10291. 'Take for yourself sweet spices' means the affections for truth springing from good which must be present in the worship of God. This is clear from the meaning of 'spices' as perceptions of and affections for truth and good, dealt with in 10254. The reason why they are the ones that must be present in the worship of God is that 'the incense' that was made from them means the worship of God, which is the subject in what follows. The spices that are mentioned now are of an entirely different kind from the spices from which the anointing oil was prepared, which were the subject above in verses 23-24. Those too are called spices, though a different word is used in the original language. The spices from which the anointing oil was prepared mean perceptions of and affections for truth and good, in the same way as the present spices do; but the difference is that the earlier truths belong to the celestial group, whereas the later ones belong to the spiritual group. That those earlier truths belong to the celestial group may be seen in 10254; that these later ones belong to the spiritual group will be seen in what follows below.

[2] Something more must be stated briefly to show what belonging to the celestial group and belonging to the spiritual group imply. It has often been stated that heaven is divided into the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom. The two kingdoms have different kinds of truth, as they do of good, the good of the celestial kingdom being the good of love to the Lord, and the good of the spiritual kingdom the good of charity towards the neighbour. All good has its own truths; celestial good has its own and spiritual good its own, and these are entirely different from each other. The nature of that difference becomes clear from what has been shown regarding both kingdoms in the places referred to in 9277.

[3] The reason why all good has its own truths is that good is given form by truths, see 10252, 10266, and also reveals itself through truths. Such good and truths are like a person's will and understanding, in that his will is given form by and also reveals itself through his understanding. What belongs to the will is called good, and what belongs to the understanding is called truth.

10253. 'Five hundred [shekels]' means what is complete. This is clear from the meaning of the number 'five hundred' as what is complete. The reason why 'five hundred' has this meaning is that this number is the product of five multiplied by ten tens, or fives times a hundred; and 'five' means much, as do 'ten' and 'a hundred', and therefore 'five hundred' means what is complete.

'Five' means much, see 5708, 5956, 9102, as likewise does 'ten', 3107, 4638, and also 'a hundred', 4400, 6582, 6594.

All numbers in the Word mean spiritual realities, see in the places referred to in 9488.

Compound numbers have a similar meaning to the simple ones that give rise to them through multiplication, 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973.

[2] The fact that numbers mean spiritual realities is perfectly clear in Ezekiel, where the house of God, together with everything there inside and outside, and also the new earth or land, are measured and are described by numbers pertaining to measure, in Chapters 40-48. By the new land there the Church should be understood, and by the house of God its holiness. The same is so in John, in the Book of Revelation, where also a new Jerusalem is described by the numbers where measurements are given, by which too a new Church should be understood. Unless the numbers had meant spiritual realities all those measurements would have been pointless.

[3] 'Five hundred' means the whole from one end to the other, thus what is complete. This is clear from those chapters in Ezekiel,

He measured outside the house (or the temple), to the east quarter five hundred rods round about, to the north quarter five hundred rods round about, to the south quarter five hundred rods, and to the west quarter ¹ five hundred rods. Its wall round about, the length was five hundred rods, and the breadth five hundred rods, to distinguish between the holy and the profane. Ezekiel 42:15-20.

From these words it is evident that 'five hundred' means the whole in its entirety, or everything holy from one end to the other, thus what is complete; for it says that the wall, which - according to this account of its length and breadth - formed a square, served to distinguish the holy from the profane.

[4] 'Five hundred' also means much, while a tenth of that number or fifty means some. This is clear from the Lord's words addressed to Simon, in Luke,

Jesus said, There were two debtors who had a certain creditor. One owed five hundred denarii, but the other fifty. When they did not have [anything with which] to repay, he forgave them both. Which of the two loves him more? Simon answered, The one to whom he forgave more. Jesus said, So have the many sins of the woman been forgiven, because she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, [that person] loves little. Luke 7:41-end.

The reason why the Lord used those numbers was that they meant much and some; for He spoke from a Divine [perspective], thus used words carrying a spiritual meaning, in accord with correspondences. The same is so everywhere else, as when He spoke about the virgins, of whom - He said - there were ten, and that five were wise and five were foolish. He spoke of ten because that number means all, that is to say, all who belong to the Church, and of five because this number means some, see 4637, 4638.

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