9393. And Moses took half of the blood. That this signifies Divine truth that has been made of the life and of worship, is evident from the signification of “blood,” as being the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord (see n. 4735, 6978, 7317, 7326, 7850, 9127). That the Divine truth which has been made of the life and of worship is signified, is because it was the blood that Moses sprinkled on the people (verse 8), by which “blood” is signified Divine truth received by man, thus which has been made of the life and of worship. For that truth is said to be received by man which has been made of the life and thus of worship; and it has become of the life and of worship when the man is affected by it, that is, loves it, or what is the same thing, wills it, and from willing does it from love and affection. Until this is the case, truth is indeed with man in his memory, and is sometimes called forth thence to the internal sight or understanding, from which it again falls back into the memory. But so long as truth Divine has not entered more interiorly, it is indeed with man, but still it is not implanted in the life and will; for the life of man is his will. And therefore when truth is called forth from the memory into the understanding, and from the understanding enters the will, and from the will goes forth into act, then the truth becomes of the man’s life, and is called good. From all this it is evident what is meant by Divine truth being made of the life. It is the same with the truth that is made of the worship. Worship from truth that cleaves to the mere memory, and from this appears in the understanding, is not worship. But worship from truth that goes forth from the will, thus from affection and love, is worship. This worship is called in the Word worship “from the heart,” but the former is worship “of the mouth” only.

[2] It has indeed already been shown, in passages cited above, that “blood” denotes the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord. But as many of the church at this day have no other conception of the blood in the Holy Supper than of the blood of the Lord shed on the cross; and in a more general sense, the passion itself of the cross; it may here be shown in a few words that it is not blood which is there meant, but the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord. The reason why this is unknown within the church, is that at the present day nothing whatever is known about correspondences, consequently nothing about the internal sense of the Word, which is the sense in which the angels are when the Word is read by man.

[3] That “blood” does not denote blood, but truth Divine, can be seen from many passages in the Word, and plainly from this in Ezekiel:

Say to the bird of every wing, and to every wild animal of the field, Be ye assembled, and come; assemble yourselves from around upon My sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, that ye may eat flesh and drink blood. Ye shall eat the flesh of the strong ones, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth. Ye shall eat fat to satiety, and drink blood unto drunkenness, of My sacrifice that I will sacrifice for you. Ye shall be sated upon My table with horse and chariot, and with every man of war. Thus do I set My glory among the nations (Ezekiel 39:17-21).

That by “blood” is not here meant blood, is very evident, for it is said that they “shall drink the blood of the princes of the earth, and the blood of the sacrifice, even unto drunkenness,” when yet to drink blood, and especially the blood of princes, is an abominable thing, and was forbidden the sons of Israel under the penalty of death (Leviticus 3:17 7:26; 17 (Leviticus 17:4) (Leviticus 17:9-10) (Leviticus 17:14); Deuteronomy 12:17-26; 15:23). It is also said that they “shall be sated with horse, chariot, and every man of war.” He therefore who does not know that “blood” signifies Divine truth; “princes,” primary truths; a “sacrifice,” the things of worship; a “horse,” the understanding of truth; a “chariot,” doctrine; and a “man of war,” truth fighting against falsity; must be amazed at the details of this passage.

[4] In like manner at the Lord’s words in John:

Jesus said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye will 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. My flesh is meat 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).

But see what has been already said about these words in n. 4735, 6978, 7317, 7326, 7850, 9127. That flesh corresponds to good, in like manner bread; and that blood corresponds to truth, in like manner wine; has very often been told me from heaven; as also that the angels perceive the Word no otherwise than according to correspondences; and that in this way man has conjunction with heaven through the Word, and through heaven with the Lord.

[5] In like manner I have been told that the Holy supper was instituted by the Lord in order that by it there might be a conjunction of all things of heaven, that is, of all things of the Lord, with the man of the church; because in this supper the flesh and the bread denote the Divine good of the Lord’s Divine love toward the whole human race, and man’s reciprocal love to the Lord; and the blood and the wine denote the Divine truth proceeding from the Divine good of the Lord’s Divine love, and this received in turn by man; and in heaven to eat and drink these things denotes appropriation and conjunction. (But see what has been already shown on this subject in n. 2165, 2177, 3464, 4211, 4217, 4581, 4735, 5915, 6789, 7850, 9323)

1003. From these things it is now evident that “not to eat flesh with the soul thereof, the blood thereof” is not to mingle profane things with holy. Profane things are not mingled with holy by one’s eating blood with flesh, as the Lord clearly teaches in Matthew:

Not that which entereth into the mouth defileth the man; but that which proceedeth out of the mouth, this defileth the man; for the things which proceed out of the mouth come forth out of the heart (Matthew 15:11, 18-20). But in the Jewish Church it was forbidden because, as has been said, by the eating of blood with the flesh there was then in heaven represented profanation. All things done in that church were turned in heaven into corresponding representatives—blood into the holy celestial; flesh, outside of the sacrifices, because it signified cupidities, into what is profane; and the eating of both into the mingling of the holy with the profane. For this reason it was then so severely interdicted. But after the coming of the Lord, when external rites were abolished, and thus representatives ceased, such things were no longer turned in heaven into corresponding representatives. For when man becomes internal and is instructed about internal things, external ones are of no account to him. He then knows what the holy is, namely, charity and the faith therefrom. According to these are his external things then regarded, that is to say, according to the amount of charity and faith in the Lord there is in them. Since the coming of the Lord, therefore, man is not regarded in heaven from external things, but from internal ones. And if anyone is regarded from external things it is because he is in simplicity, and in his simplicity there are innocence and charity, which are in his external things, that is, in his external worship, from the Lord, without the man’s knowledge.