10130. Everyone that toucheth the altar shall be sanctified. That this signifies everyone who receives the Divine of the Lord, is evident from the signification of “touching,” as being communication, transfer, and reception (of which in what follows); and from the signification of “the altar,” as being a representative of the Lord in respect to the good of love, here in heaven and in the church (see above, n. 10129); and from the signification of “being sanctified,” as being to receive the Divine of the Lord (see also above, n. 10128). That “touching” denotes communication, transfer, and reception, is because the interior things of man put themselves forth by means of external things, especially by the touch, and in this way communicate and transfer themselves to another, and insofar as the will of the other is in agreement and makes a one, they are received. Whether you say the will, or the love, it is the same, for that which is of a man’s love is also of his will; from this also it follows that the interior things of man, which are of his love and from this of his thought, put themselves forth by the touch, and thus communicate themselves to another, and transfer themselves into another; and insofar as the other loves the person, or the things which the person speaks or acts, so far they are received.

[2] This shows itself in an especial manner in the other life, for there all act from the heart, that is, from the will or love; and it is not allowed to act from gestures apart from the will and love, nor to speak from the mouth with pretence, that is, separately from the thought of the heart. It is there manifest how the interior things communicate themselves to another, and transfer themselves into another, by the touch; and how the other receives them according to his love. The will or love of everyone there constitutes the whole man, and the sphere of life thence flows forth from him as an exhalation or vapor, and encompasses him, and makes as it were himself around him; scarcely otherwise than as the effluvium about plants in the world, which is also perceived at a distance by its odors; also about animals, of which a sagacious dog is exquisitely sensible. That such an effluvium also pours out from every man is known from much experience; but when man lays aside his body and becomes a spirit or an angel, then the effluvium or exhalation is not material as in the world, but is a spiritual effluence from his love. This then forms a sphere around him, which causes his quality to be perceived by others at a distance (concerning this sphere see what was shown in the places cited in n. 9606).

[3] As this sphere is communicated to another, and is there transferred into him, and is received by the other according to his love, many wonderful things there come forth which are unknown to man in the world-as, first: that all presence is according to likenesses of loves, and all absence is according to unlikenesses of them. Second: that all are consociated according to loves; they who are in love to the Lord from the Lord are consociated in the inmost heaven; they who are in love toward the neighbor from the Lord are consociated in the middle heaven; they who are in the obedience of faith, that is, who do the truth for the sake of truth, are consociated in the ultimate heaven; but they who are in the love of self and of the world, that is, who do what they do for the sake of themselves and the world as ends, are consociated in hell.

[4] Third: that all turn their eyes toward those whom they love; they who love the Lord turn their eyes to the Lord as a Sun; they who love the neighbor from the Lord turn their eyes to the Lord as a Moon; and in like manner they who do the truth for the sake of truth. (Concerning the Lord as a sun and as a moon, see what was shown in n. 1521, 1529-1531, 3636, 3643, 4060, 4321, 5097, 5377, 7078, 7083, 7171, 8644, 8812.) And wonderful to say, in whatever direction they turn, or to whatever quarter, they still look at the Lord before them. It is the opposite with those who are in hell, for there the more they are in the love of self and in the love of the world, the more they turn from the Lord and have Him behind them; this also in whatever direction or to whatever quarter they turn.

[5] Fourth: when an angel of heaven fixes his sight upon others, his interior things are communicated and transferred into them, according to the amount and the quality of his love, and they are received by them according to the quality and the amount of their love; and therefore if the sight of an angel of heaven is fixed upon the good, it causes gladness and joy; but if upon the evil, it causes grief and pain.

[6] That by the touch of the hand is also signified communication, transfer, and reception is because the activity of the whole body is collected into the arms and into the hands, and in the Word interior things are expressed by means of exterior ones. From this it is that by the “arms,” the “hands,” and especially by the “right hand” is signified power (see the places cited in n. 10019, 10023, 10076); and hence by the “hands” is signified whatever appertains to man, thus the whole man insofar as he is acting (see the citations in n. 10019). Moreover, that all the outer senses-sight, hearing, taste, and smell-bear relation to the touch, and are kinds of touch, is known in the learned world.

[7] That by “touching” is signified communication, transfer, and reception, is evident from many passages in the Word, of which the following may be adduced, in Moses:

Thou shalt anoint the Tent of meeting, and the ark of the Testimony, and the table and all the vessels thereof, and the lampstand and the vessels thereof, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt-offering and all the vessels thereof, and the laver and the base thereof, and thou shalt sanctify them that they may be holy of holies; whosoever toucheth them shall be sanctified (Exodus 30:26-29).

Everything which hath touched the residue of the meat-offering, and the residue of the flesh from the sacrifices, which are for Aaron and his sons, shall be sanctified (Leviticus 6:18, 27).

The angel touched Daniel, and restored him upon his station, and lifted him up upon his knees; and touched his lips, and opened his mouth; and touched him again, and strengthened him (Daniel 10:10, 16, 18).

One of the seraphim with a burning coal touched my mouth and said, Lo this hath touched thy lips; therefore thine iniquity is gone away, and thy sin is expiated (Isaiah 6:7).

Jehovah sent forth His hand, and touched my mouth, and said, I give My words into thy mouth (Jeremiah 1:9).

Jesus stretching forth His hand to the leper, touched him, saying, I will; be thou cleansed. And straightway his leprosy was cleansed (Matthew 8:3).

Jesus saw Peter’s wife’s mother afflicted with a fever. And He touched her hand, and the fever left her (Matthew 8:14-15).

Jesus touched the eyes of the blind, and their eyes were opened (Matthew 9:29-30).

Jesus touched the eyes of the two blind men, and straightway they received their sight (Matthew 20:34).

Jesus touched the ear of the deaf man and healed him (Luke 22:51). They brought to Jesus those who were ill, that they might touch if it were but the border of His garment; and as many as touched were made whole (Mark 6:56; Matthew 14:36).

A woman laboring with an issue of blood touched the border of His garment; and immediately the issue of her blood was stanched. And Jesus said, Who is it that touched Me? Some one hath touched Me. I know that virtue hath gone forth from Me (Luke 8:44-48).

They brought little children unto Jesus, that He should touch them. And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands upon them, and blessed them (Mark 10:13, 16).

[8] From these passages it is plain that by “touching” is signified communication, transfer, and reception.

[9] In like manner with things unclean, by which in the internal sense are signified evils and falsities which are from the hells; as in Moses:

He that toucheth one dead as to all man’s soul shall be unclean seven days. Whosoever toucheth one dead, as to the soul of a man who is dying, and hath not expiated himself, hath defiled the habitation of Jehovah; therefore that soul shall be cut off from Israel. Whosoever hath touched on the surface of a field one pierced with a sword, or one dead, or the bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days. He that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until the evening. Whatsoever the unclean person hath touched shall become unclean; and the soul that hath touched it shall be unclean until the evening (Numbers 19:11, 13, 16, 21-22).

He who toucheth unclean beasts, unclean creeping things, shall be unclean until the evening; everything on which it shall fall, shall be unclean, whether it be vessel of wood, or garment, or vessel of water, vessel of pottery, food, drink, an oven, a fountain, a cistern, a receptacle of waters, they shall be unclean (Leviticus 11:31-36; also 5:2, 3; 7:21).

He that hath an issue is unclean; and also the man who hath touched his bed; or hath sat upon a vessel on which he hath sat; or hath touched his flesh or his garments; or if he that is affected with an issue hath spit upon one who is clean. The chariot on which he is carried, the vessel of pottery, the vessel of wood, shall be unclean (Leviticus 15).

So also he who hath touched a leper (Leviticus 22:4).

If there shall fall anything from a carcass upon all the seed of the sower which is sown, it shall be clean; but if water hath been put upon the seed, and a carcass shall fall upon it, it shall be unclean (Leviticus 11:37-38).

[10] By these unclean things are signified various kinds of evils and the derivative falsities which are from hell, and which are communicated, transferred, and received; the several unclean things signify each some specific evil; for evils which are unclean render man so, because they infect his soul; moreover, from evil spirits and genii there flow forth the evils of their heart, and according to the persuasions of evil they infect those who are present. This contagion is what is signified by the “touch” of unclean things.

[11] In Moses:

Of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, ye shall not eat, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die (Genesis 3:3).

The angel who wrestled with Jacob, seeing that he prevailed not against him, touched the hollow of his thigh, and the hollow of the thigh was out of joint (Genesis 32:25).

Moses said that they should not touch anything which belonged to Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, lest they should be consumed for all their sins (Numbers 16:26).

Depart ye, depart ye, touch no unclean thing; go ye out from the midst of her; be ye purified that bear the vessels of Jehovah (Isaiah 52:11).

They have wandered blind in the streets, they are defiled with blood; those things which they cannot [defile] they touch with their garments. Depart ye, he is unclean; they cry unto them, Depart, touch not (Lam. 4:14-15).

Behold if a man shall bear the flesh of holiness in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt touch bread, or wine, or oil, or any food, it nevertheless shall not be sanctified. If one unclean in soul shall touch any of these things, it nevertheless shall be unclean (Haggai 2:12-14).

Forswearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they commit robbery, and bloods touch bloods; therefore the land shall mourn (Hos. 4:2-3).

878. And he put forth his hand and took her, and brought her in unto him into the ark. That this signifies his own power, and that he did what was good and thought what was true from himself, is evident from the signification of “hand” as being power, and thus here his own power from which he did these things. For to “put forth his hand and take the dove and bring her in to himself” is to apply and attribute to himself the truth meant by the “dove.” That by “hand” is signified power, also authority [potestas], and the derivative self-confidence, is evident from many passages in the Word, as in Isaiah:

I will visit upon the fruit of the greatness of heart of the king of Assyria, because he hath said, By the strength of my hand I have done it and by my wisdom, for I am intelligent (Isaiah 10:12-13),where “hand” manifestly denotes his own strength to which he attributed what he did, and this was the cause of the visitation upon him. Again:

Moab shall spread forth his hands in the midst of him, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim, and he shall lay low his pride together with the cataracts of his hands (Isaiah 25:11); where “hands” denote man’s own power, from regarding himself as above others, thus from pride.

[2] Again:

Their inhabitants were short of hand, they were dismayed and put to shame (Isaiah 37:27);

“short of hand” meaning of no power. Again:

Shall the clay say to the potter, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands? (Isaiah 45:9).

Here “he hath no hands” means that he has no power.

In Ezekiel:

The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with stupefaction, and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled (Ezekiel 7:27),

where “hands” denote power.

In Micah:

Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds; when the morning is light they practice it, because their hand is their god (Micah 2:1),

where “hand” denotes their own power in which they trust as their god.

In Zechariah:

Woe to the worthless shepherd that leaveth the flock; the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye; his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened (Zechariah 11:17).

[3] Because “hands” signify powers, man’s evils and falsities are continually called in the Word “the works of his hands.” Evils are from the Own of man’s will, falsities are from the Own of his understanding. That this is the source of evils and falsities is evident enough from the nature of man’s Own, which is nothing but evil and falsity (as may be seen above, n. 39, 41, 141, 150, 154, 210, 215). As “hands” in general signify power, “hands” are many times in the Word attributed to Jehovah, or the Lord, and then by “hands” is understood in the internal sense Omnipotence, as in Isaiah:

Jehovah, Thy hand is lifted up (Isaiah 26:11),

denoting the Divine power. Again:

Jehovah stretched out His hand, all are consumed (Isaiah 31:3),

Concerning the work of My hands command ye Me; My hands have stretched out the heavens and all their army have I commanded (Isaiah 45:11-12),

denoting the Divine power. The regenerate are often called in the Word “the work of the hands of Jehovah.” In the same

Mine hand hath laid the foundation of the earth, and My right hand hath measured the heavens with the palm (Isaiah 48:13), where “hand” and “right hand” denote omnipotence.

[4] Again:

Is My hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? (Isaiah 1:2),

denoting the Divine power.

In Jeremiah:

Thou hast made the heaven and the earth by Thy great power and by Thy stretched out arm; and didst bring forth Thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with a stretched-out arm (Jeremiah 32:17, 21),

denoting the Divine power; “power” being named in the seventeenth verse [Genesis 8:17], and “hand” in the twenty-first. That Israel was brought out of Egypt with “a strong hand and with a “stretched-out arm” is often said.

In Ezekiel:

Thus saith the Lord Jehovih, In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up Mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made My self known unto them in the land of Egypt; I lifted up Mine hand unto them, to bring them forth out of the land of Egypt (Ezekiel 20:5-6, 23).

In Moses: Israel saw the great hand which Jehovah executed upon the Egyptians (Exodus 14:31).

[5] That by “hand” is signified power is now plainly manifest from these passages. Indeed “hand” was so significant of power that it became also its representative, as is evident from the miracles that were done in Egypt, when Moses was commanded to stretch forth his rod, or hand, and so they were done; as in Exodus:

Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven, and Jehovah rained hail upon the land of Egypt (Exodus 9:22-23);

Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven, and there was a thick darkness (Exodus 10:21-22);

Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and Jehovah made the sea dry land; and Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned (Exodus 14:21, 27).

No one with mental capacity for right thinking can believe that there was any such power in the hand or rod of Moses, but because the lifting up and stretching forth of the hand signified the Divine power, it became a representative in the Jewish Church.

[6] It was similar when Joshua stretched out his javelin, as in Joshua:

And Jehovah said unto Joshua, Stretch out the javelin that is in thy hand toward Ai; for I will give it into thine hand; and Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city, and they entered into the city and took it for Joshua drew not back his hand, wherewith he stretched out the javelin, until he had devoted all the inhabitants of Ai (Joshua 8:18, 26).From this it is also evident how the case is with the representatives that were the externals of the Jewish Church; and also how it is with the Word: that the things in its external sense do not appear to be representative of the Lord and His kingdom, as here the stretching forth of the hand, and likewise all the other things, which bear no appearance of being representative while the mind is fixed only on the historic details of the letter. It is evident also how far the Jews had fallen away from a true understanding of the Word and of the rites of the church, while making all worship consist in externals only, even to the extent of attributing power to the rod of Moses and the javelin of Joshua, when yet there was no more power in them than in wood. But because the omnipotence of the Lord was signified, and this was understood in heaven when they stretched forth their hand or rod, the signs and miracles followed.

[7] So too it was when Moses on the top of the hill held up his hands, and Joshua prevailed; and when he let down his hands, and Joshua was overcome; and therefore they stayed up his hands (Exodus 17:9-13). Thus it was that hands were laid upon those who were being consecrated, as on the Levites by the people (Numbers 8:9-10, 12), and on Joshua by Moses, when he was substituted in his place (Numbers 27:18, 23), in order that power might so be given. Hence also come the rites still observed of inauguration and benediction by the laying on of hands. To what extent the hand signified and represented power, is evident from what is said in the Word concerning Uzzah and Jeroboam. Concerning Uzzah it is said that he put forth (his hand) to the ark of God, and took hold of it, and therefore he died (2 Samuel 6:6-7). The “ark” represented the Lord, thus all that is holy and celestial. Uzzah’s putting forth (his hand) to the ark, represented man’s own power, or what is his own; and as this is profane, the word “hand” is understood, but is not expressed in the original, lest it should be perceived by the angels that such a profane thing had touched what is holy.

[8] And because Uzzah put it forth, he died. Concerning Jeroboam it is said: And it came to pass, when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar, that Jeroboam put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him; and his hand which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back again to him; and he said unto the man of God, Intreat now the faces of Jehovah thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again; and the man of God intreated the faces of Jehovah, and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before (1 Kings 13:4-6).

Here in like manner by “putting forth the hand” is signified man’s own power, or his Own, which is profane, and that it wished to violate what is holy by putting forth the hand against the man of God; wherefore the hand was dried up; but as Jeroboam was an idolater and therefore could not commit profanation, his hand was restored. That the “hand” signifies and represents power, is evident from the representatives in the world of spirits, where a naked arm sometimes comes into view, in which there is strength enough to crush one’s bones and squeeze their inmost marrow to nothing, causing such terror as to melt the heart; and in fact this strength is actually in it.