S0′ 10137. ‘And a drink offering of a quarter of a hin of wine’ means spiritual truth, the amount needed for a joining together. This is clear from the meaning of ‘wine’ as truth, dealt with in 1071, 1798, 6377, at this point spiritual truth answering to the spiritual good derived from celestial good, meant by ‘fine flour mixed with oil’, dealt with immediately above in 10136 (where good is the subject in the Word, so too is truth, and indeed the truth belonging to the same class as the good. This is so because every single thing in heaven and also in the world has connection with good or with truth, and with both if it is to have any real existence, since good without truth is not good and truth without good is not truth, see the places referred to in 9263, 9314. This explains why when a minchah, which consisted of bread, was offered, so was a drink offering, which consisted of wine, in much the same way as in the Holy Supper. So it is that ‘a drink offering of wine’ is used here to mean the truth that answers to the good meant by a minchah, dealt with immediately above); and from the meaning of ‘a quarter of a hin’ as the amount needed for a joining together, dealt with immediately above in 10136.

[2] Everyone may see that not merely bread and wine should be understood by a minchah, which consisted of bread, and a drink offering, which consisted of wine, but something that belongs to the Church and to heaven, thus spiritual and celestial things, which are heaven’s and the Church’s. If this had not been so what would have been the point of putting the bread and wine on the fire on the altar? How could this have been pleasing to Jehovah, or how could it have been, as it says, an odour of rest to Him? How could it have expiated a person? Anyone who thinks reverently about the Word cannot imagine how an action so earthly could be pleasing to Jehovah unless something Divine on a deeper, more internal level was contained in it. The person who believes that the Word is Divine and spiritual throughout ought to believe completely that every detail there has some heavenly arcanum concealed within it. But the reason why no one up to now has known just where such an arcanum lies is that no one has known that an internal sense, which is spiritual and Divine, exists within every detail there. Nor has anyone known that angels are present with each person, perceiving his thoughts and understanding the Word in a spiritual manner when he reads it; that then through them a holy influence from the Lord reaches him; and that therefore through those angels heaven is linked to the person, to whom the Lord is linked by means of the heavens. It is for this reason that the kind of Word just described has been given to mankind, that Word being the sole means by which the Lord can provide for his salvation.

sRef Joel@1 @11 S3′ sRef Joel@1 @14 S3′ sRef Joel@1 @10 S3′ sRef Joel@1 @9 S3′ sRef Joel@1 @15 S3′ sRef Joel@1 @13 S3′ sRef Joel@1 @12 S3′ [3] The fact that ‘minchah’, consisting of bread, means the good of love and that ‘drink offering’, consisting of wine, means the good of faith, and that this is what the angels see in them, becomes clear from all those places in the Word which make reference to a minchah or a drink offering, such as these verses in Joel,

The minchah has been cut off, and the drink offering, from the house of Jehovah; the priests have been mourning, the ministers of Jehovah. The field has been devastated, the land has been mourning because the grain has been devastated, the new wine has dried up, the oil languishes. The vine has dried up and the fig tree languishes. Wail, O ministers of the altar, because the minchah and the drink offering have been withheld from the house of your God. For the day of Jehovah is near, and comes as destruction from Shaddai. Joel 1:9-15.

This refers to the final period of the Church, when the good of love and truth of faith are not present there any longer, meant by ‘the day of Jehovah is near, and comes as destruction from Shaddai’. [4] From this it is evident that by the minchah and drink offering which have been cut off from the house of Jehovah, the field which has been devastated, the land which mourns, the grain which too has been devastated, the new wine which has dried up, the oil which languishes, and the vine and fig which do so, such things as belong to the Church and to heaven are meant. It is the internal sense however that shows what it is they mean. From that sense it is evident that ‘the field’ means the Church as regards its reception of truth, see 3766, 4982, 7502, 7571, 9295; ‘the land’ the Church as regards [its reception of] good, see the places referred to in 9325; ‘the grain’ all the good that the Church has, 5295, 5410, 5959; ‘the new wine’ all the truth that the Church has, 3580; ‘the oil’ the good of love, 4582, 4638, 9780; ‘the vine’ the spiritual Church’s interior good, 5113, 6376, 9277; and ‘the fig’ its exterior good, 217, 4231, 5113. From all this it is evident that ‘the minchah’ and ‘the drink offering’ mean worship springing from the good of love and from the good of faith.

sRef Mal@1 @11 S5′ sRef Mal@1 @10 S5′ [5] In Malachi,

I will not accept a minchah from your hands. For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, great is the name of Jehovah among the nations; and in every place [there will be] incense, offered to My name, and a pure minchah. Mal. 1:10, 11.

It is evident that a minchah should not be understood here either by ‘a minchah’, nor incense by ‘incense’, since the subject is the Church among the gentile nations, among whom there was no minchah. For it says, ‘From the rising of the sun to its setting, great is the name of Jehovah among the nations; and in every place [there will be] a pure minchah and incense’, ‘incense’ meaning adoration springing from the good of faith, see 9475.

sRef Isa@57 @9 S6′ sRef Ps@141 @2 S6′ sRef Isa@57 @6 S6′ sRef Isa@57 @5 S6′ [6] Something similar occurs in David,

My prayers are acceptable, [as] incense before You, the lifting up of my hands, [as] the evening minchah. Ps. 141:2.

‘The evening minchah’ means the good of love in the external man.

[7] In Isaiah,

You inflamed yourselves among the gods under every green tree. You have also poured out a drink offering to them; you have presented a gift*. You offer the king a gift in oil, and multiply your perfumes; and you debase yourself even to hell. Isa. 57:5, 6, 9.

This refers to worship based on evils and falsities which come from hell. ‘The gods’ in the internal sense are falsities, for although those who worshipped other gods called them by name, nevertheless falsities arising from evils were what they worshipped. Regarding the gods of the foreigner in the Word, that falsities are meant by them, see 4402(end), 8941. ‘[Every] green tree’ means every perception, recognition, and corroboration of falsity, 2722, 2972, 4552, 7692, ‘green’ implying a sensory apprehension, 7691. ‘Inflaming oneself’ means worship that is passionate, for ‘the fire’ that causes such fervour is love in both senses, 5215, 6832, 7575. ‘Pouring out a drink offering’ is worship springing from the falsities of evil; ‘offering the king a gift in oil’ is the worship of Satan springing from evils, ‘a gift in oil’ being a minchah, and ‘multiplying perfumes’ is multiplying offerings of incense, by which acts of adoration are meant, 9475. Therefore it also says that he debases himself even to hell.

[8]From these considerations it becomes clear that ‘a minchah’, which consisted of bread, and ‘a drink offering’, which consisted of wine, mean things such as belong to the Church and to heaven, namely heavenly food and drink, in the same way as the bread and wine in the Holy Supper do – for the reason given above, that heaven may join itself to a person through the Word, consequently that the Lord may do so through heaven by means of the Word. Since the Divine presence in the Word consists in such things it nourishes the minds not only of people in the world but also of angels and causes heaven and the world to be one.

[9] From this it also becomes clear that all the things without exception which have been stated and commanded in the Word regarding the minchah and drink offering, or bread and wine, contain Divine arcana within them. This is so for example with the requirement that a minchah should consist of fine flour which had oil and also frankincense on it, that it should be altogether salted, and that it should be unleavened or without yeast. Then there is the requirement that there was to be one set of proportions for the mixture when a lamb was sacrificed, another when it was a ram, another when it was a young bull, and yet another in guilt- and sin-sacrifices, while the proportions in other sacrifices were different again. The proportion of wine in the drink offering varied in a similar way. Unless these specific requirements had embodied the arcana of heaven no such things would ever have been commanded in connection with the various forms of worship.

sRef Num@15 @7 S10′ sRef Num@15 @10 S10′ sRef Num@15 @4 S10′ sRef Num@15 @11 S10′ sRef Num@15 @5 S10′ sRef Num@15 @12 S10′ sRef Num@15 @6 S10′ sRef Num@15 @9 S10′ sRef Num@15 @8 S10′ [10] To enable these different requirements to be seen alongside one another, let them be set out here in their own order, as contained in the eucharistic sacrifices and burnt offerings, in Num. 15:4-12; 28:9-12, 20, 21, 28, 29; 29:3, 4, 9, 10, 14, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 37,

For each lamb there was a minchah consisting of one tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil; and the wine for the drink offering was a quarter of a hin.
For each ram there was a minchah consisting of two tenths [of an ephah] of fine flour, and a third of a hin of oil; and a third of a hin of wine for the drink offering.
For each young bull there was a minchah consisting of three tenths [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with oil, a half of a hin; and half of a hin of wine for the drink offering.

The reason why the proportions of fine flour, oil, and wine for a lamb should be different from those for a ram or for a young bull was that a lamb meant the inmost good of innocence, a ram the middle good of innocence, and a young bull the lowest or external good of innocence. For there are three heavens – the inmost, the middle, and the lowest – and therefore also there are three degrees of the good of innocence. The increase of it from first to last is meant by the increase in the proportions of fine flour, oil, and wine. It should be remembered that the good of innocence is the very soul of heaven, because that good alone is the recipient of the love, charity, and faith which constitute the heavens.

‘A lamb’ means the inmost good of innocence, see 3994, 10132.
‘A ram’ means the middle or interior good of innocence, 10042.
‘A young bull’ means the lowest or external good of innocence, 9391, 9990.

sRef Lev@7 @12 S11′ sRef Lev@7 @11 S11′ sRef Lev@5 @11 S11′ [11] In sacrifices for thanksgiving (confessio) however there was a minchah consisting of unleavened cakes mixed with oil, unleavened wafers anointed with oil, cakes made of fried flour and mixed with oil, and in addition leavened bread cakes, Lev. 7:11, 12; and in guilt- and sin-sacrifices there was a minchah consisting of a tenth of an ephah of fine flour, but without oil or frankincense on top of it, Lev. 5:11. The reason why no oil or frankincense should be put on top of the minchah composing a sin- or guilt-sacrifice was that ‘oil’ is a sign of the good of love and ‘frankincense’ a sign of the truth which goes with that good, and a sin- or a guilt-sacrifice is a sign of purification and expiation from evils and the falsities arising from them, which therefore were not to be mingled with good or the truth springing from it.

sRef Lev@2 @13 S12′ sRef Lev@2 @10 S12′ sRef Lev@2 @11 S12′ [12] In addition to these there were the minchah of Aaron and his sons on the day they were going to be anointed, see Lev. 6:20-22; the minchah of the firstfruits of the harvest, Lev. 2:14, 15; 23:10, 12, 13, 17; the minchah of the Nazirite, Num. 6[:13-21]; the minchah of jealousy, Num. 5[:11-31]; the minchah of one cleansed from leprosy, Lev. 14[:1-32]; and also the minchah baked in an oven, the minchah prepared in a pan, and the minchah cooked in a pot, Lev. 2:4-7. There was was to be no yeast in a minchah, nor any honey; and the minchah had to be fully salted, Lev. 2:11, 13. The reason why there should be no yeast in a minchah, nor any honey, was that in the spiritual sense ‘yeast’ means falsity arising from evil, and ‘honey’ external delight very much mixed with the delight belonging to love of the world, which also causes fermentation in heavenly forms of good and truths and subsequent disintegration of them. And the reason why they should be fully salted was that ‘salt’ was a sign of truth desiring good and so joining the two together.

‘Yeast’ means falsity arising from evil, see 2342, 7906, 8051, 9992.
‘Honey’ means external delight, thus such delight belonging to love in both senses, 5620.
‘Salt’ means truth desiring good, 9207.
* lit. you have caused a gift to go up/ascend

sRef Ex@29 @40 S0′ 10138. ‘For the first lamb’ means this [good and truth] in the internal man. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the first lamb’, or that which was presented as a burnt offering in the morning, as the good of innocence in the internal man, dealt with above in 10134.

sRef Ex@29 @41 S0′ 10139. ‘And you shall offer the second lamb between the evenings’ means the removal of evils by means of the good of innocence from the Lord in a state of love and consequently of light in the external man. This is clear from the explanation above in 10135, where similar words occur.

sRef Ex@29 @41 S0′ 10140. ‘According to the morning minchah and according to its drink offering you shall do for it’ means spiritual good derived from celestial good, and its truth, the amount needed for a joining together. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the morning minchah’, or minchah for the second lamb, [and of ‘its drink offering’,] as spiritual good derived from celestial good, and its truth, the amount needed for a joining together, also dealt with above, in 10136, 10137.

sRef Ex@29 @41 S0′ 10141. ‘For an odour of rest’ means the perception of peace. This is clear from the meaning of ‘an odour of rest’ as the perception of peace, dealt with in 10054.

sRef Ex@29 @41 S0′ 10142. ‘A fire offering to Jehovah’ means springing from the Lord’s Divine Love. This is clear from what has also been stated and shown above, in 10055.

sRef Ex@29 @42 S0′ 10143. ‘A continual burnt offering’ means all Divine worship in general. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a burnt offering’ as Divine worship, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘continual’ as all and within all, dealt with above in 10133, so that ‘a continual burnt offering’ means all Divine worship in general. And when the lamb – of which the burnt offering consisted, and which means the good of innocence – is understood, this too means within all worship; for all worship that is truly worship must spring from the truths of faith and from forms of the good of love, and within every form of the good of love, and consequently within every truth of faith, the good of innocence must be present, 10133. This is the reason why ‘a continual burnt offering’ also means within all worship.

[2] ‘A burnt offering’ means Divine worship because burnt offerings and sacrifices were the chief features of the representative worship among the Israelite and Jewish nation, and all things relate to and take their name from their chief feature. As regards the chief feature of the worship among that nation, that it lay in sacrifices and burnt offerings, and that for this reason the whole of worship in general is meant by them, see 922, 1343, 2180, 6905, 8680, 8936, 10042.

[3] But what the Divine worship meant by sacrifices and burnt offerings is must be stated briefly. In particular sacrifices and burnt offerings have meant purification from evils and falsities, and at the same time implantation of goodness and truth, also the joining together of the two, thus regeneration, see 10022, 10053, 10057. With the person in whom these things have been accomplished true worship exists. It does so because purification from evils and falsities consists in refraining from them, steering clear of them, and loathing them; the implantation of goodness and truth consists in thinking and willing what is good and what is true, and in speaking and doing them; and the joining together of the two consists in leading a life composed of them. For when the good and truth residing with a person have been joined together his will is new and his understanding is new, consequently his life is new. When this is how a person is, Divine worship is present in every deed he performs; for at every point the person now has what is Divine in view, respects and loves it, and in so doing worships it.

[4] The fact that this is the true worship of God is unknown to those who think that all worship consists in acts of adoration and prayer, thus in such things as belong to the mouth and thought, and not in such as belong to deeds flowing from the good of charity and the good of faith. Yet the reality is that in a person offering adoration and prayer the Lord pays attention solely to his heart, that is, to what he is like inwardly so far as love and consequently faith are concerned. If therefore the adoration and prayer do not have these two within them they have no soul and life in them; they are an outward show, like that of toadies and pretenders, who, as is well known, do not even please anyone in this world who is wise.

sRef John@15 @12 S5′ sRef John@14 @21 S5′ sRef John@15 @10 S5′ sRef John@14 @24 S5′ [5] In short, acting in accord with the Lord’s commandments constitutes true worship of Him, indeed constitutes true love and true faith, as may also become clear to anyone who stops to consider the matter. For there is nothing that a person who loves another, and who believes in another, would rather do than to will and to do what that other wills and thinks; his only desire is to know his will and thought, and so what is pleasing to him. It is different in the case of one who has no such love or belief. The situation is similar with love to God, as the Lord also teaches in John,

He who has My commandments and does them, he it is who loves Me. But he who does not love Me does not keep My words. John 14:21, 24.

And elsewhere in the same gospel,

If you keep My commands, you will remain in My love. This is My commandment, that you love one another. John 15:10, 12.

sRef Micah@6 @8 S6′ sRef 1Sam@15 @22 S6′ sRef Jer@7 @22 S6′ sRef Jer@7 @21 S6′ sRef Micah@6 @7 S6′ sRef Micah@6 @6 S6′ sRef Hos@6 @6 S6′ sRef Jer@7 @23 S6′ [6] The fact that the outward performance of worship without this inner devotion is not worship is also meant by what is said about burnt offerings and sacrifices in Jeremiah,

I did not speak with your fathers on the matters of burnt offering and sacrifice. But this matter I commanded them, saying, Obey My voice, and I will be your God. Jer. 7:21-23.

In Hosea,

I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. Hosea 6:6.

In Micah,

Shall I come before Jehovah with burnt offerings? Will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams? He has shown you what is good; and what does Jehovah require of you but to carry out judgement, and to love mercy, and to humble yourself by walking with your God? Micah 6:6-8.

In the first Book of Samuel,

Has Jehovah great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices? Behold, to be submissive is better than sacrifice, to be obedient better than the fat of rams. 1 Sam. 15:22.

Worship of the Lord consists first and foremost in a charitable life, and not in a religious life without it, see 8252-8257.

sRef Ex@29 @42 S0′ 10144. ‘Throughout your generations’ means what is everlasting in the Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘generations’, when this word refers to the children of Israel, as succeeding stages within the Church; for the Church is meant by ‘the children of Israel’, and the consecutive ages of it by ‘generations’. But the latter also means spiritual generations, which are stages of faith and love, and so are phases of the Church. And in addition ‘throughout generations’ means what is everlasting, thus also consecutive stages.

By ‘the children of Israel’ the Church is meant, see the places referred to in 9340.
By ‘generations’ matters of faith and love are meant, 2020, 2584, 6239; also what is everlasting and eternal, 9789; thus consecutive stages, 9845.

sRef Ex@29 @42 S0′ 10145. ‘At the door of the tent’ means the joining together of good and truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the door of the tent’ as the joining together of good and truth, dealt with in 10001, 10025.

sRef Ex@29 @42 S0′ sRef John@14 @17 S1′ sRef John@14 @23 S1′ sRef John@14 @20 S1′ sRef John@14 @21 S1′ 10146. ‘Before Jehovah’ means from the Lord. This is clear from the consideration that ‘Jehovah’ in the Word is the Lord, see the places referred to in 9373. From the Lord is meant by ‘before Jehovah’ because ‘before’ means presence, and the Lord is present to the extent that good which belongs to love and truth which belongs to faith are received from Him. Consequently before the Lord means from the Lord. The Lord, it is true, is present with every individual person, yet the way in which He is present with the good is different from the way in which He is present with the evil. In the case of the good He is present in every detail of their thought springing from the truths of faith and in every detail of their desires springing from the good of love. He is present in such a way that He Himself constitutes their faith and He Himself constitutes their love. Therefore He is so to speak a resident within them, in keeping with the Lord’s own words in John,

The Spirit of truth will remain with you and will be in you. And you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and does them, he it is who loves Me. We will come to him and make Our home with him. John 14:17, 18, 20, 21, 23.

[2] But in the case of those who are evil the Lord is not present in every detail, because they have no faith or charity. He is present in a general way, and this presence gives them the ability to think and will, and also to receive faith and charity so far as they refrain from evils. But so far as they do not refrain from them He seems to be absent. How far absent He seems to be depends on how far the truth and good of faith and love are absent. So it is that those in heaven experience His presence, and those in hell experience His absence.

[3] But the reality of the situation is not that the Lord is absent from man, rather that man is absent from the Lord. For a person ruled by evils looks backwards, away from Him, and the things then before his eyes are present within him according to their affinity with the evils that rule him. For in the next life space does not exist, only the appearance of space that accords with the network of thoughts and affections in a person. The situation in all this is just like that of the presence of the worldly sun so far as light and heat are concerned. The sun is equally present during every time and season; but when the planet turns away from the sun, the light fades and darkness descends, first the darkness of evening, then the darkness of night. And when the earth is not directly in line with the sun but at an angle, as happens in wintertime, the heat departs and cold sets in, as a consequence of which all things in the ground become inactive and die off. This too is called an absence of the sun, when in fact it is an absence of the planet from the sun, not spatially but so far as the conditions of light and heat are concerned. These phenomena have been mentioned to help to illustrate the
matter.

sRef Ex@29 @42 S0′ 10147. ‘Where I will meet with you to speak to you there’ means His presence and influx. This is clear from the meaning of ‘meeting to speak’ as presence and influx; for ‘meeting with’ means presence, and ‘speaking’ – when it refers to Jehovah, that is, the Lord – means influx. For the meaning of ‘speaking’ as influx, see 2951, 5481, 5797, 7270; what the Lord’s presence is has been stated above in 10146; but as regards what His influx is, see the places referred to in 9223, 9276, 9682.

sRef Ex@29 @43 S0′ 10148. ‘And there I will meet with the children of Israel’ means the Lord’s presence in the Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘meeting with’ as presence, as immediately above in 10147; and from the representation of ‘the children of Israel’ as the Church, dealt with in 9340.

sRef Ex@29 @43 S0′ 10149. ‘And it will be sanctified in My glory’ means reception of Divine Truth from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being sanctified’ as the reception of what is Divine from the Lord, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘glory’ as Divine Truth, dealt with in 4809, 5922, 8267, 9429. ‘Being sanctified’ means reception of what is Divine from the Lord because the Lord alone is holy, and therefore everything holy comes from Him, 9229, and also because Divine Truth emanating from Him is what is meant by ‘holy’ in the Word, 9818. But at this point, where the children of Israel, burnt offerings and sacrifices, the tent of meeting, and the altar are the subject, that which is representative of it is meant by ‘holy’ and ‘being sanctified’. The reason for this is that among the Israelite and Jewish nation all things were representative of the inner realities of the Church, which are matters of faith and love received from and offered back to the Lord. For the Church established among that nation was a representative Church.

[2] This being so, all outward objects served to mean and represent such things as the internal sense teaches about; and it is on account of this that those objects were called holy, such as the altar, fire on it, burnt offering, fat, and blood; the tent of meeting, the table there on which the loaves of the presence were placed, table of incense, lampstand, and all their vessels; in particular the ark with the Testimony in it; and in addition the loaves, cakes, and wafers – which were called minchahs – oil, and frankincense; as well as Aaron’s garments, such as the ephod, robe, tunic, turban, and in particular the breastplate. Aaron himself was called holy, and so too were the children of Israel. But none of those objects or people were holy, other than for the reason that they served to represent and so to mean holy things, that is, Divine things which come from the Lord; for these alone are holy.

[3] People who do not look beyond outward forms to inward realities suppose that such objects were holy not by virtue of what they represented but because they were intrinsically holy after they had been dedicated. But those people are completely mistaken. If they venerate those objects as being intrinsically holy, they venerate earthly things, and are not far off being like those who venerate pieces of stone or wood, as idolaters do. But people who venerate the realities that are represented or meant, that is, holy and Divine things, are the ones who engage in true worship; for to them outward objects are merely mediate causes* enabling them to think about and desire such realities as constitute the essentials of the Church, which, as has been stated above, are matters of faith and love received from and offered back to the Lord.

[4] The situation is similar at the present day with the Holy Supper. When those attending do not think, as a consequence of their belief, about the Lord and His love towards the human race, and about renewal of life in keeping with His commandments, they venerate simply the bread and wine there, and not the Lord. They think that the outward objects of bread and wine are holy; but they are holy not in themselves, only by virtue of what they are the signs of. For the bread there is a sign of the Lord in respect of the good of love, and the wine a sign of the Lord in respect of the truth of faith, and at the same time of a person’s reception of Him, those two entities being the essential elements of the Church, thus the essential elements of worship, see 4211, 4217, 4735, 6135, 6789, 7850, 8682, 9003, 9127, 10040.
From all this it may now be seen what ‘holy’ and ‘being sanctified’ mean in the Word.
* A philosophical term denoting means to an end

sRef Ex@29 @44 S0′ 10150. ‘And I will sanctify the tent of meeting’ means reception of the Lord in the lower heavens. This is clear from the meaning of ‘sanctifying’ as the reception of what is Divine and the Lord’s, dealt with immediately above in 10149; and from the meaning of ‘the tent of meeting’ as the heavens, dealt with in 3478, 9457, 9481, 9485, 9963, the reason why the lower heavens are meant here being that the higher heavens are meant by ‘the altar’, see 10151 immediately below. What the lower heavens and the higher heavens are must be stated briefly here. The heavens are divided into two kingdoms, the celestial and the spiritual. The celestial kingdom comprises the higher heavens, and the spiritual kingdom the lower heavens. The intrinsic good of the celestial kingdom is the good of love to the Lord and the good of mutual love, whereas the intrinsic good of the spiritual kingdom is the good of charity towards the neighbour and the good of faith. The difference between these kingdoms is like that between the power of understanding and the power of will in the case of a person who has been regenerated, in general like the difference between goodness and truth. The nature of this difference may be recognized from what has been shown regarding those two kingdoms in the places referred to in 9277, also in what has been stated in 9543, 9688, 9992, 10005, 10068. The will furthermore is inmost in a person, being the person’s true self, whereas the understanding lies adjacent and is subservient, and so is more external. What is more internal is also called higher, and what is more external is also called lower. For the correspondence of the celestial kingdom to the will and of the spiritual kingdom to the understanding with a person who has been regenerated, see 9835. All this shows what should be understood by the lower heavens and what by the higher heavens.

sRef Ex@29 @44 S0′ 10151. ‘And the altar’ means reception of what is Divine from the Lord in the higher heavens. This is clear from the meaning of ‘sanctifying’ as the reception of what is Divine from the Lord, dealt with above in 10149; and from the meaning of ‘the altar’ as that which was representative of the Lord in respect of Divine Good, dealt with in 9964, at this point in respect of Divine Good emanating from Him in the heavens where that Good is received, thus in the higher heavens. For these heavens receive the Lord as to His Divine Good, but the lower heavens receive the Lord as to His Divine Truth, in accord with what has been shown immediately above in 10150.

[2] It should be recognized that whatever served to represent the Lord Himself represented heaven also; for what is Divine, emanating from the Lord and received by angels, constitutes heaven. The angels themselves, as to what is properly their own, do not constitute heaven; only what is Divine, received by them from the Lord, does so. The truth of this may be recognized from the consideration that every one of them there acknowledges, believes, and also perceives that not a grain of good originates in themselves, only in the Lord, and that whatever originates in themselves is not good, so that – exactly as the Church teaches – everything good comes down from above. All this being so, it follows that what is Divine and the Lord’s is what constitutes heavenly life among them, consequently constitutes heaven. All this goes to show how the idea that the Lord is the All in all of heaven should be understood, that the Lord dwells there in what is His own, and also that ‘an angel’ in the Word means some attribute that is the Lord’s, ideas that have been the subject in various places in what has gone before.

[3] The situation is the same with regard to the Church. People there, as to what is properly their own, do not constitute the Church; only what is Divine, received by them from the Lord, does so. For no one there who fails to acknowledge and believe that the good of love and the truth of faith come entirely from God forms part of the Church, because he wishes to love God with what is his own and to believe in God with what is his own, which however no one is able to do. From this too it is evident that what is Divine and the Lord’s constitutes the Church, just as it constitutes heaven. The Church furthermore is the Lord’s heaven on earth, and therefore also the Lord is the All in all within the Church, just as He is in heaven, and dwells with people there in what is His own, just as He does with angels in heaven. Also, people of the Church who thus receive what is Divine and the Lord’s in love and faith, they and no others, become angels of heaven after life in the world.

sRef John@14 @17 S4′ sRef John@15 @4 S4′ sRef John@14 @20 S4′ sRef John@15 @5 S4′ [4] That what is Divine and the Lord’s constitutes His kingdom with a person, that is, heaven and the Church with him, is also the Lord’s teaching in John,

The Spirit of truth will remain with you and will be in you. And you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. John 14:17, 20.

‘The Spirit of truth’ is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, about which He says that it ‘will remain with you’. After this He says that He is in the Father, they are in Him, and He is in them, meaning that they will be in what is Divine and the Lord’s, and what is Divine and the Lord’s will be in them, by which, it is evident, the Divine Human should be understood. Elsewhere in the same gospel He says,

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me. He who abides in Me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you cannot do anything. John 15:4, 5.

sRef Ex@29 @44 S0′ 10152. ‘And Aaron and his sons [I will sanctify], to serve Me in the priestly office’ means that which is representative of the Lord in both groups of heavens in respect of the work of salvation. This is clear from the representation of ‘Aaron’ as the Lord in respect of celestial good, dealt with in 9806, 9946, 10068, and from the representation of ‘Aaron’s sons’ as the Lord in respect of spiritual good, dealt with in 10017, 10068, thus in both groups of heavens, the higher heavens and the lower ones (for whether you say celestial good, or the celestial kingdom, or the higher heavens, it amounts to the same thing; and also whether you say spiritual good, or the spiritual kingdom, or the lower heavens, it amounts to the same thing; regarding the higher and the lower heavens, see what has been stated immediately above in 10150, 10151); and from the representation of ‘the priestly office’ as the Lord’s work of salvation, dealt with in 9809, 10017. From these representations it is evident that ‘sanctifying Aaron and his sons to serve Jehovah in the priestly office’ means that which is representative of the Lord in both groups of heavens in respect of the work of salvation.

[2] Something more about the Lord’s work of salvation can be mentioned here. It is well known in the Church that the Lord is the Saviour and Redeemer of the human race, though few know how to understand this. Those acquainted with the outward things of the Church believe that the Lord redeemed the world, that is, the human race, by His blood, by which they understand His passion on the Cross. But those acquainted with the inward realities of the Church know that no one is saved by the Lord’s blood, only by a life in keeping with the commandments of faith and charity taught by the Lord’s Word. Those acquainted with the inmost realities of the Church understand by the Lord’s blood Divine Truth emanating from Him. By His passion on the Cross they understand the final temptation the Lord underwent, by which He completely subdued the hells and at the same time glorified His Human, that is, made it Divine, thereby also redeeming and saving all who allow themselves to be regenerated through a life in keeping with the commandments of faith and charity taught by His Word. ‘The Lord’s blood’ furthermore is used in the internal sense, according to which the angels in heaven perceive the Word, to mean Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, see, 4735, 5476, 6978, 7317, 7326, 7850, 9127, 9393, 10026, 10033.

[3] But in what way mankind was saved and redeemed by the Divine through His subduing of the hells and glorifying of His Human none can know if they do not know that each individual person has angels from heaven and spirits from hell present with him, and that unless these were present with a person unceasingly, the person could not think anything or will anything, so that the person is inwardly subject to the influence either of spirits who come from hell or of angels from heaven. Once all this is known it may be seen that unless the Lord had completely subdued the hells and had restored all things to order both there and in the heavens, no one could have been saved. Nor could any have been saved unless the Lord had made Divine His Human, and by doing this had acquired to Himself Divine power over the hells and over the heavens for evermore; for without Divine power neither the hells nor the heavens can be kept in order. The power which enables anything to come into being must be everlasting, if that thing is to remain in being; for remaining in being is an everlasting coming into being. [4] The Divine Himself, called the Father, could not have accomplished the work of salvation without the Divine Human, referred to as the Son, for the Divine Himself without the Divine Human cannot reach a person, not even an angel, because the human race has moved away completely from the Divine. This happened when eventually there was no longer any faith nor any charity. At that time therefore the Lord came into the world and restored all things, doing so from His Humanity; and by doing that He saved and redeemed people through their faith and love to the Lord, received from the Lord. For the Lord can withhold these people from hell and eternal damnation, but not those who reject faith and love received from and offered back to Him, since they reject salvation and redemption.

sRef Matt@11 @27 S5′ sRef John@1 @18 S5′ sRef John@1 @14 S5′ sRef John@1 @3 S5′ sRef John@5 @37 S5′ sRef John@1 @1 S5′ sRef John@14 @7 S5′ sRef John@14 @9 S5′ sRef John@14 @6 S5′ [5] The truth that the Divine Himself achieves this through the Divine Human is clear from a large number of places in the Word, such as those in which the Divine Human, that is, the Son of God, is called the right hand and the arm of Jehovah, or in which it says that the Lord has all power in heaven and on earth. The fact that the Lord is called the right hand and the arm of Jehovah, see 10019; that He has all power in heaven and on earth, 10089; and that from His Divine Human the Lord subdued the hells, restored all things to order there and in the heavens, and at the same time glorified His Human, that is, made it Divine, see the places referred to in 9528, and what has been stated in 9715, 9809, 9937, 10019. And the truth that the Divine Himself, called the Father, accomplished this through the Divine Human is evident in John,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made* that was made*. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. John 1:1-3, 14.

Here it is evident that the Lord as to His Divine Human is the One who is called ‘the Word’, for it says that ‘the Word became flesh’. And in addition to this,

Nobody has ever seen God; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known. John 1:18.

And elsewhere in the same gospel,

You have never heard the Father’s voice nor seen His shape. John 5:37.

And in the same gospel,

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. From now on you know the Father and have seen Him. He who sees Me sees the Father. John 14:6, 7, 9.

And in Matthew,

No one knows the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son wishes to reveal Him. Matt. 11:27.

From all this it may now be seen what the work of salvation and redemption is, and that this is accomplished through His Divine Human.
* or done

sRef Ex@29 @44 S0′ 10153. ‘And I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel’ means the Lord’s presence and His influx through good in heaven and in the Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘dwelling’, when this is said of the Lord, as His being present and flowing in, His doing so through Divine Good being meant because ‘dwelling’ has reference to good, see 2268, 2451, 2712, 3613, 8269, 8309, which is why the words ‘in the midst’ are used, because ‘the midst’ means what is inmost, and that which is inmost is good (for this meaning of ‘the midst’, see 2940, 2973, 5897, 6084, 6103); and from the representation of ‘the children of Israel’ as the Church, dealt with in 9340.

[2] The reason why ‘dwelling in the midst’, when said of the Lord, means His presence and influx through Divine Good is that the Lord flows into and is present with a person in the good he receives from the Lord. Good composes the person’s true self, for everyone’s character is conditioned by his good. By good, love should be understood, since anything that is loved is called good. The fact that a person’s love or good makes him what he is may be recognized by anyone at all who observes what another is like; for having observed him he can direct him by means of his love wherever he wishes him to go, so much so that when that other person is held under the sway of his own love he is no longer his own master, and reasons which disagree with his love count for nothing with him, while those which collude with his love count for everything.

[3] The truth of this is also plainly evident in the next life. All spirits there are recognized by their loves, and when they are held under the sway of those loves they cannot act in any way contrary to them; for if they act contrary to those loves they act contrary to themselves. They are therefore embodiments of their loves, those in the heavens being embodiments of heavenly love and charity, so beautiful that they are beyond description, whereas those in the hells are embodiments of their own loves, namely self-love and love of the world, and are consequently embodiments also of hatred and vengeance, thus are monsters so awful that they defy description.

sRef John@14 @23 S4′ sRef John@14 @21 S4′ [4] Since therefore a person’s love makes him altogether what he is, it is evident that the Lord cannot be present in a person’s love if it is evil, only in a person’s love that is good, thus in his good. People think that the Lord is present in truth called the truth of faith; but He is not present in truth devoid of good. Where good exists however He is present in truth through that good; and He is present in truth to the extent that it leads to good and to the extent that it emanates from good. Truth devoid of good cannot be said to be within a person; it is merely in his memory, residing there as factual knowledge which does not enter the person and form part of him until it becomes part of his life. It becomes part of his life when he loves it, and in love lives in accord with it. When this happens the Lord dwells with him, as also the Lord teaches in John,

He who has My commandments and does them, he it is who loves Me, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him. And My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. John 14:21, 23.

‘Manifesting Himself’ means enlightening with the truths of faith from the Word; ‘coming to him’ means being present; and ‘making Their home with him’ means dwelling in his good.

sRef Isa@7 @14 S0′ sRef Isa@9 @6 S0′ sRef Matt@1 @23 S0′ sRef Ex@29 @44 S0′ 10154. ‘And I will be their God’ means the Lord’s presence and His influx into truth in the Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being their God’ as the Lord’s presence and His influx into truth – into truth because in the Old Testament Word the Lord is called God where truth is the subject, but Jehovah where good is the subject. This also goes to explain why angels are called gods, because they are recipients of Divine Truth from the Lord, and in addition why in the original language the plural word Elohim is used to denote God; for truths are many but good is one, Matt. 19:16, 17.

The Lord is called God where truth is the subject but Jehovah where good is the subject, see 2586, 2769, 2807, 2822, 3921, 4287, 4402, 7010, 9167.
Angels are called gods, because they are recipients of Divine Truth from the Lord, 4295, 4402, 7268, 7873, 8192, 8302, 8867, 8941.

In the Word Jehovah means the Lord, see the places referred to in 9373; and in Isaiah He is called explicitly ‘Father from eternity’ and also ‘God’,

To us a Boy is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulder; His name is called, God, Hero, Father of Eternity, Prince of peace. Isa. 9:6.

And in the same prophet,

A virgin will conceive and bear [a son], and His name will be called Immanuel, that is, God with us. Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:23.

The meaning of the words here ‘I will be their God’ as the Lord’s presence and His influx into truth is also evident from the fact that ‘I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel’ means the Lord’s presence and His influx through good. For wherever good is the subject in the Word, so too is truth, on account of the heavenly marriage, which is that of goodness and truth, in every single part of the Word, see the places referred to in 9263, 9314.

sRef Ex@29 @45 S0′ 10155. ‘And they will recognize that I am Jehovah their God’ means perception that the Lord is the source of all good and all truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘recognizing’ as understanding, believing, and perceiving, dealt with below. The reason why perceiving that the Lord is the source of all good and all truth is meant is that the names Jehovah and God are used, and the Lord is called Jehovah by virtue of good and God by virtue of truth, see 2586, 2769, 2807, 2822, 3921, 4287, 4402, 7010, 9167.

The reason why ‘recognizing’ means understanding, believing, and perceiving is that the word is used in reference both to the human power of understanding and to the power of will. When used in reference solely to the power of understanding it means understanding; when used in reference to the understanding and at the same time the will it means believing; and when used in reference solely to the will it means perceiving. With those therefore who merely know of something and as a result think about it, recognizing implies understanding. But with those who possess faith, recognizing implies believing, and with those who have love, recognizing implies perceiving. sRef John@10 @38 S2′ sRef Mark@4 @12 S2′ sRef Mark@4 @11 S2′ sRef John@14 @7 S2′ sRef John@6 @69 S2′ sRef Jer@9 @24 S2′ sRef Jer@2 @19 S2′ sRef John@14 @17 S2′ [2] When however recognizing is coupled with understanding, seeing, or believing, ‘recognizing’ means perceiving; for understanding, seeing, and believing are connected with the understanding, consequently with truth, whereas perceiving is connected with the will, consequently with good, as in John,

Peter said, We have believed and recognized that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. John 6:69.

In the same gospel,

Jesus said, Believe the works, that you may recognize and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father. John 10:38.

In the same gospel,

Jesus said, If you recognize Me you recognize My Father, and from now on you recognize Him and have seen Him. John 14:7.

In the same gospel,

The Spirit of truth will be sent, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor recognizes Him. But you recognize Him, because He remains with you and will be in you. John 14:16, 17.

In Mark,

Jesus spoke in parables, so that seeing they may see and not recognize. Mark 4:11, 12.

In Jeremiah,

… that you may recognize and see that it is evil and bitter to depart from Jehovah your God. Jer. 2:19.

In the same prophet,

Let him who glories glory in this, to understand and to recognize Me, that I am Jehovah. Jer. 9:24.

In Hosea,

I will betroth you to Me in faith, and you will recognize Jehovah. Hosea 2:20.

sRef Hos@2 @20 S3′ sRef Deut@8 @5 S3′ sRef Jer@22 @16 S3′ [3] In these places ‘recognizing’ means perceiving, and perceiving comes about as a result of good, whereas understanding and seeing come about as a result of truth. For inwardly within themselves those in whom good or love is predominant perceive that something is so, whereas within themselves those in whom truth or faith is predominant see that it is such. Therefore perception that something is so exists among those who are in the Lord’s celestial kingdom, but belief that it is so among those who are in the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, see the places referred to in 9277, and what has been stated in 9992, 9995, 10105. And what perception is, see 125, 371, 483, 495, 503, 521, 536, 597, 607, 1121, 1384, 1387, 1398, 1442, 1919, 2144, 2515, 2831, 3528, 5121, 5145, 5227, 7680, 7977, 8780. [4] In addition, since the proper meaning of ‘recognizing’ is perceiving as a result of good, reference is made in Deut. 8:5 to recognizing from the heart; for ‘from the heart’ means from the good of love, 3883-3896, 7542, 9050, 9300, 9495. Therefore also doing good is referred to as recognizing Jehovah, Jer. 22:16.
From all this it is evident that ‘they will recognize that I am Jehovah their God’ means perception that the Lord is the source of all goodness and truth.

sRef Ex@29 @45 S0′ 10156. ‘Who brought them out of the land of Egypt’ means salvation from hell by the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being brought out of the land of Egypt’ as being delivered from hell, dealt with in 8866, 9197, thus being saved. ‘The land of Egypt’ means hell because that land in its true and proper sense means the natural level and the factual knowledge there; and ‘being brought out of’ the natural man and the factual knowledge there and being raised to the level of the spiritual man, to intelligence and wisdom there, also constitutes being brought out of hell. For a person is born natural, but becomes spiritual through regeneration; and if he does not become spiritual he is in hell. The knowledge which the natural man, that is, a person who has not been regenerated, possesses dwells in the light of the world, whereas the intelligence which the spiritual man, that is, a person who has been regenerated, possesses dwells in the light of heaven. And as long as a person sees things solely in the light of the world he is in hell; but when he sees them at the same time in the light of heaven he is in heaven. [2] But people who possess no more than natural knowledge and as a consequence do not see things in any light other than the light of the world can have no belief at all in the things that belong to heaven. Furthermore if they wish to investigate these things with the light they see by, called natural illumination, they encounter a kind of thick darkness which blinds them and blots out everything heavenly. For that in the mind which appears to be thick darkness is in reality such. This explains why a merely natural man, however much he thinks himself to be more enlightened than others, at heart rejects Divine and heavenly realities. It is also the reason why so many learned people are made brainless by their knowledge; for more of them than of simple people refuse to accept the things that constitute the faith of the Church and of heaven. It is different with those who allow themselves to be raised by the Lord to the light of heaven. These are first raised above the factual knowledge which the natural man possesses, and then in the light of heaven they behold the things within their natural man, which are called known facts, and clearly distinguish them, choosing those that make sense and are consistent, and rejecting or setting aside those that make no sense and are inconsistent.

[3] In short, the situation is that as long as a person is merely natural his interiors, which behold things in the light of heaven, are closed, and his exteriors, which behold things in the light of the world, are open. At this time the person looks downwards, that is, to the world and towards self; for everything composing his will and thought inclines in that direction. And the direction in which a person looks is also that in which his heart, that is, his will and his love, is turned. But when a person becomes spiritual his interiors, which behold things in the light of heaven, are opened, and then the person looks upwards, which is brought about through his being raised up by the Lord, so that he looks to heaven and towards the Lord. In this direction also everything that composes his will and his thought – thus his heart, that is, his love – is raised.

[4] For the human being has been created in such a way that his internal man should conform to an image of heaven, and his external man to an image of the world, 6057, 9279, to the end that heaven and the world might be brought together in the human being. Thus through him the Lord would flow from heaven into the world and govern it, with each individual person in particular and with all in general, and in this way would join the two together and thereby cause the likeness of heaven to exist in the world as well. When however a person is interested only in the world heaven with him has been closed; but when he allows himself to be raised by the Lord heaven with him is opened and the world becomes subordinate to it. And when this happens hell is separated and removed from him, at which point the person knows what good is and what evil is, but not before. This is what is called ‘the image of God’ with a person, Gen. 1:26, 27.

[5] These matters have been stated in order that people may know what the spiritual man is and what the natural man is, and that the merely natural man, if he is not made spiritual by the Lord, is an embodiment of hell, consequently that they may know why hell is meant by ‘Egypt’, when yet the natural level and the factual knowledge there are meant by it.

‘Egypt’ means factual knowledge, see the places referred to in 9340.
It therefore means the natural level, see those referred to in 9391.
It also means hell, 8866, 9197.

sRef Ex@29 @45 S0′ 10157. ‘That I may dwell in their midst’ means what is Divine and the Lord’s, which is the All in all of heaven and of the Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘dwelling in the midst of the children of Israel’, when it refers to Jehovah, as the Lord’s presence and His influx through good in heaven and in the Church, dealt with in 10153. And since His presence there is meant, what is Divine and His, the All in all there, is also meant. For the Lord is present with the angels of heaven and with members of the Church not in what is their own but in what is His with them, thus in what is Divine, as accords with what has been shown above in 10151; and when the Lord is present in what is Divine and His in the heavens and in the Church He is also the All in all there. Therefore He constitutes heaven itself, which also explains why the whole of heaven presents an image of the Lord as to His Divine Human, and why heaven in its entirety is a human being, called the Grand Man, a subject dealt with at the ends of a number of chapters, see the places referred to in 9276(end), 10030(end). It also explains why ‘man’ (homo) in the Word means the Church and also heaven, 478, 768, 3636, and why those who are in heaven, and those who are truly in the Church, are said to be ‘in the Lord’, 3637, 3638, since the good of love to and the truth of faith in the Lord, received from the Lord, are present in them.

sRef Ex@29 @45 S0′ 10158. ‘I am Jehovah their God’ means the source of all the good of love and truth of faith. This is clear from the consideration that ‘Jehovah’ means the Divine Being (Esse), and the Divine Being is Divine Love, thus Divine Good, whereas ‘God’ means the Divine Manifestation (Existere), and the Divine Manifestation is the Divine that constitutes faith, thus is Divine Truth. For all truth is a manifestation of good since truth is the outward form that good takes. From all this it is evident that when the Lord is called ‘Jehovah God’ all the good of love and truth of faith is meant, and when the words ‘Jehovah God in the midst of the children of Israel’ are used perception that the Lord is the source of all the good which belongs to love and the truth which constitutes faith is meant, as above in 10155.

10159. THE SECOND PLANET OUT IN SPACE – continued

Seeing that I talked about God the invisible and the visible to them, I must mention here that almost everyone in the universe worships God under the visible form and indeed visualizes Him in a human form, and that their doing so is instinctive. What makes their doing so instinctive is the influence from heaven, for – and this is remarkable – angels who are raised all the way up into the sphere of the third heaven come to have a clear perception of this matter. The reason why they do so is that all in that heaven dwell in the love of the Lord and therefore so to speak in the Lord, and that the kind of perception enjoyed by the angels there is all a product of the order and flow of heaven. For heaven as a complete whole resembles a single human being, as may be seen from what has been shown at the ends of a number of chapters regarding heaven as the Grand Man, see the places referred to in 10030(end). The resemblance of heaven as a complete whole to a single human being has its origin in the Lord’s Divine Human, for with His Human the Lord flows into heaven, creates it, and fashions it into a likeness of Himself. But this arcanum is scarcely intelligible to those who through their self-intelligence have rooted out that instinctive impulse.

10160. When asked whether on their planet they live subject to the rule of governors or of kings they replied that they do not know what such rule is and that they live subject only to themselves, divided into clans, families, and households. When asked further whether they are therefore free from anxiety they said that they are free from it since one family is not at all envious of another and has no wish at all to take anything away from it. They were annoyed by such questions, as though these charged them with the existence of enmity and the existence of some safeguard against robbers. What more, they declared, do people need to have apart from food and clothing, in order that they may dwell contented and at peace, subject only to themselves?

[2] It was recognized, they said, from the most ancient people who were from our own planet that these people had in their times led a similar kind of life and that then they had not known what it was to be stirred by self-love to rule over others or to be moved by love of the world to accumulate possessions in excess of the necessities of life. They perceived also that those people then enjoyed inward and at the same time outward peace, so that heaven dwelt with mankind. Those times were therefore referred to by the writers of old as the golden age, and were described as ones in which people were led to do what was right and fair by the law written on their hearts. aRef Ezek@38 @11 S3′ [3] The circumstances in which they lived in those times are described in the Word as ones in which they dwelt by themselves, in security, subject only to themselves, without doors or bars. Indeed they lived in tents, and therefore as a reminder of this a tent was made to serve as the house of God, and afterwards the feast of tents or tabernacles was established, when they were to rejoice heartily. And since those who led this kind of life were devoid of the insane love of ruling for selfish reasons and of gaining the world for worldly reasons, heaven came down among them, and the Lord was seen in the human form by many.

10161. When asked about their planet they said that they have meadows, flower gardens, orchards full of fruit-bearing trees, as well as lakes with fish in them; blue-coloured birds with golden wings; and animals large and small. Among the smaller ones they mentioned those which have a hump on their back, like that of camels on our planet. Nevertheless, they said, they do not eat the flesh of the animals, only that of the fish, besides fruits from trees, and vegetables. They went on to say that they do not build and live in houses, but in groves in which they make shelters from the rain and the heat of the sun among the branches.

10162. When asked about their sun, which as seen from our planet is a star, they said that it was fiery in colour, in appearance no larger than a human head. The angels told me that the star serving as their sun was one of the smaller ones, not far away from the celestial equator.

10163. Some spirits appeared who looked just the same as they had done when they were people on their planet. Their faces were not unlike those of people belonging to our planet, except that their eyes and also their nose were small. Since this seemed to me to make them rather ugly they said that to them small eyes and a small nose are beautiful. A woman appeared, clothed with a gown that had different coloured roses on it. I asked how they make their garments on that planet. They replied that they gather from plants certain elements which they spin into threads, and that after this they place the threads in two or three layers, wet them with a sticky fluid, and in this way make them cling firmly to one another. Subsequently they colour the fabric with juices from plants.

10164. I was also shown how they made the threads. The women sit bent half-way backwards on a chair and draw the threads between their toes, spinning them and extruding them through their hands.

10165. They also said that on that planet a husband has only one wife, and no more, and that they produce ten to fifteen children there. They added that prostitutes can also be found there, but that these women after life in the body, when they become spirits, are witches and are thrown into hell.

10166. ‘The third planet out in space’ will be dealt with at the end of the next chapter.

10167. 30

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TEACHINGS ABOUT CHARITY AND FAITH

Few know where conjugial love has its origin. Those whose thought starts from the world believe that it has its origin in nature, whereas those whose thought starts from heaven believe that it has a Divine origin there.

10168. Love that is indeed conjugial is a union of two minds, and this is a spiritual union. Any spiritual union comes down from heaven; therefore love that is indeed conjugial springs from heaven and its very existence (esse) can be traced back originally to the marriage of goodness and truth there. The marriage of goodness and truth in heaven has its origin in the Lord, which explains why in the Word the Lord is called Bridegroom and Husband, and heaven or the Church is called Bride and Wife. It also explains why heaven is compared to a marriage.

sRef Matt@19 @6 S0′ sRef Matt@19 @5 S0′ 10169. From these considerations it is evident that love which is indeed conjugial is a union of two people on inner levels, on the levels of thought and will, and so on those of truth and good since truth belongs to thought and good to the will. One in whom that love is present loves what the other thinks and what the other wills, and so also loves to think in the same way and to will the same things as the other does, consequently to be united to the other and become so to speak one human being. This is what is meant by the Lord’s words in Matthew,

And the two will become one flesh; therefore they are no longer two, but one flesh. Matt. 19:4-6; Gen. 2:23, 24.

10170. The delight which accompanies love that is indeed conjugial is an internal one, because it belongs to two people’s minds, and at the same time it is an external delight springing from the internal, which belongs to their bodies. But the delight accompanying love that is not really conjugial is wholly external, devoid of any internal delight; it belongs to their bodies but not their minds. The latter delight is earthly, almost like that of animals, and therefore in the course of time comes to an end; but the former delight is heavenly, of a kind that ought to exist in human beings, and is therefore lasting.

10171. None can know what love that is indeed conjugial is or what the delight which accompanies it is like except those who receive the good of love and the truths of faith from the Lord. For as has been stated, that love springs from heaven, from the marriage of goodness and truth there.

10172. From the marriage of goodness and truth in heaven and in the Church we may learn what marriages on earth ought to be like, namely that they ought to be unions consisting of one husband and one wife, and that love which is indeed conjugial does not exist at all if one husband has a number of wives.

10173. What is done out of love that is indeed conjugial is done in freedom by both partners; for all freedom is rooted in love, and both partners are in freedom when one loves what the other thinks and what the other wills. For this reason the wish to dominate in marriage destroys true love because it takes away its freedom and thus also its delight. The delight to dominate which replaces it gives rise to disagreements, sets two minds at variance with each other, and causes evils to take root according to the nature of the domination by one partner and subservience by the other.

10174. From all this it becomes clear that marriages are holy, that the violation of them is a violation of that which is holy, and consequently that adulterous relationships are unholy. To be sure, even as the delight accompanying conjugial love comes down from heaven, so the delight that goes with adultery comes up from hell.

10175. Those therefore who take delight in adulterous relationships can no longer receive any goodness or truth from heaven. This explains why those who take delight in adulterous relationships subsequently treat with contempt and also in their hearts reject things of the Church and of heaven. The reason why this should be so is that the love in adultery springs from a marriage of evil and falsity, which is the hellish marriage.

EXODUS 30

1 And you shall make an altar for burning incense; with pieces of shittim wood you shall make it.

2 A cubit shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth; square shall it be. And two cubits shall its height be. Its horns shall be of one piece with it*.

3 And you shall overlay it with pure gold, its roof and its walls** round about and its horns; and you shall make for it a rim of gold round about.

4 And two rings of gold you shall make for it under its rim on its two ribs; you shall make [them] on its two sides. And they shall serve as*** receptacles for the poles, to carry it on them.

5 And you shall make the poles from pieces of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.

6 And you shall put it before the veil that is over the ark of the Testimony, before the mercy-seat which is above the Testimony, where I will meet with you.

7 And Aaron shall burn on it incense of spices morning by morning****; when adorning***** the lamps he shall burn it.

8 And when Aaron causes the lamps to go up****** between the evenings he shall burn it; incense shall be continual before Jehovah throughout******* your generations.

9 You shall not cause strange******** incense to go up on it, or a burnt offering, or a minchah; and you shall not pour a drink offering on it.

10 And Aaron shall make expiation on its horns once a year with the blood of the sin [offering] of expiations; once a year he shall make expiation on it throughout******* your generations. It is the holy of holies********* to Jehovah.

11 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

12 When you take the sum of the children of Israel, as they have been numbered**********, they shall give – each one – an expiation for his soul to Jehovah when they are numbered***********, that there may be no plague among them when they are numbered**********.

13 This is what they shall give, everyone passing over to those who have been numbered – half a shekel according to the shekel of holiness (a shekel is twenty obols************). Half a shekel shall be the offering to Jehovah.

14 Everyone passing over to those who have been numbered, from a son of twenty years************* and over, shall give the offering of Jehovah.

15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel when they give the offering of Jehovah, to make expiation for your souls.

16 And you shall take the silver of expiations from the children of Israel, and give it to the work of the tent of meeting; and to the children of Israel it shall be as a remembrance before Jehovah, to make expiation for your souls.

17 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

18 And you shall make a laver of bronze, and its pedestal from bronze, for washing; and you shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it.

19 And Aaron and his sons shall wash in it************** their hands and their feet.

20 When they go into the tent of meeting they shall wash with water, that they may not die, or when they approach the altar to minister, to burn a fire offering to Jehovah.

21 And they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they may not die; and it shall be the statute of an age*************** to them – for him and his seed [throughout] their generations.

22 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

23 And you, take for yourself the chief spices – the best myrrh, five hundred [shekels]; and sweet-smelling cinnamon, half of that, two hundred and fifty; and sweet-smelling calamus, two hundred and fifty;

24 And cassia, five hundred, according to the shekel of holiness; and olive oil, a hin.

25 And you shall make it a holy anointing oil****************, a compounded ointment*****************, the work of an ointment-maker; it shall be the holy anointing oil****************.

26 And with it you shall anoint the tent of meeting, and the ark of the Testimony,

27 And the table and all its vessels, and the lampstand and its vessels, and the altar of incense,

28 And the altar of burnt offering and all its vessels, and the laver and its pedestal.

29 And you shall sanctify them, and they shall be the holy of holies*****************; everyone touching them will be sanctified.

30 And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and sanctify them to serve Me in the priestly office.

31 And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, This shall be a holy anointing oil******************* to Me throughout******************** your generations.

32 It shall not be poured onto the flesh of a person, and as to the composition of it, you shall not make any other like it********************. It is holy; it shall be holy to you.

33 The man who makes an ointment like it, and he who puts any of it on a foreigner, shall be cut off from his people.

34 And Jehovah said to Moses, Take for yourself sweet spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum – [these] sweet ones, and pure frankincense; amount for amount there shall be**********************.

35 And you shall make this an incense, an ointment, the work of an ointment-maker – salted, pure, holy.

36 And you shall beat some of it very fine, and put some of it before the Testimony in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with you. The holy of holies*********************** it shall be to you.

37 And the incense which you make, according to its composition************************, you shall not make for yourselves; it shall be to you holy for Jehovah.

38 The man who makes any like it, to make an odour with it, will be cut off from his people.
* lit. shall be from (or out of) it
** i.e. its top and its sides
*** lit. And it shall be for
**** lit. in the morning in the morning
***** i.e. lighting
****** i.e. burn
******* lit. into
******** i.e. unauthorized
********* i.e. it is most holy
********** lit. as to the numbered of them
*********** lit. in numbering them
************ An obol was a Greek coin, worth a sixth of a drachma. The Hebrew word is gerah; see 10221.
************* A Hebrew idiom for a man twenty years old
************** lit. from it i.e. the laver
*************** i.e. a perpetual statute
**************** lit. the oil of anointing of holiness
***************** lit. ointment of ointment
****************** i.e. they shall be most holy
******************* lit. the oil of anointing of holiness
******************** lit. into
********************* lit. and in its quality you shall not make other like it
********************** i.e. there shall be equal amounts of each, see 10297.
*********************** i.e. most holy
************************ lit. which you make in its quality

CONTENTS

10175a This chapter deals with the altar of incense, the expiation of everyone by means of silver, the laver and washing [with water] from it, and the preparation of the anointing oil and of the incense. The burning of incense in the internal sense means the Lord, His hearing and receiving with pleasure everything of worship that springs from love and charity. Expiating every person by means of silver means ascribing everything of worship to the Lord and none of it to self, in order that no one may claim merit. The laver and washing mean the purification from evils that comes first in all worship. The preparation of the anointing oil means the essential nature of the love in worship, and the preparation of the incense the essential nature of worship arising from it.


10176. THE INTERNAL SENSE

Verses 1-10 And you shall make an altar for burning incense; with pieces of shittim wood you shall make it. A cubit shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth; square shall it be. And two cubits shall its height be. Its horns shall be of one piece with it*. And you shall overlay it with pure gold, its roof and its walls** round about and its horns; and you shall make for it a rim of gold round about. And two rings of gold you shall make for it under its rim on its two ribs; you shall make [them] on its two sides. And they shall serve as*** receptacles for the poles, to carry it on them. And you shall make the poles from pieces of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. And you shall put it before the veil that is over the ark of the Testimony, before the mercy-seat which is above the Testimony, where I will meet with you. And Aaron shall burn on it incense of spices morning by morning****; when adorning***** the lamps he shall burn it. And when Aaron causes the lamps to go up****** between the evenings he shall burn it; incense shall be continual before Jehovah throughout******* your generations. You shall not cause strange******** incense to go up on it, or a burnt offering, or a minchah; and you shall not pour a drink offering on it. And Aaron shall make expiation on its horns once a year with the blood of the sin [offering] of expiations; once a year he shall make expiation on it throughout******* your generations. It is the holy of holies********* to Jehovah.

‘And you shall make an altar for burning incense’ means that which is representative of the Lord, of His hearing and receiving with pleasure everything of worship that springs from love and charity. ‘With pieces of shittim wood you shall make it’ means from love that is Divine. ‘A cubit shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth’ means consisting equally of good and of truth. ‘Square shall it be’ means that which is therefore perfect. ‘And two cubits shall its height be’ means degrees of the good and truth, and the joining together of them. ‘Its horns shall be of one piece with it’ means the powers of truth derived from the good of love and charity. ‘And you shall overlay it with pure gold’ means a representative sign of everything of worship that arises from good. ‘Its roof’ means what is inmost. ‘Its walls’ means inner levels. ‘And its horns’ means outer levels. ‘And you shall make for it a rim of gold round about’ means a border of good, serving to defend them from the approach of evils and the harm these can do. ‘And two rings of gold you shall make for it under the rim’ means the sphere of Divine Good by means of which a joining together and preservation are effected. ‘On its two ribs’ means with truths lying in one direction. ‘You shall make [them] on its two sides’ means with good lying in the other. ‘And they shall serve as receptacles for the poles’ means the power there of truth derived from good. ‘To carry it on them’ means the resulting preservation in that condition. ‘And you shall make the poles from pieces of shittim wood’ means the power derived from the good of the Lord’s love. ‘And overlay them with gold’ means the founding of all things on good. ‘And you shall put it before the veil that is over the ark of the Testimony’ means in the inner heaven, at the point where it is joined to the inmost heaven. ‘Before the mercy-seat which is above the Testimony’ means where the Lord hears and receives everything of worship arising from the good of love. ‘Where I will meet with you’ means the resulting presence and influx of the Lord. ‘And Aaron shall burn on it’ means the raising up by the Lord of worship springing from love and charity. ‘Incense of spices’ means hearing and receiving with pleasure. ‘Morning by morning’ means whenever a state of love in clearness exists. ‘When adorning the lamps he shall burn it’ means whenever truth as well comes into its own light. ‘And when Aaron causes the lamps to go up between the evenings he shall burn it’ means the raising up also in an obscure state of love, when also truth exists in its shade. ‘Incense shall be continual before Jehovah’ means in all worship springing from love received from the Lord. ‘Throughout your generations’ means to eternity among those with faith springing from love. ‘You shall not cause strange incense to go up on it’ means no worship springing from any love other than that of the Lord. ‘Or a burnt offering, or a minchah’ means that nothing representative of regeneration by means of the truths and forms of good belonging to celestial love should be there. ‘And you shall not pour a drink offering on it’ means that nothing representative of regeneration by means of the truths and forms of good belonging to spiritual love should be there. ‘And Aaron shall make expiation on its horns’ means purification from evils by means of the truths of faith which spring from the good of love. ‘Once a year’ means everlastingly. ‘With the blood of the sin [offering] of expiations’ means by means of truths which spring from the good of innocence. ‘Once a year he shall make expiation on it’ means the everlasting removal of evils. ‘Throughout your generations’ means members of the Church with whom the truths and forms of the good of faith are present. ‘It is the holy of holies to Jehovah’ means since it comes from the Divine Celestial.
* lit. shall be from (or out of) it
** i.e. its top and its sides
*** lit. And it shall be for
**** lit. in the morning in the morning
***** i.e. lighting
****** i.e. burn
******* lit. into
******** i.e. unauthorized
********* i.e. it is most holy

sRef Ex@30 @1 S0′ 10177. ‘And you shall make an altar for burning incense’ means that which is representative of the Lord, of His hearing and receiving with pleasure everything of worship that springs from love and charity. This is clear from the meaning of ‘an altar for burning incense’ as that which is representative of such things of worship as are raised up to the Lord. The fact that they are things springing from love and charity will be evident from what follows below. ‘An altar’ has the same meaning as whatever is placed on it; and this is so because the altar is that which contains and whatever is placed on it is the contents, and container and contents make a single unit, like a table and the bread that is on it or a cup and the wine that is in it.

[2] The reason why an altar and not a table was made for burning incense was that among the Israelite nation altars were the chief representative signs of worship springing from love. For fire burned on them, and ‘fire’ means the love and charity from which worship springs. Regarding altars, that they were the chief representative signs of worship, see 4192, 4541, 8623, 8935, 8940, 9714.

[3] The reason why the altar of incense represented the hearing and receiving of everything of worship that springs from love and charity was that the creation of the cloud of smoke was a sign of that which is raised up on high, and the odour of the smoke was a sign of that which is pleasing, consequently of that which is heard and received by the Lord. And what springs from love and charity, this alone is pleasing to and received by the Lord. This also explains why that altar was overlaid with gold and was called the golden altar; for ‘gold’ means the good of love and charity, see the places referred to in 9874, and what has been stated in 9874, 9881.

[4] The reason why that alone which springs from love and charity is pleasing to the Lord, and is therefore heard and received by Him, is that love constitutes all that a person is; for a person is such as his love is. This explains why angels in heaven live as embodiments of love and charity. To them the form of love and charity is the human form, because the Lord, who is within them and gives them form, is – as to His Divine Human – Divine Love itself. From their faces therefore, from their speech, from their gestures, and especially from the spheres of their affections which flow out of them to a long way off, one can perceive clearly what kinds of love reign in them. [5] And since love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour originate in the Lord, and since love is a spiritual bonding, whatever emanates from these is heard and received by the Lord. Any holy and religious respect paid to Him that does not spring from them is indeed heard but it is not received with pleasure. It is a hypocritical holiness and respect, something merely outward, devoid of anything inward. Outward holiness devoid of anything inward reaches no further than the outskirts of heaven and dwindles away there. But outward holiness springing from inward reaches right on into heaven, according to the essential nature of that inward holiness, thus reaches towards the Lord. For outward holiness devoid of that inward holiness is a product solely of the lips and movements of the body, whereas outward holiness springing from inward comes at the same time from the heart. Regarding these two kinds of holiness, see what has been stated and shown in 8252-8257.

[6] In the tent of meeting outside the veil there was the table on which the loaves of the presence were laid, also the lampstand with its lamps, and the altar of incense. The loaves of the presence represented love to the Lord, the lamps of the lampstand represented charity and faith, and the incense on the altar represented worship springing from them, which is why it was burned every morning and every evening, when the lamps were ‘adorned’. From this as well it is evident that the burning of incense represented worship of the Lord which springs from love and charity. The actual tent in which those objects resided represented heaven, where all worship is such. The loaves represented celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord, see 9545; the lampstand represented spiritual good, which is the good of charity towards the neighbour and the good of faith, 9548-9561; and the tent represented heaven, 9457, 9481, 9485, 9784, 9963.

sRef Rev@8 @4 S7′ sRef Rev@5 @8 S7′ sRef Ps@141 @2 S7′ sRef Rev@8 @3 S7′ [7] When the word ‘worship’ is used the holiness which is expressed by means of prayers, adorations, thanksgivings, and similar acts of devotion that emanate from inward feelings of love and charity should be understood. These constituents of worship are what should be understood by ‘the burning of incense’, as may be recognized from the following places: In David,

My prayers are acceptable, [as] incense before You. Ps. 141:2.

In John,

The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Rev. 5:8.

In the same book,

An angel holding a golden censer … And much incense was given to him, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. The smoke of the incense went up from the prayers of the saints. Rev. 8:3, 4.

sRef Num@16 @1 S8′ sRef Deut@33 @10 S8′ sRef Mal@1 @11 S8′ [8] Since incense was a sign of worship and of its being raised up, thus of its being heard and received by the Lord, Moses commanded [those who rebelled against him] to take censers with incense in them, and to burn it before Jehovah, in order that they might consequently know whom Jehovah would choose, thus whom He would hear, Num. 16:1ff. And when the people grumbled Aaron ran with incense, into the midst of the congregation, when a plague began, and in so doing stopped it, Num. 16:46-48. In Malachi,

From the rising of the sun even to its setting Jehovah’s name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense has been offered to My name, and a pure minchah. Mal. 1:11.

‘A pure minchah’ is added because the good of love is meant by it, 10137. In Moses,

The sons of Levi will teach Jacob [Your] judgements and Israel Your law. They will put incense in Your nose, and burnt offering on Your altar. Deut. 33:10.

The expression ‘putting incense in the nose’ is used because perception is meant by ‘the nostrils’, 4624-4634. ‘Burnt offering’ is added here because by this too that which springs from the good of love is meant.

sRef Ezek@8 @11 S9′ sRef Ezek@8 @10 S9′ sRef Jer@1 @16 S9′ sRef Hos@2 @13 S9′ [9] But in the contrary sense ‘burning incense’ means worship springing from contrary loves, namely self-love and love of the world, for example burning incense to other gods, Jer. 1:16; 44:3, 5; burning incense to idols, Ezek. 8:11; 16:18; and burning incense to the baalim, Hosea 2:13.

sRef Isa@60 @6 S10′ [10] Because the burning of incense served to mean such things as rise upwards to and are accepted with pleasure by the Divine it was also one of the religious practices among gentiles. The use of frankincense, censers, and incense-boxes by the Romans and other nations is well known from historical evidence. That kind of religious practice was derived from the Ancient Church, which was spread through many regions of Asia, such as Syria, Arabia, Babylon, Egypt, and Canaan. That Church had been a representative Church, thus a Church consisting in outward forms that represented inner realities, that is, celestial and spiritual things. A large number of religious practices, one of which was the burning of incense, were passed on from that Church to surrounding nations, and from these through Greece into Italy. Another practice like this was the care of the perpetual fire entrusted to chaste virgins whom they called the Vestal Virgins.

sRef Jer@17 @26 S11′ sRef Lev@5 @11 S11′ sRef Matt@2 @11 S11′ sRef Matt@2 @2 S11′ sRef Matt@2 @1 S11′ sRef Lev@2 @15 S11′ sRef Lev@2 @1 S11′ sRef Lev@2 @2 S11′ [11] The incense that was burned in the Ancient Church, and consequently in the Israelite Church, was prepared from fragrant substances, such as stacte, onycha, galbanum, and frankincense, because perception was meant by an odour, and delightful perception by a fragrant odour, see 925, 1514, 1517-1519, 3577, 4624-4634, 4748, 10054. But ‘frankincense’ in particular means the truth of faith, and therefore when frankincense is mentioned in the Word oil, bread, minchah, or else gold, by which the good of love is meant, is linked with it, as in Isaiah,

All those from Sheba will come. They will bring gold and frankincense, and will proclaim the praises of Jehovah. Isa. 60:6.

Similarly those who came from the east, in Matthew,

Wise men from the east came, seeking the Lord who had then been born … opening their treasures; and they presented gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matt. 2:1, 2, 11.

In the Word those who were from the east and were called ‘sons of the east’ mean people who possessed the cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth, see 3249, 3762. ‘Sheba’ has the same meaning, 1171, 3240. And for the meaning of ‘gold’ as the good of love, see the places referred to in 9874 or 9881. sRef Lev@24 @7 S12′ [12] In Jeremiah,

They will bring burnt offering and sacrifice, and minchah, and frankincense. Jer. 17:26.

‘Minchah’ in like manner means the good of love, 9992, 10137. From all this it is evident that in the Word ‘frankincense’ means truth that composes faith; for where good is spoken of in the Word, so too is truth, on account of the heavenly marriage, which is that of goodness and truth, in every single part of it, see the places referred to in 9263[end], 9314. For the same reason also oil as well as frankincense was placed on a minchah, Lev. 2:1, 2, 15, though not on a minchah required for a sin offering, Lev. 5:11, nor on a minchah for jealousy, Num. 5:15. The reason why they were not placed on these minchahs was that such minchahs were presented for expiation from evils, and as long as a person is at the stage of expiation he cannot receive the good of love or truth of faith, because evils stand in the way. It is different after they have been expiated or removed. [13] The good of love cannot be imparted to anyone unless at the same time the truth of faith is as well. For good brings truth into being, and in that truth it acquires a particular quality and receives an outward form. This was why every minchah had frankincense on it, as did the loaves of the presence which were laid on the table in the tent of meeting, Lev. 24:7, the good of love being meant by ‘loaves’, 3478, 3813, 4211, 4217, 4735, 4976, 8410, 9323, 9545, 10040, 10137.

sRef Ex@30 @1 S0′ 10178. ‘With pieces of shittim wood you shall make it’ means from love that is Divine. This is clear from the meaning of ‘shittim wood’ as the good of merit and of righteousness, which is the Lord’s alone, dealt with in 9472, 9486, 9715. The reason why love as well is meant is that when the Lord was in the world He was motivated by Divine Love to fight against all the hells and overcome them, and in so doing to save the human race, as a result of which He alone has earned merit, and has become righteousness, see 9486, 9715, 9809, 10019, 10152; and the good of merit which is the Lord’s is therefore His Divine Love. The reason why ‘shittim wood’ has so profound a meaning is that all things which exist in earth’s three kingdoms – the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms – serve to mean spiritual and celestial realities, or else their opposites. (For the whole natural order is a theatre representative of the Lord’s kingdom, see the places referred to in 9280.) And ‘wood’ means in general the good of love, and in particular the good of merit, 2784, 2812, 3720, 4943, 8354, 8740. So it is that in the highest sense ‘wood’ means Divine Good; for all things serving in the internal sense to mean aspects of the Church and of heaven serve in the highest sense to mean Divine realities.

sRef Ex@30 @2 S0′ 10179. ‘A cubit shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth’ means consisting equally of good and of truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘length’ as good, and of ‘breadth’ as truth, dealt with in 1613, 3433, 3434, 4482, 9487. Consisting of the two equally is meant by the fact that the length was a cubit and the breadth a cubit, thus by the fact that they were of equal measure; for in the Word measures are used to specify the amount and essential nature of a reality, and numbers are used in the specification. The reality specified by the measure here – a cubit – is good and truth, the former being meant by ‘length’ and the latter by ‘breadth’. The reason why good is meant by ‘length’ is that the length is measured from east to west, and good from one boundary to the other is meant by ‘east and west’, whereas the breadth is measured from south to north, and truth from one boundary to the other is meant by ‘south and north’. The same holds true in heaven. There the Lord is the Sun and also the East, the point from which every position there is determined. Those who live before the face of the sun enjoy a perception of good in the measure that they are near or far from it. Those with a clear perception of good are in the east, 3708, 9668, while those with a dim perception of good are in the west, 3708, 9653. Those however who see things in the clear light of truth are in the south, 9642, whereas those who see them in the dim light of truth are in the north, 3708. So it is that such things are meant in the Word by those four quarters, and that good is meant by ‘length’, and truth by ‘breadth’.

sRef Ex@30 @2 S0′ 10180. ‘Square shall it be’ means that which is therefore perfect. This is clear from the meaning of ‘square’ as that which is righteous and also perfect, dealt with in 9717, 9861.

sRef Ex@30 @2 S0′ 10181. ‘And two cubits shall its height be’ means degrees of the good and truth, and the joining together of them. This is clear from the meaning of ‘two’ as a joining together, dealt with in 1686, 5194, 8423; and from the meaning of ‘height’ as degrees of the good and consequently of the truth, dealt with in 9489, 9773. By degrees of height degrees from inner to outer levels, or from inmost to outermost ones should be understood. Regarding the nature of these degrees, see what has been shown and made clear in 3405, 3691, 4145, 4154, 5114, 5146, 8603, 8945, 10099.

[2] There are two kinds of degrees – degrees extending along the length and breadth, and degrees of height and depth. The second kind are very different from the first. Degrees of length and breadth are such as follow in succession from the middle to outlying parts, whereas degrees of height pass from inner to outer levels. The first kind of degrees – those of length and breadth – are ones that grow continuously less and less from the middle to the outlying parts, just as light gets weaker as it flows from its source all the way to where it fades, or just as what the eye sees diminishes as it looks from things nearby to those in the far distance, or just as what the understanding sees lessens as it turns from matters which are in the light to those which depart into the shade. But degrees of height, which pass from inmost to outermost, or from highest to lowest, are not continuous but discrete. They are like the inmost parts of a seed in relation to the outer parts of it, or like the inmost levels of a human being in relation to the outermost, or like the inmost part of the angelic heaven in relation to the outermost part of it. These degrees are separate and distinct from one another like producer and product. [3] Things in an inner degree are more perfect than those in an outer one, bearing no resemblance to them except through correspondences. This explains why those who are in the inmost heaven are more perfect than those in the middle heaven, and these are more perfect than those in the lowest. The same applies to a person in whom heaven is present. The inmost level of that person exists in a more perfect condition than the middle, and this in a more perfect condition than the lowest; and these are linked to one another solely through correspondences, the nature of which has been shown extensively in explanations given before.

[4] Without gaining an understanding of these degrees no one can possibly see how the heavens are distinct from one another, nor how the inner capabilities of a human being are distinct from outer ones, nor thus how the soul is distinct from the body. There can be no grasp at all of what the internal sense of the Word is and how it is distinct from the external sense, nor indeed how the spiritual world is distinct from the natural world. There cannot be even any understanding, either, of the nature and origin of correspondences and representations, and scarcely any of what influx is. People whose thought does not rise above the level of the senses do not grasp any of these distinctions. They see any increase or decrease in accordance with these degrees as something continuous, so that to them these degrees are like those of length and breadth, which consequently causes them to stand in a position far removed from true intelligence.

[5] These degrees are degrees of height, and therefore ‘high’ in the Word is used to mean that which is more internal, 2148, 4210, 4599, and being what is more internal it is also more perfect. So it is that in the Word the Lord is spoken of as the Highest, for He is perfection itself, Intelligence and Wisdom themselves, and Goodness and Truth themselves. So it is also that heaven is spoken of as being on high, for it is preserved in its state of perfection, intelligence, wisdom, goodness, and truth by the Lord; and hell is spoken of as being deep down, for no perfection, intelligence, or wisdom, nor any goodness or truth exist there.

sRef Ex@30 @2 S0′ 10182. ‘Its horns shall be of one piece with it’ means the powers of truth derived from the good of love and charity. This is clear from the meaning of ‘horns’ as the powers of truth, dealt with in 2832, 9719-9721. The reason why derived from the good of love and charity is meant is that all the power which truth possesses comes from that good. Therefore also the horns continued from the altar itself or were of one piece with it; for this altar was representative of the Lord, of His hearing and receiving everything of worship that springs from love and charity, 10177.

[2] The statement that all the power which truth possesses comes from the good of love is unintelligible to those who have only a material idea of power, and therefore the nature of that power must be described. In the heavens all power is derived from Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good. This is the source of the power angels possess, for angels are recipients of Divine Truth from the Lord, 1752, 4295, 8192. By means of the power which they receive from that source they protect a person by removing the hells from him; for a single angel is stronger than a thousand who come from hell. This power is what Peter’s keys serve to mean, though Peter, who in the same place is referred to as a rock, means the Lord in respect of the truth of faith springing from the good of love, see Preface to Genesis 22, and 3750, 4738, 6000, 6073(end), 6344(end), 10087, ‘the Rock’ being the Lord in respect of the truth of faith, 8581.

sRef Ps@29 @4 S3′ sRef Ps@29 @3 S3′ sRef Ps@29 @5 S3′ sRef Ps@29 @7 S3′ sRef Ps@29 @11 S3′ sRef Ps@29 @8 S3′ sRef Ps@29 @9 S3′ [3] The power that Divine Truth possesses is also meant by ‘the voice of Jehovah’ in David,

The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters; the voice of Jehovah is powerful; the voice of Jehovah breaks the cedars; the voice of Jehovah strikes a flame of fire; the voice of Jehovah causes the wilderness to shake; the voice of Jehovah strips the forests bare; Jehovah gives strength to His people. Ps. 29:3-5, 7-9, 11.

‘The voice of Jehovah’ is the Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Good, see 9926.

sRef John@1 @3 S4′ [4] The power that Divine Truth possesses is also meant by ‘the Word’ in John,

All things were made through the Word, and without Him nothing was made that was made. John 1:3.

‘The Word’ is the Divine Truth emanating from Divine Good, see 9987. Therefore also the Lord, when He was in the world, first made Himself Divine Truth, which is also meant in John 1:14 by the Word became flesh. The Lord made Himself Divine Truth then to the end that He might fight against all the hells and overcome them, and in so doing might restore all things to order there, and at the same time in the heavens, 9715, 9809, 10019, 10152.

[5] The fact that truths springing from good possess all power, while on the other hand falsities arising from evil have no power, is very well known in the next life. For this reason the evil who come there from the world have their belief, which is no more than persuasion, and also their knowledge of any truth, taken away from them. This then leaves them with the falsities belonging to their evil.

[6] The statement that truths springing from good possess such power is unintelligible to those who have the idea that truth or a belief in truth is no more than mental activity, when yet a person’s mental activity, under the control of his will, constitutes all the strength which the body has; and if the Lord were to instill it through His Divine Truth into that body the person would possess the strength of Samson. But yet it is the Lord’s good pleasure to impart strength to a person through faith springing from love in the things that belong to his spirit and that contribute to eternal life.

sRef Zech@1 @20 S7′ sRef Zech@1 @19 S7′ sRef Zech@1 @18 S7′ sRef Zech@1 @21 S7′ sRef Ps@148 @14 S7′ sRef Deut@33 @17 S7′ sRef Amos@6 @13 S7′ sRef Lam@2 @3 S7′ sRef Ezek@29 @21 S7′ sRef 1Sam@2 @10 S7′ sRef Lam@2 @17 S7′ sRef Ezek@34 @21 S7′ [7] From all this one may see what should be understood by the power of truth springing from good, the power meant by ‘the horns’ of both the altar of burnt offering and the altar of incense. That this power is meant by ‘the horns’ is clear from places in the Word where ‘horns’ are mentioned, as in Ezekiel,

On that day I will make a horn grow up for the house of Israel. Ezek. 29:21.

In Amos,

Have we not by our own strength taken horns for ourselves? Amos 6:13.

In the first Book of Samuel,

Jehovah will give strength to His king, and exalt the horn of His anointed. 1 Sam. 2:10.

In David,

Jehovah has exalted the horn of His people. Ps. 148:14.

In the same author,

All the horns of the wicked I will cut off; the horns of the righteous will be exalted. Ps. 75:10.

In Jeremiah,

The Lord has cut down in His very fierce anger* the whole horn of Israel. And He has exalted the horn of your foes. Lam. 2:3, 17.

In Ezekiel,

You push with side and shoulder, and butt with your horns all the weak sheep, until you have scattered them abroad. Ezek. 34:21.

In Zechariah,

I saw four horns. The angel said, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. The smiths have come to cast down the horns of the nations lifting up their horn against the land of Judah. Zech. 1:18-21.

In Moses,

His horns are unicorn horns**. With these he will strike the peoples together to the ends of the earth. Deut. 33:17.

In these places it is self-evident that power is meant by ‘horns’, and indeed power in both senses, that is to say, of truth directed against falsity and of falsity directed against truth; for the state of the Church is the subject in the internal sense of every one of these places.

sRef Amos@3 @14 S8′ [8] Something similar occurs in Amos,

On that day I will visit the altars of Bethel, and the horns of the altar will be cut away and fall to the ground. Amos 3:14.

‘The altars of Bethel’ and ‘the horns of the altar’ mean the evils and falsities destroying the Church’s goodness and truth, regarding which it says that they ‘will be cut away’.

sRef Dan@7 @8 S9′ sRef Dan@7 @22 S9′ sRef Dan@8 @21 S9′ sRef Dan@7 @20 S9′ sRef Dan@7 @21 S9′ sRef Rev@12 @3 S9′ sRef Rev@13 @1 S9′ sRef Dan@7 @11 S9′ sRef Dan@8 @3 S9′ sRef Dan@7 @24 S9′ sRef Dan@8 @12 S9′ sRef Dan@8 @11 S9′ sRef Rev@17 @3 S9′ sRef Dan@8 @14 S9′ sRef Dan@8 @13 S9′ sRef Dan@8 @4 S9′ sRef Dan@8 @9 S9′ sRef Dan@8 @8 S9′ sRef Dan@8 @7 S9′ sRef Dan@8 @5 S9′ sRef Dan@8 @10 S9′ sRef Rev@17 @7 S9′ sRef Dan@8 @16 S9′ sRef Dan@8 @15 S9′ sRef Dan@8 @19 S9′ sRef Dan@8 @18 S9′ sRef Dan@8 @17 S9′ sRef Dan@8 @20 S9′ sRef Dan@8 @6 S9′ [9] From all this one may see what should be understood by ‘the horns’ mentioned so frequently by Daniel, and by John in the Book of Revelation. Daniel describes the beast which had ten horns and also a horn speaking, Dan. 7:8, 11, 20; and he says that the horn was making war with the saints and prevailing, until the Ancient of Days*** came, Dan. 7:11, 21, 22, 24. He also speaks about the horns of the ram and the horns of the he-goat, which they used to make war against each other, Dan. 8:3-21. And John mentions that the dragon had ten horns, Rev. 12:3, as did the beast coming up out of the sea, Rev. 13:1, and also the scarlet beast, Rev. 17:12. In this verse it is also stated that the ten horns are ten kings; and the same words occur in Daniel 7:24. By ‘kings’ in the Word truths are meant, and in the contrary sense falsities, see 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148.

[10] It is because ‘horn’ means truth in its power, or in the contrary sense falsity destroying truth, that speech is attributed to a horn in Rev. 9:13; Dan. 7:8; Ps. 22:21.

[11] The anointing of kings with oil from a horn, 1 Sam. 16:1, 13; 1 Kings 1:39, represented truth springing from good, in its power; for truths in their power are meant by ‘horns’, good by ‘oil’, and those who are guided by truths springing from good by ‘kings’. For the meaning of ‘oil’ as good, see 886, 9780; and for that of ‘kings’ as those who are guided by truths springing from good, thus – in the abstract sense – as truths springing from good, 6148. So it is also that in Ps. 132:17 a horn is said to bud, because all spiritual budding is that of truth springing from good. Therefore also in former times they made [imitations of] budding horns.

All power belongs to good and is exercised through truth, or what amounts to the same thing, belongs to truth springing from good, see the places referred to in 10019.
* lit. in the fierceness of His anger
** i.e. horns that are high and powerful, like the horn of a unicorn
*** The Latin means the Son of Man but the original Aramaic means the Ancient of Days, which Sw. has in another place where he quotes these verses.

sRef Ex@30 @2 S0′ 10183. ‘And you shall overlay it with pure gold’ means a representative sign of everything of worship that arises from good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘gold’ as the good of love, dealt with in 9874, a founding on that good being meant by ‘overlaying with gold’, 9490. But its meaning as a representative sign is self-evident.

sRef Ex@30 @3 S0′ 10184. ‘Its roof’ means what is inmost. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the roof’ as what is inmost. One reason why ‘the roof’ has this meaning is that it is the uppermost or highest part, and that which is uppermost or highest means what is inmost, in accord with what has been shown above in 10181; and another reason is that ‘the roof’ has the same meaning as the head on a person’s body. For all representatives on the natural level resemble the human form and carry the same meaning as the parts of it they resemble, 9496. For the meaning of ‘the head’ as what is inmost, see 5328, 6436, 7859, 9656, 9913, 9914. What is inmost meant here by ‘the roof of the altar of incense’ is the inmost component of worship. Within worship there are levels similar to those within the person offering it, namely an inmost level, a middle level, and an outward level. The inmost is called celestial, the middle is called spiritual, and the outward is called natural, 4938, 4939, 9992, 10005, 10017, 10068. These degrees are by virtue of correspondence meant by the head, breast, and feet, and in like manner by the roof, walls, and horns of the altar of incense.

sRef Jer@48 @38 S2′ sRef Matt@24 @17 S2′ [2] Since ‘the roof’ means that which is celestial, which is what is inmost, it also means good, for in all places good is inmost, while truth emanates from it just as, to use a comparison, light does from a flame. This is what should be understood by ‘the roof’ in Matthew,

Then let him who is on the roof of the house not go down to take anything out of his house. Matt. 24:17; Mark 13:15; Luke 17:31.

This refers to the last times of the Church. ‘Being on the roof’ means the state of a person in whom good is present, and ‘going down to take anything out of the house’ means going back to a previous state, see 3652 and the places referred to in 9274. And in Jeremiah,

On all the roofs of Moab and in its streets there is mourning everywhere. Jer. 48:38.

‘Mourning on all roofs’ means the ruination of all forms of good among those meant in the representative sense by Moab, that is, those in whom natural good is present, who easily allow themselves to be led astray, 2468; and ‘mourning in the streets’ means the ruination of all truths, truths being meant by ‘streets’, see 2336.

sRef Deut@22 @9 S3′ sRef Deut@22 @11 S3′ sRef Deut@22 @8 S3′ sRef Deut@22 @10 S3′ [3] Since ‘the roof’ meant good the houses of the ancients had roofs on which they used to walk and on which they also used to worship, as becomes clear from 1 Sam. 9:25, 26; 2 Sam. 11:2; Zeph. 1:5. In Moses,

When you build a new house you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring blood* on your house if someone falls from it. You shall not sow your vineyard with mixed seed, lest the yield from the seed which you have sown and from the produce of your vineyard be forfeited**. You shall not plough with an ox and an ass together. You shall not wear a garment made of wool and flax mixed together***. Deut. 22:8-11.

[4] From these quotations it is again evident that ‘the roof’ means the good of love, for the commands in them each embody similar meanings which only the internal sense can make evident. That is, they mean that one who is governed by good, which is the state of a person who has been regenerated, must not return to the state of truth, which was that person’s previous state, or his state when being regenerated. During this state the person is led by means of truth towards good, that is, partly from self; but in the state which comes after it, that is to say, when the person has been regenerated, he is led by good, that is, by the Lord by means of good.

sRef Matt@24 @18 S5′ sRef Luke@17 @32 S5′ sRef Luke@17 @31 S5′ sRef Mark@13 @16 S5′ sRef Matt@24 @17 S5′ sRef Mark@13 @15 S5′ [5] This is the arcanum that lies within each of those commands, and so is akin to that which occurs in the Lord’s words in Matthew,

Then let him who is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house; and let him who is in the field not turn back to take his clothes. Matt. 24:17, 18.

In Mark,

Let him who is on the roof not go down into the house, nor go in to fetch anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not turn back again to fetch his garment. Mark 13:15, 16.

And in Luke,

On that day, whoever will be on the housetop with his vessels in the house, let him not come down to take them away; and whoever is in the field, let him likewise not return to the things behind him. Remember Lot’s wife. Luke 17:31, 32.

[6] Who can fail to see that these places contain the arcana of heaven? For if they did not contain them, what point would there be to telling people not to come down from the housetop, not to turn back from the field and return to their house, and to remember Lot’s wife? Such arcana are in like manner contained in those laws in Moses which declare that they should make a parapet around their roof, so that there would be no blood* if they fell, and immediately after that the field should not be sown with a mixture of seed and the produce of the vineyard, that it should not be ploughed with an ox and an ass together, and that they should not wear a garment made of wool and flax mixed together. ‘The roof’ means good, and ‘to be on the housetop’ or on the roof means a person’s state when that person is governed by good. ‘Falling’ from the roof means sinking back into the previous state, while ‘blood’ means the violence done then to goodness and truth, 374, 1005, 4735, 6978, 7317, 7326. ‘The vineyard’ means the Church among mankind; ‘the produce of the vineyard’ means the state of truth, 9139; and ‘the seed’ of wheat or barley means the state of good, 3941, 7605. ‘An ox’ also means good, and ‘ploughing with an ox’ the state of good, 2781, 9135; and ‘wool’ and ‘wearing a garment made of wool’ have the same meanings, 9470. ‘An ass’ means truth, 2781, 5741, and so too does ‘flax’ or ‘linen’, 7601, 9959. But for anything more about the nature of this arcanum, see the explanations in the places referred to in 9274.
* i.e. guilt on account of bloodshed or injury caused by negligence
** lit. become holy i.e. be devoted to the sanctuary
*** lit. a garment mixed, with wool and flax together

sRef Ex@30 @3 S0′ 10185. ‘Its walls’ means inner levels. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the walls’ or the sides as inner levels; for when ‘the roof’ means that which is inmost, ‘the walls’, which are below it, mean the inner levels. By inner levels those which are below the inmost ones and above the lowest, thus those in the middle, should be understood. Inner levels are meant by ‘the walls’ because the sides and breast of the human body mean inner things; for all representatives on the natural level resemble the human form and carry the same meaning as the parts of it they resemble, 9496. The uppermost part of a house for example, called the roof, is similar in meaning to the head; the inward parts below the uppermost are similar in meaning to the breast and sides; and the foundations of the house are similar in meaning to the feet and soles of the feet. The reason why this should be so is that heaven as a whole resembles one human being, and there is an influx from there into the whole natural order. For the natural world comes into being from the spiritual world and is held in being by it. When the words ‘spiritual world’ are used, that which is Divine and the Lord’s there should be understood.

[2] The resemblance of all things on the natural level to the human form is also clear from each member of the vegetable kingdom. Everything there is clothed with leaves and comes into blossom before bearing fruit; and the fruit is the final end, for the sake of which the previous stages of growth take place and towards which they all look. The leaves there resemble the lungs and serve so to speak in place of the breathing-system; for they are the means by which juices are drawn up the plant, which explains why a tree stripped of its leaves bears no fruit. So it is also that in the Word leaves mean truths constituting faith, 885; for by means of those truths the vital element from which good is formed is in a similar way made to rise up. The blossoming before the fruit comes corresponds to that state and time in people’s lives when thoughts of marriage enter their minds and make them glad, thus when truth is joined to good. But the fruit corresponds to actual good, which, to the extent that it matures like fruit, manifests itself in deeds. So it is that in the Word fruit means the deeds of charity, and that the blossoming before the fruit is compared to the voice and the joy of a bride and bridegroom; and so on with all the rest. Anyone therefore who is able to stop and reflect sensibly will recognize most clearly that the heavenly paradise is represented in the earthly paradise, and consequently that all things within the natural order resemble such realities as exist in the spiritual world. And one who is able to draw further conclusions may see that the natural order is not self-existent but is held in being by influx from heaven, that is, from what is Divine there, so completely that if that contact were taken away everything composing the planet would collapse into nothingness. The simple can grasp the truth of this, but not so those in the world who are said to be wise. This is because the simple attribute all things to the Divine, but those in the world who are said to be wise attribute them to natural forces.

sRef Ex@30 @3 S0′ 10186. ‘And its horns’ means outer levels. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the horns’ as the powers of truth springing from good, dealt with above in 10182. The reason why outer levels is also meant is that on outermost or lowest levels truth springing from good exists in its power, 9836, and also that the horns of the altar resemble a person’s arms and hands, by which as well truth in its power on lowest or outermost levels is meant, see the places referred to in 10019, and what has been stated in 10062, 10076, 10082.

sRef Rev@6 @16 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @3 S0′ sRef Luke@16 @26 S0′ 10187. ‘And you shall make [for it] a rim of gold round about’ means a border of good, serving to defend them from the approach of evils and the harm these can do. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a rim’ as a border serving to defend and from the approach of evils and the harm these can do, dealt with in 9492; and from the meaning of ‘gold’ as good, dealt with in 9874, 9881. The reason why the rim was made from gold was that it represented an enclosing band of good; for good cannot be approached by evils, indeed evils cannot by any means abide a sphere of good. When evils, or rather those who are steeped in evils, that is, those who come from hell, enter that sphere, which is a heavenly sphere, they experience dreadful pain. The further they go into that sphere, the more they inwardly undergo hellish torments, and as a consequence become like those lying in the throes of death. Therefore they hurl themselves straightaway into hell and do not dare any longer to raise their head. This is the reason why those in heaven are protected from molestation by evils that come from hell. This is how to understand Abraham’s words to the rich man in hell,

Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass across from here to you cannot, nor can those who are there pass across to us. Luke 16:26.

Also the following words,

They will say to the mountains and rocks, Rush down on us and hide us from the face of Him who is seated on the throne and from the anger of the Lamb. Rev. 6:16; Hosea 10:8.

But as regards truth, this can be approached by those who are evil, because the evil pervert truths by means of wrong interpretations, and so use them to support their evil desires. But to the extent that good is present within truths, truths cannot be approached. This shows what [little] protection those in the next life can have with whom solely truths, called the truths of faith, are present and not good at the same time. By good, charity towards the neighbour and love to the Lord should be understood, since these are the source of all good.
From all this it is now evident why a rim of gold was made round about the walls of the altar of incense.

sRef Ex@30 @4 S0′ 10188. ‘And two rings of gold you shall make for it under the rim’ means the sphere of Divine Good by means of which a joining together and preservation are effected. This is clear from the meaning of ‘two’ as a joining together, dealt with in 5194, 8423; from the meaning of ‘rings’ as a Divine sphere, dealt with in 9498, 9501; from the meaning of ‘gold’ as good, dealt with in 9874, 9881; and from the meaning of ‘the rim’ as a border serving to defend from the approach of evils and the harm these can do, dealt with immediately above in 10187. From these meanings it is evident that ‘two rings of gold under the rim’ means the sphere of Divine Good by means of which a joining together is effected. The reason why a preservation is also meant is that the poles were inserted into the rings and then served to carry [the altar], and ‘carrying’ means preserving, 9900.

[2] What the sphere of Divine Good is must be stated briefly here. The sphere of Divine Good fills the whole of heaven, and also extends into hell; for it is like the sphere of the sun’s heat in the world, which in summer reaches even into dark places where the sun does not appear. That Divine sphere was likened by the ancients to circles of radiating light which had God in the middle of them and angels round about. Those therefore who allow themselves to be led by the Lord, and so who receive what is Divine from Him, are in the sphere of Divine Good, to the extent that they are receptive. Those however who are not receptive are, it is true, in that same sphere; but their interiors are closed off, to such an extent that they are insensitive to its influx. For the attention of those in hell is fixed on things of an external nature and not on those of an internal nature. From these external things furthermore evils and consequent falsities emanate, which as they appear around those spirits look like a pall of smoke from a furnace. As a consequence of this the external sphere of Divine Good there loses its effectiveness, while the internal sphere nevertheless remains. Though they are unreceptive of this sphere because the way for it to come in has been closed, the Lord nevertheless rules the hells by means of it.

[3] The reason why it is the sphere of Divine Good that emanates from the Lord is that the Sun of heaven, which is the Lord, is God’s love; for that is how this love manifests itself there. The heat radiating from it is the good of love, while the light radiating from it is the truth of faith. This is why in the Word the sun is used to mean God’s love, its fire and heat being the good of love, and its light the truth of faith.

[4] Furthermore from each individual angel there emanates a sphere from his love, as there does also from each good or bad spirit, in keeping with their loves, though the spheres emanating from them do not extend very far. But the Divine sphere extends through all creation, for it emanates from what is inmost, and what is inmost is the all in all of the things that go out in order from it.

Regarding spheres, see what has been shown previously, in part from experience as well, in 1048, 1053, 1316, 1504-1512, 1695, 2401, 4464, 5179, 6206(end), 6598-6613, 7454, 8063, 8630, 8794, 8797, 9490-9492, 9498, 9499, 9534, 9606, 9607.

sRef Ex@30 @4 S0′ 10189. ‘On its two ribs’ means with truths lying in one direction, that is to say, a joining together with them and preservation by means of them. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the ribs’, when used to mean the sides, as truths; for the sides that are called ‘the ribs’ face the south and the north, and ‘the south’ means truth dwelling in light, 9642, while ‘the north’ means truth dwelling in shade, 3708. But by ‘the sides’ which are properly the sides good is meant since these face the east and the west, and ‘the east’ means good set in clearness and ‘the west’ good set in obscurity, 3708, 9653. Therefore it says here,

Two rings of gold you shall make for it under the rim; on its two ribs you shall make them, on its two sides.

The fact that the sides which are properly the sides face the east and the west, whereas the sides which are called ‘the ribs’ face the south and the north is evident in Exod. 26:13, 26, 27, 35*. Furthermore since the ribs serve to reinforce the chest truths giving support to good are meant by them.

[2] In heaven however the layout is such that to the right there are those who dwell in the light of truth, thus who are in the south, but to the left those who dwell in the shade of truth, thus who are in the north. Before one’s face there are those whose perception of good is clear, thus who are in the east, but behind one’s back there are those whose perception of good is dim, thus who are in the west. These angels dwelling in the regions of good constitute the Lord’s celestial kingdom, but the others dwelling in the regions of truth constitute the Lord’s spiritual kingdom. This is how the angels there, whichever way they turn, see everything to be laid out; for angels have the Lord, who is the East, unceasingly in front of their face. But the contrary is so with those in hell, for they have the Lord unceasingly behind their back. [3] In the next life the four quarters are not determined, as they are in the world, by where fixed regions lie, but by ruling loves that remain fixed. [4] For his love makes an angel or a spirit what he is, and where that love is, in that direction he turns. Those in whom love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour reign, and therefore in whom faith is present, behold the Lord in front of themselves whichever way they turn their face and body. For the Lord turns them towards Himself; He enters them by the way from the east and keeps them fixed unceasingly on Himself. As a consequence – since their outward sight is under the control of the inward sight belonging to their understanding, and this inward sight is under the control of the love belonging to their will – their outward sight looks in the direction in which that love bears it. It is similar with people in the world so far as their interiors, which constitute their spirit, are concerned. Also, all in the next life are identified, every one, by the direction in which they turn.

As regards things of a spatial nature and locations in the next life, that they are of the same nature as those described above, and that they therefore mean states, see 2625, 2837, 3356, 3387, 4321, 4882, 5605, 7381, 9440, 9967, 10146.
* According to one rabbinic tradition the sides of the dwelling-place mentioned in Exod. 26:13 faced north and south.

sRef Ex@30 @4 S0′ 10190. ‘You shall make [them] on its two sides’ means with good lying in the other, that is to say, a joining together with it and preservation by means of it. This is clear from what has been stated and shown immediately above in 10189. From what has been stated there it may also be seen what the surrounding Divine sphere is like, namely that it is a sphere of the good of love derived from the Lord as the sun, extending from the east through to the west, and a sphere of truth springing from good, extending from the south to the north. Thus the sphere of Divine Good in the middle is a kind of axis, with a sphere of Divine Truth emanating from that Good on both sides, on the right and on the left.

sRef Ex@30 @4 S0′ 10191. ‘And they shall serve as receptacles for the poles’ means the power there of truth derived from good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘receptacles’ or rings, for these were the receptacles, as the Divine sphere, dealt with just above in 10188; and from the meaning of ‘the poles’ as the power of truth derived from good, dealt with in 9496.

sRef Ex@30 @4 S0′ 10192. ‘To carry it on them’ means the resulting preservation in that condition. This is clear from the meaning of ‘carrying’ as holding in a state of goodness and truth, thus bringing into being and keeping in being, dealt with in 9500, 9737, and preserving, 9900.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10193. ‘And you shall make the poles from pieces of shittim wood’ means the power derived from the good of the Lord’s love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the poles’ as power, dealt with in 9496; and from the meaning of ‘pieces of shittim wood’ as the good of the Lord’s love, dealt with above in 10178.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10194. ‘And overlay them with gold’ means the founding of all things on good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘overlaying with gold’ as founding on good, dealt with in 9490. What being founded on good is must be stated briefly. Some people think that truth is what all things are founded on, but they are very much mistaken; for no truth exists with a person unless he has good within him. Truth existing with a person which is devoid of good is something external without an internal, thus like a shell without a nut; it resides solely in the memory. Such truth may be likened to a painting of a flower, a tree, or a living creature; below the surface it is simply mud. But truth springing from good does not merely reside in the memory, it is also deeply implanted in the person’s life, and may be likened to the actual flower, tree, or living creature, whose perfection increases the more inwardly it is examined. For with anything created by the Divine the more internal it is, the more perfect it becomes. This is made abundantly clear by representatives in the next life. The representatives there are visual images that accord with the states of spirits’ interiors, for these images are correspondences. Around spirits in possession of truths rooted in good extremely beautiful images are seen, that is to say, houses and palaces flashing with gold and precious stones, and also gardens and parks indescribably beautiful. All these sights are due to correspondence. But around those in possession of truths not rooted in good nothing other than rocky places, cliffs, and ponds are seen; or sometimes places with trees are seen, but they are unattractive and barren. These sights too are due to correspondence. Around those however who are steeped in falsities arising from evil, swamps, latrines, and many other horrible sights appear. The reason why these things should be so is that all representatives in that world are outward figures shaped in accord with the states of inner things; for it is in this way that the spiritual world makes itself visible. All this goes to show what being founded on good is.

sRef Ex@30 @6 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10195. ‘And you shall put it before the veil that is over the ark of the Testimony’ means in the inner heaven, at the point where it is joined to the inmost heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the veil’, which hung between the holy place and the holy of holies before the ark, as the intermediary uniting the second and the third heavens, dealt with in 9670, 9671; and from the meaning of ‘the ark of the Testimony’ as the inmost heaven, dealt with in 9485. The tent, divided into the place inside the veil and that outside the veil, together with the court, represented the three heavens, see 9457, 9481, 9485, 9741.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @6 S0′ 10196. ‘Before the mercy-seat which is above the Testimony’ means where the Lord hears and receives everything of worship arising from the good of love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the mercy-seat’ as the hearing and reception by the Lord of everything of worship arising from the good of love, dealt with in 9506; and from the meaning of ‘the Testimony’ as the Lord in respect of the Word, dealt with in 8535, 9503, thus of Divine Truth since the Lord in respect of Divine Truth is the Word, 9987.

[2] A brief statement about Divine Good and Divine Truth needs to be made here. As to His Divine [Being] itself, called the Father, and His Divine Humanity, called the Son, the Lord is Divine Love itself, and is accordingly Divine Good itself. But as to His presence in heaven, which is beneath the Lord as the Sun, He is Divine Truth. Yet this Divine Truth has Divine Good within it, adjusted to its reception by angels and spirits. This Divine presence is what is called the Spirit of Jehovah and that which is Holy. The reason why it is spoken of as Divine Truth and not Divine Good is that angels and spirits are created beings and therefore are recipients of Divine Truth emanating from Divine Good. Like people in the world they enjoy two powers of mind – the understanding and the will. The understanding has been formed to receive Divine Truth and the will to receive Divine Good; and their understanding serves not only to receive [that Truth] but also to perceive [this Good].

[3] Simple people may gain some idea of this matter if it is compared with the sun and the world that comes into being from it. The sun is composed of fire, but what radiates from it is heat and light. As anyone may know, there is no light within the sun itself, but light radiates from it. And in the measure that light radiating from the sun holds heat within itself plants come to life and grow, producing fruit and seeds. These things have been mentioned by way of comparison because the whole natural order is a theatre representative of the Lord’s kingdom; and it is a representative theatre because the natural world has been brought into being by the Divine – and is unceasingly brought into being, that is, is held in being, by Him – by means of the spiritual world. So it is that in the Word ‘the sun’, similarly ‘fire’, is used to mean the Lord in respect of Divine Love, and ‘light’ to mean the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, as in John 1:9; 3:19; 9:5; 12:46.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @6 S0′ 10197. ‘Where I will meet with you’ means the resulting presence and influx of the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘meeting with’, when it refers to Jehovah, as the presence and influx of the Lord, dealt with in 10147, 10148.

sRef Rev@15 @8 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @7 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Rev@8 @4 S0′ 10198. ‘And Aaron shall burn on it’ means the raising up by the Lord of worship springing from love and charity. This is clear from the meaning of ‘burning incense’ as the raising up of everything of worship springing from love and charity, dealt with above in 10177; and from the representation of ‘Aaron’, the high priest, as the Lord in respect of Divine Good and in respect of the work of salvation, dealt with in 9806, 9965, 10068. ‘Burning incense’ means the raising up of worship because ‘the fire’ was a sign of the good of love, so that all that came forth from the fire was a sign of such things as emanate from love. This was why not only the light but also the smoke was representative. For the meaning of ‘the fire’ as the good of love, see 4906, 5215, 6314, 6832, 6834, 6849, 7324, 10055; and the fact that ‘the smoke’ too represented it is clear in Isaiah,

Jehovah will create over every habitation of Zion a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a fire by night. Isa. 4:5.

And in John,

The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power. Rev. 15:8.

The fact that ‘the smoke of the incense’ means the raising up of prayers, and so in general the raising up of everything of worship, is evident in the same book,

The smoke of the incense went up from the prayers of the saints. Rev. 8:4.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @7 S0′ 10199. ‘Incense of spices’ means a hearing and receiving with pleasure. This is clear from the meaning of ‘incense’ as the Lord’s hearing and receiving with pleasure everything of worship that springs from love and charity, dealt with in 10177; and from the meaning of ‘spices’ as things that bring pleasure. Things bringing pleasure are meant by ‘spices’ on account of their odour; for ‘odour’ means perception, and therefore a sweet odour means a perception of that which brings pleasure, while an offensive odour means that which brings no pleasure. All things perceived by a person with the sensory organs of smell, taste, sight, hearing, and touch mean spiritual realities connected with the good of love and the truths of faith. Consequently smell means the perception of interior truth springing from the good of love; taste means perception and the desire to know and become wise; sight means an understanding of the truths of faith; hearing means perception resulting from the good of faith and from obedience; and touch in general means imparting, conveying, and being received.

[2] The reason why they have these meanings is that every reception of impressions by the outward senses begins in reception by the inward senses, which belong to the understanding and will, and so begins within the person, in the truths of faith and the good of love since these constitute the understanding and will within the human mind. Yet inward sensations, which belong properly to a person’s understanding and will, do not feel the same as the outward ones, though they are turned into outward sensations when they flow in. For all the perceptions that a person receives by means of his outward sensory organs flow from inward powers of mind. The path all influx takes is from inward things to outward ones, not from outward to inward, since there is no such thing as physical influx – that is, influx from the natural world into the spiritual world – only influx from the spiritual world into the natural. A person’s inner powers, which belong properly to understanding and will, exist in the spiritual world, and his outward ones, which belong properly to the bodily senses, exist in the natural world. From all this too it becomes clear what correspondence is and what the nature of it is.

[3] In general, smell corresponds to perception of some reality, as determined by the essential nature of the matter that is being perceived, see 1514, 1517-1519, 3577, 4624-4634, 10054.
Taste corresponds to perception and the desire to know and become wise, 3502, 4971-4805.
Sight corresponds to an understanding of the truths of faith, 3863, 4403-4421, 4567, 5114, 5400, 6805.
Hearing corresponds to perception of the good of faith and to obedience, 3869, 4652-4660, 7216, 8361, 9311, 9926.
Touch means imparting, conveying, and being received, 10130.

sRef Isa@3 @24 S4′ [4] *The fact that such things as are perceived with pleasure are meant by ‘spices’ – the kinds that spring from love and charity, in particular interior truths since they spring from these – is clear from the following places in the Word: In Isaiah,

Instead of spice** there will be rottenness, and instead of a girdle, a falling apart, and instead of well-set hair***, baldness. Isa. 3:24.

This refers to the daughters of Zion, by whom the celestial Church is meant, a Church in possession of interior truths springing from the good of love to the Lord. ‘Spice’ here means interior truth, ‘rottenness’ deprivation of it; ‘a girdle’ means a joining together, and ‘a falling apart’ the dissolution of connection and order; ‘well-set hair’ means factual knowledge of truth, which is exterior truth or truth as the external man knows it, and ‘baldness’ deprivation of that truth.

‘A girdle’ means a joining together and a bond to ensure that everything is held in connection and has the same end in view, see 9828.
‘Well-set hair’ means factual knowledge of truth, 2831****.
‘Baldness’ means deprivation of that truth, 9960.

sRef Ezek@17 @4 S5′ sRef Ezek@17 @3 S5′ [5] In Ezekiel,

A great eagle with [great] wings came on Lebanon, and from it took a twig of the cedar away into the land of Canaan*****; in the city of spicers he put the top of it******. Ezek. 17:3, 4.

This refers in the internal sense to the beginnings and growth of the spiritual Church, and then its corruption and end. ‘A great eagle with [great] wings’ means the interior truth which that Church possessed, 3901, 8764, ‘wings’ its exterior truths, 8764, 9514. ‘Lebanon’ is that Church, ‘the cedar’ there being the spiritual Church’s truth. ‘The city of spicers’ is a place where teachings composed of interior truth are presented, ‘cities’ in the Word meaning religious teachings, see 402, 2449, 3216, 4492, 4493. It is called ‘the city of spicers’ by virtue of its interior truths.

sRef Ezek@27 @22 S6′ [6] In the same prophet,

The traders of Sheba and Raamah with the best of [every] spice, and with every precious stone and gold, carried out******* their dealings. Ezek. 27:22.

This refers to Tyre, which means the Church in respect of cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth. ‘The traders’ are those who possess these and pass them on; ‘Sheba and Raamah’ are those with whom cognitions of celestial and spiritual things exist; ‘the best of spice’ is that which by virtue of interior truths brings pleasure; ‘precious stone’ is those very truths; and ‘gold’ is the good that goes with them.

Tyre means the Church in respect of interior cognitions of goodness and truth, and in the abstract sense those cognitions themselves, see 1201.
‘The traders’ are those who possess these and pass them on, 2967, 4453.
‘Sheba and Raamah’ are those with whom cognitions of celestial and spiritual things exist, 1171, 3240.
‘Precious stone’ is interior truth, 9863, 9865, 9873, 9874.
‘Gold’ is the good that goes with it, see the places referred to in 9874, 9881.

sRef 1Ki@10 @2 S7′ sRef 1Ki@10 @1 S7′ [7] From all this one may see what was represented by the queen of Sheba’s coming to Solomon in Jerusalem with camels carrying spices, gold, and precious stones, 1 Kings 10:1, 2, and by the offering of gold, frankincense, and myrrh which the wise men from the east made to the new-born Jesus, Matt. 2:11. Because ‘spices’ meant interior truths, thus those which bring pleasure, the incense and also the anointing oil, dealt with further on in this chapter, were scented with spices.

[8] By interior truths those truths which have become part of a person’s life and affection, thus those inwardly present in him, should be understood, but not truths which are present solely in the memory and have not become part of that person’s life. These truths in relation to the others are called external ones, since they have not been inscribed on the person’s life, only on his memory. They reside in the external man and not in the internal. Truths of faith which have been inscribed on a person’s life are present in the will, and what is in the will is present in the internal man. For by means of the truths of faith the internal man is opened up and contact with heaven is brought about. From this it is evident that the interior truths present with a person are ones that spring from the good of love and charity. Whether you say will or love it amounts to the same thing, for what composes a person’s will composes his love. Therefore the truths inscribed on the person’s life, called interior truths, are ones that have been inscribed on his love, and so on the will, from which they afterwards go forth when they pass into speech and action. [9] For heaven, in which the internal man that has been opened up is present, does not enter truths directly but indirectly, through the good of love. But heaven cannot come in when a person’s internal man is closed, because there is no good of love there to receive it. In the case therefore of those with whom the internal man has not been opened by means of truths springing from the good of love and charity hell enters with falsities arising from evil, no matter how many truths of faith, even interior ones, are residing in the external man alone, that is, in the memory.
From all this one may now see what should be understood by interior truths that bring pleasure, which are meant by ‘spices’, namely those which spring from the good of love and charity.
* To judge both from the first Latin edition and his rough draft Sw.
may have intended to add words that would have concluded what goes
before and introduced what comes next.
** i.e. fragrance
*** lit. instead of the work of plaited [hair]
**** The word rendered well-set, more literally plaited, may otherwise mean entangled.
***** Here the Hebrew may be taken to mean either the land of Canaan or the land of the merchant. See 3901:2 and 8764:6, where Sw. adopts the latter meaning.
****** lit. its head i.e. the twig from the top of the cedar
******* lit. gave

sRef Ex@30 @7 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10200. ‘Morning by morning’ means whenever a state of love in clearness exists. This is clear from the meaning of ‘morning’ as a time when a state of love in clearness exists, dealt with in 10134, so that ‘morning by morning’ or every single morning means whenever that state exists. It has been shown several times before that in heaven states of love and light, that is, of goodness and truth, follow one another in sequence unceasingly, just as on earth morning, midday, evening, and twilight do, and as spring, summer, autumn, and winter do. It has also been shown that those states are the origin from which these times of day and seasons of the year arise; for things that come into being in the world are images of the realities that exist in heaven. This is so because everything natural comes into being from what is spiritual, that is, from what is Divine in the heavens. From this it is evident what the variations of the states in heaven are like, for one comes to know what they are by comparison with the states of heat and light that exist in the world, heat in the heavens being the good of love coming from the Lord and the light there being the truth of faith coming from the Lord. States there follow one another in this kind of way to the end that angels may constantly grow more perfect; for as they pass through those states they experience all varieties of goodness and truth and are endowed with them. The differences furthermore in the varieties of the good of love and truth of faith there are like the differences of heat and light in all the particular regions or climates of the planet; that is to say, those near the equator are different from those further away in either direction from it, and they are different from one day to the next, and from one year to the next. What is exactly similar or the same does not ever return; for it has been provided that nothing shall ever be exactly the same, neither in the spiritual world nor in the natural world; and this enables perfection to increase constantly.

sRef Ex@30 @7 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10201. ‘When adorning the lamps he shall burn it’ means whenever truth as well comes into its own light. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the lamps’ as Divine Truth, and therefore intelligence and wisdom, dealt with in 9548, 9783, ‘adorning’ them or making them burn more brightly, it is evident, meaning whenever they come into their own light; and from the meaning of ‘burning incense’ as a hearing and receiving of everything of worship, dealt with above in 10177, 10198. From this it is clear that burning incense every single morning when the lamps were ‘adorned’ means that the hearing and receiving of everything of worship takes place first and foremost whenever people enter a clear state of love, and consequently possess intelligence and wisdom with which to see truth.

[2] The reason for saying that they consequently possess intelligence and wisdom with which to see truth is that the nature of the light of truth present with a person is conditioned altogether by the state of his love; how much love is kindled determines how much truth shines there. For the good of love is the actual fire of life burning in him, while the truth of faith is the actual light, that is, intelligence and wisdom, shining in his understanding. The love and truth go together, in step with each other.

[3] The words ‘intelligence and wisdom’ are not used to mean the ability to think and reason about any matter whatever, for this ability exists with the evil just as much as it does with the good. Instead they are used to mean the ability to see and perceive the truths and forms of good that belong to faith and charity, and that go with love to the Lord. This ability exists only with those who receive enlightenment from the Lord; and the amount of enlightenment they receive is determined by the amount of love to Him and charity towards the neighbour which they possess. For the Lord comes in through the good, that is, through the love and charity present in the person, and leads him to truths in agreement with that good. But if alien loves – which is what loves turned away from the Lord and the neighbour towards self and the world are – reign there, then these loves lead the person. They lead away from truths to falsities; yet the ability to think and reason still remains.

[4] The reason for all this is that these people do not receive enlightenment from the Lord, only from self and the world, and such enlightenment consists of thick and total darkness in spiritual matters, that is, in things which have to do with heaven and the Church. With those people the internal man seeing things in the light of heaven is closed and the external man seeing them in the light of the world is open. But seeing something in the light of the world without the light from heaven flowing in means that things belonging to heaven are seen in thick darkness. Indeed to the extent that the person has at this time through self-love and love of the world fostered inferior natural light, he plunges into falsities and consequently annihilates the truths of faith. This is why the learned people of the world who are ruled by self-love, having a greater opportunity to substantiate falsities, are blinder than simple people.

[5] These things have been stated in order that people may know that as is anyone’s love, so is his faith, and in order that they may understand how it is that truth comes into its own light when love comes into clearness, meant by burning incense every single morning when the lamps were ‘adorned’.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @8 S0′ 10202. ‘And when Aaron causes the lamps to go up between the evenings he shall burn it’ means the raising up also in an obscure state of love, when also truth exists in its shade. This is clear from the meaning of ‘causing the lamps to go up’, or to burn brightly, as enlightening with Divine Truth, and consequently endowing with intelligence and wisdom, dealt with immediately above in 10201; from the representation of ‘Aaron’ as the Lord in respect of Divine Good, and in respect of the work of salvation, dealt with in 9806, 9965, 10068; from the meaning of ‘between the evenings’ as an obscure state of love, and consequently a state of truth in shade, dealt with in 10134, 10135; and from the meaning of ‘burning incense’ as the raising up of worship, dealt with above in 10198. From all this it is evident that ‘when Aaron causes the lamps to go up between the evenings he shall burn incense’ means a raising up by the Lord of everything of worship in an obscure state of love, when also truth exists in its shade. The nature of all this becomes clear from what has been stated immediately above in 10200, 10201, to the effect that states of love are varied in heaven, just as times of day and seasons of the year are in the world, and that truth exists in its own light to the extent that good exists in its own heat, that is, in its love. Consequently when love is not so much in its heat, neither is truth in its light. This being so, reference is made to ‘adorning the lamps in the morning’ but ‘causing them to go up in the evening’; for causing them to go up implies raising and increasing the light of truth, as much as is possible in that state.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @8 S0′ 10203. ‘Incense shall be continual before Jehovah’ means in all worship springing from love received from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘incense’ as worship springing from love, dealt with in 9475; from the meaning of ‘continual’ as all and within all, dealt with in 10133; and from the meaning of ‘before Jehovah’ as from the Lord, dealt with in 10146. The expression ‘worship springing from love received from the Lord’ is used because both faith and love, the essential elements of worship, come from the Lord, and also the raising up to the Lord of everything of worship is done by Him. The person who has no knowledge of the arcana of heaven supposes that worship comes from himself since he thinks about and pays homage to the Lord. But worship which comes from a person himself is not worship; only that which comes from the Lord with a person is such. For love and faith compose worship, and since love and faith come from the Lord worship too comes from Him. Nor is a person able to raise anything from himself up to heaven; it is the Lord who raises it. Within the person there is solely the capacity for this to happen, which he is endowed with when being regenerated, 6148; but all the motive force and energy of that capacity come from the Lord.

Life itself comes from the Lord, and men and angels are recipient forms, see 1954, 2021, 2536, 2706, 3001, 3318, 3484, 3741-3743, 4151, 4249, 4318-4320, 4417, 4523, 4524, 4882, 5847, 5986, 6325, 6467, 6468, 6470, 6472, 6479, 9338.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @8 S0′ 10204. ‘Throughout your generations’ means to eternity among those with faith springing from love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘generations’ as matters of faith and love, dealt with in 613, 2020, 2584, 6239, 9042, 9079, 9845, ‘throughout generations’ meaning to eternity, 9789.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @9 S0′ 10205. ‘You shall not cause strange incense to go up on it’ means no worship springing from any love other than that of the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘incense’ as worship springing from love, dealt with in 9475; and from the meaning of ‘strange’ or ‘a stranger’ as those who are within the Church but do not acknowledge the Lord, dealt with in 10112. From this it is evident that ‘you shall not cause strange incense to go up’ means that no worship springing from any love other than that of the Lord is worship. The situation in all this is that acknowledgement of, faith in, and love to the Lord are the most important things of all in worship within the Church. For acknowledgement, faith, and love create a bond; acknowledgement and faith create a bond in the understanding, while love creates one in the will. And these two compose the entire person. Anyone within the Church therefore who does not acknowledge the Lord has no link with what is Divine; for everything Divine exists within and comes from the Lord. And when there is no link with what is Divine there is no salvation. So it is that worship springing from any faith or love other than faith in and love to the Lord is not worship. It is different with those outside the Church. Because they know nothing about the Lord their worship is nevertheless accepted by Him when, true to their religion, they lead lives marked by some kind of charity towards one another, some kind of belief, and some kind of love to God, whom the majority of them worship under a human form. In the next life, when taught by angels about the Lord, that He is Divinity itself in human form, they too acknowledge the Lord. And to the extent that they had led a good life they worship Him in faith and love, see 2589-2604.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @9 S0′ 10206. ‘Or a burnt offering, or a minchah’ means that nothing representative of regeneration by means of the truths and forms of good belonging to celestial love should be there. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a burnt offering’ as that which is representative of purification from evils, of the implanting of goodness and truth and joining together of them, and so of regeneration, dealt with in 10042, 10053, 10057; and from the meaning of ‘a minchah’ as celestial good, to which a person is brought through regeneration, dealt with in 4581, 9992, 10079, 10137, and also as that which is representative of regeneration, 9993, 9994. From all this it is evident that the words telling them ‘not to cause a burnt offering or a minchah to go up’ on the altar of incense mean that nothing representative of regeneration by means of the truths and forms of the good of faith and love should be there, only that which was representative of worship of the Lord that springs from them. For regeneration is one thing, worship another; first there is regeneration, and according to the nature of what it brings about in the person there is worship. To the extent that the person has been purified from evils and consequent falsities, and to the extent at the same time that the truths and forms of the good of faith and love have been implanted, worship is acceptable and pleasing. For by worship everything which emanates from love and faith present with a person and which is raised up to the Lord by the Lord should be understood.

Since this phase marks the completion of the process, the altar of incense, by which worship was represented, is described last, for all things follow in the same order as the sequence in which they are described. First the Testimony is described, by which the Lord should be understood; next the ark containing the Testimony, by which the inmost heaven where the Lord dwells is meant; after this the table on which the loaves were placed, by which the good of love from there is meant; then the lampstand with the lamps, by which Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good is meant; next the actual tent, by which heaven and the Church consisting of these entities is meant; at length the altar of burnt offering, by which regeneration by means of truths springing from good is meant; and finally the altar of incense, by which worship springing from all those things in heaven and in the Church is meant.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @9 S0′ 10207. ‘And you shall not pour a drink offering on it’ means that nothing representative of regeneration by means of the truths and forms of good belonging to spiritual love should be there. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a drink offering’ as that which is representative of regeneration by means of the truths and forms of the good of faith and charity, dealt with in 10137, which are the truths and forms of good belonging to spiritual love. For love to the Lord is called celestial love, whereas charity towards the neighbour is called spiritual love; celestial love reigns in the inmost heaven, whereas spiritual love reigns in the middle and the lowest ones, see the places referred to in 9277, 9596, 9684.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10208. ‘And Aaron shall make expiation on its horns’ means purification from evils by means of the truths of faith which spring from the good of love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘making expiation’ as purifying from evils, dealt with in 9506; from the representation of ‘Aaron’ as the Lord in respect of Divine Good, and in respect of the work of salvation, dealt with in 9806, 9946, 10017; and from the meaning of ‘horns’ as powers, dealt with in 10182, and also outer levels, 10186. The reason why purification by means of the truths of faith which spring from the good of love is meant is that expiation was made by means of blood, and ‘blood’ means the truth of faith emanating from the good of love, 4735, 7317, 7326, 7846, 7850, 7877, 9127, 9393, 10026, 10033, 10047; and all purification from evils is accomplished by means of the truths of faith that spring from the good of love, 2799, 5954(end), 7044, 7918, 9088. The fact that expiations were made by the blood on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and the altar of incense is clear in Lev. 4:3, 7, 18, 25, 30, 34; 16:18.

sRef Lev@16 @33 S2′ sRef Lev@15 @31 S2′ sRef Lev@16 @16 S2′ [2] The altars were expiated in this way because holy things were polluted by the sins of the people. The people represented the Church; therefore those places which were the Church’s, called its sanctuaries, such as the altar and the tent, together with their contents, were defiled whenever those people were guilty of sin; for those sanctuaries were places belonging to the Church. This is also made clear in Moses,

You shall separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness, in order that they may not die in their uncleanness when they pollute My dwelling-place which is in their midst. Lev. 15:31.

And in another place,

Aaron shall expiate the holy place from the uncleanness of the children of Israel. Thus shall he expiate the holy sanctuary, and the tent of meeting, and the altar. Lev. 16:16, 33.

[3] The implications of all this are that those things which are called the holy things of the Church are not holy unless they are received with holy respect; for unless they are received with that respect what is Divine does not flow into them. Anything holy that exists with people is holy only by virtue of what is Divine flowing into it; sacred shrines for example, the altars there, and the bread and wine for the Holy Supper are made holy solely by the presence of the Lord. Therefore if the Lord is unable to be present there on account of the people’s sins, those things have no holiness because they lack what is Divine. Furthermore the holy things of the Church are rendered unholy by sins because sins take what is Divine away from them.

[4] This then is the reason why sanctuaries are said to have been polluted by the uncleanness of the people and why those places therefore had to be expiated annually. The reason why the expiations were made with blood on the horns of the altars and not on the altars themselves was that the horns were the extremities of them, and nothing of a person has been purified unless the extremities or what is outermost has been purified. For inner things flow into those that are outermost, but the state of the outermost conditions the inflow. Consequently if what is outermost has been perverted the things within become perverted; for when those inner things flow into outermost ones, the recipient forms into which they descend are conditioned by the state in which the outermost things exist. The situation is like that when the eye is in bad condition; the power of sight which comes from within sees things only as that eye-condition will allow. Or it is like that when the arms are in bad shape; the powers which come from within exert themselves only as that condition will allow. Consequently if the natural man has been perverted the spiritual lacks the opportunity to function properly within the natural man, and this is why the spiritual or internal man is closed.

[5] But see what has been shown already on these matters, namely the following;

If a person is to be purified the natural or external man must be purified, see the places referred to in 9325(end).
This is because the path that all influx takes is from the internal to the external, and not vice versa, 5119, 6322.
For it is on the natural level within a person that influx from the spiritual world reaches its destination, 5651.
The outward aspects of a person have been formed to serve the inward, 5947, 9216, 9828.
Thus the external man must be altogether subject to the internal, 5786, 6275, 6284, 6299.
This is because the internal man is in heaven and the external man is in the world, 3167, 10156.
And the external man by himself or left to himself alone acts contrary to the internal, 3913, 3928.

In addition to all this, see 9701-9709 stating what the internal man is and what the external man is.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10209. ‘Once a year’ means everlastingly. This is clear from the meaning of ‘once a year’ as for the whole year; for the expiation on the horns of the altar of incense once a year implied expiation for the whole year. ‘A year’, like all references to time, means a state and its duration, and also everlastingness. In this instance it is a state of purification from evils by means of the truths of faith; for this state is meant by expiation on the horns of the altar of incense once a year, and all purification from evils, which is regeneration, persists everlastingly not only in the world but also in the next life.

‘A year’ means that which is everlasting and eternal, see 2906 (end), 7828.
So do ‘yesterday’, ‘today’, ‘tomorrow’, and like references to time, 2838,
3998, 4304, 6165, 6984, 9939.
Purification from evils, or regeneration, persists to eternity, see the places referred to in 9334, and what has been stated in 10048.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10210. ‘With the blood of the sin [offering] of expiations’ means by means of truths which spring from the good of innocence. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the blood’ as Divine Truth, dealt with in 4735, 6978, 7317, 7326, 7846, 7850, 9127, 9393, 10026, 10033, 10047; and from the meaning of ‘the sin [offering] of expiations’, or the sin sacrifice by means of which expiation was made, as purification from evils and consequent falsities.

‘Sin’ is used to mean a sacrifice for sin, see 10039.
‘Expiation’ means purification from evils and consequent falsities, 9506.

The reason why this purification is accomplished by means of truths which spring from the good of innocence is that the blood with which the expiation was accomplished came from a young bull or from a lamb, and ‘a young bull’ means the good of innocence in the external man, 9391, 9990, 10132, ‘a lamb’ the good of innocence in the internal man, 10132; and innocence must be present if truth and good are to be received, 3111, 3994, 4797, 6013, 6765, 7836(end), 7840, 9262, 10134, as well as the places referred to in 10021. The good of innocence consists in acknowledging that all truths and forms of good come from the Lord and none at all from the human self or proprium; thus it consists in wishing to be led by the Lord and not by self. From this it is evident that the more a person trusts and believes in himself, thus the more he is ruled by self-love, the less the good of innocence is present in him. This is why a person cannot be purified from evils unless the good of innocence is present in him. For if this good is not present that person is led not by the Lord but by self; and anyone who is led by self is led by hell, since the human proprium is nothing but evil, and all evil belongs to hell. The fact that every expiation was accomplished with the blood either of a young bull, or of a lamb, or of turtle doves, that is, young pigeons, is clear in Moses, in Exod. 29:36; Lev. 4:1-7, 13-18, 27-end; 5:1-7; 15:14, 24, 28-31; Num. 6:9-11. ‘Turtle doves’ and ‘young pigeons’ as well mean the good of innocence.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10211. ‘Once a year he shall make expiation on it’ means the everlasting removal of evils. This is clear from the meaning of ‘once a year’ as that which is everlasting, dealt with above in 10209; and from the meaning of ‘making expiation’ as purification from evils and consequent falsities, 9506, purification from evils being nothing other than a being held back from them, or removal of them, see the places referred to in 10057(end).

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10212. ‘Throughout your generations’ means members of the Church with whom the truths and forms of the good of faith are present. This is clear from the meaning of ‘generations’ as matters of faith and charity, dealt with in the places referred to in 10204. The reason why members of the Church are meant is that real truths and forms of the good of faith and love exist only with them, because with them the Word is present; and the children of Israel (it is their generations who should be understood here) mean the Church, see the places referred to in 9340.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10213. ‘It is the holy of holies to Jehovah’ means since it comes from the Divine Celestial. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the holy of holies’ as the Divine Celestial, dealt with in 10129. What the Divine Celestial and Divine Spiritual are, and what the difference is between them, see the places referred to in 9277, 9596.

sRef Ex@30 @13 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @16 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @15 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @14 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @12 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @11 S0′ 10214. Verses 11-16 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, When you take the sum of the children of Israel, as they have been numbered*, they shall give – each one – an expiation for his soul to Jehovah when they are numbered**, that there may be no plague among them when they are numbered**. This is what they shall give, everyone passing over to those who have been numbered – half a shekel according to the shekel of holiness (a shekel is twenty obols***). Half a shekel shall be the offering to Jehovah. Everyone passing over to those who have been numbered, from a son of twenty years**** and over, shall give the offering of Jehovah. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel when they give the offering of Jehovah, to make expiation for your souls. And you shall take the silver of expiations from the children of Israel, and give it to the work of the tent of meeting; and to the children of Israel it shall be as a remembrance before Jehovah, to make expiation for your souls.

‘And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying’ means enlightenment from the Lord through the Word. ‘When you take the sum of the children of Israel’ means all things of the Church. ‘As they have been numbered’ means as they have been arranged and set in order. ‘They shall give – each one – an expiation for his soul when they are numbered’ means purification or deliverance from evil through the acknowledgement and belief that all the forms of good and the truths of faith and love come from the Lord, not at all from man, as does their being arranged in order. ‘That there may be no plague among them when they are numbered’ means in order that there may be no punishment of evil when they do good as from themselves. ‘This is what everyone passing over to those who have been numbered shall give’ means the attribution to the Lord of all that constitutes faith and love. ‘Half a shekel according to the shekel of holiness’ means all forms of truth springing from good. ‘A shekel is twenty obols’ means all the components of good. ‘Half a shekel shall be the offering to Jehovah’ means that all the constituents of truth springing from good are the Lord’s alone. [‘Everyone passing over to those who have been numbered’ means that all truths and forms of good are to be attributed to the Lord alone.] ‘From a son of twenty years and over’ means the state in which the understanding of truth and good exists. ‘Shall give the offering of Jehovah’ means attribution to the Lord alone. ‘The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel when they give [the offering] of Jehovah’ means that all equally, however much ability they possess, should attribute to the Lord all forms of truth springing from good. ‘To make expiation for your souls’ means in order that evils may be removed. ‘And you shall take the silver of expiations from the children of Israel’ means the purifying truths springing from good that are the Church’s. ‘And give it to the work of the tent of meeting’ means being joined to heaven through the acknowledgement that all truths and forms of good come from the Lord. ‘And to the children of Israel it shall be as a remembrance before Jehovah’ means thus the preservation of the Church and of all things the Church has by the Lord. ‘To make expiation for your souls’ means since evils have thereby been removed.
* lit. as to the numbered of them
** lit. in numbering them
*** An obol was a Greek coin, worth a sixth of a drachma. The Hebrew word is gerah; see 10221.
**** A Hebrew idiom for a man twenty years old

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @11 S0′ 10215. ‘And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying’ means enlightenment from the Lord through the Word. This is clear from the meaning of ‘speaking’, when done by Jehovah to Moses, as enlightenment from the Lord through the Word; for ‘Jehovah’ in the Word is the Lord, and ‘Moses’ represents the Word. ‘Speaking’ means influx, perception, and instruction, 2951, 5481, 5743, 5797, 7226, 7241, 7270, 8127, 8128, 8221, 8262, 8660, and therefore also enlightenment since enlightenment is the influx, perception, and instruction people receive from the Lord when they read the Word.

‘Jehovah’ in the Word is the Lord, see the places referred to in 9373.
‘Moses’ is the Word in a representative sense, 9372.

The reason why these things are meant by ‘Jehovah spoke to Moses’ is that the perception of these words in heaven is not the same as that on earth. In heaven the words are perceived according to the internal sense, on earth according to the external sense; for in heaven everything is understood on a spiritual level, on earth on a natural level. That understanding on a spiritual level is arrived at instantaneously, without awareness of what people in the world understand in the external or literal sense. Angels in heaven live in this kind of association with people in the world, because then the whole of a person’s thought flows in from the spiritual world, and the first origins of the person’s thought are therefore spiritual, becoming natural in the external man through influx.

sRef Ex@30 @12 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10216. ‘When you take the sum of the children of Israel’ means all things of the Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the sum’ as all; and from the representation of ‘the children of Israel’ as the Church, dealt with in the places referred to in 9340. The reason why all things of the Church are meant by ‘the sum of the children of Israel’ is that the internal sense of the Word is the kind of meaning it has in the heavens. Names do not come through to those there, such as the names Israel, Moses, Aaron, and many others; for those names belong to things that are material, which exist solely for the benefit of human life on the level of the physical senses. Instead of those names things on a spiritual level that belong to heaven and the Church are perceived. For angels in heaven are spiritual, and the things that come to their attention they see according to the inner nature of those things, thus on a spiritual level. There in place of the children of Israel they understand the Church. They do so because in the inmost heaven, where the Lord’s presence is more immediate than in the heavens below, the Lord Himself is understood by names in the Word, when they are used in a good sense, names such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, David, Joseph, Judah, or Israel. And since the angels there understand the Lord by these names, they also perceive – in accord with the train of thought in the Word – the Divine things which belong to heaven and the Church, and are derived from the Lord. The perception flows in from the Lord, who is the Word; for the Lord is the source of all intelligence and wisdom, and none at all exists without Him.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @12 S0′ 10217. ‘As they have been numbered’ means as they have been arranged and set in order. This is clear from the meaning of ‘numbering’ – when it refers to all things of the Church, which are truths and forms of the good of faith and love – as an arrangement and setting of them in order, so that ‘those who have been numbered’ means the things which have been arranged and set in order. ‘Numbering’ has this meaning because numbering implies reviewing, and that which the Lord reviews is also arranged and set in order by Him. Furthermore the word used here to express the idea of numbering means in the original language reviewing, counting up, taking note of, and also visiting, giving orders, and taking control of, thus arranging and setting in order. That word has these meanings because in the spiritual sense each of these activities implies the next, and the spiritual sense consists in that inner meaning which the words of languages, especially eastern ones, frequently possess.

sRef Ps@147 @4 S2′ sRef Isa@13 @4 S2′ sRef Isa@40 @26 S2′ [2] The fact that in the spiritual sense, in which truths and forms of the good of faith and love are the subject, ‘numbering’ means arranging and setting in order is also clear from places in the Word in which the verb ‘numbering’ or else the noun ‘number’ is used, as in Isaiah,

The noise of a tumult of the kingdoms of the nations gathered together! Jehovah Zebaoth is numbering (arranging in order) an army of war. Isa. 13:4.

In the same prophet,

Lift up your eyes on high and see; who created these? He who brought out their host by number; He calls them all by name. From the multitude of the powerful and of the mighty not a man is lacking in strength. Isa. 40:26.

In David,

Jehovah who counts the number* of the stars gives names to them all. Ps. 147:4.

In these places it is self-evident that ‘numbering’ means arranging and setting in order, for they refer to Jehovah, that is, the Lord, who does not number any army or count the stars, but arranges and sets such things in order as are meant by ‘an army’ and ‘the stars’, namely truths and forms of the good of faith and love. For the subject is not wars in the natural world but wars in the spiritual world, which are the wars or conflicts of truths springing from good against falsities arising from evil.

‘Wars’ in the spiritual sense are those kinds of conflicts, see 1664, 2686, 8273, 8295.
‘An army’ is the truths and forms of good belonging to the Church and heaven, 7988, 8019.
‘The stars’ are cognitions or knowledge of truth and good, 2495, 2849, 4697.

[3] Once it is known what ‘numbering’ and ‘the children of Israel’ mean it may be seen why it was that David was not allowed to number the people, and why after he had numbered them the prophet Gad was sent to him to intimate a punishment, 2 Sam. 24:1-15, and why here [in Exod. 30:12] it says that each one should make expiation for his soul, that there may be no plague among them when they are numbered. By ‘the children of Israel’ the Church’s truths and forms of good are meant, and by ‘numbering’ arranging and setting in order is meant. The arranging and setting in order of the truths and forms of the good of faith and love that are present with each person in the Church and in heaven belongs to the Lord alone. Consequently when such numbering is done by man, as was done by David through Joab, an arranging and setting in order of those things by man, and not by the Lord, is meant; and this is not an arranging or setting in order but a destruction. If the numbering of the children of Israel had not held such things within it, no sin or guilt at all would have been attached to their being numbered.

sRef Hos@1 @10 S4′ sRef Gen@13 @16 S4′ sRef Deut@7 @7 S4′ sRef Num@23 @10 S4′ sRef Gen@15 @5 S4′ [4] By ‘the children of Israel’ spiritual truths and forms of good, which are the Church’s and heaven’s truths and forms of good, are meant, see 5414, 5801, 5803, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833, 5879, 5951, 7957, 8234, 8805.
Much the same is meant by ‘the tribes’ into which the children of Israel were divided, 3858, 3926, 4060, 6335, 6397.

Since such things are meant by ‘the children of Israel’ and ‘the tribes’ and those things are countless, the Word states regarding them,

Their number will be as the sand of the sea, which will not be measured nor numbered. Hosea 1:10.
Who will number the dust of Jacob and the number of Israel? Num. 23:10.

Jehovah said to Abraham,

I will make your seed as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, so also will it be that your seed may be numbered. Gen. 13:16; 16:10.

And elsewhere,

Look towards heaven and number the stars, if you are able to number them. So will your seed be. Gen. 15:5.

The expressions ‘the children of Israel’ and ‘the seed of Abraham’ were not used to mean his descendants but spiritual truths and forms of good, which are countless and also for the most part beyond description. This becomes clear from the consideration that they were no greater in number than any other nation, as also Moses bore witness,

Jehovah has desired you, that He might choose you, not because you are more in number than all peoples; indeed you are fewer than all peoples. Deut. 7:7.

sRef Ps@90 @11 S5′ sRef Isa@38 @10 S5′ sRef Ps@90 @12 S5′ sRef Dan@5 @25 S5′ sRef Jer@33 @13 S5′ [5] ‘Numbering’ again means arranging and setting in order in Jeremiah,

In the cities of Jerusalem and Judah flocks will again pass under the hands of him who numbers them. Jer. 33:13.

By ‘flocks’ too the Church’s forms of good and its truths are meant, 6048, 8937, 9135, while ‘under the hands of him who numbers them’ means according to the order set by the Lord. In David,

Who knows the strength of Your anger? Teach us** to number our days, that we may gain*** a heart of wisdom. Ps. 90:11, 12.

‘Numbering days’ stands for arranging and setting states of life in order; and days are said to be numbered after they have been arranged and set in order, thus when they are finished, as in Isaiah,

Through the cutting off of my days**** I shall go away to the gates of hell; I am numbered [as to]***** the residue of my years. Isa. 38:10.

And in Daniel,

The writing appeared before Belshazzar the king, Numbered, weighed, and divided. Dan. 5:25.

When ‘numbering’ means arranging and setting in order, ‘numbered’ means what is brought to a conclusion, as when a line is drawn under a list of figures at the end of a calculation.

sRef Rev@13 @17 S6′ sRef Rev@13 @18 S6′ sRef Rev@13 @16 S6′ [6] ‘Numbering’ means arranging and setting in order because ‘number’ means the specific quality of some reality or some state, and that quality is defined by the number attached to it. Consequently numbering something means bringing specific quality to it, and specific quality is brought to spiritual realities through their being arranged and set in order by the Lord. This is what ‘the number’ means in John,

He causes all to receive****** a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and no one to be able to buy or sell except him who has the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of its name. Here******* is wisdom. Let him who has intelligence reckon the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man (homo), that is, its number is six hundred and sixty-six. Rev. 13:16-18.

[7] This chapter deals with the beast from the sea and the beast from the land. ‘The beast from the sea’ means the Church’s truth falsified by factual knowledge derived from the world, and ‘the beast from the land’ means the Church’s truth falsified by the use of the literal sense of the Word to support the evils of self-love and love of the world. For ‘the land’ means the Church in respect of its goodness and truth, see the places referred to in 9325; and ‘the sea’ means factual knowledge in general, 28, 2120, 2850. ‘Having its mark on the hand and on the forehead’ means accepting and loving those falsities; ‘having its name’ or ‘the number of its name’ means accepting all things, irrespective of what they are like. For ‘the forehead’ means the love, 9936, and ‘name’ the whole nature of the one who is the subject, 3006, 3421, 6674, 8274, 9310. [8] ‘Reckoning the number of the beast’ means examining and becoming acquainted with those falsified truths of the Church. ‘The number of a man’ means the reality that is the Church and the state of that Church; ‘six hundred and sixty-six’ means its specific quality so far as all its falsified truths and falsities arising from evil in their entirety are concerned, also its profanation of what is holy, and its end as well. Being acquainted with them and examining them is an attribute of one who possesses wisdom and understanding, and that is why it says, ‘Here******* is wisdom. Let him who has intelligence reckon its number’. For the number ‘six’ has the same meaning as the number ‘twelve’, since it is a half of it, 3960(end), 7973, 8148; and ‘twelve’ means all the truths and forms of good the Church possesses in their entirety, 2129(end), 2130(end), 3272, 3858, 3913, 7973, and therefore also in the contrary sense all falsities and evils in their entirety. The tripling of the digit ‘six’ also implies the end, and the end comes when truth has been made altogether profane.

sRef Rev@21 @17 S9′ [9] From all this it is plainly evident that numbers in the Word have to do with different realities and states, each serving to mean a specific quality that

accords with its numerical value, as also in these words John,

The angel measured the wall of the holy Jerusalem, a hundred and forty-four cubits, which is the measure of a man (homo), that is, of an angel. Rev. 21:17.

The numerical value here serves to mean all truths springing from good in their entirety; for ‘a hundred and forty-four’ has the same meaning as ‘twelve’, 7973, being the product of twelve multiplied by itself. Therefore also it says in this verse that the measure of it is ‘the measure of a man’, just as in the verses explained above it says that the number given there is ‘the number of a man’. But since truths springing from good are meant in this verse it states in addition that that measure is the measure ‘of an angel’; for in the Word ‘an angel’ means truths springing from good, an angel being a recipient of Divine Truth from the Lord, 8192.
* lit. numbers the number
** lit. Make [us] rightly to know
*** lit. that we may put on
**** i.e. When I am in the prime of life
***** i.e. I have been deprived of
****** lit. He causes that he might give to all
******* Reading hic (here) for haec (this)

sRef Ex@30 @12 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10218. ‘They shall give – each one – an expiation for his soul when they are numbered’ means purification or deliverance from evil through the acknowledgement and belief that all the truths and forms of the good of faith and love come from the Lord, not at all from man, as does their being arranged in order. This is clear from the meaning of ‘giving an expiation for his soul’ as being purified or delivered from evil by means of the truth of faith, which here consists in acknowledging that all truths and forms of good come from the Lord; and from the meaning of ‘numbering Israel’ as their being arranged in order by the Lord alone and not by man. The fact that these things are meant is clear from all that has been stated here about the half shekel which had to be given to Jehovah and about expiation by means of it when the people were being numbered. For ‘the shekel of holiness’ means truth that is the Lord’s alone; ‘expiation by means of it’ means purification or deliverance from evil, 9506; and ‘numbering the children of Israel’ means arranging and setting all of the Church’s truths and forms of good in order, 10217.

sRef 2Sam@24 @1 S2′ [2] The implications of all this are that numbering the children of Israel was forbidden, because ‘numbering’ meant arranging and setting in order, and the children of Israel, and the tribes into which they had been divided, meant all the truths and forms of the good of faith and love in their entirety. And since the arrangement and setting of these in order belonged to the Lord alone and not to man, numbering them was a transgression like that committed by those who lay claim to the truths of faith and forms of the good of love as their own and to the arrangement and setting in order of them as their own doing. What these people are like is well known in the Church, for they are those who justify themselves through crediting all matters of faith and love to themselves, and consequently believing that because of the faith they have and the deeds they perform they merit heaven by their own efforts. This bad way of thinking is what David’s numbering of the people denoted, spoken of as follows in the second Book of Samuel,

Again the anger of Jehovah flared up in Israel; therefore He moved David against them, saying, Go, number Israel and Judah. Therefore he said to Joab, Go through all the tribes of Israel and number the people, that I may know the number of the people. Joab said to the king, May Jehovah your God add to the people as many as there are already, as many a hundred times over! Yet why does my lord the king desire this thing*? But the king’s word prevailed against Joab and against the captains of the army. Consequently they went out to number the people Israel. Afterwards David’s heart condemned** him. Consequently he said to Jehovah, I have sinned greatly [in] what I have done; but nevertheless, O Jehovah, make Your servant’s iniquity, I beg you, pass away, for I have done very foolishly. But Gad the prophet was sent to David to choose one bad thing out of three; and he chose the pestilence, from which men died, up to seventy thousand. 2 Sam. 24:1ff.

[3] From all this it is evident how great a sin it was to number Israel. Not that the numbering was in itself a sin; rather, David’s numbering of the children of Israel was a sin because, as has been stated, the arrangement and setting in order of all matters of faith and love by self and not by the Lord were meant by it. (The actual numbering meant the arranging and setting in order, while the children of Israel meant all the truths and forms of the good of faith and love.) In order therefore that they might be delivered from sin when a numbering of the children of Israel took place half a shekel was given for expiation; for it says,

They shall give – each one – an expiation for his soul to Jehovah when they are numbered, that there may be no plague among them when they are numbered.

From this it is evident that these words mean purification or deliverance from evil through the acknowledgement that all the truths and forms of the good of faith and love come from the Lord, not at all from man, as does their being arranged in order.

[4] It is also well known in the Church that this is so, that is to say, that all the forms of good and the truths of faith and love come from the Divine and not at all from man. It is well known too that attributing them to oneself is bad, and that those people are delivered from that bad way of thinking who acknowledge and believe that these things come from the Lord; for then they do not lay claim to anything that is Divine or that springs from the Divine. But see what has been shown previously on these matters,

Those who think that the good deeds they perform commence in self and not in the Lord think that they merit heaven, 9974.
Good deeds that commence in self and not in the Lord are not really good, since those who perform good deeds commencing in self do them from a bad motive, 9975, 9980.
They despise the neighbour, and they are irate with God Himself if they do not receive a reward, 9976.
Such people cannot receive heaven into themselves, 9977.
By no means can they fight against the hells; but the Lord fights on behalf of those who acknowledge and believe that all forms of good and all truths come from Him, 9978.
The Lord alone is merit and righteousness, 9486, 9715, 9809, 9979-9984, 10019, 10152.
* lit. word or matter
** lit. struck

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @12 S0′ 10219. ‘That there may be no plague among them when they are numbered’ means in order that there may be no punishment of evil when they do good as from themselves. This is clear from the meaning of ‘plague’ as the punishment of evil, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘numbering the children of Israel’ as arranging and setting truths and forms of the good of faith and love in order, dealt with above in 10217, thus putting them into practice. The expression ‘as from themselves’ is used because the good deeds which a person does he does as from self; until faith resides in him as a result of love he can see no other origin of those deeds. For good flows in from the Lord and is received by the person; but what is received is not felt initially to be other than something residing and originating in himself. And the person does not perceive that it begins in the Lord until this is made known to him and then believed and acknowledged by him. Till then he is not capable of reflecting on the idea that something flows in from the Divine; and he is totally incapable of perceiving it, that is, feeling it within himself, until he begins to will and desire it to be so.

[2] The situation in all this is like that with the actual life present in a person and like that with the two inner powers of life, the understanding and the will. Is there anyone who does not think, before receiving instruction in the matter, that life dwells innately within him and that his actions therefore originate in himself? Is there anyone who does not think that understanding and will are likewise innate? But in actual fact both his life in general and his understanding and will are flowing into him. Truths constituting the understanding and forms of good composing the will are flowing out of heaven from the Lord, while falsities constituting the understanding and evils composing the will are flowing from hell. For unless spirits and angels are present with a person, acting as channels through which those things flow in, the person cannot have life for even a single moment, nor therefore have any thought or will, as becomes clear from plenty of experiences mentioned at the ends of a number of chapters, where influx is the subject; see the places referred to in 9223, 9276(end), 9682. [3] But for as long as a person thinks that everything he does originates in himself, both good deeds and bad ones, he is unmoved by good influences and evils cling to him. As soon however as he acknowledges and believes that good desires flow in from the Lord and do not begin in himself, and that evil desires flow in from hell, he is moved by good influences, and evils stop clinging to him. Furthermore to the extent that the good influences move him the evils are removed, and in this way he is purified and delivered from them. But for as long as the person’s state is such that he is not capable of perceiving or feeling the presence of good influences from the Lord, he performs good deeds as from himself; nevertheless he ought to acknowledge and believe that they begin in the Lord. When the person does this he is also delivered from evils; but in order that he may be delivered from the evils, that acknowledgement must be a confession not of the lips alone but of the heart itself.

sRef 2Sam@24 @13 S4′ [4] The fact that ‘plague’ means the punishment of evil is clear without explanation. There are three plagues or punishments which follow those who attribute truths and forms of the good of faith and love to themselves, that is, who think that they merit heaven because of their deeds. For those who attribute them to themselves are also given to think that they merit heaven because of what they themselves have done. Those three punishments are, 1 Their inability to receive any good of love or truth of faith at all; 2 Evils and falsities constantly pursuing them; 3 Destruction of the truths and forms of good received since early childhood. These three punishments are meant by the three plagues which were presented by the prophet Gad to David because of his numbering the people, 2 Sam. 24:13. [5] These were, 1 Seven years of famine; 2 Flight for three months before his enemies; 3 Three days of pestilence. For ‘famine’ means a lack and shortage of the forms of good and of the truths that belong to faith and love, since these are meant by bread, food, wheat, barley, oil, and wine, which are lacking so long as famine lasts. ‘Flight before enemies’ however is used to mean in the internal sense pursuit by evils and falsities; for people who attribute good and truth to themselves cannot fight against the evils and falsities that come from hell, 9978, these being in the spiritual sense the enemies before whom they flee and by whom they are pursued. But ‘pestilence’ means the laying waste and annihilation of the forms of good and the truths received since early childhood, 7505. David’s choice of the pestilence and the death from it of up to seventy thousand men meant that among the Israelite and Jewish nation all truth and good of faith and love would be destroyed, which was indeed what happened. For they did not acknowledge the Lord; yet He is the Source of all good and all truth. Three days meant to completeness, as did the seventy thousand men who died.

sRef Ex@30 @13 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10220. ‘This is what everyone passing over to those who have been numbered shall give’ means the attribution to the Lord of all that constitutes faith and love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘giving’ – that is to say, giving the expiation for the soul, which was half a shekel – as deliverance from evils through the acknowledgement that all of faith and love comes from the Lord and none at all from man, dealt with above in 10218. Consequently ‘everyone passing over to those who have been numbered’ means any truth and good whatever that is arranged and set in order by the Lord. For ‘everyone passing over’ implies every one of the children of Israel, and all spiritual forms of good and truths are meant by ‘the children of Israel’, 5414, 5801, 5803, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833, 5879, 5951, 7957, 8234, 8805; and by ‘those who have been numbered’ things which have been arranged and set in order by the Lord are meant, 10218.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @13 S0′ 10221. ‘Half a shekel according to the shekel of holiness’ means all forms of truth springing from good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘half’ as all; and from the meaning of ‘a shekel’ as truth springing from good. The reason why ‘half’ means all is that half a shekel consisted of ten gerahs or obols, and ‘ten’ means all, 4638, and also remnants, 576, 1906, 1988, 2284, which are the truths and forms of good present with a person, stored away by the Lord in the more internal parts of him, 5135, 5342, 5897, 5898, 7560, 7564. The reason why ‘a shekel’ means truth springing from good is that it was a weight of silver and also of gold, and ‘silver’ means truth and ‘gold’ good. But the amount of truth springing from good and of good coming through truth is determined by the number of gerahs or obols to a shekel. The shekel, being essentially a weight, means the amount; and when it is called ‘the shekel of holiness’ the amount of truth and good is meant, the reason for this being that truth and good are what are called holy because they come from the Lord who alone is Holy. For more about the shekel and the meaning of it, see 2959.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @13 S0′ 10222. ‘A shekel is twenty obols’ means all the components of good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘twenty’ likewise as all, and as remnants of good, and also what is holy. For its meaning as all and consequently what is complete, see 9641; remnants of good, 2280; and what is holy, 4759, 7842, 7903. For when ‘twenty’ has regard to the Lord it means His Proprium, which is Holiness itself, 4176. From all this it is evident why a shekel should consist of twenty gerahs or obols and why it was called the shekel of holiness, as it is in the present verse and elsewhere, such as Lev. 27:3; Num. 3:47, 50; 7:13, 19, 25, 31, 37, 43, 49, 55, 61, 67, 73; 18:16. The fact that a shekel was a weight both of silver and of gold, see Gen. 24:22; Exod. 38:24; Ezek. 4:10; 45:12.

sRef Ex@30 @13 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10223. ‘Half a shekel shall be the offering to Jehovah’ means that all forms of truth springing from good are the Lord’s alone. This is clear from the meaning of ‘half a shekel’ as all forms of truth springing from good, dealt with above in 10221; and from the meaning of ‘an offering to Jehovah’ as that which is the Lord’s alone, dealt with in 10093.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @14 S0′ 10224. ‘Everyone passing over to those who have been numbered’ means that all truths and forms of good are to be attributed to the Lord alone. This is clear from what has been shown above in 10220.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @14 S0′ 10225. ‘From a son of twenty years and over’ means the state in which the understanding of truth and good exists. This is clear from the meaning of the word ‘twenty’, when it refers to a person’s age, as the state in which the understanding of truth and good exists. The reason why ‘twenty’ means the state in which the understanding of truth and good exists is that when a person attains twenty years he starts to think for himself. For from earliest childhood to extreme old age a person passes inwardly through a number of states, which are those of understanding (or intelligence) and wisdom. The first state lasts from birth to the person’s fifth year. It is a state of ignorance and of innocence within ignorance; and it is called early childhood. The second state lasts from the fifth to the twentieth year. This is a state in which instruction is received and knowledge is acquired; and it is called later childhood. The third state lasts from the twentieth to the sixtieth year, which is a state in which understanding exists; and it is called adulthood, maturity, or full manhood. The fourth or last state lasts from the sixtieth year onwards, which is a state of wisdom and of innocence within wisdom. sRef Lev@27 @4 S2′ sRef Lev@27 @5 S2′ sRef Lev@27 @6 S2′ sRef Lev@27 @2 S2′ sRef Lev@27 @7 S2′ sRef Lev@27 @3 S2′ [2] These consecutive states of a person’s life are meant in Moses by the numbers five, twenty, and sixty, used in Moses to describe the following age-groups,

When anyone makes a particular vow, the valuation for a male from a son of twenty years to a son of sixty years shall be fifty shekels of silver; if it is a female the valuation shall be thirty shekels. But from a son of five years to a son of twenty years the valuation shall be, if a male, twenty shekels; if a female, ten shekels. But from the son of a month to a son of five years the valuation of a male shall be five shekels, of a female three shekels. But from a son of sixty years onwards the valuation [of a male] shall be fifteen shekels, of a female ten shekels. Lev. 27:2-7.

[3] The fact that the first state is a state of ignorance and also of innocence within ignorance is self-evident. While this state exists the inner levels of the mind are being put into shape for the use they will serve, and consequently are not yet opened up. Only the most external levels, those of the senses, are open; and when these alone are open ignorance exists. For a person’s understanding and perception of anything at all springs from those inner levels. From this it also becomes clear that the innocence which exists at this time and is called the innocence of young childhood is of a most external nature.

[4] The fact that the second state is one in which instruction is received and knowledge is acquired is also self-evident. This is not yet a state in which understanding exists because the young person does not arrive at any conclusion by himself; neither by himself does he draw any distinction between one truth and another, nor even between truth and falsity, only with the help of others. His thought and speech consist purely of matters contained in his memory, thus solely of acquired knowledge; nor does he see or perceive whether something is true unless he takes it on trust from his teacher, consequently because another says it is.

[5] The third state however is called a state in which understanding exists because the person now thinks for himself, drawing distinctions and arriving at conclusions; and the conclusions are his, not another’s. At this time belief begins; for belief is not a person’s own until he has confirmed what he believes with ideas that are the product of his own thinking. Till then the belief is not his but another’s within him; for till then he trusts in the person, not in the matter of belief. From this it becomes clear that the state in which understanding exists begins with a person when not his teacher’s but his own ideas constitute what he thinks, which does not happen until inner levels of the mind are opened towards heaven. It should be remembered that the outer levels of the human mind exist in the world and the inner ones in heaven, and that the amount of light flowing from heaven into ideas derived from the world determines how much understanding and wisdom a person has. This comes about according to how far and in what kind of way the inner levels have been opened; and how far they are open depends on how far the person leads a life looking to heaven and not to the world.

[6] The last state however is one of wisdom and of innocence within wisdom, which exists when a person is no longer concerned just to gain an understanding of truths and forms of good, but is concerned to make them part of his will and life; for then the person has wisdom. And how far that person is able to make them part of his will and life depends on how much innocence he has, that is, on how far he believes that left to himself he has no wisdom at all, but that whatever wisdom he has is derived from the Lord, and also on how far he loves this to be so. So it is that this state is also one of innocence within wisdom.

[7] From the way in which these states follow one another the person possessing wisdom can also see the marvels of Divine Providence, namely these: An earlier state serves as the basis for those following on continuously; and, The opening up or unclosing of inner levels advances in consecutive stages from the outermost right through to the inmost ones, till at length they have been so opened up that what existed initially on outermost levels – that is to say, ignorance and innocence – also exists finally on inmost levels. For anyone who knows that by himself he is ignorant of everything and that whatever he knows is derived from the Lord has the ignorance of wisdom and also the innocence of wisdom within him. All this now makes clear what the state of understanding is, meant by ‘twenty’ when this number is used in reference to a person’s age.

sRef Num@1 @18 S8′ sRef Num@1 @3 S8′ sRef Num@1 @2 S8′ [8] This number is used with a similar meaning elsewhere in the Word, for example in Moses,

Take the sum of all the congregation, from a son of twenty years and over – every [male] going into the army in Israel. Num. 1:2, 3, 18ff.

This refers to the encampment and journeying of the children of Israel according to their tribes, which too means the arrangement in order by the Lord of the truths and forms of the good of faith and love, this arrangement in order being meant by the encampment of them, 4236, 8103 (end), 8130, 8131, 8155, and the forms of good and the truths of faith in their entirety by their tribes, 3858, 3926, 3939, 4060, 6335, 6337, 6397. Consequently ‘a son of twenty years and over’ is used to mean those who are in the state when understanding exists, because in their case truths and forms of the good of faith and love are able to be arranged and set in order by the Lord. For the Lord flows into their understanding and will, where He arranges and sets those things in order, and also removes and casts aside falsities and evils. This explains why it says ‘from a son of twenty years and over, every [male] going into the army; for ‘the army’ means truths drawn up in order, in such a way that they may have no fear of falsities and evils, but may drive them back if they attack. The fact that such truths are meant in the internal sense by ‘the army’, see 3448, 7236, 7988, 8019.

[9] But in the case of those who are in the state of early childhood or that of later childhood, thus those who are under twenty years old, truths and forms of good are not so well arranged that they can go into the army and perform military service. They cannot do so because, as has been stated above, they do not as yet draw distinctions or arrive at conclusions by themselves, and cannot therefore as yet use reason to banish any falsity or evil at all; and those who cannot do this are not sent into battle, either. This is why a person is not allowed to undergo temptations, which are spiritual conflicts against falsities and evils, until he has entered the state in which understanding exists, that is, when he can judge things for himself, 3928, 4248, 4249, 8963.

sRef Num@26 @2 S10′ [10] Twenty years of age and over is used with the same meaning elsewhere in Moses,

Jehovah said to Moses and Eleazar, Take the sum of the whole assembly of the children of Israel from a son of twenty years and over – everyone going into military service in Israel. Num. 26:1, 2.

In the spiritual sense ‘going into military service’ means going into battles against falsities and evils which come from hell.

sRef Num@14 @29 S11′ sRef Num@32 @11 S11′ sRef Num@32 @10 S11′ [11] Anyone who does not know that ‘a son of twenty years and over’ means the state in which understanding exists, or those who are in that state, cannot know either why it was declared, when the people grumbled against Jehovah, that all who came up from Egypt, from a son of twenty years and over, would die in the wilderness, Num. 14:29; 32:10, 11. For those who are in the state of understanding, in which they are able to draw distinctions, arrive at conclusions, and make judgements for themselves, are guilty of the wrong they do, but not so those who are not as yet in that state. From this also it is evident that ‘twenty years’, used in reference to an age, means the state in which understanding or judgement exists. But the number ‘twenty’ has a different meaning when used in reference to any other subject, see above in 10222.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @14 S0′ 10226. ‘Shall give the offering of Jehovah’ means attribution to the Lord alone. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the offering of Jehovah’ as that which is the Lord’s alone, dealt with in 10093*. It is all truths and forms of the good of faith and love, and the arranging and setting of them in order, as is evident from what has gone before, that belong to Him alone.
* The Hebrew word rendered offering at this point has been rendered heave offering in Chapter 29.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @15 S0′ sRef Ezek@27 @12 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @22 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @13 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @2 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @1 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @21 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @17 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @16 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @18 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @9 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @11 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @14 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @15 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @10 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @5 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @20 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @3 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @4 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @7 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @8 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @19 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @6 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @32 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @23 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @26 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @35 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @33 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @24 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @34 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @31 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @25 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @36 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @27 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @28 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @29 S1′ sRef Ezek@27 @30 S1′ 10227. ‘The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel when they give [the offering] of Jehovah’ means that all equally, however much ability they possess, should attribute to the Lord all forms of truth springing from good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the rich’ as one who is affluent in truths and forms of good, and in cognitions or knowledge of them, dealt with below; from the meaning of ‘the poor’ as one who is not affluent in them, also dealt with below; from the meaning of ‘not giving more and not giving less’ as all equally; from the meaning of ‘half a shekel’ as all forms of truth springing from good, dealt with in 10221; and from the meaning of ‘giving to Jehovah’ as attributing to the Lord, for ‘Jehovah’ in the Word means the Lord, see the places referred to in 9373. From these meanings it is evident that ‘the rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel when they give [the offering] of Jehovah’ means that all equally, however much ability they possess, should attribute to the Lord all forms of truth springing from good.

[2] The implications of all this are that everyone possesses the ability to understand and be wise; but the reason why one person may be wiser than another is that they are not alike in attributing to the Lord all that constitutes understanding and wisdom, that is, all forms of truth and good. Those who attribute them all to the Lord are wiser than any others, because all forms of truth and good constituting wisdom flow in from heaven, that is, from the Lord there. The attribution of them all to the Lord opens the inner levels of a person’s mind towards heaven. For that attribution involves the acknowledgement that no truth or good at all come from self; and in the measure that this is acknowledged self-love departs, and along with it the thick darkness resulting from falsities and evils. In the same measure also the person attains innocence, love to the Lord, and faith in Him. As a result of this the person is linked to the Divine, who then flows in, bringing enlightenment. All this shows why it is that one person may have more wisdom, another less, and also why ‘the rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less’, meaning that all equally possess the ability to be wise. The ability to be wise, it is true, does not exist with all in equal measure; nevertheless all equally possess the ability, for each is able to be wise.

[3] The ability to be wise should not be taken to mean an ability to use knowledge to engage in reasoning about truths and forms of good, and so an ability to prove anything you like. Rather, it is an ability to observe what is true and good, to choose what is appropriate, and to apply this to functions performed in life. Those who attribute everything to the Lord are able to do these things, whereas those who do not attribute everything to Him but to themselves only know how to reason about truths and forms of good. Nor do they see anything apart from what they derive from others; and this they see not with the power of reason, only with the workings of the memory. Since they are incapable of looking around inside actual truths they stand out of doors, affirming whatever they receive, whether true or false. The more expertly people can use their knowledge to do this, the wiser than others the world believes them to be. But the more they attribute all things to themselves, thus the more they love the things they think as a result of their own efforts, the more insane they are; for they affirm falsities more than truths and evils more than forms of good. They receive light from no other source than the illusions and appearances which exist in the world, and therefore from their own inferior light, called natural illumination, separated from the light of heaven. And when that illumination has been separated, then so far as the truths and forms of good which belong to heaven are concerned there is thick and total darkness.

sRef Isa@30 @6 S4′ sRef Isa@10 @12 S4′ sRef Isa@30 @7 S4′ sRef Isa@10 @13 S4′ sRef Isa@10 @14 S4′ [4] The fact that riches and wealth mean matters of understanding (or intelligence) and wisdom, and therefore cognitions or knowledge of truth and good as well, which also are called spiritual wealth and riches, is clear from places in the Word where they are mentioned, as in Isaiah,

I will visit upon* the fruit of the pride of the king of Asshur, for the reason that he has said, By the power of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I have understanding. Therefore I will remove the boundaries of the peoples, and will plunder their treasures. My hand will find, like a nest, the wealth of the peoples. Isa. 10:12-14.

This refers in the internal sense to those who trust in their own intelligence and believe that true wisdom comes not from heaven but from themselves. ‘The king of Asshur’ means reasoning, at this point as a result of self-intelligence, 1186; and ‘plundering the treasures and the wealth of the peoples as a consequence’ means destroying those things that constitute the truths of intelligence and wisdom.

[5] In the same prophet,

A prophecy regarding the beasts of the south. They carry their wealth on the shoulders of asses, and their treasures on the backs of camels, to Egypt. Isa. 30:6, 7.

‘The beasts of the south’ are those who, though they are within the Church and so dwell in the light of truth from the Word, read the Word solely for the sake of possessing knowledge and not for the sake of rendering useful services in life. For ‘the south’ means where the light of truth is, thus where the Word exists, 3195, 3708, 5672, 9642; ‘an ass’ means knowledge, as does ‘a camel’, and ‘Egypt’ too. For this meaning of ‘an ass’, see 5492, 5741, 7024; ‘a camel’, 3048, 3071, 3143, 3145, 4156; and ‘Egypt’, the places referred to in 9391. The fact that these prophetic words must be understood in a spiritual sense becomes clear from the consideration that no one without that sense knows what is meant by ‘the beasts of the south’, by ‘carrying their wealth on the shoulders of asses, and their treasures on the backs of camels’, or by carrying them ‘to Egypt’.

sRef Isa@45 @3 S6′ [6] In the same prophet,

I will give you the treasures of darkness, and the secret wealth of concealed places, that you may know that it is I, Jehovah. Isa. 45:3.

‘The treasures of darkness, and the secret wealth of concealed places’ are such things as belong to heavenly intelligence and wisdom, which are hidden from the natural man.

sRef Jer@17 @1 S7′ sRef Jer@17 @3 S7′ [7] In Jeremiah,

The sin of Judah has been written with a pen of iron. O My mountain in the field, I will give for spoil your resources and all your treasures. Jer. 17:1, 3.

Judah is called ‘a mountain in the field’ because that which was representative of the celestial Church existed there, ‘mountain’ being the love which the celestial Church possesses, 6435, and ‘the field’ the Church itself, 2971, 3766, 7502, 9139, 9295. ‘The resources’ and ‘the treasures’ which would be given for spoil are all of the Church’s truths and forms of good that would be reduced to nothing.

sRef Jer@50 @37 S8′ sRef Jer@48 @7 S8′ sRef Jer@50 @38 S8′ [8] In the same prophet,

On account of your trust in your works and in your treasures, you also will be taken. Jer. 48:7.

‘Treasures’ here also stands for the matters of doctrine and the cognitions or knowledge that the Church possesses.

[9] In the same prophet,

O sword against its horses and against its chariots, and against the mixed crowd who are in its midst! O sword against its treasures, in order that they may be looted! A drought on its waters, in order that they may dry up! Jer. 50:36-38.

These words are directed against the Chaldeans, by whom one should understand people whose worship is external devoid of internal, thus people who claim with their lips to believe the truths of the Word but in their heart reject them. By ‘sword’ falsity engaged in conflict against truths is meant, 2799, 4499, 6353, 7102, 8294; by ‘horses’ the power of understanding, 2760-2762, 3217, 5321; and by ‘chariots’ matters of doctrine, 5321, 8215. By ‘treasures’ which would be looted are meant the Church’s truths and forms of good, which would be perverted and ruined through the application of them to the evils of self-love and love of the world; and by ‘a drought on the waters, in order that they may dry up!’ deprivation and destruction of the truths of faith, ‘water’ meaning the truth of faith, see 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 8568, 9323.

[10] Who can fail to see that the literal meaning is not the real meaning that these words possess? For is there anything holy, anything of the Church, anything of heaven, or any sense in the idea of a sword against horses, against chariots, against a mixed crowd, against treasures, or in the idea of a drought over waters, in order that they may dry up? From all this and from all else in the Word it may be seen plainly that a spiritual sense, different from the natural, lies within every detail and that without this sense the Word cannot be called holy, and that in very many places is not even intelligible.

sRef Jer@51 @13 S11′ [11] In the same prophet,

O Babel, you who dwell on many waters, great in treasures, … Jer. 51:13.

‘Babel’ means those who possess the Word and consequently all the Church’s truths and its forms of good, but who apply them to self-love and in so doing profane them, 1326. The same thing was also represented by the action of the king of Babel, who took all the vessels of the temple, which were made of gold and silver, drank from them, and at the same time praised the gods of gold and silver, Dan. 5:2-4ff. This explains why Babel is spoken of as ‘dwelling on many waters, great in treasures’, ‘waters’ meaning truths and in the contrary sense falsities, 2702, 3058, 4976, 8568, 9323. A further description occurs in the Book of Revelation, in which the riches of Babylon are listed in Chapter 18, where they are called its ‘merchandise’.

sRef Ezek@26 @12 S12′ sRef Ezek@26 @7 S12′ sRef Ezek@26 @11 S12′ [12] In Ezekiel,

I will bring against Tyre Nebuchadnezzar. By means of the hoofs of his horses he will trample all your streets. They will seize your wealth and despoil your merchandise. Ezek. 26:7, 11, 12.

‘Tyre’ is used to mean the Church in respect of cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth, 1201, ‘Nebuchadnezzar’ the king of Babel to mean that which is profane and lays waste, 1327(end), which happens when the truths and forms of good which the Word contains serve, through wrong application, as means to lend support to the evils of self-love and love of the world. For in these circumstances the evils of those loves exist inwardly, in the heart, while the holy things of the Church are on the lips. ‘The hoofs of his horses’ are the outermost levels of the natural, that is, levels of knowledge consisting solely of sensory impressions, 7729; ‘streets’ are the truths of faith, 2336; and ‘wealth’ and ‘merchandise’ are cognitions of goodness and truth.

sRef Ezek@28 @4 S13′ sRef Zech@9 @3 S13′ sRef Zech@9 @4 S13′ sRef Ezek@28 @5 S13′ [13] Since cognitions of goodness and truth are meant by ‘Tyre’, 1201, wherever Tyre is referred to in the Word various kinds of merchandise and riches are also referred to, as in the same prophet,

Tarshish was your trader through the vastness of all your wealth – in silver, iron, tin, and lead. Damascus was your trader because of the vastness of all your wealth. Through the vastness of your wealth and your trading you have enriched all the kings of the earth. Ezek. 27:1-end.

In the same prophet,

By your wisdom and by your intelligence you have gained wealth for yourself; [you have gained] gold and silver in your treasuries. By the vastness of your wisdom you have increased your wealth. Ezek. 28:4, 5.

This too refers to Tyre, from which it is plainly evident that ‘wealth and riches’ in the Word is used to mean spiritual wealth and riches, which are cognitions of goodness and truth, thus which are the means to wisdom.

aRef Ps@45 @12 S14′ [14] Also in Zechariah,

Tyre gathers silver like the dust, and gold like the mud of the streets. Behold, the Lord will make it poor and hurl** its wealth into the sea. Zech. 9:3, 4.

And in David,

The daughter of Tyre will offer you a gift, daughter of the king; the rich of the people will entreat your face. Ps. 45:12.

The Church in respect of the affection for truth is described here; and it is called ‘the daughter of the king’, for ‘the daughter’ means the Church in respect of affection, 2362, 3963, 6729, 9055(end), and ‘the king’ means truth, 1672, 2015, 2069, 3670, 4575, 4581, 4966, 6148. This is why it says that the daughter of Tyre will offer her a gift, and that the rich of the people will entreat her face, ‘the rich of the people’ meaning those who are affluent in truths and forms of good.

sRef Hos@12 @8 S15′ [15] In Hosea,

Ephraim said, Surely I have become rich, I have found wealth for myself. Hosea 12:8.

Nor are ‘I have become rich’ and ‘I have found wealth for myself’ used to mean an enrichment with worldly riches and wealth, but with heavenly ones; for ‘Ephraim’ is used to mean the Church’s power of understanding, which receives light when the Word is read, 5354, 6222, 6238, 6267.

sRef Rev@3 @18 S16′ sRef Rev@3 @17 S16′ [16] In John,

To the angel of the Church of the Laodiceans [write], Because you say, I am rich, and have become enriched, and have no need – when you do not know that you are wretched, and miserable, and needy, and blind, and naked – I counsel you to buy from Me gold purified in fire that you may be enriched, and white garments that you may put on. Rev. 3:14, 17, 18.

This refers to the Church which supposes that everything composing the Church consists in bare knowledge alone and which consequently considers itself superior to others, when in fact knowledge is no more than the means with which to correct and improve one’s life. Anyone therefore who possesses knowledge without a life led in accord with it is wretched, miserable, needy, blind, and naked. ‘Buying gold purified in fire’ means acquiring real good for oneself from the Lord, and buying ‘white garments’ means acquiring real truths springing from that good for oneself from the Lord.

‘Gold’ means the good of love, see the places referred to in 9874.
‘Garments’ means the truths of faith, 4545, 5248, 5319, 5954, 9212, 9216, 9814, 9952.

sRef Jer@17 @11 S17′ sRef Jer@17 @10 S17′ [17] In Jeremiah,

I Jehovah give to each according to his ways, according to the fruits of his works. As a partridge collects but does not lay, [so is he who] acquires riches but not by means that are just***. In the midst of his days he will leave them behind; at the end of his days he will become a fool. Jer. 17:10, 11.

This refers to those who acquire knowledge for themselves without any use for it in view other than to make themselves rich, that is, possessors of knowledge, when in fact life is what it is intended to serve. All this is meant by ‘gathering as a partridge and yet not laying’ and by ‘acquiring riches but not by means that are just’.

sRef Luke@14 @33 S18′ [18] In Luke,

Any one of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be My disciple. Luke 14:33.

Anyone who does not know that ‘possessions’ in the internal sense are spiritual riches and wealth, which consist of cognitions or knowledge derived from the Word, cannot possibly have any other idea than that if he is to be saved he will have to strip himself of all his wealth. But that is not the meaning of those words; ‘possessions’ there is used to mean everything that is the product of self-intelligence. For no one can be wise by virtue of what is his own, only by virtue of what is the Lord’s. Therefore ‘renouncing all one’s possessions’ means attributing no intelligence or wisdom at all to oneself; and whoever fails to do this cannot be taught by the Lord, that is, be His disciple.

sRef Luke@12 @33 S19′ sRef Luke@12 @34 S19′ sRef Matt@6 @19 S19′ sRef Matt@13 @44 S19′ sRef Matt@6 @21 S19′ sRef Matt@6 @20 S19′ [19] Since possessions, riches, wealth, silver, and gold mean the things that constitute intelligence and wisdom, the Lord also compares the kingdom of heaven to treasure hidden in a field, Matt. 13:44; and He says that people should provide themselves treasure that does not fail in heaven; for where the treasure is, there the heart is, Matt. 6:19-21; Luke 12:33, 34.

[20] Those who do not know that by ‘the rich’ they should understand people who possess cognitions or knowledge of truth and good, thus people who have the Word, and that by ‘the poor’ they should understand people who do not possess them but nevertheless desire them, cannot have any other idea than that in Luke 16 one who was rich and another who was poor in the ordinary sense of those words are meant by the rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and the poor one who was laid at his porch. But in that parable ‘the rich man’ is used to mean the Jewish nation, who had the Word, the ‘purple’ in which he was clothed meaning real good, 9467, and ‘fine linen’ real truth, 5319, 9469, 9596, 9744. And ‘the poor man’ laid at the porch is used to mean those who are outside the Church and do not have the Word but who nevertheless desire the truths and the good things of heaven and the Church.

sRef Luke@1 @53 S21′ [21] From all this too it is evident that those who have the Word, consequently Divine Truths, should be understood by ‘the rich’, as also in Mary’s**** prophecy in Luke,

God has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. Luke 1:53.

‘The hungry’ are those who elsewhere are called ‘the poor’, thus those who have no bread and water and so are wanting food and drink, that is, those who have no knowledge of goodness and truth and yet desire them. By ‘bread and water’ in the Word goodness and truth are meant, 9323; and by ‘hungering and thirsting’, thus by ‘wanting food and drink’, the desire for them is meant.

sRef Isa@41 @17 S22′ sRef Luke@6 @21 S22′ sRef Matt@11 @5 S22′ sRef Zeph@3 @13 S22′ sRef Isa@41 @18 S22′ sRef Luke@6 @20 S22′ sRef Zeph@3 @12 S22′ sRef Isa@29 @19 S22′ sRef Luke@14 @21 S22′ sRef Luke@7 @22 S22′ sRef Isa@14 @30 S22′ [22] Such people are also meant elsewhere by ‘the poor’, as in Luke,

Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven*****. Blessed are you who are hungry, for you will be satisfied. Luke 6:20, 21.

In the same gospel,

The householder told his servant to go out into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind. Luke 14:21.

In the same gospel,

To the poor the gospel will be preached. Luke 7:22.

In Matthew,

The poor hear the gospel. Matt. 11:5.

In Isaiah,

Then the firstborn of the poor will feed, and the needy will lie down with confidence. Isa. 14:30.

In the same prophet,

The needy of men (homo) will exult in the Holy One of Israel. Isa. 29:19.

In Zephaniah,

I will leave in your midst a wretched and poor people, who will hope in the name of Jehovah. They will feed and rest, with none making them afraid. Zeph. 3:12, 13.

And in Isaiah,

The poor and the needy are seeking water, but there is none; their tongue is parched with thirst. I, Jehovah, will hearken to them. I will open streams on the sloping heights, and I will place springs in the midst of valleys. Isa. 41:17, 18.

[23] ‘The poor and the needy seeking water’ are those who desire cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth, ‘water’ meaning truth. This desire is described by the statement that their tongue is parched with thirst, and the abundance which they are going to have by the promise that streams will be opened on sloping heights, and springs in the midst of valleys. From all this it is again evident that heavenly realities, which belong to the truth of faith and the good of love, are meant by earthly objects, that is, by the waters, streams on sloping heights, and springs in valleys; that these objects compose the literal sense of the Word, whereas those realities compose the spiritual sense; and that the Word is Divine by virtue of the spiritual sense, and not so without it.

[24] Another reason why wealth and riches mean such things as constitute intelligence (or understanding) and wisdom lies in correspondence. Among angels in heaven everything looks as though it is gleaming with gold, silver, and precious stones; and this is owing to the intelligent understanding of truth and wise discernment of good they possess. For the inner abilities which angels possess present themselves in this visual manner through objects that correspond to these abilities. Among spirits too who are below the heavens riches make their appearance in accordance with the state of reception of truth and good from the Lord.
* i.e. I will punish
** lit. strike
*** lit. make riches but not with judgement
**** The Latin has Elisabeth’s.
***** The words in the second part of this sentence come from the parallel passage in Matthew 5:3.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @15 S0′ 10228. ‘To make expiation for your souls’ means in order that evils may be removed. This is clear from the meaning of ‘expiation being made for their souls’ as being purified or delivered from evils by means of the truth of faith, dealt with above in 10218; and since purification or deliverance from evils is nothing other than the removal of them, this too is meant by the same words.

A person is not delivered from evils and consequently purified, but is withheld from them when he is maintained in good by the Lord; and in this way evils are removed, see the places referred to in 10057(end).

sRef Ex@30 @16 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10229. ‘And you shall take the silver of expiations from the children of Israel’ means the purifying truths springing from good that are the Church’s. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the silver’ as truth springing from good, dealt with in 1551, 2954, 5658, 6112, 6914, 6917, 8932; from the meaning of ‘expiations’ as purification from evils, dealt with above in 10218, so that ‘the silver of expiations’ is truth that purifies; and from the representation of ‘the children of Israel’ as the Church, dealt with in the places referred to in 9340. The words ‘truth that purifies’ are used because all purification from evils is effected by means of truths, see 2799, 5954, 7044, 7918, 9089. The implications of all this are that by himself a person thinks nothing but evil; for by himself he does not think about God nor about good and just behaviour towards his neighbour, unless it is to his own advantage. Nor indeed does he think about heaven and eternal life, only about the world and life there. As long as this is a person’s state of mind his thought springs from what is below him and not from what is above him, thus from hell and not from heaven. To think what is good therefore a person’s thought must spring from heaven, so that his mind must be raised in that direction. This is accomplished solely by means of truths such as exist within the Church, derived from the Word; for those truths teach about the nature of God, who the neighbour is, the existence of heaven, the reality of eternal life, and in particular what evil and good are. When these truths pass into the mind its inner levels are raised above the self, and are accordingly drawn away from those things below the self, thus away from evils. From this it may be recognized that all purification or removal from evils is effected by means of truths, which are therefore called purifying truths.

sRef Ex@30 @16 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10230. ‘And give it to the work of the tent of meeting’ means being joined to heaven through the acknowledgement that truths and forms of good come from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the work of the tent of meeting’ as that which produces and forms heaven; for ‘the work’ is that which produces and forms, and ‘the tent of meeting’ is heaven where the Lord is. For the meaning of ‘the tent of meeting’ as heaven where the Lord is, see 9457, 9481, 9485, 9784, 9963. Therefore also that which joins a person to heaven is meant, for that which produces and forms heaven within a person also joins that person to heaven. The reason why being joined to heaven through the acknowledgement that all truths and forms of good come from the Lord is meant is that what was given to the work of the tent of meeting was half a shekel, which is called ‘the silver of expiations’ on account of the numbering of the people, and ‘giving half a shekel’ means the attribution to the Lord of all that constitutes faith and love, 10220, 10221, while ‘the numbering’ means the arrangement in order by Him, 10218.

sRef Ex@30 @16 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10231. ‘And to the children of Israel it shall be as a remembrance before Jehovah’ means thus the preservation of the Church and of all things the Church has by the Lord. This is clear from the representation of ‘the children of Israel’ as the Church, dealt with in the places referred to in 9340; from the meaning of ‘a remembrance’, when done by Jehovah, as preservation, dealt with in 9849; and from the meaning of ‘before Jehovah’ as by or from the Lord, dealt with in 10146.

sRef Ex@30 @16 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10232. ‘To make expiation for your souls’ means since evils have thereby been removed. This is clear from the meaning of ‘making expiation for their souls’ as removing evils by means of truths, dealt with above in 10228. The reason why the expression ‘making expiation for your souls’ here means since evils have thereby been removed, and not in order that evils may be removed, is that such removal follows those things meant in the words that come before it. For the internal sense has no regard to the meaning of words as they hang together in the letter, only as they hang together on its own level of meaning, which is that the preservation of the Church and of all things the Church has is done by the Lord, since evils have been removed. When the Church as it exists with the person is preserved it is because evils are not a hindrance; for the Lord flows in unceasingly and constantly with His mercy, making provision for the truths and forms of good which are the Church’s not only to be preserved with the person but even to multiply and grow. As long as evils reign however, the Church’s truths and forms of good flowing in from the Lord are either rejected, stifled, or perverted by the person; but once the evils have been removed they are accepted and acknowledged.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10233. Verses 17-21 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, And you shall make a laver of bronze, and its pedestal from bronze, for washing; and you shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. And Aaron and his sons shall wash in it* their hands and their feet. When they go into the tent of meeting they shall wash with water, that they may not die, or when they approach the altar to minister, to burn a fire offering to Jehovah. And they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they may not die; and it shall be the statute of an age** to them – for him and his seed [throughout] their generations.

‘And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying’ means perception as a result of enlightenment from the Lord through the Word. ‘And you shall make a laver of bronze’ means the good within the natural degree in a person, in which purification takes place. ‘And its pedestal from bronze’ means good on the last level of the natural, which is that of the senses. ‘For washing’ means purification from evils and falsities. ‘And you shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar’ means in order that truth and good may be joined together. ‘And put water in it’ means the truths of faith by means of which purification in the natural is accomplished. ‘And Aaron and his sons shall wash in it’ means a representative sign of the purification and regeneration of a person by the Lord. ‘Their hands and their feet’ means the person’s interiors and exteriors. ‘When they go into the tent of meeting’ means worship springing from the good of faith. ‘They shall wash with water’ means purification effected by means of the truths of faith. ‘That they may not die’ means so that what is representative may not be lost. ‘Or when they approach the altar to minister, to burn a fire offering to Jehovah’ means worship springing from the good of love. ‘And they shall wash their hands and their feet’ means purification of the person’s interiors and exteriors. ‘That they may not die’ means so that what is representative may not be lost. ‘And it shall be the statute of an age to them’ means an eternal law of order. ‘For him and his seed [throughout] their generations’ means all who receive the things which emanate from the Lord, thus who are being regenerated by Him.
* lit. from it i.e. the laver
** i.e. a perpetual statute

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @17 S0′ 10234. ‘And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying’ means perception as a result of enlightenment from the Lord through the Word. This is clear from the meaning of ‘Jehovah speaking to Moses’ as enlightenment from the Lord through the Word, dealt with in 10215; and from the meaning of ‘saying’ as perception, dealt with in 2862, 3509, 5743, 8660. It should be remembered that when some new matter, distinct from what has gone before, is to be presented the words Jehovah spoke to Moses are used, as at verses 11, 17, 22, 34 of the present chapter, and also elsewhere. The new matter that is being presented now has regard to purification from evils and falsities.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @18 S0′ 10235. ‘And you shall make a laver of bronze’ means the good within the natural degree in a person, in which purification takes place. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the laver’, in which there is water for washing, as the natural degree within a person, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘bronze’ as its good, dealt with in 425, 1551. Washing is the subject in the verses that come now. They state that Aaron and his sons were to wash their hands and their feet whenever they entered the tent of meeting or approached the altar to minister; and elsewhere it is stated that those who became unclean should wash themselves and their garments, and that if they did so they would be clean. From all this it may be recognized that washing represented purification from evils, so that the washing of body and garments represented the purification of heart and mind. Everyone who is at all enlightened in his thinking may see that washing does not purge away evils in the heart and mind, only dirt on the body and clothes, and that after this has been purged away the evils still remain; also that evils could not ever be washed away by means of water, only through repentance.

sRef Matt@23 @27 S2′ sRef Matt@23 @26 S2′ sRef Matt@23 @25 S2′ [2] All this shows yet again that what had been established among the Israelite nation consisted of external forms which represented internal realities, and that the internal realities were the real holy things of the Church among them, not the external forms without those realities. But that nation nevertheless thought that holiness lay entirely in the external forms and not at all in internal realities, as is clear from the Lord’s words in Matthew,

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You cleanse the exterior of the cup and the plate, but the interiors are full of pillage and lack of restraint. Blind Pharisee! Cleanse first the internal of the cup and the plate, in order that the external may be made clean also. You make yourselves like white-washed sepulchres, which outwardly do indeed appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and of all uncleanness. Matt. 23:25-27.

See also Mark 7:2-8 and Luke 11:39.

[3] The reason why ‘the laver’ means the natural degree is that ‘washing’ in the laver means purification from evils, and purification from evils takes place in the natural degree. Furthermore vessels in general mean those things that belong to the natural man, 3068, 3079, 9394, since the natural is a recipient of spiritual realities belonging to the internal man. By the natural degree the external part of a person should be understood, that is, the part that is called the external man. The idea that ‘the laver’ means the natural degree within a person may seem to be far-fetched, but it should be remembered that purification from evils is the subject at this point in the internal sense; and that which undergoes purification is a person. From this it follows that some part of a person is meant by that object in which washing – meaning purification – took place. That part is the natural degree, because this is where purification takes place, as has been stated. Furthermore all the objects which had been made among the Israelite and Jewish nation for the sake of worship were signs of those things that belong to heaven and the Church and therefore of such things as exist within a person; for unless they had been signs of something that exists within a person they would not have represented anything at all.

sRef Luke@7 @44 S4′ sRef Luke@7 @46 S4′ sRef Luke@7 @47 S4′ sRef Luke@7 @45 S4′ sRef Luke@7 @43 S4′ sRef Luke@7 @42 S4′ sRef Luke@7 @41 S4′ sRef Luke@7 @48 S4′ sRef Luke@7 @49 S4′ sRef Luke@7 @50 S4′ [4] ‘The laver’ means the natural degree within a person, ‘the water’ in the laver means the truths of faith, and ‘washing’ purification from evils. From this it may be seen what the bronze sea next to the temple meant, and also what the twelve oxen which were carrying it meant. In like manner it may be seen what the other ten lavers, also placed next to the temple, meant; what the engraved lions, oxen, and cherubs there* meant; and also what the chariot-like wheels underneath them meant. What all these were signs of is evident once it is known what the laver, water, and washing mean, and once it is known what the purification from evils that takes place with a person entails. For all these things without exception were representative of celestial and spiritual realities.

sRef 1Ki@7 @23 S5′ sRef 1Ki@7 @24 S5′ sRef 1Ki@7 @26 S5′ sRef 1Ki@7 @39 S5′ sRef 1Ki@7 @25 S5′ [5] The bronze sea made by Solomon and placed next to the temple is described as follows,

He made the sea [of] cast [bronze], ten cubits from brim to brim, completely round**; five cubits was its height; and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference***. Below the brim were gourds going round, ten to a cubit****, all the way around the sea*****. It was standing on twelve oxen, three looking north, and three looking west, and three looking south, and three looking east; but the sea was upon them above, and all their hinder parts were inwards. Its thickness was a hand’s breadth; its brim was shaped like****** the brim of a cup, [like] the flower of a lily. It contained two thousand baths*******. And the sea was placed on the right side******** of the house towards the southeast*********. 1 Kings 7:23-26, 39.

[6] This vessel or laver is called a sea because a sea means factual knowledge in general, and all factual knowledge belongs to the natural man.

‘A sea’ means factual knowledge in general, see 28, 2850, 8184.
Factual knowledge belongs to the natural man, 1486, 3019, 3020, 3309, 3310, 5373, 6004, 6023, 6071, 6077, 9918.

The reason why this laver was shaped like the rim of a cup was that ‘a cup’ too means factual knowledge present in the natural man, on the level of the senses, 9557, 9996. ‘Twelve oxen’ served to mean all forms of good in their entirety present in the natural man, on the level of the senses, because they existed there in place of a pedestal, and ‘a pedestal’ means that which is last and lowest and provides support – ‘twelve’ meaning all things in their entirety, see 3272, 3858, 3913, and ‘ox’ the good of the natural man, 2781, 9135.

[7] The reason why the oxen looked towards all four quarters of the world was that the good present in the natural man is the receptacle of all things that flow in from the world, both those connected with good and those connected with truth. A diameter of ten cubits meant that which is complete, 3107, and a circumference of thirty cubits meant completeness all round, 9082. ‘Two thousand baths’ meant goodness and truth joined together, thus purification and regeneration; for regeneration is nothing other than the joining together of goodness and truth. Two thousand has the same meaning as two, for compound numbers are similar in meaning to the simple ones of which they the product, 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973, ‘two’ meaning a joining together, see 5194, 8423. The placement of the bronze sea on the right side towards the southeast meant that it was directed towards the Lord, for the Lord is the East, 101, 9668; the house or temple is heaven and the Church, where the Lord is, 3720. From all this it now becomes clear what ‘the bronze sea’ meant, and consequently what ‘the laver’ means, namely the natural degree within a person, in which purification takes place.
* i.e. on the sides of the carts carrying the lavers
** lit. round, around about
*** lit. went round it, around about
**** The Latin means literally of ten cubits, as does the Hebrew; but how to understand this is uncertain. Some suggest that the Hebrew implies ten to a cubit, others for ten cubits, while others again think that the words are an intrusion from verse 23 and should therefore be ignored.
***** lit. going round the sea, around about
****** lit. its brim was according to the work of
******* A bath was a liquid measure of approximately 22 litres or 5 gallons.
******** lit. shoulder
********* lit. towards the east over against the south

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @18 S0′ 10236. ‘And its pedestal from bronze’ means good on the last level of the natural, which is that of the senses. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the pedestal’ of the laver, containing the water for washing, as the last level of the natural degree, which is called the level of the senses; and from the meaning of ‘bronze’ as good, dealt with above in 10235. The reason why ‘the pedestal’ means the last level of the natural, which is called the external level of the senses, is that ‘the laver’ which is above means the natural degree, in which purification takes place, and therefore that which is below means that which occupies the lowest, that is, the last place, which is the external level of the senses within a person. The natural degree within a person has an external level, a middle level, and an internal level. The external level of the natural degree is that which comes in contact with the world and is called the external level of the senses; the internal level of the natural degree is that which comes in contact with the internal man residing in heaven; and the middle level of the natural degree links the two together, for where an external and an internal exist there must be a middle linking them together. The human mind has a natural degree containing external, middle, and internal levels, see 4009, 4570, 5118, 5126, 5649, 9215.

[2] Strictly speaking, the level of the senses forming the last and lowest of the natural degree should be taken to mean that which is called the flesh and perishes when a person dies, thus that which has enabled the person to function in the world, namely the senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. It may be recognized that the senses exist on the ground-level so to speak of a person’s life, forming the terminus and base on which it rests; for they open out directly onto the world, and through them the world comes in and heaven goes out. These senses the human being shares with animals. But an external aspect of the senses which the human being does not share so much with them, though still an external aspect of the senses, is the deposit in the human memory of impressions received from the world, consisting solely of worldly, bodily, earthly images. The person whose thought and reasoning are based on these alone and not on more internal ideas is called a sensory-minded person. This level of the senses remains with a person after death, though it becomes dormant. It is the external level of the senses that is meant, strictly speaking, by ‘the pedestal’.

sRef 1Ki@7 @27 S3′ sRef 1Ki@7 @31 S3′ sRef 1Ki@7 @30 S3′ sRef 1Ki@7 @29 S3′ sRef 1Ki@7 @28 S3′ sRef 1Ki@7 @33 S3′ sRef 1Ki@7 @32 S3′ sRef 1Ki@7 @34 S3′ sRef 1Ki@7 @39 S3′ sRef 1Ki@7 @38 S3′ sRef 1Ki@7 @37 S3′ sRef 1Ki@7 @36 S3′ sRef 1Ki@7 @35 S3′ [3] The nature of this level of the senses was represented by the pedestals of the ten lavers which were placed next to the temple. These pedestals are described as follows,

Solomon made ten pedestals from bronze. Four cubits was the length of each pedestal, and four cubits the breadth; three cubits was the height. On the panels* which were between the frames there were lions, oxen, and cherubs, and on the frames in like manner above. In addition each pedestal had four wheels, and boards of bronze**; but its four corners had shoulders***. Under a laver there were shoulders*** of cast [bronze]. The workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of a chariot wheel; their axles****, and their rims*****, and their tires, and their spokes were all of cast [bronze]. After this manner he made the ten pedestals. They were all of one casting, one measure, one symmetry. Therefore he made ten lavers from bronze; each laver contained forty baths, four cubits was each laver. 1 Kings 7:27-39.

[4] Here representative objects serve to describe the nature of the external level of the senses in a person, and in particular protection provided by the Lord to prevent a person from entering from the sensory level of his mind, thus from the world, into things of heaven or the Church. To do so is contrary to Divine order. For the world cannot enter into heaven, but heaven can into the world, which happens when the Lord coming by way of heaven flows into a person by means of the Word and resides in him, and so enlightens, teaches, and leads him. The fact that entering from the world into the things of heaven is contrary to Divine order may be recognized from the consideration that those who enter into them from the sensory level of their mind, thus who do so from factual knowledge derived from the world, have no belief at all. [5] Protection against this is meant by ‘lions, oxen, and cherubs’. By ‘lions’ protection to prevent truths from entering is meant, for lions are truths in their power, 6367, 6369, and by ‘oxen’ protection to prevent forms of good from entering, for oxen are forms of good in their power, 2781. By ‘cherubs’ the Lord’s protection against such an occurrence is meant, see 308, 9509; and by ‘the shoulders’ of which also mention is made power and resistance are meant, see 1085, 4931-4937, 9836. By ‘the chariot-like wheels’ the ability to be made wise when everything enters from heaven is meant, for in this way everything moves on according to order, ‘chariot wheels’ being the ability to move on, thus to learn, 8215, 9872, and chariots being doctrinal teachings which heaven and the Church possess, 5321, 8215.

[6] What a sensory-minded person is must again be stated briefly. A person is called sensory-minded whose thought is based solely on such ideas in the memory as are derived from the world and whose mind cannot be raised to more internal levels. Such is the situation with those in particular who have no belief at all in heaven or in the Deity because they do not see them; for they trust solely in the senses, and what they do not perceive through these is not thought by them to have any existence. Such people come near to having a mind no different from that of animals, which too are led solely by their external senses. They are still wily and clever in action and reasoning, but they do not see truth in its own light. In former times such people were referred to as serpents of the tree of knowledge. Most of the hellish crew are of that sort. But what a sensory-minded person is and what the sensory level of the mind is, see the places referred to in 9331(end), and also 9726, 9730, 9731, 9922(end), 9996; and what it is to be raised above or drawn away from the level of the senses, the places referred to in 9922(end).

[7] Good on the level of the senses, meant by ‘a pedestal made from bronze’, is an expression which denotes the pleasure and delight that influence thought and imagination based solely on such things as are earthly, bodily, and worldly. It is distinguishable from other kinds of delight by the fact that it sees no other purposes to be served apart from those indulging the self or benefiting the self. For the sensory-minded person is steeped in self-love and love of the world, and the delights that are his go with those loves. And since the loves of a sensory-minded person are such as these, it is evident that he is cleverer than others in reasoning and in doing things for the sake of gain and position. For his body is burning with the fire of that love, and that fire produces a light that is called natural illumination. And when this light flares into brightness the light of heaven which belongs to the interior man is altogether blotted out. So it is that because the things belonging to the light of heaven are in thick darkness they are said not to exist. It is different in the case of those whose actions are burning with the fire of heaven and whose thoughts are lit by the light from it. All this shows what should be understood by good on the level of the senses, meant by the pedestal of the laver made from bronze.
* lit. enclosing pieces
** The rare Hebrew word here is usually taken to mean axles.
*** i.e. supports
**** lit. hands
***** lit. backs

sRef Ex@30 @18 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10237. ‘For washing’ means purification from evils and falsities. This is clear from the meaning of ‘washing’ as purification from evils and falsities, dealt with in 3147, 5954. Since purification from evils and falsities by means of the truths of faith is the subject in the internal sense of the verses that now follow, what the situation is with purification must be stated briefly. By ‘washing’ purification is meant, by ‘water’ the truths of faith are meant, and by ‘the laver’ containing the water the natural is meant; for all spiritual purification is accomplished within the natural. A person possesses an external and an internal; the external is called the natural and also the natural man, while the internal is called the spiritual and also the spiritual man. They are so called because the person’s internal exists in the spiritual world, where spirits and angels are, while his external exists in the natural world, where people are. Both of them, the internal and the external, undergo purification; the internal does so in heaven, and the external in the world while the person is living there, thus within the natural which exists in the world. [2] The reason why purification takes place within the natural at this time is that the truths of faith within the natural are clearly perceptible; for they exist there among known facts or things in the memory which are perceived clearly when they are brought to mind. It is different however with things that are thought about in the internal man. These do not come to be seen plainly while a person is in the world, because the ideas there are spiritual. This explains why purification is accomplished within the natural. The fact that it is accomplished by means of the truths of faith becomes clear from the consideration that those undergoing purification should not merely know what evil and falsity are but also acknowledge them to be such, and then turn away and flee from them. When this is done the person starts to be purified from them. Evils and falsities cannot be so known or acknowledged except within the natural through the truths of faith, for these teach what they are and so make them plain. The person who believes that he is purified from evils and falsities before seeing and acknowledging those present in himself is very much mistaken, see 8388, 8390ff.

[3] The reason for saying that a person may know his own evils and falsities through the truths of faith within the natural, that is, in the external man, but not in the internal, is that the ideas belonging to thought in the internal man are spiritual, and spiritual ideas cannot be grasped within the natural. This is because they are ideas in the understanding which are unconnected with objects such as exist in the material world. Nevertheless these ideas, that is to say, spiritual ones, which belong properly to the internal man, flow into natural ideas, which belong to the external man; they produce and fashion those natural ideas, doing so by means of correspondences. But more about spiritual ideas belonging to the internal man will in the Lord’s Divine mercy be told in a description of heaven and of spirits and angels;* for they use spiritual ideas for thinking and also for talking to one another.
* This proposal was not fulfilled, but presumably the material mentioned here concerning the heavens appeared in the work published a few years later, in 1758, whose English title is Heaven and Hell.

10237a. ‘And you shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar’ means in order that truth and good may be joined together. This is clear from the meaning of ‘between the tent of meeting and the altar’ as the joining together of truth and good, dealt with in 10001, 10025. The reason why the laver was to be placed between the tent of meeting and the altar, and why Aaron and his sons were to wash their hands and feet there, was in order that purification of the heart and regeneration, which essentially is the joining together of truth and good, might be represented. For truth and good joined together constitute heaven itself with a person. This also is why heaven is compared in the Word to a marriage. That joining together is accomplished by means of the truths of faith, because these teach people the way to lead their life; and therefore when they lead a life in accord with the truths of faith a joining together of truth and good is accomplished. For then truth is transformed into good through the life they lead. The life of truth is goodness. The same thing is meant by the reference to a person’s being regenerated by ‘water and the spirit’, ‘water’ being the truth of faith, and ‘the spirit’ its life.

Regeneration is the joining together of truth and good, see 2063, 3155, 3158, 3607, 4353, 5365, 5376, 8516, 8517, 8772, 10067.

sRef Ex@30 @18 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef John@3 @5 S1′ 10238. ‘And put water in it’ means the truths of faith by means of which purification in the natural is accomplished. This is clear from the meaning of ‘water’ as the truths of faith, dealt with in 28, 739, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 8568, 9323; and from the meaning of ‘the laver’ as the natural, dealt with above in 10235. Anyone who does not know that ‘water’ means the truths of faith will fail to grasp the meaning of very many statements in the Word, such as unless a person is born of water and the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God, John 3:5. Those who take water here to mean nothing other than water think that the water of baptism is the means by which a person is regenerated. But in fact the water does nothing towards regeneration, only the truth of faith and the good of love do so; for water washes away solely dirt that is on the body and by no means evils present in the heart.

sRef Isa@41 @18 S2′ sRef Isa@48 @21 S2′ sRef Isa@41 @17 S2′ [2] Anyone who does not know that ‘water’ means the truths of faith cannot know what baptism means, either. He thinks that the external act saves a person, when in fact the external act does not accomplish anything, only the inner reality meant by it, namely regeneration by means of the truths of faith. Baptism makes people belonging to the Church different from everyone else throughout the world, because unlike those outside the Church they are able to be regenerated by means of the truths of faith. For the Word, which contains the truths of faith, exists within the Church.

[3] Nor can anyone who does not know that ‘water’ means the truths of faith know what is meant in Gen. 1:6-10 by the waters above the expanse and the waters under the expanse. Truths of faith within the internal man are meant by ‘the waters above the expanse’, and truths of faith in the external by ‘the waters under the expanse’; for the subject in that chapter is the new creation, thus the regeneration, of members of the Most Ancient Church.

sRef John@4 @14 S4′ sRef John@4 @13 S4′ [4] Nor can anyone who does not know that ‘water’ means the truths of faith know what is meant by ‘water’ in John,

He who drinks of the water that I shall give will never thirst. But the water that I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up into eternal life. John 4:13, 14.

And in Isaiah,

The poor and the needy are seeking water, but there is none; their tongue is parched with thirst. I will open streams on the sloping heights, and I will place springs in the midst of valleys; I will make the wilderness into a pool of water, and the dry land into wellsprings of water. Isa. 41:17, 18.

And again in the same prophet,

They will not thirst. He will make water flow for them from the rock; and He will cleave the rock so that water flows out. Isa. 48:20, 21.

And in very many other places. But see what has been stated and shown previously on these matters,

Purification from evils and falsities is accomplished by means of the truths of faith, 2799, 5954(end), 7044, 7918, 9089, 10229.
So too is regeneration, see the places referred to in 9959.
‘Baptism’ means regeneration by means of the truths of faith, 4255, 5120(end), 9089.
Purification is accomplished within the natural, 3147, 9572.
And so is regeneration, see the places referred to in 9325.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @19 S0′ 10239. ‘And Aaron and his sons shall wash in it’ means a representative sign of the purification and regeneration of a person by the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘washing’ as purification, dealt with above in 10237; from the representation of ‘Aaron’ as the Lord in respect of Divine Celestial Good, dealt with in 9806, 10068; and from the representation of ‘Aaron’s sons’ as the Lord in respect of Divine Spiritual Good, dealt with in 9807, 10068. From these places it is evident that ‘Aaron and his sons shall wash in it’ means a representative sign of the purification of a person by the Lord. The reason why a representative sign of regeneration as well is meant is that regeneration as well was represented by washing, that is to say, washing the whole body, which was called baptizing. And baptizing or baptism is the sign of regeneration, see 4255, 9088.

sRef John@13 @10 S2′ [2] But regeneration is different from purification in that regeneration comes first and purification afterwards. None can be purified from evils and falsities except those who are undergoing regeneration and after they have been regenerated. One who has not been regenerated is, it is true, led away from evils so far as he allows, but he is not purified from them; he is all the time impure. The person who has been regenerated is different; day by day he is being made purer. This is how the Lord’s words addressed to Peter should be understood,

He who has been washed has no need except to wash his feet, so that the whole person is clean. John 13:10.

‘He who has been washed’ means one who has been regenerated.

[3] The fact that the word ‘baptizing’ was used to denote the total washing of things is clear in Mark 7:4*, and to denote washing the whole body, in Matthew 3:13-16; Mark 1:[9,] 10; and also 2 Kings 5:10, 14. The Jordan – in which washings, which were baptizings, took place, Matt. 3:6, 13; Mark 1:5; 2 Kings 5:10, 14 – meant the natural, 1585, 4255. Baptismal washing also means temptation, Matt. 20:22, 23; it does so because all regeneration is accomplished by means of temptations, 5036, 5773, 8351, 8958, 8959ff.

sRef Luke@18 @31 S4′ sRef Matt@3 @15 S4′ [4] It must also be stated briefly here why it was that the Lord, when He was in the world, was Himself willing to be baptized, when yet baptism is the sign of a person’s regeneration by Him. The reason was that the baptizing of the Lord Himself was a sign of the glorification of His Humanity. Anything in the Word that means a person’s regeneration also means the glorification of the Human within the Lord; for a person’s regeneration is an image of the Lord’s glorification, 3138, 3212, 3296, 3490, 4402, 5688. This is why the Lord, when He allowed John to baptize Him, said,

Thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all the righteousness of God**. Matt. 3:15.

‘Fulfilling all the righteousness of God’ means subduing the hells, restoring them and the heavens to order, by His own power, and at the same time glorifying His Human. All this was accomplished by means of the temptations which the Lord allowed Himself to undergo, thus by means of the conflicts with the hells which He underwent repeatedly, even to the last on the Cross. These things constituted the righteousness which the Lord fulfilled, see 9486, 9715, 9809, 10019, 10152. The like is also meant by references to the fulfillment of all things written in the Law and the Prophets concerning the Lord, Luke 18:31; 22:37; 24:44, and by the Lord’s declaration that He had come to fulfill all of the law, Matt. 5:17, 18.

[5] A person unacquainted with the arcana within the Word thinks that the Lord became righteousness through His fulfillment of everything in the law, and that by this fulfillment He freed the human race from the yoke of the law, and so

from damnation. But that is not what these words mean. Rather their meaning is that He became righteousness through His subduing of the hells, restoration of the heavens to order, and glorification of His Human. For by this glorification He filled Himself with power, in order that by His Divine Human He could keep the hells in subjection forever, maintain the heavens in order, and so regenerate a person, that is, deliver him from the hells and save him.
* i.e. the Greek verb used in that verse is baptizein, which implies total immersion in water.
** Here Sw. is following the Latin version of Sebastian Schmidt. There is nothing in the Greek to support the addition of God.

sRef Ex@30 @19 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef John@3 @8 S1′ sRef John@3 @5 S1′ sRef John@3 @6 S1′ 10240. Since ‘washing’ also means regeneration something more must be said about it. Anyone who does not know that both in the Prophets and in the Gospels the Lord used correspondences when He spoke, and that consequently the Word has an inner meaning, cannot possibly know what the Lord’s words in John serve to mean,

Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless a person has been born of water and the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, but that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit. The Spirit breathes where it wishes, and you hear its voice; but you do not know where it comes from and where it goes away to. So is everyone who is born from the Spirit. John 3:5, 6, 8.

[2] The meaning of these words is revealed if correspondences are used to explain them; for they contain the arcana of heaven. By virtue of its correspondence ‘water’ means the truth of faith, which is clearly perceptible within the natural. ‘The Spirit’ means Divine Truth which flows in from the Lord by way of a person’s internal into his external or natural, and from that Truth springs the life of faith which the person who is being regenerated possesses. ‘Flesh’ is the person’s proprium or selfhood, which is nothing but evil. ‘The Spirit breathes where it wishes’ means that in His mercy the Lord imparts new life by means of Divine Truth. ‘You hear its voice’ means that this life is perceptible in the external or natural man, ‘voice’ meaning what is declared by the Word. ‘You do not know where it comes from or where it goes away to’ means that a person does not know how his regeneration is accomplished, for the Lord accomplishes it in hidden ways that are countless and beyond description.

[3] By virtue of its correspondence ‘water’ means the truths of faith, see 28, 739, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 8568, 9323, 10238.
‘The Spirit’ means Divine Truth, from which the life of faith springs, 9229, 9818.
‘Flesh’ means a person’s proprium, which is nothing but evil, 8409.
‘Breathing’ means the state of the life of faith, 9281.
‘Voice’ means what is declared by the Word, consequently truth derived from it, 9926.
‘Hearing’ means perception, 9311, 9926.
‘Coming’ and ‘going away’ or entering and departing mean the state of affairs from start to finish, 9927.
The hidden ways of regeneration are countless and beyond description, 3179, 3573, 5398, 9334 (end), 9336.
What goes on in the internal man is not perceived while the person is in the world, only what goes on in the external or natural, above in 10236.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @19 S0′ 10241. ‘Their hands and their feet’ means the person’s interiors and exteriors. This is clear from the meaning of ‘hands’ as a person’s interiors, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘feet’ as a person’s exteriors, thus his natural things since these are exterior; for natural things, thus those belonging to the exterior man, are meant by ‘feet’, see 2162, 3761, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952, 9406. But the reason why interior things are meant by ‘hands’ is that the higher parts of the body extend into the hands and come to an end in them, so that whatever exists with a person, also the power he possesses, is meant by ‘hands’, see the places referred to in 10019. But when both hands and feet are spoken of, whatever exists in the internal man and also in the external man, or spiritual things and natural things, is meant. This explains why ‘lifting up the hand’ means power in the spiritual, while ‘lifting up the foot’ means power in the natural, 5327, 5328. Furthermore the extremities of a person mean everything within him, 10044, and the hands and feet are extremities. From all this it becomes clear why it was that Aaron and his sons had to wash their hands and feet whenever they went into the tent of meeting or approached the altar to minister.

sRef Ex@30 @20 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10242. ‘When they go into the tent of meeting’ means worship springing from the good of faith. This is clear from the meaning of ‘going into the tent of meeting’, when said in reference to Aaron and his sons, as representing all things of worship springing from the good of faith. The reason why these things were represented by going into the tent of meeting is that all things of worship springing from the good of love were represented by approaching the altar. There are two essential constituents of Divine worship, the good of faith and the good of love; Divine worship must consist of the first kind of good or else of the second. The good of faith is the good of charity towards the neighbour, and the good of love is the good of love to the Lord. These two kinds of good differ from each other as what is spiritual and what is celestial do; for the nature of the difference between them, see in the places referred to in 9277. Worship springing from spiritual good, which is the good of faith, that is, from the good of charity towards the neighbour, was represented by the services performed by Aaron and his sons in the tent of meeting, in which those services were performed every day; for that tent represented the heaven where spiritual good reigns. But worship springing from celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord, was represented by the services performed by Aaron and his sons at the altar, see 9963, 9964, 10001, 10025.

sRef Ex@30 @20 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef John@13 @5 S1′ sRef John@13 @10 S1′ sRef John@13 @9 S1′ sRef John@13 @8 S1′ sRef John@13 @6 S1′ sRef John@13 @7 S1′ 10243. ‘They shall wash with water’ means purification effected by means of the truths of faith. This is clear from the meaning of ‘washing’ as purification from evils and falsities, dealt with above in 10237; and from the meaning of ‘water’ as the truths of faith, also dealt with above, in 10238. Anyone who does not know what ‘washing’ means, nor what ‘feet’ and ‘hands’ mean, cannot possibly know what is implied by the following words in John,

Jesus poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the linen towel with which He was girded. And He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, Do you wash my feet? Jesus answered, What I am doing you do not know as yet; but you will know afterwards. Peter said to Him, You shall never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me. Peter said to Him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and head. Jesus said to Him, He who has been washed has no need except to wash his feet, but the whole person is clean. Already you are clean. John 13:5-10.

Is there anyone who can know what the real meaning is when the Lord said, ‘What I am doing you do not know as yet, but you will know afterwards’, also ‘If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me’, as well as ‘He who has been washed has no need except to wash his feet’, and ‘the whole person is clean’?

[2] These words refer to purification from evils and falsities, but no one can know of this except from the internal sense. From this sense it is evident that ‘washing’ is used to mean purification from evils and falsities; ‘water in a basin’ to mean the truth of faith within the natural; ‘the linen towel’ which the Lord was girded with, and which He used for wiping, to mean Divine Truth emanating from Him; ‘feet’ to mean the natural level in a person; and ‘washing the head, hands, and feet’ to mean regeneration, as is ‘he who has been washed’, so that ‘washing the feet’ is used to mean purifying the natural level in a person. Unless this level with a person is purified and cleansed while he is living in the world he cannot ever be purified after that. For whatever a person’s natural level is like when he dies it remains the same; no improvement takes place afterwards, for it is the level into which interior things, that is, spiritual ones flow, and it is their receptacle. Consequently when it has been perverted the interior things are similarly perverted on flowing in. The situation is like that with the eye or any other sensory organ or a member of the body when it has been damaged; inner abilities to perceive or to act by means of that organ or member are conditioned by the state of reception there.

[3] A person’s inability therefore ever to be purified if his natural is not purified in the world is the meaning of the Lord’s words, What I am doing you do not know as yet; but you will know afterwards. The fact that nothing except the natural needs to be purified in one who has been regenerated is the meaning of He who has washed has no need except to wash his feet, and of the whole person is clean. And the accomplishment of all purification by the Lord alone is the meaning of If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me. The accomplishment of it by means of the Divine Truth which emanates from the Lord is meant by His wiping with the linen towel with which He was girded.

‘A linen towel’ means truth from God, see 7601, so that ‘the linen towel with which the Lord was girded’ is Divine Truth from Himself.
‘Water’ means the truth of faith, 10238.
‘A basin’ or a laver with water in it means the natural, 10235.
‘Washing the head, hands, and feet’ – that is, the whole body – means regeneration, 10239, ‘feet’ being the natural within a person, 10241.

From all this it again becomes evident that the Lord spoke by means of correspondences, thus in accordance with the internal sense, since He spoke from heaven’s point of view, where that sense exists. Consequently there is little understanding of the Lord’s Word unless it is understood on that level of meaning.

sRef Ex@30 @20 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10244. ‘That they may not die’ means so that what is representative may not be lost. This is clear from the meaning of ‘dying’, when it refers to the services performed by Aaron and his sons, as the demise of things that were representative and consequently of a link with heaven, dealt with in 9928. The implications of this are that in the Church established among that nation a link with heaven, and through heaven with the Lord, was achieved solely by means of things that were representative, that is, by means of external things that represented internal ones. Therefore as soon as they ceased to perform priestly functions according to the prescribed rituals, that which was representative was lost, and with it the joining to heaven. And when the link with heaven was lost they had no protection against hell. This accounts for the death of Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu; for they placed incense onto foreign* fire, Lev. 10:1, 2. Their action represented worship springing from a love other than that of the Lord, as a consequence of which they were separated from heaven and annihilated. The consequences would have been the same if Aaron or his sons had drawn near to serve without washing; for then they would have represented worship that did not spring from heaven, but profane worship which came from hell. From all this it is evident that ‘dying’, when it refers to the services performed by Aaron and his sons, means the annihilation of things that were representative and consequently of the joining to heaven.
* i.e. unauthorized or profane

sRef Ex@30 @20 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10245. ‘Or when they approach the altar to minister, to burn a fire offering to Jehovah’ means worship springing from the good of love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘approaching the altar to minister’ as representing the Lord in respect of the good of love, dealt with in 9964; and from the meaning of ‘burning a fire offering to Jehovah’ as worship springing from love of the Lord. For ‘burning’ or sacrificing means worship, 6905, 8936, and ‘a fire offering to Jehovah’ means that which springs from the Lord’s Divine Love, 10055. For more about the implications of all this, see just above in 10242.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @21 S0′ 10246. ‘And they shall wash their hands and their feet’ means purification of the person’s interiors and exteriors. This is clear from what has been shown above in 10239, 10241, where similar words occur.

sRef Ex@30 @21 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10247. ‘That they may not die’ means so that what is representative may not be lost, as above in 10244.

sRef Ex@30 @21 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10248. ‘And it shall be the statute of an age to them’ means an eternal law of order. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a statute’ as a law of order, dealt with in 7884, 7995, 8357; and from the meaning of ‘an age’ as that which is eternal. The reason why ‘an age’ means what is eternal is that duration even to the end should be understood by it, and in the internal sense what is eternal is meant by that duration. Furthermore the word used to denote an age means eternity in the original language. ‘Age’ means what is eternal because when used in the Word with regard to the Church it means duration of it even to the end. Consequently, when the term is used with regard to heaven, where there is no end, or with regard to the Lord, it means what is eternal. The term may be used to refer in general to any Church, but in particular to the celestial Church. In addition to all this ‘age’ means the world and life there, and also life after this to eternity.

sRef Matt@13 @49 S2′ sRef Matt@24 @3 S2′ sRef Matt@13 @39 S2′ sRef Matt@28 @20 S2′ sRef Matt@13 @40 S2′ [2] 1 The term ‘age’, when used with regard to the Church, means the duration of it even to the end

This is clear from the following places: In Matthew,

The disciples said to Jesus, Tell us, what will be the sign of Your coming and of the close of the age? Matt. 24:3.

‘The close of the age’ means the final period of the Church, thus the end of it, when there is no longer any faith because there is no charity. The fact that this is meant by ‘the close of the age’ and that ‘the age’ therefore means the duration of the Church even to the end becomes clear from all the things stated by the Lord in that chapter, an explanation of which may be seen in the opening sections of Chapters 26-40 of Genesis. ‘The age’ and ‘the close’ of it have the same meaning elsewhere in the same gospel,

The harvest is the close of the age. Matt. 13:39, 40, 49.

Also,

Behold, I am with you at all times* even to the close of the age. Matt. 28:20.

Here also ‘the age’ is used to mean the duration of the Church from start to finish.

sRef Ps@145 @13 S3′ sRef Isa@51 @6 S3′ sRef Ezek@37 @25 S3′ sRef Isa@51 @8 S3′ sRef Ezek@37 @28 S3′ sRef Jer@10 @10 S3′ sRef Isa@63 @9 S3′ [3] In Ezekiel,

They will dwell on the land, they and their sons and their sons’ sons even to an age. David will be their prince for an age. My sanctuary will be in their midst for an age. Ezek. 37:25, 28.

These promises refer to Israel, who in the internal sense serves to mean the spiritual Church. ‘The land’ on which they will dwell also means the Church; ‘the sanctuary’ means everything composing the Church; and ‘David’ means the Lord. From this it is evident that ‘for an age’ means even to the end.

‘Israel’ in the Word is the spiritual Church, see in the places referred to in 9340.
‘The land’ is the Church, in the places referred to in 9325.
‘The sanctuary’ is everything composing the Church, and it has reference to the goodness and truth of the spiritual Church, 8330, 9479.
‘David’ is the Lord, 1888, 9954.

sRef Isa@51 @9 S4′ sRef Ps@90 @2 S4′ sRef Deut@32 @7 S4′ sRef Isa@51 @8 S4′ [4] In David,

Before the mountains were born, and the earth and the world were formed, from age even to age You are God. Ps. 90:2.

By the birth of mountains and formation of the earth and the world not the creation of the world but the establishment of a Church should be understood, for in the Word heavenly or celestial love, and so the Church in which that love exists, is meant by ‘the mountains’. ‘The earth’ too and ‘the world’ mean the Church, so that ‘from age to age’ means from when Churches are established to when they come to an end. Churches follow in succession, one after another; for when one has come to an end or undergone vastation another is established.

‘Mountain’ means heavenly or celestial love, and therefore the Church which is governed by that love, see 795, 796, 4210, 6435, 8758.
‘The earth’ is the Church in particular, but ‘the world’ the Church in general, see in the places referred to in 9325.

sRef Matt@6 @13 S5′ sRef Dan@7 @27 S5′ sRef Ps@10 @16 S5′ sRef Dan@7 @14 S5′ sRef Luke@1 @33 S5′ sRef Luke@1 @32 S5′ sRef Dan@7 @18 S5′ [5] 2 The term ‘age’, when used with regard to heaven, where there is no end, or with regard to the Lord, means what is eternal

This is clear from the following places: In David,

Jehovah is King for an age and for perpetuity. Ps. 10:16; Exod. 15:18.

In the same author,

Your kingdom is a kingdom of all the ages, and Your dominion to every generation after generation. Ps. 145:13.

In Jeremiah,

[He is] the living God [and] the King of the age. Jer. 10:10.

In Daniel,

His dominion is the dominion of an age which will not pass away. Afterwards the saints of the Most High** will receive the kingdom and will strengthen the kingdom even to an age, and even to ages of ages. Dan. 7:14, 18, 27.

In Matthew,

Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ages. Matt. 6:13.

In Luke,

God will give Him the throne of David, so that He may reign over the house of Jacob for ages. Luke 1:32, 33.

sRef Rev@5 @13 S6′ sRef Rev@5 @14 S6′ sRef Rev@1 @6 S6′ sRef John@10 @28 S6′ sRef Ps@148 @6 S6′ sRef John@6 @51 S6′ sRef Dan@12 @2 S6′ sRef Rev@1 @18 S6′ sRef Ps@139 @24 S6′ sRef John@6 @58 S6′ [6] In the Book of Revelation,

To Jesus Christ be glory and might for ages of ages. Rev. 1:6.

Elsewhere in the same book,

Behold, I live for ages of ages. Rev. 1:18.

And elsewhere again,

Blessing, and honour, and glory, and might to the Lamb for ages of ages! The twenty-four elders worshipped the One living for ages of ages. Rev. 5:13, 14; 10:6; 11:15.

In Isaiah,

My salvation will exist for an age, and My righteousness to each generation***. Isa. 51:6, 8.

In the same prophet,

The angel of [His] face carried them all the days of the age. Isa.63:9.

In Daniel,

Many of those sleeping will awake to the life of the age****, the rest to the disrepute of the age*****. Dan. 12:2.

In John,

If anyone eats of this bread he will live for an age. John 6:51, 58.

In the same gospel,

I give them eternal life, and they will not perish for an age. John 10:28.

In David,

Lead me in the way of the age******. Ps. 139:24.

In the same author,

He has caused them to stand for perpetuity and for an age; He has given a statute that will not pass away. Ps. 148:6.

[7] In these places ‘age’ means what is eternal since it is used with regard to the Lord, to His kingdom, and to heaven and the life there, all of which have no end. ‘Ages of ages’ is not used to mean eternities of eternities but that which is eternal. That expression is used however with regard to the Churches on earth coming in succession one after another. From the Word it is evident that a Church has been established four times on this planet. The first of them was the Most Ancient, which existed before the Flood; the second was the Ancient, which came after the Flood; the third was the Israelite and Jewish; and the last was the Christian. The whole period of each one from start to finish is an age. And after the Christian Church a new one will begin. This series of Churches is meant by ‘ages of ages’, ‘an age’ being the duration of a Church even to its end, as shown above.

sRef Micah@5 @2 S8′ sRef Amos@9 @11 S8′ [8] 3 The term ‘age’ may be used to refer in general to any Church, but in particular to the celestial Church

This is clear from the following places: In Amos,

I will raise up the tent of David that is fallen down, and I will build as in the days of a [previous] age. Amos 9:11.

‘The days of a [previous] age’ is used to mean the time when the Most Ancient Church, which was celestial, existed. In Micah,

Bethlehem Ephrath, from you will come forth for Me one who will be Ruler in Israel, and whose origins are from of old, from the days of a [previous] age. Micah 5:2.

Here the meaning is similar. In Moses,

Remember the days of a [previous] age, understand the years of generation after generation. Deut. 32:7.

‘The days of a [previous] age’ stands for the time of the Most Ancient Church, which was a celestial Church, and ‘the years of generation after generation’ for the time of the Ancient Church, which was a spiritual Church.

sRef Ps@77 @5 S9′ [9] In Isaiah,

Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of Jehovah. Awake as in the days of antiquity, of the generation of [previous] ages. Isa. 51:8, 9.

‘As in [the days] of the generation of [previous] ages’ means as it was with the states of love and faith in the Ancient Churches that descended from the Most Ancient. In David,

I have considered the days of old, the years of [previous] ages. Ps. 77:5.

Here the meaning is similar.

sRef Joel@3 @20 S10′ sRef Mal@3 @4 S10′ sRef Isa@46 @9 S10′ [10] In Isaiah,

Remember from a [previous] age the former thing. Isa. 46:9.

In Malachi,

Then the minchah of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to Jehovah, as in the days of a [previous] age, and as in ancient years. Mal. 3:4.

In Joel,

Judah will abide for an age, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. Joel 3:20.

In these places ‘Judah’ means the celestial Church, to which the words ‘as in the days of the age’ and ‘into the age’ therefore refer, while ‘Jerusalem’ means the spiritual Church, to which the words ‘as in the ancient years’ and ‘into generation after generation’ refer.

‘Judah’ is the celestial Church, see 3654, 3881, 6363, 8770.
‘Jerusalem’ is the spiritual Church, 402, 3654.

sRef Luke@20 @34 S11′ sRef Ps@73 @12 S11′ sRef Luke@16 @8 S11′ sRef Matt@13 @22 S11′ [11] 4 The term ‘age’ may mean the world and life there

This is clear in Matthew,

The one who is sown among thorns is he who hears the Word but the cares of this age and the deceitfulness of riches choke the Word. Matt. 13:22.

In Luke,

The sons of this age are more shrewd than the sons of light. Luke 16:8.

In the same gospel,

The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. Luke 20:34.

And in David,

The wicked and carefree ones of the age multiply wealth. Ps. 73:12.

sRef Ezek@26 @20 S12′ [12] 5 The term ‘age’ may mean life to eternity after death

In Mark,

… will receive a hundredfold, now in this time, and in the age to come eternal life. Mark 10:30.

In Ezekiel,

When I will cause you to go down with those going down to the pit, to the people of a [previous] age, … Ezek. 26:20.

And elsewhere, as in Luke 18:30; 20:35; Isa. 34:10, 17; Rev. 14:11; 20:10; 22:5.
* lit. I am with you all the days
** The Latin word rendered the Most High is plural, as is the word used in the original Aramaic. It must be regarded as a plural of majesty.
*** lit. generations of generations
**** i.e. eternal life
***** i.e. eternal disgrace
****** i.e. an eternal way

sRef Ex@30 @21 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10249. ‘For him and his seed, [throughout] their generations’ means all who receive the things which emanate from the Lord, thus who are being regenerated by Him. This is clear from the representation of ‘Aaron’ as the Lord in respect of Divine Good, dealt with in 9806, 9946; from the meaning of ‘seed’ as those who are being born from the Lord, thus who are being regenerated (for those who are being regenerated are called those who have been born from God, and also His children), though in the abstract sense, in which actual persons are not envisaged, ‘Aaron’s seed’ means those things which emanate from the Lord, thus by which a person is being regenerated, namely forms of the good of love, and truths of faith; and from the meaning of ‘generations’ as other forms of good and truths which emanate from them as their parents, and descendants of these other ones. For in the internal sense of the Word ‘generations’ is used to mean spiritual generations, which are those of love and faith, see the places referred to in 10204.

[2] Since the Lord is meant in the representative sense by Aaron, ‘Aaron’s seed’ is used to mean in particular those who are in the Lord’s celestial kingdom, and ‘generations’ those who are in His spiritual kingdom; for the forms of good and the truths of love and faith in the heavens arise and emanate from the Lord as those generations from Aaron did. The fact that ‘seed’, ‘those who have been born’, and ‘generations’ are used to mean those who love the Lord and believe in Him, and in the abstract sense forms of the good of love and the truths of faith, is clear from very many places in the Word, of which let just the following be quoted: In Isaiah,

From the east I will bring your seed, and from the west I will gather you. Isa. 43:5.

These words refer to Jacob and Israel, by whom in the internal sense is meant the Church, external and internal, whose seed is the truth of faith and the good of charity.

sRef Isa@43 @5 S3′ sRef Jer@31 @27 S3′ sRef Isa@53 @10 S3′ sRef Isa@44 @3 S3′ sRef Isa@45 @25 S3′ sRef Isa@54 @3 S3′ [3] In the same prophet,

I will pour out My Spirit upon your seed, and My blessing upon those who have been born from you*. Isa. 44:3.

‘Upon the seed’ and ‘upon those who have been born’ mean upon those who belong to the Church, thus upon those things which are the Church’s, namely forms of good and truths, or charity and faith, since these constitute the Church with a person. In the same prophet,

In Jehovah all the seed of Israel will glory. Isa. 45:25.

Here the meaning is similar. In the same prophet,

If He makes His soul guilt, He will see His seed. Isa. 53:10.

This refers to the Lord, whose seed is what those who have been born from Him, thus who have been regenerated, are called. In the same prophet,

You will break out to the right and to the left, and your seed will inherit the nations. Isa. 54:3.

Here the meaning is similar.

sRef Jer@33 @22 S4′ [4] In Jeremiah,

Behold, the days are coming in which I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. Jer. 31:27.

This verse will be unintelligible to people unless they know what ‘the house of Israel and the house of Judah’ means, and also what ‘the seed of man and the seed of beast’ means. Those whose thought does not go beyond the sense of the letter will suppose the meaning to be that man and beast were going to be multiplied in Israel and Judah; but such a meaning implies nothing at all that is holy and the Church’s. Rather, ‘the house of Israel’ is used in that verse to mean the spiritual Church, and ‘the house of Judah’ to mean the celestial Church, ‘the seed of man’ being those Churches’ internal good, and ‘the seed of beast’ their external good. ‘Beast’ means the affection for good, see in the places referred to in 9280; and when the expression ‘man and beast’ is used, internal and external good is meant, 7523.

sRef Ps@89 @4 S5′ sRef Ps@89 @3 S5′ [5] In Jeremiah,

As the host of heaven will be unnumbered, and the sand of the sea is immeasurable, so I will multiply the seed of David. Jer. 33:22.

And in David,

I have made a covenant with My chosen one, I have sworn to David, Forever** I will establish your seed, and build your throne from generation to generation. Ps. 89:3, 4.

It is not persons descended from David as their father who should be understood by ‘the seed of David’, for they were not multiplied to so great an extent, nor were they of such great importance that they should be multiplied as the host of heaven or the sand of the sea. On the contrary in these places as in others elsewhere the Lord in respect of Divine Truth should be understood by ‘David’. So ‘his seed’ means those who have been regenerated by or born from the Lord, and in the abstract sense the things which those people have from the Lord, namely the truths of faith and forms of the good of charity. As regards the Lord’s being meant by ‘David’, see 1888, 9954.

sRef Isa@61 @9 S6′ sRef Ps@22 @30 S6′ [6] In David,

A seed which will serve Jehovah will be recounted*** to the Lord to the [next] generation. Ps. 22:30.

In Isaiah,

Their seed will become known among the nations, and those born from them**** in the midst of the peoples. Isa. 61:9.

‘Seed’ stands for those who have been regenerated, thus for those belonging to the Church who have the Church within them. Thus in the abstract sense, in which actual persons are not envisaged, those things which compose one who has been regenerated, or which compose the Church as it exists with the person, are meant, namely faith and charity from the Lord.

sRef Isa@1 @4 S7′ sRef Rev@12 @17 S7′ sRef Isa@14 @20 S7′ [7] And in John,

The dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her seed, who kept the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus Christ. Rev. 12:17.

‘The dragon’ is used to mean those who are about to try to destroy the Lord’s Church, which is to be established after this, ‘the woman’ to mean that Church, and those who belong to ‘her seed’ to mean those who have a love of and belief in the Lord, which they have received from Him.
In the contrary sense however ‘seed’ means those who are set against the things which the Church possesses, thus who are immersed in evil and consequent falsities, and in the abstract sense it means evils and falsities, as in Isaiah,

Woe to a sinful nation, a seed of evil ones! Isa. 1:4.

In the same prophet,

Sons of the sorceress, seed of the adulterer, are you not those born of transgression, the seed of deceit? Isa. 57:3, 4.

And in the same prophet,

The seed of evil-doers will never be named. Isa. 14:20.
* lit. upon your born ones
** lit. For an age
*** lit. will be numbered
**** lit. and their born ones

10249a. Verses 22-33 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, And you, take for yourself the chief spices – the best myrrh, five hundred [shekels]; and sweet-smelling cinnamon, half of that, two hundred and fifty; and sweet-smelling calamus, two hundred and fifty; and cassia, five hundred, according to the shekel of holiness; and olive oil, a hin. And you shall make it a holy anointing oil*, a compounded ointment**, the work of an ointment-maker; it shall be the holy anointing oil*. And with it you shall anoint the tent of meeting, and the ark of the Testimony, and the table and all its vessels, and the lampstand and its vessels, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering and all its vessels, and the laver and its pedestal. And you shall sanctify them, and they shall be the holy of holies***; everyone touching them will be sanctified. And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and sanctify them to serve Me in the priestly office. And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, This shall be a holy anointing oil**** to Me throughout***** your generations. It shall not be poured onto the flesh of a person, and as to the composition of it, you shall not make any other like it******. It is holy; it shall be holy to you. The man who makes an ointment like it, and he who puts any of it on a foreigner, shall be cut off from his people.

‘And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying’ means further perception as a result of enlightenment from the Lord through the Word. ‘And you, take for yourself the chief spices’ means truths together with forms of good from the Word, which are perceived with pleasure. ‘The best myrrh’ means the perception of truth on the level of the senses. ‘Five hundred [shekels]’ means what is complete. ‘And sweet-smelling cinnamon’ means the perception of and affection for natural truth. ‘Half of that, two hundred and fifty’ means the corresponding amount. ‘And sweet-smelling calamus’ means the perception of and affection for interior truth. ‘Two hundred and fifty’ means the corresponding amount and quality. ‘And cassia’ means truth even more interior, springing from good. ‘Five hundred’ means that which is complete. ‘According to the shekel of holiness’ means the valuation of truth and good. ‘And olive oil’ means the Lord’s celestial Divine Good. ‘A hin’ means how far things are joined together. ‘And you shall make it an anointing oil’ means a representative sign of the Divine Good of the Lord’s Divine Love. ‘A compounded ointment’ means present within every single part of His Human. ‘The work of an ointment-maker’ means as a result of the influx and operation of Divinity itself, who was within the Lord from conception. ‘It shall be the holy anointing oil’ means a representative sign of the Lord as regards His Divine Human. ‘And with it you shall anoint the tent of meeting’ means in order to represent what is Divine and the Lord’s in the heavens. ‘And the ark of the Testimony’ means within celestial good belonging to the inmost heaven. ‘And the table and all its vessels’ means within spiritual good springing from celestial, which belongs to the second heaven, and within the forms of good and the truths which are of service to that spiritual good. ‘And the lampstand and its vessels’ means within spiritual truth belonging to the second heaven, and within the truths which are of service to that truth. ‘And the altar of incense’ means within all things belonging to worship that spring from those forms of good and those truths. ‘And the altar of burnt offering’ means in order to represent the Lord’s Divine Human, and the worship of Him in general. ‘And all its vessels’ means forms of Divine Good and Divine Truths. ‘And the laver and its pedestal’ means everything connected with purification from evils and falsities, and with regeneration by the Lord. ‘And you shall sanctify them, and they shall be the holy of holies’ means consequently the inflow and presence of the Lord within the worship of the representative Church. ‘Everyone touching them will be sanctified’ means an imparting [of what is His] to all who receive [Him] in love and faith. ‘And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons’ means consecration to represent the Lord’s presence in both kingdoms. ‘And sanctify them to serve Me in the priestly office’ means to represent the Lord’s whole work of salvation. ‘And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying’ means instruction given to those who belong to the Church. ‘This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me’ means a representative sign of the Lord as regards His Divine Human. ‘Throughout your generations’ means within all things of the Church. ‘It shall not be poured onto the flesh of a person’ means no imparting [of what is the Lord’s] to a person’s proprium or self. ‘And as to the composition of it, you shall not make any other like it’ means no imitations produced by human endeavour. ‘It is holy; it shall be holy to you’ means because it is Divine and the Lord’s. ‘The man who makes an ointment like it’ means imitations of Divine things produced by [human] cunning. ‘And he who puts any of it on a foreigner’ means a joining together for those who do not acknowledge the Lord, and so who are subject to evils and to the falsities of evil. ‘Shall be cut off from his people’ means separation and spiritual death.
* lit. the oil of anointing of holiness
** lit. ointment of ointment
*** i.e. they shall be most holy
**** lit. the oil of anointing of holiness
***** lit. into
****** lit. and in its quality you shall not make other like it

sRef Ex@30 @22 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @32 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @33 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @27 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @23 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @24 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @25 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @22 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @28 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @30 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @31 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @26 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @29 S0′ 10250. ‘And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying’ means further perception as a result of enlightenment from the Lord through the Word. This is clear from the explanation above in 10215, where the same words occur. The reason why further perception is meant is that when something new is being revealed and decreed, those words are used, see 10234.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @23 S0′ 10251. ‘And you, take for yourself the chief spices’ means truths together with forms of good from the Word, which are perceived with pleasure. This is clear from the meaning of ‘spices’ as truths joined to forms of good, which bring pleasure, dealt with in 10199. The reason why those that are perceived with pleasure is meant is that ‘odour’ means perception, so that ‘a sweet-smelling odour’ means a perception that brings pleasure. For the meaning of ‘odour’ as perception, see 3577, 4624-4634, 4748, 10054. The reason why truths joined to forms of good from the Word are meant is that the words here are addressed to Moses, for they say, ‘You, take for yourself spices’, and Moses represents the Lord in respect of the Word, 9372. Furthermore the Word is the source of all the truths the Church possesses, for the Word is Divine Truth itself sent down from heaven by the Lord.

sRef Ex@30 @23 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10252. ‘The best myrrh’ means the perception of truth on the level of the senses. This is clear from the meaning of ‘odour-bearing myrrh’ as the perception of truth on the level of the senses; for its ‘odour’ means perception, as immediately above, and ‘myrrh’ truth on the level of the senses. The subject in the verses that come now is the anointing oil, by which celestial good, which is the Divine Good of the Lord’s Divine Love in the inmost heaven, is meant. The nature of that good is described by the fragrant substances from which it was made. These were the best myrrh, sweet-smelling cinnamon, sweet-smelling calamus, cassia, and olive oil, which mean celestial truths and forms of good in their proper order, that is to say, ranging from those which are last and lowest in order to those which are first, or from those which are outermost to those which are inmost, the last or outermost being meant by ‘myrrh’. The reason why celestial good, or the good of the inmost heaven, is described in this manner is that the truths meant by those spices are the means by which such good comes into being and is also kept in being.

[2] But since this matter demands to be investigated more deeply, the whole nature of it must be explained more fully. In order that the birth of celestial good, which is inmost good, may take place in a person, which is accomplished through being regenerated by the Lord, truths must be acquired from the Word, or from the teachings of the Church which are drawn from the Word. These truths first find* their seat in the memory within the natural or external man. From there they are summoned by the Lord into the internal man, which happens when the person leads a life in keeping with them. And so far as the person has an affection for them, that is, loves them, they are raised by the Lord to an even higher or more internal level, where they are transformed into celestial good.

[3] Celestial good is the good of the love which desires to put truths from the Word into practice for the sake of good, thus for the Lord’s sake since the Lord is the source of good and therefore is such good. This is how that good comes to be born, from which it is evident that such good is brought into being by means of truths from the Word, first by their presence on the most external level in a person, which is that of the senses, then by their being raised to an internal level, and finally to the inmost one itself, where those truths are transformed into celestial good. And since that good is brought into being in this way by means of truths in their own order, so subsequently is it kept in being in similar order by means of those very truths; for continuance in being is a perpetual coming into being. When good is kept in being in that manner, the same as it had been brought into being, it is complete. For now higher things descending in order have lower ones to depend on as an infrastructure for their continued existence, for a resting-place, and for a plane of support. sRef Ps@45 @7 S4′ sRef Ps@45 @8 S4′ [4] And they have outermost or last and lowest ones, which are truths present within knowledge on the level of the senses, as a foundation. These truths are described in John, in the Book of Revelation, by the precious stones forming the foundations of the wall of the Holy Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, Rev. 21:19, 20. By ‘precious stones’ God’s truths received within good are meant, see 9476, 9863, 9873, 9905.
The fact that ‘odour-bearing myrrh’ means truth on the level of the senses is also clear in David,

You have loved righteousness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions. With myrrh, aloes, and kessia** [He has anointed] all Your garments. Ps. 45:7, 8.

These words refer to the Lord, who alone is Jehovah’s Anointed, because the Divine Good of Divine Love, meant by ‘anointing oil’, was within Him, 9954. By ‘His garments’, which are said to have been anointed with myrrh, aloes, and kessia, Divine Truths springing from His Divine Good, present in the natural degree, are meant, 5954, 9212, 9216, 9814, so that ‘myrrh’ means Divine Truth on the level of the senses since it is mentioned first.

sRef Matt@2 @11 S5′ [5] In Matthew,

Opening their treasures the wise men from the east offered gifts to the new-born Lord – gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matt. 2:11.

‘Gold’ here means good, ‘frankincense’ internal truth, and ‘myrrh’ external truth; both kinds of truth spring from good. In this instance ‘gold’ is the first to be mentioned because it means good, which is inmost; ‘frankincense’ is the second because it means internal truth springing from good; and ‘myrrh’ is the third or last to be mentioned because it means external truth springing from good. For the meaning of ‘gold’ as good, see in the places referred to in 9874, 9881; and for that of ‘frankincense’ as internal truth springing from good, see below at verse 34 of the present chapter.

sRef Luke@24 @38 S6′ sRef Luke@24 @39 S6′ [6] The wise men from the east offered those gifts to the Lord born at that time to indicate His Divinity within His Humanity; for having a knowledge of correspondences and representations they knew what gold, frankincense, and myrrh each served to mean. That knowledge was the chief kind that existed in those times among Arabs, Ethiopians, and others in the east, which also explains why in the Word those who possess cognitions or knowledge of heavenly things are meant in the internal sense by Arabia, Ethiopia, and ‘the sons of the east’, 1171, 3240, 3242, 3762. But such knowledge during that time perished, for when the good of life passed away the knowledge was turned into magic. First it was erased among the Israelite nation, and subsequently among all the rest. At the present day it has been erased to such an extent that people do not even know of its existence; indeed it is so completely absent from the Christian world that if anyone tells them that all things in the literal sense of the Word serve by virtue of their correspondence to mean heavenly realities, and that these constitute its internal sense, they do not know what to make of it.

[7] Because myrrh served to mean the most external truth, which is truth on the level of the senses, and perception of that truth, the bodies of those who had died were anointed in former times with myrrh and aloes. That anointing served to mean the preservation of all of a person’s truths and forms of good, and also to mean resurrection. Therefore also such [spices] were used as served to mean the last and lowest level of a person’s life, called the life of the senses. The Lord’s body was anointed with such, and together with them was wrapped in a linen cloth; and this was the custom among the Jews, see John 19:39, 40, and also Luke 23:55, 56. But it should be remembered that things said in the Word about the Lord Himself are to be understood in a pre-eminent sense. Consequently the spices mentioned in those verses mean His Divine life on the level of the senses, which is the life proper to the body, and also the resurrection of this with Him. As is well known, unlike anyone else the Lord rose again with the whole body He had in the world, for He left nothing in the tomb. Therefore also, when the disciples beheld the Lord and thought that they were seeing a spirit, He said to them,

Why are you troubled? See My hands and My feet; handle Me, see; for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see Me have. Luke 24:38, 39.
* Reading nanciscuntur (find) for nascuntur (are born)
** The Hebrew word which appears in Ps. 45:8 is q’tsi-oth, the plural of q’tsi-ah, while that in Exod. 30:24 and Ezek. 27:19 is qiddah. Nowadays both Hebrew words are taken to mean cassia; but the unusual spelling kessia is used to show the difference.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @23 S0′ 10253. ‘Five hundred [shekels]’ means what is complete. This is clear from the meaning of the number ‘five hundred’ as what is complete. The reason why ‘five hundred’ has this meaning is that this number is the product of five multiplied by ten tens, or fives times a hundred; and ‘five’ means much, as do ‘ten’ and ‘a hundred’, and therefore ‘five hundred’ means what is complete.

‘Five’ means much, see 5708, 5956, 9102, as likewise does ‘ten’, 3107, 4638, and also ‘a hundred’, 4400, 6582, 6594.
All numbers in the Word mean spiritual realities, see in the places referred to in 9488.
Compound numbers have a similar meaning to the simple ones that give rise to them through multiplication, 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973.

[2] The fact that numbers mean spiritual realities is perfectly clear in Ezekiel, where the house of God, together with everything there inside and outside, and also the new earth or land, are measured and are described by numbers pertaining to measure, in Chapters 40-48. By the new land there the Church should be understood, and by the house of God its holiness. The same is so in John, in the Book of Revelation, where also a new Jerusalem is described by the numbers where measurements are given, by which too a new Church should be understood. Unless the numbers had meant spiritual realities all those measurements would have been pointless.

sRef Ezek@42 @20 S3′ sRef Ezek@42 @15 S3′ sRef Ezek@42 @17 S3′ sRef Ezek@42 @18 S3′ sRef Ezek@42 @19 S3′ sRef Ezek@42 @16 S3′ [3] ‘Five hundred’ means the whole from one end to the other, thus what is complete. This is clear from those chapters in Ezekiel,

He measured outside the house (or the temple), to the east quarter five hundred rods round about, to the north quarter five hundred rods round about, to the south quarter five hundred rods, and to the west quarter* five hundred rods. Its wall round about, the length was five hundred rods, and the breadth five hundred rods, to distinguish between the holy and the profane. Ezek. 42:15-20.

From these words it is evident that ‘five hundred’ means the whole in its entirety, or everything holy from one end to the other, thus what is complete; for it says that the wall, which – according to this account of its length and breadth – formed a square, served to distinguish the holy from the profane.

[4] ‘Five hundred’ also means much, while a tenth of that number or fifty means some. This is clear from the Lord’s words addressed to Simon, in Luke,

Jesus said, There were two debtors who had a certain creditor. One owed five hundred denarii, but the other fifty. When they did not have [anything with which] to repay, he forgave them both. Which of the two loves him more? Simon answered, The one to whom he forgave more. Jesus said, So have the many sins of the woman been forgiven, because she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, [that person] loves little. Luke 7:41-end.

The reason why the Lord used those numbers was that they meant much and some; for He spoke from a Divine [perspective], thus used words carrying a spiritual meaning, in accord with correspondences. The same is so everywhere else, as when He spoke about the virgins, of whom – He said – there were ten, and that five were wise and five were foolish. He spoke of ten because that number means all, that is to say, all who belong to the Church, and of five because this number means some, see 4637, 4638.
* lit. the quarter of the sea

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @23 S0′ 10254. ‘And sweet-smelling cinnamon’ means the perception of and affection for natural truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘sweet-smelling cinnamon’ as the perception of and affection for natural truth, which is the interior truth of the external man. A person has life on a sensory level and life on a natural level. Both belong to the external man, but the life on the sensory level is exterior, deriving its truths from objects that exist on the planet and in the body, whereas the life on the natural level is interior, deriving its truths from the causes of which those objects are the effects. The life of the internal man is in like manner exterior and interior. The exterior derives its truths from those things that exist in the lowest parts of heaven, whereas the interior derives them from those things that exist in the interior parts of heaven. These truths within the internal man are meant by the fragrances which follow.

[2] The reason why ‘sweet-smelling cinnamon’ means the perception of and affection for truth is that ‘a sweet smell’ means a pleasing perception. A pleasing perception arises from the affection belonging to love, for if perception has any other origin it does not bring any pleasure.

All odours mean perception, see 3577, 4626, 4748.
Pleasing odours mean the perception of truth arising from good, 1514, 1517-1519, 4628, 10054, thus from the affection belonging to love.
The spheres belonging to perceptions are converted among spirits and angels into odours, 4626.

[3] In addition it should be recognized that all the sweet-smelling substances from which the anointing oil was prepared belong to the celestial group, that is, to things of the celestial kingdom, whereas the sweet-smelling substances from which the incense was made belong to the spiritual group, that is, to things of the spiritual kingdom. This also is why in the original language the term that is used to denote the spices from which the anointing oil was prepared is different and has a different root from the term used to denote the spices from which the incense was made. For in the Word there are particular terms which serve to express things of the celestial kingdom and particular terms that serve to express those of the spiritual kingdom; and there are others common to both. But to know which of these is which, one must recognize that heaven is divided into two kingdoms, as is the Church, and that the dominant essential in the celestial kingdom is the good of love to the Lord, whereas in the spiritual kingdom it is the good of charity towards the neighbour. How these differ from each other, see in the places referred to in 9277.

sRef 1Ki@10 @10 S4′ sRef Ezek@27 @22 S4′ sRef Isa@3 @24 S4′ [4] The fact that the spice named here means the perception of and affection for celestial truth is clear in Isaiah,

Instead of spice* there will be rottenness, and instead of a girdle, a falling apart, and instead of well-set hair**, baldness. Isa. 3:24.

This refers to the daughters of Zion, by whom the celestial Church is meant, at this point when it has been perverted. Therefore the word used for spice is the same as that in the present verse in Exodus. ‘Instead of spice there will be rottenness’ means that instead of the perception of and affection for truth springing from good, and of the life these bring with them, there will be a perception of and affection for falsity arising from evil, which holds no life at all within it.

[5] In Ezekiel,

The traders of Sheba and Raamah, traders with the best of every spice, and with [every] precious stone, and gold, … Ezek. 27:22.

These things were said in reference to Tyre, by which cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth within the Church are meant, ‘Sheba and Raamah’ meaning those with whom cognitions of celestial things exist.

[6] The like is meant where the queen of Sheba is referred to in the first Book of Kings,

The queen of Sheba gave Solomon a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and a very large quantity of spices, and precious stones. No quantity of spices such as this came ever again. 1 Kings 10:10.

‘Sheba’ means primarily those with whom cognitions of celestial things exist, see 1171, 3240.
From all this it is evident that these spices from which the anointing oil was prepared mean the perception of and affection for truth such as exist with those who are in the Lord’s celestial kingdom.

[7] The reason why the sweet-smelling substances used in the preparation of the anointing oil – which were myrrh of the highest quality, sweet-smelling cinnamon, sweet-smelling calamus, and cassia – belong to the celestial group, that is, to things of the Lord’s celestial kingdom, is that the anointing oil was the sign of the Divine Good of Divine Love within the Lord, which in heaven is His Divine Celestial. For this meaning of ‘the anointing oil’, see 9954, 10019.
* i.e. the odour or perfume from it
** lit. instead of the work of plaited [hair]

sRef Ex@30 @23 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10255. ‘Half of that, two hundred and fifty’ means the corresponding amount. This is clear from the meaning of the number that is ‘half of the one before’ as that which exists in some measure, also a sufficient amount or the amount needed for the purposes to be served, thus also the corresponding amount. So it is that ‘two hundred and fifty’, being half of the number before, that is to say, half of the number ‘five hundred’, means the corresponding amount. Examples will help to clarify all this. Take the number ‘ten’. When this number means all of the people, half of it or five means some of them; when ten means what is complete, five means a sufficient amount; but when ten means that which is much, five means some; and so on. The situation is similar with all other numbers when they are halved. Regarding ‘five’, that it means some of the people, also that which exists in some measure, as well as a sufficient amount and the amount needed for the purposes to be served, see 4638, 5708, 5956, 9102, 9689. Thus its various meanings are related to those of the number ‘ten’, when this means all of the people, what is complete, or else that which is much. Like meanings accompany fifty in relation to a hundred, and two hundred and fifty in relation to fifty. It makes no difference whether the number is large or small; large numbers have a similar meaning to the smaller ones which are their factors, see 5335, 5708, 7973, and numbers in the Word mean spiritual realities, see in the places referred to in 9488, 10127. From all this it becomes clear that the present number, which is half of the one before, does not mean half of the perception of interior truth in relation to the perception of exterior truth, but the corresponding amount. Things in heaven are not measured and counted as things are on earth; for in heaven there are no spatial distances or periods of time, but states instead, the nature and amount of which are perceived without regard to any kind of numbering. Counting and measuring are connected with things such as belong to space and time, thus with those that belong properly to the lowest levels of the natural order.

sRef Ex@30 @23 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10256. ‘And sweet-smelling calamus’ means the perception of and affection for interior truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘sweet-smelling calamus’ as the perception of and affection for interior truth; for ‘calamus’ means that truth and ‘a sweet smell’ a perception of and affection for it. For the meaning of ‘calamus’ as truth, see below; and for that of ‘a sweet smell’ as a perception of and affection for it, see just above in 10254.

[2] Here interior truth is used to mean that truth which, as it exists in the internal man, is exterior. This is in keeping with what has been stated above in 10254, namely that within the external man there is an exterior and an interior, and within the internal likewise. So it is that four sweet-smelling substances were used in the preparation of the anointing oil – myrrh of the highest quality, sweet-smelling cinnamon, sweet-smelling calamus, and cassia. ‘Myrrh of the highest quality’ means the perception of exterior truth within the external man, which is truth on the level of the senses; ‘sweet-smelling cinnamon’ interior truth there, which is truth on the natural level; ‘sweet-smelling calamus’ exterior truth within the internal man; and ‘cassia’ interior truth there. And ‘olive oil’ means the actual good composing affections for and perceptions of those kinds of truth.

sRef Ezek@27 @19 S3′ sRef Jer@6 @20 S3′ sRef Isa@43 @24 S3′ sRef Isa@43 @22 S3′ [3] The fact that ‘calamus’ means interior truth becomes clear from places in the Word which mention it. In these places however it is not spoken of as ‘sweet-smelling calamus’ but only as ‘calamus’ or ‘good calamus’, as in Isaiah,

You have not called Me, O Jacob, and you have been weary of Me, O Israel. You have not bought Me calamus with silver, and you have not satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices. Isa. 43:22, 24.

In Ezekiel,

Dan and Javan exchanged yarn in your dealings; wrought iron, cassia, and calamus were in your trading. Ezek. 27:19.

And in Jeremiah,

To what purpose does frankincense come to Me from Sheba, and good calamus from a distant land? Jer. 6:20.

In these places, it is evident, ‘calamus’ is used to mean some attribute of the Church, and worship there; for what other reason could there be for talking about their buying calamus for Jehovah with silver or about good calamus coming to Him from a distant land? And since some attribute of the Church and its worship are meant it follows that truth or good is meant, because everything of the Church and its worship is connected with them. But exactly which kind of truth or good is meant – whether celestial or spiritual, external man’s or internal man’s – is clear from the internal sense, when the sequence of things mentioned is considered on this level of meaning. Then it is evident that interior truth is meant by ‘calamus’.

sRef Ex@30 @23 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10257. ‘Two hundred and fifty’ means the corresponding amount and quality. This is clear from what has been shown just above in 10255.

sRef Ex@30 @24 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10258. ‘And cassia’ means truth even more interior, springing from good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘cassia’ as the interior truth of the internal man. The fact that ‘cassia’ has this meaning is evident from what has been stated and shown above; for heavenly realities follow in that sequence, from outermost to inmost. Inmost truth therefore is what ‘cassia’ means, being the fourth in the sequence. The reason why ‘cassia’ means truth springing from good is that inmost truth emanates directly from good and acts jointly with good on lower levels, as is the case when the understanding acts altogether in unison with the will, so completely that one cannot tell whether an action springs from the will or from the understanding. Also, the more internal heavenly things are, the more perfect they are; for all perfection increases towards the more internal parts, and all perfection springs from good, that is, comes from the Lord through good.

sRef Ezek@27 @19 S2′ [2] Cassia is mentioned as one of those wares that mean heavenly things, in Ezekiel,

Dan and Javan exchanged yarn in your dealings; wrought iron, cassia, and calamus were in your trading. Ezek. 27:19.

This refers to Tyre, by which cognitions or knowledge of truth and good in the Church are meant, see 1201, and by ‘Dan and Javan’ those possessing the cognitions of heavenly things. ‘Wrought iron’ is last and lowest heavenly truth, and ‘cassia’ inmost truth.

sRef Ps@45 @7 S3′ sRef Ps@45 @8 S3′ [3] Cassia is not mentioned anywhere else in the Word, though ‘kessia’* is in David, which also is a species of cassia,

God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness. With myrrh, aloes, and kessia [He has anointed] all Your garments. Ps. 45:7, 8.

The whole of this Psalm refers to the Lord, in particular to the glorification of His Humanity. No one lacking knowledge of the internal sense of the Word can by any means know what is meant, when the Lord is the subject, by ‘anointing all His garments with myrrh, aloes, and kessia’. [4] It is evident that what should be thought of is not garments nor the myrrh, aloes, and kessia with which they were anointed, but the Divine Truths springing from Divine Good with which the Lord clothed His Human; for anointing was nothing other than a representative sign of the Divine Good within the Lord’s Divine Human. Consequently ‘myrrh, aloes, and kessia’ means Divine Truths in their own proper order, emanating from the Divine Good that was within Him; and therefore His Divine Human is meant by ‘garments’. Whether you say the Lord’s Divine Human or Divine Truth, it amounts to the same thing, for while He was in the world the Lord was Divine Truth itself, and when He left the world He made Himself Divine Good, from which Divine Truth flows, see in the places referred to in 9199(end), 9315(end). Besides, the term ‘garment’ is used in the Word for that which clothes something else, whatever this may be. The Lord’s garments in Isaiah 63:2, 3, and elsewhere, have this kind of meaning. For the meaning of ‘garments’ as truths clothing good, see 2576, 4545, 4763, 5248, 5319, 5954, 9093, 9212, 9216, 9952. From all this it is now evident that ‘kessia’ in the Psalm, which is a species of cassia, means Divine Truth, emanating directly from Divine Good, which truth is inmost truth.
* The Hebrew word which appears in Ps. 45:8 is q’tsi-oth, the plural of q’tsi-ah, while that in Exod. 30:24 and Ezek. 27:19 is qiddah. Nowadays both Hebrew words are taken to mean cassia; but the unusual spelling kessia is used to show the difference.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @24 S0′ 10259. ‘Five hundred’ means that which is complete. This is clear from what has been shown above in 10253. The reason why five hundred [shekels] of myrrh, ‘according to the shekel of holiness’, were taken, and five hundred of cassia, but only two hundred and fifty of sweet-smelling cinnamon and of sweet-smelling calamus, was that ‘myrrh’ was a sign of truth on the level of the senses, which is truth last and lowest in sequence, and ‘cassia’ a sign of truth that emanates directly from good, which is inmost truth, whereas ‘sweet-smelling cinnamon’ and ‘sweet-smelling calamus’ were signs of the inner levels of truth that are in between. Of the last and of the inmost there must be a complete amount, but of those in between a corresponding amount, for those in between must exist in a relationship in which they correspond to the first and the last.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @24 S0′ 10260. ‘According to the shekel of holiness’ means the valuation of truth and good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the shekel of holiness’, which is the price or valuation of the quality and amount of truth and good, dealt with in 2959, 10221.

sRef Ex@30 @24 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10261. ‘And olive oil’ means the Lord’s celestial Divine Good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘oil’ as good, both celestial and spiritual, dealt with in 886, 4582, 9780; and from the meaning of ‘olive’ as celestial love, dealt with below, so that ‘olive oil’ means the good of celestial love, or what amounts to the same thing, celestial good. The expression ‘the Lord’s celestial Divine Good’ is used because the origin of all good that really is good and exists in the heavens lies in what is Divine and the Lord’s.

[2] But it should be remembered that in itself the Lord’s Divine Good is a single whole; for it is infinite and contains infinite characteristics. What is infinite is a single whole, because the infinite characteristics it contains make one. But the distinguishing of that Good into celestial and spiritual is due to the different ways in which angels in heaven and people on earth receive it. That received by angels and people belonging to the Lord’s celestial kingdom is called celestial Divine Good, whereas that received by angels and people belonging to the Lord’s spiritual kingdom is called spiritual Divine Good. For all angels in heaven and people on earth receive the Lord’s Good, which is a single whole, in various or dissimilar ways. This may be compared to the heat and light from the sun in the world. Though these regarded in themselves are a single whole, they nevertheless vary according to the seasons of the year and times of the day, and are also different in each region of the planet. Such variations of heat and light are due not to the sun but to the changing conditions on the planet brought about by variations as it orbits round the sun and revolves on its axis, so that again the reception is the determining factor. The variations of the one same light as it falls on individual objects, producing different colours, is also attributable to the ways in which it is received. From all this it may now be recognized why it is that the Lord’s Divine Good, which is a single whole because it is infinite, is called celestial and spiritual.

sRef Zech@4 @2 S3′ sRef Zech@4 @14 S3′ sRef Zech@4 @3 S3′ sRef Zech@4 @12 S3′ sRef Zech@4 @11 S3′ [3] The meaning of ‘oil’ as good, both celestial and spiritual, is clear in the places referred to above. But the fact that ‘olive’ means celestial love, and ‘olive tree’ the perception and affection belonging to that love, is clear from the places in the Word where ‘olive tree’ and ‘olive’ are mentioned, as in the following: In Zechariah,

The prophet saw a lampstand all of gold. It had seven lamps on it, [and had] two olive trees beside it, one on the right of the bowl, and one on the left of it. He said to the angel, What are these two olive trees, and what are the two olive berries which are in the spouts* of the two tubes of gold? He said, These are the two sons of olives, standing beside the Lord of the whole earth. Zech. 4:2, 3, 11, 12, 14.

[4] What these prophetic utterances imply none can know unless they know from the internal sense what ‘a lampstand’ means and what ‘an olive tree’ means. ‘A lampstand’ means the spiritual heaven, and its ‘lamps’ the holy truths there, see 9548, 9551, 9555, 9558, 9561, 9684. From these meanings it is clear that ‘an olive tree’ means the celestial kingdom born from the perception of and affection for good, and ‘olive berries’ the holy forms of good there, their truths being meant by ‘the sons of olives’. ‘Two’ means the internal and the external parts of that kingdom, and a joining together.

sRef Rev@11 @4 S5′ sRef Isa@41 @19 S5′ sRef Rev@11 @3 S5′ [5] ‘Oil’ and ‘lampstand’ are used with similar meanings in John,

I will give [power] to My two witnesses, that they may prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. Rev. 11:3, 4.

In Isaiah,

I will plant** in the wilderness the cedar of shittah, and the myrtle, and olive wood***. Isa. 41:19.

‘The cedar’ and ‘olive wood’ are mentioned because ‘the cedar’ means spiritual good and ‘olive wood’ celestial good, spiritual good being charity towards the neighbour and celestial good being love to the Lord. ‘Planting them in the wilderness’ means doing so in lands outside the Church, thus among gentile nations.

sRef Isa@24 @13 S6′ sRef Hos@14 @6 S6′ [6] In Hosea,

His branches will go out and his beauty will be like that of the olive, and his smell like Lebanon. Hosea 14:6.

Here also ‘the olive’ means celestial good, and ‘Lebanon’ means spiritual good, so that ‘Lebanon’ is similar in meaning to ‘the cedar’; for Lebanon was a forest consisting of cedars.

sRef Ps@128 @3 S7′ sRef Ps@128 @4 S7′ [7] In Isaiah,

Thus will it be in the midst of the earth, in the midst of the peoples, like the stripping of the olive tree, like the gleaning of grapes when the harvesting of them has finished. Isa. 24:13.

Also Isa. 17:6. Comparison is made with ‘the stripping of the olive tree’ and ‘the gleaning of grapes after the harvesting has finished’ because ‘the olive tree’ means a Church that is governed by celestial good, and ‘the vine’ a Church that is governed by spiritual good. For in the Word wherever good is the subject, truth is also, on account of the marriage of them. In like manner wherever the celestial is the subject, the spiritual is also. Furthermore the term ‘celestial’ is used in reference to good, and ‘spiritual’ to truth, see in the places referred to in 9263, 9314; therefore the terms are also used in reference to the vine and the olive tree. As regards ‘the vine’, that it means the spiritual Church, and its goodness and truth, see 1069, 5113, 6376, 9277.

sRef 1Ki@6 @31 S8′ sRef 1Ki@6 @32 S8′ sRef 1Ki@6 @23 S8′ sRef Amos@4 @9 S8′ [8] Here also is the reason why elsewhere the vine and the olive tree are spoken of together, as in David,

[Your] wife will be like a fruitful vine on the sides of your house, your sons will be like olive shoots, round about your table. Ps. 128:3, 4.

In Habakkuk,

The fig tree will not blossom, neither will there be any produce on the vines; the olive crop will fail****. Hab. 3:17.

In Amos,

Your very many gardens, and your vineyards, and your fig trees, and your olive trees the caterpillar devoured. Amos 4:9.

The fig tree as well is mentioned, because ‘the fig’ means the external Church’s good, 5113, whereas ‘the vine’ means the good of the internal spiritual Church, and ‘the olive tree’ the good of the internal celestial Church. Similar instances occur elsewhere.

[9] Since ‘olive wood’ meant the good of celestial love the two cherubs which were in the sanctuary in the temple were made from pieces of olive wood, as were the double doors, lintel, and posts, 1 Kings 6:23, 31, 32. For the sanctuary in the temple represented the inmost heaven, where celestial good is present, and therefore everything in the sanctuary was a sign of something celestial. The ark there, for the sake of which the sanctuary existed, was a sign of the inmost heaven, where the Lord is, see 9485.

sRef Luke@21 @37 S10′ sRef Luke@22 @39 S10′ sRef Zech@14 @4 S10′ [10] ‘The Mount of Olives’, which was opposite the temple, had a similar meaning to ‘the olive tree’, just as ‘Lebanon’ had to ‘the cedar’. Therefore in order that all the things the Lord did when He was in the world, especially Divine celestial ones, might be represented in the heavens, the Lord was very often on the Mount of Olives when He was in Jerusalem, as is clear in Luke,

By day Jesus was teaching in the temple, but by night He went out and spent the night on the mountain which is called Olivet*****. Luke 21:37.

And elsewhere,

Jesus came out and went away, as was His custom******, to the Mount of Olives. Luke 22:39.

Regarding this mountain, that it was opposite the temple, see Mark 13:3; Matt. 24:3. [11] The fact that ‘the Mount of Olives’ was a sign of celestial Divine Good is clear in Zechariah, where it is stated,

Jehovah’s feet will stand upon the Mount of Olives, which faces******* Jerusalem; and there He will fight against the nations. And the mountain will be split, part towards the east and towards the sea********, with a large valley; and part of it will move away towards the north, and part towards the south. Zech. 14:3, 4.

This is a description of the state of heaven and the Church when the Lord was in the world, fighting against the hells, conquering them, and at the same time restoring the heavens to order. ‘The nations’ there which He fought against are the evils coming from hell; ‘the Mount of Olives’ on which His feet stood is the Divine Good of Divine Love, for by this Good He fought and conquered. ‘The splitting of the mountain with a large valley, towards the east and towards the sea’ means the separation of heaven and hell; and the like is meant by ‘its moving away towards the north and the south’. Those living in the light of truth are said to be in the south, and those in the love of good to be in the east, whereas those immersed in evils are said to be towards the sea, and those in falsities towards the north.
* lit. the hand
** lit. give
*** lit. wood of the oil tree
**** lit. the work of the olive will lie (i.e. prove false)
***** lit. [the Mount] of Olives
****** lit. according to custom
******* lit. which is before the face of
******** i.e. the west

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @24 S0′ 10262. ‘A hin’ means how far things are joined together. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a hin’ – which was a liquid measure, at this point a measure of oil – as the extent to which things are joined together. ‘Oil’ means the Lord’s celestial Divine Good, which is the essential power that binds all things together in heaven; consequently the measure of the oil means how far things are joined together, and the fullness of their being joined together. The reason why the Lord’s celestial Divine Good is the essential power that binds all things together is that it is the essential being (ipsum esse) of the life that all things have. For that Divine Good imparts life to all things through the Divine Truth emanating from itself; and it imparts life in accordance with the specific character of whatever receives it. Angels are recipients; so too are people in the world. The truths and forms of good they have form their specific character, and this conditions the reception that takes place within them, and so conditions any joining together.

[2] Two measures which were used for sacred purposes are mentioned in the Word; one was for liquids, which was called the hin, the other was for dry substances, which was called the ephah. The hin served to measure oil and wine, and the ephah to measure flour and fine flour. The hin, used for oil and wine, was divided into four, whereas the ephah was divided into ten. The reason why the hin was divided into four was in order that it might mean that which binds things together; for ‘four’ means a joining together. But the reason why the ephah was divided into ten was in order that it might mean reception, the nature of which was indicated by the numbers; for ‘ten’ means much, all, and what is complete.

‘Four’ means a joining together, see 8877, 9601, 9674, 10136, 10137.
‘Ten’ means much, all, and what is complete, as ‘a hundred’ does, 1988, 3107, 4400, 4638, 8468, 8540, 9745, 10253.

[3] The fact that the hin was used for the oil and wine in the sacrifices, and was divided into four, whereas the ephah was used for the flour and fine flour, which were for the minchah in the sacrifices, and that it was divided into ten, becomes clear in Exod. 29:40; Lev. 5:11; 23:13; Num. 15:3-10; 28:5, 7, 14. From these verses it is evident that ‘a hin’ means the extent to which things are joined together, and ‘an ephah’ the amount of reception. Furthermore the oil served to bind the fine flour together, and the fine flour to receive the oil; for a minchah consisted of oil and fine flour.

[4] In addition there were other measures that were used for ordinary purposes, both for dry substances and for liquids. The measures for dry substances were called the homer and the omer, and the measures for liquids the cor and the bath. A homer contained ten ephahs, and an ephah ten omers, whereas a cor contained ten baths, and a bath ten smaller parts; regarding all these, see Exod. 16:36; Ezek. 45:11, 13, 24. [5] But where the new temple is dealt with in Ezekiel a different division of the ephah and the bath occurs. There the ephah and the bath are divided not into ten but into six, and the hin corresponds to the ephah, as is evident in the same prophet, in Ezek. 45:13, 14, 24; 46:5, 7, 11, 14. The reason for this is that in those places the subject is not celestial good and its ability to bind things together, but spiritual good and its ability to do so; and the numbers ‘twelve’, ‘six’, and ‘three’ have their correspondence in the spiritual kingdom, because they mean all and, when used in reference to truths and forms of good, mean all aspects of truth and good in their entirety. The fact that these are meant by ‘twelve’, see 3272, 3858, 3913, 7973, also by ‘six’, 3960(end), 7973, 8148, 10217; and in like manner ‘three’, by which from beginning to end, thus what is complete, is meant, and – in respect of real things – all, 2788, 4495, 5159, 7715, 9825, 10127. The reason why these numbers imply similar things is that larger numbers are similar in meaning to the simple ones which when multiplied produce them, 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973.

[6] Since ‘a hin’ also means how far something is joined to spiritual truth, a third part of a hin of oil was taken for the minchah in the sacrifices of a ram, and a third part of wine for the drink offering, Num. 15:6, 7; for spiritual good is meant by ‘a ram’, 2830, 9991. From all this it is again plainly evident that numbers are used in the Word to mean real things. What other reason could there be for the numbers used so often in Moses, Ezekiel, and elsewhere to specify amounts and measures?

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10263. ‘And you shall make it an anointing oil’ means a representative sign of the Divine Good of the Lord’s Divine Love. This is clear from what has been shown before regarding ‘anointing oil’, in 9954, 10011, 10019.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10264. ‘A compounded ointment’ means present within every single part of His Human. This is clear from the meaning of ‘ointment’ – when it refers to ‘an anointing oil’, by which a representative sign of the Divine Good of the Lord’s Divine Love is meant – as what is Divine within every single part of His Human. ‘A compounded ointment’ has this meaning because all the sweet-smelling substances which were mentioned above, namely the best myrrh, sweet-smelling cinnamon, sweet-smelling calamus, and cassia, should be understood by a compounded ointment. Furthermore in the original language a sweet smell in general is meant by the word that is used; but translators render it ‘ointment’, from ‘anointing’.

[2] ‘A compounded perfume’* means present within every single part of the Lord’s Human, because truths on every level of that Human, and the accompanying perceptions and affections, are meant. That is to say, truth on its lowest level, which is that of the senses, and the perception that accompanies it, is meant by ‘myrrh’, 10252; the interior truth of the natural or external man, and the perception and affection that accompany it, by ‘sweet-smelling cinnamon’, 10254; truth even more interior, belonging to the internal man, and the perception and affection that accompany it, by ‘sweet-smelling calamus’, 10256; and inmost truth, and the perception and affection that accompany it, by ‘cassia’, 10258. Thus the Human at every level is meant by these spices, for everything without exception that resides within the human being has some connection with truths and with perceptions of and affections for them; for these compose his actual life.

[3] It may be known that a human being without any perception of or affection for truth and good is not a human being; for everything without exception that a human being thinks about has some connection with truths and perceptions of them, and with forms of good and affections for them. Human thoughts and affections are nothing else; for the human being possesses the power of understanding and the power of will, the understanding being composed of the perception of truth, and the will of the affection for good. The whole human being from head to toe, inwardly and outwardly, consists of nothing other than truth or falsity that is his, and of good or evil that is his, the body being their outward form. But this is an arcanum unknown in the world as yet.

[4] From all this it now becomes clear that ‘a compounded perfume’ or ‘a compounded ointment’ – by which all degrees of truth from last and lowest to inmost, thus truths in their complete entirety, should be understood – means everything without exception within the human being or of which the human being consists. Consequently when that sweet-smelling ointment is spoken of in reference to the Lord, every single part of His Human is meant.

[5] It says, ‘You shall make it an anointing oil, a compounded perfume, the work of a perfumer’, because ‘an anointing oil’ means the actual Divine Good of Divine Love, which was within the Lord from conception, 9954, 10011, 10019; ‘a compounded perfume’ means its presence within every single part of His Human; and ‘the work of a perfumer (or ointment-maker)’ means as a result of the influx and operation of Divinity itself. For the Lord alone as to His Divine Human was Jehovah’s Anointed, see 9954.
* An alternative rendering of the Hebrew words translated a compounded ointment

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef John@14 @10 S0′ sRef John@10 @30 S0′ sRef Isa@64 @8 S0′ sRef John@14 @11 S0′ 10265. ‘The work of an ointment-maker’ means as a result of the influx and operation of Divinity itself, who was within the Lord from conception. This is clear from the meaning of ‘an ointment-maker (or perfumer)’ as one who performs that work, and therefore when this expression is used in regard to the Lord, Divinity itself is meant by it, and His operation by ‘the work’. Any expression at all that occurs in the Word should be understood in relation to whatever it refers to, and therefore whenever an expression refers to God, God and His operation, influx, and attributes should be understood, no matter what the literal sense declares. In the inmost heaven angels relate everything in the Word to the Lord’s Divine Human, for their thoughts come directly from the Lord, and they perceive the Word on its inmost level of meaning, which is the celestial sense. Here therefore they have no other perception of ‘a compounded ointment, the work of an ointment-maker’ than that of Divinity itself, within the Lord from conception, and of an influx and operation within every single part of His Human. For with them the Lord’s Human is Divinity itself. They know that the Divine Good of Divine Love, called the Father, exists within the Lord’s Divine Human, called the Son, in a reciprocal manner, as accords with the Lord’s words stating that The Father is within Him and He within the Father, John 14:10, 11, and that They are one, John 10:30. Do not be surprised that ‘an ointment-maker (or perfumer)’ means Divinity itself, seeing that Jehovah in various places in the Word calls Himself ‘One who forms’, ‘a Workman’, even indeed ‘a Potter’, as in Isaiah,

O Jehovah, You are our Father, we are the clay and You are our Potter; and we are all the work of Your hands. Isa. 64:8.

Also elsewhere in the same prophet, and in Jeremiah 18:2-4, 6.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10266. The preparation of the anointing oil in what has come immediately before has served to describe the Divine Good of the Lord’s Divine Love within His Divine Human, and in the relative sense the good of love present from the Lord in a person. For that in the Word which in the highest sense says something about the Lord says something also in the relative sense about man, because human regeneration is an image of the glorification of the Lord’s Human, 3138, 3212, 3296, 3490, 4402, 5688. From this it is evident that the preparation of the anointing oil implies also the generation and formation of the good of love present from the Lord with a person. As a consequence of this it implies that the good of love receives form through the truths which the Church derives from the Word, external ones first, then those that get more and more internal – in keeping with the description immediately before, especially in 10252 – so that the external man is provided with them first, then the inner man in consecutive stages. It should be recognized that the order in which that good has been formed by the Lord by means of truths, or the order in which it has come into being, is also the order in which He preserves it, or the order in which it continues to exist. For preservation is unceasing formation, just as continued existence is an unceasing coming-into-being. From this it follows that the character of the perception and affection with which a person takes on truths, and also the order in which he does so, determines the nature of the good of love as it exists with him. If the affection has been a love of truth for truth’s sake and for goodness’ sake, without a selfish and worldly affection for it, and if the order has gone from outermost levels step by step to increasingly internal ones, the good of love is authentic. But if the affection has been anything other than that, the good is spurious, or not good at all. It does not matter if at first, when the formation starts to take place in the person, the affection for truth is also selfish and worldly; but this fault must be stripped away as good increases with the aid of truths. Also from then on the person is being unceasingly purged of those things, as the bowels are of waste matter. Anyone who thinks that a person can be endowed with the good of love without the truths of faith and without leading a life in accordance with them is much mistaken.

sRef John@1 @18 S0′ sRef Matt@11 @28 S0′ sRef Matt@11 @27 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef John@14 @6 S0′ sRef John@5 @37 S0′ 10267. ‘It shall be the holy anointing oil’ means a representative sign of the Lord as regards His Divine Human. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the anointing oil’ as a representative sign of the Divine Good of the Lord’s Divine Love, dealt with in 9954, 10011, 10019. Here it is called ‘the holy anointing oil’ to the end that the Lord as regards His Divine Human may be understood by it. For in heaven that Human is holiness itself. Indeed the angels in heaven know and acknowledge nothing else Divine than the Lord’s Divine Human; for this they can form a mental picture of and can love. But they cannot form any such picture of, nor therefore love, the Divine, called the Father, since this is incomprehensible, in keeping with the Lord’s words stating that they have never heard His voice nor seen His shape, John 5:37. What is incapable of being seen or heard is incapable also of passing into the mind to form a mental picture and is incapable of passing into any affection and love. That which is to be comprehended in faith and love must be given objective reality in a suitable image. The incomprehensible Divine, called the Father, is worshipped at the same time when the Lord’s Divine Human is worshipped. This too is clear from the Lord’s own words, stating that He is the way, and no one comes to the Father except through Him, John 14:6; that no one knows the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son wishes to reveal Him, Matt. 11:27; and that nobody has ever seen the Father except the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father and who makes Him known, John 1:18. This explains why the Lord says,

Come to Me, all …, and I will refresh you. Matt. 11:28.

The Lord’s Divine Human is the All in all of heaven, and is Holiness itself there, see 9933, 9972, 10067, 10159.
The Lord alone is Holy, and everything holy comes from Him, 9229, 9479, 9680, 9818, 9820, 9956.

sRef Ex@30 @26 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10268. ‘And with it you shall anoint the tent of meeting’ means in order to represent what is Divine and the Lord’s in the heavens. This is clear from the meaning of ‘to anoint with the holy oil’ as to produce a representation of the Divine Good of the Lord’s Divine Love as to His Divine Human, for ‘anointing’ means producing a representation (things which had been anointed were called holy not because of the oil but because of the representation of what was Divine, which oil is the sign of; for ‘oil’ is a sign of the Divine Good of Divine Love, and ‘holiness’ a sign of the Divine Human since the Human alone is holy, as becomes clear from what has been shown above in 9954, 10011, 10019, 10264-10267); and from the meaning of ‘the tent of meeting’ as heaven in its complete entirety – the inmost or third heaven being meant by the place where the ark of the Testimony was; the middle or second by the place where the table with the loaves of the presence, the lampstand, and the altar of incense were; and the lowest or first by the place where the court was, regarding all of which, see 9457, 9481, 9485, 9784, 9963, 10230, 10242, 10245. From all this it is evident that ‘anointing the tent of meeting’ means producing a representation of the Divine Good of the Lord’s Divine Love as to His Divine Human; and since this is meant by ‘anointing the tent of meeting’, in order to represent what is Divine and the Lord’s in the heavens is also meant. For heaven is heaven not by virtue of anything in angels that is entirely their own, only by virtue of what is Divine and the Lord’s with them, see 9408, 10125, 10151, 10157, 10159.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @26 S0′ sRef John@14 @11 S0′ sRef John@14 @9 S0′ 10269. ‘And the ark of the Testimony’ means within celestial good belonging to the inmost heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘to anoint the ark of the Testimony’ as to produce a representation of what is Divine within celestial good belonging to the inmost heaven. ‘Anointing’ means producing a representation of what is Divine and the Lord’s, as immediately above in 10268, and ‘the ark of the Testimony’ means the good of the inmost heaven; for ‘the ark’ means the inmost heaven, and ‘the Testimony’ the Lord there, see 9485. And since the good which reigns in that heaven is the good of love to the Lord – the good that is called celestial good – ‘to anoint the ark of the Testimony’ means to produce a representation of what is Divine and the Lord’s within celestial good belonging to the inmost heaven. The implications of all this may be recognized from what has been shown in various places before, namely that anointing represented the Lord in respect of His Divine Human; for the Lord alone in respect of His Divine Human was Jehovah’s Anointed. From when He was conceived He had the Father’s Divinity within Himself, and consequently within His Humanity. Anyone may know that the human body springs from the father’s essential being, called his soul; for a likeness of the father, of the various affections composing his love, manifests itself in his children, even in their faces. In this way any one family derives its individual character by which it is distinguished from another. What then was so in the Lord’s case, who had Divinity itself within Him as His Essential Being, called the soul? This explains why the Lord says,

He who has seen Me has seen the Father. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. John 14:9, 11.

sRef Ex@30 @27 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10270. ‘And the table and all its vessels’ means within spiritual good springing from celestial, which belongs to the second heaven, and within the forms of good and the truths which are of service to that spiritual good. This is clear from the meaning of the tent of meeting outside the veil, where that table stood, as the second heaven, dealt with in 9457, 9481, 9485; from the meaning of ‘the table’, on which the loaves of the Presence were laid, as spiritual good springing from celestial, for celestial good is meant by ‘the loaves’, 9545, and spiritual good by ‘the table’ on which they were laid, 9684, 9685; and from the meaning of ‘its vessels’ as cognitions or knowledge of celestial good and truth, dealt with in 9544, and so the forms of good and the truths of service to that spiritual good since cognitions act as servants. The reason why spiritual good springing from celestial is what ‘the table’, on which the loaves of the Presence were laid, means is that the tent of meeting outside the veil represented the second heaven, in which the good of charity towards the neighbour reigns. This good is called spiritual good, and is good in the measure that it has celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord, within it. For there are three kinds of good that compose the three heavens. There is the good of love to the Lord, called celestial good, composing the inmost heaven; there is the good of charity towards the neighbour, called spiritual good, composing the second heaven; and there is the good of faith, called spiritual-natural good, composing the lowest heaven. Into the celestial good belonging to the inmost heaven the Lord flows from His Divine Human directly; into the spiritual good belonging to the second heaven the Lord flows from His Divine Human, and indirectly as well through the celestial good; and into the spiritual-natural good belonging to the lowest heaven the Lord flows from His Divine Human, and again indirectly as well. The expression indirectly as well is used because the Lord flows not only indirectly but also directly into these heavens’ kinds of good, as may be recognized from what has been shown regarding Divine influx, direct and indirect, in the places referred to in 9682.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @27 S0′ 10271. ‘And the lampstand and its vessels’ means within spiritual truth belonging to the second heaven, and within the truths which are of service to that truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the lampstand’ as a representative sign of the Lord in respect of spiritual truth belonging to the second heaven, dealt with in 9548, 9551, 9555, 9558, 9561, 9684; and from the meaning of ‘its vessels’ as truths existing as facts, which act as servants, dealt with in 3068, 3079, 9572, 9724.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @27 S0′ 10272. ‘And the altar of incense’ means within all things belonging to worship that spring from those forms of good and those truths. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the altar of incense’ as that which is representative of all things belonging to worship that spring from love and charity coming from the Lord, dealt with in 10177, 10198. The words of explanation speak of that which is representative of the Lord within the different kinds of good and truth, within those that are of service to them, and within all things belonging to worship, because the kinds of good and truth that are being represented are good and true only so far as they have what is Divine and the Lord’s within them; for any goodness or truth present with man or angel comes from the Lord. Without life from the Lord within them they are things that are dead, indeed evil as well. For if things do not have their origin in the Lord but in man they look to man and the world, and things which have man and the world as their end in view are essentially evil. For the end in view within a person is central; it is the soul of everything within him. All this shows what should be understood by that which is representative of the Lord within the different kinds of good and truth, and within what is of service to them. By kinds of good and truth which act as servants, forms of good and truth within the natural or external man should be understood; and they are called cognitions and known facts. These are surveyed by the internal man, and from them he chooses supportive ones that are in agreement with the life of his affections, that is, with his love. And since these are for that reason subordinate they are called those that act as servants. There are also forms of good and truth which act in turn as servants to these; they are called known facts derived from sensory impressions. The forms of good and truth present with a person are like families or households, in which there are a householder; sons, daughters, sons-in-law, and daughters-in-law; and servants and maids. The lowest position there is occupied by those things which ‘known facts derived from sensory impressions’ describes, though at the present day with most people they occupy the highest position.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @28 S0′ 10273. ‘And the altar of burnt offering’ means in order to represent the Lord’s Divine Human, and the worship of Him in general. This is clear from the representation of ‘the altar of burnt offering’ as the chief representative of the Lord’s Divine Human, and the worship of Him, dealt with in 2777, 2811, 8935, 8940, 9388, 9389, 9714, 9964, 10123, 10151.

sRef Ex@30 @28 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10274. ‘And all its vessels’ means forms of Divine Good and Divine Truths. This is clear from the meaning of ‘vessels’ as cognitions and known facts, dealt with in 3068, 3079, 9394, 9544, 9724; but when they are spoken of with reference to the Lord’s Divine Human, forms of Divine Good and Divine Truths acting as servants are meant.

sRef Ex@30 @28 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10275. ‘And the laver and its pedestal’ means everything connected with purification from evils and falsities, and with regeneration by the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the laver’, in which washing takes place, as the means of purification from evils and falsities, and also of regeneration, dealt with in 10235; and from the meaning of ‘its pedestal’ as the level of the senses, providing support and acting as a servant, dealt with in 10236.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @29 S0′ 10276. ‘And you shall sanctify them, and they shall be the holy of holies’ means consequently the inflow and presence of the Lord within the worship of the representative Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being sanctified’ as representing the Lord in respect of the Divine Human, and the reception of Divine Good and Divine Truth from Him, for the Lord alone is holy and therefore that alone is holy which emanates from Him, from which it is evident that ‘being sanctified’ also means the inflow and presence of the Lord within the worship of the representative Church;

‘Being sanctified’ means representing the Lord in respect of the Divine Human, see 9956, 9988, 10069.
It also means the reception of Divine Good and Divine Truth from Him, 8806, 9820, 10128.
The Lord alone is holy, and that alone is holy which emanates from Him, 9229, 9479, 9680, 9818.
Thus holy things among the Israelite and Jewish nation were holy in a representative fashion, 10149.

and from the meaning of ‘the holy of holies’ as celestial Divine Good, dealt with in 10129.

[2] From all this it is evident that all those things which had been anointed were called ‘the holy of holies’ by virtue of the inflow and presence of the Lord’s Divine Human. And whenever the Lord flows in and becomes present He does so by a path that is direct, and also in the lower heavens by one that is indirect, through celestial good, which is the inmost heaven’s good. Therefore to the extent that the levels of good in the lower heavens contain and store celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord, they are indeed good. This is why things which had been anointed were called ‘the holy of holies’. Regarding the Lord’s flowing in directly and indirectly, see in the places referred to in 9682 and 9683.

[3] To have any knowledge of the nature of these things a person must know what a representation is and what a representative Church is. What they are has been shown extensively in the places referred to in 9229, 9280, 10030; but since few at the present day know what they are, let something more be said to shed further light on the subject. In the inmost heavens there exist among the angels affections for goodness and truth derived from the Lord, which compose those angels’ life and bliss. These affections manifest themselves in the lowest heaven within outward forms, which are countless and infinitely various; whatever the eyes of those in that heaven behold there springs from them. These forms are representative of more internal things, which are affections for goodness and truth and are called celestial and spiritual things. [4] Good spirits, who perceive the holy things of heaven within those representative forms existing as subjects*, have their inner feelings stirred by them. They see, for example, parks or gardens with countless species of trees and fruits, also rose gardens, lawns, fields with crops, houses, palaces, and very many other sights. All these correspond to the affections for goodness and truth which, derived from the Lord, exist in higher heavens. Representative forms also exist in these higher heavens, but they are immeasurably superior in perfection, delightfulness, and rapture to such forms in the lowest heaven. These representative forms are what the saying that no eye has ever seen such things refers to; and if any description of them were given it would surpass human belief.

[5] From all this it may be recognized what representative forms are. All those which had been established among the Israelite nation were similar to the ones in the lowest heaven, but had less perfection because they existed in the natural world. Such forms comprised the tent of meeting together with the ark, the table on which the loaves of the Presence were laid, the lampstand and its lamps, and the altar of incense; the garments of Aaron and his sons; at a later time, the temple together with the sanctuary in it, where the ark with the mercy-seat and cherubs above it was; the bronze sea, the lavers, and similar objects. More however, beyond numbering, appear in the lowest heaven; but these have greater excellence and perfection. That heaven was where the Lord showed Moses on Mount Sinai the things to be established among the Israelite nation, as is evident in Exod. 25:40; 26:30; 27:8, though Moses did not see them there with his bodily eyes but with those of his spirit.

[6] Further proof of the nature of representative forms lies in those things which were seen by prophets – by Daniel, by John in the Book of Revelation, and by all the rest. All the things which they saw conceal Divine spiritual and celestial realities within them. Without the internal sense to explain them those visions are unintelligible, as anyone may recognize. [7] From all this it is again evident what a representative Church is.
This Church was established in the land of Canaan especially on account of the Word, in order that representative forms and objects carrying a spiritual meaning might be used in the writing of it, thus such things as existed among that nation, in their Church and in their land. For since most ancient times all places in the land of Canaan, all the mountains and rivers there, represented such things as existed in heaven, 3686, 4240, 4447, 4454, 5136, 6516; and so at a later time did the inheritances, tribes, and everything else. The literal sense of the Old Testament Word was composed of such things, to the end that it might be a kind of base in which more internal things terminated and on which they stood, like a building on its foundations, see 9360, 9824, 10044.

[8] Anyone who is intelligent may see from all this that the Word is most holy, that its literal sense is holy by virtue of its internal sense, and that when separated from this it is not holy. For the literal sense separated from the internal is like a person’s outward [body] separated from his inward [soul], which is a lifeless statue; and it is like the outer covering of a tree, flower, fruit, or seed without their inward parts, and like the foundation without the house. Those therefore who adhere strictly to the sense of the letter of the Word and do not have or acquire for themselves from the Word teachings in keeping with its internal sense may be drawn into all kinds of heresy. This is why such people refer to the Word as a book of heresies. Sound doctrine drawn from the Word must absolutely shine before people and show them the way to go; those teachings are provided by the internal sense, and the person who is acquainted with them has the internal sense of the Word.

[9] Because the Jewish nation did not acknowledge the presence of any holiness in the Word except in its literal sense alone, which they separated completely from its internal sense, they sank into such darkness that they did not know the Lord when He came into the world. That nation is just the same at the present day; therefore although they live among Christians, they still do not as yet from the Word acknowledge the Lord. Right from the start that nation was interested in outward things but not their inner substance, see what has been shown in the places referred to in 9320(end), 9380. Unless therefore the Lord had come into the world and disclosed its inner contents, contact with the heavens through the Word would have been broken; and if that had been broken the human race on this planet would have perished. For no one can think anything at all that is true or do anything at all that is good except in heaven’s strength, that is, the Lord’s coming through heaven. The Word is what opens heaven.
* Subject is used here to mean something which really exists yet depends for its existence on something prior to itself.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @29 S0′ 10277. ‘Everyone touching them will be sanctified’ means an imparting [of what is His] to all who receive [Him] in love and faith. This is clear from the meaning of ‘touching’ as an imparting, dealt with in 10130; and from the meaning of ‘being sanctified’ as the inflow and presence of the Lord, dealt with immediately above in 10276. And since the inflow and presence of the Lord are accomplished within love and faith, thus with those who receive Him in love and faith, these are the ones who are here said to be the sanctified. But what is Divine with them is holy, and nothing at all of their own.

sRef Ex@30 @30 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10278. ‘And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons’ means consecration to represent the Lord’s presence in both kingdoms. This is clear from the meaning of ‘anointing’ as producing a representation, as above; from the representation of ‘Aaron’ as the Lord in respect of celestial Divine Good, thus in the celestial kingdom; and from the representation of ‘Aaron’s sons’ as the Lord in respect of spiritual good, thus in the spiritual kingdom, dealt with in 9807, 10017, 10068.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @30 S0′ 10279. ‘And sanctify them to serve Me in the priestly office’ means to represent the Lord’s whole work of salvation. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being sanctified’ as representing the Lord in respect of the Divine Human, dealt with above in 10276; and from the representation of ‘the priestly office’ of Aaron and his sons as the Lord’s work of salvation in its successive order, dealt with in 9809, 10017.

sRef Ex@30 @31 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10280. ‘And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying’ means instruction given to those who belong to the Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the children of Israel’ as the Church, dealt with in the places referred to in 9340; and from the meaning of ‘speaking’ and ‘saying’, when what is said comes from Jehovah, as instruction, dealt with in 6879, 6881, 6883, 6891, 7186, 7226, 7241, 7267, 7304, 7380, 7517, 8127.

sRef Ex@30 @31 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10281. ‘This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me’ means a representative sign of the Lord as regards His Divine Human. This is clear from what has been shown above in 10267.

sRef Ex@30 @31 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10282. ‘Throughout your generations’ means within all things of the Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘generations’ – when the subject is the children of Israel, by whom the Church is meant – as those who belong to the Church, dealt with in 10212, and so in the abstract sense, without reference to persons, as things of the Church. This is called the abstract sense, without reference to persons, because things that are Divine and emanate from the Lord constitute the Church, not anything that is a person’s own. Those things do indeed flow into and reside with the person; nevertheless they do not become the person’s own, only the Lord’s residing with that person. This being so, when angels talk to one another they speak of things without reference to actual persons. Neither therefore does the name of some person mentioned in the Word pass into heaven, but the reality that is meant by that person.

All names of persons and places mentioned in the Word serve to mean spiritual realities, see 1888, 4442, 5095, 5225.
Names do not pass into heaven, 1876, 6516, 10216.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @32 S0′ 10283. ‘It shall not be poured onto the flesh of a person’ means no imparting [of what is the Lord’s] to a person’s proprium or self. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the flesh of a person’ as his proprium, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘pouring onto’ as imparting to. For ‘pouring’ has a similar meaning to ‘touching’; but ‘pouring’ is used in connection with liquids, namely oil, wine, and water, and ‘pouring out’ in connection with Divine, heavenly, and spiritual realities, whereas ‘touching’ is used in connection with dry substances and with bodily things. For the meaning of ‘touching’ as imparting, see 10130. From this it follows that ‘the anointing oil shall not be poured onto the flesh of a person’ means that there is no imparting of the Divine Good of the Lord’s Divine Love to a person’s proprium or self, because a person’s proprium is nothing but evil and the Lord’s Divine Good cannot be imparted to what is evil.

A person’s proprium or self is nothing but evil, see 210, 215, 694, 731, 874-876, 987, 1023, 1024, 1047, 5660, 5786, 8480.

sRef Matt@16 @17 S2′ [2] One part of the human proprium belongs to the will and the other part to the understanding; the will part consists of evil, and the understanding part of falsity arising from this. The former – the will part of the proprium – is meant by human flesh, and the understanding part by the blood of that flesh. The truth of this is clear from the following places: In Matthew,

Jesus said, Blessed are you, Simon, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. Matt. 16:17.

It is plainly evident that ‘flesh’ here, and also ‘blood’, means the human proprium or self.

sRef John@1 @12 S3′ sRef John@1 @13 S3′ [3] In John,

As many as received Him, to them He gave power to be sons of God, who were born, not of blood*, nor of the will of the flesh, but of God. John 1:12, 13.

‘Blood’ here means falsities that come out of the understanding part of the human proprium, and ‘the will of the flesh’ evils that spring from the will part of it. For the meaning of ‘blood’ as falsity arising from evil, thus what is in the understanding part of the proprium as a result of what is in the will part, see 4735, 9127.

sRef Isa@49 @26 S4′ [4] In Isaiah,

I will feed your oppressors with their flesh and they will be drunk with their blood as with new wine. Isa. 49:26.

‘Feeding them with their flesh’ and ‘making them drunk with their blood’ stands for filling them up with evil and the falsity of evil, thus with what is of the proprium or what is one’s own; for both the evil and the falsity come out of the proprium.

sRef Isa@9 @20 S5′ sRef Jer@17 @5 S5′ sRef Isa@9 @21 S5′ [5] In Jeremiah,

Cursed is the man (homo) who trusts in man (homo) and makes flesh his arm. Jer. 17:5.

‘Trusting in man and making flesh his arm’ means trusting in oneself and one’s proprium. [6] In Isaiah,

The people have become as fuel for the fire. If any of them cuts down on the right he will be hungry, and if any eats on the left they will not be satisfied. Each will eat the flesh of his own arm**; Manasseh [will eat] Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh. Isa. 9:19-21.

‘Fuel for the fire’ means making the evils or desires of self-love and love of the world one’s own, ‘being hungry’ and ‘not being satisfied’ mean not accepting the good or the truth of faith, and ‘the flesh of his arm’ means both parts of the human proprium, ‘Manasseh’ meaning evil in the will, ‘Ephraim’ falsity in the understanding, and ‘eating’ making one’s own.

‘Fire’ means the evils or desires of self-love and love of the world, see 5071, 5215, 6314, 6832, 7324, 7575, 9141.
The reason why ‘being hungry’ and ‘not being satisfied’ mean not accepting the good or the truth of faith is that ‘hunger’ or famine and ‘thirst’ mean desolation with regard to goodness and truth, 5360, 5376, 6110, 7102, 8568(end).
‘The right’ means good from which truth emanates, and ‘the left’ truth through which good comes, 10061; consequently ‘being hungry if any of them cuts down on the right, and not being satisfied if any eats on the left’ means that no matter how much instruction they may receive about goodness and truth they will not accept them.

[7] ‘Manasseh’ means good in the will, 5351, 5353, 5354(end), 6222, 6234, 6238, 6267, and ‘Ephraim’ truth in the understanding, 3969, 5354, 6222, 6234, 6238, 6267, so that in the contrary sense ‘Manasseh’ means evil in the will and ‘Ephraim’ falsity in the understanding, since almost everything in the Word also has a contrary meaning.
‘Eating’ means making one’s own, 3168, 3513(end), 3596, 4745, from which it is evident what ‘eating the flesh of his own arm’ means, namely making evil and falsity originating in the proprium one’s own.
The expression ‘flesh of the arm’ is used because ‘the arm’, like ‘the hand’, means the powers present in a person, in which he puts his trust, see in the places referred to in 10019.

sRef Ezek@16 @26 S8′ sRef Zech@11 @9 S8′ [8] In Zechariah,

I said, I will not feed you. Let the one that is dying die; [the sheep] that are left will eat, every one the flesh of another. Zech. 11:9.

‘Not feeding’ stands for not teaching and reforming, ‘dying’ for loss of spiritual life, and ‘eating the flesh of another’ for making evils originating in the proprium of another one’s own.

sRef Isa@31 @3 S9′ [9] In Ezekiel,

Jerusalem committed whoredom with the sons of Egypt, her neighbours, the great in flesh. Ezek. 16:26.

‘Jerusalem’ stands for the perverted Church, ‘committing whoredom with the sons of Egypt, the great in flesh’ for falsifying the Church’s truths by means of factual knowledge which begins in the natural man alone, thus by means of factual knowledge based on sensory evidence.

‘Jerusalem’ means the Church, see 402, 2117, 3654, in this instance the Church when it has been perverted.
‘Committing whoredom’ means falsifying truths, 2466, 2729, 8904.
‘Sons’ means truths, or else falsities, 1147, 3373, 4257, 9807.
‘Egypt’ means factual knowledge, in either [a good or a bad] sense, see in the places referred to in 9340, and also the natural, in the places referred to in 9391.

Consequently the words ‘the great in flesh’ describe people who, relying on sensory evidence, reason and draw conclusions about the Church’s truths. Those who do this lay hold of falsities as truths, for to rely on sensory evidence to reason and draw conclusions about anything is to rely on the illusions of the bodily senses. People therefore who are ruled by their senses are meant by ‘the great in flesh’; for their own bodily perceptions govern their thinking.

[10] In Isaiah,

Egypt is man (homo) and not God, and his horses are flesh, but not spirit. Isa. 31:3.

Here also ‘Egypt’ stands for factual knowledge, ‘his horses’ for a power of understanding consisting of this. That power is called ‘flesh, not spirit’ when people use what is their own and not God’s to draw conclusions.

By ‘horses’ is meant the power of understanding, see 2761, 2762, 3217, 5321, 6534, and by ‘the horses of Egypt’ factual knowledge supplied from a perverted understanding, 6125, 8146, 8148.

sRef Num@11 @31 S11′ sRef Num@11 @32 S11′ sRef Num@11 @20 S11′ sRef Num@11 @19 S11′ sRef Num@11 @4 S11′ sRef Num@11 @18 S11′ sRef Num@11 @33 S11′ [11] The fact that ‘flesh’ means a person’s proprium or selfhood, or what amounts to the same thing, his own evil will, is clear in Moses, where the subject is the Israelite people’s desire for flesh to eat, described as follows,

The rabble who were in the midst of the people had a strong craving and said, Who will feed us with flesh? Jehovah said, Tomorrow you will eat flesh. Not for one day will you eat it, nor for two days, nor for five days, nor for ten days, nor for twenty days, [but] for a whole month. And a wind set out from Jehovah, and it cut off the quails from the sea and sent them down*** over the camp, about two cubits above the surface of the land. The people rose up that whole day, and the whole night, and the whole of the next day, and gathered them and spread them out all around the camp. The flesh was still between their teeth, before it could be swallowed, and Jehovah’s anger flared up against the people, and He struck the people with an extremely great plague. So he called the name of the place The Graves of Craving. Num. 11:4, 18-20, 31-34.

[12] The fact that ‘flesh’ meant that nation’s proprium becomes clear from every detail in these verses; for unless this had been meant what evil could there have been in their desire for flesh, especially as flesh had been promised them on a previous occasion, Exod. 16:12? But since it meant the proprium, thus an evil will, which that nation possessed in greater measure than other nations, it says – when they desired flesh – that they ‘had a strong craving’, on account of which they were struck with a great plague, and on account of which the place where they were buried was called The Graves of Craving. Whether you speak of an evil will or of craving, it amounts to the same thing, for an evil will consists in craving. The human proprium has no desire for anything apart from what belongs to itself; it has no desire for anything that concerns the neighbour or anything that concerns God, unless this is beneficial to itself. Since that nation was like this it says that they would eat flesh not for one day, not for two, not for five, nor for ten, nor for twenty, but for a whole month, meaning that this nation would be like that forever (for ‘a whole month’ means forever); and for the same reason it says that while the flesh was still between their teeth, before it could be swallowed, they were struck with a great plague. For by ‘teeth’ the bodily level of the proprium, the lowest of a person’s mind, is meant, 4424(end), 5565-5568, 9062. The fact that this nation was like this may be seen in the places referred to in 9380, and in the Song of Moses, at Deut. 32:20, 22-26, 28, 32-34.

sRef Isa@49 @26 S13′ sRef Ps@78 @39 S13′ sRef John@6 @51 S13′ sRef John@6 @63 S13′ sRef John@3 @6 S13′ [13] In the Word spirit is set in contrast to flesh, for ‘spirit’ means life from the Lord and ‘flesh’ life from man, as in John,

It is the Spirit which bestows life, the flesh does not profit anything. The words that I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life. John 6:63.

From this it is clear that ‘spirit’ means life from the Lord, which is the life of love to Him and faith in Him, received from Him, and that ‘flesh’ means life from man, thus his selfhood. This is why it says ‘the flesh does not profit anything’. Something similar is meant elsewhere in John,

That which has been born from the flesh is flesh, but that which has been born from the spirit is spirit. John 3:6.

In David,

God remembered that they were flesh; a spirit which would pass away would not come back. Ps. 78:39.

sRef John@6 @55 S14′ sRef John@6 @53 S14′ sRef John@6 @54 S14′ [14] Since ‘flesh’ in reference to man means his proprium, which consists of the evil of self-love and love of the world, it is evident what ‘flesh’ means when used in reference to the Lord, namely His Proprium, which consists of the Divine Good of Divine Love. This is what ‘the Lord’s flesh’ means in John,

The bread which I will give you is My flesh. Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you will have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life; for My flesh is truly food and My blood is truly drink. John 6:51, 53-55.

‘The flesh’ of the Lord means the Divine Good of His Divine Love, and ‘the blood’ the Divine Truth emanating from that Divine Good, so that they are similar in meaning to the bread and wine in the Holy Supper; and those Divine Realities are His own, present within His Divine Human, see 1001, 3813, 4735, 6978, 7317, 7326, 7850, 9127, 9393, 10026, 10033, 10152. Also, the sacrifices represented forms of good that originate in the Lord, and therefore the flesh of those sacrifices meant forms of good, 10040, 10079. Furthermore, various places in the Word use the expression ‘all flesh’, by which every human being should be understood, as in Gen. 6:12, 13, 17, 19; Isa. 40:5, 6; 49:26; 66:16, 23, 24; Jer. 25:31; 32:27; 45:5; Ezek. 20:48; 21:4, 5; and elsewhere.
* lit. bloods
** lit. they will eat, a man (vir) the flesh of his own arm
*** Reading demisit (sent down) for dimisit (allowed to depart)

sRef Ex@30 @32 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10284. ‘And as to the composition of it, you shall not make any other like it’ means no imitations produced by human endeavour. This is clear from the meaning of ‘as to the composition, making some like it’ – that is, making a similar oil with similar spices – as making a preparation in imitation of it by means of human endeavour. This meaning of these words follows from the train of thought in the internal sense; for first it says, ‘It shall not be poured onto the flesh of a person’, which means no imparting [of what is the Lord’s] to a person’s proprium or self, and finally, ‘it shall be holy to you’. But anything done by a person, by his own endeavour, begins in his proprium or self and is unholy. The reason is that any endeavour a person makes from his proprium consists entirely of falsity arising from evil, since it has self and the world, not the neighbour and God, as its end in view, which also explains why it is called an imitation.

[2] The implications of all this are that everything which comes from the Lord is good and true; but anything good or true produced by man in imitation of it is neither good nor true. The reason for this is that everything good and true has life within it by virtue of the end in view. An end that begins in man is entirely selfish; but that which is good and true, coming from the Lord, exists for the sake of goodness and truth themselves as ends in view, and so for the Lord’s sake, because the Lord is the source of everything good and true. With man the end in view is himself, since it constitutes his will and his love; for what a person loves and wills he has as his end in view. All the love in a person that originates in himself is self-love and a selfish love of the world; but the love in a person that originates in the Lord is love towards the neighbour and love to God. The difference between the two kinds of love is as great as that between hell and heaven. Furthermore self-love and a selfish love of the world reign in hell and constitute hell, whereas love towards the neighbour and love to the Lord reign in heaven and constitute heaven. Also a person’s character is such and remains forever such as his love is; for love composes the whole of a person’s will, and consequently of his understanding since the love that constitutes the will flows unceasingly into the understanding, kindling it and illuminating it. So it is that when those who love evil think within themselves, their thoughts consist of falsity that is in keeping with the evil they love, though they are moved by hypocrisy to express different ideas to others; some are moved by faith that is no more than persuasion, for the nature of which, see 9364, 9369.

[3] It should be recognized that by his own endeavour a person is able to simulate what is actually Divine and to present himself before others as an angel of light. But what is seen by the Lord and by angels is not the outward form he presents but the form that exists inwardly, which is foul when the proprium is the source of it. With people like this everything within them is merely natural and not at all spiritual. They see everything in natural light alone and nothing in the light of heaven; indeed they do not know what the light of heaven is, nor what anything spiritual is. All their inner powers are turned to things of an external nature, in almost the same way as those of living creatures are; nor do they allow themselves to be raised by the Lord to anything higher. Yet the human being, superior to animals, has a special ability, namely the ability to be raised by the Lord towards heaven and the Lord, and so be led by Him. All those are raised in this manner who love goodness and truth for their own sake, which is the same thing as loving the neighbour and God since in a general sense the neighbour means that which is good and true, and in a lower sense that which is right and fair; and also God constitutes what is good and true, and what is right and fair, since God is the source of them.

[4] From all this it may be seen what imitating Divine things by human endeavour is. In places throughout the Word ‘Egypt’ and ‘Pharaoh’ are used to describe people such as this; for factual knowledge belonging to the natural man is meant by ‘Egypt’ and ‘Pharaoh’. ‘Asshur’ too, meaning reasoning based on factual knowledge, is used to describe them. Regarding ‘Egypt’, see in the places referred to in 9340, 9391; and regarding ‘Asshur’, 1186. Among spirits there are very many who by their own endeavour and cunning can imitate what is Divine; for they counterfeit sincerity, uprightness, and godliness, so cunningly that good spirits would be led astray unless the Lord enlightened them and enabled them to see what the interiors of those other spirits are like. And when these interiors are revealed the good spirits are filled with horror and run away. But such spirits are stripped of their outward pretences and brought into a state in which their devilish interiors are laid bare; and in this condition they sink automatically into hell. For more about these spirits, see paragraph 10286 below.

sRef Ex@30 @32 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10285. ‘It is holy; it shall be holy to you’ means because it is Divine and the Lord’s. This is clear from the meaning of ‘holy’, in reference to the anointing oil, as that which is Divine and the Lord’s, the anointing oil being a representative sign of the Divine Good of Divine Love within the Lord’s Divine Human, thus a representative sign of His Divine Human. For it amounts to the same thing whether you say the Divine Good of Divine Love or the Divine Human. It is because this Good was meant by the anointing oil and represented by anointing, and because that Good alone is holy (so that what emanates from Him, being His, is holy), that the oil was declared so many times to be holy. See also above in 10266.

sRef Ex@30 @33 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10286. ‘The man who makes an ointment like it’ means imitations of Divine things produced by [human] cunning. This is clear from the meaning of ‘making that which is like it’ as imitating it; and from the meaning of ‘ointment’ as Divine Truths which are the Lord’s alone and come from the Lord alone, dealt with above in 10264. The reason why imitations produced by [human] cunning is meant is that all imitation of Divine things by a person is a product of that cunning. The nature of all this may be recognized from what has been stated and shown above in 10284; but further light may be shed on it by certain things that go on among spirits. Those of them who attribute everything to fortune and their own prudence and nothing to the Divine, as they did in the world, know how to employ various methods to imitate Divine things. They can produce palaces almost like those in the heavens; they can produce views containing plantations of trees and open countryside very similar to those the Lord provides for good spirits; they can adorn themselves with brilliant garments, indeed sirens can make themselves appear in almost angelic beauty. But all this is the product of a cunning that involves the use of delusions. Yet all those things which they can do, however much they may seem to outward appearance to be similar, are inwardly foul. This is also revealed instantly by the Lord to good spirits, for unless it were revealed they would be led astray. The outward appearance is taken away, and when this has been taken away the devilish interior is exposed. It is taken away by the shedding of light from heaven, which disperses the feeble light that accompanies delusions and that those spirits rely on to produce such imitations. From all this one may recognize what the imitation of Divine things that is a product of [human] cunning is like. But things done in reliance on the Lord are inwardly heavenly; and the more interior they are, the more heavenly they are; for Divine things increase in perfection the more and more internal they are, so much so that finally they possess perfection and beauty that are beyond description.

[2] The situation is similar with the imitation of what is good and true by those who lead an evil life. Those of them who know how to make a pretence of good affections and of some form of charity towards the neighbour and love to God, and together with those affections talk about and proclaim the truths of faith seemingly from the heart, dwell in a similar feeble and delusive light. When therefore the outward appearance which makes a pretence of those inner things is taken away, the hellish nature lying within, which is nothing but evil and the falsity of evil, is revealed. And at the same time the fact that such evil constitutes their love, and the falsity of that evil their faith, is in like manner presented to view. From all this it is again evident what imitating Divine things by means of human endeavour is, dealt with above in 10284.

sRef Ex@30 @33 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10287. ‘And he who puts any of it on a foreigner’ means a joining together for those who do not acknowledge the Lord, and so who are subject to evils and to the falsities of evil. This is clear from the meaning of ‘putting it on someone’ – when the subject is Divine Truths, meant by the sweet-smelling ointment – as a joining together; and from the meaning of ‘a foreigner’ as those who do not belong to the Church, thus those who do not acknowledge the Lord, consequently who are subject to evils and falsities. Anyone who does not acknowledge the Lord does not belong to the Church; and anyone who rejects the Lord is subject to evils and falsities. For goodness and truth come from no other source than Him. The fact that such people are meant by ‘foreigners’ will be clear from the places in the Word which will follow below. But first something must be stated regarding the joining of Divine Truth among those who do not acknowledge the Lord. Such a joining together constitutes profanation, for profanation is a joining of Divine Truth to falsities arising from evil. The joining together that constitutes profanation is something which cannot happen with any at all except those who have first acknowledged the things which are the Church’s, and especially the Lord, but subsequently reject them. For acknowledgement of the Church’s truths and of the Lord leads to contact with the heavens, and consequently to an opening of a person’s interiors towards heaven; and a subsequent rejection of them leads to a joining of the same truths to falsities arising from evil. For everything a person acknowledges remains implanted in him; nothing present with a person which has entered through acknowledgement is destroyed.

[2] The state of a person with whom profanation exists is one in which he is in contact with the heavens and at the same time with the hells, through truths with the heavens and through the falsities of evil with the hells. As a result of this, in the next life a tearing apart takes place with such people, which destroys the whole of their inner life. After the tearing apart they hardly look like human beings any longer; they look like bones that have been scorched and have little life in them. See what has been stated and shown previously regarding profanation in the following places,

Profaners are those who have first acknowledged God’s truths but subsequently reject them, 1001, 1010, 1059, 2051, 3398, 4289, 4601, 6348, 6959, 6963, 6971, 8394.
People who have rejected them since early childhood, such as Jews and others, are not profaners, 593, 1001, 1010, 1059, 3398, 3489, 6963.
The Lord takes the greatest care to guard against the occurrence of profanation with a person, 301-303, 1327, 1328, 2426, 3398, 3402, 3489, 6595.

[3] But it should be realized that the genera of profanation are very many, and the species composing those genera are very many. For there are those who profane the Church’s forms of good and those who profane its truths; there are those who profane greatly and those who profane slightly; there are those who profane on a more internal level and those who profane on increasingly external levels; there are those who profane through belief contrary to the Church’s truths and forms of good, there are those who profane through the life they lead, and those who profane through their worship. Consequently there exist very many hells of profaners, which are distinct and separate from one another, in accord with their different kinds of profanation. The hells of those who profane good are behind one’s back, whereas the hells of profanation of truth are underfoot and to the sides. They are deeper than the hells of all other evils and are rarely opened.

sRef John@8 @24 S4′ [4] Those who do not acknowledge the Lord and refuse to do so, whether they are outside the Church or inside it, thus those who are subject to evils and to the falsities of evil, are meant by ‘foreigners’; and in the abstract sense, without reference to actual persons, evils and the falsities of evil are meant. This is clear from very many places in the Word. The reason for saying ‘those who do not acknowledge the Lord, thus those who are subject to evils and the falsities of evil’ is that people who do not acknowledge the Lord are inevitably subject to evils and the falsities of evil; for the Lord is the source of all good and of all the truth of good. Those therefore who reject the Lord are subject to evils and the falsities of evil, as accords with the Lord’s words in John,

Unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins. John 8:24.

sRef Isa@1 @7 S5′ [5] The fact that such people are meant by ‘foreigners’ is clear from the following places: In Isaiah,

Your land will be a lonely place, your cities have been burned with fire; foreigners will devour your ground before you, and it will be a lonely place, as if overturned by foreigners*. Isa. 1:7.

Here land should not be understood by ‘land’, nor cities and ground by ‘cities’ and ‘ground’. Instead the Church should be understood by ‘land’ and likewise by ‘ground’, and by ‘cities’ the Church’s truths, called its doctrinal teachings, which are said to have been ‘burned with fire’ when they have been destroyed by the evils of self-love and love of the world. From this it is evident what is meant by ‘foreigners will devour your ground’, namely evils and the falsities of evil destroying the Church, and by ‘your land will be a lonely place’ and ‘your cities have been burned with fire’.

‘Land’ or earth means the Church, see in the places referred to in 9325, and ‘ground’ likewise, 566, 1068.
‘Cities’ are the Church’s doctrinal teachings, thus its truths, 2268, 2451, 2712, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493.
‘Fire’ means the evil of self-love and love of the world, 1297, 1861, 2446, 5071, 5215, 6314, 6832, 7575, 9141.

sRef Jer@51 @51 S6′ [6] In Jeremiah,

Shame covered our faces when foreigners came against the sanctuaries of Jehovah’s house. Jer. 51:51.

‘Foreigners coming against the sanctuaries of Jehovah’s house’ are evils and the falsities of evil that go against the Church’s truths and forms of good. The word ‘foreigners’ was used to mean members of the gentile nations who were slaves in the Jewish Church, and the gentile nations of that land also mean evil and falsities, 9320. In the same prophet,

You say, There is no hope, no; but I will love foreigners, and after them I will go. Jer. 2:25.

‘Loving foreigners and going after them’ means loving evils and the falsities of evil, and worshipping them.

sRef Jer@2 @25 S7′ sRef Ezek@11 @8 S7′ sRef Ezek@11 @9 S7′ [7] In Ezekiel,

I will bring a sword upon you, and will give you into the hand of foreigners. Ezek. 11:8, 9.

‘Bringing a sword upon’ means falsities arising from evil set in conflict against truths springing from good. ‘Giving into the hand of foreigners’ means to the end that they may believe and serve those falsities. For the meaning of ‘a sword’ as truth engaged in conflict against falsities, and in the contrary sense falsity engaged in conflict against truths, see 2799, 6353, 7102, 8294.

sRef Ezek@28 @10 S8′ [8] In the same prophet,

You will die the deaths of the uncircumcised in the hand of foreigners. Ezek. 28:10.

‘The uncircumcised’ are those who, for all the religious teachings they know, lead lives steeped in foul loves and the desires that go with them, 2049, 3412, 3413, 4462, 7045, 7225, the death they die being spiritual death. ‘In the hand of foreigners’ means subject to evils themselves and the falsities of evil.

sRef Ezek@16 @32 S9′ sRef Joel@3 @17 S9′ [9] In the same prophet,

Jerusalem, an adulterous woman, takes foreigners instead of her husband. Ezek. 16:32.

‘Jerusalem, an adulterous woman’ stands for the Church in which good has been adulterated; ‘taking foreigners’ stands for its acceptance, in life and doctrine, of evils and the falsities of evil. In Joel,

Jerusalem will be holy, and foreigners will not pass through her any longer. Joel 3:17.

Here also ‘Jerusalem’ stands for the Church, but one in which people acknowledge the Lord, lead good lives, and believe truths coming from the Lord. ‘Foreigners will not pass through her any longer’ means that evils and the falsities of evil coming from hell will not enter it.

sRef Ps@54 @3 S10′ [10] In David,

Foreigners have risen up against me, and violent ones have sought my soul. Ps. 54:3.

Here also ‘foreigners’ stands for evils and the falsities of evil, and ‘violent ones’ for these same evils and falsities acting violently against forms of good and truths. Those who see solely the literal sense of the Word take ‘foreigners’ to mean nothing more than those outside the Church who were rising up against David. But no ideas of actual persons enter the thinking of those in heaven, only the realities meant by them, 8343, 8985, 9007, so that they think not of people but things that are foreign or alien, that is, those which are alienated from the Church, thus evils and the falsities of evil which destroy the Church. And by ‘David’, against whom the foreigners were rising up, those in heaven understand the Lord, 1888, 9954.

[11] In Moses,

He forsook the God who made him, and despised the Rock of his salvation. They provoked Him to jealousy through foreign [gods]. Deut. 32:15, 16.

‘Forsaking God’ and ‘despising the Rock of salvation’ stand for rejecting the Lord, ‘provoking through foreign [gods]’ for doing so through evils and the falsities of evil, ‘the Rock of salvation’ being the Lord in respect of the truths of faith, see 8581. In addition to all this there are other places in which ‘foreigners’ stands for evils and falsities, such as Isa. 25:2, 4, 5; Jer. 30:8; Ezek. 31:11, 12.

sRef Lev@22 @10 S12′ sRef Deut@32 @16 S12′ sRef Deut@32 @15 S12′ [12] Since ‘foreigners’ meant those who are subject to evils and the falsities of evil, and consequently in the abstract sense meant evils and the falsities of
evil, it was forbidden for a foreigner to eat that which was holy, Lev. 22:10; no foreigner was permitted to come near and perform the priestly function or guard the sanctuary; and any who did come near was to be put to death, Num. 1:51; 3:10, 38; 18:7; sRef Num@1 @51 S13′ sRef Num@3 @10 S13′ sRef Num@3 @38 S13′ sRef Num@18 @7 S13′ sRef Lev@10 @2 S13′ sRef Lev@10 @1 S13′ [13] furthermore no incense was to be offered on foreign** fire, and because Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu did offer incense on it they were devoured by fire from heaven, Lev. 10:1, 2. For holy fire which was taken from the altar was a sign of love derived from God, whereas foreign fire was a sign of love coming from hell, and therefore also of evils and the desires that go with them, see 1297, 1861, 2446, 5071, 5215, 6314, 6832, 7575, 9141.

sRef Obad@1 @11 S14′ sRef Lam@5 @2 S14′ sRef Lam@5 @1 S14′ [14] Mention is also made in the Word of those who are foreign-born, a different word being used in the original language from that rendered ‘foreigners’, and by them falsities themselves are meant, as in Lamentations,

O Jehovah, look upon our shame. Our inheritance has been turned over to foreigners, and our houses to the foreign-born. Lam. 5:1, 2.

In Obadiah,

Foreigners led his strength*** captive, and the foreign-born entered his gates and cast**** lots for Jerusalem. Obad. verse 11.

‘Casting lots for Jerusalem’ stands for destroying the Church and scattering its truths.

sRef Zeph@1 @8 S15′ [15] In Zephaniah,

I will punish***** the princes and the king’s sons, and all clothed with the clothing of him who is foreign-born. Zeph. 1:8.

Those ‘clothed with the clothing of him who is foreign-born’ stand for people subject to falsities; for ‘the princes’ and ‘the king’s sons’ who are to undergo punishment mean leading truths and in the contrary sense leading falsities. For this meaning of ‘princes’, see 1482, 2089, 5044, and for that of ‘kings’ as truths themselves and in the contrary sense falsities themselves, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148, so that ‘the king’s sons’ means things derived from those truths or falsities.

sRef Ps@144 @7 S16′ sRef Ps@144 @8 S16′ sRef Ps@144 @11 S16′ [16] In David,

Deliver me, and rescue me from the hands of the sons of him who is foreign-born, whose mouths speak vanity, and whose right hands are the right hands of falsehood. Ps. 144:7, 8, 11.

‘The sons of him who is foreign-born’, it is plainly evident, means those subject to falsities, and so means falsities themselves, for it says, ‘Whose mouths speak vanity, and whose right hands are right hands of falsehood’, ‘vanity’ meaning false ideas composing doctrine, and ‘falsehood’ false ways of life, 9248.

sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @33 S0′ 10288. ‘Shall be cut off from his people’ means separation and spiritual death. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being cut off’, and of being put to death, as separation from those governed by good and by truths springing from it, and destruction of spiritual life, dealt with in 6767, 8902; and from the meaning of ‘people’ as those belonging to the Church in whom the truths and forms of the good of faith are present, dealt with in 3581, 4619, 6451, 6465, 7207. Thus ‘being cut off from one’s people’ means being separated from them and being destroyed. In the Word those who belong to the Church are sometimes called a people, sometimes a nation, as in the expressions Israelite people and Jewish nation. The word ‘people’ there means those who belong to the spiritual Church, and ‘nation’ those who belong to the celestial Church; and this is the reason why ‘peoples’ means truths and forms of the good of faith, while ‘nations’ means forms of the good of love, see in the places referred to immediately above.
* lit. as if an overturning of foreigners
** i.e. unauthorized or profane
*** i.e. his forces or his substance
**** Reading jecerunt (cast) for jacient (will cast)
***** lit. I will visit upon

sRef Ex@30 @36 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @38 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @37 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @34 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @35 S0′ 10289 Verses 34-38 And Jehovah said to Moses, Take for yourself sweet spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum – [these] sweet ones, and pure frankincense; amount for amount there shall be*. And you shall make this an incense, an ointment, the work of an ointment-maker – salted, pure, holy. And you shall beat some of it very fine, and put some of it before the Testimony in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with you. The holy of holies** it shall be to you. And the incense which you make, according to its composition***, you shall not make for yourselves; it shall be to you holy for Jehovah. The man who makes any like it, to make an odour with it, will be cut off from his people.

‘And Jehovah said to Moses’ means enlightenment and perception once again from the Lord through the Word. ‘Take for yourself sweet spices’ means the affections for truth springing from good which must be present in the worship of God. ‘Stacte’ means an affection for truth on the level of the senses. ‘And onycha’ means an affection for truth on the more internal natural level. ‘And galbanum’ means an affection for truth on a still more internal level. ‘[These] sweet ones’ means affections springing from spiritual good. ‘And pure frankincense’ means truth on the inmost level, which is spiritual good. ‘Amount for amount there shall be’ means total agreement. ‘And you shall make this an incense’ means worship consisting of them. ‘An ointment, the work of an ointment-maker’ means as a result of the influx and operation of what is Divine and the Lord’s within every single part. ‘Salted’ means the desire which truth has for good. ‘Pure’ means devoid of evil. ‘Holy’ means devoid of the falsity of evil. ‘And you shall beat some of it very fine’ means the arrangement of truths into their own series. ‘And put some of it before the Testimony in the tent of meeting’ means worship of the Lord in heaven and in the Church. ‘Where I will meet with you’ means as a result of the influx of the Lord. ‘The holy of holies it shall be to you’ means since it emanates from the Lord. ‘And the incense which you make, according to its composition, you shall not make for yourselves’ means that worship consisting of the Church’s holy truths must not be attached to the loves that are a person’s own. ‘It shall be holy to you for Jehovah’ means that it must be attached to love that is Divine. ‘The man who makes any like it, to make an odour with it’ means an imitation – springing from self – of the worship of God expressed through affections for truth and good. ‘Will be cut off from his people’ means separation from heaven and the Church, and spiritual death.
* i.e. there shall be equal amounts of each, see 10297.
** i.e. most holy
*** lit. which you make in its quality

sRef Ex@30 @34 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10290. ‘And Jehovah said to Moses’ means enlightenment and perception once again from the Lord through the Word. This is clear from the meaning of ‘saying’, when it refers to Jehovah, as enlightenment and perception (for its meaning enlightenment, see 7019, 10215, 10234, and for its meaning perception, 1791, 1815, 1819, 1822, 1898, 1919, 2080, 2862, 3509, 5877); and from the representation of ‘Moses’ as the Word, dealt with in 6752, 7014, 7089, ‘Jehovah’ in the Word being the Lord, see in the places referred to in 9373. From all this it is evident that ‘Jehovah said to Moses’ means enlightenment and perception from the Lord through the Word.

[2] These things are meant because the Lord speaks to a member of the Church in no other way than through the Word; for when He does so He sheds light to enable the person to see the truth, and also provides perception to enable him to perceive it to be such. How far He does so however is determined by the nature of the person’s desire for truth, and that desire is determined by his love. Those who love truth for truth’s sake possess enlightenment, and those who love truth for goodness’ sake have perception. What perception is, see 483, 495, 521, 536, 597, 607, 784, 1121, 1387, 1919, 2144, 2145, 2171, 2515, 2831, 5228, 5920, 7680, 7977, 8780. But the Lord spoke to Moses and the prophets by word of mouth, to the end that the Word might be disseminated, its nature being such that every detail had an inner meaning. This also is the reason why these words, Jehovah said to Moses, are used. The angels, who discern that inner meaning, have no awareness of Moses, for the names of persons do not pass into heaven, 10282. Instead of Moses they perceive the Word, while the verb ‘to say’ is with them converted into something congruous with it, thus in this instance into ‘to be enlightened’ and ‘to perceive’. Nothing else furthermore is understood, in the angelic way of thinking, by ‘saying’ or ‘speaking’ when done by the Lord through the Word.

sRef Ex@30 @34 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10291. ‘Take for yourself sweet spices’ means the affections for truth springing from good which must be present in the worship of God. This is clear from the meaning of ‘spices’ as perceptions of and affections for truth and good, dealt with in 10254. The reason why they are the ones that must be present in the worship of God is that ‘the incense’ that was made from them means the worship of God, which is the subject in what follows. The spices that are mentioned now are of an entirely different kind from the spices from which the anointing oil was prepared, which were the subject above in verses 23, 24. Those too are called spices, though a different word is used in the original language. The spices from which the anointing oil was prepared mean perceptions of and affections for truth and good, in the same way as the present spices do; but the difference is that the earlier truths belong to the celestial group, whereas the later ones belong to the spiritual group. That those earlier truths belong to the celestial group may be seen in 10254; that these later ones belong to the spiritual group will be seen in what follows below.

[2] Something more must be stated briefly to show what belonging to the celestial group and belonging to the spiritual group imply. It has often been stated that heaven is divided into the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom. The two kingdoms have different kinds of truth, as they do of good, the good of the celestial kingdom being the good of love to the Lord, and the good of the spiritual kingdom the good of charity towards the neighbour. All good has its own truths; celestial good has its own and spiritual good its own, and these are entirely different from each other. The nature of that difference becomes clear from what has been shown regarding both kingdoms in the places referred to in 9277.

[3] The reason why all good has its own truths is that good is given form by truths, see 10252, 10266, and also reveals itself through truths. Such good and truths are like a person’s will and understanding, in that his will is given form by and also reveals itself through his understanding. What belongs to the will is called good, and what belongs to the understanding is called truth.

sRef Ex@30 @34 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10292. ‘Stacte’ means an affection for truth on the level of the senses. This is clear from the meaning of ‘stacte’ as truth on the level of the senses, an affection for that truth being meant on account of the sweet smell this spice has. For an odour means perception, a sweet odour meaning perception that is pleasing, a foul and stinking odour perception that is displeasing; and any pleasure or displeasure that perception brings is attributable to and in keeping with the affection belonging to love, see 925, 1514, 1517-1519, 3577, 4624-4634, 4748, 5621, 10054. It should be remembered in general that all things whatever in the vegetable kingdom, both those which woodlands yield and those which gardens, fields, and plains produce, such as trees, crops, flowers, grass, and vegetables, mean spiritual and celestial realities generally and specifically. The reason why this should be so is that the whole natural order is a theatre representative of the Lord’s kingdom, see in the places referred to in 9280.

[2] ‘Stacte’ means an affection for truth on the level of the senses because it is mentioned first; for there are four spices from which the incense was made, even as there are four spices from which the anointing oil was prepared. And the one that is mentioned first is the most external, as was that mentioned first in the preparation of the anointing oil, namely the best myrrh, by which the perception of truth on the level of the senses is meant, see 10252 above.

[3] The reason why four spices were used in the preparation of both the oil and the incense was that they meant levels of truth in their proper order, from outward to inmost; and in a person they follow one another in that same order. For a person has an external, called the external man, and an internal, called the internal man; and in each of these there is a more external level and a more internal one. The most external level is called that of the senses; this therefore is what is meant by ‘stacte’. What the level of the senses is and what it is like, see 9996, 10236. [4] The fact that ‘stacte’ means an affection for truth on the level of the senses cannot be corroborated from other places in the Word because it is not mentioned anywhere else. Yet another kind of stacte, for which also a different word is used in the original language, is mentioned among those spices which were taken down into Egypt, Gen. 37:25; 43:11; and by those commodities which were taken down to Egypt such things as exist in the external or natural man are implied. This is because ‘Egypt’ means factual knowledge, which belongs to the natural man, see in the places referred to in 9391.

sRef Ex@30 @34 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10293. ‘And onycha’ means an affection for truth on the more internal natural level. This is clear from the meaning of ‘sweet-smelling onycha’ as an affection for natural truth; ‘onycha’ means that truth, while ‘sweet-smelling’ means the perception of what is pleasing, which springs from the affection for truth, and so means the affection itself. The reason for calling it ‘sweet-smelling’ onycha is that it is described as such both before and after the listing of these spices, in the words, ‘Take for yourself sweet-smelling spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum – sweet-smelling ones’. The reason why an affection for truth in the natural is what is meant by ‘onycha’ is that this spice is mentioned second; for the spices are mentioned in the order in which the different kinds of truth are present with a person, from the most external to the inmost levels of them. Consequently ‘stacte’ means an affection for truth on the level of the senses, which is the most external kind of truth; ‘onycha’ means an affection for truth on the natural level, which is interior truth within the natural man; ‘galbanum’ means an affection for truth on a still more internal level, which is interior truth within the spiritual or internal man; and ‘frankincense’ means truth on the inmost level within the internal man, which is spiritual good. They have a similar meaning to the spices that the anointing oil consisted of, which were the best myrrh, sweet-smelling cinnamon, sweet-smelling calamus, and cassia. These too mean those levels of truth in that same order, see 10252, 10254, 10256, 10258; but the difference is that the kinds of truth meant by the spices of the anointing oil belong to the celestial group, whereas those meant by the spices of the incense belong to the spiritual group, a subject dealt with above in 10254, 10291.

sRef Ex@30 @34 S0′ sRef Ex@30 @5 S0′ 10294. ‘And galbanum’ means an affection for truth on a still more internal level. This is clear from what has been stated immediately above in 10293. The fact that ‘onycha’ and ‘galbanum’ mean truth on more and more internal levels cannot be substantiated except from the order in which they come; for they do not occur anywhere else in the Word.

sRef Ex@30 @34 S0′ 10295. ‘[These] sweet ones’ means affections springing from spiritual good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘sweet-smelling spices’ as affections for truth springing from good, dealt with above in 10291. As regards their springing from spiritual good, see 10254, 10290, 10293(end). The reason why the incense was made from the spices that mean kinds of truth springing from spiritual good, or what amounts to the same thing, why the kinds of truth that are meant by those spices belong to the spiritual group, is that the worship of God accomplished by means of truths springing from that good is meant by ‘incense’. For acts of thanksgiving, adoration, prayer, and the like are what are meant specifically by ‘incense’, see 9475. Such acts of worship are emanations from the heart expressed through thoughts and speech. The fact that spiritual truths are the means by which such worship is accomplished may be recognized from the ideas a person has in mind while engaged in that worship. For the person’s ideas then pass from his memory into his understanding and come forth from there; and anything emanating from there is called spiritual. As regards the worship of God springing from celestial good, such as takes place among those who are in the Lord’s celestial kingdom, this is not accomplished by means of acts of thanksgiving, adoration, and prayer, as is the worship among those who are in the spiritual kingdom, thus not by truths coming from the memory but by truths coming from the heart, which act as one with the actual love that governs those people. For the truths that exist with them have been inscribed on their love, and therefore when moved by love to do what is commanded they are at the same time moved to do so by truths, without any thought about them based on what they have been taught, thus without any recollection of them from their memory. The fact that the state of those who are in the Lord’s celestial kingdom is such as this may be recognized from what has been shown regarding that kingdom and the spiritual kingdom in the places referred to in 9277. As regards ‘incense’, that it means acts of thanksgiving, adoration, and prayer, which emanate from the thoughts of the heart through the mouth, see 9475, 10177, 10198.

sRef Ex@30 @34 S0′ 10296. ‘[And] pure frankincense’ means truth on the inmost level, which is spiritual good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘frankincense’ as truth on the inmost level; and from the meaning of ‘pure’ as that which has been purged of the falsity of evil. The reason why truth on the inmost level, meant by ‘frankincense’, is spiritual good is that good with those who are in the Lord’s spiritual kingdom is nothing other than truth. But this truth is called good when a person wills and does it from conscience and from affection. For in the case of those who are spiritual the entire will part of the mind has been corrupted; but the understanding part is preserved intact by the Lord, and within it the Lord implants a new will through regeneration. This new will is the conscience they have within them, which is a conscience composed of truth. All that is implanted in the understanding and emanates from the understanding is truth; for the human understanding is dedicated to the reception of truths belonging to faith, whereas the will is dedicated to receiving forms of good belonging to love. From all this it is evident that spiritual good is in its essence truth. As regards the new will in the case of those who are spiritual, that it is implanted in the understanding part of their minds, so that good with them is in its essence truth, see in the places referred to in 9277, 9596, 9684. Truth on the inmost level is called good because the more internal things are, the more perfect they are, and because the inmost part of a person is his will and what belongs to his will is called good. That ‘frankincense’ means truth on the inmost level, and so means spiritual good, may be recognized from the places quoted from the Word in 10177 above.

[2] Since spiritual good is meant by ‘frankincense’, and good is what reigns within all truths, arranges them into order, links them together, and imparts affection to them, frankincense is mentioned last; and the containers in which incense was burned were therefore called censers*. For the designation is derived from the essential element, which is good, even as for a like reason the term ‘the anointing oil’ was derived from the olive oil and not from the spices mixed into it when it was being prepared, that is to say, for the reason that ‘the oil’ meant good and ‘the spices’ different kinds of truth.

sRef Ps@73 @13 S3′ sRef Ps@51 @4 S3′ sRef Isa@1 @16 S3′ [3] The expression ‘pure frankincense’ is used because ‘pure’ means that which has been purged of the falsities of evil; and the word in the original language means inwardly pure, while another word is used to mean outwardly pure or clean. The fact that what is inwardly pure is meant by that word is clear in Isaiah,

Wash yourselves, render yourselves pure; remove the wickedness of your doings from before My eyes. Isa. 1:16.

In David,

In vain have I rendered my heart pure, and washed my hands in innocence. Ps. 73:13.

‘Rendering the heart pure’ means being purified inwardly, and ‘washing the hands in innocence ‘ being purified outwardly. In the same author,

By what will a young man render his way pure? By guarding himself according to Your Word. Ps. 119:9.

And in the same author,

… You may be pure in Your judging. Ps. 51:4.

For the other word that is used to mean outwardly pure or clean, see Lev. 11:32; 12:7, 8; 13:6, 13, 17, 23, 28, 34, 37, 58; 14:7-9, 20, 48, 53; 15:13, 28; 16:19, 30; 22:7; Jer. 13:27; Ezek. 24:13; 39:12; and elsewhere.
* Thuribula (censers) is derived from thus (frankincense).

sRef Ex@30 @34 S0′ 10297. ‘Amount for amount there shall be’ means total agreement. ‘Amount for amount’ is used to mean an equal amount of one as of the other, that is, the same amount of frankincense as of the spices; and by amount in either [liquid] measure or weight agreement is meant, in this instance total agreement.

sRef Ex@30 @35 S0′ 10298. ‘And you shall make this an incense’ means worship consisting of them. This is clear from the meaning of ‘incense’ as acts of thanksgiving, adoration, prayer, and like forms of worship, which are emanations from the heart passing into thought and speech, dealt with in 9475. By ‘the smoke of the incense’ a raising up is meant, 10177, 10198, and by ‘a sweet odour’ a perception and reception that are pleasing, in the places referred to in 10292.

[2] Since the worship of God, meant by ‘sweet-smelling incense’, is described here, and the spices from which that incense was made mean different kinds of truth in their proper order, what that worship is like must be stated briefly here. But it is impossible to reveal this arcanum without knowledge of the nature of the human being. The human being is a human being not by virtue of his face, nor indeed by virtue of his speech, but by virtue of his understanding and will. The character of understanding and will make a human being what he is. It is well known that at birth nothing constituting his understanding nor anything composing his will exists, and that from earliest childhood his understanding and his will are being formed gradually. In this way he is made a human being, and the kind of human being he becomes is determined by the character of those two powers of mind that have been formed in him. The understanding is formed by means of truths and the will by means of forms of good, so much so that his understanding is nothing other than a mass of ideas such as are related to truths, and his will nothing other than an affection for things such as are called good. From this it follows that nothing else than the truth and the good from which both his powers of mind have been formed constitute the human being.

[3] All the individual parts of his body correspond to them, as may be recognized from the consideration that the body acts instantaneously in response to what the understanding thinks and the will intends. For his mouth speaks in conformity with his thoughts, his face alters in conformity with his affections, and his body makes movements in conformity with the signals received from both. From this it is evident that the character of a person’s understanding and will, thus what he is like in respect of truths and forms of good there, make him wholly and completely what he is. For as has been stated, truths constitute the understanding part of his mind and forms of good the will part, or what amounts to the same thing, his truth and his good constitute the human being.

[4] This is plainly apparent in the case of spirits. They are nothing other than their own truths and forms of good, which they took to themselves when they were people living in the world. But they are still human forms, and therefore the character of the truths and forms of good that are theirs shines from their faces; it is also revealed in their tone of voice and the feeling in what they say, in their gestures, and most of all in the words they use when they speak. For the words composing their speech are not like those used by people in the world but are in complete harmony with the truths and forms of good that reside with them, in such complete harmony that they flow naturally from them. This kind of speech is what spirits and angels use when they talk to one another. As to his spirit a person uses something similar while living in the world, though he is unaware of doing so then. For his thought consists of ideas of this type, as has also been observed by certain learned people who have termed those ideas immaterial and intellectual. Those ideas become words after death, when the person becomes a spirit. From all this it is again evident that nothing else than his truth and his good constitute the human being. Consequently after death he continues to be the kind of person that his truth and good have made him. The words ‘the kind that his truth and good have made him’ should be taken to mean also the kind that his falsity and evil have made him; for people who are bad call falsity truth, and evil they call good.

[5] This arcanum is what people must be fully aware of if they are to have any knowledge of what the worship of God is like. But in addition to this, another needs to be known, namely that the entire person is present within every idea emanating from the person’s will. This also follows from the first, for what a person thinks springs from the truth and what he wills from the good that constitute him. This may be seen to be so from the following experience, that when angels perceive one idea a person has, or one idea a spirit has, they know instantly the character of that person or this spirit.

[6] These things have been stated in order that people may know what the worship of God, meant by the incense consisting of the spices, is like, namely that the entire person is present within every single part of his worship, because the truth and good constituting him are present within it. This is the reason why the four spices are mentioned, by which all the levels of truth in their entirety are meant. From this it also follows that it amounts to the same thing whether you say that the worship of God consists of these levels of truth and good or you say that the person consists of them; for as has been stated, the entire person is present within all the particular ideas which compose his thought and constitute his worship.

sRef Ex@30 @35 S0′ 10299. ‘An ointment, the work of an ointment-maker’ means as a result of the influx and operation of what is Divine and the Lord’s within every single part. This is clear from the meaning of ‘ointment’, or perfume, as the kinds of truth within every single part of the worship, dealt with in 10264; and from the meaning of ‘the work of an ointment-maker (or perfumer)’ as the influx and operation of Divinity itself, dealt with in 10265.

[2] How to understand this, that the influx and operation must exist within every single part of the worship, must also be stated briefly. Those who have no knowledge of the arcana of heaven suppose that worship begins in the person himself since it flows from the thought and feelings within him. But worship that begins in the person is not true worship; consequently offerings of thanksgiving, adoration, and prayer which begin in the person are not the offerings of thanksgiving, adoration, and prayer that are heard and accepted by the Lord. They must begin in the Lord present with the person. The Church knows that this is so, for it teaches that no good thing emanates from man, but that everything good comes from heaven, that is, begins in God there; also that He is the source of all that is good within worship, and that worship devoid of what is good is not worship. The Church therefore, when engaged in anything holy, prays that God may be present, giving guidance to thought and speech. What happens in all this is that when a person is engaged in true worship the Lord flows into the forms of good and the truths present with the person, raises them towards Himself, and raises the person with them, in the measure and degree that they govern him. This raising is not apparent to the person if he does not have any real affection for truth and good, and does not know, acknowledge, and believe that everything good comes from above, beginning in the Lord.

[3] Even those who are knowledgeable about worldly things can grasp the truth of this, for they know from the learning they have received that there is no such thing as natural influx, or physical influx as they term it, only spiritual influx; that is, nothing can flow from the natural world into heaven, only from heaven into the natural world. All this goes to show how to understand the explanation that the influx and operation of what is Divine and the Lord’s must exist in every single part of the worship. I have also been allowed to learn by much experience that it is so; for I have been allowed to feel the actual influx, the calling forth of the truths present within me, the linking of them to the objects of prayer, the accompanying affection for good, and the actual raising up.

[4] But though all this is so, a person ought not to let hands hang down and wait for influx to come, for that would be behaving like a lifeless statue. A person should think, will, and act as if doing so all by himself, yet should attribute to the Lord all his thought of what is true and endeavour towards what is good. When this happens the Lord implants within the person the ability to receive Him and influx from Him.

[5] For the human being was created with no other end in view than to be a receptacle of the Divine; and the ability to receive the Divine is formed within him in no other way. Once it has been formed in him he has no other wish than that the situation should be such, for he loves the influx from the Lord and loathes operating all by himself. This is because influx from the Lord is the influx of good, whereas operating all by oneself is the operation of evil. All the angels in heaven feel the same way, which is why in the Word truths and forms of good derived from the Lord are meant by angels; for they are recipients of them, see 1925, 3039, 4085, 4295, 8192.

sRef Ex@30 @35 S0′ 10300. ‘Salted’ means the desire which truth has for good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘salt’ as desire belonging to the love which truth has for good, dealt with below, so that ‘salted’ means something in which that desire is present. The reason why the desire which truth has for good needs to be present is that this desire causes the two to be joined together; for to the extent that truth desires good it becomes joined to it. Truth and good joined together is what is called the heavenly marriage, which constitutes heaven itself with a person. Therefore when the desire for them to be joined together exists within the worship of God, within every single part of it, heaven – and accordingly the Lord – is present there within every single part. This is meant by the requirement for the incense to be salted. ‘Salt’ receives this meaning from its conjunctive properties; for it makes ingredients all combine and consequently brings out their flavour. Indeed it causes water and oil to combine, which otherwise do not combine.

sRef Mark@9 @50 S2′ sRef Mark@9 @49 S2′ [2] When it is known that ‘salt’ means the desire for truth and good to be joined together it may be seen what the Lord’s words in Mark mean,

Everyone will be salted with fire, and every sacrifice will be salted with salt. Salt is good; but if the salt becomes tasteless, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves. Mark 9:49, 50.

‘Everyone will be salted with fire’ means that each person must have a desire that is present as a result of true love. ‘Every sacrifice will be salted with salt’ means that the desire present as a result of true love must exist within all worship. ‘Tasteless salt’ means a desire present as a result of a love other than that true love. ‘Having salt in themselves’ means possessing truth that has a desire for good.

Love is meant by ‘fire’, see 4906, 5071(end), 5215, 6314, 6832, 10055.
Worship in general is meant by ‘sacrifice’, 922, 6905, 8680, 8936.

Can anyone without knowledge of what ‘fire’ means, or what ‘salt’ and ‘being salted’ mean, know what ‘being salted with fire’ means, why a sacrifice had to be salted, or what the command to have salt in themselves means?

sRef Matt@5 @13 S3′ sRef Luke@14 @34 S3′ sRef Luke@14 @35 S3′ sRef Luke@14 @33 S3′ [3] Something similar occurs in Luke,

Any of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be My disciple. Salt is good; but if the salt is made tasteless, by what will it be seasoned? It is fit neither for the land nor for the dunghill; people will throw it outdoors. Luke 14:33-35.

‘Renouncing all their possessions’ means loving the Lord above all things, ‘possessions’ being what is a person’s own. ‘Tasteless salt’ means desire that springs from the proprium or self, thus from self-love and love of the world. This kind of desire is meant by salt that is tasteless, fit for nothing, as also in Matthew,

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt is tasteless, by what will it be made salty? It no longer has any use, except to be thrown outdoors and trodden down by people. Matt. 5:13, 14.

sRef Lev@2 @13 S4′ [4] The need for all worship to contain truth that has a desire for good is also meant by the requirement that every offering of a minchah should be salted, and that the salt of Jehovah’s covenant should be on every offering, Lev. 2:13. By ‘the minchah and offering’ which compose the sacrifice worship is meant, as above; and the salt is called in that verse ‘the salt of Jehovah’s covenant’ because ‘covenant’ means a joining together, see 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 6804, 8767, 8778, 9396, 9416. Also desire is the actual ardour that flames from and so is an extension of love, and love is spiritual togetherness.

sRef Jer@17 @5 S5′ sRef Jer@17 @6 S5′ [5] Just as truth’s desire for good has the capacity to link things together, so falsity’s desire for evil has the capacity to separate them; and that which has the capacity to separate them also has the capacity to destroy them. For this reason ‘salt’ in the contrary sense means the destruction and laying waste of truth and good, as in Jeremiah,

Cursed is the man (vir) who makes flesh his arm. He will not see when good comes; but he will inhabit very hot places, a salt land which is not inhabited. Jer. 17:5, 6.

‘Making flesh his arm’ means trusting in himself, in his proprium, and not in the Divine, 10283; and since the proprium consists in loving self more than God and the neighbour, self-love is what those words describe. This is why it says that he will not see when good comes, and that he will inhabit very hot places and a salt land, that is, will lead a life ruled by foul kinds of love and their desires, which have destroyed the Church’s goodness and truth.

sRef Zeph@2 @9 S6′ [6] In Zephaniah,

It will be like Gomorrah, a place abandoned to the nettle, and a saltpit, and a waste forever. Zeph. 2:9.

‘A place abandoned to the nettle’ stands for the ardour and passion in a person’s life that spring from self-love. ‘A saltpit’ stands for the desire falsity possesses; and because this is destructive of truth and good, the expression ‘a waste forever’ is used. The reason for its being said that ‘it will be like Gomorrah’ is that Gomorrah and Sodom mean self-love, 2220.

sRef Gen@19 @26 S7′ sRef Judg@9 @45 S7′ sRef Deut@29 @23 S7′ [7] Where it said at Gen. 19:26 that Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt because she turned her face towards those cities, the meaning was the laying waste of truth and good; for in the internal sense ‘turning the face’ towards

something means loving it, 10189. This explains why the Lord says,

Let him not return to the things behind him. Remember Lot’s wife. Luke 17:31, 32.

And in Moses,

Its whole land will be brimstone and salt, and a burning, as at the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah. Deut. 29:23.

Here, as also elsewhere in the Word, ‘land’ is used to mean the Church, see in the places referred to in 9325. sRef 2Ki@2 @19 S8′ sRef 2Ki@2 @21 S8′ sRef 2Ki@2 @20 S8′ sRef 2Ki@2 @22 S8′ [8] So it was that cities which were not to be inhabited any longer were sown with salt after they had been destroyed, Judg. 9:45.
From all this it is evident that in the genuine sense ‘salt’ means the desire that truth has for good, thus its conjunctive power, and in the contrary sense the desire that falsity has for evil, thus its destructive power.

[9] Anyone therefore who knows that ‘salt’ means truth’s desire for good and the force that joins the two together is also able to know what is meant where it says that the water of Jericho was healed by Elisha, by his throwing salt into its source, 2 Kings 2:19-22. For Elisha, like Elijah, represented the Lord in respect of the Word, 2762, 8029; ‘water’ means the truths of the Word, ‘the water of Jericho’, and in like manner ‘the source’ of that water, meaning the truths of the Word in the literal sense; and ‘salt’ means the desire truth has for good, the joining together of the two, and consequent healing.

sRef Ex@30 @35 S0′ 10301. ‘Pure’ means devoid of evil. This is clear from the meaning of ‘pure’ as devoid of evil. Because all evil is impure, and all good is pure, the expression ‘being purified’ from sins and from iniquities is used. And it has regard to the heart, that is, the will; for the will is meant in the Word by ‘the heart’, 2930, 7542, 8910, 9300, 9495, since love is meant by it, 3883-3896, 9050.

sRef Ex@30 @35 S0′ 10302. ‘Holy’ means devoid of the falsity of evil. This is clear from the meaning of ‘holy’ as Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, dealt with in 6788, 7499, 8302, 8330, 9229, 9818, 9820, so that the word ‘holy’ is used to describe that which is devoid of the falsity of evil. The expression ‘the falsity of evil’ is used because falsity can exist devoid of evil, as it does with some upright people among nations outside the Church, and even with some among Christians within the Church. But falsity defiled by evil is in itself evil, since it arises from evil. Falsity however existing with those governed by good has not been defiled by evil; rather it has been purified from it. For this reason also such falsity is accepted by the Lord, almost as truth, and is also easily changed into truth; for those governed by good are eager to receive the truth. Regarding the two kinds of falsity, that which arises from evil and that which does not arise from evil, see in the places referred to in 9304, 10109.

sRef Ex@30 @36 S0′ 10303. ‘And you shall beat some of it very fine’ means the arrangement of truths into their own series. This is clear from the meaning of ‘beating very small’ – when it refers to the frankincense and spices, by which levels of truth are meant – as the arrangement of truths into their own series; for much the same is meant by ‘beating’ as by ‘grinding’, though ‘grinding’ is used in reference to wheat, barley, and spelt, whereas ‘beating’ is used in reference to oil, frankincense, and spices.

[2] What is meant specifically by ‘beating’ and ‘grinding’ no one can know without knowledge of what a person is like when the different kinds of good and truth meant by wheat, barley, flour, fine flour, oil, frankincense, and spices have been arranged into order for the uses they are to serve. For ‘grinding’ and ‘beating’ mean arranging them so that they may serve a use. When ‘grinding’ has reference to different kinds of good, which are meant by ‘wheat’ or ‘barley’, it means the way that good is arranged and brought forward in the form of truths, and its application in this form to one use or another. Good furthermore never presents itself within useful services except through truths; for good is arranged into order in the form of truths and in this way acquires specific quality. Unless it has been arranged in the form of truths good has no specific quality; and when it is arranged in the form of truths it is arranged into series, depending on the item under discussion, in accord with the use that item serves. The good enters those items as an affection belonging to love, and this gives rise to what is enjoyable, lovely, and pleasing. Something similar is meant here by ‘beating very fine’, for ‘pure frankincense’ means spiritual good, 10296, and the kinds of truth that are arranged into order by the good are the spices stacte, onycha, and galbanum, 10292-10294.

[3] What being arranged into series is must also be stated briefly. Truths are said to have been arranged into series when they have been arranged in accordance with the form of heaven, which consists of angelic communities. The character of that form is clear from the correspondence of all the members, internal organs, and other organs of the human being with the Grand Man, which is heaven. Regarding that correspondence, see in the places referred to in 10030(end). Within those members and organs all the individual parts are arranged into series and into series of series. Fibres and vessels form them, as is well known to those who are acquainted from anatomy with the weavings and interweavings of the more internal constituents of the body. The truths from good present in a person are arranged into similar series.

sRef Jer@25 @10 S4′ sRef Deut@24 @6 S4′ sRef Num@11 @8 S4′ sRef Isa@47 @1 S4′ sRef Isa@47 @2 S4′ [4] So it is that a person who has been regenerated is heaven in its smallest form, corresponding to the Grand Man; and that the person’s truth and good make him wholly and completely what he is.

A person who has been regenerated is heaven in its smallest form, see in the places referred to 9279.
His truth and his good constitute a person, 10298 above.
The truths with regenerate people have been arranged into series in accord with the arrangement in which angelic communities exist, 5339, 5343, 5530.

The series into which the truths with those who are good have been arranged, and the series into which the falsities with those who are evil have been arranged are meant in the Word by ‘sheafs’ and ‘bundles’, as in Lev. 23:9-15; Ps. 126:6; 129:7; Amos 2:13; Micah 4:12; Jer. 9:22; Zech. 12:6; Matt. 13:30.

[5] When therefore it is evident what ‘beating’ and ‘grinding’ mean one can know the meaning in the internal sense of the description stating that the children of Israel ground the manna in mills or beat it in mortars, and made it into cakes, Num. 11:8. ‘The manna’ was a sign of celestial and spiritual good, 8464, and ‘grinding’ and ‘beating’ arranging it to serve useful purposes; for whatever is mentioned in the Word is a sign of the kinds of realities that exist in heaven and in the Church. Every detail there has an inner meaning. One can also know the meaning when it says that they should not take as a pledge the mill or the milling stone, for anyone who does so takes the [person’s] soul as a pledge, Deut. 24:6. ‘The mill’ and ‘the milling stone’ mean that which prepares good so that it may be applicable to one use or another. ‘Barley’ too and ‘wheat’ mean good, and ‘flour’ and ‘fine flour’ truths; and its own truths are the means by which good is applied to any such use, as stated above.

sRef Matt@24 @41 S6′ sRef Ex@32 @20 S6′ sRef Rev@18 @22 S6′ sRef Rev@18 @21 S6′ sRef Matt@18 @6 S6′ [6] From all this it may be seen what ‘mill’, ‘millstone’, and ‘sitting at the mill’ mean in the following places: In Matthew,

At that time two women will be grinding; one will be taken, the other left. Matt. 24:41.

In the same gospel,

Whoever causes one of these little ones believing in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if an ass’s millstone* were hung onto his neck and he were plunged into the depth of the sea. Matt. 18:6; Mark 9:42.

In the Book of Revelation,

A mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus will Babylon be thrown down with violence; no sound of a mill will be heard in it any more. Rev. 18:21, 22.

In Jeremiah,

I will take away from them the voice of joy, the sound of mills, and the light of the lamp. Jer. 25:10.

And in Isaiah,

O daughter of Babel, sit on the ground; without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans. Take a mill and grind flour. Isa. 47:1, 2.

Even as ‘mill’ and ‘grinding’ in the good sense mean application to good purposes, so in the contrary sense they mean application to evil ones. Consequently when Babel and Chaldea are the subject they mean the application [of what is good and true] in favour of their own loves, which are self-love and love of the world; for with them ‘barley’ and ‘wheat’ mean adulterated good, and ‘flour’ the resulting falsified truth. The profanation of goodness and truth through applying them to those loves is also meant by the action of Moses when he ground up the golden calf into tiny pieces, sprinkled them on the water coming down from Mount Sinai, and made the children of Israel drink it, Exod. 32:20; Deut. 9:21.
* i.e. the upper, rotating stone of an ass-driven mill

sRef Ex@30 @36 S0′ 10304. ‘And put some of it before the Testimony in the tent of meeting’ means worship of the Lord in heaven and in the Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the incense’, which was to be put before the Testimony, as worship, dealt with above in 10298; from the meaning of ‘the Testimony’ as the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, dealt with in 9503; and from the representation of ‘the tent of meeting’ as heaven, dealt with in 9457, 9481, 9485. And since heaven is meant, so is the Church; for the Church is heaven on earth.

sRef Ex@30 @36 S0′ 10305. ‘Where I will meet with you’ means as a result of the influx of the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘meeting with’, when the Lord says He will do so, as His presence and influx, dealt with in 10147, 10148, 10197, at this point as a result of the influx of the Lord, since the subject is worship, meant by ‘the incense’. For all worship that is truly worship flows in from the Lord, as may be recognized from what has been shown above in 10299.

sRef Ex@30 @36 S0′ 10306. ‘The holy of holies it shall be to you’ means since it emanates from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘holy’ as all that which emanates from the Lord, and that alone, dealt with in 6788, 7499, 8302, 8330, 9229, 9818, 9820.

10307. ‘And the incense which you make, according to its composition, you shall not make for yourselves’ means that worship consisting of the Church’s holy truths must not be attached to the loves that are a person’s own. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the incense’ as worship, dealt with above in 10298; from the meaning of ‘making according to its composition’ as consisting of the Church’s holy truths (‘making according to its composition’ implies making from the same spices, and those spices – stacte, onycha, and galbanum – mean the Church’s holy truths in their proper order, 10292-10294); and from the meaning of ‘you shall not make for yourselves’ as not attaching to selfish purposes, thus to the loves which are a person’s own. For what a person does for the sake of himself he does for the sake of his own selfish loves. An attaching is meant here because it speaks of their making the incense for themselves.

[2] The situation in all this must also be stated. All the truths which the Church possesses have two loves in view – love to God and love towards the neighbour. The whole Word, consisting of Divine Truth itself, from which all the truths that the Church possesses are derived, hangs on those two loves, as is clear in Matthew 22:40; Mark 12:30, 31; and Luke 10:27. These places say that all the Law and the Prophets hang on them; and by ‘the Law and the Prophets’ the whole Word is meant. But it is quite the opposite to attach Divine Truth or the Church’s truths to the loves that are a person’s own. By doing this the person turns away from the Lord towards self, that is, away from heaven towards hell and becomes as one of those who are there. For those in hell have the Lord behind their back and their own loves before their face. Indeed when seen by angels they appear upside down, with head downwards and feet upwards.

[3] When God’s truths become attached to the loves that are a person’s own they cease to be truths, because attaching them to those loves allows evil to penetrate them, which perverts them and produces an outward display of falsity from them. But if such people are told that truths should not be treated and understood in that way but in some other, they do not wish to grasp this, and some in fact cannot do so. For to tell anyone something that goes against the assumptions reinforced by his own loves is to go against the actual person; for it is to go against his understanding as governed by his will. Those who falsify truths and adulterate forms of good by attaching them to their own selfish loves are dealt with many times in the Word, where Babel is the subject, in particular in the Book of Revelation.

10308. ‘It shall be holy to you for Jehovah’ means that it must be attached to love that is Divine. This is clear from the meaning of ‘holy’ as everything that emanates from the Lord, as above in 10306; and from the meaning of the incense, to which the words ‘it shall be holy to you for Jehovah’ refer, as worship, also dealt with above, in 10298. This meaning – that the worship must be attached to love that is Divine – follows from what has gone immediately before, where it is declared that they should not make such incense for themselves, meaning that worship consisting of the Church’s holy truths should not be attached to the loves that are a person’s own, 10307. By love that is Divine, love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour should be understood. The reason why this latter love as well is Divine is that it too emanates from the Lord; for no one can love the neighbour from self. Anyone who does so from self loves and confers benefits on his neighbour for selfish reasons; that is, the one he loves is himself. The whole Word, consisting of Divine Truth itself, from which all the truths that the Church possesses are derived, looks to those two loves as ends in view, see immediately above in 10307. Therefore also the worship of God must have those same loves in view, for all worship that is truly worship consists of truths, as becomes clear from what has been shown above regarding the spices of the incense, by which the kinds of truth composing worship are meant. The truths of worship first become attached to Divine Love, when the worship that the person offers begins in the Lord, as accords with what has been stated above in paragraph 10299.

sRef Ex@30 @38 S0′ 10309. ‘The man who makes any like it, to make an odour with it’ means an imitation – springing from self – of the worship of God expressed through affections for truth and good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘making any like it’ as imitating the worship of God, for ‘making’ means imitating, and the incense to which this refers means the worship of God, as above; and from the meaning of ‘making an odour’ as producing what is pleasing. And since this is done through affections for truth and good, these affections are what is meant by such pleasure; for ‘odour’ means the perception of something enjoyable, and so means that which is pleasing, 10292. It is evident that any imitation of this springs from self, for it says that ‘he who makes it will be cut off from his people’. The proprium or self is the source of any endeavour that springs from an affection which desires truth and good not for their own sake but for a selfish reason; and doing something for a selfish reason implies doing it for the sake of personal gain, important positions, and reputation as the ends in view, and not for the sake of the welfare of one’s neighbour and the glory of the Lord. Consequently that endeavour springs from evil and not from good; or what amounts to the same thing, it springs from hell and not from the Lord. This therefore is what should be understood by an imitation – springing from self – of the worship of God expressed through affections for truth and good, meant by ‘making an incense like it, to make an odour with it’. The people therefore who do this are those who love the world more than heaven, and themselves more than God. Also, when they think secretly within themselves they have no belief at all in heaven nor in the Lord; but when they think openly, as they do when talking in the presence of other people, they talk about heaven and the Lord with more emotion and conviction than others express. How much more depends on the degree to which they burn with the desire for personal gain, important positions, and reputation. Their condition at this time is such that inwardly they are black and outwardly shining white, that is, they are devils in the shape of angels of light. For their interiors which ought to lie exposed to heaven are closed, and their exteriors which lie exposed to the world are open. And if they are moved at this time by an affection that seemingly belongs to love to raise their eyes and hands towards heaven, they are nevertheless like statues skillfully made to portray that pose; and they also appear to angels as such statues. Indeed, can you believe it, there are in hell very many such as these who are present with and inspire people like them in the world, especially with preachers who for selfish reasons imitate the worship of God by expressing affections for truth and good. Furthermore the Lord allows them to act in this way, because at the same time they also perform a useful function; for good people can still receive the Word properly from them. They can do so because the reception of the Word by a person, no matter whose mouth it goes out of, depends on the character of the good governing that person. But such externals, being mere postures, are stripped away from them in the next life, and then their spirit is shown to be black, as it had been while they were in the body.

sRef Ex@30 @38 S0′ 10310. ‘Will be cut off from his people’ means separation from heaven and the Church, and spiritual death. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being cut off from his people’ as separation and spiritual death, dealt with in 10288. The fact that it is a separation from heaven is clear from what has been stated immediately above in 10309; and the reason why it is a separation from the Church as well is that they alone are true members of the Church who have the Church within them, and they have the Church within them who have an affection for truth for its own sake and an affection for good for its own sake, thus who are governed by love towards the neighbour and love to God. For good and truth are the neighbour, and so is God since good and truth are God’s and so are God as He exists with such people. Those who are not like this are not true members of the Church, even though they may be within the Church.

10311. THE THIRD PLANET OUT IN SPACE

Spirits from a long way off appeared who were unwilling to come near, for the reason that they could not be present with the spirits belonging to our planet who were around me at that time. From this I realized that they were from another planet; and subsequently I was told that they were from some planet out in the universe. But where that planet is situated was not made known to me.

10312. They utterly refused to think about their bodies or indeed about anything of a bodily and material nature, unlike the spirits from our planet; this was why they were unwilling to come near. For spirits are drawn together or set apart by their affections and consequent thoughts. But after most of the spirits from our planet had been removed they did draw nearer and began to talk to me. Yet feelings of anxiety remained, arising from the clash of differing spheres; for all spirits and communities of spirits are surrounded by spiritual spheres, which emanate from the life of their affections and consequent thoughts. If therefore contrary affections are present a clash takes place, which gives rise to anxiety.

10313. The spirits belonging to our planet declared that they did not dare to go near them because, when they did so, not only were they seized with anxiety, but also they experienced the delusion of being bound hand and foot to serpents, from which they could not be released until they moved back. Such a delusion is due to correspondence. For a person’s physical senses are represented in the next life by serpents, and therefore also in the Word the level of the senses, which is the last and lowest of a person’s life, is meant by ‘serpents’.

10314. Since the spirits belonging to that planet are of that nature they do not appear as others do in clearly defined human shapes; instead they look more like a cloud. The better ones among them look like a blackish cloud that has a human whiteness sprinkled over it. They said that inwardly they are shining white, and that when they become angels that blackishness is converted into a beautiful sky-blue, which also I was shown.

10315. I asked them whether they had also adopted the same attitude towards their body when they lived as people in the world. They said that people belonging to their planet place no value on their body, only on their spirit within the body, because they know that their spirit is going to live forever and their body to perish. They do not however refer to their face as the body, because the affections belonging to their spirit are revealed in their face, while the thoughts resulting from their affections are revealed in their eyes. They also said that very many inhabitants of their planet believe that the spirits within their bodies have existed from eternity, being instilled into the body at conception. But they added that they now knew that this was untrue and that they regretted having possessed such a false notion.

10316. When I questioned them whether they wished to see anything on our planet, telling them that it was possible for them to do so through my eyes, they replied first that they could not, and then that they did not wish to, because what they would see would be nothing other than earthly and material objects, from which as far as is possible they detach their thoughts.

10317. ‘This third planet out in the universe’ is continued at the end of the next chapter.

10318. 31

——————————————————————————

TEACHINGS ABOUT CHARITY AND FAITH

Without revelation from God no one can know anything at all about eternal life, nor indeed anything about God, let alone about love to Him and faith in Him. For at birth a person knows nothing whatever and must subsequently learn everything from things in the world, and in that way develop his power of understanding. At birth he also has by heredity all the evil of self-love and love of the world within him. Delights created by these reign all the time in him and suggest things such as are diametrically opposed to that which is of God. This then is why a person left to his own ideas knows nothing at all about eternal life; of necessity therefore revelation must exist from which he may gain that knowledge.

10319. The fact that the evils of self-love and love of the world are the cause of that lack of knowledge about things that belong to eternal life is plainly evident from people within the Church. Although they know from revelation about the existence of God, about the existence of heaven and hell, about the existence of eternal life, and about the need to obtain this life through the good of love and faith, they nevertheless sink into a denial of those ideas; both those who are learned and those who are not learned do so. This too shows how much lack of knowledge there would be if no revelation existed.

10320. Since therefore a person lives after death, for evermore, and a life in keeping with his love and faith awaits him, it follows that out of love towards the human race God has revealed things such as will lead it towards that life and promote its welfare. What God has revealed is the Word that we have.

10321. Since the Word is a revelation coming from God it is Divine in each individual part; for what comes from God cannot be anything other.

10322. What comes from God comes down to mankind by way of the heavens. For this reason it is suited in the heavens to the wisdom of angels in heaven, and on earth to the apprehension of people on earth. Therefore the Word contains an internal or spiritual sense for angels and an external or natural sense for people on earth; and because of this, heaven is linked to mankind by means of the Word.

10323. The true meaning of the Word cannot be grasped by any except those who receive enlightenment, and only they receive it who love the Lord and believe in Him; for their interiors are raised by the Lord right up into the light of heaven.

10324. The Word in the letter cannot be understood without the aid of the teachings which the enlightened person derives from the Word; for the literal sense is suited to the apprehension even of simple people. Therefore teachings derived from the Word must serve them as a lamp.

sRef Amos@0 @0 S0′ sRef Joel@0 @0 S0′ sRef Hos@0 @0 S0′ 10325. The books of the Word are all those which have the internal sense; books which do not have it are not the Word. The books of the Word in the Old Testament are: The five Books of Moses; the Book of Joshua; the Book of Judges; the two Books of Samuel; the two Books of Kings; the Psalms of David; and the Prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. And in the New Testament they are: The four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John; and the Book of Revelation.

EXODUS 31

1 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

2 See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, belonging to the tribe of Judah.

3 And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in intelligence, and in knowledge, and in all [manner of] work*,

4 To compose designs**, to work*** in gold, and in silver, and in bronze,

5 And in the cutting of stones for filling****, and in the carving of wood, to work* in all [manner of] work*.

6 And I, behold, I have appointed***** with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, belonging to the tribe of Dan; and I have put wisdom in the heart of everyone wise in heart. And they shall make all the things that I have commanded you –

7 The tent of meeting, and the ark of the Testimony, and the mercy-seat which is over it, and all the vessels of the tent,

8 And the table and its vessels, and the pure lampstand and all its vessels, and the altar of incense,

9 And the altar of burnt offering and all its vessels, and the laver and its pedestal,

10 And the garments of ministry, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to serve in the priestly office,

11 And the anointing oil, and the incense of spices for what is holy. According to all the things which I have commanded you they shall do.

12 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

13 And you, speak to the children of Israel, saying, Surely you shall keep My sabbaths; for it is a sign between Me and you [throughout] your generations, that you may know that I Jehovah am sanctifying you.

14 And you shall keep the sabbath, for it is holy to you. He who profanes it must certainly die; for everyone who does work on that [day], that soul will be cut off from the midst of his people.

15 Work shall be done for six days, and on the seventh day there is the sabbath of rest******, holy to Jehovah; whoever does any work on the sabbath day must certainly die.

16 And the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, observing the sabbath [throughout] their generations, the covenant of an age*******.

17 This is a sign between Me and the children of Israel into an age********; for in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested and recovered His breath.

18 And He gave to Moses, when He had finished talking to him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.
* i.e. in every kind of workmanship or craft
** lit. to design thoughts
*** lit. make or do
**** i.e. stones which, having been cut, were to be set in the ephod and the breastplate
***** lit. have given
****** lit. sabbath of sabbath
******* i.e. a perpetual covenant
******** i.e. forever

sRef Ex@31 @0 S0′ 10326. CONTENTS

The subject here in the internal sense is first the establishment of the representative Church among those in whom the good of love to the Lord and the good of faith in Him are present. This is meant by the objects, listed briefly, which were to be made by Bezalel from the tribe of Judah and Aholiab from the tribe of Dan. Further on the subject is the joining of the Lord to that Church by means of representatives. This is meant by the sabbath, to be kept in a holy manner.


sRef Ex@31 @7 S0′ sRef Ex@31 @11 S0′ sRef Ex@31 @8 S0′ sRef Ex@31 @10 S0′ sRef Ex@31 @9 S0′ sRef Ex@31 @1 S0′ sRef Ex@31 @2 S0′ sRef Ex@31 @4 S0′ sRef Ex@31 @3 S0′ sRef Ex@31 @5 S0′ sRef Ex@31 @6 S0′ 10327. THE INTERNAL SENSE

Verses 1-11 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, belonging to the tribe of Judah. And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in intelligence, and in knowledge, and in all [manner of] work*, to compose designs**, to work*** in gold, and in silver, and in bronze, and in the cutting of stones for filling****, and in the carving of wood, to work*** in all [manner of] work*. And I, behold, I have appointed***** with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, belonging to the tribe of Dan; and I have put wisdom in the heart of everyone wise in heart. And they shall make all the things that I have commanded you – the tent of meeting, and the ark of the Testimony, and the mercy-seat which is over it, and all the vessels of the tent, and the table and its vessels, and the pure lampstand and all its vessels, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering and all its vessels, and the laver and its pedestal, and the garments of ministry, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to serve in the priestly office, and the anointing oil, and the incense of spices for what is holy. According to all the things which I have commanded you they shall do.

‘And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying’ means enlightenment and perception from the Lord through the Word. ‘See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, belonging to the tribe of Judah’ means those in whom the good of love is present, among whom the Church is to be established. ‘And I have filled him with the spirit of God’ means influx and enlightenment received from Divine Truth which emanates from [the Lord’s] Divine Good. ‘In wisdom, and in intelligence, and in knowledge, and in all [manner of] work’ means in respect of those things which compose the will and those which constitute the understanding within the internal man and within the external man. ‘To compose designs, to work in gold, and in silver, and in bronze’ means in order to represent the interior and the exterior forms of good and truth that constitute an understanding animated by the will, thus that constitute faith springing from love. ‘And in the cutting of stones for filling’ means in order to represent all matters of faith that are of service to the good of love. ‘And in the carving of wood, to work in all [manner of] work’ means in order to represent every type of good. ‘And I, behold, I have appointed with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, belonging to the tribe of Dan’ means those in whom the good and truth of faith are present, among whom the Church is to be established. ‘And I have put wisdom in the heart of everyone wise in heart’ means all those who will and do what is good and true for goodness and truth’s sake. ‘And they shall make all the things that I have commanded you’ means Divine Truths derived from the Word, which are to be represented within outward objects. ‘The tent of meeting, and the ark of the Testimony’ means that which is representative of heaven in general, where the Lord is. ‘And the mercy-seat which is over it’ means that which is representative of the hearing and reception of all the things that spring from the good of love. ‘And all the vessels of the tent’ means that which is representative of the forms of goodness and truth which are of service. ‘And the table and its vessels’ means that which is representative of spiritual good springing from celestial. ‘And the pure lampstand and all its vessels’ means that which is representative of the truth springing from that good, [and the things which assist it]. ‘And the altar of incense’ means that which is representative of worship that springs from these. ‘And the altar of burnt offering and all its vessels’ means that which is representative of worship springing from the good of love and its truths. ‘And the laver and its pedestal’ means that which is representative of purification and regeneration, and the natural degree. ‘And the garments of ministry, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest’ means that which is representative of the Lord’s spiritual kingdom adjacent to His celestial kingdom. ‘And the garments of his sons’ means that which is representative of lower spiritual things. ‘To serve in the priestly office’ means that which is representative of the Lord’s [work] of salvation. ‘And the anointing oil’ means that which is representative of the Lord in respect of the Divine Good of Divine Love within His Divine Human. ‘And the incense of spices’ means that which is representative of worship springing from truths. ‘For what is holy’ means for the representative Church. ‘According to all the things which I have commanded you they shall do’ means in keeping with Divine Truths derived from the Word, which are to be represented in outward objects.
* i.e. in every kind of workmanship or craft
** lit. to design thoughts
*** lit. make or do
**** i.e. stones which, having been cut, were to be set in the ephod and the breastplate
***** lit. have given

sRef Ex@31 @1 S0′ 10328. ‘And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying’ means enlightenment and perception from the Lord through the Word. This is clear from what has been shown in 10290.

sRef Ex@31 @2 S0′ 10329. ‘See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, belonging to the tribe of Judah’ means those in whom the good of love is present, among whom the Church is to be established. This is clear from the meaning of ‘calling by name’ as choosing such persons, that is to say, ones who are suitable, dealt with below; and from the representation of ‘Bezalel’ as those in whom the good of love is present. The reason why these are represented here by Bezalel is that he came from the tribe of Judah, and this tribe means those in whom celestial good is present, which is the good of love to the Lord, and in the abstract sense, without reference to persons, it means the good of celestial love. For this meaning of Judah and his tribe, see 3654, 3881, 6363, 6364, 8770. But what Uri and Hur, Bezalel’s father and grandfather, represent is clear from the manner in which celestial good is begotten. It is begotten by teachings that present what is true and good on a celestial level. So those teachings are meant by these two men, ‘Hur’ representing teachings that present the truth, see 9424.

[2] People who keep their minds fixed solely on the literal sense of the Word, which they do more resolutely in the historical sections than in the prophetical parts, may be astonished when they are told that such things are meant by the names of those two men; but people who are acquainted with the essential nature of the Word will not be astonished. For in every detail the Word has a spiritual content. Within the actual names of persons and places that are mentioned in the Word there would be nothing spiritual if they did not serve to mean things of the Church and of heaven; for those things are spiritual. From this it follows that the two names used here likewise mean spiritual things.

Names in the Word serve to mean spiritual things or realities, see 1224, 1264, 1888, 4442, 5095, 5225, 6516.
Names do not pass into heaven, only the realities meant by them, 1876, 10216, 10282.

[3] The reason why ‘calling by name’ in the spiritual sense means choosing such persons as are suitable is that the word ‘name’ considered without reference to an actual person means the essential nature of something, as becomes clear from places in the Word in which ‘name’ occurs.

‘Name’ means the essential nature of something, see 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 2724, 3004-3011, 3421, 6674, 6887, 8274, 8882, 9310.
The verb ‘call’ without the noun ‘name’ has a similar meaning, 3421, 3659, while ‘calling by name’ means choosing, 8773.

[4] Two men are named here who were called by Jehovah to carry out the work that Moses was commanded on Mount Sinai – Bezalel from the tribe of Judah, and Aholiab from the tribe of Dan. ‘Bezalel’ means those in whom the good of celestial love is present, ‘Aholiab’ those in whom the good and truth of faith exist. Those in whom the good of celestial love is present are in the inmost part of heaven and the Church, whereas those in whom the good and truth of faith exist are in the last and lowest part of them. Thus these two men mean all persons in their entirety among whom the Church may be established; for the first and the last, or the inmost and the outermost, mean all persons or all things. For the subject in what immediately follows is the Church that is to be established; and this is why these two, by whom are meant all among whom the Church could be established, are mentioned by name. For the meaning of the first and the last as all persons and all things, see 10044; and for that of Aholiab from the tribe of Dan as those in whom the good of faith exists, and so who are in the last and lowest part of heaven or the Church, see in what follows below.

From all this it now evident that ‘I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, belonging to the tribe of Judah’ means those in whom the good of love is present, among whom the Church is to be established.

sRef Ex@31 @3 S0′ 10330. ‘And I have filled him with the spirit of God’ means influx and enlightenment received from Divine Truth which emanates from the Lord’s Divine Good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘filling with the spirit of God’ as influx and enlightenment received from Divine Truth. In respect of what Jehovah does ‘filling’ is influx, while on man’s side it is enlightenment; and ‘the spirit of God’ is Divine Truth which emanates from the Lord’s Divine Good. The reason why ‘filling’, in respect of what Jehovah or the Lord does, is influx, while on man’s side it is enlightenment, is that ‘influx’ is a term which serves to describe all the good and all the truth that come from heaven and originate in the Lord; and since that influx causes a person to be enlightened the term ‘enlightenment’ serves to describe what happens on man’s side. Regarding ‘the spirit of God’, that it is this Divine Truth emanating from the Lord’s Divine Good, see 9818.

[2] Since few know what the influx of Divine Truth and what the resulting enlightenment in a person are like, let something about these matters be stated here. The Church recognizes that all the good of love and truth of faith has its source not in a person himself but in heaven – in what is Divine there – as it resides with him. It is also recognized that those who receive that truth and good have enlightenment. Such influx and enlightenment however are brought about in the following manner. The nature of a person is such that he is able to use his inner powers of thought and will to look downwards or to look upwards. Looking downwards consists in looking away to the world and to self; and looking upwards consists in looking towards heaven and towards God. The person looking outwards is self-directed; this is called looking downwards because when a person is self-directed he looks towards hell. But a person looking in an inward direction is not self-directed but is directed by the Lord; this is called looking upwards because as to his inner powers of will and understanding he is then raised by the Lord towards heaven, and so towards the Lord. Those inner powers themselves are literally raised up, and at the same time are literally drawn away from the body and the world. When this happens the person’s inner powers do literally pass into heaven, and into its warmth and light. As a result he receives influx and enlightenment. The light of heaven shines in his understanding, for the Divine Truth which radiates from the Lord as the sun constitutes that light; and the warmth of heaven heats his will, for the good of love which radiates at the same time from the Lord as the sun composes this warmth. Since the person is then among angels they impart an understanding of truth and an affection for good to him, that is, the Lord does so through them.

This imparting is what the terms ‘influx and enlightenment’ serve to describe. [3] But it should be recognized that the extent to which influx and enlightenment are brought about depends on the person’s ability to receive what is imparted; and this ability depends on his love of truth and good. People therefore who have a love of truth and good because they see truth and good as the end in view are raised up; but those who have a love of truth and good because they see self and the world, not truth and good, as the end in view are constantly looking and gravitating downwards. These as a consequence cannot be raised, and so cannot receive Divine influx from heaven and become enlightened. Their intelligence or understanding, which to them seems to be an understanding of truth, is the product of a light in which a fool sees things – a light shining before their mind’s eye which radiates from notions which they have proved to themselves and gone on to convince themselves of. Whether true or false however, it still provides a brightness, which however turns into total darkness when light from heaven flows in. I have been shown vividly that this is so. From all this it may be seen what the origin is of the great number of heresies that arise in the world. That is to say, they arise because their founders and leaders have looked towards themselves, having their own glory as their end in view, and have regarded those things which belong to the Lord and to heaven as means to that end.

sRef Ex@31 @3 S0′ 10331. ‘In wisdom, and in intelligence, and in knowledge, and in all [manner of] work’ means in respect of those things which compose the will and those which constitute the understanding within the internal man and within the external man. This is clear from the meaning of ‘wisdom’ as those things which compose the will within the internal man; from the meaning of ‘intelligence’ as those things which constitute the understanding, also within the internal man; from the meaning of ‘knowledge’ as those things which constitute the understanding and consequent speech within the external man; and from the meaning of ‘work’ as those things which compose the will and consequent practice within the external man. So the words used here mean everything – everything interior and everything exterior residing with a person in whom the good of celestial love exists – that receives the influx of Divine Truth from the Lord and is consequently seen in light. This influx and enlightenment are dealt with immediately above.

[2] But a brief statement needs to be made showing what wisdom, intelligence, knowledge, and work are. People who do not know what the internal man is and what the external man is, nor what understanding and will are, cannot see in what ways wisdom, intelligence, knowledge, and work are distinct and separate each from the others. They cannot do so because they cannot form any clear idea of one or of another. The people therefore who do not know those things call someone wise when he is merely intelligent or has only knowledge. But someone wise is a person who is moved by love to put truths into practice; someone intelligent is a person who is moved by faith to put them into practice; someone with knowledge is a person who applies his knowledge to doing so; and ‘work’ is that which is actually done by them. Thus ‘work’ means those three talents when put to use, within which they all combine. [3] Nobody therefore can be said to have wisdom, intelligence, or knowledge in the true sense of these words if they are not put to use by him; for wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge have to do with the life a person should lead, and not with doctrine without reference to that life. Life is the end for the sake of which they exist. What the end is like therefore determines what kind of wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge they are. If real good, which is the good of love to the Lord and of charity towards the neighbour, constitutes the end, then they are wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge in the proper sense of these three words; for then these three as they exist with a person have their origin in the Lord. But if acting for the sake of some good desired by self-love and love of the world constitutes the end, they are not wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge, because then those three as they exist in a person have their origin in self. For any good which self-love and love of the world have as their end in view is evil, and when evil is the end in view nothing of wisdom and intelligence, nor even of knowledge, can be attributed in any way at all. For what use is knowledge if it does not hold an intelligent understanding of truth and a wise discernment of good within it? Knowledge devoid of these leads a person to think that evil is good and falsity is truth.

sRef Jer@32 @19 S4′ sRef Jer@25 @14 S4′ sRef Jer@35 @15 S4′ [4] In the case of those in whom the good of love to the Lord is present wisdom, intelligence, knowledge, and work follow in order from inmost to last and lowest. Wisdom there is inmost, since it consists in a will, inspired by love, that desires what is right. Intelligence is second, since it consists in an understanding, governed by a will desiring what is right, that perceives what is right. These two belong to the internal man. Knowledge consists in knowing what is right, and work in doing what is right, each governed by the will desiring what is right. These two belong to the external man. From this it is evident that wisdom must exist within intelligence, this within knowledge, and this within work. The work accordingly contains and embraces all the inner virtues, since it is last and lowest and that in which they terminate.

sRef Zech@1 @6 S5′ sRef Rev@20 @15 S5′ sRef Hos@4 @9 S5′ sRef Matt@16 @27 S5′ sRef Rev@22 @12 S5′ sRef Rev@20 @13 S5′ sRef Rev@2 @23 S5′ [5] From all this it becomes clear what should be understood by ‘works’ and ‘deeds’, mentioned so many times in the Word, as in the following places: In Matthew,

The Son of Man will repay everyone according to his deeds. Matt. 16:27.

In Jeremiah,

I will requite them according to their work and according to the deed of their hands. Jer. 25:14.

In the same prophet,

… O Jehovah, whose eyes have been opened upon all the ways of man, giving to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his works. Jer. 32:19.

In the same prophet,

Turn back each of you from his evil way, and cause your works to be good. Jer. 35:15.

In Hosea,

I will punish his ways*, and requite him for his works. Hosea 4:9.

In Zechariah,

Jehovah deals with us according to our ways and according to our works. Zech. 1:6.

In John,

I will give to you each according to his works. Rev. 2:23.

In the same book,

They were judged every one according to their works. Rev. 20:13, 15.

In the same book,

Behold, I am coming, and My reward with Me, to give to everyone according to his works. Rev. 22:12.

By ‘works’ in these places all that exists within a person should be understood, because all that constitutes what a person wills and understands is present in his works; for the things in his will and understanding are what causes him to do them. From what is within them the works derive their life; for without it works are like a shell without the nut or a body without the soul. What proceeds from a person does so from the things within him; therefore works are manifestations of those inner things, and they are effects through which those inner things reveal themselves.

[6] It is a general rule that as is a person’s character, so is every work he performs. For this reason ‘the works’ according to which there will be reward or retribution must be taken to mean a person’s character so far as his love and faith are concerned. For works are the product of the love and faith residing in a person. Nothing other than his love and his faith constitute the person, or what amounts to the same thing, his good and his truth, see 10076, 10177, 10264, 10284, 10298.

sRef Dan@12 @3 S7′ sRef Matt@13 @43 S7′ [7] Furthermore the actual desires in a person’s will are what constitute a work; for what a person desires in his will he also does, provided that nothing insurmountable stands in the way. Consequently being judged according to one’s deeds means being judged according to the desires of one’s will. In the Word those who do good because it is their will to do it are called ‘the righteous’, as is evident in Matthew 25:37, 46. Of them it is said that they will shine forth like the sun in heaven, Matt. 13:43; and in Daniel,

Those who have intelligence will shine like the brightness of the expanse, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars. Dan. 12:3.

‘Those who have intelligence’ are those who are moved by their intelligence to do what is true; and ‘those who turn many to righteousness’ are those who are stirred by the desires in their will to do what is good.
* lit. I will visit upon his ways

sRef Ex@31 @4 S0′ 10332. ‘To compose designs, to work in gold, and in silver, and in bronze’ means in order to represent the interior and the exterior forms of good and truth that constitute an understanding animated by the will, thus that constitute faith springing from love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘composing designs’, or inventing devices, as that which is a product of the understanding, dealt with in 9598, 9688; from the meaning of ‘working’ as that which is a product of the will, dealt with in 9282, for what a person does is a product of his will, in this instance of the will operating through the understanding, since it says ‘to compose designs, to work …’; from the meaning of ‘gold’ as good, and of ‘silver’ as truth, dealt with in 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 8932, 9490, 9881, 9874; and from the meaning of ‘bronze’ as the good of the natural or external man, dealt with in 425, 1551. Consequently interior and exterior forms of good and truth are meant by ‘gold, silver, and bronze’, interior good by ‘gold’, interior and exterior truth by ‘silver’, and external good by ‘bronze’. The reason why that which is representative of these forms of good and truth is what is meant is that the representative Church is the subject, and all the things that Bezalel was going to make were representative.

[2] From all this it is evident that ‘to compose designs, to work in gold, in silver, and in bronze’ means in order to represent interior and exterior forms of good and truth that constitute an understanding animated by the will. The reason why they are also those that constitute faith springing from love is that truths belong to faith, and truths have connection with the understanding, while forms of good belong to love, and forms of good have connection with the will. The expressions ‘an understanding animated by the will’ and ‘faith springing from love’ are used because the understanding is nothing at all unless it is animated by the will. For what a person understands but does not also will is not an understanding that is his own but that of another within him; and as a consequence that understanding fades away. But it is different when the understanding is animated by the will; it is then that of the person himself, because the will is the person himself. The like applies to the faith and love; for as has been stated, the truths of faith have connection with the understanding, and forms of the good of love with the will.

sRef Ex@31 @5 S0′ 10333. ‘And in the cutting of stones for filling’ means in order to represent all matters of faith that are of service to the good of love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the cutting of stones’ as that which is representative of all matters of faith springing from love, for by ‘the cutting of stones’ the cutting of those in the breastplate, which were the Urim and Thummim, should be understood, and these stones represented all matters of faith and love, see 3858, 6335, 6640, 9823, 9863, 9865, 9868, 9873, 9905; and from the meaning of ‘filling’ as being of service to the good of love from which they spring, for the stones were set in the gold there, and ‘gold’ means the good of love, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 8932, 9490, 9881, 9874.

sRef Ex@31 @5 S0′ 10334. ‘And in the carving of wood to work in all [manner of] work’ means in order to represent every type of good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the carving of wood’ as that which is representative of good, for good is meant by ‘wood’, see 643, 2784, 2812, 3720, 8354, 9472; and from the meaning of ‘all [manner of] work’ as every type. The expression ‘every type of good’ is used because there are very many genera and species of good. There is celestial good and there is spiritual good. There is interior good and exterior; exterior good exists on the natural level and the level of the senses. There is the good of innocence, the good of love, and the good of faith. Good must be present within all truth, if it is to be truth. But also the good present in a person is given form by truths, which causes good to be various and take a multitude of different forms, to such an extent that no angel, spirit, or man is governed by the same good as that governing another. Heaven as a whole consists in various types of good. This variation makes one angel different from another; for if the same good existed with more there would be no difference between them. But those various types of good are arranged into order by the Lord, in such a way that all together form one overall body of good. It should be remembered that Divine Good, being infinite, is a single whole, 10261; but the character and amount of it as it exists with angels, spirits, and men is made various by its reception within truths. For the truths qualify the good, that is, they give it its specific quality; and truths are many and numerous.

sRef Ex@31 @6 S0′ 10335. ‘And I, behold, I have appointed with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, belonging to the tribe of Dan’ means those in whom the good and truth of faith are present, among whom the Church is to be established. This is clear from the representation of ‘Aholiab’ as those in whom the good and truth of faith are present. The reason why these are represented by Aholiab is that he was from the tribe of Dan, and that tribe means those in whom the good and truth of faith are present, see 3923, 6396. And the reason why these two – Bezalel from the tribe of Judah, and Aholiab from the tribe of Dan – were chosen to carry out the work, by which Divine celestial and spiritual realities would be represented, was that by Bezalel all those in whom the good of love is present should be understood, and by Aholiab all those in whom the good and truth of faith are present. Thus those who are in the inmost parts of heaven and the Church should be understood by Bezalel, and those who are in the last and lowest parts of them by Aholiab. And when they who are inmost and those who are last and lowest are referred to by name, all who are within the whole of heaven and within the whole of the Church should be understood. For this matter, see above in 10329; and when reference is made to what is first and what is last all things should be understood, 10044. [2] The tribe of Judah was also in reality the first of the tribes, and the tribe of Dan the last of them. The fact that the tribe of Judah was in reality the first of the tribes is clear from father Israel’s blessing of his sons in Genesis 49, where Reuben, Simeon, and Levi, who were the firstborn, are cursed, and Judah is blessed. See regarding Reuben there, verses 3, 4; regarding Simeon and Levi, verses 5-7; and regarding Judah, verses 8-12. And the fact that Dan was the last of the tribes, see 1710, 3923, 6396. The inmost heaven furthermore is inhabited by those in whom the good of love to the Lord exists, and the lowest by those in whom the truth of faith springing from good is present. The expression ‘in whom the truth of faith springing from good is present’ is used because the truth of faith is not the truth of faith present in a person unless it springs from good; for truth is born from good. Therefore unless good resides within truth there is no soul and so no life within it. Those in whom the truths of faith springing from good are present inhabit the lowest parts of heaven, but not those in whom the truths of faith are devoid of good; the latter do not inhabit heaven. Since the truth of faith acts as a servant to the good of love, as what is last does to what is first, it says of Aholiab that Jehovah appointed him to be with Bezalel, that is, to be his assistant; and of Bezalel it says that Jehovah filled him with the spirit of God in wisdom, and in intelligence, and in knowledge, and in all [manner of] work, verse 3.

sRef Ex@31 @6 S0′ 10336. ‘And I have put wisdom in the heart of everyone wise in heart’ means all those who will and do what is good and true for goodness and truth’s sake. This is clear from the meaning of ‘heart’ as the inmost part of a person, which is called his will, and since that which composes a person’s love constitutes his will, ‘heart’ also means love (for the meaning of ‘heart’ as love, see 3635, 3883-3896, 9050, and for the meaning of it as the will, 2930, 3888, 7542, 8910, 9113, 9300, 9495); from the meaning of ‘the wise in heart’ as one who wills and loves what is good and true for goodness and truth’s sake, for it is the mark of someone ‘wise’, and it is wisdom, to be moved by love to put truths into practice, 10331, and the mark of someone ‘wise in heart’ and wisdom of heart to be moved by love to put good into practice; and from the meaning of ‘putting wisdom in the heart’ as being moved by the Lord, and so by the good of love, to do those things, for the good of love originates in the Lord. All such people will and do what is good and true for goodness and truth’s sake, because good and the truth that goes with good are the Lord as He exists with them; for those things which originate in Him, and so which are His, are also He Himself. sRef John@16 @14 S2′ sRef John@16 @13 S2′ sRef Matt@19 @16 S2′ sRef Matt@19 @17 S2′ sRef John@16 @15 S2′ sRef Matt@25 @40 S2′ sRef John@14 @6 S2′ [2] This is the reason for saying that the Lord is Goodness itself and Truth itself. It is clear from the Lord’s own words that He is Goodness itself,

Why do you call Me Good? Nobody is Good except the one God. Matt. 19:16, 17; Luke 18:18, 19.

And where the good deeds of love and charity are listed,

Insofar as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers you did it to Me. Matt. 25:40.

The word ‘brothers’ describes those who are governed by good, and so describes varieties of good, see 2360, 3803, 3815, 4121, 5409; thus ‘the Lord’s brothers’ are those who are governed by good that originates in Him, 4191, 5686, 5692, 6756. It is likewise clear from the Lord’s words that He is Truth itself,

Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. John 14:6.

And elsewhere,

When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth; He will not speak from Himself. He will take from what is Mine and declare it to you. John 16:13-15.

From all this it is evident what ‘putting wisdom in the heart’ means. sRef Jer@31 @33 S3′ sRef Jer@31 @34 S3′ [3] ‘Writing the law on the heart’ in Jeremiah is also used to mean much the same thing,

I will put My law in the midst of them, and will write it on their heart. No more will every man teach his companion, or every man his brother*, saying, Know Jehovah. For they all will know Me. Jer. 31:33, 34.

‘Writing the law on the heart’ means entering Divine Truth into the will, thus in a person’s love. When this is done the person no longer has to draw Divine Truth out of store in his memory; instead the good itself belonging to love causes him to perceive intuitively. This is why it says, ‘No more will every man teach his companion, or every man his brother, saying, Know Jehovah. For they all will know Me’. This is what celestial angels inhabiting the inmost heaven are like, see in the places referred to in 9277.

[4] What it is to will and do what is good and true for goodness and truth’s sake, meant here by ‘putting wisdom in the heart of everyone wise in heart’, must be stated briefly. All who love the Lord above all things and their neighbour as themselves do what is good and true for goodness and truth’s sake. For as has been stated above, goodness and truth are the Lord Himself; therefore since they love what is good and true, that is, since they are moved by love to will and do it, they love the Lord. Those too who love their neighbour as themselves will and love what is good and true for goodness and truth’s sake, for in the universal sense that which is good and true constitutes the neighbour. The neighbour is one’s fellow citizen, the [local] community, one’s country, the Church, and the Lord’s kingdom; and loving the neighbour consists in goodwill towards these, that is, in desiring their good, and therefore their good is what must be loved. And when this is loved the Lord is loved, since He is the source of this good.

[5] From all this it is evident that love towards the neighbour, which is called charity, holds love to the Lord within itself. If this love is not held within it, fellow citizens, community, country, Church, and the Lord’s kingdom are loved for selfish reasons, and so not from a desire that is good but from one that is bad; for whatever a person does for the sake of self as the end in view springs from a desire that is bad. Loving the neighbour for the sake of self consists in loving him for the sake of gain and important positions as the ends in view. The end in view is what determines whether something springs from a desire that is good or one that is bad. The end in view is identical with the love; for what the person loves, that he has as his end. The end in view is also identical with the will; for what a person wills, that he loves. Consequently the end for the sake of which someone acts, or his intentions, constitutes the real person; for a person’s character is determined by the character of his will and of his love.
* lit. Nor will they teach any longer a man (vir) his companion, or a man (vir) his brother

sRef Ex@31 @6 S0′ 10337. ‘And they shall make all the things that I have commanded you’ means Divine Truths derived from the Word, which are to be represented within outward objects. This is clear from the meaning of ‘making all the things that I have commanded’, when it relates to the Lord, as doing so in accordance with Divine Truths, for Divine Truths are called the commandments of the Lord, 9417; and from the representation of ‘Moses’ as the Word, dealt with in 9372. The reason why it means that they were to be represented within outward objects was that the things they were to make were representative, and representative objects are outward things within which, as types or images, inner realities are presented. The representative objects which they were to make are listed in verses 7-11 that follow. What representatives are, see in the places referred to in 9280, also 9457, 9481, 9576, 9577, 10149, 10252, 10276.

sRef Ex@31 @7 S0′ 10338. ‘The tent of meeting, and the ark of the Testimony’ means that which is representative of heaven in general, where the Lord is. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the tent of meeting, and the ark’ as that which is representative of heaven, dealt with in 9457, 9481, 9485, 9784, the reason why that which is representative of heaven in general is meant being that the tent of meeting within the veil – where the ark was – represented the inmost or third heaven, 9485, the tent of meeting outside the veil represented the middle or second heaven, and the court the last and lowest heaven, 9741; and from the meaning of ‘the Testimony’ as the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, dealt with in 8535, 9503.

sRef Ex@31 @7 S0′ 10339. ‘And the mercy-seat which is over it’ means that which is representative of the hearing and reception of all the things of worship that spring from the good of love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the mercy-seat which is over the ark’ as that which is representative of all the things of worship that spring from the good of love, dealt with in 9506.

sRef Ex@31 @7 S0′ 10340. ‘And all the vessels of the tent’ means that which is representative of all the forms of goodness and truth which are of service. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the vessels of the tent of meeting’ as the forms of goodness and truth which minister to the heavens, thus which are of service to them. Forms of goodness and truth which are of service are cognitions and known facts, these being meant by vessels in general, see 3068, 3079, 9724.

10341. ‘And the table and its vessels’ means that which is representative of spiritual good springing from celestial. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the table on which the loaves of the Presence were laid’ as that which is representative of celestial and spiritual good, dealt with in 9527, 9545, 9684, 9685; and from the meaning of ‘its vessels’ as the things which are of service to that good, namely cognitions of goodness and truth, see 9544.

10342. ‘And the pure lampstand and all its vessels’ means that which is representative of the truth springing from that good, and the things which assist it. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the lampstand together with its lamps and branches’ as that which is representative of the spiritual heaven, and of the faith and intelligence there which are derived from the Lord, and so of the truth springing from good, dealt with in 9548, 9551, 9555, 9558, 9561; and from the meaning of ‘the vessels of the lampstand’ as things which serve to purify and remove waste products, dealt with in 9572, and so things which are of service.

10343. ‘And the altar of incense’ means that which is representative of worship that springs from these. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the altar of incense’ as that which is representative of all the things belonging to worship that spring from the good of love and faith, dealt with in 10177.

sRef Ex@31 @9 S0′ 10344. ‘And the altar of burnt offering and all its vessels’ means that which is representative of worship springing from the good of love and its truths. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the altar of burnt offering’ as that which is representative of the Lord and of worship of Him that springs from the good of love, dealt with in 9714, 9964, 10123, 10151, 10242, 10245; and from the meaning of ‘its vessels’ as the truths which serve that good, dealt with in 9723, 9724.

sRef Ex@31 @9 S0′ 10345. ‘And the laver and its pedestal’ means that which is representative of purification and regeneration, and the natural degree. This is clear from the meaning of ‘washing’, which was accomplished by means of the water in the laver, as that which is representative of purification and regeneration, dealt with in 10237, 10239; from the meaning of ‘the laver’ as the natural degree within a person, dealt with in 10235; and from the meaning of ‘its pedestal’ as the level of the senses, which is the last and lowest of the natural degree, dealt with in 10236.

sRef Ex@31 @10 S0′ 10346. ‘And the garments of ministry, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest’ means that which is representative of the Lord’s spiritual kingdom adjacent to His celestial kingdom. This is clear from the meaning of ‘Aaron’s garments’ as that which is representative of the Lord’s spiritual kingdom adjacent to His celestial kingdom, dealt with in 9814.

sRef Ex@31 @10 S0′ 10347. ‘And the garments of his sons’ means that which is representative of lower spiritual things. This is clear from the representation of ‘Aaron’s sons and their garments’ as that which is representative of lower spiritual things, dealt with in 10068.

sRef Ex@31 @10 S0′ 10348. ‘To serve in the priestly office’ means that which is representative of the Lord’s work of salvation. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the priestly function of Aaron and his sons’ as that which is representative of the Lord’s work of salvation, dealt with in 9809, 10017.

sRef Ex@31 @10 S0′ sRef Ex@31 @11 S0′ 10349. ‘And the anointing oil’ means that which is representative of the Lord in respect of the Divine Good of Divine Love within His Divine Human. This is clear from what has been shown regarding anointing and the anointing oil in 9954, 10011, 10019, 10261.

sRef Ex@31 @11 S0′ 10350. ‘And the incense of spices’ means that which is representative of worship springing from truths. This is clear from the meaning of ‘incense’ as that which is representative of worship, dealt with in 9475, 10198, 10298; and from the meaning of ‘its spices’ as truths and affections for them, dealt with in 10291, 10295.

sRef Ex@31 @11 S0′ 10351. ‘For what is holy’ means for the representative Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘what is holy’ within that Church as that which is representative of the Lord and the Divine things which originate in Him, dealt with in 9229, 9956, 10069, 10149, and so which are present in the worship of the Lord within the representative Church. For these words are used of the incense, by which worship is meant, as above in 10350.

sRef Ex@31 @11 S0′ 10352. ‘According to all the things which I have commanded you they shall do’ means in keeping with Divine Truths derived from the Word, which are to be represented in outward objects, as above in 10337.

It has been shown previously what meaning each of these objects has, that is, the objects which, it was decreed, should be made by Bezalel and Aholiab, and therefore since merely a list of them appears here they are not explained more fully.

sRef Ex@31 @16 S0′ sRef Ex@31 @17 S0′ sRef Ex@31 @18 S0′ sRef Ex@31 @15 S0′ sRef Ex@31 @14 S0′ sRef Ex@31 @13 S0′ sRef Ex@31 @12 S0′ 10353. Verses 12-18 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, And you, speak to the children of Israel, saying, Surely you shall keep My sabbaths; for it is a sign between Me and you [throughout] your generations, that you may know that I Jehovah am sanctifying you. And you shall keep the sabbath, for it is holy to you. He who profanes it must certainly die; for everyone who does work on that [day], that soul will be cut off from the midst of his people. Work shall be done for six days, and on the seventh day there is the sabbath of rest*, holy to Jehovah; whoever does any work on the sabbath day must certainly die. And the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, observing the sabbath [throughout] their generations, the covenant of an age**. This is a sign between Me and the children of Israel into an age***; for in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested and recovered His breath. And He gave to Moses, when He had finished talking to him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

‘And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying’ means enlightenment and perception from the Lord through the Word. ‘And you, speak to the children of Israel, saying’ means information provided by means of the Word to those who belong to the Church. ‘Surely you shall keep My sabbaths’ means thought which is holy and goes on unceasingly regarding the union of Divinity itself to the Lord’s Human. ‘For it is a sign between Me and you’ means that it is the chief means by which those who belong to the Church are recognized in heaven. ‘[Throughout your generations’ means within every single thing of the Church. ‘That you may know that I Jehovah am sanctifying you’ means the Lord’s Divine Human, which all things of heaven and the Church look to as their one and only Source.] ‘And you shall keep the sabbath’ means that the Lord’s Divine Human is to be worshipped. ‘For it is holy to you’ means the Source of all the goodness and truth which compose the Church. ‘He who profanes it’ means being led by self and one’s own loves, and not by the Lord. ‘Must certainly die’ means being separated from heaven, and spiritual death. ‘Everyone who does work on that day’ means those who turn away from heavenly loves to bodily and worldly loves. ‘That soul will be cut off from the midst of his people’ means that not heaven and the Church but hell resides with that person. ‘Work shall be done for six days’ means the state which comes before and is preparatory to the heavenly marriage. ‘And on the seventh day there is the sabbath of rest’ means the state of good that has been the end in view, thus the state when a person becomes an embodiment of the Church and enters heaven. ‘Holy to Jehovah’ means the Divine. ‘Whoever does any work on the sabbath day must certainly die’ means being led by self and by one’s own loves, and not by the Lord, [and spiritual death is the result.] ‘And the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, observing the sabbath [throughout] their generations’ means that the truly essential thing of the Church is the acknowledgement of the union of the Divine itself within the Lord’s Human, and that this acknowledgement must be present in every single part of worship. ‘The covenant of an age’ means being joined to the Lord to eternity. ‘This is a sign between Me and the children of Israel into an age’ means that this is the means by which those who belong to the Church are distinguished from those who do not belong to the Church. ‘For in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth’ means the state of conflict and labour while the Church is being established. ‘And on the seventh day He rested and recovered His breath’ means the state of good when the Church has been established, or when a person has been regenerated. ‘And He gave to Moses, when He had finished talking to him from Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the Testimony’ means a joining of the Lord to a person by means of the Word. ‘The tablets of stone, written with the finger of God’ means the Divine Truth there, coming from the Lord Himself.
* lit. sabbath of sabbath
** i.e. a perpetual covenant
*** i.e. forever

sRef Ex@31 @12 S0′ 10354. ‘And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying’ means enlightenment and perception from the Lord through the Word. This is clear from what has been shown above in 10234, 10290.

sRef Ex@31 @13 S0′ 10355. ‘And you, speak to the children of Israel, saying’ means information provided by means of the Word to those who belong to the Church. This is clear from the representation of Moses, the one who is being told to speak to the children of Israel, as the Word, dealt with in the places referred to in 9372; from the meaning of ‘speaking’ and ‘saying’ as instruction or information, dealt with in the places referred to in 10280; and from the representation of ‘the children of Israel’ as the Church, dealt with in the places referred to in 9340. From all this it is evident that ‘you, speak to the children of Israel, saying’ means information by means of the Word to those who belong to the Church.

[2] Something must be stated here about the way information is provided by means of the Word. In the most ancient times people received information about heavenly matters, or those which belong to eternal life, through direct contact with the angels of heaven; for in those times heaven acted as one with people of the Church. It flowed through their internal man into their external, as a result of which they not only possessed enlightenment and perception but also talked to angels. The term ‘the golden age’ is used to describe this period of time, because people then were governed by the good of love to the Lord; for gold is the sign of that good. Paradise in the Word also serves to describe these things.

[3] Afterwards information about heavenly matters and those which belong to eternal life was provided through the kinds of things that are termed correspondences and representations, knowledge of which they derived from the most ancient people who had the direct contact with the angels of heaven. With the people of that time those were the things into which heaven flowed, bringing enlightenment. For correspondences and representations are the outward forms that heavenly realities take; and people received enlightenment then to the extent that the good of love and charity was present in them. For all Divine influx from heaven passes into the good that exists with a person, and through that good into the truths there. And since people of the Church then were governed by spiritual good, which in essence is truth, the term ‘the silver age’ is used to describe those times; for silver is the sign of such good.

[4] When the knowledge of correspondences and representations however was turned into magic that Church passed away and a third one took its place. In this Church all the worship did, it is true, involve the practice of things that were almost the same; nevertheless the inner meanings of them were not known. This Church was established among the Israelite and Jewish nation. But since information about heavenly matters or those which belong to eternal life could not be provided to them by influx into their interiors, and so by enlightenment, angels from heaven spoke to certain of them by word of mouth, giving them instruction about outward things, and little about inner realities, because they were incapable of comprehending inner realities. Those of them who were governed by natural good received those outward things in a holy manner. The term ‘bronze’ is therefore used to describe those times, for bronze is the sign of such good.

sRef Dan@2 @43 S5′ [5] But when no natural good either was left among members of the Church the Lord came into the world and restored all things to order in the heavens and in the hells. He did so to the end that a person could receive influx from Himself out of heaven and have enlightenment, and the hells could not intercept it and introduce thick darkness. At this point a fourth Church, called Christian, came into being. In this Church information about heavenly things or those which belong to eternal life is provided solely by means of the Word. The Word is the means by which a person receives influx and enlightenment; for in the writing of the Word pure correspondences and representatives were used, which are signs of heavenly things, and into these the angels of heaven come when a member of the Church reads the Word. Consequently the Word is the means by which heaven is joined to the Church, or the angels of heaven to members of the Church, yet only to those there in whom the good of love and charity is present. But since members of this Church as well have annihilated this good no information can be provided by means of influx and enlightenment from that source, apart from information regarding some truths, which do not however cohere with good. These times are therefore those which the term ‘iron’ is used to describe, for ‘iron’ means truth on the last and lowest level of order. But when truth comes to be such as this the nature of it fits the description in Daniel,

[Just as] the iron which you saw was mixed with the miry clay, they will mingle through the seed of man (homo)*, but they will not cohere with one another, just as iron is not mingled with clay. Dan. 2:43.

[6] From all this it may be seen how forms of revelation have followed one after another from the earliest eras down to the present, and that at the present day revelation is given through the Word alone. But true revelation comes to those who love truth for its own sake, not to those who love truth with a view to acquiring important positions and monetary gain. For if you are willing to believe it, the Lord is the Word itself, because the Word is Divine Truth and Divine Truth, since it comes from the Lord, is the Lord as He exists in heaven. Consequently those who love Divine Truth for its own sake love the Lord, and with those who love the Lord heaven flows in and brings enlightenment. But those who love Divine Truth with a view to acquiring important positions and monetary gain turn away from the Lord towards self and the world. With these therefore no influx or enlightenment is possible. And because when they read the literal sense of the Word they keep their minds fixed on themselves, and on their own reputation and glory, they also use that sense to support ideas such as favour their own loves.
* i.e. they will become mixed together through intermarriages

sRef Ex@31 @13 S0′ 10356. ‘Surely you shall keep My sabbaths’ means thought which is holy and goes on unceasingly regarding the union of Divinity itself to the Lord’s Human. This is clear from the meaning of ‘sabbaths’ in the highest sense as the union of Divinity itself to the Divine Human within the Lord, and in the relative sense as the joining of the Lord’s Divine Human to heaven and also the joining of heaven to the Church, and in general – with those who constitute the Church, or with whom the Church exists – as the joining together of goodness and truth (regarding that union and these joinings together, that they are meant by ‘sabbaths’, see 8495, 8510, 8890, 8893, 9274); and from the meaning of ‘surely (or altogether) keeping’ as thinking about something in a holy way and unceasingly, for when the word ‘keeping’ has regard to the realities that were represented in that Church, thinking about the realities that were represented, keeping them in mind, and cherishing them in a holy way, are meant. For representatives were outward things which embodied inner realities and which for this reason provided people with the opportunity to think about inner realities. This explains why ‘keeping Jehovah’s sabbaths’ means thinking in a holy manner and constantly about the Lord and the union of Divinity itself to His Divine Human, about the joining of the Lord’s Divine Human to heaven and the joining of heaven to the Church, and about the joining together of goodness and truth within the person belonging to the Church. Since these are the actual essential realities of the Church – for without the acknowledgement of these and belief in them the Church is not the Church – statements about the sabbath, by which those realities are meant, is talked about last, and again and again furthermore to the end of the chapter.

sRef Ex@31 @13 S0′ 10357. ‘For it is a sign between Me and you’ means that it is the chief means by which those who belong to the Church are recognized in heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a sign between Jehovah and the children of Israel’ as that which shows and bears witness to the fact that they belong to the Church, and so is the means by which they are recognized in heaven, and also by which they are joined to the Lord. For those who belong to the Church, that is, who have the Church within them, must acknowledge the Lord and the Divinity within Him. They must acknowledge the joining together of the Lord with heaven, also that of heaven with a person of the Church, and in general the joining together of goodness and truth in that person since this joining together constitutes the Church present in him. Whether you say the Church present in a person, or heaven present in him, or the kingdom of God present in him, or the Lord present in him, it all amounts to the same thing; for the Church is the Lord’s heaven on earth, the kingdom of God is heaven and at the same time the Church, and the Lord is the Source, indeed the Sum and Substance of their existence.

sRef Ex@31 @13 S0′ 10358. ‘[Throughout] your generations’ means within every single thing of the Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘generations’, when this refers to the children of Israel, as every single thing of the Church, dealt with in 10282.

sRef Ex@31 @13 S0′ 10359. ‘That you may know that I Jehovah am sanctifying you’ means the Lord’s Divine Human, which all things of heaven and the Church look to as their one and only Source. This is clear from the meaning of ‘what is holy’ as that which is Divine within heaven and within the Church, for that alone is holy; and what is Divine within heaven and the Church emanates from the Lord’s Divine Human, so that it is the Lord’s Divine Human that alone is holy and consequently that sanctifies. From this it is evident that the Lord’s Divine Human is what all things of heaven and the Church look to as their one and only Source. For heaven is heaven not by virtue of what is the angels’ own but by virtue of what is Divine and the Lord’s with them; and the like applies to the Church among people on earth. It says, ‘I Jehovah am sanctifying you’, and ‘Jehovah’ is used to mean the Lord. But since all these matters have often been dealt with before, see what has been stated and shown about them there,

The Lord alone is holy and all holiness emanates from Him, 9229, 9680, 9820.
Sanctification is the reception of what is Divine and the Lord’s, 9820, 10128, 10276.
Angels acknowledge nothing else Divine except the Lord’s Divine Human, 10159, 10267.
Thus the Lord’s Divine Human constitutes heaven and the Church, because He dwells in what is His own there and not in what is others’, 10125, 10151, 10157.
Jehovah in the Word is the Lord, see in the places referred to in 9373.

sRef Ex@31 @14 S0′ 10360. ‘And you shall keep the sabbath’ means that the Lord’s Divine Human is to be worshipped. This is clear from the meaning of ‘keeping’, when it refers to what is Divine, as worshipping; and from the meaning of ‘the sabbath’ in the highest sense as the union of the Divine, called the Father, and the Divine Human, called the Son, thus the Divine Human in which that union exists. The reason why ‘the sabbath’ means this union is that by the six days of labour which come before the seventh every state of conflict is meant; for in the spiritual sense ‘labour’ does not mean the kind of labour that people go out to in the world but the kind that those in the Church experience before they enter and become the Church, that is, labour that involves them in conflict with evils and the falsities of evil. Labour such as this that is meant in the spiritual sense was experienced by the Lord when He was in the world; for He engaged in conflict then against the hells, and restored them, and the heavens as well, to a state of order. At the same time He glorified His Human, that is, united it to the Divine itself that was His from conception, see 9715, 9809.

[2] The time and state when the Lord was engaged in conflicts is meant by the six days of labour; but the state when the union had been accomplished is meant by the seventh day, which is called the sabbath on account of the rest it brings, because then the Lord had rest. Consequently ‘the sabbath’ also means the joining together of the Lord with heaven, with the Church, with the angels of heaven, and with members of the Church. The reason for this is that all who will come into heaven must first engage in conflicts against evils and the falsities of evil; and when these have been separated those people enter heaven and are joined to the Lord, and then they have rest. The like applies to people in the world. It is well known that they must engage in conflicts or undergo temptations before they become the Church, that is, before the goodness and truth which constitute the Church have been implanted in them, thus before they have been joined to the Lord, consequently before they have rest. From all this it is evident why it is that a state of conflict is meant by six days of labour, and rest as well as a joining together by the seventh day or the sabbath.

[3] The reason why the joining together of goodness and truth is also meant by ‘the sabbath’ is that while a person is engaged in conflicts truths play the leading role within him; but when the truths have been joined to good, thus when good plays the leading role within that person, he has rest. This is similar to how it was with the Lord. While He was in the world and was engaged in conflict with the hells He was, in respect of His Human, Divine Truth; but when He had united His Human to the Divine itself He became also, in respect of His Human, Divine Good or Jehovah.

[4] The six days which come before the sabbath mean the conflicts that come before and are preparatory to the heavenly marriage, which is the joining together of goodness and truth, see 8510, 8888, 9431.
Regarding the former state – when truths play the leading role within a person and he is engaged in conflicts against evils and the falsities of evil, that is, the state meant by six days of labour – and regarding the latter state, when good plays the leading role within him and he is led by the Lord, meant by ‘the sabbath’, see 7923, 7992, 8505, 8506, 8510, 8512, 8516, 8539, 8643, 8648, 8658, 8685, 8690, 8701, 8772, 9139, 9224, 9227, 9230, 9274, 9832.
First of all the Lord made His Human, when He was in the world, Divine Truth, and afterwards Divine Good, see in the places referred to in 9199(end), 9315(end).
He achieved this through conflicts brought about by temptations, see in the places referred to in 9528(end).

sRef Isa@58 @13 S5′ sRef Isa@58 @14 S5′ [5] A person therefore who knows that ‘the sabbath’ serves in the highest sense to mean the union of the Divine itself within the Lord’s Divine Human can recognize the meaning of statements made so many times in the Word regarding the sabbath, such as the following in Isaiah,

If you turn your foot away from the sabbath, so that you do not do your own will on My holy day, but call the sabbath delights honourable to the Holiness of Jehovah, and honour it, so that you do not do your own ways, nor find your own desire or speak [your own] words, then you will take delight in Jehovah, and I will convey you into the high places of the earth, and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. Isa. 58:13, 14.

Anyone who is acquainted with the internal sense of the Word can see plainly that ‘the sabbath’ here is used to mean a state in which a person is joined to the Lord, thus a state when the person is led by the Lord and not by self, that is, a state which exists when good resides in him. For being led by the Lord and not by self is meant by ‘turning one’s foot away from the sabbath’, ‘not doing one’s own will’, ‘not doing one’s own ways’, ‘not finding one’s own desire’, and ‘not speaking [one’s own] words’. The presence of the Church and of heaven in that person is meant by the promise that he will be conveyed into the high places of the earth and will be fed with the heritage of Jacob. And the truth that the sabbath denotes the Divine Human in which there was a union is meant by the sabbath being called ‘My holy day’ and ‘delights [honourable] to the Holiness of Jehovah’.

sRef Jer@17 @24 S6′ sRef Jer@17 @25 S6′ [6] And in Jeremiah,

If you keep the sabbath day holy, kings and princes will enter through the gates of this city, sitting on the throne of David, riding in a chariot and on horses. Jer. 17:24, 25.

A person who has no knowledge of the internal sense of the Word will suppose that these words must be understood according to their literal meaning, which is that if people kept the sabbath holy kings and princes would enter through the gates of the city Jerusalem, riding in a chariot and on horses. But this is not how they should be understood. Rather they mean that those who worship the Lord’s Divine Human in a holy manner must be governed by the Divine Truths of heaven and the Church. For ‘Jerusalem’ is used to mean the Church, ‘kings and princes’ its Divine Truths, ‘the throne of David’ heaven where the Lord is, ‘a chariot’ teachings that convey what is good and true, and ‘horses’ an enlightened power of understanding.

‘Jerusalem’ means the Church, see 2117, 3654.
‘Kings’ means Divine Truths, 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148.
‘Princes’ means primary truths, 1482, 2089, 5044.
‘David’ means the Lord, 1888, 9954.
‘The throne’ means heaven, 5313.
‘A chariot’ means teachings conveying what is good and true, 5321, 8215.
‘Horses’ means a power of understanding that receives enlightenment, 2760-2762, 3217, 5321, 6534.

sRef Matt@12 @8 S7′ sRef Lev@24 @8 S7′ [7] Because ‘the sabbath’ meant the Lord in respect of the Divine Human, in which there was a union, it was decreed that the loaves of the Presence should be set in order on the table every sabbath, Lev. 24:8. (It is well known in the Church that the Lord’s Divine Human should be understood by ‘bread’.) For the same reason the Lord, when in the world, calls Himself the Lord of the sabbath, Matt. 12:7, 8; Mark 2:27, 28; Luke 6:1-5.

sRef John@5 @8 S8′ sRef John@5 @18 S8′ sRef John@5 @9 S8′ sRef John@5 @11 S8′ sRef John@5 @10 S8′ [8] For the same reason also the Lord, when He was in the world and united His Human to the Divine itself, did away with the sabbath as an occasion on which representative worship or the kind of worship established among the Israelite people took place, and made the sabbath day a day for instruction in teachings about faith and love. This is what the following words in John imply,

Jesus healing a certain man on the sabbath day said to him, Take up your bed and walk. And he took up the bed and walked. The Jews said that he ought not to carry a bed on the sabbath day. And they sought to kill the Lord, because He broke the sabbath. John 5:8-11, 18.

‘The healing of one who is sick’ means the purification of a person from evils and the falsities of evil; his ‘bed’ means religious teachings; and ‘walking’ means ‘life’.

[9] Every healing from sickness carried out by the Lord implies purification from evils and falsities, or restoration of spiritual life, see 8364(end), 9031(end), 9086.
‘Walking’ means life, 519, 1794, 8417, 8420.

The fact that ‘bed’ means religious teachings is clear from places in the Word where a bed is mentioned, and also from representatives in the next life. When a bed is seen there and someone is lying on it, the teachings on which that person relies are meant. Consequently beds which are most highly adorned are seen there; these belong to those who rely on truths springing from good. Yet the fact that things such as these are meant by the Lord’s words no one can know without the aid of the internal sense; for when the Lord spoke He used correspondences and so images carrying a spiritual meaning, since the Divine was the Source of the things He said.

sRef Ex@31 @14 S0′ 10361. ‘For it is holy to you’ means the Source of all the goodness and truth which compose the Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘that which is holy’ as all that and that alone which emanates from the Lord, dealt with in 9479, 9680, 9820, thus the good of love and the truth of faith since these are what emanate from the Lord. The fact that these compose the Church in the case of men, and heaven in the case of angels, becomes clear from the consideration that love and faith are the essentials of the Church because they join men and angels to the Lord, the good of love causing their will to be joined and the truth of faith their understanding, and so bringing all that is in them into union.

sRef Ex@31 @14 S0′ sRef Isa@58 @13 S1′ 10362. ‘He who profanes it’ means being led by self and one’s own loves, and not by the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘profaning the sabbath’, or doing work on the sabbath day, as being led by self and not by the Lord, thus by one’s own loves. That this is what ‘profaning the sabbath’ means is clear in Isaiah,

If you turn you foot away from the sabbath, so that you do not do your own will on My holy day, and do not do your own ways, and do not find your own desire and speak [your own] words … Isa. 58:13.

‘Turning one’s foot away from the sabbath’ means forsaking such things as belong to the natural man. ‘Doing one’s own will’ means doing that which is favourable to selfish desires and the evils of self-love and love of the world. ‘Doing one’s own ways’ means doing that which is favourable to the falsities of evil. ‘Finding one’s own desire’ means leading a life that accords with the delights that belong to those types of love, and ‘speaking [one’s own] words’ thinking such things. From all this it is evident that ‘profaning the sabbath’ means being led by self and one’s own loves, and not by the Lord, who in the highest sense is the sabbath, as shown just above.

[2] The like is meant by the kinds of work, such as cutting wood, lighting a fire, preparing food then, gathering in the harvest, and many other kinds, which people were prohibited from doing on the sabbath day; all these had a like meaning. ‘Cutting wood’ meant being led by self to do what was good; ‘lighting a fire’ meant being inflamed to do it by their own selfish loves; and ‘preparing food’ meant teaching themselves by means of their own intelligence. No one can know except from the internal sense that these prohibitions which have been mentioned imply such things.

sRef Matt@6 @24 S3′ [3] It should in addition be remembered that being led by self and being led by the Lord are two opposites. Someone who is led by self is led by his own loves, and so by hell since the loves that are a person’s own originate there; but someone who is led by the Lord is led by heaven’s loves, which are love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour. One who is led by these loves is allured away from selfish loves, whereas one who is led by selfish loves is allured away from heaven’s loves; for selfish loves agree in no way at all with heaven’s loves. A person’s life is located either in heaven or in hell; it is impossible for it to be in one and at the same time in the other. This is how the Lord’s words in Matthew should be understood,

No one can serve two lords, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will cling to the one and disregard the other. Matt. 6:24.

From all this it is evident what ‘doing work on the sabbath day’ means.

sRef Ex@31 @14 S0′ 10363. ‘Must certainly die’ means being separated from heaven, and spiritual death. This is clear from the meaning of ‘dying’ – when the subject is the sabbath, by which the Lord and the acknowledgement of Him are meant – as not being joined to heaven, dealt with in 9928, 10244, and so being separated from it. And separation from heaven is spiritual death.

sRef Ex@31 @14 S0′ 10364. ‘Everyone who does work on that day’ means those who turn away from heavenly loves to bodily and worldly loves. This is clear from what has been shown just above in 10362.

sRef Ex@31 @14 S0′ 10365. ‘That soul will be cut off from the midst of his people’ means that not heaven and the Church but hell resides with that person. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being cut off from the midst of his people’ as separation from the Church and spiritual death, dealt with in 10288, so that not the Church but hell resides with him. When the Church does not reside with a person, neither does heaven; for heaven and the Church act as one. In the case of a person in whom the Church is present heaven, that is, the Lord by way of heaven, flows in and constitutes the Church there. So it is that when the Church does not reside with a person hell does so; and this is therefore meant by ‘being cut off from the midst of his people’.

sRef Ex@31 @15 S0′ 10366. ‘Work shall be done for six days’ means the state which comes before and is preparatory to the heavenly marriage. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the six days which come before the sabbath’ as the state which comes before and is preparatory to the heavenly marriage, dealt with in 8510, 8888, 9431, the heavenly marriage being the joining together of goodness and truth in a member of the Church and in an angel of heaven, and in the highest sense the union of the Divine itself within the Lord’s Human, see 10356. And ‘the work of six days’ means the state which comes before, 10360.

sRef Ex@31 @15 S0′ 10367. ‘And on the seventh day there is the sabbath of rest’ means the state of good that has been the end in view, thus the state when a person becomes an embodiment of the Church and enters heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the seventh day’ as the state of good that has been the end in view; for since the six days which come before mean the person’s state which comes before and is preparatory to the heavenly marriage, the seventh day means when that marriage actually exists within the person. That marriage is the joining together of the truth and good residing with the person, thus when the person becomes an embodiment of the Church and enters heaven. The reason why a person enters heaven and becomes an embodiment of the Church when governed by good is that the Lord flows into the good residing with a person, and through the good into his truth. He flows into the internal man, where heaven within that person exists, and through the internal into the external, where the world within that person exists. Therefore unless the person is governed by good his internal man is not opened but remains closed, no matter how many truths he knows on a doctrinal level. And since heaven exists within his internal man the person is in heaven when that internal man is opened; for heaven does not exist in some place but within a person’s interiors. The human being has been created to conform to an image of heaven and of the world, his internal man to conform to the image of heaven and the external man to conform to the image of the world, see in the places referred to in 9279, [and what has been stated in] 9706.

[2] Anyone who stops to reflect on the matter may see that the essential nature of a person’s good, not his truth without that good, makes him altogether what he is. For it is by means of his good and in accord with it that he collaborates with another, is in sympathy with another, links himself to another, and lets himself be led by another, and not by means of and in accord with his truth unless this is in agreement with his good. When the word ‘good’ is used here the person’s delight, pleasure, or love should be understood, for everything that forms part of these constitutes his good; and so far as he is left to think for himself ideas favourable to that good are thought by him to be truths. From all this it becomes clear that a person is joined to the Lord by means of good, and not at all by means of truth without good.

[3] Being joined to the Lord by means of good has, it is true, been dealt with often before, wherever a person’s regeneration has been the subject. But since people in the Church at the present day concentrate much on the truths belonging to faith and little on the good belonging to love, and are consequently ignorant of what good is, let a further statement be made about the joining together of goodness and truth, which is called the heavenly marriage. A person is born into evils of every kind and consequently into falsities of every kind, so that left to himself he is condemned to hell. Therefore to be delivered from hell he must be entirely born again, born of the Lord; and that rebirth is what is called regeneration. In order that he may therefore be reborn he must first learn truths; those who belong to the Church must learn them from the Word, or from teachings drawn from the Word. The Word and teachings drawn from the Word show what truth and good are, and truth and good show what evil and falsity are. Unless a person knows these things he cannot possibly be regenerated; for he remains immersed in his evils and consequent falsities, calling those evils forms of good and these falsities truths. [4] This explains why cognitions or knowledge of truth and good must come first and enlighten a person’s understanding. A person’s understanding has been given to him in order that it may be enlightened with cognitions of goodness and truth, the end in view being that they may be received by his will and converted into good. For truths are converted into good when the person wills them, and in willing them does them. From this it is evident how the good present with a person is formed, and that unless good is present in a person he is not born anew or regenerated. When therefore a person’s will consists of good his understanding consists of truths wedded to that good. The person’s understanding truly acts in unison with his will; for what the person wills, that he thinks when left to himself. So this is what is called the joining together of truth and good or the heavenly marriage. Whether you say willing good or loving good it amounts to the same thing; for what a person loves, that he wills. At the same time, whether you say understanding truth wedded to good or believing it, this likewise amounts to the same thing. From this it follows that in the case of a person who has been regenerated love and faith act in unison. This joining together or marriage of them is what is called the Church and heaven, also the Lord’s kingdom, and in the highest sense the Lord as He exists with a person.

[5] But people who love their evils, whether those which they have acquired by heredity and since early childhood made stronger within themselves, or those which they have added for themselves and become the first to steep themselves in, can indeed grasp and have some understanding of truths obtained from the Word or from teachings drawn from the Word; nevertheless they cannot be regenerated. For every person’s power of understanding is maintained by the Lord in a condition such as this, to the end that he may be regenerated. But when someone loves his evils the power of understanding in his internal man is not endowed with those truths, only the power of understanding in his external man; and this is no more than a knowledge of them. Such people do not know what good is; nor are they concerned to know what it is, only what truth is. As a result they think that the Church and heaven consist in truths, which are called matters of faith, and not in good deeds, which are matters of life. They also explain the Word in various ways in support of their own basic assumptions. Consequently with people such as these whose lives are not at the same time governed by the truths they know, no joining together of truth and good exists, nor therefore the Church and heaven. In the next life furthermore the truths which they have called matters of faith are separated from them; for evil in the will casts them out, and their place is taken by falsities in keeping with the evils they are steeped in.

[6] From all this it may now be recognized what the joining together of goodness and truth, meant by ‘the sabbath’, is. This joining together is called the sabbath on account of the rest it brings, for the sabbath consists in rest. During the first state, that is, while being led by truths towards good, a person is engaged in conflicts against the evils and falsities present with him. By means of these conflicts, which are temptations, evils and accompanying falsities are dispelled and separated, from which there is no rest until goodness and truth have been joined together. At this point the person has rest, and so does the Lord, for the person does not fight against the evils and falsities, but the Lord residing with Him.

[7] The reason why in the highest sense ‘the sabbath’ means the Lord’s Divine Human is that when the Lord was in the world, from His Human He fought against and overcame all the hells, and at the same time restored the heavens to order, after which labours He united His Human to the Divine, making it Divine Good as well. Consequently at this point He had rest, for the hells cannot lift a finger against Divine Good. This now explains why in the highest sense ‘the sabbath’ serves to mean the Lord’s Divine Human.

[8] But see what has been shown already on these matters,

When the Lord was in the world His Human was first made Divine Truth by Him, to the end that He might go into battle against the hells and overcome them; and afterwards His Human was glorified and made the Divine Good of Divine Love by Him, in the places referred to in 9199, 9315, and also what is stated in 9715, 9809. When in the world the Lord underwent the severest temptations, in the places referred to in 9528(end).
As a result He possesses the Divine Power to save a person, by removing the hells from him and in that way regenerating him, 10019, 10152.
Regarding the two states of a person who is being regenerated by the Lord, in the places referred to in 9274.
A person does not go into heaven until the joining together of truth and good has been accomplished with him, 8516, 8539, 8722, 8772, 9139, 9832.
A person’s regeneration is an image of the Lord’s glorification, 3138, 3212, 3296, 3490, 4402, 5688.

sRef Ex@31 @15 S0′ 10368. ‘Holy to Jehovah’ means the Divine. This is clear from the meaning of ‘holy to Jehovah’ as the Lord’s Divine Human, and all that and that alone which emanates from Him, dealt with in 9479, 9680, 9820.

sRef Ex@31 @15 S0′ 10369. ‘Whoever does any work on the sabbath day must certainly die’ means being led by self and by one’s own loves, and not by the Lord, and spiritual death is the result. This is clear from what has been shown above in 10362.

sRef Ex@31 @16 S0′ 10370. ‘And the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, observing the sabbath [throughout] their generations’ means that the truly essential thing of the Church is the acknowledgement of the union of the Divine itself within the Lord’s Human, and that this acknowledgement must be present in every single part of worship. This is clear from the meaning of ‘keeping the sabbath’ as thought which is holy and goes on unceasingly regarding the union of Divinity itself to the Lord’s Human, dealt with above in 10356, and so also acknowledging it, for thinking without acknowledging and believing is not spiritual thinking; from the representation of ‘the children of Israel’ as the Church, dealt with in the places referred to in 9340; from the meaning of ‘observing the sabbath’ as worshipping that union in a holy way and so worshipping the Lord’s Divine Human, since that union resides within His Human; and from the meaning of ‘the generations of the children of Israel’ as in every single thing of the Church, dealt with in 10282. From all this it is evident that ‘the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, observing the sabbath [throughout] your generations’ means maintaining the acknowledgement of Divinity itself within the Lord’s Human in every single part of worship. The reason why this is the essential thing of the Church and consequently of its worship is that the salvation of the human race depends solely on that union. For the sake also of this union the Lord came into the world; and therefore also that is what the whole Word in its inmost sense deals with and what the religious observances of the Church established among the children of Israel represented and meant spiritually.

sRef Matt@28 @18 S2′ sRef John@3 @36 S2′ [2] The Lord Himself teaches in a number of places that the salvation of the human race depends on that union, consequently that the acknowledgement of it is the essential thing of the Church and of its worship, for example in John,

He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not believe in the Son will not see life. John 3:36.

See also John 3:15, 16; 6:40; 11:25, 26; 20:31. ‘The Son’ is the Lord’s Divine Human. The reason why those who do not in faith acknowledge the Lord do not have eternal life is that this acknowledgement is made by the whole of heaven; for the Lord is Lord of heaven and earth, as He Himself teaches in Matthew,

All power in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Matt. 28:18.

Therefore heaven is closed to those who do not acknowledge Him; and those who do not acknowledge Him in the world – that is, those within the Church – do not acknowledge Him in the next life. Such is a person’s condition after death.

sRef Ex@31 @16 S0′ 10371. ‘The covenant of an age’ means being joined to the Lord to eternity. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a covenant’ as a joining together, dealt with in 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 6804, 8767, 8778, 9396, 9416; and from the meaning of ‘age’ as eternity, dealt with in 10248.

sRef John@13 @32 S0′ sRef John@14 @11 S0′ sRef John@14 @10 S0′ sRef John@13 @31 S0′ sRef John@14 @7 S0′ sRef John@10 @30 S0′ sRef John@17 @10 S0′ sRef John@14 @10 S0′ sRef John@14 @9 S0′ sRef John@17 @1 S0′ sRef John@10 @38 S0′ sRef John@14 @8 S0′ sRef Ex@31 @17 S0′ 10372. ‘This is a sign between Me and the children of Israel into an age’ means that this is the means by which those who belong to the Church are distinguished from those who do not belong to the Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a sign’ as the means by which they are recognized, dealt with above in 10357, and so also by which they are distinguished; and from the representation of ‘the children of Israel’ as the Church, dealt with in the places referred to in 9340, so that ‘a sign between Jehovah and the children of Israel’ means that it is the means by which those who belong to the Church are distinguished from those who do not, that is to say, they are distinguished by their acknowledgement of the union of the Divine within the Lord’s Human, dealt with above in 10370. The truth that the Church does not exist where the Lord is not acknowledged is also the teaching of the Church itself; and the further truth that within His Human there is the Divine itself is the Lord’s own teaching in John,

I and the Father* are one. … you may believe that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father. John 10:30, 38.

In the same gospel,

Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? John 14:6-11.

In the same gospel,

Jesus said, The hour has come. Father, glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You. All Mine are Yours, and all Yours are Mine. John 17:1, 10.

In the same gospel,

Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. And God will glorify Him in Himself. John 13:31, 32.

And in the same gospel,

If you know Me you know My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him. He who has seen Me has seen the Father. John 14:6-11.
* The Latin means The Father and I but the Greek means I and the Father, which Sw. has in most other places where he quotes this verse.

sRef Ps@102 @18 S0′ sRef Ex@31 @17 S0′ 10373. ‘For in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth’ means the state of conflict and labour while the Church is being established. This is clear from the meaning of ‘six days’, when the subject is the establishment of the Church and a person’s regeneration, as the state of conflict against evils and falsities, thus the state which comes before and is preparatory to the joining together of goodness and truth, dealt with above in 10366, 10367; and from the meaning of ‘heaven and earth’ as the Church. sRef Isa@43 @7 S2′ sRef Ps@104 @30 S2′ sRef Isa@43 @1 S2′ [2] In the Word ‘creating heaven and earth’ is not used to mean what happened when the sky above and this planet were first created, but the establishment of the Church and the regeneration of a person there, ‘heaven’ being used to mean his internal and ‘earth’ his external. The fact that this kind of creation is what should be understood is clear from places in the Word in which the verb ‘create’ is used, as in David,

A people who will be created will praise Jah. Ps. 102:18.

In the same author,

You send forth [Your] spirit, they are created, and You renew the face of the earth. Ps. 104.30.

In Isaiah,

Thus said Jehovah, I am your Creator, O Jacob; I am He who formed you, O Israel. For I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name, you are Mine. Every one who is called by My name – I have created him for My glory, I have formed him, and also I have made him. Isa. 43:1, 7.

And in other places. The expressions ‘creating’, ‘forming’, and ‘making’ are used, and elsewhere ‘Creator’, ‘He who forms’, and ‘Maker’. ‘Creating’ means bringing something into being that did not exist before, ‘forming’ means giving it specific quality, and ‘making’ means carrying into effect. ‘Creating and making a new heaven and a new earth’ means establishing a new Church, its internal and its external, as in Isa. 65:17; 66:22; Rev. 21:1 – see 1733, 1850, 2117 (end), 2118 (end), 3355, 4535. ‘Earth’ in the Word means the Church, 9325. And also ‘the creation of heaven and earth’ in the first chapter of Genesis means the establishment of the Most Ancient Church, 8891, 9942.

sRef Ex@31 @17 S0′ sRef Matt@28 @18 S0′ 10374. ‘And on the seventh day He rested and recovered His breath’ means the state of good when the Church has been established, or when a person has been regenerated. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the seventh day’ as the holy state which constitutes the Church when it is governed by good, thus when it has been established, or when a member of the Church is governed by good, thus when he has been regenerated. In the highest sense ‘the seventh day’ and Jehovah’s ‘resting and recovering His breath’ mean the union within the Lord of the Divine itself, called the Father, and the Divine Human, called the Son; and so they mean the time when the Lord, as to His Divine Human as well, had become the Divine Good of Divine Love, that is, Jehovah. This explains why ‘seven’ in the Word means that which is holy, see 395, 433, 716, 881, 5265, 5268. The reason why it says that on that day Jehovah rested and recovered His breath is that the Lord’s Human was now above all molestations from hell, and heaven and earth were now subject to His control, Matt. 28:18. Heaven too now had rest and recovered its breath, because the Lord had now restored all things in heaven to order and had subdued the hells. The like was so on earth, for once heaven existed in a state of order and the hells had been subdued people could be saved. From this it is evident that Jehovah’s rest consists in peace and safety for angels in heaven and people on earth. These they have when they are governed by good, and through this abide in the Lord.

sRef Ex@31 @18 S0′ 10375. ‘And He gave to Moses, when He had finished talking to him from Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the Testimony’ means a joining of the Lord to a person by means of the Word. This is clear from the representation of ‘Moses’ as the Word, dealt with in the places referred to in 9372; from the meaning of ‘when He had finished talking to him’ as after all things had been instituted, for what Jehovah talked about to Moses on Mount Sinai was the things to be instituted among the children of Israel, thus things of the Church; from the meaning of ‘Mount Sinai’ as heaven, where Divine Truth comes from, dealt with in 8805, 9420; from the meaning of ‘the two tablets’ as the law in its entirety, thus the Word, dealt with in 9416; and from the meaning of ‘the Testimony’ as the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, dealt with in 8535, 9503. The joining to a person by means of the Word is meant by the fact that the tablets were two in number and were joined together as if by a covenant, see 9416. ‘Two’ furthermore means a joining together, 5194, 8423. From all this it is evident that ‘Jehovah gave to Moses, when He had finished talking to him from Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the Testimony’ means that after the Church has been established a joining of the Lord to a person is accomplished by means of the Word sent down from Him out of heaven.

The Word is the means by which the Lord flows in with a person, talks to him, and is joined to him, see 1775, 2310, 2899, 3476, 3735, 3982(end), 4217, 9212(end), 9216(end), 9357, 9380, 9396, 9400, 9401, 10290.

sRef Ex@31 @18 S0′ 10376. ‘The tablets of stone, written with the finger of God’ means the Divine Truth there, coming from the Lord Himself. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the tablets’ as the law in its entirety, thus the Word, dealt with in 9416; from the meaning of ‘stone’ as Divine Truth on lowest levels, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘being written with the finger of God’ as coming from the Lord Himself, for what is written with anyone’s finger comes from that person himself. The reason why those tablets were made of stone and the words of the law were written into the stone was that ‘stone’ means truth on lowest levels, and Divine Truth on lowest levels is the sense of the letter of the Word, containing the internal sense.

‘Stone’ means truth, see 643, 1298, 3720, 6426, 9476, and truth on lowest levels, 8609.

10377. THE THIRD PLANET OUT IN SPACE – continued

People on that planet, as on every other, acknowledge God under a human form, and so acknowledge our Lord; for all who acknowledge God under a human form are accepted by our Lord and led by Him. No others can be led, since they think of God as having no visible shape, and so think of Him as a natural force.

10378. Spirits who come from that planet are upright. The reason for this is that they are withheld from evils through having no desire to contemplate earthly and bodily things. Such things draw the mind away from heaven; for to the extent that anyone is ruled by these he is far from heaven and so from the Lord, and as a consequence is immersed in evils, and wicked.

10379. Spirits belonging to that planet are seen above, at head-level and over towards the right; for all spirits are identified by their position in relation to the human body. This is so because the whole of heaven corresponds to all the parts of the human being. These spirits keep themselves at a distance because their correspondence is not with the outward but the inner parts of the human being. The parts they act on are those just above and below the left knee with a sort of clearly perceptible rippling. This is a sign that they correspond to the linking together of things on the natural level and those on the celestial level; for the feet correspond to things on the natural level, and the thighs to those on the celestial level, so that the knee corresponds to the linking together of these.

10380. I was told that the inhabitants of their planet are taught about the things of heaven through some direct interaction with angels and spirits, into which they can be introduced more easily than others, because they banish bodily things from their thought and affection. But regarding that interaction I am allowed to report no more than the things which were shown to me.

10381. One of those spirits came towards me. I noticed him overhead, near the pulsating hollow called the fontanelle; from there he spoke to me. He was able to scrutinize skillfully all the details of my thought, keep them all the time in their proper order, and reveal them to me. But he drew out only such as he could find fault with. He did so because spirits from our planet were around me, whom he was not at all willing to go near because their thoughts were of bodily things. When he found fault with me I was allowed to say that what he found fault with did not belong to me but to the spirits around me, because what I was thinking did not begin in myself but in these spirits, who were influencing my thinking. He was astonished at this but nevertheless perceived that it was so. I was allowed to go on and say that to search out what is bad in a person is not an angelic thing to do unless at the same time one looked for what is good. Having heard this he departed, perceiving that his displeasure described above had caused him to do that.

10382. Afterwards I spoke to those spirits who were keeping themselves at a distance, asking them what happens to those among them who are bad. They said that on their planet no one is allowed to be wicked; but if anyone does contemplate and do what is evil he is rebuked by a certain spirit who threatens him with death if he continues in such ways. If he does continue in them, they said, he has a fainting fit from which he dies; and in this way people on that planet are protected from the contamination of evils. A certain spirit of their kind was sent to me, who spoke to me as he would have done to them, in addition to which he caused some sort of pain in the area of my abdomen, saying that he did this kind of thing to those who contemplate and do what is evil, and threatened them with death. But this spirit was a rebuking spirit; he stood at the back of my head, and spoke to me from there with a voice which rose and fell like waves.

10383. They said that those who desecrate holy things are punished severely, and that before the punishing spirit arrives there appear before them the widely opened jaws of a livid-coloured lion, which seems to want to devour their head and tear it away from their body, as a consequence of which they are seized with horror. They call the punishing spirit the devil.

10384. Because they wished to know what revelation is like on our planet I told them that it is accomplished by means of writing and of preaching from the Word, and not as on other planets by direct contact [with angels and spirits]. I told them that what is written can be made public by means of printing, which can be read and understood by congregations of people throughout the world, whose lives can thereby be amended. They were utterly amazed by the existence of such a device totally unknown anywhere else, yet they could understand that on our planet, where bodily and earthly things are loved so greatly, Divine things from heaven cannot be received in any other way, and that it would be dangerous for those on our planet to talk to angels.

10385. ‘This third planet out in space’ is continued at the end of the next chapter.

10386. 32
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TEACHINGS ABOUT CHARITY AND FAITH

Baptism was established to serve as a sign that a person belongs to the Church and as a reminder that he needs to be regenerated; for baptismal washing is nothing other than spiritual washing, which is regeneration.

10387. All regeneration is accomplished by the Lord by means of the truths of faith and a life in keeping with them. Therefore baptism bears witness to the fact that a person belongs to the Church and is able to be regenerated; for in the Church the Lord, the One who accomplishes regeneration, is acknowledged, and in the Church the Word exists, containing the truths of faith, the means by which He accomplishes it.

sRef John@3 @5 S0′ 10388. This is the Lord’s teaching in John,

Unless a person has been born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. John 3:5.

‘Water’ in the spiritual sense is the truth of faith derived from the Word, ‘spirit’ is a life in keeping with it, and ‘being born of these’ is being regenerated.

10389. Since everyone who is being regenerated also undergoes temptations, which are spiritual conflicts against evils and falsities, the water used in baptism also serves to mean those temptations.

10390. Since baptism serves as a sign and reminder of these things a person may be baptized when he is a young child, or if not then, when he is adult.

10391. Let those who have been baptized therefore recognize that their actual baptism confers neither faith nor salvation on them; rather it bears witness to the truth that they receive faith and are saved if they are regenerated.

sRef Mark@16 @16 S0′ 10392. This shows what should be understood by the Lord’s words in Mark,

One who believes and is baptized will be saved; but one who does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16:16.

‘One who believes’ is one who acknowledges the Lord and receives Divine Truths from Him through the Word; and ‘one who is baptized’ is one who is being regenerated by the Lord by means of those truths.

EXODUS 32

1 And the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain. And the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, Rise, make us gods to go before us; for this Moses, that man who caused us to come up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.

2 And Aaron said to them, Pull away the ear-jewels of gold which are on the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them to me.

3 And all the people pulled away the ear-jewels of gold which were on their ears, and brought them to Aaron.

4 And he received [the gold] from their hands, and fashioned it with a chisel, and made out of it a calf of molded [metal]; and they said, These are your gods, O Israel, who caused you to come up out of the land of Egypt.

5 And Aaron saw it and built an altar in front of it, and Aaron made a proclamation and said, Tomorrow there will be a feast to Jehovah*.

6 And they rose up in the morning of the next day, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.

7 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, Go! go down; for your people have corrupted themselves, whom you caused to come up out of the land of Egypt.

8 They have suddenly departed from the way which I have commanded them; they have made for themselves a calf of molded [metal], and worshipped it, and sacrificed to it, and said, These are your gods, O Israel, who caused you to come up out of the land of Egypt.

9 And Jehovah said to Moses, I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people.

10 And you, let Me alone, and let My anger grow hot against them, and let Me consume them; and let Me make you into a great nation.

11 And Moses entreated the face of** Jehovah his God, and said, Why, O Jehovah, does Your anger grow hot against Your people, whom You have led out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a strong hand?

12 Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, For evil He led them out, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from upon the face of the earth? Turn back from the heat of Your anger, and repent*** of the evil against Your people.

13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Yourself, and spoke to them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens; and all this land which I have spoken of I will give to your seed, and they will inherit it into the age****.

14 And Jehovah repented*** of the evil which He said He would do to His people.

15 And Moses looked back and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand; the tablets were written on across them both, from the edge of one and from the edge of the other they were written on*****.

16 And the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.

17 And Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted******, and he said to Moses, There is the noise of war in the camp.

18 And he said, It is not the noise of the cry in victory, and it is not the noise of the cry in defeat; the noise of a wretched cry I hear.

19 And it happened, as he came near the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dances; and Moses grew hot with anger, and threw the tablets out of his hand and broke them beneath the mountain.

20 And he took the calf which they had made, and burned it in the fire, and ground it up till it was powder, and sprinkled it on the face of the water, and made the children of Israel drink it.

21 And Moses said to Aaron, What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?

22 And Aaron said, Do not let your anger grow hot, O my lord; you know the people, that they [are set] on evil.

23 And they said to me, Make us gods to go before us; for this Moses, that man who caused us to come up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.

24 And I said to them, Whoever has gold, pull it away; and they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and this calf came out.

25 And Moses saw that the people had become undisciplined; for Aaron had caused them to become so undisciplined that those rising up against them would annihilate them*******.

26 And Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Whoever is for Jehovah, [come] to me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves to him.

27 And he said to them, Thus says Jehovah the God of Israel, Put everyone his sword on his thigh; go to and fro******** from gate to gate in the camp, and kill [every] man his brother, and [every] man his companion, and [every] man his neighbour.

28 And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses; and there fell of the people on that day up to three thousand men.

29 And Moses said, Fill your hand********* today to Jehovah (for [every] man has been against his son and against his brother), so that He may bestow a blessing on you today.

30 And it happened on the next day, that Moses said to the people, You have committed a great sin. And now I shall go up to Jehovah; perhaps I shall make expiation for your sin.

31 And Moses returned to Jehovah and said, I implore You; this people has committed a great sin, and they have made gods of gold for themselves.

32 And now, if You forgive their sin – and if not, blot me out, I beg You, from Your book which You have written.

33 And Jehovah said to Moses, The one who has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.

34 And now, go! lead the people to what I have spoken of to you. Behold, My angel will go before you; and on the day of My visitation I will visit their sin upon them**********.

35 And Jehovah struck the people because they made the calf which Aaron made.
* in this chapter Sw. does not use a capital letter for the Divine name in this particular expression; i.e. he writes jehovah, not Jehovah.
** i.e. Moses pleaded with
*** repent is not used here in the sense of being penitent or contrite over personal wrong-doing but in the sense of sorrow or regret over any past decision or course of action.
**** i.e. forever
***** lit. the tablets were written on the two goings across; from here and from here they were written i.e. the writing ran from the edge of one tablet right across, and then continued from the edge of the second tablet right across
****** The word rendered noise (vox) in verses 17, 18 means more literally voice; and the word rendered shouting (vociferatio) means more literally raising the voice.
******* lit. And Moses saw the people, that they had been unloosed, because Aaron had made them unloosed, to annihilation by their insurgents
******** lit. go across (or through) and come back
********* i.e. Consecrate yourselves
********** i.e. on the day when I come to punish I will punish them for their sin

sRef Ex@32 @0 S0′ 10393. CONTENTS

The internal sense in this chapter shows that no Church could be established among the Israelite people because their whole interest lay in external things and not in anything internal; and to prevent them from profaning the holy things of heaven and the Church their interiors were completely closed off. The fact that this people’s whole interest lay in external things and not in anything internal is meant by the golden calf which they worshipped instead of Jehovah. And the complete closing off of their interiors to prevent them from profaning the holy things of heaven and the Church is meant by Moses’ breaking the tablets containing the law, by his grinding up the golden calf, sprinkling the powder on the water, and giving it to them to drink, and also by the killing in the camp by the sons of Levi of up to three thousand men.

sRef Ex@32 @0 S0′ 10394. The internal sense goes on to show that although no Church could be established among them representative forms, which are the last and lowest things of the Church, could nevertheless exist among them for the sake of the writing of the Word, in which those things would constitute the lowest level. All this is meant by Jehovah’s being entreated by Moses.


10395. THE INTERNAL SENSE

Verses 1-6 And the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain. And the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, Rise, make us gods to go before us; for this Moses, that man who caused us to come up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him. And Aaron said to them, Pull away the ear-jewels of gold which are on the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them to me. And all the people pulled away the ear-jewels of gold which were on their ears, and brought them to Aaron. And he received [the gold] from their hands, and fashioned it with a chisel, and made out of it a calf of molded [metal]; and they said, These are your gods, O Israel, who caused you to come up out of the land of Egypt. And Aaron saw it and built an altar in front of it, and Aaron made a proclamation and said, Tomorrow there will be a feast to Jehovah*. And they rose up in the morning of the next day, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.

‘And the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain’ means the Israelite nation, when they did not discern in the Word anything from heaven. ‘And the people gathered together to Aaron’ means that they directed themselves to the outward features of the Word, the Church, and worship, detached from what was inward. ‘And said to him’ means exhortation. ‘Rise, make us gods to go before us’ means producing falsities that figure in religious teachings and worship, thus producing things of an idolatrous nature. ‘For this Moses, that man who caused us to come up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him’ means a total unawareness of what other Divine Truth exists in the Word that raises a person from an external to an internal level [and makes him an embodiment of the Church]. ‘And Aaron said to them’ means the outward features of the Word, the Church, and worship, devoid of the inward. ‘Pull away the ear-jewels of gold from the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters’ means drawing out of the literal sense of the Word such things as are favourable to external forms of love and to the major ideas resulting from these. ‘And bring them to me’ means bringing together into a single whole. ‘And all the people pulled away the ear-jewels of gold which were on their ears, and brought them to Aaron’ means putting into effect. ‘And he received [the gold] from their hands’ means things favouring their proprium or self. ‘And fashioned it with a chisel’ means a product of their own intelligence. ‘And made out of it a calf of molded [metal]’ means in keeping with the delight belonging to that nation’s loves. ‘And they said, These are your gods, O Israel’ means that it was to be worshipped above all things. ‘Who caused you to come up out of the land of Egypt’ means which led them. ‘And Aaron saw it’ means approval. ‘And built an altar in front of it’ means worship. ‘And Aaron made a proclamation and said, Tomorrow there will be a feast to Jehovah’ means that this is the really essential thing of the Church which is to be celebrated and the truly Divine reality that is to be worshipped unceasingly. ‘And they rose up in the morning of the next day’ means arousal by the loves that are their own. ‘And offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings’ means the worship offered by their own loves, and so by the delights belonging to those loves and by resulting falsities. ‘And the people sat down to eat and drink’ means making those things their own. ‘And rose up to play’ means the resulting desire of their interiors to celebrate, and concord.
* In this chapter Sw. does not use a capital letter for the Divine name in this particular expression; i.e. he writes jehovah, not Jehovah.

sRef Ex@32 @1 S0′ 10396. ‘And the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain’ means the Israelite nation, when they did not discern in the Word anything from heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘seeing’, when it refers to the understanding of the Word, as discernment, dealt with in 2150, 3764, 3863, 4567, 4723, 5400; from the representation of ‘Moses’ as the Word, dealt with in the places referred to in 9372; from the meaning of ‘delaying to come down’, when this refers to discernment of Divine Truth obtained from the Word, as not flowing in, for Divine Truth which flows in and resides with a person is said to come down from heaven; and from the meaning of ‘Mount Sinai’ as heaven in respect of Divine Truth, dealt with in 9420. ‘The people’ is used here literally to mean the Israelite nation; for this chapter deals with that nation, with what it was like in its discernment of Divine Truth obtained from the Word, and in its discernment of the inner realities that were represented within the things which Jehovah commanded the children of Israel from Mount Sinai through Moses – the things contained in the previous chapters, 25-31 inclusive. From all this it is clear that ‘the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain’ means the Israelite nation, when they did not discern in the Word anything from heaven, nor for this reason anything that was represented in the measures commanded from Mount Sinai, that is, the inner realities.
[2] The situation in all this is that the subject in the chapters immediately before has been the statutes, judgements, and laws which Jehovah commanded the children of Israel, among whom a Church was to be established. Each one of these was an external regulation representing something internal, as has been shown in the explanations of those chapters. But the character of the Israelite nation was such that they did not wish to know anything whatever about the inner realities that were represented, only about the outward forms that served to represent them. The reason why that nation was like this was that they were ruled completely by bodily and earthly kinds of love; and with those who are ruled by those kinds of love their interiors, which would otherwise lie open to heaven, are closed off. Everyone has an internal and an external; the internal exists for heaven’s purposes, and the external for the world’s purposes. When the external is dominant, worldly, bodily, and earthly interests reign; but when the internal is dominant, heavenly ones do so. The human being has been created in such a way however that the external may be subordinate to the internal, thus the world within him may be subordinate to heaven; for as has been stated, the external exists for the world’s purposes, and the internal for heaven’s. When therefore the external is dominant the internal is closed, because then a person turns himself away from heaven and the Lord towards the world and self; and the place he turns to is where his heart is, consequently where his love is and together with that love the whole of his life, since a person’s life consists in his love.

[3] These things have been mentioned in order that people may know what the situation is with those who are ruled by bodily and earthly kinds of love, namely that such people’s interiors are closed off; and those whose interiors are closed off do not acknowledge anything internal. Only those things which they see with their eyes or touch with their hands they say exist, and all else which they do not see with their eyes or touch with their hands they say do not exist. Consequently they have no belief at all in the existence of heaven, in life after death, or in the inner realities taught by the Church. This was what the Israelite nation was like; and the present chapter shows that they were such.

[4] Anyone who does not know that inner realities compose the Church with a person, and not outward things without them, cannot do other than suppose that this nation was chosen and also loved by Jehovah in preference to all others. But the truth of the matter is entirely different. They were accepted because they insisted on it, yet not in order that any Church might exist among them, only what was representative of a Church, to the end that the Word could be written, with such things constituting its lowest level. The reason why in the Word that nation is called Jehovah’s people, the nation chosen and loved [by Him], is that in it Judah is used to mean the celestial Church, Israel the spiritual Church, and each son of Jacob some aspect of the Church. Furthermore Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob serve to mean the Lord Himself, and so do Moses, Aaron, and David. But since the subject in the whole of this chapter is that nation, and the fact that no Church could be established among them, only what was representative of a Church, please see, before anything further is presented, what has been stated and shown previously regarding that nation,

No Church existed with that nation, only what was representative of a Church, 4281, 4288, 4311, 4500, 4899, 4912, 6304, 7048, 9320.
Thus they were not chosen, only accepted because they insisted on it, 4290, 4293, 7051, 7439.
They were entirely restricted to external things devoid of anything internal, 4293, 4311, 4459(end), 4834, 4844, 4847, 4865, 4868, 4874, 4903, 4913, 9320, 9373, 9380, 9381.
Their worship was merely external, 3147, 3479, 8871.
Nor did they wish to know about the inner things of worship and of the Word, 3479, 4429, 4433, 4680.
Therefore they were not allowed to know those things, 301, 302, 304, 2520, 3769.
If they had known them they would have rendered them profane, 3398, 3489, 4289.
Nevertheless through the outward things of worship among them, which were representative of inner realities, there was contact with heaven, and in what way, 4311, 4444, 6304, 8588, 8788, 8806.
When they were engaged in worship their interiors, which were foul, were closed, 3480, 9962.
This was possible among that nation, which is why they have been preserved even to the present day, 3479, 4281, 6588, 9377.
They worshipped Jehovah, but no more than His name, 3732(end), 4299, 6877.
At heart they were idolaters, 4208, 4281, 4820, 5998, 6877, 7401, 8301, 8882.
In general, they were the worst nation, 4314, 4316, 4317, 4444, 4503, 4750, 4751, 4815, 4820, 4832, 5057, 7248, 8819, 9320.

sRef Ex@32 @1 S0′ 10397. ‘And the people gathered together to Aaron’ means that they directed themselves to the outward features of the Word, the Church, and worship, detached from what was inward. This is clear from the meaning of ‘gathering themselves together’ as directing themselves; and from the representation of ‘Aaron’ here as the outward aspect of the Word, the Church, and worship, detached from the inward. The reason why Aaron has this representation here is that in the absence of Moses he was the head of that nation, and Moses, who was absent, represents the Word, from which the Church and worship are derived, in both its inward and its outward senses, see in the places referred to in 9372. The fact that Aaron has such a representation here is also evident from every single thing that is mentioned in what follows regarding Aaron, namely that it was he who made the calf, proclaimed the feast, and caused the people to become undisciplined, all of which is in exact accord with the outward aspect of the Word, the Church, and worship, when detached from the inward. Anyone who separates the inward aspect of the Word, the Church, and worship from the outward separates from it that which is Divine and holy. For the inward aspect of these is their spirit, whereas the outward is the body belonging to that spirit; and the body without the spirit is dead. To worship what is dead therefore is to worship an idol, in this instance to worship a golden calf, proclaim a feast to it, and so cause the people to become undisciplined, from all of which it becomes clear what ‘Aaron’ means in the present chapter. What the inward aspect of the Word, the Church, and worship is, and what their outward aspect is, has been shown in what has gone before.

sRef Ex@32 @1 S0′ 10398. ‘And said to him’ means exhortation. This is clear from the meaning of ‘saying’, when it has reference to the form of religion that the people were attracted to, as exhorting. Regarding ‘saying’, that it may also mean exhortation, see 5012, 7090, 7215, 8178. The form of religion to which the people were attracted consisted in worshipping what was external devoid of anything internal.

sRef Ex@32 @1 S0′ 10399. ‘Rise, make [us] gods to go before us’ means producing falsities that figure in religious teachings and worship, thus producing things of an idolatrous nature. This is clear from the meaning of ‘gods’ as truths, dealt with in 4295, 4402, 7010, 7268, 7873, 8301, and in the contrary sense as falsities, 4402(end), 4544, 7873, so that ‘making gods’ means producing falsities that figure in religious teachings, or teachings composed of falsities; and from the meaning of ‘to go before us’ as falsities for them to follow, thus falsities according to which they may establish their worship. The fact that ‘making gods to go before us’ means producing things of an idolatrous nature is self-evident. Idolatry furthermore consists in worshipping external things devoid of internal ones, see 4825, 9424. But something brief must be stated here regarding this kind of idolatry. The externals of the Church to be established among the Israelite nation consisted of all those things the Lord told Moses to make, when he was on Mount Sinai. These were the tent of meeting together with the ark there, the mercy-seat above it, the table on which the loaves of the Presence were laid, the lampstand, the altar of incense, also the altar of burnt offering, and the garments of Aaron and his sons, in particular the ephod with the breastplate over it. In addition, the anointing oil, the incense, the blood of burnt offerings and of sacrifices, the wine for drink-offerings, the fire on the altar, and much more besides. The Israelite and Jewish nation venerated all these elements as things that were holy, yet without any respect for the holiness they represented. They had no thought at all of the Lord, heaven, love, faith, regeneration, nor thus of the realities meant by those elements. Since their worship was like this it was a worship of pieces of wood, loaves of bread, wine, blood, oil, fire, and garments, but not of the Lord within those objects. That worship as practised by them is not Divine but idolatrous worship, as is self-evident.

sRef Ex@32 @1 S0′ 10400. ‘For this Moses, that man who caused us to come up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him’ means a total unawareness of what other Divine Truth exists in the Word that raises a person from an external to an internal level and makes him an embodiment of the Church. This is clear from the representation of ‘Moses’ as the Word, thus Divine Truth, dealt with in the places referred to in 9372, so that an attitude of mind that doubts and denies the existence of any Divine Truth other than that which presents itself in the sense of the letter is meant by ‘this Moses, that man, we do not know what has become of him’ (the word ‘man’ is used here because in the Word ‘man’ means truth, see 3134, 3309, 3459, 7716, 9007); and from the meaning of ‘causing the children of Israel to go up out of the land of Egypt’ as a raising from the natural or external man to the internal or spiritual man, so that the person may be made an embodiment of the Church. For ‘the land of Egypt’ means the natural or external level of the Church, ‘causing to come up’ raising, and ‘the children of Israel’ the Church.

‘The land of Egypt’ means the natural or external level of the Church, see in the places referred to in 9391.
‘Causing to come up’ means raising from an external to an internal level, 3084, 4539, 4969, 5406, 5817, 6007, and so from the natural man to the spiritual man.
‘The children of Israel’ means the Church, see in the places referred to in 9340.

[2] From all this it is evident that ‘this Moses, that man who caused us to come up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him’ means a total unawareness of what Divine Truth exists in the Word to raise a person from an external to an internal level and to make him an embodiment of the Church other than that which presents itself in the sense of the letter. This also is what all who are restricted to external things devoid of anything internal think and say; and all are restricted to external things devoid of anything internal who are ruled by self-love and love of the world. With these people the internal man is closed and only the external man lies open; and what is seen by the external man without the internal when they read the Word is seen in thick darkness. This is so because in spiritual things natural illumination without light from heaven is complete darkness; and the light from heaven enters and illuminates the external man by way of the internal. This explains why so many heresies have arisen, why some call the Word a book of heresies, why people do not know at all that something internal is present within the Word, and why those who think that something is present there do not know exactly where. Such people are meant in Revelation 12 by the dragon which used its tail to draw from heaven a third part of the stars and cast them down to the earth, as will in the Lord’s Divine mercy be shown elsewhere*.

[3] Let those who wish contemplate whether anyone at the present day has any other idea than that the actual Divine Truth of the Word resides in its literal sense. But let them also consider whether anyone can know the Divine Truths of the Word contained in that sense except with the aid of teachings drawn from that sense, and that if a person does not possess such teachings to serve as a lamp he is carried off into errors, in whatever direction the obscurity of his understanding and the delight of his will lead and take him. The teachings that must serve as a lamp are those that the internal sense provides, so that they constitute the actual internal sense. This sense is to some extent open to every person who, though he may not know what the internal sense is, has his external subject to his internal, that is, has his internal man lying open. For heaven, which is in possession of the internal sense of the Word, flows into that person when he reads the Word, brings him light, gives him discernment, and in this way teaches him. Indeed, if you are willing to believe it, a person’s internal man is of itself in possession of the internal sense of the Word since the internal man constitutes heaven in the smallest form it takes, and when that internal man lies open the person is consequently present with angels in heaven, and therefore also possesses discernment similar to theirs. This becomes additionally clear from the consideration that the interior concepts within a person’s understanding are not like his natural ones, though they are in agreement with these. What they are like however a person does not know as long as he lives in the body; but when he enters the next life he knows them automatically because they have been implanted within him, and by means of them he lives instantly in company with angels. From this it is evident that the person in whom the internal level lies open is in possession of the internal sense of the Word, though he does not know he is, and as a consequence has enlightenment when he reads the Word. But this depends on how much light he can receive by means of the cognitions or knowledge residing with him. Who exactly those people are however, see 9025, 9382, 9409, 9410, 9424, 9430, 10105, 10324.
* This proposal was not fulfilled in Arcana Caelestia but in works written at a later time.

sRef Ex@32 @2 S0′ sRef Deut@9 @20 S0′ 10401. ‘And Aaron said to them’ means the outward features of the Word, the Church, and worship, devoid of the inward. This is clear from the representation here of ‘Aaron’ as the outward features of the Word, the Church, and worship, devoid of the inward, dealt with above in 10397. The fact that no Church existed among the Israelite and Jewish nation, only what was representative of a Church, thus an outward form devoid of the inward substance, is perfectly clear from Aaron, who, though a typical member of that nation, was nevertheless made the high priest, to whom the most sacred things of the Church were entrusted, and who was therefore considered to be holier than everyone else. For it is said of him that he made the golden calf, built an altar for it, made a proclamation that there was to be ‘a feast to Jehovah’ for it, brought that sin upon the people, and caused them to become undisciplined, in verses 2, 4, 5, 21, 25, 35; and elsewhere that Jehovah was greatly moved with anger against Aaron and would have destroyed him, and that Moses prayed for him, Deut. 9:20. These words imply that Aaron was like the people, who were idolatrous at heart, 4208, 4281, 4820, 5998, 6877, 7401, 8301, 8882. But since only the outward form of a Church devoid of its inward substance existed with that nation, and yet by means of it there was contact with heaven, it did not matter what a person there was like, provided that when engaged in external observances he obeyed what had been decreed and revered it.

In the case of representatives no attention is paid to the person, only to the reality represented by that person, see 665, 1097(end), 3670, 4208, 4281, 4288, 4444, 8588.

sRef Ex@32 @2 S0′ 10402. ‘Pull away the ear-jewels of gold from the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters’ means drawing out of the literal sense of the Word such things as are favourable to external forms of love and to the immediate offspring of these loves. This is clear from the meaning of ‘pulling away’ as drawing out, at this point out of the literal sense of the Word since that sense is the subject; from the meaning of ‘the ear-jewels of gold which are on the ears’ as symbols representative of obedience to the delights belonging to external kinds of love and discernment of them, for obedience and discernment are meant by ‘the ears’, and the good of love – at this point the delight belonging to external kinds of love – is meant by ‘gold’, so that ‘the ear-jewels of gold’ are symbols representative of that obedience and discernment (for the meaning of ‘the ears’ as obedience and discernment, see 2542, 4652-4660, 8990, 9397, 10061; for that of ‘gold’ as the good of love, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 9510, 9874, 9881, so that when it has reference to external kinds of love, which are self-love and love of the world, ‘gold’ means the delight belonging to them, thus that which is evil, 8932; and the fact that ‘ear-jewels’ consequently are symbols representative of obedience and discernment, 4551); from the meaning of ‘wives’ as forms of good in the Church, dealt with in 3160, 4823, 6014, 7022, 8337, and therefore in the contrary sense as forms of evil there, 409; from the meaning of ‘sons’ as truths, and in the contrary sense as falsities, dealt with in 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3373, 3704, 4257, 6583, 6584, 9807; and from the meaning of ‘daughters’ as affections for truth and good, and therefore in the contrary sense as affections for falsity and evil, dealt with in 2362, 3963, 6729. From all this it is evident that ‘pull away the ear-jewels of gold from the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters’ means drawing out of the literal sense of the Word such things as are discerned to be obedient or favourable to the delights belonging to external forms of love and favourable to the major ideas resulting from these.

sRef Hos@2 @3 S2′ sRef Hos@2 @8 S2′ sRef Hos@2 @5 S2′ sRef Hos@2 @4 S2′ sRef Hos@2 @7 S2′ sRef Hos@2 @6 S2′ sRef Hos@2 @12 S2′ sRef Hos@2 @9 S2′ sRef Hos@2 @10 S2′ sRef Hos@2 @13 S2′ sRef Hos@2 @11 S2′ sRef Hos@2 @1 S2′ sRef Hos@2 @2 S2′ [2] The fact that ‘ear-jewels’ are symbols of obedience and discernment is clear in Hosea,

Contend with your mother, since she is not My wife, in order that she may remove her whoredoms from her sight*, lest perhaps I strip her naked, and make her like a wilderness, and do not have mercy on her children, since she has said, I will go after my lovers, those giving me my bread and my water, my wool and my linen. And she did not know that it was I who gave her the grain and the new wine and the oil, and who multiplied the silver for her, and the gold they made for baal. And I will lay waste her vine and her fig tree. And I will visit on her** the days of the baals to whom she burned incense and decked herself with her ear-jewels and her other jewellery, and went after her lovers and forgot Me. Hosea 2:1-13.

‘Burning incense to and decking herself with ear-jewels for the baals’ denotes worshipping the baals as gods and being obedient to them.

[3] Earlier parts of that chapter have also been quoted to allow it to be seen what the outward sense of the Word is like without the inward, and what it is like together with the inward, and so how the Word is understood by those who see its outward statements in isolation from what is inward, and how it is understood by those who see the outward statements from the point of view of that which is inward. Those who see the outward statements in isolation from what is inward inevitably take them literally. That is, they take them to mean that they should literally contend with the mother of the children of Israel; that she was literally no longer loved by Jehovah as a wife; that if she did not remove the whoredoms from herself she would literally be stripped naked and made like a wilderness, and Jehovah would not have mercy on her children, since she had said that she was going to go after her lovers who gave her bread, water, wool, and linen; that she did not know it was Jehovah who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the oil, and multiplied the silver; that they made the gold for baal; that for this reason her vine and her fig tree would be laid waste; and that there would literally be a visitation on her because she burned incense to the baals, decked herself with ear-jewels and other jewellery for them, and went after her adulterous lovers, forgetful of
Jehovah.

[4] All this is the literal meaning, and so it is how those who see the outward statements in isolation from their inward meaning understand the Word, for it is how the Jews at the present day and also some Christians understand it. But that is not the real meaning of the Word, as all who have any degree of enlightenment may see. By ‘mother’, regarding whom all those things are stated, they do not understand a mother but the kind of Church that existed among that nation. They take each of the things stated regarding her to mean something that has to do with the Church; for all those things are such as follow in order from what is put forward or laid down first. That is how they take ‘whoredoms’, ‘lovers’, and ‘children’ or ‘sons’, then ‘bread, water, wool, linen, grain, new wine, oil, silver, gold’, after that ‘vine and fig’, and also ‘incense’ and ‘ear-jewels’. [5] What each of these serves to mean can be known from no other source than the internal sense. In this sense ‘mother’ and ‘wife’ mean the Church; ‘making her naked, and like a wilderness’ means leaving it without any good of love or truth of faith, truths of faith and forms of the good of love, of which it will be bereft, being meant by ‘sons’, ‘bread and water’, ‘wool and linen’, ‘grain, new wine, oil, silver, and gold’, and finally ‘vine and fig’. The actual worship springing from obedience to falsities and evils, which take over for truths and forms of good, is meant by ‘burning incense to the baals and being decked out with ear-jewels and other jewellery for them’.

‘Mother’ means the Church, see 289, 2691, 2717, 4257, 5581.
So does ‘wife’, 252, 253, 409, 749, 770, 7022.
‘Her being made naked’ means being deprived of forms of the good of love and the truths of faith, 9960.
‘A wilderness’ means a state devoid of the Church’s truth and good, 2708, 3900, 4736, 7055.
‘Whoredoms’ means falsifications of truth, 2466, 2729, 4865, 8904, so that ‘lovers’ means those who falsify.
‘Sons’ means truths, and in the contrary sense falsities, 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3373, 3704, 4257, 6583, 6584, 9807.
‘Bread and water’ means the good of love and truth of faith, 9323.
‘Wool’ means the good in the external man, 9470.
‘Linen’ means the truth there, 7601, 9959.
‘Grain’ means good from which truth may be obtained, 5295, 5410, 5959.
‘New wine’ means truth derived from good, 3580.
‘Oil’ means celestial good, 9780, 10261.
‘Silver’ means truth and ‘gold’ good in general, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914,
6917, 9881.
‘Vine’ means the internal spiritual Church, 1069, 6376, 9277.
‘Fig’ means the external good of that Church, 217, 4231, 5113.
‘Burning incense’ means worship, 10177, 10298.
‘Ear-jewel’ is a symbol representative of obedience, 4551, so that ‘being decked out with it’ means offering obedience.

[6] When all the entities listed immediately above are understood instead of or in conjunction with the people or things that serve to mean them, the nature of the Word discerned on a spiritual level, thus the nature of the spirit within it, becomes apparent. All who read the Word are sustained by the Lord on that level of meaning; but none receive and accept it apart from those whose interiors are open. And since these receive it within the cognitions or knowledge they possess, they accept it so far as they can understand it, that is, in the measure and manner that their power of understanding can be enlightened through the cognitions or knowledge in their possession. In addition to this, they are affected in a general way by the holiness that
radiates from the Word.
* lit. faces
** i.e. I will punish her for

sRef Ex@32 @2 S0′ 10403. ‘And bring them to me’ means bringing together into a single whole. This is clear from the meaning of ‘bringing to Aaron’ as bringing into a single whole such things from the literal sense of the Word as are favourable to external forms of love and to the major ideas resulting from these. The fact that this is what is meant by ‘bringing to Aaron the ear-jewels of gold on the ears of wives, sons, and daughters’ is clear from what has been shown immediately above in 10402.

sRef Ex@32 @3 S0′ 10404. ‘And all the people pulled away the ear-jewels of gold which were on their ears, and brought them to Aaron’ means putting into effect. This is clear without explanation.

sRef Ex@32 @4 S0′ 10405. ‘And he received [the gold] from their hands’ means things favouring their proprium or self. This is clear from the meaning of ‘receiving from someone’s hand’ as receiving such things as are his, thus that belong to the self or are favourable to the self; for ‘the hand’ means a person’s power or capability, and consequently whatever is his, see in the places referred to in 10019, and 10082, 10241.

sRef Ex@32 @4 S0′ 10406. ‘And fashioned it with a chisel’ means a product of their own intelligence. This is clear from the meaning of ‘fashioning with a chisel’, when an idol is the subject, as producing false teachings by the use of one’s own intelligence, which happens when the literal sense of the Word is used in support of self-love and love of the world. When these rule a person he does not have any enlightenment from heaven. Instead his own intelligence is what he draws on for all the ideas he acquires; and these he substantiates by means of the literal sense of the Word, which he falsifies by using it in a wrong way and interpreting it in a perverted manner. And after this he favours those ideas because he is the author of them.

[2] Various places throughout the Word contain references to graven images and molded images. People who take the Word entirely literally suppose that no more than idols should be understood by them in those places. Not idols however should be understood but false matters of doctrine upheld by the Church, such as are fashioned by a person himself when guided by some love of his own. Falsities when fashioned in such a way that they may hang together and look like truths are meant by ‘a graven image’; and falsities when fused together in support of external kinds of love in such a way that evils look like forms of good are meant by ‘a molded image’. And since ‘the golden calf’ is used to mean both types of falsities it says here that Aaron fashioned it with a chisel, by which the fashioning of falsities to look like truths should be understood; then immediately after it says that he made the gold into a calf of molded [metal], and in verse 24 that he threw it into the fire and the calf came out, by which the fusing together of falsities in support of external kinds of love in order that evils may look like forms of good should be understood. This is also what every matter of doctrine is like that is forged by a person and not by the Lord. Matters of doctrine are forged by the person when that person has his own glory and gain as the end in view; but they are forged by the Lord when the good of the neighbour and the good of the Lord’s kingdom are regarded as the end in view.

sRef Isa@30 @22 S3′ [3] These kinds of things are meant by ‘graven images’ and ‘molded images’ in the following places: In Isaiah,

You will judge unclean the covering of the graven images of your silver, and the clothing of the molded image of your gold. Isa. 30:22.

‘The covering of the graven images of silver’ means the appearance presented by falsities, as though they were truths, and ‘the clothing of the molded image of gold’ means the appearance presented by evils, as though they were forms of good; for ‘the covering’ and ‘the clothing’ mean the outward appearances with which they are endued or coated over. ‘Silver’ means truth, and ‘gold’ good, and this is why ‘the graven images’ are said to be ‘of silver’ and ‘the molded image’ to be ‘of gold’. For the meaning of ‘silver’ as truth and of ‘gold’ as good, see 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 9874, 9881.

sRef Isa@40 @19 S4′ sRef Isa@40 @20 S4′ sRef Isa@44 @9 S4′ sRef Isa@44 @13 S4′ sRef Isa@44 @12 S4′ sRef Isa@44 @10 S4′ sRef Isa@44 @11 S4′ [4] In the same prophet,

The craftsman casts a graven image, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts silver chains for it. He seeks for himself a skilled* craftsman to make ready a graven image which is immovable. Isa. 40:19, 20.

This describes a fashioning of falsities so that they may hang together and look as though they were truths. ‘A graven image’ means such falsity, ‘the craftsman’ means the person who fashions it by the use of self-intelligence, ‘a goldsmith overlays it with gold’ means when he makes it to look like what is good, ‘casts silver chains for it’ means by making it all hang together, ‘which is immovable’ means which cannot therefore be weakened and destroyed.

[5] In the same prophet,

Makers of the graven image, [all are] vanity; and their most desirable things are profitless. Who has fashioned a god, and cast a molded image, that it may not profit him? All his companions will be ashamed, and the workmen themselves. He fashions the iron with tongs, and works it with the coals, and forms it with sharp hammers; so he makes it with his strong arm**. He fashions wood, stretches out a cord, and marks it off with a ruler. He makes it into its angles, and marks it out with a ring, and makes it into the form of a man (vir), according to the beauty of a human being, to dwell in the
house. Isa. 44:9-14.

This too describes how false teachings are fashioned so that they may hang together and look like truths and forms of good. Every detail here serves to describe how this is brought about by a person using self-intelligence under the guidance of his own wishes, desire, and love. The truth of this may be seen by those who know that all things in the Word have an inner meaning by means of which they must be understood in a spiritual way. Why else should such a description of fashioning a graven image be given? To the end that it may look like truth and good is the meaning when it says that ‘he makes it in the form of a man, according to the beauty of a human being’; for in the internal sense ‘a man’ means truth and ‘a human being’ the good of that truth.

sRef Jer@50 @38 S6′ sRef Jer@10 @14 S6′ sRef Jer@50 @37 S6′ [6] In Jeremiah,

Every person has been made stupid by knowledge; every metal-caster has been filled with shame by his graven image, for his molded image is a lie; and there is no spirit in those things. Jer. 10:14; 51:17.

Here ‘graven image’ means that which is the product of self-intelligence, and ‘molded image’ that which accords with the person’s love. This meaning is plainly evident, for it says that a person has been made stupid by knowledge, and every metal-caster has been filled with shame by his graven image, and that his molded image is a lie, ‘knowledge’ here being self-intelligence, and ‘a lie’ the falsity of evil; and since those objects have nothing of God within them it says that there is no spirit in those things.

[7] In the same prophet,

O sword against its horses and against its chariots, against its treasures, in order that they may be looted! A drought on its waters, in order that they may dry up! For it is the land of graven images. Jer. 50:37, 38.

‘The land of graven images’ means a Church in which falsities reign. This too is perfectly clear from the details of these verses when understood in the spiritual sense. Without that sense what would a sword against horses, against chariots, against treasures, and a drought on waters be but words or sounds that have no spirit within them? But from those details when understood in the internal sense it is evident that these verses describe the destruction of the Church’s truths and so the subsequent reign of falsities there, meant by ‘the land of graven images’. For ‘sword’ means falsity engaged in conflict with and destroying truths, ‘horses’ an enlightened power of understanding, ‘chariots’ matters of doctrine, ‘treasures’ cognitions or knowledge of truth and good, ‘waters on which there is a drought’ the non-existence of truths any longer, and ‘the land’ the Church.

‘Sword’ means truth engaged in conflict against falsity, and in the contrary sense falsity engaged in conflict against truths and destroying them, see 2799, 6353, 7102, 8294.
‘Horses’ means an enlightened power of understanding, 2760-2762, 3217, 6534.
‘Chariots’ means matters of doctrine, 5321, 8146, 8148, 8215.
‘Treasures’ means cognitions of truth and good, 10227.
‘Waters’ means truths, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 8137, 8138, 8568, 9323, 10238.
‘The land’ means the Church, see in the places referred to in 9325.

From all this it is evident what ‘a drought on the waters, that they may dry up’ and what ‘the land of graven images’ mean.

sRef Hab@2 @18 S8′ [8] In Habakkuk,

What profit is a graven image since its image-maker has graven it, and a molded image and a teacher of lies, since the image-maker trusts in the thing he himself has made? Hab. 2:18.

From these words too it is evident that ‘a graven image’ and ‘a molded image’ are not used to mean a graven image and a molded image but falsity that is being made up and the evil to which the falsity lends support; for it speaks of ‘the image-maker’ and ‘a teacher of lies’.

sRef Isa@21 @9 S9′ sRef Isa@42 @17 S9′ sRef Isa@48 @5 S9′ sRef Hos@11 @2 S9′ sRef Micah@1 @7 S9′ [9] ‘Graven image’ and ‘molded image’ have similar meanings in the following places: In Isaiah,

Babel has fallen, and all the graven images of her gods he has broken*** to the earth. Isa. 21:9.

In the same prophet,

They will be greatly ashamed, those trusting in a graven image, saying to a molded image, You are our gods. Isa. 42:17.

In the same prophet,

I told you, and caused you to hear, lest you should say, My idol has done this; my graven image and my molded image has commanded these things. Isa. 48:5.

In Hosea,

They have called themselves, and gone from their presence****. They sacrificed to the baals, and burned incense to graven images. Hosea 11:2.

In Micah,

All the graven images of Samaria will be pounded to pieces, and all her pay as a prostitute will be burned with fire; and all her idols I will make a waste. Micah 1:7.

sRef Jer@10 @3 S10′ sRef Deut@27 @15 S10′ sRef Jer@10 @4 S10′ sRef Jer@1 @16 S10′ sRef Hos@13 @2 S10′ sRef Ps@115 @4 S10′ [10] Since falsities and evils upheld by religious teaching, which are meant by ‘graven images and molded images’, are forged by a person’s self-intelligence under the guidance of his love, the Word also calls them ‘the work of human hands’, ‘the work of the hands of a craftsman’, and ‘the work of the hands of a workman’, as in the following places: In Hosea,

Now they sin more and more, they make for themselves a molded image from their silver, idols by their own intelligence, completely the work of craftsmen. Hosea 13:2.

In Moses,

Cursed is the man who makes a graven or a molded image, an abomination to Jehovah, the work of the hands of the craftsman. Deut. 27:15.

In David,

Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. Ps. 115:4; 135:15.

In Jeremiah,

They burned incense to other gods, and bowed down to the works of their own hands. Jer. 1:16.

In the same prophet,

The children of Israel provoked Me to anger through the work of their hands. Jer. 32:30; 44:8.

And in the same prophet,

One cuts out wood from the forest, the work of the hands of the workman using an axe. They decorate it with silver and gold; they make it firm with pegs and hammers. Jer. 10:3, 4.

sRef Ex@20 @25 S11′ sRef 1Ki@6 @7 S11′ sRef Deut@27 @5 S11′ [11] ‘The work of the hands’ means that which is a product of the human proprium or self, thus that which is a product of a person’s own understanding and a product of his own will; and those things are a product of the self – of both that understanding and that will – that exist as a result of self-love. And this is the origin of all falsities in the Church. Because all falsities are the product of the human self, and ‘the work of the hands’ means that which originates there, it was forbidden to move an iron tool, axe, or chisel over the stones***** from which an altar and also the temple were built, as is evident in Moses,

If you make for Me an altar of stones, you shall not build it with hewn ones; for if you move your chisel over it you will profane it. Exod. 20:25.

Also in another place,

If you build an altar of stones to Jehovah you shall not move an iron tool over them. Deut. 27:5.

And in the first Book of Kings,

The house was built of whole stone, as it had been brought [there]; for not a hammer or axe, [nor] any tool of iron, was heard in the house while it was being built. 1 Kings 6:7.

These places have been introduced to enable people to know what they should understand by Aaron’s fashioning the gold with a chisel and making a calf of molded [metal] out of it.
* lit. wise
** lit. the arm of his strength
*** The Latin means hurled but the Hebrew means broken, which Sw. has in another place where he quotes this verse.
**** lit. from their faces
***** i.e. it was forbidden to hew the stones

sRef Ex@32 @4 S0′ 10407. ‘And made out of it a calf of molded [metal]’ means in keeping with the delight belonging to that nation’s loves. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a calf’ as external or natural good, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘molded [metal]’ as worship fashioned in support of external kinds of love, dealt with immediately above in 10406. And since the Israelite nation is the subject in the present chapter and that nation’s interest lay in external things and not in what was internal, and so was ruled by external kinds of love, the expression ‘in keeping with the delight belonging to that nation’s loves’ is used. For ‘the calf’, being an idol, means that delight.

[2] The ancients among whom representative worship existed knew what the various kinds of living creatures were the signs of; for the living creatures each have their own spiritual meaning, and their spiritual meanings govern the manifestations of such creatures in heaven as well, consequently the mention of them in the Word, and also their use in burnt offerings and sacrifices. ‘A calf’ means the good of innocence and charity within the external or natural man, see 9391, 9990, 10132; but when no good of innocence and charity is present, as is the case with those whose interest lies in external things and not in what is internal, ‘a calf’ means natural delight on the level of the senses, which is a delight belonging to a person’s own wishes, desires, self-love, and love of the world. This delight is the one that exists with those whose interest lies in external things and not in what is internal, and the one they worship; for what a person loves above all things, that he worships. They say, it is true, that they worship the God of all creation; but they say it with their lips and not their heart. People such as these are meant by those who worship the calf of molded [metal].

[3] The Egyptians were such more than all others. Because they possessed a greater knowledge of correspondences and representations than all other nations they made various idols for themselves, as is evident from the Egyptian idols that are still in existence. But their chief idol was the calf, by which they wished to signify their external good within worship. But when their knowledge of correspondences and representations, which was greater than that of other nations, was turned into magic, the calf took on a contrary meaning, namely that of the delight belonging to external kinds of love. And when the calf was placed in temples and worshipped as a god it meant that kind of delight expressed in worship.

[4] Because the Israelite nation brought that idolatrous practice with them out of Egypt, in their case the calf, when worshipped by them as a god, means the delight belonging to their particular loves expressed in worship. What kind of loves these were may be recognized from what has been shown in the places referred to above in 10396. For they were ruled, as they are at the present day, by self-love and love of the world more than all others. It is well known that at the present day they are ruled by a most earthly kind of love; for they love silver and gold not because of any use these can serve but for the sake of silver and gold themselves. This love is the most earthly of all, for it is foul avarice. With them self-love is not plainly visible but lies hidden in their heart, as is normally so with all who are foully avaricious. It is well known too that no love of the neighbour exists with them; and to the extent that love of the neighbour is absent from someone, self-love resides in him.

sRef Ps@68 @30 S5′ sRef Ps@106 @19 S5′ sRef Isa@27 @10 S5′ sRef Ps@106 @20 S5′ sRef Hos@13 @2 S5′ sRef Jer@46 @21 S5′ sRef Isa@34 @7 S5′ sRef Jer@46 @20 S5′ sRef Isa@27 @11 S5′ [5] From all this it now becomes clear what the calf of molded [metal] made by Aaron for that nation means. The like is meant by it in the following places: In Jeremiah,

A very beautiful heifer was Egypt; destruction has come from the north. And her hired servants in the midst of her are like calves of the fattening stall*. Jer. 46:20, 21.

In David,

They made a calf in Horeb and bowed down to the molded image; and they changed the glory into the effigy of the ox that eats the plant**. Ps. 106:19, 20.

In Hosea,

They sin more and more, and make for themselves a molded image from their silver, idols by their own intelligence, completely the work of craftsmen, saying to them, Those who offer human sacrifice*** kiss the calves. Hosea 13:2.

In Isaiah,

The unicorns will come down with them, and the calves with the powerful ones; and their land will become drunk with blood, and their dust will be made fat with fatness. Isa. 34:7.

In the same prophet,

The fortified city will be solitary, a habitation forsaken and left [like a wilderness]; there the calf will feed, and there it will lie down and consume its branches. And its harvest will wither. Isa. 27:10, 11.

In David,

Rebuke the wild animal of the reeds, the congregation of the strong ones, among the calves of the peoples, trampling on the fragments of silver. They have scattered the peoples. Ps. 68:30.

In Jeremiah,

I will give the men who transgressed My covenant, who did not keep the terms of the covenant which they made before Me, that of the calf which they cut in two, in order that they might pass between its parts – the princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the royal ministers and the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf – I will give them into the hand of their enemies, that their dead bodies may be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth. Jer. 34:18-20.

And in Hosea,

They have made a king, and not by Me; they have made princes, and I did not know. Their silver and their gold they have made into idols, that they may be cut off. Your calf has deserted [you], O Samaria. For from Israel is this also. A smith has made it, and it is not God; for the calf of Samaria will be broken to**** pieces. Hosea 8:4-6.

For explanations of all these quotations, see 9391.
* i.e. mercenaries who are like fat bulls
** i.e. grass or herbage
*** Reading Sacrificantes hominem (Those sacrificing a human being i.e. Those who offer human sacrifice) for Sacrificant hominem (They sacrifice a human being)
**** lit. will become or will be made into

sRef Ex@32 @4 S0′ 10408. ‘And they said, These are your gods, O Israel’ means that it was to be worshipped above all things. This is clear from the meaning of ‘gods’ as things that are worshipped. The true meaning of ‘foreign gods’ is falsities, but at this point the meaning is evils as well as falsities because ‘a graven image’, which must be understood when it says that Aaron fashioned the gold with a chisel, means falsity, and ‘a molded image’ the evil of that falsity. For the meaning of ‘foreign gods’ as falsities and resulting evils in worship, see 4402(end), 4544, 7873, 8867, 8941.

sRef Ex@32 @4 S0′ 10409. ‘Who caused you to come up out of the land of Egypt’ means which led them. This is clear from the meaning of ‘causing to come up out of the land of Egypt’, when those whose interest lies in external things and not in what is internal are the subject, as being self-led; for ‘the land of Egypt’, when they are the subject, means slavery, while ‘causing to come up’ means leading themselves out of it. For here the same words serve to mean the opposite of what they do when they are used in reference to those whose interest in external things is accompanied at the same time by an interest in what is internal. In reference to the latter those words mean being led by the Lord, thus being raised from the natural man to the spiritual man, or from the world to heaven, consequently passing from slavery into freedom. But when those words refer to people whose interest lies in external things and not in internal ones they mean being self-led, which does not constitute being raised to heaven but casting themselves down to hell, consequently passing from freedom into slavery. For the fact that being self-led is slavery, while being led by the Lord is freedom, see 2892, 9096, 9586, 9589-9591.

[2] But since these people suppose that nothing Divine is at work in a person and that a person is self-led, and also that this constitutes freedom, a brief statement on this subject must be made here. All who love themselves and the world above everything make this supposition and persuade themselves that it is right; for what they love above all things they worship as their god. Those like this in the Christian world at the present day are very many. But what they are really like I have been allowed to know primarily from such people in the next life; for when a person becomes a spirit after a life in the world he is – so far as the affections composing his love, and his thoughts and firm beliefs are concerned – exactly the same as what he was when he lived in the body. Those people have told me that they had substantiated that belief for themselves by the evidence that a person attains eminent positions and acquires wealth not as a result of any Divine help and Providence but as a result of his own intelligence and carefulness, and sometimes as a result of good fortune, though even then this is due to causes which are seen by them to have a human origin. They say that ordinary experience bears witness to this; for bad, deceitful, and wicked people rather than the good are frequently raised to eminent positions and become rich, which would not happen if the Divine were in control of things.

[3] But I have been allowed to tell them that the substantiation of their belief by the use of such ideas is no more than reasoning which relies on their own intelligence and their own love, and such reasoning is based on mere illusions and takes place in complete darkness so far as awareness of causes is concerned. For they suppose that being raised to eminent positions and obtaining greater wealth than others is the real good that the Divine confers on a person, and so they suppose that a Divine blessing, as they also call those gains, lies in such things alone. But those gains are more of a curse to those who love self and the world above all things; for to the extent that people rise to important positions and obtain wealth by their own application and skill, they rise into self-love and love of the world, till at length they set their whole heart on those things and regard them as the only possible forms of good, thus the only possible forms of happiness and bliss for a human being. But those things come to an end with a person’s life in the world, whereas the forms of good, happiness, and bliss which the Divine gives a person and provides him with are eternal and do not come to an end, so that these are the true blessings. What is temporary bears no comparison with what is eternal, just as a limited amount of time bears none with an unlimited amount of it. What lasts to eternity has being, in comparison with which what comes to an end does not have being. The Divine provides that which has being, but not that which does not have being, except insofar as it is of use to the former. For Jehovah, who is the Deity Himself, has Being; and what is derived from Him also has being. From this it is evident what anything that the Divine gives a person and provides him with is like and what anything that a person does for himself is like.

[4] Furthermore the Divine leads each individual person by means of his power of understanding; if this were not so, no person at all could be saved. That is why the Divine leaves a person’s understanding in freedom and does not restrict it. And this explains why the evil are successful with their ploys and tricks, which are a product of their understanding. But the happiness they get out of all this comes to an end with their life in the world and turns to unhappiness, whereas the things which the Divine provides the good with do not come to an end; and they become sources of eternal happiness and bliss.

[5] When I have talked about these matters to those who were such in the world they have said in response that they had not thought anything at all then about what was eternally good, happy, and blissful, and that whenever the loves that were truly theirs took charge of them they had totally denied the reality of a person’s life after death. They said that inasmuch as they had attained important positions and acquired wealth they had thought that no other forms of good existed, indeed that neither heaven nor the Divine existed; consequently they had not known what being led by the Divine might be.

[6] Those in the world who have become entrenched in these ways of thinking in doctrine and in life remain like that in the next life. Their interiors are closed, and so they do not have any contact with heaven. Only their exteriors lie open, by means of which they are then in contact solely with the hells. Those of them who have attained important positions or acquired riches by means of ploys, skillful devices, and tricks become sorcerers there. They are seen below the buttocks, seated at a table and wearing a hat pulled down to the eyebrows. Seated thus, seemingly deep in thought, they assemble ideas of use to a sorcerer’s skill, while assuming that they have the ability to lead themselves by means of them. Their speech as it passes between their teeth makes a sort of whistling noise. Afterwards, when they undergo vastation, they are cast into a wide-bottomed pit, where there is total darkness. There the light of their understanding decreases till it becomes dull-wittedness. I have seen among those cast down there people who in the world had been considered the cleverest.

sRef Ex@32 @5 S0′ 10410. ‘And Aaron saw it’ means approval. This is clear from the meaning of ‘seeing’ as approval. The fact that ‘seeing’ here means approval is evident from what is stated immediately after, namely that he built an altar and proclaimed a feast for that [idol]. For ‘Aaron’ represents the outward aspect of the Word, the Church, and worship, separated from the inward, 10397; and this stamps its approval on everything that is achieved by a person’s own intelligence and own love, which are meant by the calf of molded [metal], fashioned out of the gold with a chisel by Aaron, dealt with in what comes before.

sRef Ex@32 @5 S0′ 10411. ‘And built an altar in front of it’ means worship. This is clear from the meaning of ‘an altar’ as the chief representative of Divine worship, dealt with in 4541, 8935, 8940, 9714, 10242, 10245, but at this point that which is representative of devilish worship since those whose interest lies in external things and not in what is internal are in contact with the hells and not with the heavens. (For a person’s internal is his heaven, and his external is his world. His internal furthermore has been so created as to conform to an image of heaven, thus to receive such things as belong there, and his external to conform to an image of the world, thus to receive such things as belong here, see in the places referred to in 9279, 10156. Consequently when the internal is closed, so is heaven, and then the external is no longer ruled from heaven but from hell.) Therefore their worship is not Divine but devilish. They do, it is true, speak of the Divine and also offer Him worship, but outwardly and not inwardly, that is, with their lips but not with their heart. Nor do they worship* the Divine for His sake but for the sake of themselves and the world. Where the heart is, in that place there is worship. From all this it is evident that ‘building an altar in front of the golden calf’ means worship of the devil.
* The Latin means And those who do otherwise do not worship. But this does not seem to make sense; nor is it what Sw. has in his rough draft.

sRef Isa@14 @6 S0′ sRef Ex@32 @5 S0′ 10412. ‘And Aaron made a proclamation and said, Tomorrow there will be a feast to Jehovah’ means that this is the really essential thing of the Church which is to be celebrated and the truly Divine reality that is to be worshipped unceasingly. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a feast’ as the inclusion of celebration within the Church’s worship, for feast days were times of celebration, so that ‘proclaiming a feast’ means the essential thing of the Church which is to be celebrated – the Divine essential reality that is to be worshipped being meant by the declaration that this feast was called ‘a feast to Jehovah’; and from the meaning of ‘tomorrow’ as that which is eternal and unceasing, dealt with in 3998, 7140, 9939. sRef Isa@14 @14 S2′ sRef Isa@14 @13 S2′ sRef Isa@14 @15 S2′ sRef Isa@14 @12 S2′ sRef Isa@14 @4 S2′ [2] Those furthermore whose interest lies in external things and not in what is internal wish to be worshipped as a god and to have what is theirs venerated as something Divine, so far as their fear of the common people will let them. From this one may deduce that at heart they refuse to recognize the Divine and are constantly yearning to rise to higher positions, and so far as nothing stands in their way to the highest, and so finally to the throne of God, as is plainly evident from those meant in the Word by Babel, who take all power in heaven and on earth away from the Lord and ascribe it to themselves. For they open heaven and close it just as they please. The fact that this is what they are like is clear in Isaiah,

You will declare this parable about the king of Babel, Hell beneath has been stirred up on account of you. How have you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer? You have been cut down to the earth, you have been weakened below the nations. And you said in your heart, I will go up the heavens, above the stars of God I will raise my throne, and I will sit on the mount of assembly; I will go up above the heights of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High. But yet you have been sent down to hell. Isa. 14:4, 9, 12-15.

[3] Also the king of Babel commanded that he should be worshipped as a god, as is clear in Daniel 6. ‘Babel’ is used to mean those who are outwardly holy but inwardly unholy, thus those who employ the holy things of the Church as means to the end that they themselves may be worshipped as gods. This also is what all those people do who by using the holy things of the Church as the means strive to rise to eminent positions over others and greater wealthiness than others as ends in themselves. Such people are just the same in the next life. There as well they refuse at heart to recognize the Divine and endeavour by means of unmentionable tricks to make themselves gods. They place themselves high up on mountains, proclaiming and adoring one of their number as a god. But when they engage in that unholy worship the mountain splits apart to reveal a deep chasm which swallows them up, and in this way they are thrown down into hell. I have been allowed several times to see that this is so.

sRef Ex@32 @6 S0′ 10413. ‘And they rose up in the morning of the next day’ means arousal by the loves that are their own. This is clear from the meaning of ‘rising up in the morning’ as arousal by the loves that are their own; for ‘the morning’ means a state of love, and ‘rising up’ being raised to that state.

‘The morning’ means a state of love, see 5962, 8426, 8812, 10114, 10134.
‘Rising up’ means being raised, 2401, 2785, 2912, 2927, 3171, 4103.

But when the words ‘rising up in the morning’ apply to those whose interest lies in external things devoid of what is internal, and so when they apply to the evil, ‘rising up’ does not mean being raised but an arousal, and ‘the morning’ does not mean a state of heavenly love but a state of hellish love. When the evil enter that state it is morning for them, for then they enter into the delight of their life because now the loves that are truly theirs take charge of them. The difference between the good and the evil being raised to the state in which their own loves take charge is that the good do then go up whereas the evil go down. For the loves that govern the good are heavenly ones which raise those people and increase as they ascend to heaven, whereas the loves ruling the evil are hellish ones which pull these people down and increase as they descend into hell. From this it is evident that the words ‘rising up in the morning’ have a contrary meaning when they apply to the evil from what they do when they apply to the good. Also in the next life spirits and angels’ states of love and faith change from one to another, just as the heat and light of times of day and seasons of the year do. When morning dawns on those in heaven a state exists which arouses heavenly loves and consequently brings them joy; but when it dawns on those in hell a state exists which arouses hellish loves and consequently brings them torment. For each of the latter then wishes to be the greatest and to possess all that belongs to another; and this gives rise to deep-seated hatred, savagery, and cruelty, which are meant by the fires of hell.

sRef Ex@32 @6 S0′ 10414. ‘And offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings’ means the worship offered by their own loves, and so by the delights belonging to those loves and by resulting falsities. This is clear from the meaning of ‘burnt offerings’ and ‘sacrifices’ as all worship in general, dealt with in 6905, 8936, 10042. By ‘burnt offerings’ worship springing from the good of love is meant, and by ‘sacrifices’ worship springing from the truths of faith, 8680, 10053, so that in the contrary sense worship springing from a person’s own loves – that is, worship springing from the delights which belong to those loves and which are evil – is meant by ‘burnt offerings’, and worship springing from resulting falsities by ‘sacrifices’. The expression ‘worship offered by loves’ is used because what a person worships is what he loves; and his love is what causes him to worship it.

sRef Ex@32 @6 S0′ 10415. ‘And the people sat down to eat and drink’ means making those things their own. This is clear from the meaning of ‘eating and drinking’ as making their own, ‘eating’ making evil their own and ‘drinking’ making falsity their own.

‘Eating’ means making good one’s own, see 3168, 3513(end), 3596, 3832, 9412, so that in the contrary sense it means making evil one’s own, 4745.
‘Drinking’ means making truth one’s own, and in the contrary sense making falsity one’s own, 3069, 3168, 3832, 8562, 9412.

sRef Ex@32 @6 S0′ 10416. ‘And rose up to play’ means the resulting desire of their interiors to celebrate, and concord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘playing’ as the desire of a person’s interiors to celebrate, for play is the outcome of that desire, being a bodily activity brought about by gladness of mind; and all desire for celebration and all gladness of mind come from the delights belonging to the loves that govern a person. The reason why concord as well is meant is that every desire to celebrate has concord residing inwardly within it; for if any disagreement or disapproval enters in, that desire perishes. The desire to celebrate resides inwardly in a person’s feeling of freedom, and all feeling of freedom comes as a result of love, when nothing exists to frustrate it.

sRef Jer@30 @19 S2′ sRef Jer@31 @4 S2′ sRef Jer@30 @18 S2′ sRef Zech@8 @5 S2′ sRef Ps@30 @11 S2′ sRef Lam@5 @15 S2′ sRef Jer@31 @13 S2′ sRef Jer@31 @12 S2′ sRef Ps@150 @4 S2′ [2] Since outward things are used in the Word to describe inward ones, times of play and dancing are used to describe those of joy and gladness present in a person inwardly, as in the following places: In Jeremiah,

The city will be built upon its mound. Then there will come out of these thanksgiving (confessio) and the voice of those who are playing*. Jer. 30:18, 19.

In the same prophet,

Again I will build you, that you may be built, O virgin of Israel! Again you will adorn your timbrels**, and will go forth in the dance of those who are playing*. Their life*** will become like a watered garden, and they will not sorrow any more. And the virgin will rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old together. I will turn their mourning into joy. Jer. 31:4, 12, 13.

In Zechariah,

The streets of the city will be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. Zech. 8:5.

In David,

Praise the name of Jehovah with timbrel and dance. Ps. 149:3; 150:4.

In the same author,

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing. Ps. 30:11.

In Jeremiah,

The joy of our heart has ceased, our dance has been turned into mourning. Lam. 5:15.

sRef Ex@15 @20 S3′ sRef 2Sam@6 @12 S3′ sRef 2Sam@6 @16 S3′ [3] Since times of play and dancing were the signs of feelings of joy and gladness inwardly present and springing from love, Miriam and the women went out, with timbrels after the Egyptians had been drowned in the Sea Suph and started dancing, Exod. 15:20. For the same reason, when the ark was being brought up from the house of Obed-Edom to the city of David, David leapt and danced before Jehovah, 2 Sam. 6:12, 16.

sRef Ps@104 @25 S4′ sRef Ps@104 @26 S4′ [4] The fact that inner things are presented and described in the Word by means of outward ones is clear from the following words in David,

You have made the sea, great and wide on both hands**** – there the ships sail, the Leviathan whom You have formed to play in it. Ps. 104:25, 26.

Anyone without knowledge of the fact that the spiritual sense exists within each detail of the Word knows nothing else here than that ‘the sea’ and ‘ships’ are used to mean sea and ships, ‘the Leviathan’ to mean the monsters there, and ‘playing’ to mean their swimming around together there. Such things however are not what constitute the Word, every jot of which is Divine; but when the spiritual matters meant by those things are understood instead, it becomes Divine. In the internal sense ‘the sea’ is a gathering together of factual knowledge of truths, thus it is that which constitutes what is external with a person and in the Church; ‘ships’ are cognitions or knowledge and matters of doctrine drawn from the Word; ‘the Leviathan’ is factual knowledge in general; and ‘playing’ is the delight derived from those things.

‘The sea’ is a gathering together of factual truths, see 28, 2850, 8184, 9340.
‘Ships’ are cognitions and matters of doctrine drawn from the Word, 1977, 6385.
‘The Leviathan’ is factual knowledge in general, 7293.

Thus ‘playing’ is the delight and the desire to celebrate derived from those things, which occurs when known facts add strength to spiritual matters and accord with them.
* i.e. merrymakers
** The Latin here and in 153, 1069:2, 3081:4, 8337:3, 8339:1 means literally will adorn your timbrels, but the Hebrew is generally taken to mean adorn yourself with timbrels.
*** lit. soul
**** lit. wide with spaces

sRef Ex@32 @9 S0′ sRef Ex@32 @8 S0′ sRef Ex@32 @13 S0′ sRef Ex@32 @14 S0′ sRef Ex@32 @12 S0′ sRef Ex@32 @11 S0′ sRef Ex@32 @7 S0′ sRef Ex@32 @10 S0′ 10417. Verses 7-14 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, Go! go down; for your people have corrupted themselves, whom you caused to come up out of the land of Egypt. They have suddenly departed from the way which I have commanded them; they have made for themselves a calf of molded [metal], and worshipped it, and sacrificed to it, and said, These are your gods, O Israel, who caused you to come up out of the land of Egypt. And Jehovah said to Moses, I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. And you, let Me alone, and let My anger grow hot against them, and let Me consume them; and let Me make you into a great nation. And Moses entreated the face of* Jehovah his God, and said, Why, O Jehovah, does Your anger grow hot against Your people, whom You have led out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a strong hand? Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, For evil He led them out, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from upon the face of the earth? Turn back from the heat of Your anger, and repent** of the evil against Your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Yourself, and spoke to them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens; and all this land which I have spoken of I will give to your seed, and they will inherit it into the age***. And Jehovah repented** of the evil which He said He would do to His people.

‘And Jehovah spoke to Moses’ means perception and instruction regarding the Israelite nation, what it was like inwardly. ‘Go! go down’ means looking at their interest in what is external. ‘For your people have corrupted themselves’ means that they have turned themselves away altogether from the Divine. ‘Whom you caused to come up out of the land of Egypt’ means whom, you believed, you had led to the Divine. ‘They have suddenly departed from the way which I have commanded them’ means that they have removed themselves from Divine Truth. ‘And they have made for themselves a calf of molded [metal]’ means worship in keeping with the delight belonging to that nation’s loves. ‘And worshipped it, and sacrificed to it’ means that they worship that delight as essential good and as essential truth. ‘And said, These are your gods, O Israel’ means that it is to be worshipped above all things. ‘Who caused you to come up out of the land of Egypt’ means which led them. ‘And Jehovah said to Moses’ means further instruction. ‘I have seen the people’ means what has been foreseen. ‘And behold, it is a stiff-necked people’ means that they do not receive the inflow from the Lord. ‘And you, let Me alone’ means that they should not be so stubbornly insistent. ‘And let My anger grow hot against them, and let Me consume them’ means that they turn themselves so far away from inward and thus Divine things that they are inevitably destroyed. ‘And let Me make you into a great nation’ means a Word somewhere else which would be good and perfect. ‘And Moses entreated the face of Jehovah’ means that the Lord in mercy remembered. ‘And said, Why, O Jehovah, does Your anger grow hot?’ means that nation’s turning away. ‘Against the people whom You have led out of the land of Egypt’ means being raised all the way up from there. ‘With great power and with a strong hand’ means by Divine Power. ‘Why should the Egyptians speak, saying’ means those interested solely in outward things, [what they say about those raised to inward things.] ‘For evil He led them out, to kill them in the mountains’ means that those with whom good exists will be destroyed. ‘To consume them from upon the face of the earth’ means that those belonging to the Church will be destroyed. ‘Turn back from the heat of Your anger’ means that if He does so that nation’s turning away will not be harmful. ‘And repent [of the evil] against Your people’ means having mercy on them. ‘Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants’ means for heaven and the Church’s sake. ‘To whom You swore by Yourself’ means confirmation from the Divine. ‘And spoke to them’ means Foresight and Providence. ‘I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens’ means forms of good and truths, and cognitions of them. ‘And all this land which I have spoken of I will give to your seed’ means of which heaven and the Church consist. ‘And they will inherit it into the age’ means eternal life. ‘And Jehovah repented of the evil which He said He would do to His people’ means having mercy on them.
* i.e. Moses pleaded with
** repent is not used here in the sense of being penitent or contrite over personal wrong-doing but in the sense of sorrow or regret over any past decision or course of action.
*** i.e. forever

sRef Ex@32 @7 S0′ 10418. ‘And Jehovah spoke to Moses’ means perception and instruction regarding the Israelite nation, what it was like inwardly. This is clear from the meaning of ‘speaking’, when done by Jehovah, as perception and instruction, dealt with in the places referred to in 10280, 10290. The fact that it regards the Israelite nation, what it was like inwardly, is clear from what follows, for there that nation and what it was like so far as its worship was concerned is the subject.

sRef Ex@32 @7 S0′ 10419. ‘Go! go down’ means looking at their interest in what is outward. This is clear from the meaning of ‘going down from Mount Sinai’ as looking at, considering, and examining. For ‘Mount Sinai’ means heaven, from which Divine Truth comes, 9420, so that in the spiritual sense ‘going down’ is not a bodily but a mental descent, thus a mental looking and considering.

sRef Ex@32 @7 S0′ 10420. ‘For your people have corrupted themselves’ means that they have turned themselves away altogether from the Divine. This is clear from the meaning of ‘corrupting themselves’, when their worship is the subject, as turning themselves away from the Divine; for all corruption and deviation in worship is a departure and turning away from the Divine. Since the expression ‘turning away’ is used, what is implied by it must be stated briefly. Those whose interest lies in external things separated from what is internal all turn themselves away from the Divine; for they look in an outward and downward direction, and not in an inward and upward one. For a person looks inwards or upwards when his internal is open, thus when it is in heaven, but he looks outwards or downwards when his internal is closed and only his external is open; for his external is located in the world. Consequently when the external has been separated from the internal the person cannot be raised upwards; for the part on which heaven must act is unavailable, because it has been closed off. This explains why for those people all things of heaven and the Church dwell in thick darkness, as a result of which also they do not believe in the existence of those things. Indeed in their heart they deny the existence of them, some doing so with their lips as well.

[2] When heaven acts on a person, which happens when the internal is open, it leads him away from self-love and love of the world, and from the falsities welling up from them. When the internal is raised, so too is the external; for the viewpoint of the external is similar to that of the internal when it is subordinate to the internal. But when the internal cannot be raised because it is closed, the external looks in no other direction than towards self and the world, since self-love and love of the world reign. This is also called looking downwards because it involves looking towards hell, this being the place where those loves reign; and a person ruled by those loves lives in company with those inhabiting hell, though he is not conscious of doing so. Also inwardly he in actual fact turns himself away from the Lord; for he turns his back on Him and faces towards hell. This cannot be seen within a person while he lives in the body; but since his thought and will are what do this it is his spirit that so turns itself around, the spirit being that which thinks and wills within a person. sRef Jer@5 @6 S3′ sRef Jer@8 @5 S3′ sRef Ps@44 @18 S3′ sRef Jer@8 @4 S3′ sRef Jer@49 @8 S3′ sRef Isa@42 @17 S3′ [3] It is plainly apparent in the next life that this is so; there spirits turn around as their loves direct them. Those who love the Lord and the neighbour look constantly towards the Lord; indeed, amazingly, they are facing Him whichever way they turn their body. For in the spiritual world no direction or quarter exists as in the natural world. The direction that anyone in the spiritual world faces is determined by his love causing him to turn around. But those who love themselves and the world above all things turn their face away from the Lord and turn themselves towards hell. And there each one turns towards those ruled by a love similar to his, and this too is so whichever way they turn their body. From this it becomes clear what turning oneself away from the Divine describes, and also what precisely is meant in the Word by ‘turning oneself away’, as in Isaiah,

They turn themselves away backwards, those trusting in a graven image. Isa. 42:17.

In David,

[Our] heart does [not] turn itself away backwards. Ps. 44:18.

In Jeremiah,

Their transgressions have been multiplied, and their turnings away have become firm. Jer. 5:6.

In the same prophet,

They turn themselves away, in order that they may not return. This people turn themselves away; Jerusalem is perpetually turned away, they refuse to return. Jer. 8:4, 5.

In the same prophet,

They have turned themselves away, they have taken themselves away to dwell in the deep. Jer. 49:8.

And the expression is used many times elsewhere.

sRef Ex@32 @7 S0′ 10421. ‘Whom you caused to come up out of the land of Egypt’ means whom, you believed, you had led to the Divine. This is clear from the meaning of ‘causing to come up out of the land of Egypt’ as raising from the external level to the internal, thus leading to the Divine. ‘Causing to go up’ means raising from the external to the internal, and ‘Egypt’ means the natural or external man from which a person is raised.

‘Causing to go up’ means raising from the external to the internal, see 3084, 4539, 4969, 5406, 5817.
‘Egypt’ is the natural or external level, see in the places referred to in 9391.

sRef Ex@32 @8 S0′ 10422. ‘They have suddenly departed from the way which I have commanded them’ means that they have removed themselves from Divine Truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘departing from the way’ as removing themselves from truth. ‘Departing’ means removing themselves, for those whose interest lies in external things separated from what is internal remove themselves; and ‘the way’ means truth, dealt with below. Divine Truth is what they remove themselves from because, as it says, it is the way which Jehovah has commanded them that they have departed from.

sRef Jer@32 @39 S2′ sRef Judg@5 @6 S2′ sRef Isa@43 @19 S2′ sRef Isa@49 @9 S2′ sRef Isa@35 @8 S2′ sRef Deut@27 @18 S2′ sRef Isa@40 @3 S2′ sRef Isa@40 @14 S2′ sRef Ps@25 @5 S2′ sRef Jer@6 @16 S2′ sRef Isa@59 @8 S2′ sRef Isa@33 @8 S2′ sRef Jer@18 @15 S2′ sRef Isa@62 @10 S2′ sRef Ps@25 @4 S2′ sRef Isa@62 @11 S2′ sRef Jer@17 @10 S2′ sRef Jer@7 @5 S2′ sRef Isa@30 @11 S2′ sRef Isa@49 @11 S2′ sRef Jer@7 @4 S2′ sRef Isa@30 @21 S2′ sRef Jer@7 @3 S2′ sRef Isa@43 @16 S2′ [2] The meaning of ‘the way’ as truth has its origin in things that appear in the spiritual world. There also ways and paths appear, and in the cities streets and lanes; and spirits do not take any except the ones leading to those whom love draws them into association with. This explains why spirits’ characters as regards truth may be recognized from the way or road they go along; for all truth leads to its own love, that being called truth which lends support to what is loved. It also explains why in the everyday language people use ‘the way to go’ denotes that which is true; for human language derives this usage, as it does very many others, from the spiritual world.

sRef John@14 @6 S3′ sRef Matt@22 @9 S3′ sRef Jer@10 @2 S3′ [3] This then accounts for the meaning in the Word of ‘way’, ‘path’, ‘pathway’, ‘track’, ‘street’, and ‘lane’ as truths, and in the contrary sense falsities, as is evident from the following places: In Jeremiah,

Stand close to the ways* and look; ask concerning the ways of old**, Which way is the best? Jer. 6:16.

In the same prophet,

Make good your ways and your works; do not trust in lying words***. Jer. 7:3-5.

In the same prophet,

Do not learn the way of the nations****. Jer. 10:2.

In the same prophet,

I will give to each according to his ways, according to the fruit of his works. Jer. 17:10.

In the same prophet,

They have caused them to stumble in their ways, in the pathways of old**, in order that they go away [into] by-paths and not the highway. Jer. 18:15.

In the same prophet,

I will give them one heart and one way. Jer. 32:39.

In David,

Make Your ways known to me, O Jehovah, teach me Your paths; lead me in Your truth. Ps. 25:4, 5.

In the Book of Judges,

In the days of Jael the ways ceased*****. And those going along the paths went along twisting ways. Judg. 5:6.

In Isaiah,

Depart from the way, cause [yourselves] to turn aside from the path. Let your ears hear the word from behind you, This is the way; go in it. Isa. 30:11, 21.

In the same prophet,

The paths have been devastated, the wayfarer has ceased. Isa. 33:8.

In the same prophet,

There will also be a path there and a way, which will be called the way of holiness. The unclean one will not pass through it; but it will be for them. [The one] walking in the way and fools will not go astray. Isa. 35:8.

[4] In the same prophet,

The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of Jehovah; make level in the lonely place a path for our God. With whom did He deliberate, that He might teach Him the way of judgement, and show Him the way of intelligence? Isa. 40:3, 14.

In the same prophet,

… to say to those who are in darkness, Reveal yourselves. They will feed along the ways. I will set all My mountains as a way; My paths will be raised up. Isa. 49:9, 11.

In the same prophet,

The way of peace they have not known, and there is no judgement in their tracks. They have perverted their paths for themselves. He who treads that [way] will not know peace. Isa. 59:8.

In the same prophet,

Prepare the way for the people. Level out, level out the path. Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your salvation comes. Isa. 62:10, 11.

In the same prophet,

I have made****** a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters. I will place a way in the wilderness. Isa. 43:16, 19.

In Moses,

Cursed is the one who causes the blind to go astray in the way. Deut. 27:18.

In Matthew,

Go to the ends of the ways, and whomever you find, summon to the wedding. Matt. 22:9.

In John,

Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. John 14:6.

In these places, and in very many others, ‘the way’ means truth and in the contrary sense falsity.
* i.e. the crossroads
** lit. of an age
*** lit. the words of a lie
**** or of the gentiles
***** i.e. the roads became disused
****** lit. given

sRef Ex@32 @8 S0′ 10423. ‘And they have made for themselves a calf of molded [metal]’ means worship in keeping with the delight belonging to that nation’s loves. This is clear from what has been shown above in 10407, where similar words occur.

sRef Ex@32 @8 S0′ 10424. ‘And worshipped it, and sacrificed to it’ means that they worship that delight as essential good and as essential truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘worshipping’ as worshipping as essential good; and from the meaning of ‘sacrificing’ as worshipping as essential truth. The reason why the verb ‘worship’ has reference to good which is an attribute of love, and the verb ‘sacrifice’ has reference to truth which is the substance of faith, is that wherever good is spoken of in the Word, so too is truth, on account of the heavenly marriage present in every detail there, see in the places referred to in 9263, 9314. Regarding the verb ‘sacrifice’, that it has reference to truth, see 8680, 10053; and regarding the verb ‘worship’, that it has reference to good, this is evident from those places in the Word in which it is used.

sRef Ex@32 @8 S0′ 10425. ‘And said, These are your gods, O Israel’ means that it is to be worshipped above all things. This is clear from what has been shown above in 10408, where similar words occur.

sRef Ex@32 @8 S0′ 10426. ‘Who caused you to come up out of the land of Egypt’ means which led them, as above in 10409.

sRef Ex@32 @9 S0′ 10427. ‘And Jehovah said to Moses’ means further instruction. This is clear from the meaning of ‘saying’, when done by Jehovah, as perception and instruction, dealt with in the places referred to in 10280, 10290.

sRef Ex@32 @9 S0′ 10428. ‘I have seen the people’ means what has been foreseen. This is clear from the meaning of ‘seeing’, when it has reference to Jehovah, as Foresight, dealt with in 2807, 2837, 2839, 3686, 3863. For what Jehovah sees He sees from eternity; and seeing from eternity is Foresight and Providence.

sRef Ex@32 @9 S0′ 10429. ‘And behold, it is a stiff-necked people’ means that they do not receive the inflow from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of ‘stiff-necked’ as not receiving an inflow; for ‘the neck’ means the joining together and communication of things above and those below, and so means influx, see 3542, 3603, 3695, 3725, 5320, 5328, 5926, 6033, 8079, 9913, 9914, while ‘stiff’ means that which resists and rejects, and so means that which does not receive. The people are called such here because their interest lay in external things and not in what was internal; and those who are like this reject every inflow from heaven or from the Lord. For the inflow passes through the internal into the external, and therefore when the internal is closed there can be no reception within the external of that which is Divine. Only what flows in from the world is received, thus only that which is worldly, bodily, and earthly. Furthermore when such people in the next life are beheld in the light of heaven they seem to have instead of a head and face something that is all teeth, looking like a crate, or else something covered in hair, or something bony devoid of life. For the face corresponds to the things that constitute the internal man, and the body to those that constitute the external, while the neck corresponds to the joining together of them.

[2] A brief explanation must be given here showing what should be understood when in reference to that nation it is said that their interest lay in external things and not in what was internal. Every person has an internal and an external, the internal consisting in his thought and will, the external in his speech and action; but the internal with those who are good is very different from what it is with those who are bad. For every individual person has an internal, called the internal man, and an external, called the external man. The internal man has been created so as to conform to an image of heaven, but the external man to conform to an image of the world, 9279. In the case of those who are governed by the good of love and the truths of faith the internal man is open, and by means of it they are in heaven. But in the case of those who are ruled by evils and resulting falsities that internal man is closed, and by means of the external they are aware of nothing but the world. [3] These are the ones whose interest is said to lie in external things and not in what is internal. Such people as well do, it is true, have inner thoughts and feelings; but in their case they are inner thoughts and feelings of their external man residing in the world, not inner thoughts and feelings of the internal man residing in heaven. When the internal man is closed the inner thoughts and feelings of the external are bad, indeed foul; for then people give thought only to the world and self, and desire solely things belonging to the world and self. They give no thought whatever to heaven and the Lord, and indeed have no desire for them. All this goes to show what should be understood by being interested in external things and not in what is internal. [4] Because the Israelite nation was like this, when they were brought into an outwardly holy state their inner thoughts and feelings were closed off because they were foul and defiled. That is to say, those inner thoughts and feelings were full of selfish and worldly love, thus full of contempt for others in comparison with themselves, full of hatred towards all who wronged them, full of savage intentions towards them, and full of cruelty, avarice, pillage, and other similar vices. The fact that that nation was like this is perfectly clear from the Song of Moses in Deut. 32:15-43, where they are described, as commanded by Jehovah,* also from wherever they are mentioned in Jeremiah, and finally from the Lord’s own words in the Gospels.

sRef Ex@32 @10 S0′ 10430. ‘And you, let Me alone’ means that they should not be so stubbornly insistent. This is clear from the meaning of ‘letting alone’, when said by Jehovah regarding that nation, as that they should not be so stubbornly insistent. For that nation was not chosen by the Lord but accepted by Him because they stubbornly insisted on it, see 4290, 4293, 7051, 7439. For that nation more than all others throughout the whole world was capable of fasting, prostrating themselves, rolling in ashes, and lamenting for days on end, and of not leaving off till they got what they wanted. But they behaved in that stubborn way solely for the sake of themselves, that is to say, because they were inflamed by the most fiery self-love and love of the world, and not for the sake of what was God’s. People who go on like this are indeed heard; but even so they do not receive anything of heaven and the Church within themselves, only such things as belong to the world, provided that they adhere to statutes and laws in the outward form they take. This is why in the next life they are among those in hell, except for some who have been governed by what is good, and except for their young children. From all this it is evident that ‘you, let Me alone’ means that they should not be so stubbornly insistent.
* See Deut. 31:19.

sRef Ex@32 @10 S0′ 10431. ‘And let My anger grow hot against them, and let Me consume them’ means that they turn themselves so far away from inward and thus Divine things that they are inevitably destroyed. This is clear from the meaning of ‘growing hot with anger’, when it has reference to Jehovah, as a turning away on man’s part, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘consuming’, when this too has reference to Jehovah, as being destroyed by their own evil. Many places in the Word speak of Jehovah’s becoming inflamed with anger and growing hot, and also of His consuming and destroying. But the reason why they do so is that when a person turns himself away from the Lord, as happens when he does what is evil, it appears to that person as though He acts in those ways. And since he is not heard then and is also punished the person supposes that the Lord is full of anger towards him, when in fact the Lord is never angry and never consumes; for He is Mercy itself and Goodness itself. This shows the true nature of literal statements in the Word, namely that they are made in accord with the appearance as seen by man. One such appearance occurs in what follows, where Jehovah is said to repent; but in reality He never repents, for everything is foreseen from eternity by Him. From this also it may be recognized how many errors those people fall into who think of nothing beyond the literal sense when they read the Word, thus who read it without the aid of teachings drawn from the Word which show them what the real truth is. For those who read the Word with the aid of such teachings know that Jehovah is Mercy itself and Goodness itself, and that it cannot by any means at all be said of infinite Mercy nor of infinite Goodness that it grows hot with anger and consumes. From those teachings therefore they know and see that when such a statement occurs it is made in accord with the appearance as seen by man.

Anger and evil have their origin in man and not in the Lord, but they are nevertheless attributed to the Lord, see in the places referred to in 9306.
Anger when spoken of in regard to the Lord means a person’s turning away from the Lord, 5034, 5798, 8483, 8875.

sRef Ex@32 @10 S0′ 10432. ‘And let Me make you into a great nation’ means a Word somewhere else which would be good and perfect. This is clear from the representation of ‘Moses’ as the Word, dealt with in the places referred to in 9372; and from the meaning of ‘a nation’ as those governed by good, and so in the abstract sense, without reference to persons, as that which is good, dealt with in 1259, 1260, 1416, 1849, 6005, 8771. In various places the Word uses the terms ‘nation’ and ‘people’, and in them ‘nation’ means those governed by good, and ‘people’ those guided by truth; or in the abstract sense, without reference to persons, ‘nation’ means good and ‘people’ truth, 10288. When therefore the Word is meant by ‘Moses’ good springing from it is meant by the nation descending from
him.

[2] The implications of all this are that the children of Israel were accepted because among them it was possible for a Word to be written whose outward or literal sense consists of merely outward things to which inward realities correspond. Everything representative among the Israelite nation was of this nature; and because this nation was in that way involved in outward things it was possible for a Word to be written among them. From this it is evident that when the Word is meant by ‘Moses’ and it is said of the Israelite nation that they would be consumed or destroyed, Jehovah’s declaration then that He would make Moses into a great nation means that a Word might be written somewhere else that was good and perfect.

[3] It is not apparent in the literal statement that this is the meaning of these words; nevertheless it may be recognized from the consideration that the names of persons do not pass into heaven but are converted there into the realities meant by them. When for example Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, David, and others are mentioned by name those in heaven are completely unconscious of the fact that those persons are understood by man. There they instantly cease to be seen as those actual persons and take on a spiritual meaning, namely the realities they stand for. From this it is evident what kind of meaning those in heaven see in these words regarding Moses, that he will become a great nation.

sRef Ex@32 @11 S0′ 10433. ‘And Moses sought to entreat the face of Jehovah’ means that the Lord in mercy remembered. This is clear from the representation of ‘Moses’ as the Word, as immediately above in 10432; from the meaning of ‘the face’, when it has reference to Jehovah, as Mercy and all Goodness, dealt with in 222, 223, 5585, 7599, 9306, 9546; and from the meaning of ‘entreating’ as remembering or calling to mind. For when ‘Moses’ is used to mean the Word, ‘entreating’ does not mean entreating; rather it means that which is in agreement with what is said to entreat, in this instance in agreement with the Word. As regards ‘Jehovah’, in the Word the Lord is meant by Him, see in the places referred to
in 9373.

sRef Ex@32 @11 S0′ 10434. ‘And said, Why, O Jehovah, does Your anger grow hot?’ means that nation’s turning away. This is clear from the meaning of ‘anger growing hot’, when it has reference to Jehovah, as the turning away of the person immersed in evil, dealt with above in 10431.

sRef Ex@32 @11 S0′ 10435. ‘Against the people whom You have led out of the land of Egypt’ means being raised all the way up from there. This is clear from the meaning of ‘leading out of the land of Egypt’ as being raised from external things to internal ones, dealt with above in 10421.

sRef Ex@32 @11 S0′ 10436. ‘With great power and with a strong hand’ means by Divine Power. This is clear from the meaning of ‘great power and a strong hand’, when it has reference to Jehovah, as Divine Power, dealt with in 7188, 7189, 8050, 8069, 8153. What these words and those before them imply becomes clear from the train of thought in the internal sense, which is that although the Israelite nation’s interest lay in external things and not in what was internal, to such an extent that their minds could not be raised at all to more internal levels, what was representative of the Church could nevertheless be established among them and the Word could be written there. These things could be achieved because by the Divine Power contact with heaven by means of those external things in which they were interested without anything internal was nevertheless possible, and so a situation could be effected similar to that which would have existed if they had been interested at the same time in what was internal. On this matter, see what has been shown regarding that nation in the places referred to above in 10396, such as those which show that through the external observances among them, which were representative of inner realities, there was by the Lord’s Divine Power contact with heaven, 4311, 4444, 6304, 8588, 8788, 8806.

[2] It should be remembered that the Church is not the Church by virtue of its outward worship but of its inward worship; for outward worship is that of the body whereas inward is that of the soul. Consequently outward worship without the inward is no more than movements of the body, thus worship without life from the Divine. Through the inner components of worship a member of the Church is in contact with the heavens, for whom the outward form serves as the basis on which the inner components may rest like a house on its foundations. And when everything rests like a house on its foundations all is complete and firm, and the whole person is governed by the Divine.

[3] This is what a member of the Ancient Church had been like. This too had been a representative Church and for this reason had been accepted by the Lord, as is clear from a large number of places in the Word. A description of it is contained in the Song of Moses, Deut. 32:3-15. But such a Church could not be established among the Israelite and Jewish nation, for the reason given above, that inwardly they were foul, and so were altogether contrary to the good of heavenly love and the good of faith, which are the inner components of worship. Therefore, when they insisted so stubbornly that they should enter the land of Canaan, which was tantamount to representing the Church, the Lord saw to it that contact with heaven through their merely outward worship should nevertheless be made possible. For the purpose of all worship is contact with heaven, and through this the Lord’s being joined to man. These are the matters which the internal sense is dealing with at present.

sRef Ex@32 @12 S0′ 10437. ‘Why should the Egyptians speak, saying’ means those interested solely in outward things, what they say about those raised to inward things. This is clear from the representation of ‘the Egyptians’ as those interested solely in outward things; and from the meaning of ‘to speak, saying’ as what they say about those who are raised to inward things, the latter being the ones whom the words that directly follow refer to in the internal sense. The reason why those interested solely in outward things are represented by ‘the Egyptians’ is that in ancient times the Egyptians were some of those among whom the representative Church existed. For this Church had spread throughout very many regions of Asia, and at that time the Egyptians excelled all others in the knowledge of correspondences and representations, which were the characteristic of that Church. For they knew the inward things which outward ones represented and consequently were meaningful signs of. But in course of time the like happened to them as happens to others among whom the Church exists, when from being interested in inward things they become interested in outward ones, till at length they do not care about inward things, and make the whole of worship consist in outward things.

[2] When this also happened with the Egyptians the knowledge of correspondences and representations, in which they excelled all others in Asia, was turned into magic. This is what comes about when the inner things of worship, which are those of love and faith, are wiped out, while the outward representative worship still remains, together with knowledge of the inner things that are represented by it. Because the Egyptians came to be like this, in the Word they mean knowledge of inner things, and also that which is outward or natural. And since that which is outward devoid of what is inward is either magic or idolatry, both of which are hellish, ‘Egypt’ also means hell. From this it is evident why it is that ‘why should the Egyptians say’ means those interested solely in outward things.

[3] In Egypt as well the representative Church existed, see 7097, 7296, 9391.
‘Egypt’ means the knowledge of such things in both senses, 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 2588, 4749, 4964, 4966, 5700, 5702, 6004, 6015, 6125, 6651, 6673, 6679, 6683, 6750, 7926.
‘Egypt’ means that which is natural or external, 4967, 5079, 5080, 5095, 5160, 5276, 5278, 5280, 5288, 5301, 5799, 6004, 6015, 6147, 6252, 7353, 7355, 7648.
‘Egypt’ means hell, 7039, 7097, 7107, 7110, 7126, 7142, 7220, 7228, 7240, 7278, 7307, 7317, 8049, 8132, 8135, 8138, 8146, 8148, 8866, 9197.

sRef Ex@32 @12 S0′ 10438. ‘For evil He led them out, to kill them in the mountains’ means that those with whom good exists will be destroyed. This is clear from the meaning of ‘leading out to kill’ as destroying, though when such words are used in reference to Jehovah, who never destroys anyone, being destroyed by their own evil is meant; and from the meaning of ‘the mountains’ as heaven, consequently the good of love. The origin of the meaning of ‘the mountains’ as heaven lies in representatives in the next life. Mountains, hills, rocks, valleys, and many more objects appear there, as on earth; and on the mountains there are those who abide in celestial love, on the hills those who abide in spiritual love, on the rocks those who abide in faith, and in the valleys those who have not as yet been raised up to the good of love and faith. sRef Deut@33 @15 S2′ sRef Isa@2 @2 S2′ sRef Deut@33 @16 S2′ [2] Consequently by ‘mountains’ those in whom the good of celestial love exists, and so who inhabit the inmost heaven, are meant, and in the abstract sense forms of the good of celestial love, and so the heaven which abides in that love; by ‘hills’ those in whom the good of spiritual love exists, and so who inhabit the middle heaven, are meant, and in the abstract sense the good of that love and the heaven which abides in it; by ‘rocks’ those in whom the good of faith exists, and who consequently inhabit the lowest heaven, are meant, and in the abstract sense that good and that heaven; and by ‘valleys’ those who have not as yet been raised up to those kinds of good and so to heaven are meant. Because such objects appear in the next life and such realities are consequently meant by them, those objects have a like meaning in the Word, as do the mountains, hills, rocks, and valleys in the land of Canaan, by which heaven in its entirety was therefore represented.

sRef Micah@4 @1 S3′ sRef Ps@72 @3 S3′ sRef Ps@148 @7 S3′ sRef Ps@68 @15 S3′ sRef Ps@148 @9 S3′ sRef Ps@68 @16 S3′ [3] The fact that the heaven where the good of celestial love exists is meant by ‘mountains’ is evident from a large number of places in the Word, such as the following: In Isaiah,

In the latter days it will be, that the mountain of Jehovah will be on the top of the mountains, and raised above the hills. Isa. 2:2; Micah 4:1.

In David,

The mountains will bring peace, and the hills, in righteousness. Ps. 72:3.

In the same author,

Praise Jehovah, mountains and all hills. Ps. 148:7, 9.

In the same author,

A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan; a mountain of hills is the mountain of Bashan. Why do you leap up, O mountains, hills of mountains? God desires to inhabit it; yes, Jehovah will inhabit it perpetually. Ps. 68:15, 16.

In Moses,

… in regard to the firstfruits of the mountains of the east, and to the precious things of the everlasting hills* … Let them come upon the head of Joseph. Deut. 33:15, 16.

Other places besides these contain the same meaning, see 795, 6435, 8327, 8658, 8758, 9422, 9434. All this explains why the Lord came down onto Mount Sinai; why the city of David was built on a mountain, and that mountain, which was called Mount Zion, means the inmost heaven; and also why the ancients performed holy acts of worship on mountains and hills, 2722.
* lit. the hills of the age

sRef Ex@32 @12 S0′ 10439. ‘To consume them from upon the face of the earth’ means that those belonging to the Church will be destroyed. This is clear from the meaning of ‘consuming’ as destroying, though when used in reference to Jehovah, who does not destroy anyone, it means being destroyed by their own evil, as above; and from the meaning of ‘the earth’ as the Church, dealt with in the places referred to in 9325, 10373.

sRef Ex@32 @12 S0′ 10440. ‘Turn back from the heat of Your anger’ means that if He does so that nation’s turning away will not be harmful. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the heat of anger’, when it has reference to Jehovah, as a turning away on man’s part, dealt with above in 10431, so that ‘turning back from the heat of anger’ means that the turning away will not be harmful. What this implies is evident from what has been stated and shown in the explanations previous to this.

sRef Ex@32 @12 S0′ 10441. ‘And repent [of the evil] against Your people’ means having mercy on them. This is clear from the meaning of ‘repenting’, when it has reference to Jehovah, as having mercy. The reason why ‘repenting’ means having mercy is that Jehovah does not ever repent, since He foresees and makes provision for all things from eternity. Repentance is a reaction that can take place only in someone who has no knowledge of the future and who sees, as events unfold, that he has made a mistake. Nevertheless the Word speaks of Jehovah’s reacting in that kind of way because the sense of the letter consists of ideas of things as man sees them. For it is intended for very simple people and for young children, who at first go no further than that sense. Also young children and very simple people’s interests lie in the most external things, from which they start out and in which after this their inner thoughts and feelings terminate. For this reason the Word in the letter must be understood differently by those who have become wiser.

sRef 1Sam@15 @11 S2′ sRef Jer@26 @3 S2′ sRef Num@23 @19 S2′ sRef Deut@32 @36 S2′ sRef Jonah@3 @9 S2′ sRef Jer@18 @10 S2′ sRef 1Sam@15 @35 S2′ sRef Jonah@3 @10 S2′ [2] The situation with the Word is similar to that with the human being. Everything within him terminates in flesh and bones; these are the container of everything there. Unless they existed in place of a foundation or support a person could not remain in being; for he would have no final level in which all things within him could terminate and on which they could rest. The situation is similar with the Word. This must have a final level in which everything within it terminates; that final level is the sense of the letter, and the inner things are the heavenly matters belonging to the internal sense. From all this it is now evident that the way things appear to man is the reason why Jehovah is said to repent, when in fact He does not repent.

sRef Amos@7 @3 S3′ sRef Ezek@5 @13 S3′ sRef Amos@7 @6 S3′ sRef Gen@6 @6 S3′ [3] The fact that Jehovah is said to repent is clear from a large number of places in the Word, such as the following: In Jeremiah,

If [a nation] does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, I will repent of the good with which I said I would benefit it. Jer. 18:10.

In the same prophet,

It may be that they will listen and every man turn from his evil way, that I may repent of the evil which I am thinking to do to them on account of the wickedness of their doings. Jer. 26:3.

In Ezekiel,

When My anger is accomplished and I make My wrath rest on them, I will repent. Ezek. 5:13.

In Amos,

Jehovah repented. It shall not happen, He said. Amos 7:3, 6.

In Moses,

Jehovah will judge His people, and repent over* His servants. Deut. 32:36.

In Jonah,

The king of Nineveh said, Who knows, God may turn and be moved to repentance**, and turn from the heat of His anger, and we may not perish! And they turned from their evil way; therefore God repented of the evil which He had said He would do to them, so that He did not do it. Jonah 3:9, 10.

In the Book of Genesis,

Jehovah repented that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. Gen. 6:6.

In the first Book of Samuel,

I have repented that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from following Me. 1 Sam. 15:11, 35.

sRef 1Sam@15 @29 S4′ sRef Jonah@4 @2 S4′ sRef Joel@2 @13 S4′ [4] From these places which speak of Jehovah’s having repented, when in fact He cannot repent since He knows all things before He does them, it is evident that ‘repenting’ means having mercy. The fact that Jehovah never repents is also clear from the Word, as in Moses,

Jehovah*** is not a man (vir), that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will not act? Or has He spoken, and will not carry it out? Num. 23:19.

And in the first Book of Samuel,

The Invincible One of Israel does not lie, nor does He repent, for He is not a man (homo), that He should repent. 1 Sam. 15:29.

The fact that when Jehovah is said to repent His mercy is meant is clear in Joel,

Jehovah is gracious and merciful, long-suffering, and great in compassion, and One who is accustomed to repent of evil. Joel 2:13.

And in Jonah,

God is gracious and merciful, long-suffering, and great in kindness, and One who repents of evil. Jonah 4:2.
* i.e. has compassion on
** lit. be led by repentance
*** The Hebrew at this point uses the word meaning God.

sRef Matt@8 @11 S0′ 10442. ‘Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants’ means for heaven and the Church’s sake. This is clear from the meaning of ‘Abraham, Isaac, and Israel’ as the Lord’s Divine Human, thus that which is Divine and His in heaven and in the Church; and since that which is Divine and the Lord’s composes heaven and the Church, the same three also mean heaven and the Church. For ‘Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’ in the Word, that these things are meant by them, see 1965, 3305(end), 4615, 6098, 6185, 6276, 6589, 6804, 6847, and also by ‘Israel’, 4286, 4570, and in the places referred to in 8805, 9340. The fact that such things are meant by ‘Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’ is clear from the Lord’s words in Matthew,

I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. Matt. 8:11.

Here ‘reclining with them’ means being in heaven where the Lord is. This is also evident from the consideration that names do not pass into heaven but the heavenly and Divine realities meant by them, 10216, 10282.

10443. ‘To whom You swore by Yourself’ means confirmation from the Divine. This is clear from the meaning of ‘swearing’, when it has reference to the Lord, as unchangeable confirmation from the Divine, dealt with in 2842.

10444. ‘And spoke to them’ means Foresight and Providence. This is clear from the meaning of ‘saying’ and ‘speaking’, when it has reference to confirmation from the Divine, as Foresight and Providence, dealt with in 5361, 6946, 6951, 8095.

10445. ‘I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens’ means forms of good and truths, and cognitions of them. This is clear from the meaning of ‘seed’, when it has reference to heaven and the Church, as the goodness and truth there, dealt with in 1940, 3038, 3310, 3373, 3671, 6158, 10249; and from the meaning of ‘the stars’ as cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth, dealt with in 2495, 2849, 4697. In the sense of the letter ‘multiplying the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel as the stars of the heavens’ is used to mean multiplying the Israelite and Jewish nation in countless numbers; but since spiritual and celestial realities are meant by names in the Word, and heaven and the Church are meant by the names of those three, ‘their seed’ means the forms of good and the truths that exist in heaven and in the Church. The reason why it says ‘as the stars of the heavens’ is that where comparisons occur in the Word, these too have a spiritual meaning, 3579, 8989. Here a comparison is made with ‘the stars of the heavens’ because forms of good and truths – cognitions of them – are what is meant by ‘stars’.

10446. ‘And all this land which I have spoken of I will give to your seed’ means of which heaven and the Church consist. This is clear from the meaning of ‘land’ as the Church, dealt with in the places referred to in 9325, and since the Church is meant by ‘the land’ heaven as well is meant, the Church being the Lord’s heaven on earth (and also the Church acts in unison with heaven, for the one comes into being from and is kept in being from the other); and from the meaning of ‘seed’ as the goodness and truth there, dealt with immediately above in 10445.

10447. ‘And they will inherit it into the age’ means eternal life. This is clear from the meaning of ‘inheriting’, when it has reference to heaven, as possessing the Lord’s life and so the life of heaven, dealt with in 2658, 2851, 3672, 7212, 9338; and from the meaning of ‘the age’ as that which is eternal, dealt with in 10248.

sRef Ex@32 @14 S0′ 10448. ‘And Jehovah repented of the evil which He said He would do to His people’ means having mercy on them, as above in 10441.

sRef Ex@32 @18 S0′ sRef Ex@32 @19 S0′ sRef Ex@32 @20 S0′ sRef Ex@32 @17 S0′ sRef Ex@32 @16 S0′ sRef Ex@32 @15 S0′ 10449. Verses 15-20 And Moses looked back and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand; the tablets were written on across them both, from the edge of one and from the edge of the other they were written on*. And the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. And Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted**, and he said to Moses, There is the noise of war in the camp. And he said, It is not the noise of the cry in victory, and it is not the noise of the cry in defeat; the noise of a wretched cry I hear. And it happened, as he came near the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dances; and Moses grew hot with anger, and threw the tablets out of his hand and broke them beneath the mountain. And he took the calf which they had made, and burned it in the fire, and ground it up till it was powder, and sprinkled it on the face of the water, and made the children of Israel drink it.

‘And Moses looked back and went down from the mountain’ means the Word sent down from heaven. ‘And the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand’ means the Lord’s Word specifically and generally. ‘The tablets were written on across them both, from the edge of one and from the edge of the other they were written on’ means through which the Lord was joined to the human race, or heaven to the world. ‘And the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets’ means the outward sense of the Word and the inward – which come from the Divine – and Divine Truth. ‘And Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted’ means contemplating and discerning what the interiors of that nation were like. ‘And he said to Moses, There is the noise of war in the camp’ means an assault on the truth and good which are heaven and the Church’s by falsities and evils which come from hell. ‘And he said, It is not the noise of the cry in victory, and it is not the noise of the cry in defeat’ means heaven acting from one side and hell from the other, thus falsity acting against truth, and truth against falsity. ‘The noise of a wretched cry I hear’ means the lamentable state of their interiors. ‘And it happened, as he came near the camp’ means near to hell, in which that nation was then. ‘That he saw the calf, and the dances’ means the hellish worship, which was in keeping with the delight belonging to that nation’s external kinds of love, and the desire of their interiors to celebrate. ‘And Moses grew hot with anger’ means that nation’s turning away from the internal side of the Word, the Church, and worship. ‘And threw the tablets out of his hand and broke them beneath the mountain’ means that the outward sense of the Word was altered and made different on account of that nation. ‘And he took the calf which they had made’ means the delight which that nation took in idolatrous worship. ‘And burned it in the fire’ means arising completely from self-love and love of the world, which are condemned to hell. ‘And ground it up till it was powder’ means the hellish falsity resulting from it. [‘And sprinkled it on the face of the water’ means a mixing together with truths.] ‘And made the children of Israel drink it’ means joined to that nation and made their own.
* lit. the tablets were written on the two goings across; from here and from here they were written i.e. the writing ran from the edge of one tablet right across, and then continued from the edge of the second tablet right across
** The word rendered noise (vox) in verses 17, 18 means more literally voice; and the word rendered shouting (vociferatio) means more literally raising the voice.

sRef Ex@32 @15 S0′ 10450. ‘And Moses looked back and went down from the mountain’ means the Word sent down from heaven. This is clear from the meaning of ‘looking back and going down’, when it has reference to the Word, as being sent down; from the representation of ‘Moses’ as the Word, dealt with in the places referred to in 9372; and from the meaning of ‘Mount Sinai’ as heaven, from which Divine Truth comes, dealt with in 9420.

sRef Ex@32 @15 S0′ 10451. ‘And the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand’ means the Lord’s Word specifically and generally. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the tablets’, on which the Ten Commandments had been inscribed, as the Word in its entirety, dealt with in 9416; and from the meaning of ‘the Testimony’ as the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, dealt with in 9503. The reason why the Word in its entirety, thus the Word specifically and generally, is meant by those ‘tablets’ is that the law of life had been inscribed on them, and ‘the Law’ is used in a restricted sense to mean the Ten Commandments, in a less restricted sense to mean the Word written by Moses, in a broad sense to mean the historical section of the Word, and in the broadest sense to mean the whole Word, see 6752. Also since Mount Sinai, where the Law had been written on those tablets, was a sign of heaven, from which Divine Truth comes, and since Moses represented the Word, which is authentic Divine Truth from the Lord, the presence of the tablets in his hand as he came down served to symbolize that representation.

sRef Ex@32 @15 S0′ 10452. ‘The tablets were written on across them both, from the edge of one and from the edge of the other they were written on’ means through which the Lord was joined to the human race, or heaven to the world. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the tablets on which the Law had been inscribed’ as the Word in its entirety, dealt with immediately above in 10451. As regards the writing extending across both sides, from one edge and from the other, that this means the Lord’s being joined to the human race, see the explanation in 9416, 10375. This also explains why those tablets were called the tablets of the covenant, for ‘a covenant’ means a joining together, 665, 666, 1023, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 6804, 8767, 8778, 9396.

[2] Since the Lord’s being joined to the human race or heaven to the world through the Word is spoken of here, what this really is must be stated. Those who have no knowledge of the true nature of the Word cannot possibly believe that through it the Lord is joined to the human race, and heaven to the world; less still can those who spurn the Word or think it is worthless believe it. But let such people know that the heavens are kept in being through Divine Truth and that without that Truth they would not be heavens, and that the human race is kept in being through heaven. For unless heaven were flowing in to be present with a person no person could even begin to think or therefore desire anything in a rational manner. In order therefore that heaven may be kept in being, and the human race by being joined to it, the Lord has provided the Word, in which there is Divine Truth for angels in heaven and for people in the world. For the nature of the Word in its spiritual and celestial senses is such that they hold angelic wisdom itself within them, in a so highly exalted degree that a person can have scarcely any notion of its exalted nature, though in the letter it appears to be exceedingly simple and crude.

[3] From all this it is evident that when a person reads the Word heaven has the enjoyment of the wisdom it derives from the Word, and that at the same time the person is joined to heaven. This is the end for which such a Word has been given to mankind. From this it follows that if this means of joining together did not exist in the world the connection with heaven would perish, and with it all the good present in a person’s will and all the truth in his understanding, and with these that essential human quality which enables one person to live in a community with another. Consequently evil and falsity would take possession of everything, as a result of which one community after another would be destroyed. For the situation would be like that when a person moves about in thick darkness and stumbles wherever he goes. It would be like that when the head is deranged and the body consequently behaves in a foolish and insane manner that leads to self-destruction. Or it would be like that when the heart is weak and internal organs and members consequently cease performing their functions until the whole is dead.

[4] This is what the condition of the human being would be if heaven were not joined to him; and heaven would not be joined to him if the Word did not exist, or else Divine Truth were not conveyed to him directly through angels, as it had been in ancient times. When the word ‘heaven’ is used that which is Divine should also be understood; for that which is Divine and the Lord’s composes heaven. Thus being joined to heaven entails being joined to the Lord, and being separated from heaven entails being separated from the Lord; and being separated from the Lord entails destruction. For all ordering of things for good, which is called Providence, arises from there; and when Providence is taken away everything quickly deteriorates and goes to ruin. From all this it becomes clear what purpose the Word serves; but few will believe that the Word serves so great a purpose as that described above.

sRef Ex@32 @16 S0′ 10453. ‘And the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets’ means the outward sense of the Word and the inward – which come from the Divine – and Divine Truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the tablets’ as the Word in its entirety, dealt with immediately above in 10452, but at this point the outward form of the Word, dealt with below; from the meaning of ‘the work of God’ as its coming from the Divine; from the meaning of ‘the writing’ as the inward form of the Word, also dealt with below, so that ‘the writing of God’ is the inward form of the Word coming from the Divine, and thus is Divine Truth; and from the meaning of ‘engraved on the tablets’ as the inward impressed on and so contained within the outward.

[2] The reason why the tablets here mean the outward form of the Word is that they are distinguished here from the writing, which is its inward form; but when they are not distinguished from the writing they mean the inward and the outward forms of the Word together, thus the Word in its entirety, as above in 10452. They are distinguished here because these tablets were broken, but nevertheless the same words were afterwards inscribed by Jehovah on the other tablets which were hewn by Moses. The outward form of the Word is its literal sense, the inward form is its internal sense. The former – the literal sense – is meant by ‘the tablets’, because this sense is like a tablet or level surface on which the internal sense is inscribed.

[3] The breaking by Moses of the tablets which were the work of God, when he saw the calf and the dances, and the hewing by Moses, as commanded by Jehovah, of other tablets, which then had the same words inscribed on them (so that the tablets were no longer the work of God but the work of Moses, though the writing was still the writing of God), hold an arcanum unknown up to now. The arcanum is that the literal sense of the Word would have been different if the Word had been written among another people, or if the character of the Israelite people had not been such as it was. For the literal sense of the Word is all about that people since the Word was written among them, as is evident from both the historical sections and the prophetical parts of the Word. They were a people steeped in evil because they were idolatrous at heart; yet in order that the internal sense and the external sense might be in agreement that people had to be highly acclaimed, and to be called God’s people, a holy nation, and a peculiar treasure. Consequently the simple, who would be taught by means of the outward sense of the Word, would believe that that nation was all those things, as that nation itself also believes, and indeed as the majority in the Christian world do at the present day. Most of the things furthermore that present themselves in and constitute the outward sense of the Word were ones that were permitted on account of their hardness of heart, such as those referred to in Matt. 19:8 and also others which need not be mentioned here.

sRef Deut@10 @1 S4′ sRef Deut@10 @3 S4′ sRef Deut@10 @2 S4′ sRef Ex@34 @28 S4′ sRef Deut@10 @4 S4′ sRef Ex@34 @4 S4′ sRef Ex@34 @1 S4′ [4] Since therefore the literal sense of the Word came to be what it was because of what those people were like, the tablets which were the work of God were broken and others, as commanded by Jehovah, were hewn by Moses. But since they nevertheless had the same holy and Divine content within them the same words as were on the first tablets were inscribed by Jehovah on them, as is evident from the following verses in Moses,

Jehovah said to Moses, Hew for yourself two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke. And Jehovah wrote on those tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Words. Exod. 34:1, 4, 28.

And elsewhere,

At that time Jehovah said to me, Hew for yourself two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke. And Jehovah wrote on the tablets according to the first writing, the Ten Words. Afterwards Jehovah gave them to me. Deut. 10:1-4.

sRef Ex@34 @30 S5′ sRef Ex@32 @7 S5′ sRef Ex@34 @31 S5′ sRef Ex@33 @2 S5′ sRef Ex@33 @1 S5′ sRef Ex@32 @34 S5′ sRef Ex@33 @3 S5′ sRef Ex@34 @33 S5′ sRef Ex@34 @32 S5′ sRef Ex@34 @34 S5′ sRef Ex@34 @35 S5′ [5] The fact that Jehovah did not acknowledge that people as His own people – even though they were called such so that the inward sense would accord with the outward – but as Moses’ people is clear from the present chapter,

Your people have corrupted themselves, whom you caused to come up out of the land of Egypt. Go! lead the people to what I have spoken of to you. Exod. 32:7, 34.

And further on,

And Jehovah spoke to Moses, Go up, you and the people whom you have caused to come up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And I will send an angel before you, for I will not go up in your midst because you* are a stiff-necked people. Exod. 33:1-3.

sRef Ex@33 @22 S6′ sRef Ex@33 @23 S6′ sRef Gen@15 @9 S6′ sRef Gen@15 @17 S6′ sRef Gen@15 @12 S6′ [6] The like is meant by Moses’ being put in the hole of the rock, and his not being allowed to see Jehovah’s face, but only His back parts, Exod. 33:22, 23. The like is also meant, when the skin on Moses’ face shone, by his putting a veil onto his face whenever he talked to the children of Israel, Exod. 34:30-35. What the character of that people would be is foretold by Jehovah to Abram, when he wanted his seed to inherit the land of Canaan, where it is stated that after Abram had parted down the middle the three year old heifer, the three year old she-goat, and the three year old ram, which served for entering into a covenant,

A deep sleep came over Abram, and behold, a dread of a great darkness was coming over him. And when the sun went down there was thick darkness, and behold, a smoking furnace, and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces. Gen. 15:8, 9, 12, 17.
* The Latin means that [people] but the Hebrew means you, which Sw. has in other places where he quotes this verse.

sRef Ex@32 @17 S0′ 10454. ‘And Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted’ means contemplating and discerning what the interiors of that nation were like. This is clear from the meaning of ‘hearing’ as contemplating and discerning, for the subject now is what that nation was like inwardly, thus what their interiors were like; from the representation of ‘Joshua’ as the truth of the Word contemplating and discerning (he was Moses’ minister, and Moses represented the Word, as shown above, so that his minister represents truth, for all truth belongs to the Word, at this point truth that contemplates, examines, and discerns); and from the meaning of ‘the noise of the people as they shouted’ as what that nation was like inwardly, thus what their interiors were like. In the Word ‘noise’ or ‘voice’ means the inner voice, which is thought, consequently what the interiors are like as regards either truth or falsity, for the one or the other gives rise to the thought, see 219, 220, 3563, 7573, 8813, 9926. But ‘shouting’ means the utterance of sound, whether that of speaking, singing, or crying out, which emanates from thought or the inner voice. So it is that ‘hearing the noise of shouting’ means discerning what the interiors are like from the sound that indicates it. For the sound, whether that of speaking, singing, or crying out, emanates from inner affection and thought, both of which are present within the sound and are also discerned by those who listen to it and think about it, to see for example whether it is angry, threatening, friendly, gentle, joyful, gloomy, and so on. In the next life such discernment is so sharp that angels can discern what someone’s interiors are like from the sound of just one of the words he uses. This then is what ‘hearing the noise of the people as they shouted’ is used to mean.

sRef Ex@32 @17 S0′ 10455. ‘And he said to Moses, There is the noise of war in the camp’ means an assault on the truth and good which are heaven and the Church’s by falsities and evils which come from hell. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the noise’ as thought and affection, which are the inner components of the noise, and so the essential nature of the interiors, dealt with above in 10454; from the meaning of ‘war’ as truth which springs from good fighting with falsity that arises from evil, and in the contrary sense as falsity which arises from evil fighting against truth that springs from good, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘the camp’ as the Church and heaven, for they are what the camp of the Israelites represented, see 10038. From these meanings it is evident that ‘the noise of war in the camp’ means an assault on truth and good which are the Church and heaven’s by falsities and evils which come from hell. They are said to come from hell because all falsities and evils originate there, and because at this point in the narrative ‘the camp’, when the golden calf was worshipped in it, means hell, see below in 10458.

[2] The reason why these things are meant by ‘the noise of war in the camp’ is that the subject at present in the internal sense is the interiors of the Israelite nation. Their interiors were contrary to the truths and forms of good of the Church and of heaven, so completely contrary that they cast them away. For self-love and love of the world had taken possession of the interiors of that nation, and where those loves reign the Church’s truths and forms of good are subject to constant attack, no matter how holy the outward acts of worship seem to be. The holiness in those people’s worship is a means to an end, and eminence and wealth are their ends in view, so that the things of heaven and the Church are means, and those of the world and self are ends. The end which a person has in view is the master, while the means is the servant. From this it follows that with people like this heaven is the servant and the world is the master, and consequently that the world occupies the highest position, thus that of the head, while heaven occupies a lower position, thus that of the feet. If therefore heaven does not pander to those loves it is cast underfoot, trampled on, and trodden into the ground. Such an inversion exists with those with whom self-love and love of the world reign, which also explains why such people when looked at by angels appear inverted, head downwards and feet upwards.

[3] The reason why ‘war’ means truth fighting with falsity, and in the contrary sense falsity fighting against truth, is that ‘war’ in the spiritual sense is nothing other. Such conflicts are also meant in the internal sense by ‘wars’ in the historical narratives of the Word, as well as by ‘wars’ in the prophetical parts, as becomes clear from the places quoted from the Word in 1664, 8273. Anyone who does not know that in the Word wars in a spiritual sense are meant by ‘wars’ cannot know the implications contained in the details regarding the wars mentioned in Daniel, Chapters 7, 8, 11, also those mentioned in places throughout the Book of Revelation, and those in the Gospels where the final times of the Church are the subject, Matt. 24:5-7; Mark 13:7, 8, and in other places. So it is also that all weapons of war – swords, spears, shields, bows, arrows, and more – mean the implements of spiritual conflict; these have been dealt with in the explanations in various places.

sRef Ex@32 @18 S0′ 10456. ‘And he said, It is not the noise of the cry in victory, and it is not the noise of the cry in defeat’ means heaven acting from one side and hell from the other, thus falsity acting against truth, and truth against falsity. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the noise of the cry’, or the noise of shouting, as the essential nature of that nation’s interiors, dealt with above in 10454; from the meaning of ‘neither victory nor defeat’ as the indecisive nature of the conflict between falsity and evil and its failure to be resolved. And since all falsity comes from hell and truth from heaven the same words serve to mean that heaven acts from one side and hell from the other. (‘Cry’ means falsity, see 2240, also thought with full intention to act, 7119, and deep grief, 7782.) The words used here describe the condition of that nation’s interiors when hell with them acts against heaven, and heaven acts against hell, thus when they are held between the two, as happened when with their internal closed they were engaged in an outward act of worship. Their internal was closed in order that through outward observances, which were representative of more internal things, there might be contact with heaven, a subject that has been dealt with above.

sRef Ex@32 @18 S0′ 10457. ‘The noise of a wretched cry I hear’ means the lamentable state of their interiors. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the noise of a wretched cry’ as that which is lamentable. In the original language this is expressed by a word which means not only a cry but also affliction, and wretchedness, and so means a wretched cry. And when ‘the noise’ means the essential nature of the interiors, 10454, ‘the noise of a wretched cry’ means the lamentable state of the interiors.

sRef Amos@4 @10 S0′ 10458. ‘And it happened, as he came near the camp’ means near to hell, in which that nation was then. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the camp of the children of Israel’ as heaven and the Church, dealt with in 4236, 10038, so that when they engaged in idolatrous worship, venerating the calf instead of Jehovah, their camp means hell. For what is representative of heaven and the Church is turned into that which is representative of hell when the people turned from the worship of God to worship of the devil, which worship of the calf was. ‘The camp’ has a similar meaning in Amos,

I have sent the pestilence upon you in the way of Egypt, I have killed your young men with the sword, along with your captured horses*, to such an extent that I have caused the stench of your camp to come up also into your nose. Amos 4:10.

This refers to the vastation of truth; and when truth has been laid waste ‘the camp’ means hell. The fact that it refers to the vastation of truth is evident from the specific details of the verse when looked at in the internal sense. ‘The pestilence’ means vastation, 7102, 7505; ‘the way’ means truth, and in the contrary sense falsity, 10422; ‘Egypt’ that which is external, and also hell, see in the places referred to in 10437; ‘the sword’ falsity engaged in conflict against truths, 2799, 4499, 6353, 7102, 8294; ‘young men’ the Church’s truths, 7668; ‘being killed’ being destroyed spiritually, 6767, 8902; ‘captivity’ deprivation of truth, 7990; ‘horses’ an enlightened power of understanding, 2760-2762, 3217, 5321, 6125, 6534; and ‘stench’ that which is abominable, emanating from hell, 7161. From all this it is evident that in the internal sense ‘the camp’ means hell. Hell is also meant in the historical narratives of the Word by the camp of enemies opposed to Jerusalem, and in general of those opposed to the children of Israel.
* lit. the captivity of your horses

10459. ‘That he saw the calf, and the dances’ means the hellish worship, which was in keeping with the delight belonging to that nation’s external kinds of love, and the consequent desire of their interiors to celebrate. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the calf’ as the delight belonging to that nation’s external kinds of love, dealt with above in 10407, the reason why worship in keeping with that delight is meant here being that when Moses came near the camp that nation was engaged in such worship (that worship, as is clear from what has been shown above, has its origin in hell); and from the meaning of ‘the dances’ as desire of the interiors to celebrate, also dealt with above, in 10416.

10460. ‘And Moses grew hot with anger’ means that nation’s turning away from the internal side of the Word, the Church, and worship. This is clear from the meaning of ‘growing hot with anger’, when it has reference to the Lord, as a person’s turning away from internal and so Divine things, dealt with above in 10431. The like is meant by ‘growing hot with anger’ when this is attributed to Moses, because ‘Moses’ represents the Word or Divine Truth which comes from the Lord, or what amounts to the same thing, the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, regarding which representation, see in the places referred to in 9372. The expression ‘from the internal side of the Word, the Church, and worship’ is used because the person who turns away from what exists on the internal side of the Word turns away as well from what exists on the internal side of the Church and also on the internal side of worship, since what resides internally in the Church and internally in worship derives from that which resides internally within the Word. For the Word teaches what a member of the Church must be like or what the Church as it exists with a person must be like, and also what the worship with a member of the Church must be like. For the forms of good and the truths of love and faith are what compose the Church internally and also worship internally; they are what the Word teaches, and they are what compose the Word internally.

10461. ‘And threw the tablets out of his hand and broke them beneath the mountain’ means that the outward sense of the Word was altered and made different on account of that nation. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the tablets’, on which the Law had been written, as the outward sense of the Word or its literal sense, dealt with above in 10453; from the meaning of ‘throwing them out of his hand and breaking them’ as destroying the true outward sense, and so also changing it and making it different (that the outward sense of the Word was altered and made different on account of the Israelite nation, see above in 10453); and from the meaning of ‘Mount Sinai’ as heaven, from which Divine Truth comes, dealt with in 9420, the expression ‘beneath the mountain’ being used because the outward sense of the Word exists beneath heaven, whereas the inward sense exists in heaven.

sRef Ex@32 @20 S0′ 10462. ‘And he took the calf which they had made’ means the delight which that nation took in idolatrous worship. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the calf’ as the delight belonging to the Israelite nation’s external kinds of love, from which their worship, being idolatrous, sprang and with which it accorded, dealt with above in 10407, 10459.

sRef Ex@32 @20 S0′ 10463. ‘And burned it in the fire’ means arising completely from self-love and love of the world, which are condemned to hell. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the fire’ as heavenly love, which is love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour, and in the contrary sense hellish love, which is self-love and love of the world, dealt with in 4906, 5071, 5215, 6314, 6832, 6834, 6849, 7324, 7575, 10055. Consequently ‘being burned in the fire’ means being filled completely with self-love and love of the world, thus being condemned to hell; for when those loves reign they constitute hell with a person. From all this it is evident what is meant by ‘hell fire’, spoken of in various places in
the Word.

sRef Ex@32 @20 S0′ 10464. ‘And ground it up till it was powder’ means the hellish falsity resulting from it. This is clear from the meaning of ‘grinding up into powder’, or into the tiniest parts, as producing falsity out of hellish delight, thus producing hellish falsity. The fact that ‘grinding up’, when it has reference to what is evil, has this meaning, becomes clear from what has been shown in 4335, 9995(end), 10303.

sRef Deut@9 @21 S0′ sRef Ex@32 @20 S0′ 10465. ‘And sprinkled it on the face of the water’ means a mixing together with truths. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the water’ as truths, dealt with in the places referred to in 10238; and since it says that the powder into which the calf was ground up was sprinkled on the water the meaning is that the falsity resulting from hellish delight was mixed together with the truths coming from heaven. The reason why truths coming from heaven are meant by this water is that the water descended from Mount Sinai, and ‘Mount Sinai’ means heaven, from which Divine Truth comes, 9420. The fact that this water came from there is clear elsewhere in Moses,

I took your sin which you had made, the calf, and burnt it in the fire, and crushed it by grinding it right down until it was fine dust; and I threw its dust into the brook descending out of the mountain. Deut. 9:21.

sRef Ex@32 @20 S0′ 10466. ‘And made the children of Israel drink it’ means joined to that nation and made their own. This is clear from the meaning of ‘drinking’ as joining truth, and in the contrary sense falsity, to themselves and making it their own, dealt with in 3089, 3168, 8562, at this point the falsity of evil. ‘The children of Israel’ pure and simple should be understood here, since that which was properly theirs is the subject here.

From all this it now becomes clear what the interiors of that nation were like, for these are what this chapter is describing.

10467. Verses 21-25 And Moses said to Aaron, What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them? And Aaron said, Do not let your anger grow hot, O my lord; you know the people, that they [are set] on evil. And they said to me, Make us gods to go before us; for this Moses, that man who caused us to come up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him. And I said to them, Whoever has gold, pull it away; and they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and this calf came out. And Moses saw that the people had become undisciplined; for Aaron had caused them to become so undisciplined that those rising up against them would annihilate them*.

‘And Moses said to Aaron’ means perception from the internal regarding that kind of external. ‘What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?’ means, Why is it that that nation has so turned itself away from the Divine? ‘And Aaron said’ means what was perceived. ‘Do not let your anger grow hot, O my lord’ means, Do not let the internal therefore turn itself away. ‘You know the people, that they [are set] on evil’ means that that nation’s interest lies in what is external separated from what is holy and internal. ‘And they said to me’ means exhortation. ‘Make us gods to go before us’ means falsities contained in teachings and worship, thus things of an idolatrous nature. ‘For this Moses, that man who caused us to come up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him’ means a total unawareness of what other Divine Truth exists in the Word that raises a person from an external level to an internal level and makes the Church. ‘And I said to them, Whoever has gold, pull it away’ means drawing out of the literal sense [of the Word] such things as are favourable to the delight belonging to external kinds of love and to the major ideas resulting from these. ‘And they gave it to me’ means bringing together into one, and putting into effect. ‘And I threw it into the fire, and this calf came out’ means self-love and love of the world, from which that worship sprang and with which it accorded. ‘And Moses saw that the people had become undisciplined’ means that the internal perceived that this nation had turned away from what was internal and so from what was Divine. ‘For Aaron had caused them to become so undisciplined’ means that the external things which they loved were the cause of this. ‘That those rising up against them would annihilate them’ means being left without any power to withstand evils and falsities that come from hell.
* lit. And Moses saw the people, that they had been unloosed, because Aaron had made them unloosed, to annihilation by their insurgents

sRef Ex@32 @21 S0′ 10468. ‘And Moses said to Aaron’ means perception from the internal regarding that kind of external. This is clear from the meaning of ‘saying’ as perception, dealt with in the places referred to 10290; from the representation of ‘Moses’ as the Word, dealt with in the places referred to in 9372, at this point the internal side of it; and from the representation of ‘Aaron’ as the external side of the Word, the Church, and worship, dealt with above in 10397. The reason why ‘Moses’ here represents the internal is that he is talking to Aaron, who represents the external. Here it makes no difference whether you say the internal and the external sides of the Word or simply the internal and the external. For the Word is Divine Truth, the source of perception that a person has, at this point perception regarding the kind of external that existed with the Israelite nation, not only in its worship but also in everything belonging to the Church and everything belonging to the Word. It should be remembered that all perception regarding what is external comes from what is internal. For things present on an external level are visible from an internal level; but they are not visible from the external level on which they are present, and those present on the internal level are even less visible from there. This explains why those whose interest lies in external things and not in what is internal do not acknowledge internal things, because they do not discern and see them with their bodily senses, and also why some deny the existence of those things, and everything heavenly and Divine along with them.

sRef Ex@32 @21 S0′ 10469. ‘What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?’ means, Why is it that that nation has so turned itself away from the Divine? This is clear from the meaning of ‘what did this people do to you?’ as, Why is it that that nation is such? (‘doing to you’ here does not mean doing something to him, for ‘Aaron’ is not used to mean Aaron but the external, the essential nature of which is contemplated from the internal, and therefore ‘what did they do to you?’ – when understood in the abstract sense, without reference to persons – means, Why is it?); and from the meaning of ‘a sin’ as a turning away from the Divine, dealt with in 5841, 9346. Consequently ‘bringing upon them so great a sin’, when the external in that abstract sense is meant by ‘Aaron’, describes such and so great a turning away from the Divine.

sRef Ex@32 @22 S0′ 10470. ‘And Aaron said’ means what was perceived. This is clear from the meaning of ‘saying’, when it has reference to the internal contemplating and examining what is in the external, as perceiving, and therefore on the other side, when it has reference to the external, means what is perceived.

sRef Ex@32 @22 S0′ 10471. ‘Do not let your anger grow hot, O my lord’ means, Do not let the internal therefore turn itself away. This is clear from the meaning of ‘growing hot with anger’ – when it has reference to ‘Moses’, by whom the internal is meant – as turning itself away, at this point, Do not let it turn itself away; and from the representation of Moses, to whom ‘my lord’ refers here, as the internal, dealt with above in 10468. Moses is called ‘my lord’ here by Aaron because the internal is the lord or master and the external in relation to it is the servant. A person’s internal resides in heaven, and therefore when it is open it constitutes heaven within him, while his external resides in the world and so constitutes the world within him; and the world has been created to serve heaven as a servant does his master. The like applies to the external side of worship, and also to the external side of the Church, and of the Word as well, in relation to the internal side of them.

sRef Ex@32 @22 S0′ 10472. ‘You know the people, that they [are set] on evil’ means that that nation’s interest lies in what is external separated from what is holy and internal. This is clear from the meaning of ‘evil’ and ‘sin’ as severance, separation, and turning away from the Divine, dealt with in 4997, 5746, 5841, 9346. The words ‘separated from what is holy and internal’ are used because when that which is external is separated from what is internal it is also separated from what is holy; for what is holy in a person resides in his internal. That is called holy which flows in from heaven and resides with a person, that is, comes from the Lord by way of heaven. Heaven flows into a person’s internal, and by way of this into his external; for a person’s internal has been created so as to conform to an image of heaven, thus to receive spiritual things that belong there, and the external to conform to an image of the world, thus to receive natural things that belong there, 9279, 10156. From this it is evident what a person whose external has been separated from his internal is like, that is to say, his interest lies solely in worldly, earthly, and bodily things. Those whose interest lies solely in these have no understanding of what the internal is, nor thus of what a concern for heavenly and Divine things is. They suppose that when they are engaged in doing the things that compose the external worship of the Church they are also involved in things that are Divine. But this is not so; for at such times either the bodily delights to which they have been accustomed since they were young children rule their minds, or the worldly aim that they may seen by others spurs them on, or the gain to be made or the prestige to be won out of performing the duties of their office motivates them. Thus they too are interested in worldly, earthly, and bodily things, and not in heavenly and Divine ones. It is different with those who are interested in external things from a concern for what is internal.

sRef Ex@32 @22 S0′ 10473. ‘And they said to me’ means exhortation. This is clear from the meaning of ‘saying’, when it has reference to those whose interest lies in external things separated from what is internal, as exhortation, as above in 10398.

sRef Ex@32 @22 S0′ 10474. ‘Make us gods to go before us’ means falsities contained in teachings and worship, thus things of an idolatrous nature, as above in 10399.

sRef Ex@32 @23 S0′ 10475. ‘For this Moses, that man who caused us to come up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him’ means a total unawareness of what other Divine Truth exists in the Word that raises a person from an external level to an internal level and makes the Church, also as above, in 10400.

sRef Ex@32 @24 S0′ 10476. ‘And I said to them, Whoever has gold, pull it away’ means drawing out of the literal sense of the Word such things as are favourable to the delight belonging to external kinds of love and to the major ideas resulting from these. This is clear from what has been explained and shown above in 10402.

sRef Ex@32 @24 S0′ 10477. ‘And they gave it to me’ means bringing together into one, and putting into effect, as above in 10403, 10404.

sRef Ex@32 @24 S0′ 10478. ‘And I threw it into the fire, and this calf came out’ means self-love and love of the world, from which that worship sprang and with which it accorded. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the fire’ as love in both senses, dealt with in 4906, 5071, 5215, 6314, 6832, 6834, 6849, 7324, 7575, 10055, at this point self-love and love of the world, (since that nation was ruled by those loves because their interest lay in external things separated from what was internal,) so that ‘throwing into the fire’ means subjecting it to those loves, drawing from the literal sense of the Word things that lend support to them, and fashioning religious teachings out of them; and from the meaning of ‘the calf’ as the hellish worship springing from and according with those loves, dealt with in 10459.

sRef Ex@32 @25 S0′ 10479. ‘And Moses saw that the people had become undisciplined’ means that the internal perceived that this nation had turned away from what was internal and so from what was Divine. This is clear from the meaning of ‘seeing’ as perceiving; from the representation of ‘Moses’ as the internal, dealt with above in 10468; and from the meaning of ‘becoming undisciplined’ as turning away, at this point away from what is internal, and so from what is Divine, as accords with the explanation above in 10472. The word used in the original language furthermore means to turn away and retreat, also to be made naked; and ‘to be made naked’ means to be stripped of the good of love and the truths of faith, which constitute the internal things of the Church and its worship, 9960.

sRef Ex@32 @25 S0′ 10480. ‘For Aaron had caused them to become so undisciplined’ means that the external things which they loved were the cause of this. This is clear from the meaning of ‘causing to become undisciplined’ as turning away from what is internal, and so from what is Divine, as immediately above in 10479; and from the representation of ‘Aaron’ as the external, also dealt with above, in 10468. Which they loved is meant because those whose interest lies in external things separated from what is internal, love external things alone. The reason why ‘causing to become undisciplined’ here means turning away and not causing to turn away is that Aaron is not meant in the internal sense by ‘Aaron’ but the external, and so it is meant without reference to that person, in accord with what has been stated above in 10469.

sRef Ex@32 @25 S0′ sRef Ps@59 @1 S1′ sRef Ps@54 @3 S1′ sRef Ps@44 @4 S1′ sRef Ps@17 @9 S1′ sRef Ps@59 @2 S1′ sRef Ps@59 @3 S1′ sRef Ps@27 @12 S1′ sRef Ps@44 @5 S1′ sRef Ps@17 @7 S1′ sRef Ps@17 @8 S1′ sRef Ps@27 @13 S1′ sRef Ps@54 @4 S1′ sRef Ps@3 @2 S1′ sRef Ps@3 @1 S1′ 10481. ‘That those rising up against them would annihilate them’ means being left without any power to withstand evils [and falsities] that come from hell. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being annihilated’ as being deprived of all power to withstand evils and falsities, for in the spiritual world being deprived of that power is having no power at all; and from the meaning of ‘those rising up’, or enemies, as evils and resulting falsities, these being the enemies that rise up in the spiritual sense. Therefore also such evils and falsities are meant in the Word by ‘enemies’ and ‘those rising up’, 2851, 8289, 9255, 9314, as in David,

O Jehovah, how much my enemies have multiplied! Many are those rising up against me, saying regarding my soul, There is no salvation for him in God. Ps. 3:1, 2.

In the same author,

Make Your mercy wonderful, O You who by Your right hand save those trusting [in You] from those rising up against them*. Guard me from the wicked who lay me waste, from my enemies who surround me against my soul. Ps. 17:7-9.

In the same author,

Do not deliver me to the desire of my enemies, for false witnesses have risen against me, and he who breathes out violence, unless** I believed I would see goodness in the land of life. Ps. 27:12, 13.

In the same author,

O God, command the salvation*** of Jacob. Through You we will strike our enemies; in Your name we will trample those rising up against us. Ps. 44:4, 5.

In the same author,

Foreigners have risen up against me, and violent ones have sought my soul; they have not set God before them. The Lord is with those supporting my soul. Ps. 54:3, 4.

In the same author,

Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; raise me up from those rising up against me. Deliver me from the workers of iniquity. Behold, they lie in wait for my soul. Ps. 59:1-3.

In these and very many other places ‘enemies’ and ‘those rising up’ mean evils and falsities which come from hell. The expression ‘those rising up’ is used because evils and falsities rise up against forms of good and truths, but not vice versa.

sRef Deut@32 @30 S2′ sRef Lev@26 @37 S2′ sRef Lev@26 @36 S2′ sRef Lev@26 @15 S2′ [2] Those whose interest lies in external things separated from what is internal have no power at all to withstand evils and falsities which come from hell because all power to withstand them comes from the Divine. Those therefore who are separated from what is internal, being separated from the Divine as well, have no power; as a result they are borne along by evils and falsities, wherever hell takes them, like fluff or a straw in the wind, as is plainly evident from the evil who enter the next life from the world. This was also represented by the Israelite nation, in that they were victorious over their enemies as long as they kept to the kind of worship which they had been commanded, but were defeated by them every time they forsook that worship, thus whenever they were ruled by evil, according to the following in Moses,

If you despise My statutes, the sound of a driven leaf will pursue you, and you will flee, like flight from the sword, and you will fall without [anyone] pursuing. They will stumble over one another****, as though before the sword, when no one is pursuing. Lev. 26:15, 36, 37.

And elsewhere,

One will pursue a thousand, and two ten thousand; for their Rock sold them, and Jehovah shut them up. Deut. 32:30.

From all this it is evident what the meaning is of ‘those rising up would annihilate them’.
* The Latin means against me, which Sw. derives from the Latin version of Psalms translated by Sebastian Schmidt. No equivalent of the two words exists in the Hebrew.
** Reading ni (unless) for ne (lest)
*** lit. salvations. The plural word in the Hebrew is thought to mean victories or else deliverance.
**** lit. They will stumble a man on his brother

sRef Ex@32 @29 S0′ sRef Ex@32 @28 S0′ sRef Ex@32 @26 S0′ sRef Ex@32 @27 S0′ 10482. Verses 26-29 And Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Whoever is for Jehovah, [come] to me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves to him. And he said to them, Thus says Jehovah the God of Israel, Put everyone [his] sword on his thigh; go to and fro* from gate to gate in the camp, and kill [every] man his brother, and [every] man his companion, and [every] man his neighbour. And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses; and there fell of the people on that day up to three thousand men. And Moses said, Fill your hand** today to Jehovah (for [every] man has been against his son and against his brother), so that He may bestow a blessing on you today.

‘And Moses stood in the gate of the camp’ means where the opening to hell is situated. ‘And said, Whoever is for Jehovah, [come] to me’ means those whose concern for external things springs from what is internal. ‘And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves to him’ means those in possession of truths springing from good. ‘And he said to them’ means exhortation. ‘Thus says Jehovah the God of Israel’ means from the Lord. [‘Put everyone his sword on his thigh’ means truth springing from good engaged in conflict against falsity arising from evil.] ‘Go to and fro from gate to gate in the camp’ means wherever anything lies open from what is internal into what is external. ‘And kill [every] man his brother, and [every] man his companion, and [every] man his neighbour’ means a shutting off to prevent any reception and transmission of inflowing goodness and truth, and of the things touching on them. ‘And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses’ means put into effect by those in possession of truths springing from good. ‘And there fell of the people on that day up to three thousand men’ means a complete shutting off of what is internal. ‘And Moses said, Fill your hand today to Jehovah’ means the transmission and the reception of Divine Truth in the heavens. ‘For [every] man has been against his son and against his brother’ means when the internal has been shut off to prevent the entrance into the external of truth and good from heaven. ‘So that He may bestow a blessing on you today’ means the reception of Divine Truth from the Word, and being joined thereby to the Lord.
* lit. go across (or through) and come back
** i.e. Consecrate yourselves

sRef Ex@32 @26 S0′ 10483. ‘And Moses stood in the gate of the camp’ means where the opening to hell is situated. This is clear from the representation of ‘Moses’ as the internal, dealt with above in 10468; from the meaning of ‘in the gate’ as where the opening is situated, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘the camp’ as hell, also dealt with above, in 10458. The reason why Moses stood in the gate of the camp and did not go inside the actual camp was in order that the impossibility for the internal to enter hell might be represented; for Moses represented the internal and the camp represented hell. The interest of all those in hell lies in external things separated from what is internal, because self-love and love of the world rule within them. Therefore what is internal cannot go in there since it is not received. Instead some who are there immediately reject it, some smother it and snuff it out, and some pervert it. Whether you say the internal or heaven, it amounts to the same thing; for heaven constitutes what is internal, not only the internal side of the Word but also the internal side of the Church and of worship, consequently the internal of the person who has celestial and spiritual love reigning within him, that is, love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour.

[2] What hell’s opening is, meant by ‘the gate’ of this camp, must be stated briefly. Each hell is closed all the way around it, but it is opened above as necessity and need demand. It is an opening into the world of spirits, the world that lies midway between heaven and hell; for that world serves as the upper boundary of the hells and as the lower boundary of the heavens, 5852. The reason for saying that they are opened as necessity and need demand is that each person in the world has spirits present with him from hell, and angels from heaven. The spirits from hell are present in his bodily and worldly loves, and the angels from heaven in those which are celestial and spiritual; for without the spirits the person can have no life at all. If the spirits were taken away from him he would drop dead as a stone. Consequently to enable a person to lead a life in keeping with his loves the hells are opened of necessity and as need demands, and from there such spirits come out to him as are ruled by loves similar to his.

sRef Matt@16 @18 S3′ [3] That opening is what should be understood by the gate of hell. I have been allowed several times to see such openings. They are gates which the Lord guards by means of angels, to stop more spirits than are needed from coming out of there. From this it is evident what ‘the gates of hell’ and ‘the gates of enemies’ mean in the Word, as in Matthew,

Jesus said to Peter, On this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Matt. 16:18.

‘The gates of hell will not prevail’ means that the hells will not dare to come out and destroy the truths of faith, ‘the rock’ on which the Church stands being faith in the Lord received from the Lord. This faith is the faith of charity because it is rooted in charity and for that reason makes one with it.

‘The rock’ means that faith, see Preface to Genesis 22, and also 8581,
10438.
Real faith consists in charity, 654, 1162, 1176, 1608, 2228, 2343, 2349, 2419, 2839, 3324, 4368, 6348, 7039, 7623-7627, 7752-7762, 8530, 9154, 9783, 9924.

sRef Gen@22 @17 S4′ sRef Ps@69 @12 S4′ sRef Ps@127 @5 S4′ sRef Ps@127 @3 S4′ sRef Ps@127 @4 S4′ [4] The like is also meant by your seed will inherit the gate of their enemies, Gen. 22:17; 24:60. ‘Inheriting the gate of their enemies’ means destroying evils and falsities which come from hell. This was also represented by driving out and destroying the nations in the land of Canaan; for the nations there represented evils and falsities which come from hell, see 1573, 1574, 1868, 4818, 6306, 8054, 8317, 9320, 9327. Also in David,

Those who dwell in the gate plot against me; those who drink strong wine sing songs. Ps. 69:12.

In the same author,

Blessed is the man who has filled his quiver. They will not be put to shame, for they will speak with enemies in the gate. Ps. 127:5.

‘Gates’ in the good sense however stands for the opening into heaven. In David,

Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, O eternal doors, and the King of glory will come in. Ps. 24:7-10.

In addition admission into heaven and into the Church through truth and good is meant in the Word by ‘gates’, and also good and truth flowing in and present with a person.

sRef Ex@32 @26 S0′ 10484. ‘And said, Whoever is for Jehovah, [come] to me’ means those whose concern for external things springs from what is internal. This is clear from the representation of ‘Moses’ as the internal, dealt with in 10468; and since a person’s internal resides in heaven and his external in the world, and heaven comes into a person’s external by way of the internal, it is evident that by ‘those who are for Jehovah’ those people whose concern for external things springs from what is internal should be understood. When it is said that heaven comes in, the Lord’s doing so should be understood, because that which is Divine and the Lord’s constitutes heaven. It is also evident that these people are meant from the consideration that they are opposed to those whose interest lies in external things separated from what is internal. It is further evident from the consideration that the sons of Levi who gathered themselves to Moses represent those who are in possession of truths springing from good; and with those in possession of truths springing from good the concern for external things springs from what is internal.

sRef Ex@32 @26 S0′ 10485. ‘And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves to him’ means those in possession of truths springing from good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the sons of Levi’ as those who have spiritual love or charity towards the neighbour within them, dealt with in 3875, 4497, 4502, 4503. Whether you say charity towards the neighbour or truth springing from good, it amounts to the same thing; for those who have charity lead a life of truth, and a life of truth – that is, a life in keeping with God’s truths – is charity.

sRef Ex@32 @27 S0′ 10486. ‘And he said to them’ means exhortation. This is clear from the meaning of ‘saying’, when it refers as it does here to a conflict for which they are being aroused, as exhortation.

sRef Ex@32 @27 S0′ 10487. ‘Thus says Jehovah the God of Israel’ means from the Lord. This is clear from the consideration that in the Word the Lord is meant by ‘Jehovah’ and ‘the God of Israel’. For the Lord’s being meant by ‘Jehovah’, see in the places referred to in 9373; and for His being ‘the God and the Holy One of Israel’, 7091.

sRef Ps@45 @3 S0′ sRef Ex@32 @27 S0′ 10488. ‘Put everyone his sword on [his] thigh’ means truth springing from good engaged in conflict against falsity arising from evil. This is clear from the meaning of ‘sword’ as truth engaged in conflict against falsity, dealt with in 2799, 8294; and from the meaning of ‘the thigh’ as the good of love, dealt with in 3021, 4277, 4280, 5050-5062, 9961. The words ‘sword on the thigh’ are used because truth that is engaged in conflict against falsity and evil and is overcoming them must spring from good. All the power truth possesses is derived from it. Without good truth is not even truth, for it is no more than lifeless factual knowledge; consequently truth without good possesses no power at all. By truth springing from good a life in keeping with truth should be understood, for good is connected with life. From this it is evident why it says that the sword was to be put on the thigh, as also in David where what is said refers to the Lord,

Gird Your sword on Your thigh, O Hero, in Your glory and Your honour! Ps. 45:3.

sRef Ex@32 @27 S0′ 10489. ‘Go to and fro from gate to gate in the camp’ means wherever anything lies open from what is internal into what is external. This is clear from the meaning of ‘going to and fro’ as considering and looking around from one end to the other; from the meaning of ‘gate’ as an opening, dealt with above in 10483, so that ‘from gate to gate’ means wherever anything lies open; and from the meaning of ‘the camp’ as hell, also dealt with above in 10483, thus also what is external, for what is external separated from what is internal constitutes hell in a person. From these meanings it is evident that ‘going to and fro from gate to gate in the camp’ means considering and looking around wherever that which lies open from what is internal into what is external exists. The implications of this will be stated in the next paragraph. The reason why what is external separated from what is internal constitutes hell in a person is that heaven resides in what is internal in him, as shown above in 10472; consequently what is external when separated from that heaven constitutes hell. All this is made clearer still by the consideration that those who are interested only in external things separated from internal ones are ruled by hellish kinds of love, namely self-love and love of the world. Also the person whose external has been separated from his internal is in actual fact in hell, though he is not aware of it while he lives in the world.

sRef Ex@32 @27 S0′ 10490. ‘And kill [every] man his brother, and [every] man his companion, and [every] man his neighbour’ means a shutting off to prevent any reception and transmission of inflowing goodness and truth, and of the things touching on them. This is clear from the meaning of ‘killing’ as taking spiritual life away, thus taking the good of love and the truth of faith away, and therefore at this point as a shutting off to prevent any reception and transmission of them, for when they have been removed, so too has spiritual life been taken away and only natural life remains (for the meaning of ‘killing’ as taking spiritual life away, see 3387, 3395, 3607, 6767, 7043, 8902); from the meaning of ‘brother’ as the good of love and charity, dealt with in 3815, 4121, 4191, 5409, 5686, 5692, 6756; from the meaning of ‘companion’ as the truth of that good; and from the meaning of ‘neighbour’ as that which is linked to them, dealt with in 5911, 9378, thus that which touches on them. For people whose borders touch are neighbours. From all this it is evident that ‘kill [every] man his brother, and [every] man his companion, and [every] man his neighbour’ means a shutting off of what is internal with that nation to prevent any reception by them or transmission to them of inflowing goodness, truth, or anything that touches on them.

[2] The implications of all this are that because that nation was idolatrous at heart, ruled completely by the kinds of love in which hell consists, and yet worship representative of heavenly realities was to be established among them, their internals were altogether shut off. They were shut off for two reasons, the first being in order that external things alone with them, devoid of anything internal, might be the means by which the joining to heaven could be effected, and the second in order that the holy things of the Church and of heaven might not be rendered profane. For if that nation had acknowledged the internal things of worship, that is, the holy things of the Church and of heaven which were being represented, they would have defiled them and rendered them profane. This explains why little if any was clearly revealed to that nation about heaven and life after death, and why they were totally ignorant of the truth that the Messiah’s kingdom existed in heaven. That nation is still like this at the present day, as is well known.

[3] But see what has been shown regarding that nation in the places referred to above in 10396, for instance the following,

Their whole interest lay in external things and not in anything internal, 4293, 4311, 4459(end), 4834, 4844, 4847, 4865, 4868, 4874, 4903, 4913, 9320, 9373, 9380, 9381.
Consequently their worship was merely external, 3147, 3479, 8871.
Nor did they wish to know about the inner things of worship and of the Word, 3479, 4429, 4433, 4680.
If they had known the holy inner things they would have rendered them profane, 3398, 3489, 4289.
Therefore they were not allowed to know those things, 301, 302, 304, 2520, 3769.
Nevertheless through the outward things of worship among them, which were representative of heavenly realities, there was contact with heaven, 4311, 4444, 6304, 8588, 8788, 8806.

These then are the things that should be understood and are meant by the words commanding them to kill [every] man his brother, [every] man his companion, and [every] man his neighbour. sRef Matt@10 @36 S4′ sRef Matt@10 @38 S4′ sRef Matt@10 @35 S4′ sRef Matt@10 @37 S4′ sRef Matt@10 @34 S4′ [4] Anyone who does not know that brothers, companions, neighbours, and further names describing human relationships serve to mean the Church and heaven’s forms of good and truths, or their opposites, which are evils and falsities, cannot know what is implied by very many places in the Word where those names occur, such as in the following places: In Matthew,

Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to set a man (homo) against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother above Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves son or daughter above Me is not worthy of Me. And whoever does not take up his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. Matt. 10:34-38.

These verses refer to spiritual conflicts, which are the temptations that those who are to be regenerated must undergo. Thus they refer to the strife a person experiences at that time between the evils and falsities which come to him from hell and the forms of good and the truths which come to him from the Lord. Since those conflicts are what is described here the declaration ‘whoever does not take up his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me’ is made, ‘cross’ being used to mean a person’s state during temptations. Anyone who does not know that these kinds of things are meant by ‘man and father’, ‘daughter and mother’, ‘daughter-in-law and mother-in-law’ will suppose that the Lord came into the world to remove the peace in households and families and to introduce strife, when in fact He came to bring peace and remove strife, as accords with His words in John 14:27, and elsewhere.

[5] The fact that strife between the internal man and the external is described in those verses is clear from the meaning in the internal sense of ‘man and father’, ‘daughter and mother’, and ‘daughter-in-law and mother-in-law’. In that sense ‘man’ (homo) means good which comes from the Lord, and ‘father’ evil which springs from a person’s self; ‘daughter’ means an affection for goodness and truth, and ‘mother’ an affection for evil and falsity; and ‘daughter-in-law’ means the Church’s truth linked to its good, and ‘mother-in-law’ falsity linked to its evil. And since the conflict that takes place between the forms of good and the evils residing with a person, and between the falsities and truths, is described in that manner those verses also contain the declaration ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household’. By ‘those of his own household’ the things that reside with a person are meant, thus those which belong properly to himself, while ‘enemies’ in the spiritual sense are the evils and falsities that attack forms of good and truths. The fact that such things are meant by ‘man’, ‘father’, ‘daughter’, ‘mother’, ‘daughter-in-law’, and ‘mother-in-law’ has been shown in various places in the explanations.

sRef Matt@5 @43 S6′ sRef Matt@10 @21 S6′ sRef Luke@14 @27 S6′ sRef Matt@5 @44 S6′ sRef Luke@14 @26 S6′ sRef Luke@14 @33 S6′ [6] The like is meant by the following words in Matthew,

Brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his son; and children will rise up against parents and put them to death. Matt. 10:21.

Also by the following in Luke,

If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, and even his own soul, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. So therefore any of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be My disciple. Luke 14:26, 27, 33.

Is there anyone who does not see that these words should not be taken literally, at the very least from the fact that they say without any qualification that father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters must be hated before anyone can be the Lord’s disciple, when yet it is one of the Lord’s commands, in Matt. 5:43, 44, that no one should be hated, not even an enemy? sRef Jer@6 @21 S7′ sRef Jer@46 @16 S7′ sRef Isa@19 @2 S7′ sRef Jer@13 @14 S7′ sRef Jer@6 @19 S7′ [7] It is self-evident that the things which are a person’s own, that is, evils and falsities in their own order, should be understood by the names of those family members, since it also says that he must hate his own soul and renounce all his possessions, that is, the things which are properly his. The state of temptation or spiritual conflict is also described here, for it says, ‘whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple’. ‘Being the Lord’s disciple’ means being led by Him and not by self, thus by the forms of good and the truths which come from the Lord and not by the evils and falsities which come from the person.

[8] The Word should be understood in a like manner in other places where those names are used, such as in Jeremiah,

They do not pay attention to My words; and My law, they reject it. Therefore thus said Jehovah, Behold, I am laying before this people stumbling-blocks, that fathers and sons together may stumble against them, a neighbour and his companion, and may perish. Jer. 6:19, 21.

In the same prophet,

I will scatter them, [every] man with his brother, [and fathers] and sons together. I will not spare, nor forgive, nor pity, that I should not destroy them. Jer. 13:14.

In the same prophet,

Jehovah caused many to stumble*; also [every] man fell upon his companion. Jer. 46:16.

And in Isaiah,

I will embroil Egypt with Egypt, in order that a man may fight against his brother, and a man against his companion. Isa. 19:2.

In these places also the like should be understood by ‘fathers’, ‘sons’, ‘brothers’, and ‘companions’.
* lit. Jehovah multiplied the stumblers

sRef Ex@32 @28 S0′ 10491. ‘And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses’ means put into effect by those in possession of truths springing from good. This is clear from the representation of ‘the sons of Levi’ as those in possession of truths springing from good, and in the abstract sense, without reference to persons, as truths springing from good, dealt with above in 10485; and from the meaning of ‘doing according to the word of Moses’ as putting into effect.

sRef Ex@32 @28 S0′ 10492. ‘And there fell of the people on that day up to three thousand men’ means a complete shutting off of what is internal. This is clear from the meaning of ‘falling’ or being killed as being shut off, dealt with above in 10490; and from the meaning of ‘three thousand’ as that which is complete. For ‘three’ means what is full and complete, see 2788, 4495, 7715, 8347, 9198, 9488, 9489, and ‘three thousand’ likewise, because every large number has a similar meaning to the smaller ones of which it is the product when they are multiplied together, 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973. All numbers in the Word mean spiritual realities or real things, see in the places referred to in 9488, and in 10127, 10217, 10253.

[2] Since then the subject here has been the shutting off of what was internal among the Israelite and Jewish nation, let something further be stated here regarding the shutting off of what is internal. Evils and falsities are what shut off the internal man, or what amounts to the same thing, worldly, earthly, and bodily kinds of love do so when they are predominant; for they are the source of all evils and falsities. The reason why what is internal is shut off by them is that those kinds of love are the opposites of heavenly kinds; or what amounts to the same thing, evils and falsities are the opposites of forms of good and truths. Therefore when opposites act against each other that which has been injured holds itself in, just as a fibre does when it is pricked, or as any other part of the human body does from pain. It is well known that injury or a depressed state of mind can put creases on a person’s face, cramp the abdomen, and restrict the lungs and their breathing. So it is also with the internal man when evils and falsities enter thought and will. There is a feeling of detestation then, and a consequent holding in, which also reveal themselves in the face and in the body.

[3] This is the general reason why the internal is closed. But the specific reason is to prevent forms of good and truths from passing from heaven by way of the internal man into the external, and from their being defiled and rendered profane there. To prevent this from happening with the Israelite nation among whom the Word and the holy things of the Church existed, their internal was completely shut off. Its being completely shut off is plainly evident from the fact that although they now live among Christians, and although prophecies plainly refer to the Lord, they still do not at all acknowledge Him. Indeed they are such that they are not even able to entertain any thought that strengthens [belief in the Lord]. There is inward repudiation and revulsion, because their internal has been closed.

[4] In addition it should be recognized that in the Christian world as well the internal is closed in the case of those who know the truths of faith from the Word and do not lead a life in keeping with them. An actual life in keeping with them opens the internal man; without it those truths reside merely in the external man’s memory. With those however who repudiate these truths the internal is completely closed. And astonishing though it may seem to be, the internal is closed more in the case of intelligent than in that of simple people. The reason for this is that the intelligent are ruled by desires for high position and monetary gain, and consequently by self-love and love of the world, more than the simple are. They also have a greater ability to justify evils and falsities resulting from those loves by the use of factual knowledge, which the intelligent possess more abundantly than the simple do. Added to this, the majority of them think of the soul on the basis of some hypothesis in the learned world, from which they gain no other idea than that of a breath of air or a puff of wind which perhaps contains some spark of life. The thought of simple but good people on the other hand is not based on such an idea, only on the idea that the soul is the person living after death. So it is that the internal of these simple people is open, whereas that of those intelligent ones is closed. Whether you speak of the internal being opened or closed, or you speak of heaven being so, it amounts to the same thing.

sRef Ex@32 @29 S0′ 10493. ‘And Moses said, Fill your hand today to Jehovah’ means the transmission and the reception of Divine Truth in the heavens. This is clear from the meaning of ‘filling the hand to Jehovah’ as a representative sign of the Lord’s Divine Power in the heavens which comes through Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Good, and the transmission and the reception of that Truth there, dealt with in 10076, at this point the transmission of Divine Truth to the heavens by means of representatives, which consisted in the external forms of worship among that nation after their internal had been closed.

Through the external forms of worship which were representative of heavenly realities, and which existed among that nation after their internal had been closed, there was by the Lord’s Divine Power contact with heaven, see 4311, 4444, 6304, 8588, 8788, 8806.

sRef Ex@32 @29 S0′ 10494. ‘For [every] man has been against his son and against his brother’ means when the internal has been shut off, in order that truth and good from heaven may not enter the external. This is clear from the meaning of ‘man against son and against brother’, or after they have killed them, as a shutting off of the internal to prevent the inflow of truth and good, dealt with above in 10490, 10492.

‘Son’ means truth, see 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 2628, 2803, 2813, 3373, 3704, 4257, 9807.
‘Brother’ means good, 3815, 4121, 4191, 5409, 5686, 5692, 6756.

sRef Ex@32 @29 S0′ 10495. ‘So that He may bestow a blessing on you today’ means the reception of Divine Truth from the Word, and being joined thereby to the Lord. This is clear from the general meaning of ‘a blessing’ as that which the Lord imparts to a person; and since all that the Lord imparts has connection with the good of love and the truth of faith, these and all that springs from them are what is meant by ‘a blessing’. So here the reception of Divine Truth from the Word is meant, and being joined thereby to the Lord, see 1096, 2846, 3017, 3406, 4216, 4981, 6298, 8674, 8939. As regards the meaning of ‘a blessing’ as being joined to the Lord, see 3504, 3514, 3530, 3565, 3584, 6091, 6099. The implications of all this have been shown in what has gone before; and regarding the Word, that it is the means by which the Lord is joined to mankind, and heaven is joined to the world, see 10452.

10496. Verses 30-35 And it happened on the next day, that Moses said to the people, You have committed a great sin. And now I shall go up to Jehovah; perhaps I shall make expiation for your sin. And Moses returned to Jehovah and said, I implore You; this people has committed a great sin, and they have made gods of gold for themselves. And now, if You forgive their sin – and if not, blot me out, I beg You, from Your book which You have written. And Jehovah said to Moses, The one who has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book. And now, go! lead the people to what I have spoken of to you. Behold, My angel will go before you; and on the day of My visitation I will visit their sin upon them*. And Jehovah struck the people because they made the calf which Aaron made.

‘And it happened on the next day’ means the duration of such worship right to the end of the Church. ‘That Moses said to the people, You have committed a great sin’ means a total turning away and alienation. ‘And now I shall go up to Jehovah’ means the raising of more internal things to the Lord. ‘Perhaps I shall make expiation for your sin’ means the possibility owing to the Lord’s Divine Power for this to come about among those who have so turned themselves away. ‘And Moses returned to Jehovah’ means a joining together. ‘And said, I implore You; this people has committed a great sin’ means that even though that nation has completely turned away and removed itself from the Divine … ‘And they have made gods of gold for themselves’ means, and they cultivate a hellish delight. ‘And now, if You forgive their sin’ means, nevertheless this turning away from the Divine will not be an impediment. ‘And if not, blot me out, I beg You, from Your book which You have written’ means that the internal side of the Word, the Church, and worship will not be destroyed. ‘And Jehovah said, The one who has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book’ means the reply, that they will be destroyed who turn themselves away from the Divine. ‘And now, go! lead the people to what I have spoken of to you’ means bringing this nation to represent the Church, and does not mean that the Church was to exist among them. ‘Behold, My angel will go before you’ means that Divine Truth will still be the leader. ‘And on the day of My visitation I will visit their sin upon them’ means their final state in particular and in general, when judgement takes place. ‘And Jehovah struck the people’ means the ruination of truth and good among the Israelite nation. ‘Because they made the calf’ means on account of the worship brought about by hellish love. ‘Which Aaron made’ means that it exists as a result of the external things which alone they love.
* i.e. on the day when I come to punish I will punish them for their sin

sRef Matt@24 @34 S0′ sRef Dan@9 @24 S0′ sRef Ex@32 @30 S0′ sRef Dan@9 @27 S0′ 10497. ‘And it happened on the next day’ means the duration of such worship right to the end of the Church. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the next day’ as that which is perpetual and eternal; but when the Jewish nation is the subject that which continues right to the end of the Church is meant. The reason why the expression ‘the next day’ means that which continues perpetually and into eternity is that when ‘the morrow’ is mentioned in connection with such things as serve to mean Divine celestial and spiritual realities it means that which is perpetual and eternal, see 3998, 9939. Here however the duration right to the end of the Church is meant because that expression has reference to the Jewish nation and its worship, which had an end when the Lord came into the world, as foretold in Daniel,

Seventy weeks have been decreed concerning your people and your holy city to bring transgression to a close and to seal up sins and to atone for iniquity, and to bring everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophet, and to anoint the Holy of Holies. In the middle of the week he will cause sacrifice and offering to cease. At length upon the bird of abominations will come desolation; until the close and the decree will it drop upon the devastation. Dan. 9:24, 27.

And the fact that what still remains of the worship of that nation will have an end at the end of the present-day Church in Europe is foretold by the Lord in Matthew,

Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Matt. 24:34.

That chapter deals with the close of the age, which is the end of this Church, as has been shown and may be seen in the preliminary sections to Genesis 26-40.

sRef John@12 @39 S0′ sRef John@12 @38 S0′ sRef John@12 @40 S0′ sRef Ex@32 @30 S0′ sRef John@12 @37 S0′ 10498. ‘That Moses said to the people, You have committed a great sin’ means a total alienation and turning away. This is clear from the meaning of ‘sin’ as a turning away and alienation from the Divine, dealt with in 5229, 5474, 5841, 7589, 9346, at this point a total turning away and alienation, since the expression ‘a great sin’ is used. A total turning away and alienation from the Divine is the situation when no truth or good at all from heaven is received any longer, for truth and good from heaven constitute the Divine with a person. The fact that there was no reception of truth and good from heaven by that nation and that a total turning away from the Divine was consequently the situation with them is described by the following words in Isaiah,

Say to this people, Hearing, hear – but do not understand; and seeing, see – but do not comprehend. Make the heart of this people fat and their ears heavy, and plaster over their eyes, lest perhaps they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and their heart understands, and they turn again, so that they are healed. Isa. 6:9, 10; John 12:37-40.

The words ‘lest they turn again, so that they are healed’ are used to mean that if they had an understanding of the internal things of the Word, the Church, and worship they would render them profane, in accord with what has been stated above in 10490.

sRef Ex@32 @30 S0′ 10499. ‘And now I shall go up to Jehovah’ means the raising of more internal things to the Lord. This is clear from the representation of ‘Moses’ as the internal, dealt with above in 10468; and from the meaning of ‘going up’ as a raising towards more internal levels, dealt with in 3084, 4539, 4969, 5406, 5817, 6007, at this point a raising to the Lord since it says ‘I shall go up to Jehovah’ and ‘Jehovah’ is used in the Word to mean the Lord, see in the places referred to in 9373. The situation in all this may be recognized from what has been shown regarding the raising up to heaven or to the Lord of the internal things of the Word, the Church, and worship, that is, regarding the raising of them from the external things among the Israelite nation, in 4311, 4444, 6304, 8588, 8788, 8806.

sRef Ex@32 @30 S0′ 10500. ‘Perhaps I shall make expiation for your sin’ means the possibility owing to the Lord’s Divine Power for this to come about among those who have so turned themselves away. This is clear from the meaning of ‘expiating’ as causing no attention to be paid any longer to this, thus causing their worship to be nevertheless received and heard, for ‘expiation’ may also mean the hearing and acceptance of all the things composing worship, see 9506, at this point therefore the possibility for this to be brought about among those who have so turned themselves away; and from the meaning of ‘sin’ as a total turning away from the Divine, as above in 10498. The reason why all this is meant by those words is that the subject in the whole of the present chapter is the turning away of the Israelite nation from the Divine and the possibility in spite of this for contact to be established with heaven through the external things in which alone they were interested.

[2] For any knowledge to exist of the real nature of these things a little more must be stated. The Church on earth is established solely to the end that the world, that is, the human race, may be in contact with heaven, that is, with the Lord through heaven; for without the Church there is no contact, and without such contact the human race would perish, 10452. But human contact with heaven is achieved by means of spiritual and celestial things that reside with a person, not by means of worldly and bodily things without these. Or what amounts to the same thing, it is achieved by means of internal things, not by means of external ones without them. Since therefore the Israelite nation’s interest lay in external things and not in internal ones, and yet something of a Church was to be established among them, the Lord made provision nevertheless for contact with heaven to be accomplished by means of representatives, which were the external forms of worship among that nation. But such contact was accomplished in a wondrous manner; regarding this contact, see in the places introduced above in 10499.

[3] But two things were necessary before this could be accomplished. One was that the internal with them should be completely shut off, and the other that an outward holiness should exist when they engaged in worship. For when the internal has been completely shut off, the internal side of the Church and of worship is neither repudiated nor acknowledged; it is as though none exists. In these circumstances an outward holiness can exist and also be raised up, since no obstacle stands in the way. Therefore also that nation was completely ignorant of the inward things connected with love to the Lord and belief in Him, and with eternal life attained through these. But as soon as the Lord came into the world and revealed Himself, and He taught that people should love and believe in Him, that nation on hearing these things began to repudiate them, and so they could no longer be maintained in the kind of ignorance they had been in before. Therefore they were then driven out of the land of Canaan, to prevent them from defiling internal things and rendering them profane by their renunciation of them in that land, where since most ancient times all locations had been made representative of such things as have to do with heaven and the Church, see 1585, 3686, 4447, 5136, 6516.

[3] For these reasons, to the extent at the present day that they have a knowledge of internal things and set their minds firmly against them and repudiate them, they can no longer possess an outward holiness, because a negative attitude of mind not only shuts off the internal but also takes away any holiness from the external, and so any contact with heaven. The situation is similar with Christians who have a knowledge, derived from the Word or from the teachings of the Church, of internal things and yet in their heart repudiate them, as is the case when they lead an evil life and have evil thoughts, no matter how outwardly devout and holy they may seem to be when they take part in worship.

sRef Ex@32 @31 S0′ 10501. ‘And Moses returned to Jehovah’ means a joining together. This is clear from the meaning of ‘returning to Jehovah’ as a joining together. The reason why a joining together is meant here by ‘returning to Jehovah’ is that ‘going up to Jehovah’, 10499, means a raising of what is internal to the Lord.

sRef Ex@32 @31 S0′ 10502. ‘And said, I implore You; this people has committed a great sin’ means that even though that nation has completely turned away and removed itself from the Divine … This is clear from the meaning of ‘commiting a great sin’ as completely turning away and alienating themselves from the Divine, dealt with above in 10498. The words ‘even though it has turned away’ are used on account of the sequence of thought in the internal sense. For those who understand this level of meaning pay no attention to the literal account, only to the meaning of things within that follow one another in their own order.

sRef Ex@32 @31 S0′ 10503. ‘And they have made gods of gold for themselves’ means, and they cultivate a hellish delight. This is clear from the meaning of ‘making gods for themselves’ as cultivating; and from the meaning of ‘gold’ as delight belonging to external kinds of love, thus delight that is hellish, dealt with above in 10402. Four kinds of idols are mentioned in the Word – those made of stone, those made of wood, those made of silver, and those made of gold. Idols made of stone served to mean a cult consisting of falsities contained in religious teachings, and those made of wood a cult consisting of evils contained in them; idols made of silver served to mean the cult of what was false in both teachings and life, and those made of gold the cult of what was evil in both. Consequently idols made of gold served to mean the worst cult of all. Those who practised it not only falsified truths but also adulterated forms of good; for they called evils forms of good, and resulting falsities truths. All people who are ruled by self-love and nevertheless believe the Word practise this cult; for they use the literal sense of the Word to lend support to everything they think and do, thus to the cult or worship of themselves.

sRef Ex@32 @32 S0′ 10504. ‘And now, if You forgive their sin’ means, nevertheless this turning away from the Divine will not be an impediment. This is clear from the meaning of ‘sin’ as a turning away from the Divine, as above in 10498, 10502; and from the meaning of ‘forgiving it’ as its not being an impediment to raising the internal things of the Word, the Church, and worship from their external things, nor thus to establishing contact with the heavens. For when these things are nonetheless accomplished no attention is paid to the turning away; and that to which no attention is paid is said to have been forgiven.

sRef Ex@32 @32 S0′ 10505. ‘And if not, blot me out, I beg You, from Your book which You have written’ means that the internal side of the Word, the Church, and worship will not be destroyed. This is clear from the representation of Moses, who says these words, as the internal side of the Word, the Church, and worship, dealt with in 10468; from the meaning of ‘book which You have written’ as what exists there from the Lord, for ‘book’ means that which is present in the internal, while ‘writing’ – when attributed to Jehovah, that is, to the Lord – means what exists there from the Lord; and from the meaning of ‘blotting out of it’ as being destroyed. But at this point not being destroyed is meant because the reply which follows – ‘him who has sinned against Me I will blot out of My book’ – means that the internal side of the Word, the Church, and worship will not be destroyed but those who turn themselves away from the Divine, thus those whose interest lies in external things and not in what is internal.

[2] The reason why the book written by Jehovah, which in the next verse is called ‘My book’ or Jehovah’s book, and elsewhere ‘the book of life’, means what is internal is that a person’s internal resides in heaven, thus where the Lord is. Consequently the things within his internal are derived from heaven and exist from the Lord, and all are Divine and celestial or spiritual. They are able to be received by the person’s internal, but not by his external separated from his internal. This is because his external resides in the world and has been fashioned to receive natural things existing in the world, which without influx through the internal things possess no heavenly life and are therefore said to be dead.

sRef Rev@3 @5 S3′ sRef Rev@21 @27 S3′ sRef Dan@12 @1 S3′ sRef Rev@13 @8 S3′ [3] All this helps to show what should be understood in the Word by ‘the book of life’ and who exactly should be understood by those written in that book, namely those who lead a life of truth and good, thus who in love and faith obey Divine commandments. A life in keeping with those commandments opens and fashions the internal man; and what has been inscribed there has been inscribed by the Lord and remains forever. They are the ones who should be understood by ‘those written in the book of life’ in the following places: In Daniel,

At that time Your people will be rescued, every one who is found written in the book. Dan. 12:1.

In John,

He who conquers will be clad in white garments; I will not blot his name out of the book of life. Rev. 3:5.

In the same book,

None will enter* the new Jerusalem except those who have been written in the Lamb’s book of life. Rev. 21:27.

In the same book,

I saw that the books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged by the things written in the books, according to their works. And if anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire. Rev. 20:12, 13, 15.

In the same book,

All will worship the beast whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life. Rev. 13:8; 17:8.

There are other places in addition to these.

[4] It should be remembered that everything inscribed on a person’s internal has been inscribed by the Lord; that what is inscribed there constitutes the person’s actual spiritual and celestial life; and also that every single thing inscribed there has been inscribed on his love. See also 2474, 8620, 9386.

sRef Ex@32 @33 S0′ 10506. ‘And Jehovah said, The one who has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book’ means the reply, that they will be destroyed who turn themselves away from the Divine. This is clear from the meaning of ‘Jehovah said to Moses’ as the reply; from the meaning of ‘sinning against Jehovah’ as turning themselves away from the Divine, dealt with above in 10498; and from the meaning of ‘being blotted out of Jehovah’s book’ as not appearing in heaven, thus the destruction of spiritual life. The reason why ‘being blotted out of Jehovah’s book’ has this meaning is that those whose interest lies in external things separated from what is internal cannot receive anything from heaven, since the internal is what receives anything from there, and the only source from which the external without the internal receives something is hell.

Heaven resides with a person in his internal; the internal is his ‘book of life’; and the things within his internal are derived from heaven and exist from the Lord, see immediately above in 10505.
* Reading Non ingredietur (He will not enter or None will enter), which Sw. has in his rough draft and in 8620, for Non ingrediuntur (They do not enter)

sRef Ex@32 @33 S0′ 10507. ‘And now, go! lead the people to what I have spoken of to you’ means bringing this nation to represent the Church, and does not mean that the Church was to exist among them. This is clear from the meaning of ‘leading the people to the land of Canaan’ as causing the Church to exist there; for ‘the land of Canaan’ means the Church, and ‘leading the people to that land’ in the spiritual sense means establishing the Church among that people, for that nation was therefore being led to that land in order that the Church might come into being there. Here however the meaning is that they were being brought merely to represent it, for it says, ‘Lead the people to what’ and not ‘to the land which’.

Among the Israelite and Jewish nation the Church did not exist but only that which was representative of the Church, see 4281, 4288, 4311, 4500, 4899, 4912, 6304, 7048, 9320.
‘The land of Canaan’ means the Church, 3686, 3705, 4447, 5136, 6516, and therefore ‘the land’ or ‘the earth’ in the Word means the Church, in the places referred to in 9325.

sRef Ex@32 @34 S0′ 10508. ‘Behold, My angel will go before you’ means that Divine Truth will still be the leader. This is clear from the meaning in the highest sense of ‘the angel of Jehovah’ as the Lord’s Divine Human, and in the relative sense as that which is Divine and the Lord’s among angels in the heavens, dealt with in 1925, 2821, 4085, 6831, 9303, so that it means Divine Truth, 8192; and from the meaning of ‘going before you’ as being the leader.

sRef Ex@32 @34 S0′ 10509. ‘And on the day of My visitation I will visit their sin upon them’ means their final state in particular and in general, when judgement takes place. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the day of visitation’ as the final state of the Church in particular and in general, dealt with in 2242, 6588; and from the meaning of ‘visiting sin’ as being judged and condemned. The words in particular and in general are used because there is ‘a day of visitation’ for each person in particular when he enters the next life, as happens when he dies. There is also such a day for the Church in general when it comes to an end. At that time people undergo examination of their characters and separation from one another. Those ruled by evils are cast down to hell and those governed by forms of good are raised to heaven. This does not take place on earth however, but in the next life. But how that examination and separation are accomplished there, also the condemnation and casting down to hell and the raising to heaven, will in the Lord’s Divine mercy be stated elsewhere*.
* This promise was fulfilled in the work published in 1758, whose English title is Heaven and Hell.

sRef Ex@32 @35 S0′ 10510. ‘And Jehovah struck the people’ means the ruination of truth and good among the Israelite nation. This is clear from the meaning of ‘striking’ as destroying, as in 6761, and ‘destroying’ in the spiritual sense means depriving someone of the truths and forms of the good of faith and love, which in the Word is called desolating and laying waste. The reason why ruination is meant here by ‘striking’ is that the present chapter has dealt with the shutting off of the internal among the Israelite nation, and the shutting off of the internal constitutes ruination so far as truth and good are concerned.

sRef Ex@32 @35 S0′ 10511. ‘Because they made the calf’ means on account of the worship brought about by hellish love. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the calf’ as the delight belonging to self-love, dealt with above in 10407, so that ‘making the calf’ means worship brought about by the delight belonging to that love, or what amounts to the same thing, worship brought about by that love. The fact that this love is a hellish one has been shown very often. The reason why the expression ‘making the calf’ means worship is that the making of it entails all that has been stated in verses 4-6 of the present chapter regarding the veneration and worship of it.

sRef Ex@32 @35 S0′ 10512. ‘Which Aaron made’ means that it exists as a result of the external things which alone they love. This is clear from the representation of ‘Aaron’ as the external side of the Word, the Church, and worship, dealt with in 10397, 10468, 10480. When the external alone is loved the external is said to make that [idol]; but the nation which loves external things alone should be understood by this.

10513. THE THIRD PLANET OUT IN SPACE – continued

Magnificent palaces were represented before the eyes of the spirits belonging to that planet, resembling those inhabited by kings and princes on ours; for such objects can be represented before the eyes of spirits, and when they are represented they look totally real. But the spirits from that planet did not admire them at all; they called them marble imitations. Theirs, they declared, were more magnificent; but these were their sacred houses or temples, constructed not of stone but wood. And when they were told that for all that those temples were earthly they replied that they were not so, but were heavenly, because when they look at them they do not have anything earthly in mind but something heavenly, believing that they will see objects like this in heaven after death.

10514. They also represented their temples before the eyes of spirits belonging to our planet, who said that they had seen nothing more magnificent. They were represented to me as well, from which I saw how they were constructed. They were constructed of trees, not of ones that had been cut down but of those growing in their natural soil. They said that on that planet there were trees wonderfully tall and high. They set them out in rows when these are saplings to grow into arcades and avenues. Then they shape and train the branches while these are still young by cutting and pruning them so that they may interweave and combine together to form the base and hard floor of the temple to be constructed. Other branches rise up at the sides to form the walls, while others bow at the top to form the roof. In this way the temple is constructed by them with astonishing skill, raised high up above the ground, to which they also provide a way up by means of a continuous succession of horizontal tree-branches firmly linked together. In addition they decorate that temple in various ways outside and in with foliage formed into shapes. By this means they construct an entire grove. But I was not allowed to see what those temples are like inside, except to see that the light of their sun is let in through openings among the branches, and in various places passes through crystals, which split the light into various rainbow-like colours around the walls, especially blues and oranges, which they like more than all others. These are their wonderful feats of architectural skill which they prefer to the most magnificent palaces on our planet, and which our spirits too admired and praised more than these palaces.

10515. They went on to say that inhabitants of the planet do not live in places high up but in lowly cottages on ground-level, because places high up are for the Lord who is in heaven and lowly ones are for people who are on earth. I was also shown their cottages. They were rectangular. Inside, next to the walls, runs a continuous couch on which they lie head to toe. In the part opposite the entrance, where there is a rounded section, stands a table, and behind the table a hearth, from which the whole chamber is lit. But there is no fire burning in that hearth; instead there is luminous wood, emitting as much light as the flames in a hearth do. They said that in the evening the logs of that wood appear with flames of fire in them like those seen in burning coal.

10516. They said that they do not live in communities but in individual households, and that they gather into communities when they assemble for worship. During worship those who teach walk down below the temple in the arcades, while the rest stay at the sides. Whenever they are assembled there they are thrilled within by the sight of the temple and the worship taking place in it.

10517. Furthermore they are honest and virtuous people, so that they may be called paragons of virtue; they endure the wrongs that are done to them without any thought of getting their own back. They feel uneasy as soon as they encounter those whose thoughts are focused on bodily and earthly things, and cheerful and glad when they encounter those whose thoughts are focused on heavenly ones. I became aware also of the uneasiness they felt, caused by the presence of the spirits belonging to our planet who were around me, because they were of a contrary disposition. For spirits belonging to our planet give little thought to heavenly things and much thought to bodily and earthly ones. And when they do give thought to heavenly things, they focus their attention on truths and not on good, whereas spirits from that planet out in space focus on good and little on truths. This explains why the inhabitants of that planet love plantations of trees and their temple consisting of them, and loathe blocks of stone and houses made from them. For trees and wood by virtue of their correspondence mean forms of good, but stones and houses made from them mean truths, 3720. Also a person is by disposition such that he loves objects which correspond to his inner affections, though he is not conscious of this while he lives in the world.

10518. ‘The fourth planet out in space, and its spirits and inhabitants’ will be dealt with at the end of the next chapter.

10519. 33
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TEACHINGS ABOUT CHARITY AND FAITH

The Holy Supper has been established by the Lord in order that the Church may be joined by means of it to heaven, and so to the Lord. This is why it is the holiest thing of the Church.

10520. But how it serves to join them together cannot be understood by those who do not know anything about the internal or spiritual sense of the Word since their thought does not go beyond its external sense, which is the sense of the letter. It is the internal or spiritual sense of the Word that enables anyone to know what is meant by the body and blood, by the bread and wine, and also by the eating.

10521. In that sense the Lord’s body or flesh is the good of love, as is the bread, and the Lord’s blood is the good of faith, as is the wine; and the eating is making them one’s own and being joined [to heaven and the Lord]. The angels who are present with a person attending the sacrament of the Holy Supper perceive these things in no other way, since everything is understood by them on a spiritual level. This is why holy feelings belonging to love and holy thoughts belonging to faith pass at this time from the angels to that person, and so by way of heaven from the Lord; and the result is that they are joined together.

10522. From all this it is evident that when the person takes the bread, which is the Lord’s body, he is joined to Him through the good of love to Him received from Him; and when the person takes the wine, which is the Lord’s blood, he is joined to Him through the good of faith in Him received from Him. But it should be remembered that people are joined to the Lord through the sacrament of His Supper only if they have within themselves the good of love to the Lord and the good of faith in Him, which they have received from Him. The Holy Supper is the sign and seal of that joining together.

EXODUS 33

1 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, Go! go up from here, you and the people whom you have caused to come up out of the land of Egypt, to the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, To your seed I will give it.

2 And I will send an angel before you; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

3 [Go up] to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, since you are a stiff-necked people [and] perchance I might consume you on the way.

4 And the people heard this bad news*, and mourned; and no one put on his finery**.

5 And Jehovah said to Moses, Say to the children of Israel, You are a stiff-necked people; were I for one moment to go up in your midst I would consume you. And now, take off your finery***, and I shall know what I am to do to you.

6 And the children of Israel tore away their finery**** at Mount Horeb.

7 And Moses took a tent and pitched it for himself outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tent of meeting. And so it was, that everyone asking Jehovah a question went out to the tent of meeting which was outside the camp.

8 And so it was, when Moses went out to the tent, that all the people rose and stood, each at the door of his tent, and looked after Moses***** until he had entered the tent.

9 And so it was, when Moses entered the tent, that the pillar of cloud came down, and stood at the door of the tent, and talked to Moses.

10 And all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the door of the tent; and all the people rose, and they bowed down, each at the door of his tent.

11 And Jehovah spoke to Moses face to face, as a man (vir) speaks to his neighbour. And he returned to the camp, and his minister Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not move away from the midst of the tent.

12 And Moses said to Jehovah, See, You say to me, Cause this people to go up; and You have not made known to me whom You will send with me. And You have said, I know you by name, and also you have found grace in My eyes.

13 And now if, I beg You, I have found grace in Your eyes, make Your way known to me, I beg You, and I shall know You, because I have found grace in Your eyes. And consider****** that this nation is Your people.

14 And He said, My face******* will go [with you], and I will cause you to rest.

15 And he said to Him, If Your face******* is not going [before me], do not cause us to go up from here.

16 And how will it ever be made known that I have found grace in Your eyes, I and Your people? Will it not be in Your going with us? And I and Your people will be made more distinguished than all the people who are on the face of the ground.

17 And Jehovah said to Moses, I will also do this thing that you have spoken, since you have found grace in My eyes and I know you by name.

18 And he said, Cause me, I beg You, to see Your glory.

19 And He said, I will cause all My goodness to pass by******** your face, and I will proclaim the name of Jehovah before you; and I will be gracious to whom I am gracious, and I will show mercy to whom I show mercy.

20 And He said, You cannot see My face, for no one will see Me and live*********.

21 And Jehovah said, Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock.

22 And so it will be, as My glory passes through, that I will put you in a cleft of the rock and cover My palm over you until I have passed through.

23 And I will take My palm away, and you will see My back parts; and My face will not be seen.
* lit. evil word
** lit. and they did not put anyone his ornament onto himself
*** lit. And now, cause your ornament to come down from upon you
**** lit. ornament
***** i.e. followed him with their eyes
****** lit. see
******* i.e. presence
******** lit. pass by above
********* lit. for the human being does not see Me and live


sRef Ex@33 @0 S0′ 10523. CONTENTS

The internal sense of this chapter takes the subject of the Israelite nation further; but now the essential nature of the worship among that nation, and so the things there which belong to the Church, is dealt with. Verses 1-6 show that even though the representative forms constituting the external things of worship and the Church could reside among them nothing Divine did so because there was nothing internal. Verses 7-17 show that what was Divine could reside within the actual worship regarded in isolation, thus separately from them. Verses 18-23 show that this was not however visible or perceptible to them.


sRef Ex@33 @2 S0′ sRef Ex@33 @1 S0′ sRef Ex@33 @3 S0′

10524. THE INTERNAL SENSE

Verses 1-3 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, Go! go up from here, you and the people whom you have caused to come up out of the land of Egypt, to the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, To your seed I will give it. And I will send an angel before you; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. [Go up] to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, since you are a stiff-necked people [and] perchance I might consume you on the way.

‘And Jehovah spoke to Moses’ means instruction regarding the essential nature of the worship and the Church among the Israelite nation. ‘Go! go up from here, you and the people whom you have caused to come up out of the land of Egypt, to the land’ means that this nation will represent the Church, but the Church will not reside among them, because they cannot be raised from external things. ‘Which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, To your seed I will give it’ means the Church promised to those who have within themselves from the Lord the good of love and the truths of faith. ‘And I will send an angel before you’ means that which is Divine and the Lord’s, from which the Church and its worship spring. ‘And I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite’ means the expulsion from there of all evils and falsities. ‘[Go up] to a land flowing with milk and honey’ means feelings of pleasure and delight derived from the good of faith and love. ‘For I will not go up in your midst’ means that nevertheless what is Divine does not reside with the actual nation. ‘Since you are a stiff-necked people’ means that they do not receive any influx from the Divine. ‘Perchance I might consume you on the way’ means that this nation would be destroyed if what is Divine were to flow in and reside with it.