9467. And crimson. That this signifies the celestial love of good, is evident from the signification of “crimson,” as being the celestial love of good. The reason why this is signified by “crimson,” is that by a red color is signified the good of celestial love. For there are two fundamental colors from which come the rest: the color red, and the color white. The color “red” signifies the good which is of love; and the color “white” signifies the truth which is of faith. That the color “red” signifies the good which is of love, is because it comes from fire, and “fire” denotes the good of love; and the color “white” signifies the truth which is of faith, because it comes from light, and “light” denotes the truth of faith. (That “fire” denotes the good of love, see n. 5215, 6314, 6832, 6834, 6849, 7324, 9434; and that “light” denotes the truth of faith, n. 2776, 3195, 3636, 3643, 3993, 4302, 4413, 4415, 5400, 8644, 8707, 8861, 9399, 9407; that “red” denotes the good of love, n. 3300; and “white,” the truth of faith, n. 3993, 4007, 5319)

[2] From this it is evident what the remaining colors signify; for insofar as they partake of red they signify the good of love; and insofar as they partake of white they signify the truth of faith; for all the colors that appear in heaven are modifications of heavenly light and flame upon these two planes. For heavenly light is real light, and in itself is the Divine truth that proceeds from the Divine good of the Lord; wherefore the modifications of this light and flame are variegations of truth and good, thus of intelligence and wisdom.

[3] This shows why the veils and curtains of the tent, and also the garments of Aaron, were to be woven of blue, crimson, scarlet double-dyed, and fine linen (Exodus 26:1 (Exodus 26:1), 31, 36; 27:16; 28:6, 15); namely, that by these things might be represented the celestial things that belong to good, and the spiritual things that belong to truth (of which in what follows).

[4] Good from a celestial origin is signified by “crimson” also in Ezekiel:

Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was thy spread, blue and crimson from the Isles of Elishah were thy covering (Ezekiel 27:7);

speaking of Tyre, by which are signified the knowledges of truth and good; “blue and crimson for a covering” denote the knowledges of truth and good from a celestial origin.

[5] Like things are signified by “crimson and fine linen” in Luke:

There was a certain rich man, who was clothed in crimson and fine linen, and fared splendidly every day (Luke 16:19);

by the “rich man” was meant in the internal sense the Jewish nation and the church among them, which was called “rich” from the knowledges of good and truth from the Word there existing; “garments of crimson and fine linen” denote these knowledges; “garments of crimson,” the knowledges of good; and “garments of fine linen,” the knowledges of truth; both from a celestial origin, because from the Divine. The like is also signified by “crimson” in the Revelation:

A woman sitting upon a scarlet beast, arrayed in crimson and scarlet (Revelation 17:3-4);

treating of Babylon, by which is signified the church wherein the holy things of the Word are applied to profane uses, that is, to such as aim at dominions in heaven and on earth; thus from the infernal love of self and of the world.

9433. Out of the midst of the cloud. That this signifies out of the obscurity there was before, is evident from the signification of “the cloud,” as being the ultimate of the Word, which is therefore relatively obscure (of w hich above, n. 9430). That this is “the cloud” is because the Divine truth which is from the Lord cannot possibly appear in the very brightness in which it is, for man would thereby perish, because his understanding would be totally blinded by the light of truth, and his will would be wholly extinguished by the fire of good; thus all his life would he annihilated. Hence it is that Divine truth is accommodated to each person’s apprehension, and is as it were veiled with a cloud, even with the angels (n. 6849). Among spirits this veiling appears like a cloud, which is dense or thin according to the reception of each one.

[2] This is meant by these words in Isaiah:

Jehovah createth over every habitation of Mount Zion, and over her assemblies, a cloud by day, and a smoke and the shining of a flame of fire by night; for over all the glory shall be a covering. And there shall be a pavilion for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a refuge and for a covert against flood and against rain (Isaiah 4:5-6);

“the habitation of Mount Zion” denotes heaven and the church; “her assemblies” denote goods and truths; “a cloud by day, a smoke by night, and a covering” denote the veiling of truth Divine, thus its accommodation to apprehension. (That the “glory over which there was to be a covering” denotes the Divine truth which is from the Lord, see n. 9429 .) “A pavilion” denotes the ultimate of truth Divine which hides the interior things; that it shall be “for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a refuge against flood and rain,” is in order that man may be safe, and may not suffer any harm.

[3] The veiling of Divine truth is also described in David:

O Jehovah my God, Thou art very great, Thou art clothed with glory and honor, who covereth Himself with light as with a garment, who layeth the beams of His chambers in the waters, who maketh the clouds His chariot. He foundeth the earth upon her bases, that it should not be moved for ever and ever. Thou hast covered it with the abyss as with a garment. Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over (Psalms 104:1-9).

The “glory and honor with which Jehovah,” that is, the Lord, “clothes Himself,” denote Divine truth (see n. 9429); the “light with which He is covered as with a garment” denotes Divine truth such as it is in heaven and in the church; that this truth is meant by “light” in the Word, see what was cited above (n. 9429); the “chambers whose beams He layeth in the waters” denote the societies of heaven; and the “waters” denote truths (n. 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 8568, 9323); the “clouds that He maketh His chariot” denote the truths from which is doctrine, a “chariot,” being doctrine (n. 5321, 8215); “the earth,” of which it is said that “He foundeth it upon her bases that it should not be moved forever,” denotes the church (that “the earth” in the Word denotes the church, see what was cited above, n. 9325); the “bases on which it is founded” denote truths in ultimates, such as are those of the Word in its literal sense; hence it is said that “it should not be moved forever;” “the abyss with which it is covered as with a garment” denotes external truth for the natural man (n. 6431, 8278). From this it is plain what is meant by the “bound set that they may not pass over,” namely, that it is the ultimate of truth Divine, in which the interior things terminate, and on which as on a support and a foundation they subsist and rest, as was said above.