9740. Verses 9-19 And you shall make the court of the dwelling-place on the south side ¹ , southwards; the hangings for the court shall be [made] from fine twined linen, a hundred cubits the length to one corner; and its pillars shall be twenty, and their bases twenty, [made] from bronze; the hooks of the pillars and their bands [shall be made] from silver. And [the same shall be] so for the length on the north side ¹ ; the hangings shall be a hundred in length, and its pillars twenty, and their bases twenty, [made] from bronze, the hooks of the pillars and their bands [made] from silver. And the breadth of the court on the side of the sea, ² the hangings shall be fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and the bases of these, ten. And the breadth of the court on the east side ¹ , towards the sunrise, shall be fifty cubits; and hangings of fifteen cubits shall there be for [one] wing, ³ their pillars three, and the bases of these, three; and for the other wing ³ there shall be hangings [of] fifteen [cubits], their pillars three, and the bases of these, three. And for the gate of the court there shall be a screen of twenty cubits, [made] from violet, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of an embroiderer, its pillars four, and the bases of these, four. All the pillars of the court round about shall be banded with bands of silver, and their hooks [made] from silver and their bases from bronze. The length of the court shall be a hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty throughout, ⁴ and the height five cubits, [with hangings made] from fine twined linen and their bases from bronze. And as for all the vessels of the dwelling-place, in all its service, and all its pins and all the pins of the court, [they shall be made] from bronze.

'And you shall make the court of the dwelling-place' means the lowest heaven. 'On the south side, southwards' means that it dwells in the light of truth. 'The hangings for the court' means the truths of that heaven. 'From fine twined linen' means coming out of the understanding. 'A hundred cubits the length' means complete with good from the Lord. 'To one corner' means where the truths dwell in light. 'And its pillars shall be twenty' means forms of the good of truth which provide complete support. 'And their bases twenty, [made] from bronze' means the truths springing from good which also provide complete support. 'The hooks of the pillars and their bands [shall be made] from silver' means the modes by which they are linked together through truth. 'And [the same shall be] so for the length on the north side' means where the good of truth dwells in obscurity. 'The hangings shall be a hundred in length' means likewise complete with truths that spring from good. 'And its pillars twenty' means forms of the good of truth which provide complete support. 'And their bases twenty, [made] from bronze' means the truths springing from good which also provide complete support. 'The hooks of the pillars and their bands [made] from silver' means the modes by which they are linked together through truth. 'And the breadth of the court on the side of the sea' means the state of that heaven in respect of truths on the level of factual knowledge. 'The hangings shall be fifty cubits' means the quantity of truths needed for the purposes they have to serve. 'Their pillars, and the bases of these, ten' means the quantity also of supporting forms of good, and of truths springing from these, needed for the purposes they have to serve. 'And the breadth of the court on the east side, towards the sunrise' means the state of the truth of that heaven where forms of good reside. 'Fifty cubits' means the quantity needed for the purposes to be served. 'And hangings of fifteen cubits shall there be for [one] wing' means a sufficient quantity of truths dwelling in light. 'Their pillars three, and the bases of these, three' means the forms of good and the truths springing from them which provide complete support. 'And hangings of fifteen cubits for the [other] wing, their pillars three, and the bases of these, three' means the same things as above but where truths dwell in obscurity. 'And for the gate of the court there shall be a screen' means introduction into that heaven, and a guard that prohibits entry into it except by those who have been prepared. 'Of twenty cubits' means to the full. 'From violet, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, and fine twined linen' means forms of the good of charity and faith. 'The work of an embroiderer' means things belonging to factual knowledge. 'Its pillars four, and the bases of these, four' means the forms of good, and the truths springing from them, which support the linking together. 'All the pillars of the court round about' means every form of good supporting heaven. 'Shall be banded with bands of silver, and their hooks [made] from silver' means all the modes of linking together through truth. 'And their bases from bronze' means forms of support received through good. 'The length of the court shall be a hundred cubits' means the good of that heaven, to the full. 'And the breadth fifty throughout' means truth in a sufficient amount. 'And the height five cubits' means the degrees of good and truth, also in a sufficient amount. '[With hangings made] from fine twined linen' means coming out of the understanding. 'And their bases from bronze' means the support they all receive through good. 'And as for all the vessels of the dwelling-place, in all its service' means the truths and the forms of good on the level of factual knowledge which the external man possesses. 'And all its pins and all the pins of the court, [they shall be made] from bronze' means everything that joins together and strengthens the two heavens, the middle and the lowest, through good.

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1857. 'For the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet come to a close' means the final period when there is no longer any good. This is clear from the meaning of 'the Amorite', and also from the meaning of 'a close'. 'Amorite' in the Word means evil in general, the reason being that the land of Canaan is called 'the land of the Amorites', as is clear in Ezekiel 16:3-4, and Amos 2:9-10. Here therefore 'the Amorite' means all the nations of the land of Canaan, by whom were meant, as stated already, evils and falsities specifically. Consequently 'the Amorite' means all evils in general. 'The close' means that final period when there is no good any longer.

[2] But what is meant in the internal sense by the statement that 'the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet come to a close' is an arcanum. The experience of the evil in the next life is that they are not punished until their evils have reached their peak; this applies to evils both in general and in particular. Indeed the balance of everything in the next life is such that evil punishes itself, that is, those who are evil run into the punishment of their evil, but only when this evil has reached its peak. Every evil has its own limits - varying from one individual to another - beyond which it is not allowed to go. When one who is evil goes beyond it he meets head on with punishment. This is so in every particular case.

[3] The same applies in general, in that those who are evil thrust themselves down into hell, not instantaneously but gradually. This has its origin in the universal law of order established by the Lord that the Lord never sends anyone down into hell but that evil itself, or the person himself who is evil, thrusts himself down, doing so gradually, until evil has reached its close and no trace of good is any longer apparent. As long as there is some trace of good he is being raised up from hell, but when there is nothing but evil, he is thrust down into hell. Good and evil must first of all be separated from each other since they are opposites. No one is allowed to incline in both directions. This is what is meant by 'the iniquity of the Amorites having to come to a close'. With the good however it is different; they are constantly being raised up by the Lord towards heaven, while their evil is gradually wiped away.

[4] It is similar with the state of the Church: visitation does not come until evil has reached a close, that is, when good of charity and truth of faith exist no longer. That close is referred to quite often in the Prophets, as in Isaiah,

A close and a settlement I have heard from the Lord Jehovih Zebaoth over all the earth. Isaiah 28:22.

In Jeremiah,

O Babel, you who dwell on many waters, great in treasures, your end has come, the measure of your gain. Jeremiah 51:13.

In Daniel,

Seventy weeks have been decreed concerning your people and your holy city to bring transgression to a close and to seal up sins and to atone for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophet, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. Daniel 9:24.

At length upon the bird of abominations will come desolation, until a closing and settlement is poured out upon the devastation. Daniel 9:27.

[5] The Lord Himself too foretells the close in these words in Luke,

They will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive among all the gentiles, ¹ and at length Jerusalem will be trodden down by the gentiles' until the times of the nations are fulfilled. Luke 21:24.

'Falling by the edge of the sword' means from falsities, for 'a sword' in the Word is the punishment of falsity. 'Jerusalem' stands for the Lord's kingdom and the Church, 402, 'the gentiles' for evils, 1260. Thus the meaning is that 'the close' has been reached when the Church has become possessed by evils and falsities, and so has been destroyed by its own self.

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