630. Verse 2. And the court which is without the temple cast out, and measure it not, signifies that the external of the Word, and thence of the church and worship, is not to be explored. This is evident from the signification of the "court," as being the external of the Word, and thence of the church and of worship. The "court" has this signification because the "temple" signifies heaven and the church in respect to Divine truth, as was said in the article above; therefore the "court" which was "outside the temple or in front of the temple" signifies the first or lowest heaven. For the "temple," regarded in itself, signifies the higher heavens; that is, the "adytum," where the ark of the covenant was, signified the inmost or third heaven, and "the temple outside of the adytum" signified the middle or second heaven; therefore the "court" signified the lowest or first heaven; and what signifies heaven signifies also the church, for the church is the Lord's heaven on the earth; and what signifies the church, signifies also the Word and worship, for the Word is the Divine truth, from which are heaven and the church, and worship is according to Divine truth, which is the Word. From this it is that the "court" signifies the external or ultimate of heaven and the church, and also the external or ultimate of the Word and of worship.

[2] The Word and worship are altogether as heaven and the church are; for as there are three heavens, so in the Word there are three distinct senses: the inmost sense, which is called the celestial sense, is for the inmost or third heaven; the middle sense, which is called the spiritual sense, is for the middle or second heaven; and the ultimate sense, which is called the celestial-natural and spiritual-natural sense, is for the lowest or first heaven. These three senses, besides the natural which is for the world, are in the Word and in all its particulars; and as the three heavens have the Word and each heaven is in its own sense of the Word, and from this is their heaven and also their worship, it follows that what signifies heaven signifies also the Word and worship. This is why the "court" signifies the external of the Word, and thence the external of the church and of worship.

[3] Moreover, it is to be known that the temple had two courts, one without the temple, and the other within, and "the court without the temple" signifies the entrance itself into heaven and into the church, in which are those who are being introduced into heaven; while "the court within the temple" represented the lowest heaven. It is similar with the church, also with the Word and with worship; for "the court without the temple" signifies the external of the Word, that is, the Word such as it is in the natural sense, which is for the world, by which man is introduced into its spiritual sense, in which the angels of heaven are. But what is properly signified by each court, the inner and the outer, will be told in what follows. Also, why it is here said that "the court without the temple is to be cast out, and not measured," will be told in the following article, where it is told what is signified by "it is given to the nations."

[4] From this it can now in some measure be seen what is signified in the Word by "court" and by "courts" in the following passages. In Moses:

Thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle at the corner of the south towards the south, hangings for the courts; twenty pillars, twenty bases, the hooks of the pillars and the fillets of silver, the gate of the court with the veil; its length a hundred cubits from the south to the north, and its breadth fifty from the east to the west (Exodus 27:9-18).

This court was the court of the Tent of meeting, which likewise represented and signified the lowest or first heaven; for "the Tent of meeting" represented heaven; its inmost, where the ark was, over which was the mercy seat, represented the inmost or third heaven; the law in the ark, the Lord Himself as to Divine truth or the Word; and the tent without the veil, where was the table for the loaves, the altar of incense, and the lamp stand, represented the middle or second heaven; and the court, the lowest or first heaven. (That the three heavens were represented by that tent may be seen in Arcana Coelestia, n. Arcana Coelestia 3478, 9457, 9481, 9485; but what is signified in particular by the court, and by all things pertaining to it, may be seen, n. 9741-9775.)

[5] As the court represented the lowest heaven, and thence also the external of the church, of the Word, and of worship:

The residue of the meal offerings and of the sacrifices for sin were eaten by Aaron and his sons in the court (Leviticus 6:16, 26).

"Eating in the court" these sanctified things signified appropriating to oneself the goods of the church that were signified by the meal offerings and these sacrifices; and all appropriation of holy things is effected by ultimates, for except through ultimates there can be no appropriation of interior holy things.

[6] But the courts of the temple are thus described in the first book of Kings:

Solomon made a court before the front of the house of the temple. And afterwards he built the inner court, three layers of hewn stones and a row of hewn cedar (1 Kings 6:3, 36).

The temple in like manner represented heaven and the church; the adytum, where the ark was, represented the inmost or third heaven, also the church with those who are in inmosts, which is called the celestial church; the temple outside the adytum represented the middle or second heaven, also the church with those who are in the middle, which is called the internal spiritual church; the inner court represented the lowest or first heaven, also the church with those who are in ultimates, which is called the internal-natural church; while the outer court represented the entrance into heaven.

[7] And as the temple in the highest sense signified the Lord in relation to the Divine Human, so also in relation to Divine truth, thence the temple also signifies Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, consequently the Word, for that is the Divine truth in the church. That the Lord's Divine Human is signified by the temple is evident from the Lord's words where He says:

Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up; and He spake of the temple of His body (John 2:18-23).

That the "temple" signifies the church is evident from these words of the Lord:

That there shall not be left of the temple stone upon stone that shall not be thrown down (Matthew 24:1, 2; Luke 21:5-7).

These words mean that every Divine truth, consequently everything of the church, is to perish; for the end of the church, which is called the consummation of the age, is here treated of.

[8] That there were two courts built, an inner and an outer, and there little chambers, porticos, or piazzas, and many other things, can be seen from the description of them in Ezekiel:

The angel brought me to the outer court, where, behold, there were chambers and a pavement made for the court round about, thirty chambers upon the pavement, which he measured as to the length and the breadth; and he also measured the bedchambers, the portico, the gate, everything as to length and breadth (Ezekiel 40:17-22, 40:31, 40:34, et seq.; Ezekiel 42:1-14).

And of the inner court it is said in the same:

That he measured the inner court, the gates thereof towards the north, the east, and the south; the portico, the steps with the ascents, the bedchambers, the chambers of the singers, the upper lintels (Ezek. 40:23-31, 40:44, et seq.).

And in Jeremiah:

In the chamber of Gemaliah ¹ the scribe, in the upper court, at the entrance of the gate of the new house (Jeremiah 36:10).

In the prophet Ezekiel, from chap. 40 to chap. 48, a new city, a new temple, and a new earth, are treated of, which signify a New Church that was to be established by the Lord; and the "chambers," the "bedchambers," the "porticos," and the rest, signify such things as belong to the church, its doctrine and worship; and their dimensions signify their quality (as was said and shown in the article above). But this is not the place to explain what is signified by the particulars; only that "courts" signify the external things of heaven and of the church, and thence the externals of the Word and of worship. That the externals of these are signified by the "courts" is evident from this alone, that the "temple" in general signifies heaven and the church, therefore the three divisions of the temple, namely, the courts, the temple itself, and the adytum, signify the three heavens according to their degrees. (Of what nature the three heavens are according to their degrees, see in the work on Heaven and Hell, n. 29-40 .)

[9] That "the temple and the courts" signify heaven and the church can be seen more fully from these words in Ezekiel:

The spirit raised me up and brought me into the inner court of the temple, when behold, the glory of Jehovah filled the house; and I heard one speaking unto me out of the house, saying, Son of man, the place of My throne, and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the sons of Israel forever (Ezekiel 43:4-7).

That these "courts" signify the lowest heaven, or the external of the church, can be seen from its being said that "he was brought into the court, and thence saw the house filled with the glory of Jehovah," "the glory of Jehovah" signifying Divine truth, which constitutes heaven and the church; also afterwards, that that house was "the place of the throne of Jehovah, and the place of the soles of His feet, where He will dwell in the midst of the sons of Israel forever." That "the throne of Jehovah" means heaven may be seen above (n. 253, 297, 343, 460, 462, 477, 482); and that "the place of the soles of the feet of Jehovah" means the church, see also above n. 606; the "sons of Israel" mean all who are of the Lord's church, consequently "to dwell with them forever" signifies the unceasing presence of the Lord with them.

[10] In the same:

The glory of Jehovah lifted itself up from above the cherub over the threshold of the house, and the house was filled with the cloud. And the cloud filled the inner court. And the court was full of the brightness of the glory of Jehovah; and the voice of the wings of the cherubim was heard even to the outer court (Ezekiel 10:3, 4, 5).

The "cherubim" seen by the prophet represented the Lord in relation to providence and guard that He be not approached except through good of love; consequently the "cherubim" signify the higher heavens, particularly the inmost heaven, for this guard is there (See above n. 277, 313, 322, 362, 370, 462); therefore the "house that was filled with the cloud" signifies heaven and the church; the "inner court," which the cloud also filled, signifies the lowest heaven; and the "outer court," as far as which the voice of the wings of the cherubs was heard, signifies the entrance into heaven, which is specifically in the natural world, and afterwards in the world of spirits. For through the church in the world, and afterwards through the world of spirits, man enters into heaven. (What the world of spirits is, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 421-431 seq.) But the "cloud" and "the brightness of the glory of Jehovah" signify the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord.

[11] From this it can now be seen what is signified by "courts" in the following passages. In David:

Blessed is he whom thou choosest and causest to approach, he shall dwell in Thy courts; we shall be satisfied with the goodness of Thy house, with the holiness of Thy temple (Psalms 65:4).

This signifies that those who are in charity, or in spiritual affection, will live in heaven, and there will be in intelligence and wisdom from Divine truth and Divine good; "the chosen" (or he whom thou choosest) signifies those who are in love towards the neighbor or in charity; "causest to approach" signifies spiritual affection or love, for so far as man is in that love or that affection, so far he is with the Lord, for everyone approaches Him according to that love; "to dwell in courts" signifies to live in heaven, "to dwell" meaning to live, and "courts" meaning heaven; "to be satisfied with the goodness of the house" signifies to be in wisdom from Divine good; and "to be satisfied with the holiness of the temple" signifies to be in intelligence from Divine truth, and from both to enjoy heavenly joy; "the house of God" signifies heaven and the church in respect to Divine good, and the "temple" heaven and the church in respect to Divine truth, and "holiness" is predicated of spiritual good, which is truth.

[12] In the same:

A day in Thy courts is better than thousands, I have chosen to stand at the door in the house of my God (Psalms 84:10).

"Courts" here signify the first or lowest heaven, through which there is entrance into the higher heavens; therefore it is added, "I have chosen to stand at the door in the house of my God." In the same:

Give to Jehovah the glory of His name, bring an offering, and come into His courts (Psalms 96:8).

In the same:

Praise ye the name of Jehovah, praise, O ye servants of Jehovah, who stand in the house of Jehovah, in the courts of the house of our God (Psalms 135:1, 2).

In the same:

How amiable are Thy dwellings, O Jehovah of Hosts; my soul hath desired, yea is consumed for the courts of Jehovah (Psalms 84:1, 2).

In the same:

Come into His gates with confession, into His courts with praise, confess ye unto Him, bless His name (Psalms 100:4).

In the same:

I will pay my vows unto Jehovah before all His people, in the courts of the house of Jehovah, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem (Psalms 116:14, 18, 19).

In the same:

The righteous shall flourish as the palm tree, he shall grow as a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of Jehovah they shall spring forth in the courts of our God (Psalms 92:12, 13).

That in these passages "courts" mean heaven, in particular the lowest heaven and the church, can be seen without explanation.

[13] Likewise in the following passages. In Isaiah:

They shall gather the corn and the new wine, they shall eat and shall praise Jehovah, and they that shall bring it together shall drink in the courts of My holiness (Isaiah 62:9).

"They shall gather the corn and the new wine" signifies instruction in the goods and truths of doctrine and of the church; "they shall eat and shall praise Jehovah" signifies appropriation and the worship of the Lord; "they that shall bring it together shall drink in the courts of My holiness" signifies the enjoyment of Divine truth, and the consequent happiness in the heavens.

[14] In Joel:

Let the priests, the ministers of Jehovah, weep between the court and the altar, and let them say, Spare Thy people, O Jehovah (Joel 2:17);

"weeping between the court and the altar" signifies lamentation over the vastation of Divine truth and Divine good in the church; for the "court" has a similar signification as the "temple," namely, the church in respect to Divine truth, and the "altar" signifies the church in respect to Divine good; therefore "between the court and the altar" signifies the marriage of good and truth, which constitutes heaven and the church; and "to weep" signifies lamentation over its vastation. "Courts" also elsewhere in the Word signify the ultimates of heaven, also the externals of the church, of the Word, and of worship (as in Isaiah 1:12; Zechariah 3:7).

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6832. 'In a flame of fire from the middle of a bramble bush' means God's love present in true factual knowledge. This is clear from the meaning of 'a flame of fire' as God's love, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'a bramble bush' as true factual knowledge. The reason why 'a bramble bush' means true factual knowledge is that all shrubs of every kind mean factual knowledge, whereas actual plantations of trees, being larger, mean cognitions and perceptions. Because it produces flower and berries 'a bramble bush' means true factual knowledge. True factual knowledge that the Church possesses consists in nothing else than the Word as it exists in the sense of the letter and also every one of the Church's representative forms and meaningful signs that existed among the descendants of Jacob. These in the external form they take are called true factual knowledge; but in their internal form they are spiritual truths. But truths in their internal or spiritual form could not be made visible to those descended from Jacob, for the reason that they were interested solely in things of an external nature and had no wish whatever to know about anything internal. Therefore the Lord appeared in a bramble bush (when the Lord appears to people He does so in a way suited to the kind of people they are, for a person cannot receive the Divine in any way other than that which is a way suited to the kind of person he is); and therefore also, when the Lord appeared on Mount Sinai He appeared to the people' as a fire burning even to the heart of heaven, and as darkness, cloud, and pitch darkness', Deuteronomy 4:11; 5:22-25; also Exodus 19:18. He would have appeared in an altogether different way if the people below the mountain who beheld Him had not been the kind of people they were. And because those people were interested solely in things of an external nature, when Moses went in to the Lord on Mount Sinai, it is said that he went into the cloud, Exodus 20:21; 24:2, 18; 34:2-5, 'the cloud' being the external aspect of the Word, see Preface to Genesis 18, and 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343 (end), and also consequently representatives in the Church which are seen in outward form.

[2] The truth that the Lord appears to each individual person in a way suited to the kind of person he is may be recognized from the consideration that the Lord appears to those in the inmost or third heaven as the Sun from which light beyond description radiates, the reason being that those there are governed by the good of love to the Lord. He appears to those in the middle or second heaven as the Moon, the reason being that there they are governed by love to the Lord in a more remote and obscure way; for they are governed by love towards the neighbour. But the Lord does not appear to those in the lowest or first heaven either as the Sun or the Moon, only as Light, a light far more brilliant than light in the world. And since the Lord appears to each in a way suited to the kind of person he is, He cannot appear to those in hell as anything other than dark cloud and pitch darkness. For as soon as the light of heaven which comes from the Lord shines into any hell, darkness and thick darkness are produced there. From all this one may now recognize that the Lord appears to each individual person in a way suited to the kind of person he is, for this is suited to the way he receives the Lord. And since the descendants of Jacob were interested solely in things of an external nature, the Lord appeared to Moses in a bramble bush, and also in a cloud when Moses went in to the Lord on Mount Sinai.

[3] The reason why 'a flame' is God's love is that love in its earliest origin is nothing other than fire or flame from the Lord as the Sun. The fire or flame of this sun is what supplies each individual person with the being (esse) of his life; it is that life-giving fire which fills a person's interiors with warmth, as one may recognize from what happens with love. To the extent that love increases in a person he warms up; but to the extent that it diminishes he cools off. This explain s why, when the Lord appeared in a vision, He appeared as fire and flame, as in Ezekiel,

The appearance of the four living creatures (who were cherubs) was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of lamps. It was moving between the living creatures as a bright fire, and out of the fire went forth lightning. Above the firmament that was over their heads, in appearance like a sapphire stone, there was the likeness of a throne, and over the likeness of a throne there was a likeness as the appearance of a man upon it, above. And I saw the shape of burning coals, as the shape of fire, within it round about, from the appearance of His loins and upwards. But from the appearance of His loins and downwards I saw as it were the appearance of fire, whose brightness was round about it. Ezekiel 1:13, 26-28.

[4] Nobody can deny that all the several details of this vision are signs that represent aspects of the Divine; but unless one knows what is meant by 'the cherubs', 'the burning coals of fire, like the appearance of lamps', 'a throne', 'the appearance of a man upon it', 'his loins from which fire emanated upwards and downwards, and the brightness radiating from the fire', one can have no knowledge of the real holiness hidden within all those several details. 'The cherubs' are the Lord's Providence, see 308; 'the throne' is heaven, or - to be exact - Divine Truth that emanates from the Lord to form heaven, 5313; 'the appearance of a man upon the throne above' is plainly the Lord's Divine Human; and 'loins' are conjugial love and all heavenly love that derives from it, 3021, 4277, 4280, 4575, 5050, 5062. This love was represented by 'the shape of burning coal, as the shape of fire, whose brightness was round about it'.

[5] In Daniel,

I saw, until thrones had been placed, and the Ancient of Days was seated. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was a flame of fire; His wheels were burning fire. A river of five issued and came forth from before Him. Daniel 7:9-10.

The Divine Good of the Lord's Divine Love was seen in this vision too as a flame of fire. In John,

He who sat on the white horse, His eyes were like aflame of fire. Revelation 19:11-12.

'He who sat on the white horse' is the Lord in respect of the Word, as is explicitly stated in verses 13, 16, of that chapter. Thus 'the flame of fire' is Divine Truth contained in the Word, which radiates from the Lord's Divine Goodness. In the same book,

In the midst of the seven lampstands one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe. His head and hair were white, like white wool, like snow; but His eyes were like a flame of fire. Revelation 1:13-14.

Here also 'eyes like a flame of fire' is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Goodness.

[6] The meaning of 'a flame of fire' as Divine Truth emanating from the Lord is also evident in David,

The voice of Jehovah falls like a flame of fire. Psalms 29:7.

'The voice of Jehovah' stands for Divine Truth. In order that Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good might be represented, the people were commanded to make a lampstand of pure gold with seven lamps and to place it in the tent of meeting by the table where the loaves of the presence were, and to keep the lamps burning unceasingly before Jehovah, Exodus 25:31-end; 37:17-24; 40:24-25; Leviticus 24:4; Numbers 8:2; Zechariah 4:2. The lampstand with its seven lamps served to represent Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good.

[7] In order also that Divine Good itself might be represented they were commanded to have perpetual fire on the altar,

Fire shall burn on the altar and not be put out; the priest shall kindle pieces of wood on it at every dawn. Fire shall burn unceasingly on the altar and not be put out. Leviticus 6:12-13.

The fact that the ancients were very well acquainted with the use of fire to represent Divine Love may be recognized from the spread of that representative from the Ancient Church even to nations far away whose worship was idolatrous and who, as is well known, established an everlasting sacred fire and placed in charge of it virgins, who were called the vestal virgins.

[8] In the contrary sense 'fire' and 'flame' mean filthy kinds of love, such as those of vengeance, cruelty, hatred, and adultery, and in general the cravings that spring from self-love and love of the world. This too is clear from very many places in the Word, of which let just the following be quoted: In Isaiah,

Behold, they have become as stubble, the fire has burned them; they do not save themselves from the power of the flame. ¹ There will be no coal to be warmed by [nor] fire to sit in front of. Isaiah 47:14.

In Ezekiel,

Behold, I will kindle in you a five, which will devour in you every green tree and every dry tree. The blazing flame ² will not be put out, and all faces from south to north will be scorched by it. Ezekiel 20:47.

Here 'fire' and 'flame' mean desires for what is evil and false which annihilate everything good and true in the Church, and thereby lay it waste.

[9] In Luke,

The rich man said to Abraham, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. Luke 16:24.

People who do not know that a person's vital heat has a different origin from that which is the source of elemental fire cannot possibly do anything else but think that by hell fire is meant fire like that found in the world. In the Word however this latter kind of fire is not meant but the fire of love, thus the fire of a person's life, emanating from the Lord as a Sun. And when this fire comes among those engrossed in pursuits contrary to it, it is turned into the fire of evil desires which, as stated above, belong to vengeance, hatred, and cruelty, and which well up from self-love and love of the world. This is the fire that torments those who are in hell, for when the restraint placed on their evil desires is relaxed, one sets upon another and they torment one another in dreadful and indescribable ways. For each has the wish for supremacy and wants to take from the other the things he has by hidden or open devices. When one or two have such desires hatreds consequently develop within the group, and these lead to the savage deeds that are performed, especially by the use of devices involving magic and the use of figments of the imagination, devices which are countless and totally unknown in the world.

[10] People who do not believe in the existence of spiritual things, especially those who worship nature, cannot at all be led to believe that the warmth present in living persons, which constitutes the actual life within them, has a different origin from that which is the source of worldly heat. For they are not even aware, let alone able to acknowledge, that there is a heavenly fire radiating from the Lord as a Sun, and that this Fire is pure love. Consequently they are unaware of countless instances in the Word in which no other kind of fire is meant; nor are they aware of countless manifestations of it in the human being, who is an organ made to receive that fire.

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