4936. Several times spirits have been seen who had rods, and who were said to be magicians. They are in front, far away to the right, deep in caverns; and those who have been more malign magicians are hidden away still deeper. They seem to themselves to have rods, and they also by phantasies make many kinds of rods, and believe that they can perform miracles with them; for they suppose potency to be in the rods, and this because they are what support the right hand and arm, which by correspondence are strength and power. From this it was plain to me why men of old attributed rods to magicians; for the ancient Gentiles had this from the ancient representative church, in which rods, like hands, signified power (see n. 4876). And because they signified power, Moses was commanded, when miracles were wrought, to stretch out his rod, or his hand (Exodus 4:17, 20; 8:1-11, 16-18; 9:23; 10:3-21; 14:2, 21, 26-27; 17:5-6, 11-12; Numbers 20:7-11).

3478. There was also represented before certain spirits the tabernacle with the ark; for they who during their abode in the world have been greatly delighted with the Word, have such things actually presented to view. Such was the case with the tabernacle, together with all its appurtenances, its courts, its curtains round about, its veils within, the golden altar, or altar of incense, the table with the loaves upon it, the lampstand, the mercy-seat with the cherubim. At the same time it was given to the well-disposed spirits to perceive what each thing signified: that the three heavens were represented by the tabernacle, and the Lord Himself by the Testimony in the ark on which was the mercy-seat; and in proportion as their sight was opened, they saw therein things more and more heavenly and Divine, of which they had no knowledge in the life of the body; and wonderful to say there was not the smallest thing there that was not representative, even to the hooks and rings.

[2] For instance, the bread that was on the table-in this as in a representative and symbol they perceived that food by which angels live, thus celestial and spiritual love together with their joys and felicities; and in these loves and joys they perceived the Lord Himself, as the bread or manna from heaven; besides many particulars from the form, position, and number of the loaves; and from the gold encompassing the table, and from the lampstand, by which these things when illuminated exhibited still further representations of things unspeakable; and the same with everything else; from all which it might also appear that the rituals or representatives of the Jewish Church contained within them all the arcana of the Christian Church; and likewise that they to whom the representatives and significatives of the Word of the Old Testament are opened may know and perceive the arcana of the Lord’s Church on earth while they live in the world; and the arcana of arcana which are in the Lord’s kingdom in the heavens when they come into the other life.