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Leviticus 8

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1 And the Lord said to Moses,

2 Take Aaron, and his sons with him, and the robes and the holy oil and the ox of the sin-offering and the two male sheep and the basket of unleavened bread;

3 And let all the people come together at the door of the Tent of meeting.

4 And Moses did as the Lord said, and all the people came together at the door of the Tent of meeting.

5 And Moses said to the people, This is what the Lord has given orders to be done.

6 Then Moses took Aaron and his sons; and after washing them with water,

7 He put the coat on him, making it tight with its band, and then the robe, and over it the ephod, with its band of needlework to keep it in place.

8 And he put the priest's bag on him, and in the bag he put the Urim and Thummim.

9 And on his head he put the head-dress, and in front of the head-dress the plate of gold, the holy crown, as the Lord gave orders to Moses.

10 And Moses took the holy oil and put it on the House and on all the things in it, to make them holy.

11 Seven times he put oil on the altar and on all its vessels, and on the washing-basin and its base, to make them holy.

12 And some of the oil he put on Aaron's head, to make him holy.

13 Then he took Aaron's sons, clothing them with the coats, and putting the bands round them, and the head-dresses on their heads, as the Lord had given him orders.

14 And he took the ox of the sin-offering: and Aaron and his sons put their hands on the head of the ox,

15 And he put it to death; and Moses took the blood and put it on the horns of the altar and round it with his finger, and made the altar clean, draining out the blood at the base of the altar; so he made it holy, taking away what was unclean.

16 And he took all the fat on the inside parts, and the fat on the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, to be burned on the altar;

17 But the ox, with its skin and its flesh and its waste, was burned with fire outside the tent-circle, as the Lord gave orders to Moses.

18 And he put the male sheep of the burned offering before the Lord, and Aaron and his sons put their hands on its head,

19 And he put it to death; and Moses put some of the blood on and round the altar.

20 And when the sheep had been cut into parts, the head and the parts and the fat were burned by Moses.

21 And the inside parts and the legs were washed with water and all the sheep was burned by Moses on the altar; it was a burned offering for a sweet smell: it was an offering made by fire to the Lord, as the Lord gave orders to Moses.

22 And he put the other sheep before the Lord, the sheep with which they were made priests; and Aaron and his sons put their hands on the head of the sheep,

23 And he put it to death; and Moses took some of the blood and put it on the point of Aaron's right ear and on the thumb of his right hand and on the great toe of his right foot.

24 Then he took Aaron's sons, and Moses put some of the blood on the point of their right ears and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the great toes of their right feet: and Moses put the blood on and round the altar.

25 And he took the fat, and the fat tail, and the fat on the inside parts, and the fat on the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, and the right leg;

26 And out of the basket of unleavened bread which was before the Lord he took one unleavened cake, and one cake of bread with oil on it, and one thin cake, and put them on the fat and on the right leg:

27 And he put them all on the hands of Aaron and on the hands of his sons, waving them for a wave offering before the Lord.

28 And Moses took them from their hands, and they were burned on the altar on the burned offering, as a priest's offering for a sweet smell, an offering made by fire to the Lord.

29 And Moses took the breast, waving it for a wave offering before the Lord; it was Moses' part of the sheep of the priest's offering, as the Lord gave orders to Moses.

30 And Moses took some of the holy oil and of the blood which was on the altar and put it on Aaron and on his robes, and on his sons and on his sons' robes; and made Aaron holy, and his robes and his sons and his sons' robes with him.

31 And Moses said to Aaron and to his sons, The flesh is to be cooked in water at the door of the Tent of meeting, and there you are to take it as food, together with the bread in the basket, as I have given orders, saying, It is the food of Aaron and his sons.

32 And that which is over of the flesh and of the bread is to be burned with fire.

33 And you are not to go out from the door of the Tent of meeting for seven days, till the days for making you priest are ended; for this will be the work of seven days.

34 What has been done this day, has been ordered by the Lord to take away your sin.

35 And you are to keep watch for the Lord at the door of the Tent of meeting day and night for seven days, so that death may not come to you: for so he has given me orders.

36 And Aaron and his sons did all the things about which the Lord had given orders through Moses.

   

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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.