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Exodus 39

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1 And from the needlework of blue and purple and red they made the robes used for the work of the holy place, and the holy robes for Aaron, as the Lord had given orders to Moses.

2 The ephod he made of gold and blue and purple and red and the best linen;

3 Hammering the gold into thin plates and cutting it into wires to be worked into the blue and the purple and the red and the linen by the designer.

4 And they made two bands for joining its edges together at the top of the arms.

5 And the beautifully worked band which went on it was of the same design and the same material, worked in gold and blue and purple and red and twisted linen-work, as the Lord gave orders to Moses.

6 Then they made the beryl stones, fixed in twisted frames of gold and cut like the cutting of a stamp, with the names of the children of Israel.

7 These he put on the ephod, over the arm-holes, to be stones of memory for the children of Israel, as the Lord had said to Moses.

8 The priest's bag was designed like the ephod, of the best linen worked with gold and blue and purple and red.

9 It was square and folded in two, as long and as wide as the stretch of a man's hand;

10 And on it they put four lines of stones: in the first line was a carnelian, a chrysolite, and an emerald;

11 In the second, a ruby, a sapphire, and an onyx;

12 In the third, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;

13 In the fourth, a topaz, a beryl, and a jasper; they were fixed in twisted frames of gold.

14 There were twelve stones for the twelve tribes of Israel; on every one the name of one of the tribes of Israel was cut, like the cutting of a stamp.

15 And on the bag they put gold chains, twisted like cords.

16 And they made two gold frames and two gold rings, the rings being fixed to the ends of the priest's bag;

17 And they put the two twisted chains on the two rings at the ends of the priest's bag;

18 And the other two ends of the chains were joined to the two frames and fixed to the front of the ephod over the arm-holes.

19 And they made two rings of gold and put them on the two lower ends of the bag, on the inner side nearest to the ephod.

20 And two other gold rings were put on the front of the ephod, over the arm-holes, at the join, and over the worked band.

21 And the rings on the bag were fixed to the rings of the ephod by a blue cord, keeping it in place over the band, so that the bag might not get loose, as the Lord gave orders to Moses.

22 The robe which went with the ephod was made all of blue;

23 With a hole at the top in the middle, like the hole in the coat of a fighting-man, edged with a band to make it strong.

24 The skirts of the robe were worked all round with fruits in blue and purple and red made of twisted linen.

25 And between the fruits all round the skirt they put gold bells, as the Lord gave orders to Moses.

26 All round the skirt of the robe were bells and fruits in turn.

27 The coats for Aaron and his sons they made of the best linen;

28 And the twisted head-dress for Aaron, and beautiful head-dresses of linen, and linen trousers,

29 And a linen band worked with a design of blue and purple and red, as the Lord had said to Moses.

30 The plate for the holy crown was made of the best gold, and on it were cut these words, holy TO THE LORD.

31 It was fixed to the head-dress by a blue cord, as the Lord had given orders to Moses.

32 So all the work on the House of the Tent of meeting was done; as the Lord had given orders to Moses, so the children of Israel did it.

33 Then they took the House to Moses, the tent with all the things for it; its hooks, its boards, its rods, its pillars, and its bases;

34 The outer cover of sheepskins coloured red, and the cover of leather, and the veil for the doorway;

35 The ark of the law, with its rods and its cover;

36 The table, with all its vessels and the holy bread;

37 The support for the lights, with the vessels for the lights to be put in their places on it, and all its vessels, and the oil for the lights;

38 And the gold altar, and the holy oil, and the sweet perfume for burning, and the curtain for the doorway of the tent;

39 And the brass altar, with its network of brass, and its rods and all its vessels, and the washing-vessel and its base;

40 The hangings for the open space, with the pillars and their bases, and the curtain for the doorway, and the cords and nails, and all the instruments necessary for the work of the House of the Tent of meeting;

41 The robes for use in the holy place, and the holy robes for Aaron and his sons when acting as priests.

42 The children of Israel did everything as the Lord had given orders to Moses.

43 Then Moses, when he saw all their work and saw that they had done everything as the Lord had said, gave them his blessing.

   

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Apocalypse Revealed # 392

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392. Then another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer. (8:3) This symbolizes spiritual worship, which originates from the goodness of charity expressed through truths of faith.

The altar at which the angel stood, and the golden censer that he had in his hand, symbolize worship of the Lord springing from a spiritual love, which is worship that originates from the goodness of charity expressed through truths of faith.

The children of Israel had two altars, one outside the Tabernacle, the other inside the Tabernacle. The altar outside the Tabernacle was called the altar of burnt offering, because burnt offerings and other sacrifices were presented on it. The altar inside the Tabernacle was called the altar of incense, and also the golden altar.

They had these two altars because worship of the Lord originates from celestial love and from spiritual love - from celestial love in the case of angels in His celestial kingdom, and from spiritual love in the case of angels in His spiritual kingdom. Regarding these two kingdoms, see no. 387 above.

Regarding the two altars, see the following passages in the books of Moses: On the altar of burnt offering, Exodus 20:24-26; 27:1-8; 29:36-43, Leviticus 6:8-12; 8:11; 16:18-19, 33-34. On the altar of incense, Exodus 30:1-10; 31:8; 37:25-29; 40:5, 26, Numbers 7:1.

John saw altars, censers, and the burning of incense, not because things of that kind are found in heaven. They were simply images representative of the worship of the Lord there. John saw them because such things were instituted among the children of Israel, and are often mentioned, therefore, in the Word. Moreover that church was a representational church, for every aspect of their worship was representative, and therefore those things now symbolize the Lord's Divinely given celestial and spiritual elements which are connected with His church in heaven and on earth.

[2] These same things are therefore symbolically meant in the Word by these two altars in the following places:

Send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me... to Your habitations. Then I will go to the altar of God, to God... (Psalms 43:3-4)

I wash my hands in innocence, and go around your altar, O Jehovah, and I will make to be heard the voice of confession... (Psalms 26:6-7)

The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron... on the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of your altars... (Jeremiah 17:1-2)

God is Jehovah, who gives us light; bind the festal sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. (Psalms 118:27)

In that day there will be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt... (Isaiah 19:19)

An altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt symbolizes worship of the Lord originating from love in the natural person.

The thistle and thorn shall rise up on their altars. (Hosea 10:8)

These symbolize worship originating from evils and from the falsities accompanying evil.

See also elsewhere, such as Isaiah 27:9; 56:6-7; 60:7.

[3] Since an altar represented and so symbolized worship of the Lord, it is apparent that the altar here in the book of Revelation has no other meaning, and so, too, elsewhere. As for example:

...I saw under the altar the souls of those slain for the Word of God... (Revelation 6:9)

...the angel stood and said, ."..measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it." (Revelation 11:1)

...I heard another (angel) from the altar saying, ."..true and just are Your judgments." (Revelation 16:7)

Since representative worship was carried out principally upon the two altars, and since it was abolished by the Lord when He came into the world because He laid open the inner qualities of a church, we are accordingly told in Isaiah,

In that day a man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will regard the Holy One of Israel, and... not... to the altars, the work of his hands. (Isaiah 17:7-8)

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