3116. These three verses deal with the investigation of truth that was to be introduced into good and so joined to it, in particular as regards its origin, for every single thing is dependent on its origin. Derivations take shape from their origin as their own root or seed in the way that a young plant does from its root or seed. These things residing with Him the Lord saw and investigated from the Divine, and from His own wisdom and intelligence introduced them, that is to say, introduced truths into the good of the rational. It is the investigation itself that is described in these verses in the internal sense; yet the things present in that sense can be explained to very few.

[2] Investigation also takes place with everyone who is being reformed, also with anyone who receives remnants. But of this investigation man knows nothing at all. To him it is so shrouded in obscurity that he does not even believe that it exists, even though it is taking place moment by moment. The Lord however, who alone has sight of a person's state, not only as it is at present but also as it will be for ever, is the one who carries out that investigation. Investigation involves a very delicate balancing to prevent even the smallest amount of falsity being joined to good, or the least amount of truth to evil. If falsity were joined to good, or truth to evil, a person would perish for ever, for he would in that case be suspended in the next life between hell and heaven, ejected by hell on account of good, and by heaven on account of evil.

4210. 'Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain' means worship founded on good that stems from love. This is clear from the meaning of 'a sacrifice' as worship, dealt with in 922, 923, 2180, and from the meaning of 'the mountain' as good that stems from love, 795, 796, 1430. 'A sacrifice' means worship because sacrifices and burnt offerings were the major features of all worship in the later representative Church, which was the Hebrew Church. They also used to sacrifice on mountains, as is clear from various places in the Word, because 'mountains' on account of their height meant the things which were high, such as those are which belong to heaven and are called heavenly; and having this meaning they also meant, in the highest sense, the Lord, whom they called the Most High. It was the outward appearance that led them to think in this way, for the things that are interior give the appearance of being higher, as heaven does with man. Heaven is interiorly within him, and yet he supposes it to be on high. This is the reason why, when the expression 'high' is used in the Word, that which is interior is meant in the internal sense.

[2] In the world people inevitably take heaven to be on high. One reason why they do so is that the word 'heaven' is used for the visible expanse which encircles them on high and another is that man is a dweller within time and space and so thinks from ideas derived from these. And a further reason is that few are aware of what anything interior may be, and fewer still are aware that neither place nor time exist there. This is why the mode of expression employed in the Word is one that accords with the ideas present in man's thought. If it had not accorded with those ideas but with angelic ideas man would have perceived nothing at all, but everyone would have stood wondering what it was and whether it was anything at all, and so would have rejected it as being devoid of anything intelligible.