3727. In regard to the signification of a “pillar,” as being a holy boundary, thus the ultimate of order, this comes from the fact that in the most ancient times stones were placed at the boundaries, which marked the possession or inheritance of one person from that of another, and were for a sign and a witness that the boundaries were at that place. The most ancient people, who in every object, and in every pillar, thought of something celestial and spiritual (n. 1977, 2995), in these stones also which they set up, thought from them concerning the ultimates in man, and thus concerning the ultimate of order, which is truth in the natural man. The ancients who were after the flood received this from the most ancient people who were before the flood (n. 920, 1409, 2179, 2896, 2897), and began to account those stones holy which were set up in the boundaries, because as before said, they signified holy truth which is in the ultimate of order. They also called those stones “pillars;” and thus it came to pass that pillars were introduced into worship, and that they erected them in the places where they had their groves, and afterwards where they had their temples, and also that they anointed them with oil, concerning which something shall be said in what follows. For the worship of the Ancient Church consisted in the perceptives and significatives of the most ancient people who were before the flood, as is manifest from the sections just cited. As the most ancient people spoke with angels and were together with them while on earth, they were instructed from heaven that stones signify truth, and that wood signifies good (see above, n. 3720). This is the reason why “pillars” signify a holy boundary, thus the truth which is the ultimate of order in man; for the good that inflows through the internal man from the Lord is terminated in the external man, in the truth therein. Man’s thought, speech, and action, which are the ultimates of order, are nothing else than truths from good, being the images or forms of good; for they belong to man’s intellectual part, while the good which is in them, and from which they are, belongs to his will part.

[2] That pillars were erected for a sign and for a witness, and also for worship; and that in the internal sense they signify a holy boundary, or the truth in man’s natural which is the ultimate of order, may be seen from other passages in the Word-as from the following, concerning the covenant between Laban and Jacob:

Come now, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee. And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar. And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold the pillar which I have set up between me and thee; this heap be witness, and the pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap to me, and this pillar, for evil (Genesis 31:44-45, 51-52).

That in this passage a “pillar” signifies truth, will be seen in the explication of the passage.

[3] In Isaiah:

In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak with the lips of Canaan, and swear to Jehovah Zebaoth. In that day shall there be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the boundary thereof to Jehovah; which shall be for a sign and for a witness unto Jehovah Zebaoth in the land of Egypt (Isaiah 19:18-20);

“Egypt” denotes the memory-knowledges that belong to the natural man; an “altar,” Divine worship in general, for in the second Ancient Church, which began from Eber, the altar was made the primary representative of worship (n. 921, 1343, 2777, 2811); the “midst of the land of Egypt” denotes what is primary and inmost of worship (n. 2940, 2973, 3436); a “pillar,” the truth which is the ultimate of order in the natural. That this is in the boundary for a sign and for a witness is manifest.

[4] In Moses:

Moses wrote all the words of Jehovah, and rose up early in the morning and builded an altar near Mount Sinai, and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel (Exodus 24:4); where in like manner an “altar” was representative of all worship, and indeed of good in worship; while the twelve pillars were a representative of the truth which is from good in worship. (That “twelve” denotes all things of truth in one complex may be seen above, n. 577, 2089, 2129, 2130, 3272; and that the “twelve tribes” in like manner signify all things of the truth of the church, will of the Lord’s Divine mercy be shown in the following chapter.)

[5] Inasmuch as altars were representative of all the good of worship, and as the Jewish Church was instituted in order that it might represent the celestial church which acknowledged no other truth than that which is from good, which is called celestial truth-for it was not in the least willing to separate truth from good, insomuch that it was not willing to mention anything of faith or truth unless it was thinking of good, and this from good, n. 202, 337, 2069, 2715, 2718, 3246—therefore there was a representative of truth by means of the stones of the altar, and it was forbidden to represent it by pillars, lest thereby truth should be separated from good, and should be representatively worshiped instead of good. For this reason it is written in Moses:

Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any tree beside the altar of Jehovah thy God which thou shalt make thee; and thou shalt not set thee up a pillar, which Jehovah thy God hateth (Deuteronomy 16:21-22);

for to worship truth separate from good, or faith separate from charity, is contrary to the Divine, because contrary to order, and this is signified by the prohibition, “thou shalt not set thee up a pillar, which Jehovah thy God hateth.”

[6] Nevertheless that they did set up pillars, and thereby represented those things which are contrary to order, is evident in Hosea:

Israel according to the multiplying of his fruit, multiplies his altars; according to the good of their land they make goodly pillars; but He shall overturn their altars; He shall lay waste their pillars (Hos. 10:1-2).

In the first book of Kings:

Judah did that which was evil in the eyes of Jehovah; they also built them high places, and pillars, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree (1 Kings 14:22-23).

In the second book of Kings:

The sons of Israel set them up pillars and groves on every high hill, and under every green tree (2 Kings 17:10).

Hezekiah removed the high places, and he brake the pillars and cut down the grove and ground to pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made, for they did burn incense to it (2 Kings 18:4).

[7] Inasmuch as the Gentiles also had by tradition the belief that the holy of worship was represented by altars and by pillars, and yet were in evil and falsity, therefore by “altars” among the gentiles are signified evils of worship, and by “pillars,” falsities; for which reason it was commanded that they should be destroyed. As in Moses:

Ye shall overthrow their altars, and break in pieces their pillars, and ye shall cut down their groves (Exodus 34:13; Deuteronomy 7:5; 12:3).

Thou shalt not bow to their gods, nor worship them, nor do after their works; because destroying thou shalt destroy them, and breaking thou shalt break in pieces their pillars (Exodus 23:24).

The “gods” of the nations denote falsities; their “works,” evils; to “break in pieces their pillars” denotes to destroy worship from falsity.

[8] In Jeremiah:

Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon shall break in pieces the pillars of the house of the sun that is in the land of Egypt, and the houses of the gods of Egypt shall he burn with fire (Jeremiah 43:13).

In Ezekiel:

Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon with the hoofs of his horses shall tread down all thy streets; he shall slay the people with the sword, and shall cause the pillars of thy strength to go down to the earth (Ezekiel 26:11);

speaking of Tyre. “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon” denotes that which causes vastation (n. 1327); the “hoofs of the horses” denote the lowest intellectual things, such as are memory-knowledges from mere things of sense; that “hoofs” are the lowest things will of the Lord’s Divine mercy be confirmed elsewhere; “horses” denote intellectual things (n. 2760-2762); “streets,” truths, and in the opposite sense, falsities (n. 2336); to “tread them down” is to destroy the knowledges of truth, which are signified by “Tyre” (that “Tyre,” which is the subject here referred to, signifies the knowledges of truth, may be seen above, n. 1201); to “slay the people with the sword” denotes to destroy truths by that which is false. (That “people” is predicated of truth, may be seen above, n. 1259, 1260,(3295),3581; and that a “sword” signifies falsity combating, n. 2799.) From all this we see what is meant by “causing the pillars of strength to come down to the earth.” That “strength” is predicated of what is true and of what is false, is also evident from the Word.

1832. And the birds he did not divide. That this signifies spiritual things, and that in them there is not such a parallelism and correspondence, is evident from the signification of “birds,” as being what is spiritual [as distinguished from what is celestial], and as treated of in verse 9, just above; and from the statement that he did not divide the birds in the midst; consequently that there is not such a parallelism and correspondence. By spiritual things are signified, as often said before, all the things of faith, consequently all doctrinal things, for these are called things of faith, although they are not of faith until they have been conjoined with charity. Between these and the Lord there is not a parallelism and correspondence, for they are such things as do not flow in by internal dictate and conscience, as do those which are of love and charity, but they flow in by instruction, and so by hearing, thus not from the interior, but from the exterior, and in this way they form their vessels or recipients in man.

[2] The greater part of them appear as if they were truths, but are not truths, such as those things which are of the literal sense of the Word, and are representatives of truth and significatives of truth, and thus are not in themselves truths; some of them even being falsities, which however can serve as vessels and recipients. But in the Lord there are none but truths that are essentially such; and therefore with these there is no parallelism and correspondence on the part of those apparent truths, but still they may be so adapted as to serve as vessels for the celestial things which are of love and charity. These apparent truths are what constitute the cloud of the intellectual part, before spoken of, into which the Lord insinuates charity, and so makes conscience.

[3] For example: with those who remain in the sense of the letter of the Word, and suppose that it is the Lord who leads into temptation and who then torments man’s conscience, and who suppose that because He permits evil He is the cause of evil, and that He thrusts the evil down into hell, with other similar things: these are apparent truths, but are not truths; and because they are not truths that are such in themselves, there is no parallelism and correspondence. Still the Lord leaves them intact in man, and miraculously adapts them by means of charity so that they can serve celestial things as vessels. So also with the worship, the religious teachings and morals, and even with the idols, of the well-disposed Gentiles; these likewise the Lord leaves intact, and yet adapts them by means of charity so that they also serve as vessels. The case was the same in regard to the very numerous rites in the Ancient Church, and afterwards in the Jewish Church; which in themselves were nothing but rituals in which there was not truth, but which were tolerated and permitted, and indeed commanded, because they were held as sacred by parents, and so were implanted in the minds of children and impressed upon them from infancy as truths.

[4] These and other such things are what are signified by the statement that the birds were not divided. For the things that are once implanted in a man’s opinion, and are accounted as holy, the Lord leaves intact, provided they are not contrary to Divine order; and although there is no parallelism and correspondence, still He adapts them. These same things are what was signified in the Jewish Church by the birds not being divided in the sacrifices; for to divide is to place the parts opposite to each other in such a manner that they may adequately correspond; and because the things which have been spoken of are not adequately in correspondence, they are obliterated in the other life with those who suffer themselves to be instructed, and truths themselves are implanted in their affections of good. That in the Jewish Church for the sake of this representation and signification the birds were not divided, is evident in Moses:

If his offering to Jehovah be a burnt-offering of birds, then he shall bring his offering of turtle-doves or of the sons of the pigeon. And he shall cleave it with its wings, he shall not divide it (Leviticus 1:14, 17).

And the same in the case of the sacrifices for sin (Leviticus 5:7-8).