10177. 'And you shall make an altar for burning incense' means that which is representative of the Lord, of His hearing and receiving with pleasure everything of worship that springs from love and charity. This is clear from the meaning of 'an altar for burning incense' as that which is representative of such things of worship as are raised up to the Lord. The fact that they are things springing from love and charity will be evident from what follows below. 'An altar' has the same meaning as whatever is placed on it; and this is so because the altar is that which contains and whatever is placed on it is the contents, and container and contents make a single unit, like a table and the bread that is on it or a cup and the wine that is in it.

[2] The reason why an altar and not a table was made for burning incense was that among the Israelite nation altars were the chief representative signs of worship springing from love. For fire burned on them, and 'fire' means the love and charity from which worship springs. Regarding altars, that they were the chief representative signs of worship, see 4192, 4541, 8623, 8935, 8940, 9714.

[3] The reason why the altar of incense represented the hearing and receiving of everything of worship that springs from love and charity was that the creation of the cloud of smoke was a sign of that which is raised up on high, and the odour of the smoke was a sign of that which is pleasing, consequently of that which is heard and received by the Lord. And what springs from love and charity, this alone is pleasing to and received by the Lord. This also explains why that altar was overlaid with gold and was called the golden altar; for 'gold' means the good of love and charity, see the places referred to in 9874, and what has been stated in 9874, 9881.

[4] The reason why that alone which springs from love and charity is pleasing to the Lord, and is therefore heard and received by Him, is that love constitutes all that a person is; for a person is such as his love is. This explains why angels in heaven live as embodiments of love and charity. To them the form of love and charity is the human form, because the Lord, who is within them and gives them form, is - as to His Divine Human - Divine Love itself. From their faces therefore, from their speech, from their gestures, and especially from the spheres of their affections which flow out of them to a long way off, one can perceive clearly what kinds of love reign in them.

[5] And since love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour originate in the Lord, and since love is a spiritual bonding, whatever emanates from these is heard and received by the Lord. Any holy and religious respect paid to Him that does not spring from them is indeed heard but it is not received with pleasure. It is a hypocritical holiness and respect, something merely outward, devoid of anything inward. Outward holiness devoid of anything inward reaches no further than the outskirts of heaven and dwindles away there. But outward holiness springing from inward reaches right on into heaven, according to the essential nature of that inward holiness, thus reaches towards the Lord. For outward holiness devoid of that inward holiness is a product solely of the lips and movements of the body, whereas outward holiness springing from inward comes at the same time from the heart. Regarding these two kinds of holiness, see what has been stated and shown in 8252-8257.

[6] In the tent of meeting outside the veil there was the table on which the loaves of the presence were laid, also the lampstand with its lamps, and the altar of incense. The loaves of the presence represented love to the Lord, the lamps of the lampstand represented charity and faith, and the incense on the altar represented worship springing from them, which is why it was burned every morning and every evening, when the lamps were 'adorned'. From this as well it is evident that the burning of incense represented worship of the Lord which springs from love and charity. The actual tent in which those objects resided represented heaven, where all worship is such. The loaves represented celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord, see 9545; the lampstand represented spiritual good, which is the good of charity towards the neighbour and the good of faith, 9548-9561; and the tent represented heaven, 9457, 9481, 9485, 9784, 9963.

[7] When the word 'worship' is used the holiness which is expressed by means of prayers, adorations, thanksgivings, and similar acts of devotion that emanate from inward feelings of love and charity should be understood. These constituents of worship are what should be understood by 'the burning of incense', as may be recognized from the following places: In David,

My prayers are acceptable, [as] incense before You. Psalms 141:2.

In John,

The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Revelation 5:8.

In the same book,

An angel holding a golden censer ... And much incense was given to him, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. The smoke of the incense went up from the prayers of the saints. Revelation 8:3-4.

[8] Since incense was a sign of worship and of its being raised up, thus of its being heard and received by the Lord, Moses commanded [those who rebelled against him] to take censers with incense in them, and to burn it before Jehovah, in order that they might consequently know whom Jehovah would choose, thus whom He would hear, Numbers 16:1ff. And when the people grumbled Aaron ran with incense, into the midst of the congregation, when a plague began, and in so doing stopped it, Numbers 16:46-48. In Malachi,

From the rising of the sun even to its setting Jehovah's name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense has been offered to My name, and a pure minchah. Malachi 1:11.

'A pure minchah' is added because the good of love is meant by it, 10137. In Moses,

The sons of Levi will teach Jacob [Your] judgements and Israel Your law. They will put incense in Your nose, and burnt offering on Your altar. Deuteronomy 33:10.

The expression 'putting incense in the nose' is used because perception is meant by 'the nostrils', 4624-4634. 'Burnt offering' is added here because by this too that which springs from the good of love is meant.

[9] But in the contrary sense 'burning incense' means worship springing from contrary loves, namely self-love and love of the world, for example burning incense to other gods, Jeremiah 1:16; 44:3, 5; burning incense to idols, Ezekiel 8:11; 16:18; and burning incense to the baalim, Hosea 2:13.

[10] Because the burning of incense served to mean such things as rise upwards to and are accepted with pleasure by the Divine it was also one of the religious practices among gentiles. The use of frankincense, censers, and incense-boxes by the Romans and other nations is well known from historical evidence. That kind of religious practice was derived from the Ancient Church, which was spread through many regions of Asia, such as Syria, Arabia, Babylon, Egypt, and Canaan. That Church had been a representative Church, thus a Church consisting in outward forms that represented inner realities, that is, celestial and spiritual things. A large number of religious practices, one of which was the burning of incense, were passed on from that Church to surrounding nations, and from these through Greece into Italy. Another practice like this was the care of the perpetual fire entrusted to chaste virgins whom they called the Vestal Virgins.

[11] The incense that was burned in the Ancient Church, and consequently in the Israelite Church, was prepared from fragrant substances, such as stacte, onycha, galbanum, and frankincense, because perception was meant by an odour, and delightful perception by a fragrant odour, see 925, 1514, 1517-1519, 3577, 4624-4634, 4748, 10054. But 'frankincense' in particular means the truth of faith, and therefore when frankincense is mentioned in the Word oil, bread, minchah, or else gold, by which the good of love is meant, is linked with it, as in Isaiah,

All those from Sheba will come. They will bring gold and frankincense, and will proclaim the praises of Jehovah. Isaiah 60:6.

Similarly those who came from the east, in Matthew,

Wise men from the east came, seeking the Lord who had then been born ... opening their treasures; and they presented gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew 2:1-2, 11.

In the Word those who were from the east and were called 'sons of the east' mean people who possessed the cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth, see 3249, 3762. 'Sheba' has the same meaning, 1171, 3240. And for the meaning of 'gold' as the good of love, see the places referred to in 9874 or 9881.

[12] In Jeremiah,

They will bring burnt offering and sacrifice, and minchah, and frankincense. Jeremiah 17:26.

'Minchah' in like manner means the good of love, 9992, 10137. From all this it is evident that in the Word 'frankincense' means truth that composes faith; for where good is spoken of in the Word, so too is truth, on account of the heavenly marriage, which is that of goodness and truth, in every single part of it, see the places referred to in 9263[end], 9314. For the same reason also oil as well as frankincense was placed on a minchah, Leviticus 2:1-2, 15, though not on a minchah required for a sin offering, Leviticus 5:11, nor on a minchah for jealousy, Numbers 5:15. The reason why they were not placed on these minchahs was that such minchahs were presented for expiation from evils, and as long as a person is at the stage of expiation he cannot receive the good of love or truth of faith, because evils stand in the way. It is different after they have been expiated or removed.

[13] The good of love cannot be imparted to anyone unless at the same time the truth of faith is as well. For good brings truth into being, and in that truth it acquires a particular quality and receives an outward form. This was why every minchah had frankincense on it, as did the loaves of the presence which were laid on the table in the tent of meeting, Leviticus 24:7, the good of love being meant by 'loaves', 3478, 3813, 4211, 4217, 4735, 4976, 8410, 9323, 9545, 10040, 10137.

9295. This second feast, which was called 'the feast of the harvest of the firstfruits of works', also 'of the firstfruits of wheat' as well as 'the feast of weeks', means the planting of truth in good. This is clear from the establishment of it, spoken of in Moses as follows,

Say to the children of Israel, When you have come into the land which I am giving you, and you reap its harvest, you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, who shall wave the sheaf before Jehovah, so that you may be acceptable; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. And you shall offer on that day a he-lamb ¹ as a burnt offering, also a minchah and a drink-offering. But you shall not eat bread or parched ears or green ones until that very day. After this you shall count for yourselves from the day after the sabbath, from the day you bring the sheaf of the wave-offering, seven sabbaths shall there be complete. Until the day after the seventh sabbath you shall count fifty days, and offer a new gift to Jehovah. You shall bring from your dwellings the bread of the wave-offering; it shall be baked with yeast, as firstfruits to Jehovah. Besides the bread you shall offer seven lambs, one young bull, and two rams, as a burnt offering, together with their minchah and drink-offering. Leviticus 23:10-21; Deuteronomy 16:9-12.

[2] No one can know what the meaning is of these details except from their internal sense. In that sense the seeds which are sown in the field are truths of faith which are planted in good. Harvest means their growing ripe when forms of good develop from them; for wheat and barley are forms of good, and ears containing them are truths accordingly linked to good. A sheaf is an ordered sequence and bringing together of such truths; for the truths have been arranged into sheaf-like groups. Waving means giving life to, for truths with a person are not living ones until they are rooted in good. The priest who waved the sheaf, that is, who gave life to forms of the good of truth, represented the Lord; for He is the Source of life in its entirety. Doing this on the day after the sabbath meant the holiness of goodness and truth joined together. Their not being permitted before then to eat bread, parched ears, or green ones meant not making the life of good their own before then, bread being the good of love, parched ears the good of charity, green ones the good of truth, and eating making one's own. The requirement that from then seven sabbaths were to be counted until the feast, which therefore was held on the fiftieth day, meant a complete planting of truth in good until the first phase of a new state. Bread made with yeast which was offered then meant good not as yet completely purified. The waving of it meant giving it life. The burnt offering of the lambs, young bull, and rams, together with minchah and drink-offerings meant worship of the Lord that has all the essential characteristics of that good. These are the things that are meant by this feast and what happened then. And from all this it is evident that a second state in deliverance from damnation was meant, which was a state when truth was planted in good.

[3] Since this feast was called the feast of the firstfruits of harvest one needs to know what 'harvest' means in the Word. In a broad sense 'the field' that contains the harvest means the whole human race or the whole world, in a less broad sense the Church, in a narrower sense a member of the Church, and in an even narrower sense the good present in a member of the Church since this good receives the truths of faith as the field receives seeds. From the meaning of 'the field' it is evident what 'harvest' means. That is to say, in the broadest sense it means the state of the whole human race in respect of its reception of good through truth, in a less broad sense the state of the Church in respect of the reception of the truths of faith in good, in a narrower sense the state of a member of the Church in respect of that reception, and in a still narrower sense the state of good in respect of the reception of truth, and so the planting of truth in good.

[4] All this shows what 'harvest' means in the following places, as in Matthew,

He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world; the seed is the sons of the kingdom; the tares are the sons of the kingdom of the evil one; ² the enemy who sows them is the devil; but the harvest is the close of the age, while the harvesters are the angels. Matthew 13:37-39.

'The good seed' is the truths of faith received from the Lord; 'the Son of Man' is the Lord in respect of the Church's truths; 'the world' which 'the field' stands for is the entire human race; 'the sons of the kingdom' whom 'the seed' stands for are the Church's truths of faith; 'the sons of the kingdom of the evil one' whom 'the tares' stand for are the Church's falsities of faith; 'the devil' whom 'the enemy' stands for and who sows them is hell; 'the close of the age' which 'the harvest' stands for is the final state of the Church in respect of the reception of the truths of faith in good; and 'the angels' whom 'the harvesters' stand for are truths from the Lord. That such things are meant by those words spoken by the Lord may be recognized from their internal sense indicated throughout this explanation of them. All this also shows the manner in which the Lord spoke when He was in the world, namely by the use of images that carried a spiritual meaning, and the reason why He did so was in order that the Word might exist not only for the world but also for heaven.

[5] In Revelation,

An angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, Thrust in ³ your sickle and reap, for the hour of harvesting has come for you; for the harvest of the earth has become dry. The one sitting on the cloud therefore thrust ⁴ his sickle into the earth, and the earth was harvested. Revelation 14:15-16.

'The harvest' here also stands for the final state of the Church in respect of the reception of the truths of faith in good. In Joel,

The priests have been mourning, the ministers of Jehovah. The field has been devastated, the land has been mourning because the grain has been laid waste, the new wine has failed, the oil languishes. Farmers have been put to shame, vinedressers have wailed over the wheat and over the barley, for the reason that the harvest of the field has perished. Joel 1:9-11.

This describes the ruination of the Church in respect of truths of faith and forms of the good of charity by means of such things as belong to the field, vineyard, and olive-grove. The Church itself is 'the field', and its final state, which the Lord called 'the close of the age', is 'the harvest'.

[6] In the same prophet,

Send out the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down, for the winepress is full, the vats overflow - for great is their wickedness. Joel 3:13.

Here also 'the harvest' means the close of the age or final state of a Church laid waste. In Jeremiah,

Cut off the sower from Babel, and the one handling the sickle in the time of harvest. Jeremiah 50:16.

In the same prophet,

The daughter of Babel is like a threshing-floor; it is time to thresh her. Only a little while, and the time of harvest comes [to her]. Jeremiah 51:33.

'The time of harvest' stands for the final state of the Church there.

[7] In Isaiah,

Wail, O ships of Tarshish! For Tyre has been laid waste, so that there is no house nor anyone to go in. The inhabitants of the island are silent, O merchant of Sidon passing over the sea; they have replenished you. And through the great waters the seed of Shihor is the harvest of the Nile, her produce, to be the merchandise of nations. Isaiah 23:1-3.

The holy things of the Church that are described in these verses cannot be known to anyone except from the internal sense. Everyone knows that the holy things of heaven and of the Church are present throughout the Word, and that for this reason the Word is holy. The literal sense of those verses describes things connected with the commerce of Tyre and Sidon, but without a holy and more internal sense those descriptions are not holy. What their meaning is in this more internal sense is evident if they are brought to the surface. 'Ships of Tarshish' are doctrinal teachings about truth and good; 'Tyre and Sidon' are cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth; 'no house, so that there is not anyone to go in' means that there is no longer any good in which truth can be planted; 'the inhabitants of the island who are silent' are more remote forms of good; 'the seed of Shihor' is true factual knowledge; and 'the harvest of the Nile, her produce' is good resulting from that knowledge, outside the Church.

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