AC 9865, 9868, 9870, 9872 - the breastplate, four rows of stones

AC 9865
A ruby, a topaz, and a carbuncle.
That hereby is signified the celestial love of good,
is evident from the signification of these stones,
as being the good of celestial love.
Celestial love is love to the Lord from the Lord.
That these stones signify this love
is on account of their red and flaming color, 
and "red" signifies love.

AC 9868
A chrysoprase, a sapphire, and a diamond.
That hereby is signified the celestial love of truth,
from which are the things which follow,
is evident from the signification of these stones,
as being the celestial love of truth.
It is said that from this are the things which follow,
because all the goods and truths that follow
proceed in order from those which go before,
for there cannot possibly be anything that is unconnected
with the things that are prior to itself.
The first in order is the celestial love of good;
the second is the celestial love of truth;
the third is the spiritual love of good;
and the fourth is the spiritual love of truth.

AC 9870
A cyanus, an agate, and an amethyst.
That this signifies the spiritual love of good,
is evident in like manner from their color;
for a blue color that is derived from white signifies spiritual good,
or what is the same, the spiritual love of good.
The spiritual love of good is charity toward the neighbor,
and the spiritual love of truth is faith from charity;
of that good and this truth the second heaven consists;
its internal being the good of charity,
and its external the good of faith.

AC 9872
A tarshish [ beryl], and an onyx, and a jasper.
That this signifies the spiritual love of truth,
in which the higher things cease,
is evident from the signification of these stones,
which they derive from their colors;
for the color of all the stones of this row
verges toward a shining white that is from blue.

AC 9863 - stones & precious stones

AC 9863
And thou shalt fill it with a filling of stone.
That this signifies the truths themselves in their order from one good,
is evident from the signification of "the breastplate,"
which is what was to be filled,
as being Divine truth shining forth from the Divine good of the Lord;
and from the signification of "a filling of stone,"
as being truths in their order;
for the breastplate was filled with stones
according to the names of the sons of Israel;
and by "stones" in a general sense
are signified truths in the ultimate of order;
and by "precious stones," such as were in the breastplate,
are signified truths shining from good.
It is said "from one good,"
because there is one good from which are all truths.
This good is the good of love within the Lord,
thus the Lord Himself;
and consequently it is the good of love from the Lord,
which is the good of love within the Lord;
for the good which flows in from the Lord into man, spirit, or angel,
appears as if it were theirs;
consequently love within the Lord is love from the Lord.
This good is the one only good from which are all truths,
and from which is the order among truths,
for truths are forms of good.

AC 9856 - the breastplate

AC 9856
And thou shalt make a breastplate of judgment,
with the work of a thinker;*
like the work of the ephod thou shalt make it;
of gold, of blue and crimson,
and scarlet double-dyed and fine twined linen, shalt thou make it.
Foursquare it shall be, doubled;
a span the length thereof and a span the breadth thereof.
And thou shalt fill it with a filling of stone, four rows of stone;
a row, a ruby, a topaz, and a carbuncle, row one;
and the second row, a chrysoprase, a sapphire, and a diamond;
the third row, a cyanus, an agate, and an amethyst;
and the fourth row, a tarshish [beryl], and an onyx, and a jasper;
they shall be enclosed in gold in their fillings.
And the stones shall be upon the names of the sons of Israel,
twelve, upon their names, with the engravings of a signet,
for everyone upon his name, they shall be for the twelve tribes.
And thou shalt make upon the breastplate
chains of the border with cord-work, of pure gold.
And thou shalt make upon the breastplate two rings of gold,
and shalt put the two rings on the two extremities of the breastplate.
And thou shalt put the two cords of gold
on the two rings at the extremities of the breastplate.
And the two extremities of the two cords thou shalt put on the two settings,
and shalt put them on the shoulders of the ephod
over against the faces thereof.
And thou shalt make two rings of gold,
and thou shalt put them upon the two extremities of the breastplate,
upon the edge thereof which is toward the side of the ephod inward.
And thou shalt make two rings of gold,
and shalt put them on the shoulders of the ephod underneath,
its faces opposite to the joining thereof above the girdle of the ephod.
And they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof
unto the rings of the ephod with a thread of blue,
that it may be upon the girdle of the ephod,
and that the breastplate withdraw not from upon the ephod.
And Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel
in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart
when he goeth in unto the holiness,
for a remembrance before Jehovah continually.
And thou shalt put unto the breastplate of judgment
the Urim and the Thummim;
and they shall be upon Aaron's heart when he goeth in before Jehovah;
and Aaron shall carry the judgment of the sons of Israel
upon his heart before Jehovah continually.
(Exodus 28:15-30)

"And thou shalt make a breastplate of judgment"
signifies that which has regard to Divine truth shining forth from Divine good;
"with the work of a thinker*"
signifies from the intellectual part;
"like the work of the ephod thou shalt make it"
signifies what is continuous with the external of the spiritual kingdom;
"of gold, of blue and crimson,
and scarlet double-dyed and fine twined linen, shalt thou make it"
signifies the good of charity and of faith;
"foursquare it shall be, doubled"
signifies what is righteous and perfect;
"a span the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof"
signifies equally as to good and as to truth;
"and thou shalt fill it with a filling of stone"
signifies truths themselves in their order from one good;
"four rows of stone, a row"
signifies the conjunction of all;
"a ruby, a topaz, and a carbuncle"
signifies the celestial love of good;
"row one"
signifies a trine therein as a one;
"and the second row"
signifies this trine also as a one;
"a chrysoprase, a sapphire, and a diamond"
signifies the celestial love of truth;
"and the third row"
signifies a trine also here as a one;
"a cyanus, an agate, and an amethyst"
signifies the spiritual love of good;
"and the fourth row"
signifies the last trine as a one;
"a tarshish [beryl], and an onyx, and a jasper"
signifies the spiritual love of truth;
"they shall be enclosed in gold in their fillings"
signifies that each and all things in general and in particular
shall proceed from the good which is of love from the Lord to the Lord;
"and the stones shall be upon the names of the sons of Israel"
signifies the goods and truths distinctively in respect to every quality;
"twelve, upon their names"
signifies each and all things in the complex;
"with the engravings of a signet"
signifies according to the heavenly form;
"for everyone upon his name"
signifies for each in particular;
"they shall be for the twelve tribes"
signifies for all in general;
"and thou shalt make upon the breastplate chains of the border"
signifies the conjunction of the whole heaven in the extremes;
"with cord-work"
signifies indissoluble;
"of pure gold"
signifies through celestial good;
"and thou shalt make upon the breastplate two rings of gold"
signifies the sphere of Divine good from the higher part of heaven,
through which there is conjunction;
"and shalt put the two rings on the two extremities of the breastplate"
signifies in the extremes;
"and thou shalt put the two cords of gold on the two rings"
signifies the method of the indissoluble conjunction;
"at the two extremities of the breast plate"
signifies in the extremes;
"and the two extremities of the two cords
thou shalt put on the two settings"
signifies the method of conjunction with the supports in the extremes;
"and shalt put them on the shoulders of the ephod"
signifies in this way the support of heaven
and the preservation of good and truth there with all exertion and power;
"over against the faces thereof"
signifies eternally;
"and thou shalt make two rings of gold"
signifies the sphere of Divine good;
"and thou shalt put them upon the two extremities of the breastplate"
signifies in the extremes;
"upon the edge thereof which is toward the side of the ephod inward"
signifies the conjunction and preservation of the middle part;
"and thou shalt make two rings of gold"
signifies the sphere of Divine good;
"and shalt put them on the two shoulders of the ephod underneath"
signifies the preservation of good and truth in the lowest part of heaven;
"over against its faces" signifies eternally;
"opposite to the joining thereof, above the girdle of the ephod"
signifies where there is a conjunction of all things
most nearly within the external bond,
by means of which all things are held there in connection and in form;
"and they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof
unto the rings of the ephod"
signifies the conjunction and preservation of all things of heaven
by means of the sphere of Divine good in the externals of the spiritual kingdom;
"with a thread of blue"
signifies by means of the celestial love of truth;
"that it may be upon the girdle of the ephod"
signifies that it may be preserved forever in its connection and its form;
"and that the breastplate withdraw not from upon the ephod"
signifies that all things of heaven are inseparable
from the externals of the spiritual kingdom;
"and Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel"
signifies the preservation by the Lord
of good and truth in respect to all their quality;
"in the breastplate of judgment"
signifies a representative of heaven as to Divine truth shining forth from the Divine good of the Lord;
"upon his heart"
signifies from the Divine love to eternity;
"when he goeth in unto the holiness"
signifies in all worship;
"for a remembrance before Jehovah continually"
signifies from mercy eternally;
"and thou shall put unto the breastplate of judgment
the Urim and Thummim"
signifies the shining forth of Divine truth from the Lord in ultimates;
"and they shall be upon Aaron's heart"
signifies from the Divine good of His Divine love;
"when he goeth in before Jehovah"
signifies in all worship;
"and Aaron shall carry the judgment of the sons of Israel"
signifies the Divine truth of heaven and of the church;
"upon his heart before Jehovah continually"
signifies perpetually shining forth from good.

AC 9845, 9846, 9846 - the Lord working in us

AC 9845
For the person who is being generated anew by the Lord has two states;
the first is a state of truth,
and the second is a state of good.
So long as the person is in the first state,
he is led by means of truths to good;
but when he is in the second state,
he is led by means of good.
This latter state is the state of heaven with the person,
for he is not in heaven until he is in good.

AC 9846
. . . the good of love works in a person while he is being regenerated,
and disposes the truths with him into order;
and afterward, when he has been regenerated,
it keeps them in their order.
For truths are created according to the whole likeness of good,
and according to its every command,
thus according to everything of love; for good is of love.
That this is so, is evident from the fact
that a person acknowledges as truths the things that he loves,
and that in this way he apprehends and acknowledges truths
according to his love.
It is from this that truths constitute the form of good.
From this it can be known how the Lord leads a person
by means of the truths of faith, that is, by means of faith;
namely, that He leads him by means of the good of love that is in him;
and further, how the Lord also directs a person mediately through heaven;
for a regenerated person is a heaven in a little image;
wherefore, as the Lord directs heaven,
He also together with it directs such a person.

AC 9849
. . . when a person turns away from the Lord,
as is the case when he does evil,
then, because the Lord is at his back,
it appears to him as if the Lord does not see him,
does not hear him,
and does not know him,
and also does not remember him;
when yet this is with the person,
and therefore from the appearance it is so said in the Word.
Very different is it
when a person turns toward the Lord,
as is the case when he acts well.

AC 9841 - love is spiritual conjunction

AC 9841
. . . whether we say the Lord,
or love from Him and consequently to Him,
it is the same thing;
because love is spiritual conjunction,
and causes Him to be where the love is;
for love causes him who is loved to be present in itself.

AC 9832 - heaven can be in a person even while still in this world

AC 9832
The truth which is of faith leads people in unto good,
and afterward is produced from good.
From this it is evident that a person is not in heaven
until he is in good.
If he is only in the truths which are called matters of faith,
he merely stands before the door;
and if from these truths he looks to good,
he enters into the vestibule;
but if from these truths he does not look to good,
he does not see heaven, not even from afar.
It is said that a person is not in heaven until he is in good,
because while a person is in the world
he ought to have heaven in himself,
in order that he may enter into it after death.
For heaven is in a person,
and is in mercy given to those who,
while they live in the world,
suffer themselves to be brought through the truths of faith
into charity toward the neighbor and into love to the Lord;
that is, into good.

AC 9831 - more on the ephod (Exodus 28:5-8)

AC 9831
And they shall take the gold, and the blue, and the crimson,
and the scarlet double-dyed, and the fine linen.
And they shall make the ephod of gold,
of blue and crimson, of scarlet double-dyed and fine twined linen,
with the work of a thinker.*
It shall have two shoulders joined at the two extremities thereof;
and it shall be joined together.
And the girdle of his ephod, which is upon it,
according to the work thereof shall be from it;
of gold, of blue and crimson,
and of scarlet double-dyed and fine twined linen.
(Exodus 28:5-8)

"And they shall take the gold,"
signifies good reigning universally;
"and the blue, and the crimson,
and the scarlet double-dyed, and the fine linen,"
signifies the good of charity and of faith;
"and they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue and crimson,
of scarlet double-dyed and fine twined linen,"
signifies the external of the spiritual kingdom from this good;
"with the work of a thinker,"
signifies from the understanding;
"it shall have two shoulders joined at the two extremities thereof,
and it shall be joined together,"
signifies the preservation by a complete unition of good and truth
on all sides and forever, with all exertion and power;
"and the girdle of his ephod, which is upon it,"
signifies an external binding-together;
"according to the work thereof, shall be from it,"
signifies what is like and continuous from the external of the spiritual kingdom;
"of gold, of blue and crimson,
and of scarlet double-dyed and fine twined linen,"
signifies thus from the good of faith and of charity, in external things.

* thinker = skilled craftsman

AC 9824 - the ephod, external things, and judgment

AC 9824 [2]
As the ephod represented the outermost of the Lord's spiritual kingdom,
it was more holy than the rest of the garments,
and on it was the breastplate, in which were the Urim and Thummim,
through which answers were given by the Divine.
That what is most external is more holy than the internal things,
is because the external holds all the interior things in their order,
and in their form and connection,
insomuch that if the external were removed,
the internal things would be dispersed;
for internal things not only cease in the external,
but they are also together in it.

[3] The case is similar in a person, with will, thought, and action.
To will comes first, to think second, and to do is the ultimate. . ..
For insofar as the act contains within itself
that which the person is thinking,
and that which he is willing,
so far the interior things are held together in their form and in their connection.
It is from this that it is said in the Word,
that a person will be judged according to his deeds,
or according to his works,
which means that he will be judged according to his thought and will,
for these are in his deeds as the soul is in his body.

AC 9818 - Spirit

AC 9818 [5]
Create in me a clean heart, O God;
and renew a steadfast spirit in the midst of me.
Cast me not away from before Thee,
and take not the Spirit of Thy holiness from me.
Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation;
and let an ingenuous spirit uphold me.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and a contrite heart God doth not despise.
(Psalms 51:10-12, 17);

"a clean heart"
denotes a will that is averse to evils, which are unclean;
"a steadfast spirit"
denotes the understanding and faith of truth;
"a broken spirit," and "a broken heart,"
denote a state of temptation
and the consequent humiliation of the life of both of these.
That "spirit" denotes life, is plain from each of the above expressions.
The Divine truth, from which is this life, is "the Spirit of holiness."

[13]
That by the "Spirit" is meant the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord,
is evident from many passages in the Word.
The reason why the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord
is signified by "the Spirit of God,"
is that the whole life of a person is thence,
and those have heavenly life who receive this Divine truth in faith and love.
That this is "the Spirit of God," the Lord Himself teaches in John:

The words that I speak to you are spirit, and are life.
(John 6:63)

AC 9816 - Aaron's garments

AC 9816. Verses 3, 4.
And thou shalt speak unto all the wise in heart,
whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom,
and they shall make Aaron's garments to sanctify him,
that he may minister to Me in the priest's office.
And these are the garments which they shall make;
a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe,
and a tunic of checker work, a miter, and a belt;
and they shall make garments of holiness for Aaron thy brother,
and for his sons, that he may minister to Me in the priest's office.
(Exodus 28:3,4)

"And thou shalt speak unto all the wise in heart,"
signifies the influx of the Lord through the Word
into all who are in the good of love;
"whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom,"
signifies in whom Divine truth has been inscribed;
"and they shall make Aaron's garments,"
signifies through whom is the spiritual kingdom;
"to sanctify him,"
signifies thereby a representation of the Divine truth in this kingdom;
"that he may minister to Me in the priest's office,"
signifies a representative of the Lord;
"and these are the garments which they shall make,"
signifies Divine truths in the spiritual kingdom, in their order;
"a breastplate,"
signifies Divine truth shining forth from Divine good;
"and an ephod,"
signifies Divine truth there in the external form in which interior things cease;
"and a robe,"
signifies Divine truth there in the internal form;
"and a tunic of checker work,"
signifies Divine truth there inmostly proceeding
immediately from the Divine celestial;
"a miter,"
signifies intelligence and wisdom;
"and a belt,"
signifies a general bond, in order that all things may look to one end;
"and they shall make garments of holiness
for Aaron thy brother, and for his sons,"
signifies thereby a representative of the spiritual kingdom
joined to the celestial kingdom;
"that he may minister to Me in the priest's office,"
signifies a representative of the Lord.

AC 9809 - good and evil: they don't have much use for each other

AC 9809 [10]
Seeing that evil cannot possibly be joined to good,
because they have aversion for each other,
therefore purifications of various kinds were commanded
for Aaron and his sons when they ministered in the priest's office,
whether at the altar, or in the Tent of meeting;
and it was also commanded that the high priest
was not to marry any but a virgin;
not a widow, nor one divorced, nor a harlot (Lev. 21:13-15);
that those of the sons of Aaron who were unclean
"if they should eat of the sanctified things, were to be cut off" (Lev. 22:2-9);
that "no one of the seed of Aaron
in whom was a blemish should offer bread" (Lev. 21:17-21);
that "the high priest was not to shave his head, to rend his garments,
to defile himself with any dead body, not even of his father and his mother,
and that he was not to go out of the sanctuary" (Lev. 21:10-12).
As before said, these and many other laws were enacted
for the reason that the high priest represented the Lord as to Divine good;
and good is of such a nature that evil cannot be joined to it,
for good shuns evil,
and evil dreads good as hell dreads heaven;
and therefore no conjunction of them is possible.

AC 9805, 9806 - Moses & Aaron, the conjunction of good & truth

AC 9805
And thou shalt cause to draw near unto thee Aaron thy brother,
and his sons with him,
from the midst of the sons of Israel,
that he may minister in the priest's office to Me;
Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons.
And thou shalt make garments of holiness for Aaron thy brother,
for glory and for comeliness.
(Exodus 28:102)

"And thou shalt cause to draw near unto thee Aaron thy brother,"
signifies the conjunction of Divine truth with Divine good
in the Lord's Divine Human;
"and his sons with him,"
signifies the Divine truth that proceeds from the Divine good;
"from the midst of the sons of Israel,"
signifies in heaven and in the church;
"that he may minister in the priest's office to Me,"
signifies a representative of the Lord;
"Aaron,"
signifies in respect to the Divine celestial;
"Nadab and Abihu,"
signifies in respect to the Divine spiritual thence derived;
"Eleazar and Ithamar,"
signifies in respect to the Divine natural;
"Aaron's sons,"
signifies which proceed from the Divine celestial;
"and thou shalt make garments of holiness for Aaron thy brother,"
signifies a representative
of the spiritual kingdom joined to the celestial kingdom;
"for glory and for comeliness,"
signifies in order to present, in the internal and the external form,
Divine truth such as it is in the spiritual kingdom
joined to the celestial kingdom.

AC 9806 [2]
All things in the universe, both in heaven and in the world,
bear relation to good and to truth in order to be anything;
for good is the being of truth,
and truth is the coming-forth of good;
and therefore good without truth does not come-forth,
and truth without good has no being;
from which it is evident that they must be conjoined.
Their conjunction is represented in the Word by two married partners,
and also by two brothers;
by two married partners,
when the subject treated of is the heavenly marriage,
which is that of good and truth,
and successive derivation from it;
and by two brothers,
when the subject treated of is the double ministry of judgment and of worship.

AC 9804 - the priesthood & their garments (Exodus 28)

AC 9804
The subject here treated of is the garments of holiness
which Aaron and his sons were to put on when they ministered.
By the priesthood
which Aaron with his sons was to administer
was represented the Lord in respect to the Divine celestial,
which is the Divine good in heaven;
and by Aaron's garments
was represented the Divine spiritual,
which is the Divine truth thence proceeding.

AC 9783 - the light that never goes out

AC 9783
To cause the lamp to go up continually.
(Exodus 27:20)
That a "lamp" denotes faith,
is because the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord
is light in the heavens;
this light, when received by the angels who are there, or by a person,
is like a lamp,
for it illuminates all things of the mind,
and imparts intelligence and wisdom.
This light when received is faith.
But be it known that faith is not a lamp,
that is, does not illuminate the mind,
unless it is from charity; thus unless it is charity.
The case with faith and charity is the same as with truth and good;
truth is the form of good,
that is, it is good so formed as to appear in light.
So faith is the form of charity, or charity formed.
Moreover, truth pertains to faith, and good to charity;
for that which is true is believed, and becomes of faith;
and that which is good is loved, and becomes of charity.
The truth and good itself
which are loved
are the neighbor,
and the love of these is charity.

AC 9780 - How can we know what good is?

AC 9780
. . . the Word is the doctrine of good,
because it is the doctrine of love to the Lord
and of love toward the neighbor;
and all good is of love, even the good of faith,
for this comes forth from the good of love, and not without it.

[2] As the Word is the doctrine of good,
therefore in order that the Word may be understood,
it must be known what good is;
and no one knows what good is
unless he lives in good according to the Word;
for when anyone lives in good according to the Word,
then the Lord instills good into his life,
from which the person perceives it and feels it,
and consequently apprehends the nature of it;
otherwise it does not appear, because it is not perceived.

AC 9776 - our natural person was created to be of service

AC 9776
Just as the world ought to serve heaven,
so a person's external or natural ought to serve his internal or spiritual.
Moreover, the natural was created for service;
for it does not live from itself,
thus can do nothing from itself;
but from the internal or spiritual,
that is, through this from the Lord.
From this it is also evident that a person's external or natural is nothing
unless it is of service to the internal or spiritual,
and that it becomes something in proportion as it is of service.
To be of service is to obey,
and the natural obeys
when it does not take for itself from the understanding
reasons which favor the evils of the loves of self and of the world;
but when it complies with the dictates of reason
and the doctrine of the church,
which declare that good and truth ought to be done,
not for the sake of self and the world as ends,
but for the sake of good and truth itself.
In this manner the Lord does these through a person's heaven,
that is, through his internal;
for all good and truth are from the Lord,
insomuch that good and truth with a person are the Lord Himself.

AC 9741 - three parts of the Tabernacle represent the three goods which make the three heavens

AC 9741
. . . there are three heavens-the inmost, the middle, and the ultimate;
the inmost heaven
was represented by the inmost part of the habitation,
where was the ark of the Testimony;
the middle heaven,
by the Habitation outside the veil;
and the ultimate heaven by the court, which is now treated of.
This heaven is called "the court"
because in it are those who are in the good of faith,
and not yet in the good of charity toward the neighbor;
those who are in the good of charity are in the middle heaven.
Those who are in the ultimate heaven,
which is called "the court," are called "angelic spirits;"
those who are in the middle heaven are called "spiritual angels;"
but those who are in the inmost heaven are called "celestial angels."

[2] Moreover, the very good of faith,
which is the good of the ultimate heaven, is a court,
for through it a person is introduced
into the good of charity toward the neighbor,
which is the good of the middle heaven.
Be it known that the good with a person makes his heaven,
and that his heaven is such as his good is.

There are three goods which follow in order:
the good of faith,
the good of charity toward the neighbor,
and the good of love to the Lord.
The good of faith, as just said,
makes the ultimate or first heaven;
the good of charity toward the neighbor
makes the middle or second heaven;
and the good of love to the Lord
makes the inmost or third heaven.

AC 9736 - the right and left sides of a person

AC 9736
And the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar.
That this signifies the power of good from which is truth,
and of truth from good,
is evident from the signification of "the staves," as being power;
and from the signification of "the two sides,"
as being the good from which is truth, and truth from good;
thus the marriage of good with truth and of truth with good.

The reason of this is
that the things which are on the right side in a person
bear relation to the good from which is truth,
and the things which are on the left side bear
relation to truth from good;
and that by the conjunction of these
is therefore signified the marriage of good and truth.

AC 9713 - the altar (Exodus 27:1-8)

AC 9713
And you shall make the altar of shittim wood,
five cubits the length, and five cubits the breadth;
the altar shall be foursquare;
and the height thereof shall be three cubits.
And you shall make its horns upon the four corners thereof;
from it shall be its horns;
and you shall overlay it with brass.
And you shall make its pans to take away its ashes,
and its shovels, and its basins, and its fleshhooks, and its fire-tongs;
all the vessels thereof you shall make of brass.
And you shall make for it a grating, a network of brass;
and upon the net shall you make four rings of brass,
upon the four extremities of it.
And you shall bestow it under the compass of the altar beneath,
and the net shall be even unto the middle of the altar.
And you shall make staves for the altar, staves of shittim wood,
and shall overlay them with brass.
And the staves thereof shall be put into the rings,
and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar, in carrying it.
Hollow of boards shall you make it;
as you were made to see in the mountain, so shall they make it.
(Exodus 27:1-8)

"And you shall make the altar,"
signifies a representative of the Lord and of the worship of Him;
"of shittim wood,"
signifies righteousness;
"five cubits the length, and five cubits the breadth,"
signifies equally from good and from truth;
"the altar shall be foursquare,"
signifies thus what is righteous;
"and the height thereof shall be three cubits,"
signifies full in respect to degrees;
"and thou shall make its horns,"
signifies power;
"upon the four corners thereof,"
signifies complete power;
"from it shall be its horns,"
signifies that the power shall be from good;
"and you shall overlay it with brass,"
signifies a representative of good;
"and you shall make its pans to take away its ashes,"
signifies what is to be removed after uses;
"and its shovels, and its basins, and its fleshhooks, and its fire-tongs,"
signifies memory- knowledges
that contain and that are of service for every use;
"all the vessels thereof you shall make of brass,"
signifies all things from good;
"and you shall make for it a grating, a network,"
signifies the sensuous, which is the ultimate;
"of brass,"
signifies which also is from good;
"and upon the net shall you make four rings of brass,"
signifies the sphere of good through which there is conjunction;
"upon the four extremities of it,"
signifies everywhere;
"and you shall bestow it under the compass of the altar beneath,"
signifies this in ultimates;
"and the net shall be even unto the middle of the altar,"
signifies the extension of the sensuous;
"and you shall make staves for the altar,"
signifies the power of keeping in a state of good;
"staves of shittim wood,"
signifies the good of righteousness and the consequent power;
"and shall overlay them with brass,"
signifies a representative of good;
"and the staves thereof shall be put into the rings,"
signifies the power of the sphere of Divine good;
"and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar,"
signifies the power of good through truth, and of truth from good;
"in carrying it,"
signifies coming-forth and subsistence;
"hollow of boards shall you make it,"
signifies application;
"as you were made to see in the mountain, so shall they make it,"
signifies from the correspondence of Divine things in heaven.

AC 9709 - perspective

AC 9709
Those who are illumined from self,
and not from the Lord,
see falsity as truth and evil as good.