277. (Verse 6) And in the midst of the throne, and roundabout the throne, were four animals full of eyes before and behind. That this signifies the guardianship and providence of the Lord to prevent the interior heavens being approached except by the good of love and of charity, that lower things thence depending may be in order, is evident from the signification of in the midst of the throne, as denoting from the Lord; for He who sat upon the throne was the Lord, as may be seen above (n. 268); and from the signification of roundabout the throne as denoting the interior or higher heavens, these being most nearly roundabout the Lord; and from the signification of four animals, which were cherubim, as denoting the Divine guardianship and providence to prevent the interior or higher heavens from being approached except by the good of love and of charity, which will be explained in what follows; and from the signification of eyes, of which they were full, before and behind, as denoting the Divine providence of the Lord; for eyes when said of man signify the understanding, which is his internal sight; but when eyes are said of God, they signify the Divine providence, as may be seen above (n.68, 152). And because eyes there signify the Divine providence of the Lord to prevent the higher heavens from being approached except by the good of love and of charity, therefore those cherubim were seen full of eyes, before and behind. The reason why lower things, which are the lower heavens, and also the church on earth, depend on that providence of the Lord, that they may be in order, is that the influx of the Lord is immediate from Himself, and also mediate through the higher into the lower heavens, and into the church; therefore unless the higher heavens are in order the lower cannot be in order (concerning which influx see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 277, 278).

[2] That cherubim are here meant by the four animals is evident in Ezekiel, by whom similar things were seen at the river Chebar, which are described by him in chapters 1 and 10, and in the latter are called cherubim (Ezekiel 10:1, 2, 4-9, 14, 16, 18, 19). Concerning them it is said,

"The cherubim lifted themselves up; these animals which I saw by the river Chebar. These animals that I saw under the God of Israel by the river of Chebar; I understood that they were the cherubim" (10:15, 20).

These four animals which were the cherubim, are thus described by the same prophet:

Near the river of Chebar "appeared the likeness of four animals of which this was the aspect: They had the likeness of a man, and they had each four faces, and they had each of them four wings: This was the likeness of their faces: the four had the face of a man and the face of a lion on the right side, and the four had the face of an ox on the left side, the four also had the face of an eagle. The appearance of them was as burning coals of fire, like the appearance of lamps; it went up and down among the animals, so that the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. Over the heads of the animals was an expanse according to the form of a wonderful crystal: over the expanse which was over their head, was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone; and upon the likeness of the throne was a likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it; from the appearance of his loins and downwards I saw as it were the appearance of a fire, and it had brightness round about, as the aspect of a rainbow that is in the cloud; this was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Jehovah" (1:1, 5, 6, 10, 13, 22, 26-28).

By these representatives is described the Divine of the Lord in the higher heavens, and His providence to prevent them from being approached except by the good of love and of charity; and in that description are contained all the things mentioned in this chapter of the Apocalypse concerning the arrangement of the heavens, and they are signified by the throne upon which sat one in appearance like a jasper stone and a sardine; also by the rainbow about the throne, by the lamps of fire burning before the throne, and other things, which it would therefore be needless to explain, particularly in this place.

[3] It shall now only be shown that by cherubim in the Word are signified the guardianship and providence of the Lord, to prevent the higher heavens from being approached except by the good of love and of charity, that lower things may be in order. This is clearly manifest from the account of the cherubim placed before the garden of Eden, when man was driven out; concerning which it is thus written in Moses:

"When" Jehovah God "had driven out the man, he made cherubim to dwell on the east of Eden, and a flame of a sword turning itself every way, to keep the way of the tree of life" (Genesis 3:24).

What is meant by the man and his wife in these chapters may be seen explained in Arcana Coelestia, namely, that by the man is there meant the Most Ancient Church, which was a celestial church; and a celestial is distinguished from a spiritual church in this, that the former is in the good of love to the Lord, but the latter is in the good of charity towards the neighbour, as may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 20-28).

From the men who constitute those two churches on earth the two higher heavens are formed; when, therefore, the celestial church, which was the most ancient and primary church on this earth, declined and began to recede from the good of love, then it is said that cherubim were made to dwell on the east of the garden of Eden, and a flame of a sword which turned itself every way, to guard the way of the tree of life. By the east of Eden is signified where the good of celestial love enters; and by the flame of a sword which turned itself every way is signified truth from that good defending; and by the tree of life is signified the Divine which is from the Lord in the higher heavens, which is the good of love and charity, and heavenly joy therefrom. Hence it is evident that by cherubim are signified guards to prevent those heavens being approached except by the good of love and of charity; and on this account it is also said, "to guard the way of the tree of life." (That the east signifies the good of love, may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 1250, 3708; that Eden signifies wisdom therefrom, n. 99, 100; that sword signifies truth fighting against falsity and dispersing it, thus truth defending [see above], n. 73, 131; that flame signifies truth from celestial good, n. 3222, 6832, 9570; that the tree of life signifies the good of love from the Lord and heavenly joy therefrom, may be seen above, n. 109, 110).

[4] On account of this signification of cherubim there were two made of solid gold placed upon the propitiatory upon the ark, concerning which it is thus written in Moses:

"Thou shalt make cherubim, of solid gold shalt thou make them, from the two extremities of the propitiatory; from the propitiatory thou shalt make the cherubs, and let the cherubim be expanding their wings upward, covering with their wings the propitiatory; towards the propitiatory shall be the faces of the cherubim, and thou shalt put the propitiatory upon the ark. I will meet thee there, and I will speak with thee between the two cherubim" (Exodus 25:18-22; 37:7-9).

By the ark and the tabernacle were represented the higher heavens; by the ark, in which was the testimony, or the law, was represented the inmost or third heaven; by the habitation which was without the veil, the middle or second heaven; by the propitiatory, hearing and reception of all things of worship which are from the good of love and of charity; by the cherubim were signified guards, and by the gold of which they were made, the good of love. It is therefore also evident that the two cherubim represented guards to prevent the higher heavens from being approached, except by the good of love and of charity. (That by the tabernacle in general was represented heaven, where the Lord is, may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 9457, 9481, 10545; by the ark, the inmost or third heaven, n. 3478, 9485; by the testimony or the law in the ark, the Lord as to the Word, n. 3382, 6752, 7463; by the habitation which was without the veil, the middle or second heaven, n. 3478, 9457, 9481, 9485, 9594, 9596, 9632; by the propitiatory, the hearing and reception of all things of worship which are from the good of love and of charity from the , n. 9506, and by gold, the good of love, n. 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 9510, 9874, 9881).

[5] And because by the cherubim were signified guards, therefore also, there were cherubim upon the curtains of the habitation, and upon the veil (Exodus 26:1, 31).

And it was for the same reason that Solomon made, in the oracle of the temple, cherubim of olive wood, and set them in the midst of the inner house, and overlaid them with gold, and engraved all the walls of the house round about with figures of cherubim, and palm trees, and open flowers, and that he ornamented the two doors in the same manner (1 Kings 6:23-29, 32-35).

By the temple also was signified heaven and the church, and by its oracle, the inmost of heaven and of the church; by the olive wood of which the cherubim were made was signified the good of love, and similarly by the gold with which they were overlaid. By the walls upon which the cherubim were engraved were signified the ultimates of heaven and of the church, and the cherubim there signified guards. By the doors, upon which also were cherubim, was signified entrance into heaven and the church. It is therefore evident that these cherubim signified guards to prevent heaven from being approached except by the good of love and of charity; and because of this signification of cherubim, they also signify the Divine providence of the Lord, for those guards are from the Lord and are His Divine providence. (That the temple and house of God signify heaven and the church may be seen above, n. 220; hence the oracle signifies their inmost. That olive wood signifies the good of love, may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 886, 3728, 4582, 9780, 9954, 10261, and likewise the gold, see above, n. 242. That doors signify approach and admission may be seen also above, n. 248).

[6] Similarly, the new temple is described as ornamented with cherubim; concerning which it is thus written in Ezekiel:

"Cherubim and palm trees were made, so that a palm tree was between a cherub and a cherub; thus was it done to all the house round about; from the ground unto above the door were cherubim and palm trees made, and the wall of the temple" (41:18-20).

The palm signifies spiritual good, which is the good of charity (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia. n. 8369).

[7] Because the Divine truth from the Divine good is that which protects, therefore the king of Tyre is called a cherub; for by king is signified Divine truth, and by Tyre are meant knowledges (cognitiones); and hence by the king of Tyre is signified intelligence, concerning which it is thus written in Ezekiel:

King of Tyre, "thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering. Thou cherub, the spreading out of one that protects; I have placed thee in the mount of holiness of God; thou hast walked in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways in the day that thou wast created" (Ezekiel 28:13-15).

(That by a king is signified Divine truth, may be seen above, n. 31, and by Tyre knowledges, in Arcana Coelestia 1201. That by precious stones are signified the truths and goods of heaven and of the church, see n. 9863, 9865, 9868, 9873, 9905, which are called stones of fire, because fire signifies the good of love, as may be seen, n. 934, 4906, 5215, 6314, 6832). Because the king of Tyre signifies intelligence from Divine truth, and this guards or protects, therefore the king of Tyre is called the cherub, the spreading out of one that protects.

[8] Because the higher heavens cannot be approached except by means of the good of love and of charity, that is, cannot be approached by worship and by prayers unless they proceed from that good, therefore the Lord communed with Moses and Aaron, when they entered the habitation, between the two cherubim that were upon the ark (Exodus 25:22); as also is evident in Moses:

"When Moses entered into the tent of assembly he heard a voice speaking unto him from over the propitiatory that was upon the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim " (Num. 7:89).

Because it is the Divine proceeding from the Lord which provides and guards, therefore it is said of the Lord,

That He sitteth upon the cherubim, as in Isaiah 37:16; Psa. 18:10; 80:1; 99:1; 1 Sam. 4:4; 2 Sam. 6:2.

[9] Because the subject treated of in this chapter is the arrangement of all things for judgment therefore also the cherubim are here treated of, that the guardianship and providence of the Lord that the higher heavens may not be approached except by means of the good of love and of charity; for unless this had been done before the Judgment, the very heavens themselves, in which were the true angels, would have been endangered, because those heavens which were about to perish (concerning which see Apoc. 21:1) were not in the good of love and charity, but only in some truths. For there were there those from the Christian world who were in the doctrine of faith alone, which some had confirmed from a few passages of the Word, and by that means had obtained some kind of conjunction with the ultimate heaven; but this conjunction was broken when that heaven, which is called the former heaven, had passed away. It was then ordained by the Lord, that hereafter no one should be conjoined with the heavens unless he be in the good of love to the Lord and in charity towards the neighbour; this is what is specifically meant by the things that now follow in this chapter. Whoever, therefore, believes that the heavens can hereafter be approached by the worship and by the prayers of those who are in faith alone and not also in the good of charity, is much deceived. The worship of these is no longer received, nor are their prayers heard, but the love of their life alone is regarded. Wherefore if the love of self and of the world reign, in whatever external worship they may have been, they are conjoined to the hells, and are also borne thither after death, and not in the first place to some heaven that is about to perish, as was previously the case.

2177. That 'meal of fine flour' means the spiritual and celestial ingredients [of the rational] which were present at that time with the Lord, and 'cakes' the same when both had been joined together, is quite clear from the sacrifices of the representative Church and from the minchah presented at the same time, which consisted of fine flour mixed with oil and made into cakes. Representative worship consisted primarily in burnt offerings and sacrifices. What these represented has been stated above where 'bread' was the subject, in 2165, namely the celestial things of the Lord's kingdom in heaven and of the Lord's kingdom on earth, which is the Church, and also the things of the Lord's kingdom or Church as it exists with every individual, and in general everything that is in essence love and charity, since these are celestial entities. In those times all the sacrifices were called 'bread'. Along with those sacrifices a minchah was included - which, as has been stated, consisted of fine flour mixed with oil to which also incense was added - and also a wine-offering.

[2] What these latter represented becomes clear too, namely things similar to those represented by sacrifices but of a lower order, thus the things which belong to the spiritual Church, and also those which belong to the external Church. It may become clear to anyone that such things would never have been prescribed unless they had represented Divine things, and also that each one represented some specific thing. For unless they had represented Divine things they would have been no different from similar things found among gentiles, among whom also there were sacrifices, minchahs, libations, and incense, as well as perpetual fires and many other things which had come down to them from the Ancient Church, especially from the Hebrew Church. But because they were separated from the internal, that is, the Divine things represented by them, those external forms of worship were nothing but idolatrous, as they also came to be among the Jews, who likewise sank into all kinds of idolatry. From this it may become clear to anyone that heavenly arcana were present within every form of ritual, especially so within the sacrifices and every detail of them.

[3] As regards the minchah, the nature of it and how it was to be made into cakes is described in a whole chapter in Moses - in Leviticus 2; also Numbers 15, and elsewhere. The law regarding the minchah is described in Leviticus in the following words,

Fire shall be kept burning unceasingly on the altar; it shall not be put out. And this is the law of the minchah: Aaron's sons shall bring it before Jehovah to the front of the altar, and he shall take up from it a fistful of fine flour of the minchah and of the oil of it and all the frankincense which is on the minchah, and he shall burn it on the altar; it is an odour of rest for a memorial to Jehovah. And the rest of it Aaron and his sons shall eat. Unleavened bread shall be eaten in a holy place. In the court of the tent of meeting shall they eat it. It shall not be cooked leavened; I have given it as their portion from My fire-offerings; it is most holy. Leviticus 6:13-17.

[4] The fire which was to be kept burning unceasingly on the altar represented the Lord's love, that is, His mercy, which is constant and eternal. 'Fire' in the Word means love, see 934, and therefore 'the fire-offerings made for an odour of rest' means the good pleasure which the Lord takes in those things that belong to love and charity. That 'odour' means good pleasure, that is, that which is pleasing, see 925, 1519. Their 'taking a fistful' represented their being required to love with all their soul or strength, for 'the hand' or 'the palm' of the hand means power, as shown in 878, from which 'the fist' also means the same. 'The fine flour together with the oil and the frankincense' represented all things of charity - 'fine flour' the spiritual ingredient of it, 'oil' the celestial, and 'frankincense' that which was in this manner pleasing. That 'fine flour' represents the spiritual ingredient is evident from what has just been stated and from what is stated below. That 'oil' represents the celestial ingredient, or the good or charity, see 886, and that 'frankincense' on account of its odour represents that which is pleasing and acceptable, 925.

[5] Its being 'unleavened bread' or not fermented means that it was to be genuine, thus something offered from genuineness of heart and having no uncleanness. The eating of the rest by Aaron and his sons represented man's reciprocation and his making it his own, and thus represented conjunction by means of love and charity; and it is for this reason that they were commanded to eat it 'in a holy place'. Hence it is called something most holy. These were the things which were represented by the minchah. It was also the way in which the representatives themselves were perceived in heaven; and when the member of the Church understood them in the same way his ideas were like the perception which the angels possess, so that he was in the Lord's kingdom in heaven even though he was on earth.

[6] For more about the minchah - what it was to consist of in any particular kind of sacrifice; the way in which it was to be baked into cakes; what kind was to be offered by those who were being cleansed, and also what kinds on other occasions (all of which would take too long to introduce and explain here) - see what is said about it in Exodus 29:39-41; Leviticus 5:11-13; 6:16-17, 19-21; 10:12-13; 23:10-13, 6, 17; Numbers 5:15 and following verses; 6:15-17, 19-20; 7: in various places; 28:5, 8, 9, 12-13, 20-21, 28-29; 29:3-4, 9-10, 14-15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 37

[7] 'Fine flour made into cakes' had in general the same representation as bread, namely the celestial ingredient of love, while 'meals represented its spiritual ingredient, as becomes clear in the places indicated above. The loaves which were called 'the bread of the Presence' or 'the shewbread' consisted of fine flour, which was made into cakes and placed on the table to provide an unceasing representation of the Lord's love, that is, of His mercy, towards the whole human race, and man's reciprocation. These loaves are spoken of in Moses as follows,

You shall take fine pour and bake it into twelve cakes; two-tenths [of an ephah] shall there be in one cake And you shall place them in two rows, six in a row, on the clean table before Jehovah. And you shall put pure frankincense on each row, and it shall be bread serving as a memorial, a fire-offering to Jehovah. Every sabbath day [Aaron] shall set it out in order before Jehovah continually; it is from the children of Israel as an eternal covenant. And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place, for it is to him the most holy of fire-offerings to Jehovah, by an eternal statute. Leviticus 24:5-9.

Every item and smallest detail mentioned here represented the holiness of love and charity, 'fine flour' having the same representation as meal of fine flour, namely that which is celestial and that which is spiritual that goes with it, and 'cake' the two when joined together.

[8] From this it is clear what the holiness of the Word is to those who possess heavenly ideas, and indeed what holiness was present within this particular representative observance, on account of which it is called 'most holy'. It is also clear how devoid of holiness the Word is to those who imagine that it does not have anything heavenly within it and who keep solely to externals. Exemplifying the latter are those who in the present verse under consideration perceive 'the meal' to be merely meal, 'the fine flour' merely fine flour, and 'the cake' merely a cake, and who imagine that these things have been stated without each one that is mentioned embodying something of the Divine within it. Their attitude is similar to that of those who imagine that the bread and wine of the Holy Supper are no more than a certain religious observance that does not have anything holy within it. Yet in fact it possesses such holiness that the minds of men are linked by means of it to the minds of those in heaven, when from an internal affection they think that the bread and wine mean the Lord's love and man's reciprocation, and by virtue of that interior thought and affection they abide in holiness.

[9] Much the same was implied by the requirement that when the children of Israel entered the land they were to present as a heave-offering to Jehovah a cake made from the first of their dough, Numbers 15:20. The fact that such things are meant is also evident in the Prophets, from' among whom for the moment let this one place in Ezekiel be introduced here,

You were adorned with gold and silver, and your raiment was of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil. You became exceedingly beautiful, and attained to a kingdom. Ezekiel 16:13.

This refers to Jerusalem, by which is meant the Church, which Church in its earliest days bore an appearance such as this, that is to say, the Ancient Church, which is described by means of raiment and many other adornments. Its affections for truth and good are also described by 'the fine flour, honey, and oil'. It may become clear to anyone that all these details mean in the internal sense something altogether different from what they do in the sense of the letter. And the same applies to Abraham's saying to Sarah, 'Take quickly three measures of meal of fine flour, knead it, and make cakes'. That 'three' means things that are holy has been shown already in 720, 901.