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).

Poznámky pod čarou:

277. Inflow. The inflow of heaven into the world and the inflow of the soul into all parts of the body: 6053-6058, 6189-6215, 6307-6327, 6466-6495, 6598-6626 (which include evidence from personal experience). Nothing comes into being from itself, but rather from something prior, so everything comes from one primary entity: 4523, 4524, 6040, 6056. Everything constantly continues to exist in the same way that it came into being, because continued existence is a perpetual coming into being: ¹ 2886, 2888, 3627, 3628, 3648, 4523, 4524, 6040, 6056. Inflow happens according to the divine design: 7270. This makes it possible for us to see that everything is continuing to exist from the primary and underlying reality, because it came into being from that underlying reality: 4523, 4524, 6040, 6056. Every bit of life flows in from that primary underlying reality because that is its source, so it flows in from the Lord: 3001, 3318, 3337, 3338, 3344, 3484, 3619, 3741, 3742, 3743, 4318, 4319, 4320, 4417, 4524, 4882, 5847, 5986, 6325, 6468, 6469, 6470, 6479, 9276, 10196. Every "coming into being" comes from an underlying reality, and nothing can come into being unless it has its own underlying reality within it: 4523, 4524, 6040, 6056.

All of our thinking and all of our willing flows into us: 904, 2886, 2887, 2888, 4151, 4319, 4320, 5846, 5848, 6189, 6191, 6194, 6197, 6198, 6199, 6213, 7147, 10219 (which include evidence from personal experience). Our ability to examine things, to think, and to reach conclusions as the result of analysis comes from an inflow: 2888, 4319, 4320. If the inflow from the spiritual world were taken away from us we could not survive for a single moment, and yet we are in a state of freedom: 2887, 5849, 5854, 6321 (which include evidence from eyewitness experience). The life that flows in from the Lord varies depending on our state and on our receptivity: 2069, 5986, 6472, 7343. In evil people the goodness that flows in from the Lord is turned into evil and the truth into falsity: 3643, 4632 (which include evidence from eyewitness experience). How much we receive of the goodness and truth that is constantly flowing in from the Lord depends on the extent to which evil and falsity in us have been moved out of the way: 2411, 3142, 3147, 5828.

Everything good flows in from the Lord and everything evil flows in from hell: 904, 4151. People nowadays believe that everything is in and from themselves even though it is all flowing in; and they ought to know this from the church's teaching that everything good comes from heaven and everything evil comes from hell: 4249, 6193, 6206. If people believed the way things actually are, they would not take evil into themselves, because they would throw it out of themselves and back into hell, and they would not claim that goodness was their own and therefore would not take any credit for it: 6206, 6324, 6325. How happy our state would be then-with the Lord's help we would have an inward perspective on both goodness and evil: 6325. People who deny the existence of heaven or who know nothing about it are unaware that there is any inflow coming from it: 4322, 5649, 6193, 6479. What inflow is: 6128, 6190, 9407 (which is illustrated by comparisons).

[2] Inflow is spiritual; it is not physical. It flows from the spiritual world into the physical world and not from the physical world into the spiritual world: 3219, 5119, 5259, 5427, 5428, 5478, 6322, 9109, 9110. Inflow flows through the inner self into the outer self and not the reverse: 1702, 1707, 1940, 1954, 5119, 5259, 5779, 6322, 9380. This is because the inner self is in the spiritual world and the outer self is in the physical world: 978, 1015, 3628, 4459, 4523, 4524, 6057, 6309, 9701-9709, 10156, 10472. The appearance that there is an inflow from outward things into inward ones is an illusion: 3721. Within us, inflow flows through our rational faculty into our factual knowledge and not the reverse: 1495, 1707, 1940. The nature of the pattern of inflow: 775, 880, 1096, 1495, 7270.

Inflow comes directly from the Lord and also indirectly through the spiritual world or heaven: 6063, 6307, 6472, 9682, 9683. The Lord flows directly into the tiniest details of everything: 6058, 6474-6478, 8717, 8728. On the Lord's indirect inflow through heaven: 4067, 6982, 6985, 6996. It happens through the spirits and angels who are associated with us: 697, 5846-5866. The Lord flows through angels into the goals from and for which we think, intend, and act as we do (1317, 1645, 5846, 5854), and also into matters of conscience within us (6207, 6213); through spirits, he flows into our thoughts and from there into the contents of our memory (4186, 5858, 5864, 6192, 6193, 6198, 6199, 6319). It is hard for people to believe this: 6214. How the Lord flows into things that are highest and things that are lowest at the same time, or into what is inmost and what is outermost at the same time: 5147, 5150, 6473, 7004, 7007, 7270. The Lord flows into what is good in us and through that goodness into what is true, but not the reverse: 5482, 6027, 8685, 8701, 10153. Goodness gives us the ability to accept the inflow from the Lord; truth apart from goodness does not: 8321. Nothing that comes into our thoughts does us any harm, but what comes into our will does, because it becomes part of us: 6308. The Divine at the highest levels is quiet and peaceful, but as it comes down toward the lower levels within us it becomes unpeaceful and even tumultuous because of the disorder there: 8823. The effect of the Lord's inflow on the prophets: 6212.

There exists a kind of divine inflow that is general: 5850 (which includes some description of it). It is a constant force that causes things to act in keeping with the overall design: 6211. This is the kind of inflow that affects the lives of animals (5850), and also the members of the plant kingdom (3648). Even in us, thought descends into speech and will into behavior in accord with this general inflow: 5862, 5990, 6192, 6211.

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