AE 405 - The Devil

AE 405  [55] It is said in the Evangelists that:

"The devil took Jesus up into a high mountain,
and showed him all the kingdoms of the world,
and their glory,
and he tempted Him there."
(Matthew 4:8; Luke 4: 5)

By this is meant,
that the devil tempted the Lord by the love of self,
for this is meant by a high mountain;
for the three temptations described in those passages
mean and involve all the temptations
that the Lord sustained when He was in the world;
for the Lord by temptations
admitted into Himself from the hells,
and by victories at the time,
reduced all things in the hells to order,
and also glorified His Human, that is, made it Divine.
The reason that all the Lord's temptations
were described in so few words, is,
because He has not otherwise revealed them;
but yet they are amply described
in the internal sense of the Word
(but concerning the Lord's temptations
see what has been adduced in the
Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 201, 293, 302).
__________

(Usually, the references are deleted for these posts.
However, all these references to the Arcana Coelestia
are being retained here.)

NJHD 201 -  Of the Lord's temptations:

The Lord beyond all others*
endured the most grievous and dreadful temptations,
which are but little described
in the sense of the letter of the Word,
but much in the internal sense
(n. 1663, 1668, 1787, 2776, 2786, 2795, 2814, 9528).
The Lord fought from the Divine love towards
the whole human race
(n. 1690, 1691, 1812, 1813, 1820).
The love of the Lord was the salvation of the human race
(n. 1820).
The Lord fought from His own power
(n. 1692, 1813, 9937).
The Lord alone was made justice and merit,
 by the temptations,
and victories which He gained therein from His own power
(n. 1813, 2025-2027, 9715, 9809, 10019).
By temptations the Lord united the Divine itself,
which was in Him from conception,
to His Human, and made this Divine,
as He makes man spiritual by temptations
(n. 1725, 1729, 1733, 1737, 3318, 3381, 3382, 4286).
The temptations of the Lord
were attended with despair at the end
(n. 1787). The Lord,
by the temptations admitted into Himself,
subjugated the hells,
and reduced to order all things in them,
and in heaven,
and at the same time glorified His Human
(n. 1737, 4287, 9315, 9528, 9937).
The Lord alone fought against all the hells
(n. 8273).
He admitted temptations into Himself from thence
(n. 2816, 4295).
The Lord could not be tempted as to the Divine,
because the hells cannot assault the Divine,
wherefore He assumed a human from the mother,
such as could be tempted
(n. 1414, 1444, 1573, 5041, 5157, 7193, 9315).
By temptations and victories
He expelled all the hereditary from the mother,
and put off the human from her,
until at length He was no longer her son
(n. 2159, 2574, 2649, 3036, 10830).
Jehovah, who was in Him from conception,
appeared in His temptations as if absent
(n. 1815).
This was His state of humiliation
(n. 1785, 1999, 2159, 6866).
His last temptation and victory,
by which He fully subjugated the hells,
and made His Human Divine,
was in Gethsemane and on the cross
(n. 2776, 2803, 2813, 2814, 10655, 10659, 10828).
"To eat no bread and drink no water for forty days,"
means an entire state of temptations
(n. 10686).
"Forty years," "months," or "days,"
signify a plenary (absolute) state of temptations
from beginning to end;
and such a state is meant by the duration of the flood,
"forty days";
by Moses abiding "forty days" upon Mount Sinai;
by the sojourning of the sons of Israel
"forty years" in the desert;
and by the Lord's temptation in the desert "forty days"
(n. 730, 862, 2272, 2273, 8098).

* The translator omits the phrase "beyond all others."
But the Latin, "prae omnibus" requires it.

NJHD 293

The Lord came into the world
that He might save the human race,
which otherwise would have perished in eternal death;
and He saved them by this,
that He subjugated the hells,
which infested every person
coming into the world and going out of the world;
and at the same time by this,
that He glorified His Human:
for thus He can keep the hells in subjugation to eternity.
The subjugation of the hells,
and the glorification of His Human at the same time,
were effected by means of temptations
admitted into the human which He had from the mother,
and by continual victories therein.
His passion on the cross
was the last temptation and full victory.

NJHD 302

The glorification of the Lord's Human,
and the subjugation of the hells,
were effected by temptations.

The Lord more than all
endured the most grievous temptations.
The Lord fought from His Divine love
toward the human race
(n. 1690, 1691, 1812, 1813, 1820).
The Lord's love was the salvation of the human race
(n. 1820).
The hells fought against the Lord's love
(n. 1820).
The Lord alone, from His own proper power,
fought against the hells, and overcame them
(n. 1692, 1813, 2816, 4295, 8273, 9937).
Thence the Lord alone became justice and merit
(n. 1813, 2025-2027, 9715, 9809, 10019).
The last temptation of the Lord
was in Gethsemane and on the cross,
at which time He gained a full victory,
by which He subjugated the hells,
and at the same time glorified His Human
(n. 2776, 2803, 2813, 2814, 10655, 10659, 10828).
The Lord could not be tempted as to the Divine itself
(n. 2795, 2803, 2813, 2814).
Therefore He assumed an infirm human from the mother,
into which He admitted temptations
(n. 1414, 1444, 1573, 5041, 5157, 7193, 9315).
By means of temptations and victories
He expelled all that was hereditary from the mother,
and put off the human which He had from her,
till at length He was no longer her son
(n. 2159, 2574, 2649, 3036, 10830).
Jehovah, who was in Him,
appeared in temptations as if absent,
and this so far as He was in the human from the mother
(n. 1815).
This state was the Lord's state of humiliation
(n. 1785, 1999, 2159, 6866).
The Lord by temptations and victories
arranged all things in the heavens into order
(n. 4287, 4295, 9528, 9937).
By the same means
He also united His Human with His Divine,
that is, He glorified His Human
(n. 1725, 1729, 1733, 1737, 3318, 3381,
3382, 4286, 4287, 4295, 9528, 9937).
__________

AE - Apocalypse Explained
NJHD  -  The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine

signify = means;  signified = meant

~ Moses Dedicates the Tabernacle ~

When Moses finished setting up the tabernacle,
he anointed it and consecrated it and all its furnishings.
He also anointed and consecrated
the altar and all its utensils.
Then the leaders of Israel,
the heads of families who were the tribal leaders
in charge of those who were counted, made offerings.

. . . When Moses entered the Tent of Meeting
to speak with the Lord,
he heard the voice speaking to him
from between the two cherubim
above the atonement cover on the ark of the Testimony.
And he spoke with Him.

(Numbers 7:1-2,89)
 

AE 405 - The Mount of Olives and Other Mountains

AE 405 [24, 25, 28]

Because the mount of Olives,
which was before Jerusalem eastward,
meant the Divine love,
and Jerusalem eastward
the Divine truth proceeding from the Divine good,
. . . therefore the Lord usually abode upon that mount;
as is evident in Luke:

Jesus "was in the day-time teaching in the temple;
and at night He went out,
and abode in the mount that is called
[the mount] of Olives."
(Luke 21:37; 22:39; John 8:1)

He did all tings from the Divine love,
for the Mount of Olives signified it;
for whatever the Lord did in the world represented,
and whatever He spoke signified.
. . . representatives and significatives
being in the ultimates.
___________

Because a mountain signified the good of love,
and when said of the Lord,
the Divine good of the Divine love,
and from that good proceeds the Divine truth;
therefore Jehovah, that is, the Lord,
descended upon mount Sinai,
and promulgated the law.
(promulgate - made widely known)
For it is said that

He came down upon that mount,
on the top of the mount.
(Exod. 19:20; 24:17);

and that there He promulgated the law.
(Exodus 20)

Here also by Sinai in the Word is meant
Divine truth from the Divine good,
[and] also by the law there promulgated.
And therefore also:

The Lord took Peter, James, and John
into a high mountain,
when He was transfigured.
(Matthew 17:1; Mark 9:2);

and when He was transfigured,
He appeared in the Divine truth from the Divine good;
for His face, which [shone] as the sun,
represented the Divine good,
and His raiment, which was as the light, the Divine truth;
and Moses and Elias, who appeared, meant the Word,
which is Divine truth from the Divine good.
__________

. . . mount Zion and Jerusalem were built
as much as possible
according to the form of heaven . . ..
__________
Broadly:

Things correspond -- sheep and innocence

Actions represent -- kneeling and humbleness

Words signify (mean) -- the word "sheep" means "innocence."
_________

~ The Nazirite ~

The Lord said to Moses,
"Speak to the Israelites and say to them:
'If a man or a woman wants to make a special vow,
a vow of separation to the Lord as a Nazirite,
he must abstain from wine and other fermented drink
and must not drink vinegar made from wine
or from other fermented drink.
He must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins.
As long as he is a Nazirite,
he must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine,
not even the seeds or skins.

"'During the entire period of his vow of separation
no razor may be used on his head.
He must be holy
until the period of his separation to the Lord is over,
he must let the hair of his head grow long.
Throughout the period of his separation to the Lord
he must not go near a dead body.
Even if his own father or mother or brother or sister dies,
he must not make himself
ceremonially unclean on account of them,
because the symbol of his separation to God
is on his head.
Throughout the period of his separation
he is consecrated to the Lord.'"

(Numbers 6:1-8)

AE 403 - The Fig-Tree

AE 403 [1, 9, 15]

As a fig-tree casts her untimely figs,
when she is shaken by a mighty wind.
(Revelation 6:13)

. . . every person is born natural from his parents,
but becomes spiritual from the Lord;
this is called to be born again, or regenerated.
And because he is born natural,
therefore the knowledges he absorbs from infancy,
before he becomes spiritual,
are implanted in his natural memory.
But as he advances in years,
and begins to view rationally
the knowledges of good and truth
he has absorbed from the Word or from preaching,
if he then leads an evil life,
he seizes upon and examines the falsities
that are the opposite of and contrary to these knowledges;
then as he is gifted with a talent for reasoning,
he reasons from falsities
against the knowledges of his infancy and childhood,
and as a result these are cast out,
and falsities succeed in their place.
This, therefore, is what is signified by,
"The stars shall fall to the earth,
as a fig-tree casts her untimely figs,
when she is shaken by the wind."
__________

"Is there not yet seed in the barn,
and even to the vine and fig-tree,
and the pomegranate, and the olive-tree?"
(Haggai 2:9)

By these words, in the spiritual sense,
is meant that goods and truths are yet remaining;
all goods and truths
from primaries to ultimates are meant by
the vine, the fig-tree, the pomegranate, and the olive-tree;
by the vine, spiritual good and truth;
by the fig-tree, natural good and truth;
by the pomegranate,
the knowing and perceptive faculty in general,
and specifically
the knowledges and perceptions of good and truth;
and by the olive-tree,
the perception of celestial good and truth;
the barn means where those things are,
either the church, or the person in whom the church is,
or the mind of a person, which is the subject.
__________

"And when all these things begin to come to pass,
look up, and lift up your heads.
And He spoke a parable;
Behold the fig-tree, and all the trees;
when they now have shot forth,
you see and shall know of your own selves
that summer is now near.
So also you,
when you shall see these things,
know that the kingdom of God is near."
(Luke 21:28-31; Matthew 24:32; Mark 8:28, 29)

The subject here treated of is the consummation of the age,
which is the Last Judgment,
and the signs that precede are enumerated;
these are meant by,
"when all these things begin to come to pass."
That a new church will then commence,
which will be external in the beginning, is meant by,
"Behold the fig-tree, and all the trees,
when they have shot forth."
This parable or similitude was related,
because the fig-tree means the external church,
and the trees mean the knowledges of truth and good.
The kingdom of God, which then is near,
means the Lord's New Church;
for at the time of the Last Judgment,
the old church perishes, and a new commences.

~ What the Kohathites Are to Cover With a Blue Cloth ~

"This is the work of the Kohathites in the Tent of Meeting:
the care of the most holy things.
When the camp is to move,
Aaron and his sons are to go in
and take down the shielding curtain
and cover the Ark of the Testimony with it.
Then they are to cover this with the hides of sea cows,
spread a cloth of solid blue over that
and put the poles in place.

"Over the table of the Presence
they are to spread a blue cloth
and put on it the plates, dishes and bowls,
and the jars for drink offerings;
the bread that is continually there is to remain on it.
Over these they are to spread a scarlet cloth,
cover that with the hides of sea cows
and put its poles in place.

"They are to take a blue cloth
and cover the lampstand that is for light,
together with its lamps, its wick trimmers and trays,
and all the jars for the oil used to supply it.
Then they are to wrap it and all its accessories
in a covering of sea cows
and put it on a carrying frame.

"Over the gold altar they are to spread a blue cloth
and cover that with hides of sea cows
and put them on a carrying frame.

(Numbers 4:4-12)
__________

AE 576 [3]

When the camp set forward in the wilderness,
Aaron and his sons spread a cloth of blue over the ark,
over the table of faces,
over the lampstand and the lamps,
over the golden altar,
and over all the vessels of ministry.
(Numbers 4:6, 7, 9, 11, 12)
This is because Divine truth proceeding from Divine love,
which is signified by "the cloth of blue,"
embraces and protects
all the holy things of heaven and the church,
which the things covered represent.

AE 401 [35] - Seeds on Stony Ground

AE 401 [35]

"Other seeds fell upon stony places,
where they had not much earth;
and when the sun was risen they were scorched;
and because they had no root, they withered away".
(Matthew 8:5, 6; Mark 4:5, 6)


By the seeds are meant truths from the Word,
or those which a person receives from the Lord,
for it is afterwards said,
that it is the Son of Man that sows.
By stony places is meant an historical faith,
which is the faith of another in a person,
for he believes it to be true,
not because he sees it in himself,
but because another, in whom he trusts, has said it.
By ground is meant spiritual good,
because this receives truths, as ground does seeds.
By the sun being risen is meant the love of self;
and by the seed being scorched and withering away,
are meant to adulterate and to perish.
For this reason it is clear
what is meant by these words of the Lord in a series,
namely, that the truths implanted from infancy
from the Word or from preaching,
when a person begins to think from himself,
are adulterated and perish by lusts from the love of self.
All things, indeed, in the Word, are truths,
but they are adulterated by
the ideas of the thought concerning them,
and their application,
from which truths, with such, are not truths
except as to the utterance of them only.
The reason why this is so,
is that all the life of truth is from spiritual good,
and spiritual good resides in the higher or interior mind,
which is called the spiritual mind.
This mind cannot be opened with those
who are in the love of self,
for they look to themselves in everything.
If they raise their eyes to heaven,
still the thought of their spirit dwells on self,
and, consequently, from the fire of its own glory,
it excites things sensual, external, and corporeal,
which have been taught from childhood
to imitate such affections
as pertain to the spiritual person.

~ Moses, Aaron, & Aaron's Family ~

This is the account of the family of Aaron and Moses
at the time the Lord talked with Moses on Mount Sinai.

The names of the sons of Aaron were
Nadab the firstborn and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
Those were the names of Aaron's sons,
the anointed priests,
who were ordained to serve as priests.
Nadab and Abihu, however,
fell dead before the Lord
when they made an offering with unauthorized fire
before Him in the Desert of Sinai.
They had no sons;
so only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests
during the lifetime of their father Aaron.

(Numbers 3:1-4)

AE 401 - Sun , Moon, & Stars and Precious Stones

AE 401 [23, 25]

"Praise Jehovah, all His angels;
praise Him, all his hosts;
praise Him, sun and moon;
praise Him, all you stars of light;
praise Him, you heaven of heavens."
(Psalm 148:1-4).

By praising Jehovah is meant to worship Him.
By the angels are meant those
who are in Divine truths from the good of love,
for such are angels.
By all the hosts are meant goods and truths
in their whole compass.
By the sun and moon are meant the good of love
and the truth from that good.
By the stars of light are meant
the knowledges of truth from good.
By the heavens of heavens are meant goods and truths
both internal and external.
Because a person worships the Lord
from those things that he has from the Lord,
thus from the goods and truths which he has,
and because person also is a person from them,
it is therefore said to them,
namely, to the sun, moon, and stars,
by which are meant goods and truths,
that they shall praise, that is, worship Jehovah.
Who does not know that the sun, moon, and stars
do not praise, that is, worship?
__________

"I will make your suns a ruby,
and your gates into stones of carbuncle,
and all your border into stones of desire."
(Isaiah 54:12).

These things are said of the Gentiles outside the church,
from whom a new church was to be established by the Lord.
By, "I will make thy suns a ruby," is meant,
that goods [shall be] brilliant from the fire of love,
suns there denoting the goods of love,
and the ruby denoting a brilliance as from fire.
By, "I will make thy gates into stones of carbuncle,"
(a carbuncle is often a red garnet)
is meant, that truths [shall be] resplendent from good,
gates denoting the introductory truths,
specifically the doctrinals that are from good.
For all genuine truths of doctrine proceed from good,
and are goods;
and carbuncle stones signify their brightness from good,
all precious stones signifying truths from good,
[and] the color, brightness, and fire thereof,
indicating the quality of truth from good. By,
"I will make all their border into stones of desire,"
is meant, that the scientific truths
which pertain to the natural person,
shall be pleasant and delightful from good;
for by a border is meant the same as by a foundation,
and this is the natural person,
because in the things there
the goods and truths of the spiritual person are terminated,
and stones of desire
denote truths pleasant and delightful from good.
By these are meant the goods and truths of the Word
which those have who belong to the New Church,
[and] which will be of such a nature.

~ "Take a Census" ~

The Lord spoke to Moses in the Tent of Meeting
in the Desert of Sinai
on the first day of the second month of the second year
after the Israelites came out of Egypt.
He said:  "Take a census of the whole Israelite community
by their clans and families,
listing every man by name, one by one.
You and Aaron are to number by their divisions
all the men in Israel twenty years old or more
who are able to serve in the army.
One man from each tribe,
each the head of his family,
is to help you."

(Numbers 1:1-3)

AE 400 - Mountains & Hills, External Worship; AE 401 - Angels

AE 400 [7, 9]

Mountains mean the church
where there is love to the Lord,
and hills the church
where there is love towards the neighbor . . ..

. . . where there is no internal worship,
external worship is not worship,
but only gesture and speech,
the thought which is then present
being from the natural memory alone,
and the affection from the body,
such as springs from the habit before people.

AE 401 [4]

"And I saw a strong angel coming down from heaven,
clothed with a cloud;
and a rainbow was around his head,
and his face was as the sun."
(Revelation 10:1)

For by angels, in the Word, in its spiritual sense,
are not meant angels,
but something Divine from the Lord,
because the Divine that appears from them
is not of them,
but of the Lord with them.
Similarly, the Divine truth which they speak,
and which is full of wisdom,
they do not speak from themselves, but from the Lord;
for they have been people,
and people derive
all wisdom and intelligence from the Lord.
So it is evident that by an angel in the Word
is meant the Lord,
who also on this occasion appeared as a Sun.

~ If You Follow My Decrees and If You Don't ~

"'Do not make idols
or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves,
and do not place a carved stone in your land
to bow down before it.
I am the Lord your God.

"'Observe My Sabbaths
and have reverence for My sanctuary.
I am the Lord.

"'If you follow My decrees
and are careful to obey My commands,
I will send you rain it its season,
and the ground will yield its crops
and the trees of the field their fruit.
Your threshing will continue until grape harvest
and the grape harvest will continue until planting,
and you will eat all the food you want
and live in safety in your land.

"'I will grant peace in the land,
and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid.
I will remove savage beasts from the land,
and the sword will not pass through your country.
You will pursue your enemies,
and they will fall by the sword before you.
Five of you will chase a hundred,
and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand,
and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.

"'I will look on you with favor
and make you fruitful and increase your numbers,
and I will keep My covenant with you.
You will still be eating last year's harvest
when you will have to move it out
to make room for the new.
I will put My dwelling place among you,
and I will not abhor you.
I will walk among you and be your God,
and you will be My people.'"

. . . '"But if you will not listen to Me
and carry out all these commands,
and if you reject My decrees and abhor My laws
and fail to carry out all My commands
and so violate My covenant,
then I will do this to you:
I will bring upon you sudden terror,
wasting diseases and fever that will destroy your sight
and drain away your life.
You will plant seed in vain,
because your enemies will eat it.
I will set My face against you
so that you will be defeated by your enemies;
those who hate you will rule over you,
and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you.

(Leviticus 26:1-12, 14-17)

AE 395 - "Rejoice in Jehovah"; AE 397 - Angels and Spirits

AE 395 [12]

"I will greatly rejoice in Jehovah,
my soul shall exult in my God;
for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
He has covered me with a cloak of justice."
(Isaiah 61:10)

To rejoice in Jehovah,
means to rejoice in Divine good;
to exult in God, means, in the Divine truth;
for the Lord is called Jehovah from Divine good,
and God from Divine truth;
and all spiritual joy is from them.
To clothe with the garments of salvation,
means to instruct and gift with truths;
and to cover with a cloak of Justice,
means to fill with every truth from good,
a cloak denoting all truth
because it denotes truth in general,
justice being said of good.

AE 397

. . . all consociations (associations) in the spiritual world
are effected according to the agreement of affections,
and of the thoughts from them,
for angels and spirits are nothing
but affections and the thought from them
in a human form . . ..

~ The Year of Jubilee ~

"'Count off seven sabbaths of years --
seven times seven years --
so that the seventh sabbaths of years
amount to a period of forty-nine years.
Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere
on the tenth day of the seventh month;
on the Day of Atonement
sound the trumpet throughout your land.
Consecrate the fiftieth year
and proclaim liberty throughout the land
to all its inhabitants.
It shall be a jubilee for you;
each one of you is to return to his family property
and each to his own clan.
The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you;
do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself
or harvest the untended vines.
For it is a jubilee and is to be holy for you;
eat only what is taken directly from the field.

"'In this Year of Jubilee
everyone is to return to his own property.

"'If you sell land to one of your countrymen
or buy any from him,
do not take advantage of each other.
You are to buy from your countryman
on the basis of the number of years since the Jubilee.
And he is to sell to you on the basis of
the number of years left for harvesting crops.
When the years are many,
you are to increase the price,
and when the years are few,
you are to decrease the price,
because what he is really selling you
is the number of crops.
Do not take advantage of each other,
but fear your God.
I am the Lord your God.'"

(Leviticus 25:8-17)

~ During the Seventh Month ~

AE 395 [1, 2]

And white robes were given unto every one.
(Revelation 6:11)

. . . a white robe signifies Divine truth from the Lord.
All spirits and angels are clothed
according to their intelligence,
or according to the reception of truth in the life,
for this is intelligence,
and the light of their intelligence is formed into garments,
which, when they are so formed,
not only appear as garments,
but also are garments.
For all things that exist in the spiritual world,
and appear before their eyes,
exist from the light and heat
that proceed from the Lord as a Sun.
From this origin not only
are all things in the spiritual world created and formed,
but also all things in the natural world;
for the natural world exists and subsists
from the Lord through the spiritual world.

The white robes given to those who were under the altar,
also signify protection by the Lord,
because the white robes given to them,
represented the Lord's presence
with the Divine truth around them;
and the Lord by means of Divine truth protects His own,
for He surrounds them with a sphere of light,
from which they have white robes;
and when they are thus encompassed,
they can no longer be infested by evil spirits . . ..
This also takes place with those
who are raised by the Lord into heaven.
They are then clothed with white robes,
which is an indication that they are in Divine truth,
and thus in safety.
__________

AE = Apocalypse Explained
For more information: 
https://newchristianbiblestudy.org/

AE 392 - The Word of God

AE 392

What the Lord speaks is called the Word of God,
and this is Divine truth.
The Word or Sacred Scripture is nothing else;
for all Divine truth is contained therein,
but the truth itself does not appear there in its glory
except before the angels,
because the interior things of the Word,
which are spiritual and celestial,
come within their perception,
and also constitute their wisdom.
Therefore by the Word of God, in the genuine sense,
is signified Divine truth,
and in the highest sense, the Lord Himself, who spoke it,
for He spoke from Himself, or from His Divine,
and what proceeds from Him is also Himself.

~ Some of the Various Laws the Lord Gave Moses ~

The Lord said to Moses,
"Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them:
'Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

"'Each of you must respect his mother and father,
and you must observe My Sabbaths.
I am the Lord your God.

"'Do not turn to idols
or make gods of cast metal for your yourselves.
I am the Lord your God.

. . . '"When you reap the harvest of your land,
do not reap to the very edges of your field
or gather the gleanings of your harvest.
Do not go over you vineyard a second time
or pick up the grapes that have fallen.
Leave them for the poor and the alien.
I am the Lord your God.

"'Do not steal.

"'Do not lie.

"'Do not deceive one another.

"'Do not swear falsely by My name
and so profane the name of your God.
I am the Lord.

"'Do not defraud your neighbor or rob him.

"'Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight.

"'Do not curse the deaf
or put a stumbling block in front of the blind,
but fear your God.
I am the Lord.

"'Do not pervert justice;
do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great,
but judge your neighbor fairly.

'''Do not go about spreading slander among your people.

"'Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor's life.
I am the Lord.'"

(Leviticus 19:1-4, 9-16)

AE 386 - Hungering and Thirsting; AE 388 - The Church With a Person

AE 386 [28, 30]

By hungering and thirsting
are meant to be in ignorance and in spiritual want,
and by giving to eat and drink,
are meant to instruct and to enlighten
from spiritual affection or charity . . ..

That the Lord thirsted we read in John:

"Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished,
that the scripture might be fulfilled, said, I thirst.
And there had been placed a vessel full of vinegar;
and they filled a sponge, and put it upon hyssop,
and put it to His mouth.
And when Jesus had received the vinegar He said,
It is finished."
(John 19:28-30)

Those who think of these things only naturally
and not spiritually,
may suppose that they involve nothing more than
that the Lord thirsted,
and that then vinegar was given to Him;
but because all things
which the Scripture said concerning Him
were then consummated (completed, made pure),
and He came into the world to save mankind,
therefore He said, I thirst,
by which is meant that from Divine love
He willed and desired the salvation of the human race.
But that vinegar was given to Him,
means that in the coming church
there would be no genuine truth,
but truth mingled with falsities,
such as exist with those who separate faith from charity,
or truth from good,
this being meant by vinegar.
Their putting it upon hyssop
meant a certain purification of it,
for by hyssop is meant an external means of purification.

AE 388 [1, 5]

The church with a person is mentioned
because the church is in a person;
for a church is a church from charity and faith,
and these are in a person;
and if these are not present,
there is no church with him.
It is believed that the church exists where the Word is,
and where the Lord is known;
but yet the church consists only of those
who from the heart
acknowledge the Divine of the Lord,
and who learn truths from the Lord by the Word,
and do them;
no others constitute the church. 

. . . when the church with a person is devastated,
that is, when the truth of the church is no longer believed,
then a person becomes sensual,
believing nothing but what he can see with his eyes,
and touch with his hands,
and such a person gives himself up wholly
to the love of self and the love of the world, thus to lusts.
___________

signify - means;  signified - meant

AE - Apocalypse Explained
Apocalypse means the book of Revelation

~ I Am the Lord Your God ~

The Lord said to Moses,
"Speak to the Israelites and say to them:
'I am the Lord your God.
You must not do as they do in Egypt,
where you used to live,
and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan,
where I am bringing you.
Do not follow their practices.
You must obey My laws
and be careful to follow My decrees.
I am the Lord your God.
Keep My decrees and laws,
for the man who obeys them
will live by them.
I am the Lord."

(Leviticus 18:1-5 - Old Testament)

AE 381, 384, 386 - The Lack of Goods and Truths

AE 381. (v. 8)

And I looked, and behold a pale horse.
(Revelation 5:8)

That this means not any understanding of the Word,
from evils of life and then from the falsities from them.
In this and the following chapter,
the successive states of the church are treated of,
that is, of the people of the church,
as to their spiritual life;
and their first state is described by the white horse,
the second by the red horse,
the third by the black horse,
and the fourth by the pale horse.
That by the white horse is meant
the understanding of truth from the Word;
that by the red horse is meant
the understanding of the Word perished as to good;
that by the black horse is meant
the understanding of the Word perished as to truth.
So it is now clear that by the pale horse is meant
not any understanding of the Word,
from evils of life and falsities from them.
For when the understanding of the Word is destroyed
as to good and truth,
it follows that there is no understanding of the Word;
and the reason why there is none, is,
because evil of life and the falsity from them bear rule.

AE 384

And power was given unto them
over the fourth part of the earth to kill.
(Revelation 5:8)

That this signifies deprivation of all good
and consequently of all truth from the Word,
and then also in the doctrine of their church
from the Word . . ..

AE 386 [12, 17]

The Divine truth which constitutes the church
is meant by glory . . ..

That famine in the Word also means
ignorance of the knowledges of truth and good,
as applied to those who know
that there are such knowledges and then desire them,
is plain from the following passages. In Matthew:

"Blessed are they who hunger for justice,
for they shall be filled."
(Matthew 5:6)

To hunger for justice means to desire good,
for in the Word justice is said of good.

And in Luke:

"God hath filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich he has sent empty away."
(Luke 1:53)

They that hunger denote those
who are in ignorance of the knowledges of truth and good,
and yet in the desire of them and the rich,
those who possess in abundance those knowledges,
but have no desire for them.
That the former are enriched,
is meant by God filling them with good things;
and that the latter are deprived thereof,
is meant by God sending them away empty.

~ The Scapegoat ~

"When Aaron has finished making atonement
for the Most Holy Place,
the tent of Meeting and the altar,
he shall bring forward the live goat.
He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat
and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion
of the Israelites --
all their sins --
and put them on the goat's heat.
He shall send the goat away into the desert
in the care of a man appointed for the task.
The goat will carry on itself
all their sins to a solitary place;
and the man shall release it in the desert.

(Leviticus 16:20-22)
___________________________

AC 9937 [8]

The removal of sins with those who are in good,
that is, those who have practiced repentance,
was represented in the Jewish Church
by the he-goat called "Asasel,"
upon the head of which Aaron was to lay his hands . . ..
By Aaron is here represented the Lord;
by "the he-goat" is signified faith;
by "the wilderness," and "the land of separation," hell;
and by "bearing thither the iniquities of the sons of Israel"
is signified to remove them, and cast them into hell.
No one can know that such things were represented,
except from the internal sense . . ..
The internal sense therefore teaches
what these things involve, namely,
that it is the truth of faith by means of which
a person is regenerated,
consequently by means of which sins are removed;
and because the faith of truth is from the Lord,
it is the Lord Himself who effects this;
That "the wilderness" denotes hell,
is because the camp in which the sons of Israel were
signified (meant) heaven;
and therefore the wilderness is called
a "land of separation," or of "cutting off."
Thus by "bearing iniquities into that land,"
that is into the wilderness,
is signified to cast evils and falsities into hell,
from which they are;
and they are cast out when they are removed
so as not to appear,
which is effected when a man is withheld from them
by being kept in good by the Lord . . ..

AE 376 - There Must Be No Harm

AE  376 [1-3]

It has thus far been shown that "oil" signifies celestial good,
which is the good of love to the Lord;
it shall now be shown that "wine" signifies spiritual good,
which is the good of charity towards the neighbor
and the good of faith;
and as this good in its essence is truth,
it is said in the general explanation that
"the oil and the wine hurt not,"
which signifies that there must no harm be done
to the internal or spiritual sense of the Word
in respect either to good or to truth,
or what is the same,
that there must no harm be done to the goods and truths
which are in the internal or spiritual sense of the Word.
The good of charity and the good of faith
in their essence are truth,
because that good is implanted by the Lord
in person's intellectual part by means of the truths
that are called the truths of faith,
and when a person lives according to these truths
they become goods;
for by means of truths a new will is formed in that part,
and whatever proceeds from the will is called good.
This will, moreover, is the same as conscience,
and conscience is a conscience of truth,
for it is formed by truths of every kind
from the doctrine of the church,
and from the sense of the letter of the Word.
From this now it is that "wine" signifies truth.

Furthermore,
there are goods and truths internal and external;
internal goods and truths are signified
by "the oil and the wine" that must not be hurt;
but external goods and truths are signified
by "wheat and barley."
External goods and truths are those
that are in the sense of the letter of the Word,
while internal goods and truths are those
that are in the internal or spiritual sense of the Word;
or external goods and truths are such
as are in the lower heavens with the angels there,
that is, in the ultimates of heaven,
while internal goods and truths are such
as are in the higher heavens with the angels there,
that is, in the third and second heavens.
These goods and truths
are genuine goods and truths themselves,
but the former are truths and goods
because they correspond,
thus are correspondences;
internal goods and truths have
immediate communication with the angels of heaven,
while external goods and truths
have not an immediate but a mediate communication
through correspondences.
This is why the Jews,
because they were only in the sense of the letter
and had no knowledge
of the signification of things in the spiritual sense,
were unable to do harm to the spiritual sense
in respect either to good or to truth,
and consequently were unable to do harm
to genuine goods and truths.
So the Christian Church at this day
is unable to do harm to the genuine goods and truths
which are in the spiritual sense of the Word,
for it has been ignorant of that sense,
and at the same time
ignorant of genuine goods and truths.

The spiritual sense of the Word
was not disclosed to Christians,
because genuine goods and truths,
such as are in the higher heavens,
lie concealed in the spiritual sense of the Word;
and so long as these goods and truths
were unperceived and unknown
that sense could not be opened,
since these goods and truths could not be seen.
In the Christian churches
genuine goods and truths
have not been perceived and known
for the reason that those churches have been divided,
in general, into the Papal and the Evangelical;
and those in the Papal Church
are utterly ignorant of truths,
because they do not depend upon the Word,
thus upon the Lord who is the Word, that is, Divine truth,
but upon the pope,
from whose mouth scarcely anything proceeds
except what is from the love of ruling,
and that love is from hell;
therefore with them
scarcely a single truth of the church exists;
while in the Evangelical churches
faith alone has been assumed as
the essential means of salvation,
and as a consequence the good of love and charity
has been rejected as nonessential,
and where good is rejected
no truth which is truth in itself can exist,
since all truth is from good;
for the Lord flows into a person's good,
and by means of good
illustrates him and gives him the light to perceive truths,
therefore without that light,
which is a person's very spiritual life,
there is no truth, however much it may sound like truth
because it is from the Word;
it is truth falsified by the ideas
that are held in respect to it;
for from faith separate from charity,
or from truths without good,
no other result can follow.
This is why the spiritual sense of the Word
could not be disclosed to the Christian churches,
for if it had been disclosed,
they would have falsified and perverted it
by ideas from fallacies,
and thus would have profaned it.
This also is why no one will ever hereafter
be admitted into the spiritual sense of the Word
unless he is in genuine truths from good,
and no one can be in genuine truths from good
unless in heart he acknowledges
the Lord alone as the God of heaven and earth,
for from Him is every good and thence every truth.
The spiritual sense of the Word is at this day opened,
and therewith also genuine truths and goods are disclosed,
because the Last Judgment
has been accomplished by the Lord,
and thus all things in the heavens and in the hells
have been reduced to order;
and for this reason it can be provided by the Lord
that no harm can be done to genuine truths and goods,
which are in the spiritual sense of the Word,
and this could not have been provided before.

~ The Person to be Cleansed ~

"The person to be cleansed must wash his clothes,
shave off all his hair and bathe with water;
then he will be ceremonial clean.
After this he may come into the camp,
but he must stay outside his tent for seven days.
On the seventh day he must shave off all his hair;
he must shave his head, his beard, his eyebrows
and the rest of his hair.
He must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water,
and he will be clean.

"On the eighth day
he must bring two male lambs
and one ewe lamb a year old,
each without defect,
along with three-tenths of an ephah
of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering,
and one log of oil.
The priest who pronounces him clean
shall present both the one to be cleansed
and his offerings before the Lord
at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting."

(Leviticus 14:8-11)

AE 375 - Th Good Samaritan and The Ten Virgins

AE 375 [41-42]

Because "oil" signified (means) the good of love to the Lord,
and the good of charity towards the neighbor:

The Lord likened the kingdom of the heavens to ten virgins,
of whom five had oil in the lamps,
and five had not;
therefore the latter were called foolish,
and the former prudent.
(Matthew 25:1-11)

"The ten virgins" signify all who are of the church;
and "five" signify some or a part of them,
for such is the signification of the numbers
"ten" and "five" in the Word;
and "virgin" or "daughter" signifies the church;
"oil" signifies the good of love to the Lord
and the good of charity towards the neighbor;
and "lamps" signify the truths
that are called the truths of faith.
From this the meaning of these words
in the spiritual sense can be seen,
namely, that the virgins that had no oil in their lamps,
and consequently were not admitted into heaven,
are those who know truths from the Word,
or from the doctrine of the church,
and yet are not in the good of love and charity,
that is, do not live according to these truths;
while the virgins who had oil in their lamps,
and were received into heaven,
are those who are in the good of love and charity,
and so in truths from the Word
or from the doctrine of the church;
which makes clear why
the latter virgins are called "prudent,"
and the former "foolish."

Because "oil" signified the good of love and charity,
and "wine" signified truth:

The Lord says of the Samaritan,
who as he journeyed
saw in the way a man wounded by thieves,
that he poured oil and wine into his wounds,
and then set him on his own beast,
and brought him to an inn,
and told them to care for him.
(Luke 10:33-35)

In the spiritual sense these things are perceived:
"the Samaritan" means the Gentiles
that were in the good of charity towards the neighbor;
"the man wounded by thieves"
means those who are infested by those from hell,
who are thieves because they injure and destroy
a person's spiritual life;
the "oil and wine that he poured into his wounds"
mean things spiritual that heal man,
"oil" good, and "wine" truth;
that "he set him on his own beast"
signifies that he did this according to his intelligence
so far as he was able,
"horse," and likewise "beast of burden"
signifying the intellect;
that "he brought him to an inn
and told them to care for him"
signifies to bring to those that are well instructed
in the doctrine of the church from the Word,
and who are better able to heal him
than one who is still in ignorance.
Thus are these words understood in heaven,
and from them it is evident that the Lord
when He was in the world
spoke by pure correspondences,
thus for the world and for heaven at the same time.
____________________________

signify = means

~ Be Holy ~

I am t he Lord
who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God;
therefore be holy,
because I am holy.

(Leviticus 11:45)

AE 368 - "For a Penny"

AE 368 - Revelation 6:6

And I heard a voice in the midst of the four animals saying,
"A measure of wheat for a penny,
and three measures of barley for a penny,"
means that the genuine good of the church
is of no account to them,
and also the genuine truth of the church;
"and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine,"
signifies that it is provided that
the internal or spiritual. sense of the Word
should not be injured either as to good or as to truth.

 

~ The First Sacrifices ~

On the eighth day Moses summoned
Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel.
He said to Aaron,
"Take a bull calf for your sin offering
and a ram for your burnt offering,
both without defect,
and present them before the Lord.
Then say to the Israelites:
'Take a male goat for a sin offering,
a calf and a lamb --
both a year old and without defect --
for a burnt offering,
and an ox and a ram for a fellowship offering
to sacrifice before the Lord,
together with a grain offering mixed with oil.
For today the Lord will appear to you."

They took the things Moses commanded
to the front of the tent of Meeting,
and the entire assembly came near
and stood before the Lord.
Then Moses said,
"This is what the Lord has commanded you to do,
so that the glory of the Lord may appear to you."

. . . Then Aaron lifted his hands toward the people
and blessed them.
And having sacrificed the sin offering,
the burnt offering
and the fellowship offering,
he stepped down.

Moses and Aaron then went into the Tent of Meeting.
When they came out,
they blessed the people;
and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people.
Fire came out from the presence of the Lord
and consumed the burnt offering
and the fat portions on the altar.
And when all the people saw it,
they shouted for joy and fell facedown.

(Leviticus 9:1-6, 22-24)

AE 365 - Enlightenment and Peace

AE 365 [2, 3, 12, 40]

. . . when the understanding of the Word is destroyed,
dissensions arise in the church.
By good is meant the good of love to the Lord,
and the good of love towards the neighbor,
because all good is of love;
when these goods do not exist
with the people of the church,
then the Word is not understood;
for the conjunction of the Lord
and the conjunction of heaven
with the person of the church is by good;
therefore, if there is no good with him,
no enlightenment can be given;
for all enlightenment, when the Word is read,
is out of heaven from the Lord;
and when there is no enlightenment,
then the truths that are in the Word are in obscurity,
[and] then dissensions arise.
That the Word is not understood if man is not in good,
is evident from this fact,
that in every particular of the Word
there is the heavenly marriage,
that is, the conjunction of good and truth;
therefore, if good is not present
to a person reading the Word,
neither does truth appear,
for truth appears from good,
and good by means of truths.

The state of the case is this:
in proportion as a person is in good,
in the same proportion the Lord flows in,
and gives the affection of truth,
and consequently understanding;
for the interior human mind
is altogether formed as an image of heaven,
and all heaven is formed
according to the affections of good,
and of truth from good;
therefore, unless good is with a person,
that mind cannot be opened,
still less can it be formed for heaven;
it is formed by the conjunction of good and truth.
From this it is also evident,
that unless a person is in good,
truths have not any ground in which they may be received,
nor heat from which they may grow:
for truths with the person who is in good,
are like seeds in the ground in the time of spring;
whereas truths with the person who is not in good,
are like seeds in ground
bound by frost in the time of winter,
when there is neither grass, nor flower,
nor tree, still less fruit.

. . . when evils and falsities are removed,
and no longer infest,
then the Lord flows in with peace . . ..

"The work of Jehovah is peace;
and the labor of justice
quietness and security even for ever;
that My people may dwell in a habitation of peace,
and in tents of securities,
and in quiet resting-places.
(Isaiah 32: 17, 18)

Peace is called the work of Jehovah,
because it is solely from the Lord,
and everything that exists by virtue of peace from the Lord,
with those who are in conjunction with the Lord,
is called the work of Jehovah;
so it is said, the work of Jehovah is peace.
The labor of justice signifies good conjoined with truth,
in which peace consists;
for labor in the Word is predicated of truth,
justice of good,
and quietness of the peace therein.
Security for ever signifies
that so there will be
no infestation and fear from evils and falsities.
Consequently it is evident what is signified by,
"that My people may dwell in a habitation of peace,
and in tents of securities, and in quiet resting-places,"
namely, that they are in heaven where the Lord is,
and from there in the good of love and of worship
infestation from the hells,
and thus in the delights of good
and the pleasantnesses of truth.
The habitation of peace
denotes heaven where the Lord is;
tents of securities denote the goods of love
and of the consequent worship
without infestation by evils and falsities from hell;
and quiet resting-places denote the delight of good,
and the pleasantnesses of truth.

~ Eating Fat and Blood Forbidden ~

The Lord said to Moses,
"Say to the Israelites:
'Do not eat any of the fat of cattle, sheep or goats.
The fat of an animal found dead or torn by wild animals
may be used for any other purpose,
but you must not eat it.
Anyone who eats the fat of an animal
from which an offering by fire may be made to the Lord
must be cut off from his people.
And wherever you live,
you must not eat the blood of any bird or animal.
If anyone eats blood,
that person must be cut off from his people.'"

(Leviticus 7:22-27)
____________________________

AE 750

As the ultimate life of a person, which is the life of his body,
consists in the blood, it is said that "the soul of all flesh,"
that is, the life thereof, "is its blood;"
but as there is a spiritual sense
in every least particular of the Word,
and in that sense "blood" signifies (means)
the truth of doctrine from the Word,
therefore this too is signified by "the soul of flesh."
. . . Because this is the signification of blood,
the sons of Israel were forbidden to eat blood;
therefore the blood of the burnt-offerings and sacrifices
was sprinkled about the altar,
and by the blood
sanctifications and also consecrations were effected;
so likewise the covenant of the God of Israel,
that is, of the Lord,
with the people was entered into by blood;
and furthermore, the Lord has entered into a new covenant
with the church of this day.
This is why the blood of the Lord is called
"the blood of the covenant,"
that is, of conjunction with the Lord;
and it is so called because it is Divine truth
proceeding from the Lord that conjoins.
From this it is clear why blood is called "soul."

AE 356 - Doctrine; AE 357, 358 - A Few Short Truths

AE 356 [1, 4]

Here first let something be said respecting doctrine:

1. Without doctrine no one can understand the Word.

2. Without doctrine from the Word
no one can fight against evils and falsities,
and disperse them.

3. Without doctrine from the Word
no one within the church, where the Word is,
can become spiritual.

4. Doctrine can be acquired from no other source
than from the Word,
and by none except those
who are in illustration from the Lord.

Fourth, "That doctrine can be acquired
from no other source than from the Word,
and by none except those
who are in illustration from the Lord,"
can be seen from this,
that the Word is Divine truth itself,
and is such that the Lord is in it;
for the Lord is in His Divine truth that proceeds from Him;
those, therefore, who frame doctrine
from any other source than from the Word,
do not frame it from Divine truth nor from the Lord.
Moreover, in the particulars of the Word
there is a spiritual sense,
and the angels of heaven are in that sense;
consequently there is a conjunction of heaven
with the church by means of the Word; those,
therefore, who frame doctrine from any other source
than the Word
do not frame it in conjunction with heaven,
from which nevertheless is all illustration.
. . . Those are in illustration from the Lord
who love truths because they are truths;
and because such as these do them,
they are in the Lord and the Lord is in them.

AE 357 [28, 31]

. . . knowledge avails nothing
if it does not serve the rational and spiritual person.

No one can be reformed,
that is, withdrawn from falsities and evils,
but by truths.

AE 358

. . . in wisdom and eternal happiness
the very life of heaven consists.

~ If Anyone Sins ~

Then Lord said to Moses:
"If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the Lord
by deceiving his neighbor about something
entrusted to him
or left in his care or stolen,
or if he cheats him,
or if he finds lost property and lies about it,
or if he swears falsely,
or if he commits any such sin that people may do --
when he thus sins and becomes guilty,
he must return what he has stolen or taken by extortion,
or what was entrusted to him,
or the lost property he found,
or whatever it was he swore falsely about.
He must make restitution in full,
add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the owner
on the day he presents his gilt offering.
And as a penalty he must bring to the priest,
that is, to the Lord,
his guilt offering, a ram from the flock,
one without defect and of the proper value.
In this way the priest will
make atonement for him before the Lord,
and he will be forgiven
for any of these things he did that made him guilty."

(Leviticus 6:1-7)

AE 355 - Truths, the Word, Proprium

AE 355 [9, 12, 17, 36]

. . . those, from the good of life,
are in the affection of knowing the truths of the church,
come into the light,
and that they resist evils and falsities,
and constitute the church.

For the Word is Divine,
and treats of Divine,
and not of earthly things;
therefore it contains spiritual things
that pertain to heaven and the church,
expressed in the ultimate sense,
which is the sense of the letter,
by the natural things that correspond to them.

. . . protecting truths, which in general are,
that there is a God,
and that the Word is Divine,
and that there is a life eternal.

. . . the proprium (ego, self, own) of every one
resides in the natural person,
and not in the spiritual . . ..

 

~ Salt, Fat, and Blood ~

Season all your grain offerings with salt.
Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God
out of your gain offerings;
add salt to all your offerings.
(Leviticus 2:13)

AE 701 [28]

The salt upon the offering is called
"the salt of the covenant,"
because "salt" signifies the desire of truth for good,
whereby the two are conjoined.
________________________

"'This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come,
wherever you live:
You must not eat any fat or any blood.'"
(Leviticus 3:17)

AC 1001 [4]

And because blood was held so sacred
and man's will is so profane,
the eating of blood was severely prohibited,
on account of its representation of
the profanation of what is holy.

. . . "Fat" here denotes celestial life,
and "blood" celestial spiritual life.
The celestial spiritual
is the spiritual which is from the celestial;
as in the Most Ancient Church
love to the Lord was their celestial,
because implanted in their will;
their celestial spiritual was the faith therefrom.
With the spiritual man, however,
the celestial does not exist,
but the celestial spiritual,
because charity has been implanted in his intellectual part.
____________________

signifies = means
man when singular = a person
man when plural -  people
Sometimes man means a male (Latin, vir).

AE 351, 352, 353 - Influx, or the Flowing Down of the Light from Heaven

AE 351 [2]

The light of heaven,
or the light in which the angels of heaven are
who are from this earth,
is from the Lord by means of the Word;
from this as from a center
light is diffused into the circumferences
in every direction,
thus to those who are there, who, as was said,
are the Gentiles that are outside of our church.
But this diffusion of light
is effected in heaven by the Lord,
and what is done in heaven
flows also into the minds of people,
for the minds of people make one
with the minds of spirits and angels.

AE 353

. . . those things that flow down
out of the inmost or third heaven correspond to thunder,
and those out of the middle or second heaven to lightning;
and so also it is that in the Word,
by lightnings and thunderings
are signified enlightenment, understanding, and perception.

AE 354

. . . what comes out of the inmost heaven, is perceived;
but what comes out of the middle heaven, is understood.
The reason is,
that the inmost heaven is in the good of love,
but the middle heaven is in the truths therefrom,
and all perception is from good,
and all understanding from truths.
_______________________________

signified = means

~ Moses Sets Up the Tabernacle ~

Moses did everything just as the Lord commanded him.

So the tabernacle was set up
on the first day of the first month in the second year.
When Moses set up the tabernacle,
he put the bases in place,
erected the frames,
inserted the crossbars and set up the posts.
Then he spread the tent over the tabernacle
and put the covering over the tent,
as the Lord commanded him.

He took the Testimony and placed it in the ark,
attached the poles to the ark
and put the atonement cover over it.
Then he brought the ark into the tabernacle
and hung the shielding curtain
and shielded the ark of the Testimony,
as the Lord commanded him.

Moses placed the table in the Tent of Meeting
on the north side of the tabernacle outside the curtain
and set out the bread on it before the Lord,
as the Lord commanded him.

He placed the lampstand in the tent of Meeting
opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle
and set up the lamps before the Lord,
as the Lord commanded him.

Moses placed the gold altar in the Tent of Meeting
in front of the curtain
and burned fragrant incense on it,
as the Lord commanded him.
Then he put up the curtain
at the entrance to the tabernacle.

He set the altar of burnt offering near
the entrance to the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting,
and offered on it burnt offerings and grain offerings,
as the Lord commanded him.

He placed the basin
between the Tent of Meeting and the altar
and put water in it for washing,
and Moses and Aaron and his sons
used it to wash their hands and feet.
they washed whenever they entered the Tent of Meeting
or approached the altar,
as the Lord commanded Moses.

Then Moses set up the courtyard
around the tabernacle and altar
and put up the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard.
And so Moses finished the work.

Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting,
and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting
because the cloud had settled upon it,
and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

In all the travels of the Israelites,
whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle,
they would set out;
but if the cloud did not lift,
they did not set out -- until the day it lifted.
So the cloud of the Lord
was over the tabernacle by day,
and fire was in the cloud by night,
in the sight of all the house of Israel
during all their travels.

(Exodus 40:16-38)

AE 343 - The Divine; AE 349 - To Believe In God

AE 343

The Divine which constitutes heaven,
and gives to angels and men
love, faith, wisdom, and intelligence,
does not proceed directly from the Lord's essential divine,
but by means of His Divine Human,
and this Divine that proceeds,
is the Holy Spirit.

AE 349 [12]

. . . to believe in God
is to know, to will and to do . . ..

~ The Ark of the Covenant ~

Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood --
two and a half cubits long,
a cubit and a half wide,
and a cubit and a half high.
He overlaid it with pure gold,
both inside and out,
and made a gold molding around it.
He cast four gold rings for it
and fastened them to its four feet,
with two rings on one side
and two rings on the other.
Then he made poles of acacia wood
and overlaid them with gold.
And he inserted the poles into the rings
on the side of the ark to carry  it.

He made the atonement cover of pure gold --
two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide.
then he made two cherubim out of hammered gold
at the ends of the cover.
He made one cherub on one end
and the second cherub on the other;
and the two ends
he made them of one piece with the cover.
The cherubim had their wings spread upward,
overshadowing the cover with them.
the cherubim faced each other,
looking toward the cover.

(Exodus 37:1-9)

AE 340 - Blessing

AE 340 [6, 8, 10-11]

. . . by ministering is signified worship from spiritual good,
and by blessing is signified worship from spiritual truths.

Those, therefore, who receive
Divine good and Divine truth from the Lord, are called

"Blessed."
(Psalm 67:22; 115:15; Matthew 25:34)

In Moses:
Thus shall you bless the sons of Israel,
Jehovah bless you and keep you;
Jehovah make His faces to shine upon you,
and be gracious unto you;
Jehovah lift up His faces upon you,
and give you peace.
Thus shall they put My name upon the sons of Israel;
and I will bless them.
(Numbers 6:23-27)

From this, unfolded by means of the internal sense,
it is evident what "blessing" as a whole involves --
namely, that Jehovah, that is, the Lord,
from Divine love flows in
with Divine truth and with Divine good
with those who receive;
the Divine love, from which the Lord flows in,
being meant by "the faces of Jehovah;"
the Divine truth, with which the Lord flows in,
by "Jehovah make His faces to shine upon you;"
and the Divine good, with which He flows in,
by "Jehovah lift up His faces upon you;"
the protection from evils and falsities,
which would otherwise take away the influx,
by "keep you" and "be gracious unto you;"
heaven and eternal happiness,
which the Lord gives by means of
His Divine truth and His Divine good . . .

. . . peace signifies the celestial delight
which inmostly affects every good with blessedness,
and from that signifies heaven and eternal happiness . . ..

~ Offerings Made for the Tabernacle ~

Then the whole Israelite community
withdrew from Moses' presence,
and everyone who was willing
and whose heart moved him
came and brought an offering to the Lord
for the work on the Tent of Meeting,
and for all its service,
and for the sacred garments.
All who were willing, men and women alike,
came and brought gold jewelry of all kinds:
brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments.
They all presented their gold
as a wave offering to the Lord.
Everyone who had
blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen,
or goat hair,
ram skins dyed red
or hides of sea cows brought them.
Those presenting an offering of silver or bronze
brought it as an offering to the Lord,
and everyone who had acacia wood
for any part of the work brought it.
Every skilled woman spun with her hands
and brought what she had spun --
blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen.
And all the women who were willing and had the skill
spun the goat hair.
The leaders brought onyx stones and other gems
to be mounted on the ephod and breast piece.
They also brought spices and olive oil
for the light and for the anointing oil
and for the fragrant incense.
All the Israelite men and women who were willing
brought to the Lord freewill offerings for all the work
the Lord though Moses had commanded them to do.

(Exodus 25:20-29)

AE 336 - Every Single Good Is Made Up of Several Truths

AE 336 [1, 3, 8]

And the number of them was
myriads of myriads and Thousands of thousands,
(Revelation 5:11)

signifies the innumerable who are in truths,
and the innumerable who are in goods.
Myriads signify things innumerable; similarly thousands;
but myriads are predicated of truths,
and thousands of goods;
so it is that by myriads of myriads,
and thousands of thousands,
are signified that those are innumerable who are in truths,
and innumerable those who are in goods.

. . . every single good consists of several truths,
for good is formed from truths,
and so good is produced by truths;
it is from this fact
that the greater number is predicated of truths,
and the less of goods;
similarly here myriads of myriads,
and thousands of thousands.

"Will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams,
with myriads of rivers of oil?"
(Micah 6:6)

Because by rams are signified spiritual goods,
and by rivers of oil are signified
the truths proceeding from good,
therefore, myriads are predicated of the latter,
and thousands of the former.
And because the good of love is signified by oil,
therefore by the rivers thereof
are signified the things proceeding from it,
which are truths.

~ The Radiant Face of Moses ~

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai
with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands,
he was not aware that his face was radiant
because he had spoken with the Lord.
When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses,
his faces was radiant,
and they were afraid to come near him.
But Moses called to them;
so Aaron and all the leaders of the community
came back to him,
and he spoke to them.
Afterward all the Israelites came near him,
and he gave them all the commands the Lord
had given him on Mount Sinai.

When Moses finished speaking to them,
he put a veil over his face.
But whenever he entered the Lord's presence
to speak with Him,
he removed the veil until he came out.
And when he came out
and told the Israelites what he had been commanded,
they saw that his face was radiant.
Then Moses would put the veil back over his face
until he went in to speak with the Lord.

(Exodus 34:29-35)

AE 329 - Flesh and Blood

AE 329 [14, 15]

The Lord's "flesh"
signifies the Divine good of the Divine love,
and His "blood"
signifies the Divine truth proceeding from that good,
because there are two things
that proceed from the Lord's Divine Human,
namely, Divine good and Divine truth,
the latter is His blood,
and the former His flesh.

With a person there are also two things
that constitute his spiritual life,
namely the good of love and the truth of faith.
With him the will is the receptacle of the good of love,
and the understanding is the receptacle of the truth of faith.
All things belonging to the mind,
that is, belonging to the will and understanding,
have a correspondence with
all things belonging to the body,
consequently the latter are moved at the nod of the former.
In general, the correspondence of the will is with the flesh,
and the correspondence of the understanding with the blood;
consequently the voluntary
that is a person's own [proprium voluntarium]
is meant in the Word by "flesh,"
and the intellectual that is his own [proprium intellectuale]
by "blood," as in Matthew:

Jesus said to Simon, blessed are you,
for flesh and blood has not revealed it unto you.
(Matthew 16:17)

These things are mentioned that it may be known
that in the Word things voluntary and intellectual,
that is, spiritual things, are meant by "flesh and blood"
when a person is referred to,
and things Divine when the Lord is referred to.
But these things are for those
whose minds can be elevated above natural ideas
and can see causes.

~ The Sabbath ~

Then the Lord said to Moses,
"Say to the Israelites,
'You must observe My Sabbaths.
This will be a sign between Me and you
for the generations to come,
so you may know that I am the Lord,
who makes you holy.

"'Observe the Sabbath,
because it is holy to you.
Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death;
whoever does any work on that day
must be cut off from his people.
For six days, work is to be done,
but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest,
holy to the Lord.
Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day
must be put to death.
The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath,
celebrating it for the generations to come
as a lasting covenant.
It will be a sign between Me and the Israelites forever,
for is six days
the Lord made the heavens and the earth,
and on the seventh day
He abstained from work and rested.'"

When the Lord finished
speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai,
He gave him the two tablets of the Testimony,
the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.

(Exodus 31:12-18)

AE 328 - The Lord Our Redeemer

AE 328 [6-7, 12, 19-20]

The primary thing is to acknowledge the Lord,
to acknowledge His Divine in the Human,
and His omnipotence to save the human race;
for by that acknowledgment
a person is conjoined to the Divine,
since there is no Divine except in Him;
for the Father is there;
for the Father is in Him, and He in the Father,
as the Lord Himself teaches . . ..

Afterwards the Lord taught how they were to be saved,
namely, by receiving Divine truth from Him;
and truth is received when it is applied to the life
and implanted in it by doing it;
therefore the Lord so often said
that they should do His words.
From this it can be seen that these two things, namely,
believing in the Lord and doing His words, make one,
and can by no means be separated;
for he who does not do the Lord's words
does not believe in Him;
so also he who thinks that he believes in Him
and does not do His words
does not believe in Him,
for the Lord is in His words, that is, in His truths,
and by them He gives faith to a person.
From these few things it can be known
that conjunction with the Divine is effected through
the acknowledgment of the Lord
and the reception of Divine truth from Him.

That to redeem signifies to deliver from evils
and to free from falsities,
and also to deliver and free from hell, is,
because all the evils and falsities with a person
arise from hell;
and because they are removed
through reformation and regeneration by the Lord,
reformation and regeneration
are also signified by to redeem or by redemption.

In Matthew:

"What is a man profited,
 if he shall gain the whole world, but shall lose his soul?
or what shall a man give as a price sufficient
for the redemption of his soul?"
(Matthew xvi. 26; Mark viii. 36, 37)

Redemption here means deliverance from damnation.
From these considerations it is evident
what is signified by the Lord redeeming mankind,
namely, that He has delivered and freed them from hell,
and from the evils and falsities which from there
continually rise up and bring a person into condemnation,
and that He continually delivers them and frees them.
This deliverance and liberation was brought about by
His subjugating the hells;
and the continual deliverance and liberation,
by His having glorified His Human,
that is, having made it Divine,
for thereby He keeps the hells continually in subjection;
this, therefore, is what is signified
by His redeeming a person,
and by His being called in the Word a Redeemer.

~ One of the Consecration Sacrifices ~

Take the other ram,
and Aaron and his sons
shall lay their hands on its head.
Slaughter it, take some of its blood
and put it on the lobes of the right ears
of Aaron and his sons,
on the thumbs of their right hands,
and on the big toes of their right feet.
Then sprinkle blood against the altar on all sides.
And take some of the blood on the altar
and some of the anointing oil
and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments
and on his sons and their garments.
Then he and his sons and their garments
will be consecrated.

(Exodus 29:19-21)
____________________________________

AE 329 [8]

. . . all things representative
of things Divine proceeding from the Lord,
which are also called celestial and spiritual,
were consecrated by oil and by blood,
and were then called holy.
The reason why they were consecrated by oil and blood,
that they might represent,
was because by oil
was signified the Divine good of the Divine love,
and by blood 
the Divine truth proceeding from there,
for truth proceeds from good.