7966. 'And the people carried their dough before the yeast was added' means the first state of truth from good, in which there is no falsity at all. This is clear from the meaning of 'dough' as truth from good, for 'meal' and 'fine flour' mean truth, 'dough' that is made from them means the good of truth, and 'bread' that is made out of the dough means the good of love; and when 'bread' means the good of love the other things - 'dough' and 'meal' - mean forms of good and truth in their proper order (for the meaning of 'bread' as the good of love, see 276, 680, 2165, 2177, 3464, 3478, 3735, 3813, 4211, 4117, 4735, 4976, 5915); and from the meaning of 'before the yeast was added' as that in which there is no falsity at all. For the meaning of 'yeast' as falsity, see above in 7906.

[2] This is plainly their first state, that is to say, when they were delivered, since it says that the people carried the dough; they were doing so when they went out. Their second state however is described in verse 39 below, where it says that they baked the dough which they had brought out of Egypt into unleavened cakes since no yeast had been added, meaning that from the truth of good further good was produced that had no evil at all in it. These are the two states in which those belonging to the spiritual Church, when governed by good, are maintained by the Lord. In the first state good present in the will is the standpoint from which they see and contemplate truth; in the second good and truth now wedded together are the source from which they produce truths, which through the willing and doing of them become further forms of good, and so on repeatedly. Such are the direct products and further developments of truth among those who belong to the spiritual Church. In the spiritual world this whole process is portrayed in a representative manner, as a tree with leaves and fruit. The leaves portray truths, the fruit forms of the good of truth, and the seeds forms of good itself from which everything else springs.

3478. To some there was also represented the tabernacle with the ark, for to those who, when they lived in the world, have taken very great delight in the Word such things are presented to them visually. So on the occasion referred to they saw the tabernacle with all its furnishings; that is to say, they saw its courts, its curtains round about, its veils inside, the golden altar or altar of incense, the table where the loaves were placed, the lampstand, and the mercy-seat with the cherubim. At the same time these upright spirits were allowed to perceive what each particular thing meant. It was the three heavens that were represented by the tabernacle, and the Lord Himself by the testimony inside the ark, above which there was the mercy-seat. And to the extent their sight was opened they saw within those objects more heavenly and Divine things, of which they had had no knowledge at all during their lifetime. And what was amazing, every least thing there, even every hook or ring, was representative. Consider merely the bread placed on the table. Within this as within a representative and symbol they perceived the food on which angels live, and so perceived celestial and spiritual love together with all the bliss and happiness that the angels enjoy. And within that love, also that bliss and happiness, they perceived the Lord Himself as the bread or manna from heaven. They perceived more besides from the shape, position, and number of the loaves, and from the gold which was around them, and from the lampstand which lit up those things and displayed further representations of things that are indescribable. The same was so with everything else in the tabernacle. From all this one might also see that the religious observances or the representatives of the Jewish Church contained all the arcana of the Christian Church, and also that those to whom the representatives and meaningful signs of the Old Testament Word are disclosed are able, while living in the world, to know and perceive the arcana which belong to the Lord's Church on earth. And when they enter the next life they are able to know and perceive the arcana of arcana which belong to the Lord's kingdom in heaven.