10123. 'And you shall cleanse from sin on the altar' means purification from evils in heaven and in the Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'cleansing' as purifying; from the meaning of 'sin' as evil, for all evil that a person is guilty of is called sin; and from the meaning of 'the altar' as that which is representative of the Lord in regard to Divine Good and of the worship of Him, dealt with in 9714, 9964, at this point in respect of Divine Good in heaven and in the Church. The subject is still the Lord's influx, presence, and reception there, and for this reason 'the altar' also means heaven and the Church in respect of reception of Divine Good from the Lord there. For that which is Divine and the Lord's is what makes heaven and the Church; this is so because the Lord dwells there in what is His and not in what is a person's own. This too explains why 'the altar' also means the actual person in whom heaven is present or in whom the Church is present, and so in whom the Lord is present; and in the abstract sense, in which no actual person is envisaged, 'the altar' means the Good itself which comes from the Lord and is present with the angels of heaven and with members of the Church.

[2] The word 'altar' is used with these meanings in John,

I was given a reed like a rod, and the angel stood and said to me, Measure the temple of God, and the altar, and those who worship in it. Revelation 11:1.

Here 'the temple of God, and the altar' are heaven and the Church, 'the temple' being the spiritual Church and 'the altar' the celestial Church. 'Measuring' means recognizing the amount and the essential nature of truth and good; and this is why it says not only 'Measure the temple, and the altar' but also 'those who worship in it'. For the meaning of 'the temple' as the spiritual Church, see 3720; and for that of 'measuring' as recognizing the state of affairs as regards truth and good, 9603. In the same book,

I heard another angel from the altar saying, O Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgements. Revelation 16:7.

'From the altar' means from the inmost heaven, where celestial good reigns, celestial good being the good of love to the Lord. In Jeremiah,

The Lord has abandoned His altar, He has abominated His sanctuary. Lamentations 2:7.

'Abandoning the altar and the sanctuary' refers to everything of the Church, 'the altar' being everything of the Church as regards good, and 'the sanctuary' everything of the Church as regards truth.

9964. 'Or when they approach the altar to minister in the holy place' means in worship representative of the Lord Himself. This is clear from the consideration that the altar was the chief representative of the Lord in respect of Divine Good, see 9714, so that 'approaching the altar' and 'ministering in the holy place' there mean worship of the Lord Himself. The worship representative of the Lord consisted chiefly in burnt offerings and sacrifices offered on the altar, 922, 923, 2180, 6905, 8680, 8936. Worship representative of the Lord in respect of Divine Good took place at the altar, and worship representative of Him in respect of Divine Truth took place in the tent of meeting. This is the reason for saying that 'going into the tent of meeting' means worship representative of all things of heaven and the Church, 9963, and 'approaching the altar' worship representative of the Lord Himself. For heaven and the Church are recipients of Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, Divine Truth emanating from the Lord being truth emanating from the good of love that is His and implanted where that good is also received, consequently where the Lord, the Source of that good, is received.