AC 9479, 9481 - A Sanctuary, Heaven, and the Representations of the Tabernacle

AC 9479 [1 ,2]

And let them make for Me a sanctuary.
(Exodus 25:8)

That this signifies a representative of the Lord,
and thus of heaven,
is evident from the signification of "a sanctuary,"
as being the Lord, and as being heaven;
but here a representative of the Lord and of heaven,
because it was a tabernacle
made of wood and covered all round with curtains,
and this could not have been a sanctuary
except by means of the representation.
For "a sanctuary" denotes holiness itself,
and nothing is holy except the Divine alone,
thus the Lord alone.
That heaven is "a sanctuary," is because
heaven is heaven from what is Divine there;
for the angels who are there make heaven
in proportion as they have [something]
from the Divine of the Lord;
but in proportion
as they have [anything] from themselves,
they do not make heaven.
From this it is plain how it is to be understood
that the Lord is the all in all of heaven.

That in the supreme sense "the sanctuary"
denotes the Lord,
because He alone is holy,
and that alone is holy which proceeds from Him;
and also that "the sanctuary" denotes heaven,
and likewise the church,
and that those things are "sanctuaries"
which are in heaven and in the church from the Lord,

AC 9481 [2]

All these things are representatives
such as continually appear
before the angels in the heavens,
and present in a visible form the Divine celestial things
that belong to the good of love,
and the Divine spiritual things
that belong to the good of faith.
The sum total of such things
was represented by the tabernacle
and the things that were in it;
as by the ark itself;
by the table on which were the breads;
by the altar of incense;
by the lampstand;
and by all other things.
As these things were forms
of Divine celestial and spiritual things,
therefore when they were seen
by the people at the time
they were in holy worship . . ..
Be it known that there are always
spirits and angels with a person,
and that he cannot live without them;
in like manner
that through them
a person has connection with the Lord,
and that in this way
the human race and also heaven subsist.
From this it can be seen to what end
the representatives and also the rituals of the church
were instituted among the Israelitish nation;
also to what end the Word was given,
wherein all things of the literal sense correspond
to Divine things which are in heaven;
thus wherein all the things are representative,
and all the words significative.
From this, a person has connection with heaven,
and through heaven with the Lord.
Without this connection
a person would have no life whatever,
for without connection with the very Being of Life
from whom comes all the manifestation of life,
no one has any life.