10047. And sprinkle it upon the altar round about. That this signifies conjunction with Divine good, is evident from the signification of “the blood that was to be sprinkled upon the altar round about,” as being Divine truth (n. 10026, 10033); and from the representation of the altar, as being a representative of the Lord as to Divine good (n. 9388, 9389, 9714, 9964). From this it is plain that “to sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about,” denotes to unite Divine truth with Divine good in the Lord.

[2] The case herein is as follows. It was said above that in this chapter the subject treated of is the glorification of the Lord’s Human, and in the representative sense the regeneration of man by the Lord. As regards the glorification of the Lord’s Human, it was effected by the unition of Divine truth with Divine good. The Divine good, which is Jehovah, was in the Lord as the soul from the father in man, for He was conceived of Jehovah, and through Divine means He made His Human Divine truth, especially through the combats of temptations; and insofar as He united it He glorified it, that is, made it Divine. This unition is what is signified in the supreme sense by “sprinkling the blood round about the altar.” (That when the Lord was in the world He made His Human Divine truth and united it with the Divine good which was in Himself, and thus glorified His Human, see the places cited in n. 9199, 9315; as also that Jehovah His father is the Divine good which was in Him, n. 9194.)

[3] As the Lord glorified His Human, so also He regenerates man; for with man the Lord flows in with good through the soul, which is through the internal way, and with truth through the hearing and the sight, which is through the external way; and insofar as a man desists from evils, so far the Lord conjoins the good with truth, and the good becomes of charity toward the neighbor and of love to God, and the truth becomes of faith. So does the Lord create the man anew, or regenerate him; for as before said the regeneration of man is effected by purification from evils and falsities, by the implantation of good and truth, and by the conjunction of these. The regeneration of man, and in the supreme sense the glorification of the Lord’s Human, is what is represented by the sacrifices and burnt-offerings (n. 10022).

[4] Be it known that in the burnt-offerings the blood was sprinkled upon the altar round about; in like manner in the eucharistic sacrifices; but in the sacrifices for guilt and for sin the blood was sprinkled at the base of the altar. By sprinkling the blood on the altar round about was represented the complete unition of Divine truth and Divine good, as well in the internal as in the external man; and by sprinkling the blood at the base of the altar was represented the unition of Divine truth and Divine good in the external man only.

[5] With the regenerate, conjunction is effected in the external man, according to the words of the Lord in John:

He that is washed needeth not save to be washed as to his feet, and is wholly clean (John 13:9-10).

“Washing” signifies purification and regeneration (n. 3147, 9089); thus “he that is washed” signifies one purified and regenerated; and the “feet” signify the natural or external of man (n. 2162, 3147, 4938-4952, 9406). That in the burnt-offerings blood was sprinkled upon the altar round about, may be seen in Leviticus 1:5, 11; also in the eucharistic sacrifices, Leviticus 3:2, 8, 13; and that in the sacrifices for guilt and for sin the blood was sprinkled at the base of the altar, Leviticus 4:7, 18, 25, 30, 34; 5:9.

10033. As the subject treated of in this chapter is the sacrifice and the burnt-offering by which Aaron and his sons were to be inaugurated into the priesthood, a few more words shall be said about the blood and the fat. That all the blood of the sacrifice and of the burnt-offering was to be poured forth at the altar, and that all the fat was to be burned on the altar, is evident from the statutes and the laws concerning the burnt-offerings and the sacrifices in Leviticus. That it was so done was because the “blood” signified Divine truth, and the “fat” Divine good. (That “blood” had this signification is evident from what was shown concerning blood in n. 4735, 6378, 6978, 7317, 7326, 7850, 9127, 9393; and that “fat” signified Divine good, from w hat was shown in n. 5943.)

[2] That by “blood” is signified Divine truth is evident in Ezekiel:

Gather yourselves from every side upon My sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh and drink blood. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth; ye shall eat fat to satiety, and drink blood even to drunkenness, of My sacrifice which I will sacrifice for you; ye shall be sated upon My table with horse, with chariot, with the mighty man, and every man of war. Thus will I put My glory among the nations (Ezekiel 39:17-22);

everyone can see that by “blood” is not here meant blood, for it is said that they should “drink the blood of the princes of the earth, and this even to drunkenness;” and also that they should “eat fat even to satiety;” and then that they should be “sated with horse and with chariot.” From this it is plain that something else than blood is meant by “blood,” and something else than the princes of the earth by these “princes;” also something else than fat, and than horse and chariot, by “fat” and “horse” and “chariot;” but what is signified cannot be known except by means of the internal sense, which teaches that “blood” denotes Divine truth; “the princes of the earth,” the primary truths of the church; “fat,” Divine good; a “horse,” the internal sense of the Word; and a “chariot,” the very doctrine therefrom. That “blood” denotes Divine truth is evident from the passages above cited; also that “the princes of the earth” denote primary truths (n. 5044); “the earth,” the church (n. 9325); a “horse,” the internal sense of the Word (n. 2760-2762); and a “chariot,” doctrine (n. 5321, 8215).

[3] From all this it is now evident what is signified by the words of the Lord in John:

Jesus said, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye shall have no life in you. He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood, abideth in Me, and I in him (John 6:53-56).

(That “flesh” denotes Divine good, see n. 3813, 7850, 9127; and that “the Son of man whose flesh they were to eat and whose blood they were to drink” denotes the Lord as to Divine truth from Divine good, n. 9807)

[4] But that “fat,” or “fatness,” denotes Divine good, is evident in Isaiah:

In this mountain Jehovah shall make for all peoples a feast of fat things (Isaiah 25:6).

Attend unto Me, and eat ye good, and your soul shall be delighted in fatness (Isaiah 55:2).

I will fill the soul of the priests with fatness, and My people shall be sated with My good (Jeremiah 31:14).

From all this it can be seen why all the fat of the sacrifice was to be burnt upon the altar, and why all the blood was to be poured forth at its side.

[5] As “blood” and “fat” signified these Divine things, therefore the Israelitish people were wholly forbidden to eat fat and blood, as is evident in Moses:

It shall be a statute of eternity in your generations, that ye shall eat no fat and no blood (Leviticus 3:17).

Ye shall eat no fat, whether of ox, or sheep, or goat; everyone who shall eat the fat of the beast of which an offering is made by fire unto Jehovah, the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from his peoples (Leviticus 7:23, 25).

Whosoever shall eat any blood, I will set My faces against the soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from the midst of his people (Leviticus 17:10-14; also Deuteronomy 12:23-25).

[6] The reason why to eat fat and blood was so severely forbidden, was because by it was represented the profanation of Divine truth and Divine good; for the Israelitish and Jewish nation was in external things separate from internal, thus in no Divine truth and in no Divine good in respect to faith and love; but was in external worship without these; for they were in the love of self and of the world more than other nations, consequently in the evils that spring from this love, which are contempt for others, enmity, hatred, revenge, ferocity, and cruelty. Hence also it was that internal truths were not revealed to them, for if they had been revealed, they could not but have profaned them. (That such was the character of that nation, see the places cited in n. 9320, 9380.) Therefore they would have represented profanation if they had eaten blood and fat, for whatever was instituted among them was representative of the interior things of the church and of heaven.

[7] From this again it is plain what is signified by “eating fat to satiety,” and by “drinking blood, the blood of the princes of the earth, even to drunkenness,” in Ezekiel 39:17-22 (of which above); namely, that when interior things were opened, then to those who were in them, that is, in faith and in love to the Lord, would be appropriated Divine truth and Divine good, which was done among the nations when the Lord came into the world; wherefore also it is there said, “Thus will I put My glory among the nations” (Ezekiel 39:21). By “glory” is signified Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, such as it is in heaven (n. 9429); and by “nations” are signified all who are in good (n. 1259, 1260, 1416, 1849, 4574, 6005, 8771, 9256).

[8] This the Lord Himself confirms when He says that “His flesh is food indeed, and His blood is drink indeed,” and that “whoso eateth His flesh, and drinketh His blood, abideth in Him, and He in him” (John 6:55-56); and also in His instituting the Holy Supper, in which they were to “eat His flesh and drink His blood” (Matthew 26:27-28); by which is signified the appropriation of Divine good and Divine truth from Him; and the appropriation of Divine good and Divine truth from the Lord is possible with those only who acknowledge the Lord’s Divine, for this is the first and essential thing itself of all things of faith in the church. For heaven cannot be unclosed to others, because the whole heaven is in this faith; thus the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord’s Divine good, which is there meant by “blood,” cannot be communicated to others. Therefore let everyone within the church take heed to himself lest he deny the Lord, and also lest he deny His Divine, for heaven is closed to this denial, and hell is opened to it, all such being separated from heaven, where the Divine of the Lord is all in all, because it makes heaven. And when heaven has been closed, a memory-knowledge of the truths of faith from the Word and the doctrine of the church is indeed possible; but not any faith which is faith, for faith which is faith comes from above; that is, through heaven from the Lord.

[9] That the Lord so spoke, namely, that He called the Divine good that proceeds from Him His “flesh,” and the Divine truth that proceeds from His Divine good His “blood,” was because the Word, which is from Him, was the Divine that fills the universal heaven. Such a Word must exist by means of correspondences, consequently must be representative and significative in each and all things, for thus and no otherwise it conjoins the men of the church with the angels in the heavens. For when men perceive the Word according to the letter, the angels perceive it according to the internal sense; thus instead of the Lord’s “flesh” they perceive Divine good, and instead of His “blood,” Divine truth, both from the Lord. From this what is holy flows in through the Word.