9856. Verses 15-30 And you shall make a breastplate of judgement, with the work of a designer; like the work of the ephod you shall make it; from gold, violet, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, and fine twined linen you shall make it. It shall be square when doubled, ¹ a span the length of it, and a span the breadth of it. And you shall adorn it with settings of stones. ² There shall be four rows of stones, the order being, A ruby, a topaz, a carbuncle - one row; and the second row, A chrysoprase, a sapphire, and a diamond; and the third row, A lapis lazuli, an agate, and an amethyst; and the fourth row, A tarshish, ³ and a shoham, ⁴ and a jasper. Enclosed in gold shall they be in their settings. And the stones shall be according to the names of the sons of Israel, twelve according to their names; with the engravings of a signet, each according to its name, they shall be for the twelve tribes. And you shall make on the breastplate small chains on the border ⁵ with the work of slender rope, ⁶ from pure gold. And you shall make on the breastplate two rings of gold, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate. And you shall put the two slender ropes of gold in the two rings at the ends of the breastplate. And the two ends of the two slender ropes you shall put into the two sockets, and put them onto the shoulders of the ephod before the face of it. And you shall make two rings of gold, and place them on the two ends of the breastplate, on the edge of it which is on this side of the ephod, inwards. And you shall make two rings of gold, and put them on the two shoulders of the ephod, below before the face of it, against the join above the girdle of the ephod. And they shall tie the breastplate from its rings to the rings of the ephod with a cord of violet, so that it is above the girdle of the ephod and the breastplate will not come away from upon the ephod. And Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel in the breastplate of judgement over his heart, when he goes into the holy place, for a remembrance before Jehovah continually. And you shall put into the breastplate of judgement the Urim and Thummim; and they shall be over Aaron's heart, when he goes in before Jehovah. And Aaron shall carry the judgement of the children of Israel over his heart before Jehovah continually.

'And you shall make a breastplate of judgement' means that which has regard to Divine Truth shining forth from Divine Good. 'With the work of a designer' means a product of the understanding. 'Like the work of the ephod you shall make it' means a continuation from the outermost part of the spiritual kingdom. 'From gold, violet, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, and fine twined linen you shall make it' means the good of charity and faith. 'It shall be square when doubled' means that which is righteous and perfect. 'A span the length of it, and a span the breadth of it' means equally in respect of good and in respect of truth. 'And you shall adorn it with settings of stones' means the actual truths in their proper order, all springing from the one same good. 'There shall be four rows of stones, the order being' means all of them joined together. 'A ruby, a topaz, a carbuncle' means the celestial love of good. 'One row' means a group of three there existing as one. 'And the second row' means this group of three also existing as one. 'A chrysoprase, a sapphire, and a diamond' means the celestial love of truth, from which the things that follow spring. 'And the third row' means a group of three here also existing as one. 'A lapis lazuli, an agate, and an amethyst' means the spiritual love of good. 'And the fourth row' means a last group of three existing as one. 'A tarshish, and a shoham, and a jasper' means the spiritual love of truth, in which higher things terminate. 'Enclosed in gold shall they be in their settings' means that all of them in general and each in particular must emanate from the good belonging to the love that is received from the Lord and shown to the Lord. 'And the stones shall be according to the names of the sons of Israel' means forms of good and truths arranged distinctly and separately in accord with their entire essential nature. 'Twelve according to their names' means each one without exception. 'With the engravings of a signet' means in accord with the heavenly pattern. 'Each according to its name' means for each one in particular. 'They shall be for the twelve tribes' means for all in general. 'And you shall make on the breastplate small chains on the border' means all heaven joined together in the most external parts. 'With the work of slender rope' means an indissoluble joining together. 'From pure gold' means through celestial good. 'And you shall make on the breastplate two rings of gold' means a sphere of Divine Good, a sphere through which there is a joining to the higher part of heaven. 'And put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate' means in the most external parts. 'And you shall put the two slender ropes of gold in the two rings' means the mode of the indissoluble joining together. 'At the ends of the breastplate' means in the most external parts. 'And the two ends of the two slender ropes you shall put into the two sockets' means the mode by which it is joined to the supports in the most external parts. 'And put them onto the shoulders of the ephod' means the support given thereby to heaven, and the preservation of the good and truth there by all exertion and power. 'Before the face of it' means to eternity. 'And you shall make two rings of gold' means a sphere of Divine Good. 'And place them on the two ends of the breastplate' means in the most external parts. 'On the edge of it which is on this side of the ephod, inwards' means the joining to and preservation of the middle part. 'And you shall make two rings of gold' means a sphere of Divine Good. 'And put them on the two shoulders of the ephod, below' means the preservation of good and truth in the lowest part of heaven. 'Before the face of it' means to eternity. 'Against the join above the girdle of the ephod' means where the joining together of all things is accomplished, immediately within the outward bond holding everything in connection and form. 'And they shall tie the breastplate from its rings to the rings of the ephod' means the joining to and preservation of everything in heaven by means of the sphere of Divine Good in the outermost parts of the spiritual kingdom. 'With a cord of violet' means through the celestial love of truth. 'So that it is above the girdle of the ephod' means in order that it may be preserved for evermore in its connection and form. 'And the breastplate will not come away from upon the ephod' means that all things in heaven are inseparable from the outermost parts of the spiritual kingdom. 'And Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel' means the preservation of good and truth, of their entire essential nature imparted to them by the Lord. 'In the breastplate of judgement' means that which is representative of heaven in respect of the Divine Truth shining forth from the Lord's Divine Good. 'Over his heart' means out of Divine Love to eternity. 'When he goes into the holy place' means in all worship. 'For a remembrance before Jehovah continually' means out of mercy to eternity. 'And you shall put into the breastplate of judgement the Urim and Thummim' means the radiance of Divine Truth from the Lord in last and lowest things. 'And they shall be over Aaron's heart' means out of the Divine Good of His Divine Love. 'When he goes in before Jehovah' means in all worship. 'And Aaron shall carry the judgement of the children of Israel' means Divine Truth in heaven and the Church. 'Over his heart before Jehovah continually' means for evermore shining forth from good.

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1850. That 'will I judge' means visitation and judgement becomes clear without explanation. Judging or judgement does not mean some last judgement, as most people suppose, that is to say, a time when heaven and earth are to pass away and then a new heaven and a new earth are to be created, as described in the Prophets and in the Book of Revelation, and thus a time when all things are to be destroyed. This conception has become so widespread that it has taken possession of even the best-informed minds, so much so that they do not believe the dead are to rise again until that time. As a consequence because that time has been foretold and yet after the passing of so many centuries since the prediction was made they do not see it happening or about to do so, they feel safe in confirming themselves in their assurance that there is no truth in the idea, thus that they are not going to rise again. But it should be recognized that no such thing is meant by the Last Judgement, that is, by the prediction that heaven and earth are to be destroyed. According to the sense of the letter that is indeed the meaning, but not according to the internal sense. By the Last Judgement, according to the internal sense, is meant the final period of the Church, and by heaven and earth's passing away is meant the Church as regards internal and external worship - a Church that ceases to be a Church when no charity exists.

[2] A Last Judgement of the Most Ancient Church took place when all charity and faith were at an end and when no perception existed, as was the situation just before the Flood. The Flood itself, which has been dealt with above, was the Last Judgement of that Church. At that point heaven and earth, that is, the Church, passed away, and a new heaven and a new earth, that is, a new Church called the Ancient Church, was created, which too has been dealt with. This Church as well had its final period, namely when all charity was growing cold and all faith was being blacked out. This was about the time of Eber. This period was the Last Judgement of that Church, which was the heaven and earth that passed away.

[3] The new heaven and the new earth was the Hebrew Church. This too had its final period or Last Judgement when it had become idolatrous. A new Church was as a consequence established, and this was accomplished among the descendants of Jacob. That which was called the Jewish Church was nothing other than a Church representative of charity and faith. In that Church, that is, among the descendants of Jacob, no charity or faith existed, and therefore no Church existed but merely the representative of a Church. This was so because direct communication of the Lord's kingdom in the heavens with any true Church on earth was not possible, and therefore an indirect communication by means of representatives was effected. The last period or Last Judgement of this so-called Church was when the Lord came into the world, for at that time representatives came to an end, that is to say, the sacrifices and similar practices did so; and to bring these to an end the Jews were expelled from the land of Canaan.

[4] After this a new heaven and a new earth were created, namely a new Church which must be called the Primitive Church, which was begun by the Lord and after that gradually grew stronger, and which at first possessed charity and faith. The destruction of this Church is foretold by the Lord in the Gospels and by John in the Book of Revelation, and it is this destruction which is called the Last Judgement. Not that heaven and earth are now going to pass away but that a new Church will be raised up in some part of the world, while the present one continues in existence with its external worship just as the Jews do with theirs. As is quite well known, their worship includes no charity or faith at all, that is, nothing of the Church. So much for the Last Judgement in general.

[5] In particular there is a last judgement for everyone immediately after he has died, for at this point he passes over into the next life, in which, once he has entered into the life that was his in the body, he undergoes a judgement that points either to death or to life. This last judgement involves every detail of the person. With him whose judgement is to death every single detail condemns him, for there is nothing in his thought and will, not the smallest thing, that does not show the same as his individual last judgement or draw him towards death. But with him whose judgement is to life, every single detail of his thought or will in a similar way possesses the image of his individual last judgement and bears him towards life. For as is the person in general, so is he in every detail of his thought and affection. These are the things meant by the Last Judgement.