10131. 'And this is what you shall offer on the altar' means that which has regard in general to reception of the Lord in heaven and in the Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'this is what you shall offer on the altar' as that which has regard in general to reception of the Lord in the heavens; for 'the altar' means what is Divine and the Lord's in the heavens, 10129, thus also the reception of Him, while 'this you shall offer on it' means that which has regard in general [to the reception]. For the words that come next refer to the burnt offerings of lambs that were to be presented daily, and these offerings represent in general that which has regard to reception of the Lord. By 'lambs' the good of innocence is meant, and the good of innocence is the one and only thing that receives the Lord. For without the good of innocence there can be no love to the Lord, nor can there be any charity towards the neighbour or any faith that has life within it; in general there can be no good that has what is Divine within it, see the places referred to in 10021. This is why 'this you shall offer on the altar' means that which has regard in general to reception of the Lord in heaven and in the Church. When the word 'heaven' is used the Church should also be understood, since the Lord's heaven on earth is the Church, and each individual person in whom the Church exists has heaven as well within him; for the Lord is within him, and where the Lord is, so is heaven. Furthermore the Church makes one with heaven, for they are linked together inseparably and are dependent each on the other. The Word is what joins them together; the Word has the Lord within it, and the Lord is the Word, John 1:1ff.

7977. 'And flocks and herds, an extremely large acquisition of them' means good acquired through truth, interior and exterior, a great abundance of it. This is clear from the meaning of 'flock' as interior good, and from the meaning of 'herd' as exterior good, both of which are dealt with in 2566, 5913, 6048, 7960, their having been acquired being meant by 'an acquisition'. All the good present with those belonging to the spiritual Church has been acquired through truth; for without the truth of faith they do not know what spiritual truth is or what spiritual good is. They may certainly be acquainted with civic truth, and with the good that accompanies civic truth and moral truth, since all these are compatible with worldly interests, interests that give them their perception of such truth and good. But spiritual truth and the good that accompanies it are not compatible with worldly interests; indeed in a large number of instances they are completely divergent from them, which is why those people have to receive instruction about them. These matters have been stated to make it known that all good with those belonging to the spiritual Church has to be acquired through truth. The fact that 'extremely large' means a great abundance is self-evident.