10691. 'That Moses did not know that the skin of his face gleamed while he talked to Him' means the inward level or aspect of the Word within the outward, shining forth without any perception of it by the outward. This is clear from the representation of 'Moses' as the outward form of the Word containing what is inward, dealt with in 10563, 10571, 10607, 10614; from the meaning of 'not knowing' as not perceiving; from the meaning of 'gleaming' as shining forth, for the gleaming of the skin of Moses' face is a shining forth from what is inward; from the meaning of 'the skin' as the outward level of truth and good, dealt with in 3540, 5554, 8980; from the meaning of 'face' as interior things, dealt with in the places referred to 9546, so that 'the gleaming of the skin of the face' means a shining forth of the interior things within what is external or outward, at this point within the outward form the Word takes, which is its literal sense, since Moses represents the outward form of the Word containing what is inward; and from the meaning of 'talking' as influx, for 'talking', when it has regard to Jehovah, means influx, see 2951, 5743, 5797, 7270, 8128, 8660. From all this it is evident that 'Moses did not know that the skin of his face gleamed while he talked to Him' means the inward level of the Word within the outward, shining forth without any perception of it by the outward. It should be recognized that by a shining forth of the interiors of the Word within what is outward the internal sense within the external should be understood. The internal sense shines forth unceasingly and gleams within the external, yet it is discerned only by those whose affection is for inward things. It is not discerned by those whose affection is for the outward that contains what is inward, that is, by those people who are called members of the external Church. Nevertheless that sense is present with them, without their awareness, and exerts an influence on them. Who exactly they are whose affection is for the inward level or aspect of the Word, the Church, and worship, and who exactly they are whose affection is for the outward level or aspect of them that has the inward within it, see above in 10683. But when people's interest lies in the outward level devoid of the inward, as was so with the Israelite nation, they cannot at all abide the inward level of them or the light from them within the outward. This explains why in the verses that follow it says that they were afraid to approach Moses and that when Moses talked to them he put a veil over his face. The reason why the internal sense shines forth is that Divine Truth as it exists in the heavens resides in that sense, and Divine Truth emanating from the Lord appears to angels as light and also constitutes the light of heaven. For this matter, see in the places referred to in 9548, 9684.

2776. 'Offer him as a burnt offering' means that He was to sanctify Himself to the Divine. This is clear from the representation of 'a burnt offering' among the Hebrew nation, and in the Jewish Church, as the holiest act of their worship. There were burnt offerings and there were sacrifices, and as regards what these represented, see 922, 923, 1823, 2180. Sanctifications were effected by means of burnt offerings and sacrifices, and that is why in this verse 'offering a burnt offering' means being sanctified to the Divine. For the Lord sanctified Himself to the Divine, that is, He united the Human to the Divine by means of the conflicts brought about by temptations, and by means of the victories in these, see 1663, 1690, 1692 (end), 1692, 1737, 1787, 1812, 1813, 1820.

[2] It is generally believed at the present day that the burnt offerings and sacrifices were signs of the Lord's passion, and that by His passion the Lord atoned for the iniquities of all. Indeed it is believed that He drew away those iniquities on to Himself, and thus bore them Himself, so that those who believe are made righteous and are saved, if only they think, even in the last hour prior to death, that the Lord suffered on their behalf, no matter how they may have lived throughout the whole course of their lives. But such beliefs are mistaken. The passion of the Cross was the utmost degree of temptation endured by the Lord, by means of which He fully united the Human to the Divine and the Divine to the Human, and by doing this glorified Himself. That union itself is the means by which people possessing faith in Him that is grounded in charity are able to be saved. For the Supreme Divine Itself was no longer able to reach the human race which had removed itself so far away from the celestial things of love, and from the spiritual things of faith, that people did not even recognize them any more, let alone perceive them. Consequently to enable the Supreme Divine to come down to all such as this, the Lord came into the world and united the Human to the Divine within Himself. This union could not have been effected except by means of the very severe conflicts brought about by temptations and by means of victories in these, and at length by means of the final temptation, which was that of the Cross.

[3] As a result of this the Lord is able from the Divine Human to enlighten human minds, even those that are quite remote from the celestial things of love, provided that faith grounded in charity is present in them. For in the next life the Lord appears to celestial angels as the Sun, and to spiritual angels as the Moon, 1053, 1521, 1529, 1530, 2441, 2495 - all the light of heaven flowing from Him. The light of heaven is such that when it enlightens the eyes of spirits and angels it also at the same time enlightens their understanding. This ability to enlighten the understanding also exists inherently within that light, so that the amount of internal light, that is, of understanding, which anyone possesses in heaven is the same as the amount of external light he has. This shows the way in which the light of heaven is different from the light of the world. It is the Lord's Divine Human that enlightens both the eyes and the understanding of those who are spiritual, but this could never be done unless the Lord had united the Human Essence to the Divine Essence. And unless He had united them neither men in the world, nor indeed any spiritual angel in heaven, would any longer have possessed any ability to understand or to perceive that which is good or true. Nor thus would they have possessed any blessedness and happiness at all, nor consequently any salvation at all. From this it becomes clear that the human race could not have been saved unless the Lord had assumed the Human and glorified it.

[4] From what has now been stated anyone may decide for himself the truth or otherwise of the idea that people are saved, no matter how they may have lived, if only they think from some inner emotion that the Lord suffered on their behalf and bore their sins. But in reality the light of heaven received from the Lord's Divine Human is able to reach none except those with whom there exists the good that accompanies faith, that is, who lead charitable lives, or what amounts to the same, who possess conscience. The level itself into which that light can operate, that is, the receptacle for that light, is the good that accompanies faith, which is charity and thus conscience. That those who are spiritual have salvation from the Lord's Divine Human, see 1043, 2661, 2716, 2718.