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Ezekiel 42

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1 Then he brought me forth into the outer court, the way toward the north: and he brought me into the chamber that was over against the separate place, and which was over against the building toward the north.

2 Before the length of a hundred cubits was the north door, and the breadth was fifty cubits.

3 Over against the twenty [cubits] which belonged to the inner court, and Over against the pavement which belonged to the outer court, was gallery against gallery in the third story.

4 And before the chambers was a walk of ten cubits' breadth inward, a way of one cubit; and their doors were toward the north.

5 Now the upper chambers were shorter; for the galleries took away from these, more than from the lower and the middlemost, in the building.

6 For they were in three stories, and they had not pillars as the pillars of the courts: therefore [the uppermost] was straitened more than the lowest and the middlemost from the ground.

7 And the wall that was without by the side of the chambers, toward the outer court before the chambers, the length thereof was fifty cubits.

8 For the length of the chambers that were in the outer court was fifty cubits: and, lo, before the temple were a hundred cubits.

9 And from under these chambers was the entry on the east side, as one goeth into them from the outer court.

10 In the thickness of the wall of the court toward the east, before the separate place, and before the building, there were chambers.

11 And the way before them was like the appearance of [the way of] the chambers which were toward the north; according to their length so was their breadth: and all their egresses were both according to their fashions, and according to their doors.

12 And according to the doors of the chambers that were toward the south was a door at the head of the way, even the way directly before the wall toward the east, as one entereth into them.

13 Then said he unto me, The north chambers and the south chambers, which are before the separate place, they are the holy chambers, where the priests that are near unto Jehovah shall eat the most holy things: there shall they lay the most holy things, and the meal-offering, and the sin-offering, and the trespass-offering; for the place is holy.

14 When the priests enter in, then shall they not go out of the holy place into the outer court, but there they shall lay their garments wherein they minister; for they are holy: and they shall put on other garments, and shall approach to that which pertaineth to the people.

15 Now when he had made an end of measuring the inner house, he brought me forth by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east, and measured it round about.

16 He measured on the east side with the measuring reed five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed round about.

17 He measured on the north side five hundred reeds with the measuring reed round about.

18 He measured on the south side five hundred reeds with the measuring reed.

19 He turned about to the west side, and measured five hundred reeds with the measuring reed.

20 He measured it on the four sides: it had a wall round about, the length five hundred, and the breadth five hundred, to make a separation between that which was holy and that which was common.

   

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Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture # 97

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97. It should be known, moreover, that the Word’s literal sense is a protection for the genuine truths that lie concealed within. The literal sense is a protection in that it can be turned this way and that and explained in accord with a person’s comprehension, and yet without the inner meaning’s being harmed or violated. For it does no harm if the Word’s literal sense is interpreted in one way by one person, and in another way by another person. But it does do harm if the Divine truths that lie concealed within are perverted; for this does violence to the Word.

This is guarded against by the literal sense. And it is guarded against among people who, owing to their religion, are caught up in falsities, but do not affirm those falsities, for they do not do any violence.

[2] This protection is symbolized by cherubim in the Word, and described by them, too.

It is symbolized by the cherubim that were placed at the entrance to the garden of Eden after Adam and his wife were cast out, about which we read the following:

(When Jehovah God) drove out the man..., He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword turning hither and thither, to guard the way to the tree of life. (Genesis 3:23-24)

The cherubim symbolize protection. The way to the tree of life symbolizes an entryway to the Lord, which people have through the Word. The flaming sword turning hither and thither symbolizes Divine truth in outmost expressions, which, like the literal sense of the Word, can be turned in this way.

[3] Protection is likewise meant by the cherubim of gold placed at the two ends of the mercy seat on top of the ark in the Tabernacle (Exodus 25:18-21). Because this is what the cherubim symbolized, therefore the Lord spoke with Moses from between them (Exodus 25:22, 30:6, 33:9, Numbers 7:89). It may be seen in nos. 37-49 above that the Lord speaks with a person only in fullness, and that the Word in its literal sense is Divine truth in its fullness; thus the Lord accordingly spoke with Moses from between cherubim.

Nor is anything else symbolized by the cherubim on the curtains and veil of the Tabernacle (Exodus 26:1, 31). For the curtains and veil of the Tabernacle represented the outmost constituents of heaven and the church, and so also those of the Word (see no. 46 above).

Nor is anything else symbolized by the cherubim inside the Temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 6:23-28). And by the cherubim carved on the walls and doors of the Temple (1 Kings 6:29, 32, 35). Likewise by the cherubim in the new temple (Ezekiel 41:18-20). (See also no. 47 above.)

[4] Since cherubim symbolize a protection to keep the Lord, heaven, and the Divine truth contained in the Word from being approached directly, so that they must be approached indirectly through outmost expressions, therefore we are told regarding the king of Tyre the following:

You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering.... You, O cherub, spread out a covering.... I destroyed you, O covering cherub, in the midst of stones of fire. (Ezekiel 28:12-14, 16)

Tyre symbolizes the church with respect to its concepts of truth and goodness, and its king accordingly symbolizes the Word which contains and is the source of those concepts. It is apparent that the Word here is symbolized as it is in its outmost expression, namely its literal sense, and its protection by a cherub; for the text says, “You were the seal of perfection, ” “every precious stone was your covering, ” and “You, O cherub, spread out a covering, ” including as well the phrase, “O covering cherub.” The precious stones listed here also mean truths in the Word’s literal sense, as may be seen in no. 45 above.

Since cherubim symbolize the outmost expression of Divine truth set as a protection, therefore we are told in the Psalms of David,

He bowed the heavens and came down..., and He rode upon a cherub.... (Psalms 18:9-10)

O Shepherd of Israel..., You who sit upon the cherubim, shine forth! (Psalms 80:1)

Jehovah...is seated upon the cherubim. (Psalms 99:1)

To ride upon cherubim, to sit on them and be seated on them, is to do so on the outmost sense of the Word.

[5] Divine truth and its character are described in the Word by cherubim in the first and ninth chapters in Ezekiel, and in the tenth. But because no one can know what the particulars in the description of them symbolize, unless he is someone for whom the spiritual sense has been laid open, therefore I have had disclosed to me what everything said about the cherubim in the first chapter in Ezekiel symbolizes, which in brief is as follows:

Verse 4: The Divine atmosphere surrounding the Word is described.

Verse 5: This represented as having the likeness of a man.

Verse 6: Its conjunction with spiritual and celestial elements.

Verse 7: The nature of the natural component of the Word.

Verses 8-9: The spiritual and celestial components of the Word conjoined with its natural one; their character.

Verses 10-11: The Divine love accompanying the celestial, spiritual and natural goodness and truth present in the Word, separately and together.

Verse 12: They look in one direction.

Verses 13-14: The atmosphere of the Word emanating from the Lord’s Divine goodness and Divine truth, which give the Word life.

Verses 15-21: The doctrine of goodness and truth found in the Word and emanating from the Word.

Verses 22-23: The Divinity of the Lord above the Word and in it.

Verses 24-25: And emanating from it.

Verse 26: The Lord’s being above the heavens.

Verses 27-28: And His possessing Divine love and Divine wisdom.

I have, moreover, compared these summaries with the Word in heaven and found them to be in conformity with it.

  
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Thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.

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Psalms 80:1

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1 Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock, you who sit above the cherubim, shine forth.