9937. And Aaron shall bear the iniquity of the holy things. That this signifies the consequent removal of falsities and evils with those who are in good from the Lord, is evident from the representation of Aaron, as being the Lord in respect to the good of love (see n. 9806); and from the representation of the priesthood which Aaron administered, as being the whole office which the Lord discharges as the Savior (n. 9809); from the signification of “bearing iniquity,” as being the removal of falsities and evils with those who are in good (of which below); and from the signification of “the holy things,” as being the gifts which they brought to Jehovah or the Lord in order that their sins might be expiated, which gifts were burnt-offerings, sacrifices, and meat-offerings. That these things are meant by “the holy things,” is clear, for it is said, “which the sons of Israel shall sanctify in respect to all the gifts of their holy things.” That “bearing iniquity” denotes to remove falsities and evils, or sins, with those who are in good, is because it is said of the Lord, for the Lord was represented by Aaron, and the whole work of salvation was represented by the office, or priesthood, of Aaron. That it is said of the Lord that He “bore sins” for the human race, has been known in the church; but still it is not known what is meant by “bearing iniquities and sins.” It is believed by some that it denotes that He took on Himself the sins of the human race, and suffered Himself to be condemned even to the death of the cross; and that because the condemnation for sins was cast on Him, mortals were thus freed from damnation; and also that the damnation was taken away by the Lord through the fulfilling of the law, because the law would have condemned everyone who did not fulfil it.

[2] But these things are not meant by “bearing iniquity,” because every man’s deeds remain with him after death, and according to the quality of these he is then judged either to life or to death. Their quality is from his love and his faith, for love and faith make the life of a deed; and therefore they cannot be taken away by transfer to another who would bear them. From this it is evident that something else is meant by “bearing iniquities;” but what is meant can be seen from the bearing itself of iniquities or sins by the Lord. For the Lord bears them when He fights for man against the hells, because man cannot fight against these from himself; but the Lord alone does this, and indeed continually for every man, but with a difference according to his reception of the Divine good and Divine truth.

[3] When the Lord was in the world, He fought against all the hells, and completely subjugated them. From this He also became righteousness. Thus He redeemed from damnation those who receive the Divine good and truth from Him. Unless this had been done by the Lord, no man could have been saved; for insofar as the Lord does not remove them, the hells are constantly with man, and have dominion over him; and He removes them in proportion as the man desists from evils. He who once conquers the hells, conquers them to eternity; and in order that this might be done by the Lord, He made His Human Divine. He, therefore, who alone fights for man against the hells (or what is the same thing, against evils and falsities, for these are from the hells) is said “to bear sins,” for He alone supports this burden. That by “bearing sins” is also signified the removal of evils and falsities from those who are in good, is because this is the consequence; for insofar as the hells are removed from man, so far evils and falsities are removed, because as before said both of these are from the hells. Evils and falsities are “sins” and “iniquities.” How the case herein is can be seen from what was shown above (n. 9715, 9809), where the Lord’s merit and righteousness, and also the subjugation of the hells by Him are treated of.

[4] The reason why it is said of Aaron that he should “bear iniquities,” was that he represented the Lord, and his priesthood represented the Lord’s whole work of salvation (n. 9806, 9809); and the main work of salvation is to redeem and deliver man from the hells, and thus to remove evils and falsities. It is said to remove evils and falsities, because deliverance from sins (that is, the forgiveness of them) is nothing else than their removal; for they remain with the man; but insofar as the good of love and the truth of faith are implanted, so far the evil and falsity are removed. The case herein is like that with heaven and hell. Heaven does not abolish hell; but removes from itself those who are there. For it is the good and truth from the Lord which make heaven; and these are what effect this removal. The case is similar with man, who of himself is a hell; but when he is being regenerated, he becomes a heaven, and insofar as he becomes a heaven, so far hell is removed. It is a common opinion that evils, that is, sins, are not removed in this way; but are absolutely separated. But such persons are not aware that from himself the whole man is nothing but evil, and that insofar as he is kept in good by the Lord, the evils which belong to him appear as if they were rooted out; for when a man is kept in good, he is withheld from evil. Nevertheless no one can be withheld from evil and kept in good unless he is in the good of faith and of charity from the Lord; that is, only insofar as he suffers himself to be regenerated by the Lord. For as before said, heaven is implanted in man by regeneration, and thereby the hell which is with him is removed.

[5] From all this it can be seen again that “bearing iniquities,” when said of the Lord, denotes to continually fight for man against the hells, thus continually to remove them; for there is a perpetual removing, not only while man is in the world, but also in the other life to eternity. It is impossible for any man to remove evils in this way; for from himself man cannot remove the least of evil, still less the hells, and least of all to eternity. (But see what has been shown on this subject before, namely, that the evils with man are not absolutely separated; but are removed insofar as he is in this good from the Lord, n. 8393, 9014, 9333-9336, 9444-9454.) (That while He was in the world the Lord conquered the hells by means of the combats of temptations, and thereby disposed all things into order; and also that He did this from Divine love, in order to save the human race; and that thus He also made His Human Divine, may be seen in the places cited inn. 9528 e; and also that in temptations, which are spiritual combats against the evils which are from hell, the Lord fights for man, n. 1692, 6574, 8159, 8172, 8175, 8176, 8273, 8969) How the Lord while in the world bore the iniquities of the human race, that is, fought with the hells and subjugated them, and thus acquired for Himself the Divine power of removing these things with all who are in good, and thus became merit and righteousness, is described in Isaiah 59:16-20; 63:1-9, as has been already explained (n. 9715, 9809).

[6] When these things are understood, it can be known what is signified by all that is said in the fifty-third chapter of the same prophet concerning the Lord, in which from beginning to end the state of His temptations is treated of; thus the state in which He was while He fought with the hells, for temptations are nothing else than combats with these. This state is thus described:

He bore our sicknesses, and carried our griefs; He was pierced for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities; Jehovah made to fall on Him the iniquity of us all; and thus He gave the wicked to their sepulcher; the will of Jehovah shall prosper by His hand; He shall see from the labor of His soul and be sated; and by His wisdom shall justify many, because He hath borne their iniquities, and thus hath carried the sin of many (Isaiah 53:4-5).

He is also called there “the Arm of Jehovah,” by which is signified Divine power (n. 4932, 7205). That by “bearing sicknesses,” “sorrows,” and “iniquities,” and by “being pierced and bruised by them,” is signified a state of temptations, is evident; for in such a state there are griefs of soul, distresses, and despairs, which in this way cause anguish. Such things are induced by the hells, for in temptations they assault the very love of him against whom they fight; the love of everyone being the inmost of his life. The Lord’s love was the love of saving the human race, which love was the Esse of His life, for this love was the Divine in Him.

In Isaiah also, where the subject treated of is the combats of the Lord, this is described in these words:

He said, Surely they are My people, therefore He became their Savior. In all their distress He was distressed; in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He took them up, and carried them all the days of eternity (Isaiah 63:8-9).

[7] That while He was in the world the Lord endured such temptations, is only briefly described in the Gospels, but at great length in the prophets, and especially in the Psalms of David. In the Gospels it is only said that He was led into the wilderness, and was afterward tempted by the devil, and that He was there forty days, and was with the beasts (Mark 1:12-13; Matthew 4:1). But that from His earliest childhood even to the end of His life in the world He was in temptations, that is, in combats with the hells, He did not reveal, in accordance with these words in Isaiah:

He was oppressed, and was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He is led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, He opened not His mouth (Isaiah 53:7).

His last temptation was in Gethsemane (Matthew 26; Mark 14), and then came the passion of the cross; that He thereby fully subjugated the hells, He Himself teaches in John:

Father, rescue Me from this hour. But for this sake came I into this hour. Father, glorify Thy name. Then came there a voice out of heaven, saying, I have glorified it and will glorify it. Then said Jesus, Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out (John 12:27-28, 31).

“The prince of the world” is the devil, thus all hell; “to glorify” denotes to make the human Divine. The reason why mention is made only of the temptation after forty days in the wilderness, is that “forty days” signify and involve temptations to the full, thus the temptations of many years (n. 8098, 9437); “the wilderness” signifies hell, and “the beasts with which He fought there” signify the diabolical crew.

[8] The removal of sins with those who are in good, that is, those who have practiced repentance, was represented in the Jewish Church by the he-goat called “Asasel,” upon the head of which Aaron was to lay his hands, and to confess the iniquities of the sons of Israel, and all their transgressions in respect to all their sins, and was then to send it into the wilderness, and that in this way the he-goat should bear upon him all their iniquities into a land of separation (Leviticus 16:21-22). By Aaron is here represented the Lord; by “the he-goat” is signified faith; by “the wilderness,” and “the land of separation,” hell; and by “bearing thither the iniquities of the sons of Israel” is signified to remove them, and cast them into hell. No one can know that such things were represented, except from the internal sense; for everyone can see that the iniquities of a whole congregation could not be borne into the wilderness by any he-goat; for what had the he-goat in common with iniquities? But as at that time all representatives signified such things as belong to the Lord, to heaven and to the church, so also did these. The internal sense therefore teaches what these things involve, namely, that it is the truth of faith by means of which man is regenerated, consequently by means of which sins are removed; and because the faith of truth is from the Lord, it is the Lord Himself who effects this; according to (2760) what was said and shown in the preface to Genesis 22, and also in n. 3332, 3876-3877, (4738) 4169, 4769. (That Aaron represents the Lord, see n. 9806, 9810; also that a “he-goat of the goats” denotes the truth of faith, n. 4169, 4769.) That “the wilderness” denotes hell, is because the camp in which were the sons of Israel signified heaven (n. 4236); and therefore the wilderness is called a “land of separation,” or of “cutting off.” Thus by “bearing iniquities into that land,” that is into the wilderness, is signified to cast evils and falsities into hell, from which they are; and they are cast thither when they are removed so as not to appear, which is effected when a man is withheld from them by being kept in good by the Lord, according to what was said above.

[9] The like that was signified by the casting out of sins into the wilderness is signified by “casting them forth into the depths of the sea,” as in Micah:

He will have compassion upon us; He will suppress our iniquities; and He will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19).

“The depth of the sea” also denotes hell.

[10] From all this it is now evident that by “Aaron bearing the iniquities of the holy things,” is signified the removal of sins by the Lord from those who are in good; and that their removal is continually being effected by the Lord; and that this is meant by “bearing iniquities.” So also in another passage in Moses:

Jehovah said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons with thee shall hear the iniquity of the sanctuary; and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood. The sons of Israel shall no more come nigh the Tent of meeting, to bear sin, by dying. But the Levite shall do the work of the Tent, and they shall bear their iniquity (Numbers 18:1, 22-23).

The like is meant by “bearing,” in Isaiah:

Attend unto Me O house of Israel that have been carried from the womb. Even to old age I am the same, and even to hoar hairs will I carry; I have made, and I will carry; yea, I will bear, and will rescue (Isaiah 46:3-4).

[11] That “bearing iniquity” denotes to expiate, thus to remove sins, is evident in Moses:

Moses was indignant with Eleazar and with Ithamar because the he-goat of the sacrifice of sin had been burnt, saying, Wherefore did ye not eat it in the place of holiness, seeing that Jehovah hath given it you to bear the iniquities of the congregation, to expiate them before Jehovah (Leviticus 10:16-17)?

(That “expiation” means a cleansing from evils, thus removal from sins, see n. 9506; and that Aaron was enjoined to expiate the people, and to pardon their sins, Leviticus 4:26, 31, 35; 5:6, 10, 13, 16, 18; 9:7; 15:15, 30.) That “to bear sins,” when not said of the priesthood, denotes to be damned, thus to die, see Leviticus 5:1, 5:17; 7:18 17:16; 19:8; 20:17, 19-20; 22:9; 24:15; Numbers 9:13; 18:22; Ezekiel 18:19-20; 23:49.